We have been moving along this path at a break neck speed since you last heard from us.  We planned our trip throughout the United States in February.  We left in the early morning of February 26^th for our 2 month adventure.  We drove straight to Louisville, KY where we met a friend who is a pastor.  The church he pastors provided a place for us to stay which was very kind.  We left there the next morning and drove I-70 through Denver and connected with I-15 down to Los Angeles.  We drove in snow in every state except Nevada and California.  We really enjoyed all of the snow and the Lord kept us safe.

In Los Angeles, Jim attended the Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church.  Those 5 days were extremely encouraging and decisive.  Every seminar or sermon drove us back to the scriptures.  They were 5 days of the exhalation of the Word of God.  What a way to begin a ministry trip!  Jim was also given the opportunity to speak to a church in our former area.  It is always blessed to be given the opportunity to speak so the Lord can be honored and people can be exposed to the country of Germany.

From Los Angeles we traveled to Sacramento to visit the friends we moved to California with in 1992.  They ministered to us for 2 days.  We departed on 3/13 for Idaho.  What an amazing state!  Jim spoke in 4 churches during the week we were there and we met many brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Friends from our church in California moved near Moscow, ID and they were beyond gracious to allow us to stay with them for 10 days.  We were very encouraged by the commitment of the believers there.  We drove from Idaho to Fort Collins, CO.  We were able to see The Cody Museum and a lot of snow.  Again, God brought us through without any complications.

We stayed in Fort Collins with the couple from whom we bought the pool service business.  He is a graduate of the Master’s Seminary and shepherds a church in Fort Collins.  Jim was able to expound on our desire to minister in Germany with a PowerPoint presentation during the first hour.  Then Jim was afforded the opportunity to preach the second hour.  Again we met many fellow pilgrims that cared deeply about the Word of God.

We traveled to Mt Rushmore for a couple of days then to St. Paul, MN.  We spent 7 days with a friend who pastors an EV Free congregation.  Jim was able to preach the morning message and share our desire to minister in Germany.  We were able to bless our friends there by repairing or installing various things around their house.  What a great time to bless and be blessed in the Lord’s service.  We departed on April 11^th for Detroit and drove the night.  We seem to cover the most territory at night when the children are asleep.

In Detroit we stayed at a church that has a missionary room in their fellowship hall.  We cannot express the gratefulness we have for the care they gave to us.  There was not a need we had that they did not think of.  Jim preached the Sunday evening service.  We also were able to visit dear friends that we ministered with in Baltimore.  They moved back to Detroit while we lived in Los Angeles.  We did not have their phone number but for the Byron’s an address is good enough.  We really enjoyed seeing them after 11 years.  We departed on March 16^th and visited our family in Cleveland before driving the night into Baltimore on the 17^th.

Our children were great during our travels.  They had many other children to play with and hopefully learned a lot about our country and its Christian population.  Hannah worked her way through first grade while visiting many landmarks.  Josiah received a bicycle for his 4^th birthday and is already riding without training wheels.  Sarah began to talk much more from all of the exposure.  And Micah blessed many people by being pleasant through the whole adventure. We traveled 10,000 miles in 7 weeks.  We stayed with many gracious people and came to know many fellow Christians that encouraged us on our way.  We pray that our ministry impacted many lives and brought a better understanding of the spiritual condition of Germany. 

On May 17^th in the evening service of our church, Jim will be ordained to the Gospel ministry.  We are praying for God to be glorified during a time when the church will be focused on Jim.  We do what we do because Jesus Christ is our Lord and His truth is our passion.  What else is there for a pastor to pursue? This is the next step in the validation process of our call to shepherd a flock in Germany.  May Jesus have the glory!

We have included our new prayer card with this letter so you will be able to respond to our need and to remember to pray for us.  We are available to speak about our goals to your church or bible study group.  Our contact information is on our prayer card.  We have been faithful to those that support us in not working a job.  We are hard at the work of ministry and the Lord has been providing for our needs.  We believe you have been praying for us.  Specifically you could prayer for:

1.     Opportunities to speak about our goals to churches and individuals.

2.     God’s provision for the remainder of our support.

3.     The timely completion of the basement for our living quarters.

Our Schedule:  May 17^th – Ordination Service

                          May 25^th – Preaching morning service

                          June 7&8 – Louisville, KY

                          June 19-23 – Global Outreach Conference, Olcott, N.Y.

We are grateful for your friendship! Ganz liebe Grüße!

Jim, Theresa, Hannah, Josiah, Sarah, Micah Byron