BIG prayer request for the trip

Well, it turns out I jumped the gun a bit yesterday with the praise report about receiving our Belarusian visas and being approved. As it turns out, the instructions we were given weren’t right and all of our applications were sent back unprocessed because we didn’t submit full paperwork. We should have time to complete and re-submit the required paperwork, but I would ask for your prayer for this. Time is getting short, and the visas are a must if we are to travel to Belarus! More to come...

Belarus and Romania Update #3

Only a very brief update this time as I approach three weeks out from my trip to Belarus and Romania in October. Lots of planning still going on, and we are making solid progress on finalizing all of our seminars and meetings for our time in Romania. I appreciate very much your prayers and encouragement.

Praise reports and items for prayer:

1. Fantastic news! I was informed today that our visas for entry into Belarus have been approved, and our passports have been received back from the Belarusian Embassy. This is a huge hurdle cleared and a large answer to prayer. Please pray for safe and smooth entry into the country.

2. My funding is at about 75%. I am so encouraged by God’s faithfulness and your ongoing support.

3. We have made some key new contacts for Romania that could open tremendous doors for future ministry. Pray that we would go in with humility and with hearts to learn how we can serve, not just teach.

4. Of course, I continue to ask for prayer for my family while I am gone. They will need supernatural support, and they always welcome a phone call or visit from you while I’m away.

Thank you all for lifting me, my family, and my teammates up in prayer. I’m getting very excited about what’s ahead! More to come…

Belarus and Romania Update #2

Down to four weeks now. We leave Wednesday, October 17, and preparation continues for our trip to Belarus and Romania. Just a quick update this week on my trip and the ministry that you have been so faithful in supporting:

Many of you had the opportunity to hear Yaroslav Lukasik speak at KPC last summer when he was visiting from Belarus. He is the dear friend of ours from Belarus who has since been deported from the country for his steadfast refusal to close down his church and temper his message of reformation in Belarus. He has since relocated with his family just over the border in Poland and continues to be a steadfast worker on behalf of Belarus though he has been barred from re-entry for five years. He has been visiting in Virginia Beach this week, and I had the opportunity to share dinner and breakfast with him on a couple of days this week. What a joy to see him and hear of his unmatched zeal for the Lord’s work in Belarus! He encouraged us so much ahead of our trip.

Some things to praise the Lord for and pray for this week:

• My funding is up to 70%. Thank you!
  
  
• We are finding ways to trim our costs in Romania, and the Euro is coming down ever so slightly against the dollar. (You didn’t know international money markets were a part of missions work, did you?!)
  
  
• Our visas for entry into Belarus have been sent to the Embassy and are in process. Pray for smooth approval and a quick turn-around.
  
  
• As always, I would appreciate your prayer for my family as I leave them for this extended period.

You are the best, and I am always blessed by your words of encouragement to me. Thank you! More to come...

Belarus and Romania Update #1

Five weeks from today, I will land in Belarus with my teammates for another round of ministry and teaching in Eastern Europe. I wrote to you a couple of weeks ago with an update, and I wanted to share the latest about our journey and plans. The plane tickets are booked, day-to-day itineraries are settled, and now we simply work on filling in the daily schedule.

Belarus has come together extremely well. We are quite excited about the seminars to be held there, and some fantastic teaching topics have been arranged. There will be 16 hours of intensive teaching over two days on topics such as “Sounds Methods of Biblical Theology,” “Constitutional Democracy,” Introduction to Economics,” and “Worldview Conceptions,” among others. During the other two days there, we will have extensive meetings on the formation of the training institute I’ve told you about and several meetings with local pastors in order to encourage them in the midst of their persecution and introduce them to a holistic Biblical worldview. This will be my third trip to Belarus, and my heart has grown so attached to the country and people. The zeal of the Christians there who live under the daily threat of real physical and spiritual persecution is amazing to see. I really can’t wait to go back!

We are making headway as well on the Romania portion of our trip. The primary focus of the time there is the teaching in the city of Timisoara of biblical principles of government and politics. Our seminars have been expanded to include national politicians from the Timisoara area and certain pastors and laypeople from a large church that we’ve worked with previously. These are in addition to the local political leaders from a small interior county (equivalent to a U.S. state) that we originally planned to teach. We will also be going to the far northwest of the country to meet with pastors and Christian academic leaders to discuss potential partnerships and find how we can best serve them with our ministry in the future. God is ever expanding our tent!

A few prayer requests:

• Because a majority of the expenses for our trip is in euros, the weak dollar has caused the total cost to rise. Please pray for favorable exchange rates while we’re traveling and for the ability to reduce expenses without sacrificing safety in our room and board.
  
  
• My personal fundraising stands at about 60% of my goal. Please pray that I would reach 100% soon. Thank you for all of your generous gifts!
  
  
• While travel to Belarus is not dangerous, per se, it’s not a walk in the park either. Please pray for our safety and protection and for the peace of mind of our spouses who anxiously await our return.

You all have been such wonderful supporters of me and this ministry, and I am deeply grateful. I’ll be updating regularly from now through the end of the trip. More to come…