November 2020 Volume 5 Issue 6
Dear Pastor and praying friends:
Though schooling is going well, it is still a challenging time for us as we attempt to understand new concepts that are being taught. We have already finished two courses. The first one we completed was Culture class. This
emphasized the importance of learning the culture of the people to which God has called us so that we might
effectively communicate the Gospel to them. Also, we took the final test of our Phonetics course last Friday,
Nov. 16th. In its place, we have started a new class called Phonemics which is building on our phonetics knowledge by instructing us how to analyze phonetic writing. We also have started Deputation Principles. Because we have already finished deputation, we will be able to inform other students about our experiences while traveling.
God provided an opportunity for us to serve here in Bowie, TX. One of the local churches was without a pastor,
and I was able to fill the pulpit for them on a Sunday. We were hoping to be a blessing to the people of that church, but they were more a blessing to us by loving on us and taking very good care of us.
The most exciting news we have to share is the gender of our fourth child! We are blessed to announce that we will be welcoming our third son in February and have chosen the name Chandler Jairus. Chandler, meaning candle maker, is a family name (my grandmother’s maiden name), and Jairus means God enlightens. Our prayer is that Chandler will be a candle that God uses to shine light in the darkness and bring Glory to Him.
The Presidential election here in the States has given a sneak peek into what many missionaries face every
time the country in which they serve has elections. It has definitely been a time of learning for me. You see, many would say that it is a step of faith to go to the mission field. I agree with that statement, but it is much easier to go to a foreign field when you know that there is stability in government and churches back in America. Leaving the U.S. without that security certainly increases your faith by forcing you to completely rely on God. There is no way we can know what will become of the United States in the next few years, but we can pray that God’s will be done.
If your church is located within a four-hour radius of the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas area, and you would like for us to visit, please let us know. We are always looking for opportunities to serve by presenting missions and by witnessing to the lost. We currently have 95% of our support coming in, and we are praying that God will increase our support level to 100% quickly. There is much for which to praise the Lord, but specifically, I’d like to thank Him for the safety He has provided as we have traveled back and forth from school to church the past several months.
Family Updates by Lorin
Deacon (6) Deacon loves to help around the campus. One of his favorite things to do is go on work detail. The men here have work detail to replace and build things. Every Thursday is trash detail, and Deacon will jump into the bed of the truck, go around with a few of the men collecting the trash from the different barrels, and take it to the location where the trash is picked up by the trash truck. He is very proud of this job, and he makes sure he doesn’t miss it. It is wonderful to be in a place where he can be a part of the work and learn new skills. Please pray for Deacons finger, he got into an accident when we went shopping. He was messing around with the cart and was told not to but continued when we could not see him. Tayler began to push the cart and Deacon’s fingers rolled under the front wheel, He pulled his left pointer finger out when the wheel was right on top of it and it pealed his nail and some of the skin back to where it was just hanging by some skin. It is healing well, and he has not talked about it hurting at all.
Eden (4) Eden has become quite the adventurous one. We were driving back home from church late one evening when we saw the lights of the barn on. Some of the singles were working in there because they had recently slaughtered a wild pig. Eden was excited until one of the single men brought the pig head over and creeped her out. She was still curious, however. Her fascination with the pig hanging in the tree and its head on the ground led her and Deacon to “help” cut the meat up the next day. Although they mostly just played with the bones and tendons, they had fun. A few days later, all the singles came over to watch the kids while Tayler and I went on a date, and they were able to eat some of the pork. Eden and Deacon were super excited and really enjoyed the meat.
Enoch (22 m) Enoch is loving having his grandma and grandpa here (my parents). Every time he sees them, he squeals and runs to them with his arms wide open for a huge hug. He is such a snuggle bug and is also really
enjoying going on walks and playing with his little buddies. He is starting to count and use his fingers which is exciting to watch. He loves to be read to and will sit down for a good period of time just looking at books. We have nicknamed him Tornado because he is super-fast and leaves a mess wherever he goes.
Chandler (Due 2021) Last time I wrote about this new little one, we didn’t know the gender. Last month, were able to find out what our little peanut is!! God blessed us with sweet friends that did a surprise gender reveal by making a cake that was dyed either blue or pink on the inside. When we cut into it, the inside was BLUE!! We were all very excited. Eden was slightly disappointed because she was wanting a sister, but she is excited about another baby. We are now in our third trimester and getting very close to meeting our son. God also blessed with another friend who provided a car seat, clothes, and a new diaper bag. We are all eager to meet this new little one soon!
I Thessalonians 5:25 “Brethren, pray for us.”
Prayer Requests:
• For us to stay well as sickness has been going around BBTI.
• For Lorin and I as we continue our study at BBTI.
• Lorin and the New Baby.
• For the many Churches that have said they would like to take us on for support, pray God would enable them to have the finances to support us.
• For our current supporting churches as some are having financial struggles.
• For our raised support that it will continue, and that God will bless our supporting churches.
• For the People of Mozambique that God would work even now in the hearts and lives of the people to prepare them for the Gospel.
• For our ability to learn quickly when we begin to study Portuguese.
• For our continued good health.
• That our Spiritual lives will remain close to God, for us to grow each day closer to him, and not stray from His will or be caught up in the snares of the Devil.
• For our Truck.
Thank you to those who have given to this special need. Please Pray for God’s provision regarding our truck repairs. We have not been able to cover the complete cost at this time.
