Dear Friends, Summer
2004
Festive Fall greetings from
Baltimore which is now colored in beautiful oranges
and browns. We have been very
busy for the last several months.
Forgive us for not communicating sooner. Theresa’s pregnancy has been
smooth and her 40th surprise birthday party was a great
time. The children are all
growing and learning as Theresa schools them at home. Hannah is now in grade 3 and
Josiah is in kindergarten. The summer was spent swimming and riding their
bicycles. Even 4 year old
Sarah began riding her 2 wheeler.
The deputation trail has taken Jim to
Lynchburg, VA and to Washington D.C.
The big event has been the missions conference at Perry Hall
Baptist the beginning of October.
The event lasted an entire week. Jim spoke 4 times and had 5
presentations in the Perry Hall Christian School.
With the support of Perry Hall we should have committed over half
of our support. It has taken
18 months to reach the 50% plateau and we are praying that the remainder
would come in half that time.
We have adjusted our goal of leaving for
Mannheim, Germany by November because we are still waiting for
God to raise the people that want to see Mannheim reached for Jesus. Also, Theresa’s due date is
January 27 which would make a move most difficult in November. We have now begun praying that we
could reach Mannheim by June of 2005. In September 2005 the
Freie Baptisten Church will begin its church planting activities in
North
Mannheim and we
desire to be a part of that.
Please pray with us about our needs as we wait and trust the Lord
for His timing.
We also want you to be aware of our current
needs as we wait for our departure.
All of the support currently sent to Global Outreach for us is
escrowed in our account to be used when we depart for
Mannheim or when we travel on deputation. Our daily needs are not met by the
mission. Therefore, Jim has
been working for home owners as a handyman and doing what ever pool work
there is available in Baltimore.
We need $2500.00 a month to meet our living expenses. Jim was offered a position as the
purchasing manager of a small defense contractor this past week which was
a $50K a year position. While
we were grateful for the proposition, Jim was bound by his commitments to
the ministry and therefore had to decline the offer. This is the position in which we
live. Jim is not able to
provide for his family through normal means as most of you are. Yet he still must provide for our
monthly expenses.
Our mantra has been, “We would not have sold
our home and our business in California to start again in
Baltimore if not for our goal of ministry in
Mannheim.
We have left everything for the sake of Christ. Now we are at the mercy of His
people to benevolently care for us as we serve Him in
Baltimore and in Mannheim.
Since our decision to enter the ministry, many have said they would
pray for us and that we should wait on the Lord for His time. Amazingly, if these same brothers
and sisters would sacrifice in their lives and help to meet our needs, we
would already be in Mannheim.
We look at what we could have like a secure job, a home with space
for our family, and a future to settle in one place, but we have
sacrificed all of that for the sake of Jesus and for the people of
Mannheim that have never heard of a personal relationship with
Him.
We are grateful for those of you that have
sacrificed in your life to partner with us. If we are to reach
Mannheim, it will take all of you to sacrifice for
the Lord and for us.
Sacrifice your wants to have eternal rewards. We have many times told one
another that Jesus has a secure place for us, a fine place to live and a
future with Him when we reach Heaven’s shore. Come with us and wait for your
fulfillment in Him but for now send us to
Mannheim.
Kindly
remember to pray for us.
1)
Opportunities to
share our calling.
2)
For financial
supporters.
3)
We reach
Mannheim by June 2005.
4) The believers, church and vision for a new
church plant in Mannheim.
Love in Christ, Ganz liebe Grüße!
