Second Quarter 2017

“Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise…” (Psalm 48:1)

Over and over again, we are amazed at our God and His blessing and provision.So many times in the past few months we have seen how when we step out in faith and do what we sense Him leading us to do, even when we can’t see how it will be accomplished, He provides what is needed. Everything from very necessary repairs to our old RV,(which is our main means of transportation for bookings in North America)to the means to pay for the production of materials, God provides.He provides through other people who also are responding to God’s leading in their lives. Without them, this work would be impossible. We are so grateful for the people who willingly and generously share in this work with us, through their prayers, verbal encouragement and finances.

For a year or so we have been working on establishing an advisory/accountability board to help us in this work. We, together with our Mission (MMF), felt the need to have a local committee to whom we are accountable and to whom we can go for advice, etc. After much prayer, God has sent us just the right people. Their support and encouragement has already been a great blessing to us. We look forward to working with them for a long time to come.

Many miles have been traveled in the last few months. In March and April we spent time in Paraguay and Bolivia. It was such a joy to have our son, Andrew, and his fiancée, Deanna Wiebe, with us. They were a definite hit with the youth, and many requested that they come with us again on our next visit. We also had the privilege of having David Penner from our advisory board join us on the trip. He had a keen interest in seeing how things worked when we were “on tour” and we gave him a good taste of reality! It can be exhausting and intense, but the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices. We know God is at work in the Low German Mennonite communities all over the world, and we were blessed to see it. The need for more resources and workers was impressed upon our hearts again. There is so much spiritual hunger out there, and we have the Bread of Life that can satisfy that hunger. How can we not rededicate ourselves again to increase our efforts to share that Bread with them?

In May,we held a Missions Report/Fundraising event at our church. A huge thank you goes out to all those who volunteered time and energy to make it happen. Our church’s Mission Board, the new advisory board, and countless other volunteers did a great job. Thank you, too, to all those who came and blessed us with your financial support.

We can finally report that some of our long awaited projects have been completed. The words only edition of the Low German songbook (Sinjt Froo!) and the children’s devotional book (Jieda Dach met Jesus) have been available for a little while, and they have generated a lot of interest. But the big news for us is that our latest English CD, titled “Room in the Family”,is now available for sale. We have been working on this project for two full years, and we are glad that it was completed in time for our busy summer season.

Amid all the travels, and translation work, we have some excitement of a different kind happening in our family. We are proud to announce that on June 3, 2017, we received our first ever daughter! Andrew and Deanna’s wedding was beautiful, and we couldn’t be happier for them. They are so well suited to each other, and she just “fits” in our family and in the ministry. Our family is definitely “more complete” with her in it!

Three weeks after their wedding, Andrew and Deanna blessed us, and all of La Crete, by joining us for the North Country Gospel Jamboree. We spent three lovely days there, singing and mingling with the attendees, touching base with many supporters and friends, and meeting many fellow servants of the Lord. We always feel when we leave an event like that, that we have been blessed more than we could possibly have blessed others!God was really at work at that festival, and it was a joy to be a part of it!

Very soon now, August 11, to be exact, we are expecting another daughter! Our second son, Jason’s wedding is planned for that day and we are looking forward to it with great anticipation. Teya is such a joy to us and we are blessed that she has chosen to join our family.

As for the rest of the summer, we have several more short trips planned, a few local events and the continuing work of translating devotionals and Sunday School materials. The Low German Media Conference is coming up in September, along with a ministry trip to Mexico, which is still in the planning stage. As always, your prayers are very much needed and appreciated.

Praise God for:
* Very generous supporters.
* His unfailing love and strength.
* The privilege of being involved in this ministry.
* A wonderfully supportive home church.
* TheLow German Ministry Prayer team who faithfully lifts us up in prayer.

Pray for:
* Andrew and Jason as they adjust to their new lives as husbands.
* The rest of us as we adjust to doing more of the ministry without them.
* Protection in our travels.