Bethany E.C. Church (Tamaqua, PA)

Today we had our first speaking engagement as officially approved missionary candidates! We spoke at Bethany E.C. Church in Tamaqua, PA, where Kevin Roberts, a former seminary classmate of mine, is the pastor. It was a great opportunity to share our passion and burden for Spain, and the congregation was very receptive and kind. The church seems to be doing some very valuable ministry in Tamaqua, and we hope to build a continuing relationship with the people of Bethany Church. Their website is http://www.bethanyec.org/. Thanks Bethany E.C.! The rest of today will be spent crashing and recharging for another week of work. Our next speaking engagement (at this point) is not until next month, September 16th, I think, at Zion E.C. Church in Myerstown, which means that we'll get to walk to church that morning!

Unexpected Visitors!

Sunday evening we had a pair of surprise visitors: our friends Julie & Priscilla from New Jersey! (Julie's over my left shoulder and Priscilla's over Rachel's right shoulder.) It wasn't a complete surprise, but they emailed us late in the week to let us know that they'd be passing through and that they'd like to drop in for a visit. It was wonderful and refreshing to catch up with them and find out all the news in their lives. But on top of that, they brought us a gift: Ale-8-One! If you're not familiar with Ale-8, it's similar to ginger ale, but it contains some secret ingredients known only to the makers in Kentucky (http://www.ale8one.com/). Ale-8 is a favorite among many Asbury College students and grads, and even for those who don't love it, Ale-8 can still stir up some nostalgia for an Asbury grad. It was a pleasant surprise on two fronts, so thanks, Julie & Priscilla, for making our Sunday evening a great one!

Prayer Card!

Well, she's a beaut...at least we think so! Here's a sneak peak at our newly designed & ordered prayer card, unless you're reading this after you've received one in the mail. It's really energizing for us to see little things like this come together as we prepare to head to Spain, so we're wicked excited about the new card (props to New Englanders for that phrase). At the same time, though, it's a bit humbling or sobering for us: are we really important enough to have our own prayer card to be hung on people's fridges or anywhere else they might put them (dartboards, closets, waste cans)? It's somewhat amazing how this little step continues to confirm for us God's call and direction to Spain as we walk through this transition meter by meter, almost being forced to recognize our great dependence on God, His timing, and His provision for us.

We're looking forward to speaking in our first church, Bethany E.C. Church in Tamaqua, next Sunday as official missionary candidates, and we're grateful to God for how we already see His hand of provision providing, with the opportunity to share in a different church every Sunday from the beginning of October to the beginning of December. Trust, dependence, complete personal abandon...I think that sums up what God is teaching us right now. Not only that we, as His children, should do or learn these attitudes, but that we have great reason to trust in, depend on, and completely abandon ourselves to God--He is our trustworthy Guide, Sustainer, and Love.