Update

Hi Family!
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Isn't that how a letter like this should start? We are praising God tonight for the ways He has made Himself known to us during the last few days. I think we've met with about 14 families in 5 days and have 7 "for sure" financial supporters (mostly in unknown amounts at the moment), 6 others that we feel pretty good about. We have lots of meetings set up for this week and 2 large group gatherings next week. This is one of the most challenging things I've been called upon to do in my life! We get discouraged too easily, especially when we encounter "the establishment", as I'll call it. It's amazing to me who is not "for" us. Just astounding. And discouraging. But then God brings friends who moved from Glenwood years ago, happened to be in town today, bought our lunch and are thrilled to have the honor of supporting us, just because it's us. And a couple tonight who I didn't even know until our visit, who got really excited about the opportunity!

We are seeking the face of God. I feel like my flesh and my life in the Spirit are at war. One moment I want to judge and criticize, the next I am overwhelmed with gratitude for God's provision. Church times seem to be the hardest, because there's a constant barrage of trying to bless people who we know are not "for" us, and bless people who are shocked and disappointed in our elders for not supporting us. We spin from one conversation to the next, just dizzy by the end!

Today may have been a bit harder because we celebrated Phase 2, the new part of our building. Alton stood before the church at the end and said that the next phase is to do missional outreach. May it be so. I pray that our conversations with people here will deepen their desire to reach the people in Tyler who don't know Jesus.

One fun little piece of the puzzle--one of the families we sent a letter to was the Dauphins from my days in Houston. Their kids were in my youth group there. Doran called and said that her daughter (who I last saw years ago as a high school kid), has married and moved to Odessa. She and her husband go to GCR and have committed to being part of our team. Their names are Fernando and Sharon Baeza, in case any of you knows them. Cool, huh?

Keep praying for us, please! For joy and patience and peace--just all those Spirit-fruits! And for God to lead our every step. He is fascinating to me! He doesn't do things the way I would expect Him to at all. What an adventure!