“Pray that people would give: pledges are coming in very slowly, and we only have 60% of the support pledged that we need to return to Belize!”
— David
Dearest friends, it has been a while since we posted an update about how our support raising while newly married is going, and we do thank you for your patience. But the website has a new look (finally!), and we should let you know the status of things here in our North American sojourn.
We have been busy over the last few months, criss-crossing the American Southwest as we have visited churches and met with potential supporters. When last I wrote, we were preparing for the Western Anglicans House of Delegates meeting in Newport Beach, after which we flew up to Christ Church of the Sierra (Reno) for an amazing weekend with an incredible, mission-minded congregation. Since then, we have been all over:
Feb 21 – St. Luke’s (La Crescenta)
Feb 28 – Christ Church (Fallbrook)
Mar 6 – Christ the Redeemer (Yuma)
Mar 3 – San Diego Deanery Meeting (Oceanside)
Mar 13 – St. Paul’s (Lake Elsinore) & Epiphany (La Mirada)
Mar 20 – Resurrection (San Marcos)
Mar 24 – All Saints’ (Long Beach)
Mar 25 – Epiphany (La Mirada) & All Saints’ (Long Beach)
Mar 26 – Gold Line (Highland Park)
Mar 27 – Holy Spirit (San Diego)
Mar 30 – Miller Valley Baptist (Prescott)
Mar 31 – Arizona Deanery Meeting (Phoenix)
Apr 3 – All Saints’ (Long Beach)
Apr 10 – New Wineskins (Ridgecrest)
As you can imagine, though we’re excited to be sharing about our mission in Belize, we’re also a bit exhausted from the travel and inevitable stress that comes with it. In particular, pray that people would give: pledges are coming in very slowly, and we only have 60% of the support pledged that we need to return to Belize!
As we continue on in our support-raising adventure, we will be traveling to Grace Anglican (Oceanside) tomorrow for the installation of the Rev. Bill Mugford as rector, and then on to spend the night in Arizona where we will be attending the dynamic Christ Church (Phoenix) and sharing about our mission between services. Please pray for our energy level, as we will need to come right back on Sunday so Mary Beth can keep on practicing for her recital.
That said, Mary Beth’s recital pieces are coming along very well, and we are very excited for her big day on May 6th. She will be performing pieces by Scarlatti, Chopin, Schumann, as well as Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata. Please pray for her continued preparation, and that she excels at this capstone project for her Bachelor of Music degree!
Mary Beth’s health continues to fluctuate some, but there is genuine improvement despite all of our travel and sometimes unpredictable arrangements. So many people have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome as we have come through visiting, and I am praying that over the next few months (and with the end of school) she will continue to make gains toward a full recovery of health.
SAMS celebrated its 40th Anniversary by having us pose by the statue of Captain Allen Gardiner.
As we look past April and May (almost all booked up by now!), we are asking where we should go next to share about the mission? We need to move on from Southern California, and various possibilities may be opening up for us as we continue deputation: possibly the Kern area (near Bakersfield, CA), possibly the Dallas/Fort Worth area, possibly the Southeast, or maybe even the Midwest. Please pray that the Lord would lead us to the supporters that he has for us, and that he would provide for our needs as he sends on these errands.
Thank you all for your steadfast prayer and support. We could not do this without you. I hope you enjoy the new look for the website, and be checking up occasionally for when we might post more pictures or videos. May God richly bless you all!