It is about time for an update. Let me start by saying that these blog updates will begin to be more regular and less sporadic. I should really be better at writing these than I am, so I will get better. I mean, I can’t be worse, can I?

I do want to share what is new with us.

Since January we have been living in Silsbee, TX. There is a missionary residence here that has been made available to us, and it has been such a blessing. I have some roots in Silsbee since my mom, Carol, grew up here and all of her side of the family is right here in this area. This is also where we always came when my parents were with the IMB and we took a furlough. So, I have lived in Silsbee, actually in this very house on 3 other occasions (as a kid at ages 7, 10, and 14) for a few months each time. Being in this area is a blessing because of being so close to much of my family, but also, we are only a little more than an hour from Baytown and most of Becky’s family. So, we are enjoying the closeness to this part of our family while we can. In our married life, we have never lived this close to them.

At the start of the semester, we were able to get Hannah enrolled in the Preschool at the FBC here in town. She has been loving going to school, she loves her teachers and her classmates. It has been really good for us all, but Becky admits she is ready for summer break to have her back home with her in the mornings.

An unexpected blessing that we received after moving here has to do with time. When we moved in back in January, we were only going to be able to stay until the end of April, because the house was already promised starting in May to another missionary couple. But then we received word that their plans had changed, so we would be able to stay through the end of the summer and this was a huge relief for us to know we weren’t going to have to move again so quickly, especially since we aren’t moving to Ecuador just yet.

So this is all good, we see God taking care of us, but we are not in Ecuador yet. We are still fundraising and we still see his hand moving us there. We are hoping that the time for the big move will be soon. One opportunity that has been opened while we wait is for me to serve as a summer youth minister. I am very excited about the chance to work with FBC Kountze (which is only 15 minutes from Silsbee). I will be working with their young people this summer, Lord willing. I have deep ties with this church as well, since this is the church where my Dad was serving when they left for the mission field back in 1987. I am really getting a kick out of all the people coming up to me to tell me that they have known me since I was only about knee high. I was three years old when we left back then. So, I am looking forward to working with the youth during these next few months, as we are still getting our funding together. The church is very supportive of our calling and have been a great blessing to us already. I am just glad to serve the Lord and his church. I will be glad to serve the next few months here in Kountze, as we still prepare to serve in Ecuador.

Please pray for us in the days ahead, and if you haven’t had the opportunity to join our support team, please consider doing so. You may follow this link here: Global Outreach

 

In Christ,

John