Update

Thank you for your prayers for "Joe" and how Miles can witness to him. It has been an amazing couple of weeks. Miles found out that Joe is very book smart and loves to read so we were able to give him some books about Christian evidences which he has been enjoying. He has been to church every Sunday so far and today he felt comfortable enough to go to lunch with our whole family. This afternoon he told Miles that years ago he asked Jesus into his life but never got any discipleship and quickly fell away. Miles continues to make connections with Joe almost daily and he gives God the glory for it. It is truly amazing to watch the Holy Spirit use Miles in such a way!

April 2008 Connection Letter

Psalm 40:5

"Many, O LORD my god, are the wonders which You have done,

And Your thoughts towards us; there is none to compare with You.

If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count."

We stand in awe of all the Lord continues to do in our lives. He has blessed us in so many ways we struggle to even know where to begin to share. So we thought we'd do a short general letter and let the kids share what they want to share too.

December brought us a wonderful trip to California. A great time of sharing the season of Christmas with so many friends and family.

January was a time of sickness for all of us and a time for God to show His power through our weaknesses.

February was truly the month of love. It feels like our family has made a connection like never before. We continue to rejoice in this!

March was a sort of "springtime" for us, a time of growth. Both of us have been humbled, overflowing with joy, and under the influence of a peace we cannot claim to understand. Our hearts have been challenged at work and equally at home.

April continues to be a season of spiritual growth, also a time of challenging faith lessons. All of which we are extremely thankful for. We marvel at what God has done with us the last seven months. This past weekend we got to be a part of World Impact's central region conference/retreat. All of the staff from Wichita, St. Louis, Dallas, Morning Star Ranch, and Deer Creek Camp were all here in Wichita to induct the newest missionaries, worship together, have a lot of fun, and a little food...or maybe it was a lot of food and a little fun... anyway, it was an encouraging time of fellowship and exciting to meet our fellow laborers from other cities and ministries. We feel overwhelmingly blessed to be a part of God's family and a part of the work He is doing through World Impact.

We covet your prayers for the ministry work that the Lord has laid before us. First, we pray that we will be sensitive to the the Spirit's leading this summer. It is coming quickly and we have many ideas for outreaches including one in our own neighborhood; it has been easy to feel overwhelmed and sometimes confused. Also, please continue to pray for Miles' safety while working. Lastly, we are still waiting for some blood test results on Salyna. The Rheumotologist that she saw feels that it is too early to diagnose her with Lupus but at the same time thinks that is probably what she has. He ordered a ton of blood tests that we'd been trying to get done for the past couple of years.

Please let us know what is going on in your lives and how we can be praying for you!

Below are some pictures of the kids and what they would like to share with you about what has been going on in their lives...enjoy :)

"I like school. My favorite subject at school is PE because we play games. And I also like Music because we sing a lot. I like my teachers too. I make lots of new friends. I like World Impact because that's how we tell people about Jesus more. We've been bringing one of Daddy's new friends to church with us. We went to Nebraska and I got to see my cousin Gatlin. I was really excited because we hadn't seen him since my birthday. At Christmastime we went to California and I had lots of fun with my grandpa at the zoo. My cat is fun to play with."

"I like to color and play games. I got a new bike because I learned to ride on two wheels. I am growing up to be Christian and loving and caring about my brother and sister. And learning to do what my mommy tells me to. I am doing good. I love everybody who we are sending this to. "

I have been talking more and more and surprising my mom and dad with what I know. I am constantly on the go. I slow down for nothing...unless I fall. I love going to church and I take my own Bible (little blue New Testament). I also carry in my own bag because I have been learning to use the potty. Most times I am pretty excited about it, but sometimes I just don't want to do it. For some reason this makes Mom and Dad a little annoyed, but I don't see what the big deal is. My favorite hobby is terrorizing Penny (the cat). My first favorite cartoon/movie/book/toy is anything Bob (you know, the tomato from Veggie Tales). My second favorite is Spiderman. I am very consistent or should I say that I like everything to be consistent and I don't like change at all. I try to do anything that my brother and sister do, which is cute sometimes but sometimes it gets me in trouble. I like going to Daddy's office to feed the fish. (as told by Mommy)

More on "Joe"...

Joe called Miles on Monday with lots of questions... how to get a very expensive medicine he needed was one of them, which we were able to point him in the right direction and he got what he needed at a fraction of the cost. He also has a buddy who wants to go to church with us next Sunday. In addition to that, these young men wanted to know more about the Bible and how they can learn more/study. So Miles was able to get them Bibles and a beginner study that goes through the plan of salvation. Lord willing he will be following up with them on Friday or Saturday.

We are just amazed at how God is working in their lives, not to mention our own!
Please continue to pray for them and how the Lord might use Miles in all of this.