Ministry and work on two continents…

In this past month, Dan has been working incredibly hard to complete his work project in the states and we are thrilled that we get to pick him up from the airport this coming Saturday morning.  37 days apart isn’t horrible, but it has definitely felt loooooong.  He has enjoyed some time with his family, had the joy of seeing some of you at various Seattle churches, checked in with a couple of our board members and loved being a part of USA’s big birthday party.  He video called the kids and I on your Saturday night/our Sunday morning and he was with a bunch of friends around a fire pit, eating smores and watching a brilliant fireworks show while the kids and I were driving early to church for worship team practice and it was 28F and all the puddles were frozen.  You could see our breath in the car!  A funny contrast between the hemispheres!  

The kids and I have been quietly caring for and loving the people near us here in Bethlehem.  We have hosted connect group and several movie nights at our home – we have a high value for connection with other people.  We have supported my friend’s cancer journey (her last chemo was two days ago – thank you Jesus!!!!!)  and are supporting another friend whose husband died a week ago after a prolonged illness.  Align meetings have continued and there is movement backwards and forwards in people’s journeys towards healing.  There is a lot of drama around us, but not within our family so we are still carrying a lot of peace and it seems that people are desperate for that these days.  It is often that a person or two or ten come by the house each day just because they need to have a minute to breathe, get some advice, and drink coffee together, or dream together about future ministry.  I love it! There are a lot of things percolating and we look forward to sharing more as the Lord moves things forward.

This coming week, Dan and I have decided to prioritize ministry to our kids, and we have the absolute delight of sending them to camp – one specifically for American missionary kids living in Southern Africa.  We pray the Lord will use the time to minister to their hearts as they relate to other kids just like them, have other missionary parents speak into their hearts and futures, and encourage them in their walks with the Lord.  Both kids have 6 months remaining of high school, they are exploring future options, and trying to discern where the Lord wants them in the world – it is a critical time for them.  Please join us in praying the Lord will move powerfully during this camp in all the teens.  

The location of camp is an 11-hour drive south of us and we decided that after camp we will continue driving a few more hours south and have a couple days of exploring Cape Town with the kids.  The last time we were there, Miesha was 10 months old and we look forward to making some family memories together.  South Africa is the size of two Texas put together and we are excited to see a bit more of it this trip.  Did you know that there is a colony of penguins that live in Cape Town?  They are called “African Penguins” in some places but their original name was JackAss Penguins because they sound just like a donkey braying!  (they are obviously very intelligent to choose the very moderate area of CT rather than Antarctica’s chilly tundra) Did you know that there is a distinct color difference line in the ocean where the warm Indian Ocean and cold Atlantic Ocean meet at Cape Agulhas?  We are going to find look for that too. 

If the Lord puts it on your heart to donate towards the kid’s camp fees ($400), that would be a big blessing for our family.  Also, there is another unique opportunity that we would love you to consider donating towards.  Our missionary friend and ministry partner has some extremely challenging dental issues and needs to have an operation to make it possible for her to eat and speak normally again.  Her procedure will cost approximately $500.  The green donate button is below (TO GIVE) and please write “camp” or “dental” in the memo line if you would like to contribute towards one of these.  You can email me directly if you need help.  Thank you!

Currently, most South African students are home on their winter break and ministry to them will resume when we are back from the Cape.  Dan is speaking at a conference in early August and we have a local conference here in Bethlehem we are leading in mid-August – lots of preparations for those coming up too.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and donations which make it possible for us to be here for such a time as this.  

With joy, 
Janell for all of us