Prayer!

We need it! We are coming upon the first critical time in this beginning ministry. We have traveled to visit many people whom we have been praying will commit to partner with us in the Lord's work in North Las Vegas. Each of these people have received a newsletter and pledge card from us asking for their partnership. We are optimistic that the next couple of weeks will really help us to have a sense of where we really are in our fundraising efforts. So we have been praying! Now please realize that during this time, life does not stop. I had to take Annette to the hospital last week because she was having some pretty painful contractions that lasted for four or five hours. Thankfully, they subsided and have not returned to that frequency or degree of pain. She will be 36 weeks pregnant tomorrow (Tuesday). Please pray for her and for the baby to hold on until late in the 37 week or early 38 week. The reason for this prayer is that we have to move out of our apartment we have been subleasing at Covenant Seminary on August 24th, and having the baby early would work out really well in us transitioning to Las Vegas. Be praying for a healthy baby and quick recover as well. You can also pray that the condo in Las Vegas (many of you have heard this story, if not I would love to tell you about it) would get nailed down soon. The owner is trying to come up with a creative way to make this work so that we will not have to pay for any housing expenses (including rent and utilities) and making it a slightly larger living arrangement than we first expected. Pray for this to solidify for our peace of mind and smooth transition. We also have been thinking through schooling for Micah (who will be in first grade). We are searching for a Christian School for him. Pray that we would find one that would serve him well and that the Lord would provide to cover this expense. As many of you know, my parents (Tom and Treva) will be moving with us to Las Vegas. Please pray that the Lord would sustain their health and that they would sell their home at the perfect time to accommodate a transition to Vegas. I have also been studying for ordination exams in the midst of this craziness. Please pray that the Lord would bless my studies and that I would be prepared to take the written tests that are due by the end of August and then the oral exams September 22nd. Lastly, pray that people would become partners with us in this ministry in North Las Vegas by completing a MNA pledge card and committing to support us through their prayer and/or finances. This would be so encouraging to us! Thank you for praying! As there is a lot going on with the ministry, pregnancy, and transition, I was particularly grateful this past week to be affirmed of God's love for me. Nobody/thing can love me like he can and does. I would encourage you to think about this truth: God is love, and he loves you. God has expressed this love in 66 books contained in the Old and New Testaments. May we all know the love of God in a more significant way this week and turn away from those things that fall so short of the Lord's steadfast love for his people! I will be praying the same thing for you.

Lessons Learned After Five Weeks of Fundraising Travel

The last two months have gone by so quickly! It is hard to believe we are nearing the end of July already! After graduating in May, we loaded up all of our belongings (after Eric went back to Maryland and Pennsylvania to gather some belongings that our folks had been storing) into an ABF tractor trailer to be transported to storage in Las Vegas. Not only did we fit our stuff in this packed tractor trailer, but also the Glassmeyer's belongings as well. It was so heavy that the trailer made a dent in the concrete pavement! We have officially left our mark at Covenant Seminary (literally)! After this exhausting event, we headed for Maryland where Annette and the kids "set up shop" at her dad's in Laurel, Maryland (a great central location to many of the places we wanted to visit). Meanwhile, Eric travelled to Memphis, TN, to attend General Assembly and then Cape Coral, FL, where Eric served as Pastoral Intern last summer. We quickly realized that our expectations of fundraising were radically changed. We thought our role in fundraising would be to accurately communicate the vision of North Las Vegas to people with the hope they would become excited enough to actually fill out a MNA pledge card and commit to support us financially and more importantly prayerfully. This happened, but the Lord was gracious to help us see our role was much more important than this. Our role was to be used by the Lord to minister to people through intentional personal relationship. The Lord gave us many opportunities to spur many on toward becoming more passionate and devoted to the advancement of God's kingdom on earth. He used us to speak kind words to those who were discouraged and to sit with those who were sick. Mission to North Las Vegas is important, but ministering to those whom the Lord providentially placed in our path seemed to take priority. It was a wake up call to us to minister to those whom were before us in the present, rather than waiting to minister to those we have not yet met in Las Vegas. So we tried to be faithful in every providential circumstance placed before us. It was so good to renew relationships and just be a part of God's work in the present. This was a great reminder and application of Matthew 6:33-34, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." One day at a time, seeking the kingdom by choosing to play our part in bringing righteousness to this broken world and its people, is what we were able to experience on our travels and what our continual prayer seems to be. Would you pray that we would experience peace, not worry, seek the kingdom and righteousness, and minister to those whom providentially come into our path?