This was another dry season that brought wildfires our way, and one more season in the books that we can record God’s faithfulness and goodness in His protection of this base! Thank you to all the saints that knew about the fires and prayed for our safety and that of the houses and camp buildings. He hears our prayers! On the first day it was burning straight towards the camp, but the winds died down at dusk and were still all night. Then in the morning the winds picked up again but God shifted it 90 degrees to blow south and it burned almost all of the way down the property towards the dirt road – away from all of the buildings and houses. Vann and I had just that morning been talking about a way to clear that side of the property and realized that it would cost more than we’re able to pay for a tractor to come and bulldoze it, so God sent a fire and directed the winds so that only that side of our property burned as a blessing in disguise!
Vann finished piping the water supply in the new house and the windows are installed! The camp bathrooms are being tiled and the materials for the camp kitchen roof were just delivered. He is also building a cistern for a friend in town so that they have water for more than a few hours a day. God is strengthening and blessing the work of his hands. He just keeps giving everything he has in him every day, pouring out his life as a living sacrifice in obedience to the calling that God has so lovingly placed on us.
I am still doing well! I feel like I am slowly getting stronger and can participate in life more every month. I can cook a meal and clean a bit and have a conversation or visit with someone all in one day and still be well the next day! I was even able to visit a dear friend in the hospital with homemade cookies and garden flowers that I prepared! Our friend could use your prayers – it will be a long recovery from a horrible motorcycle accident that he is very lucky to have survived. But oh, the joy it is to be able to go and see/visit/minister/love on others for a change! Suffering for long, long periods of time changes a person. When we love Jesus, he uses the refining fires of suffering to deepen our dependance on him and to teach us that the love of God is better than life!
The school year has started with a bang for all three of our kiddos! Corynn is beginning her “super senior” year of pre-med classes at Cedarville University – she could use your prayers for strength and endurance to finish well!
Ethan is already loving his engineering classes at Kennesaw State University. We are so incredibly grateful for the healing that God has given him from his concussion and for the provision of such a lovely and safe place for him to live!
Clara is officially a full-time college student at home with her dual enrollment classes online – it’s been a bit of an adjustment, but she is really enjoying the challenge and change of pace. We have got to be the most blessed parents. Ever.
We were thrilled to have Mikey come and visit us for a few all-too-brief days! He brought us some urgently needed tools and equipment, and a whole bunch of goodies that bless us so, but time with him is the real gift. We pray God’s hand of blessing and protection over his precious life!
We pray for each of you – that God would draw your hearts closer to Him and that He would lovingly guide you through your own refining fires so that He gets all the glory for all things!
“Life in the refiner’s fire is a life of trust in the unchanging purifying love of God” – John Piper