July July July

“And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.” 1 Chronicles 17:2
Mommy has been diving into Chronicles lately and this verse stood out to her (I know, because when a verse stands out to her, she scribbles it all over her arm). David felt a burden, and even though God would tell him that the burden would not be his to claim – this is still touched my heart with where we are at in our process. God will allow us to press into our burdens or put us on a path toward a different call, but as long as we are following our hearts, God will always be with us.
Some exciting news and some big prayer requests!
We are working on a Partnership flyer/pamphlet, so hopefully I will be able to share that with you soon!
Happy Summer! It is hard to believe it’s already July, but I was definitely ready for it. I love being outside – although I am less fond of fireworks and what people call “The 4th of July.” It’s kind of scary.

The North Pacific Conference (now the Pacific Northwest Conference) Annual Meeting was somewhat of a disappointment for us. Daddy had some printing issues before we left and just didn’t have the resources we wanted. But there was also a concerning lack of discussion surrounding international ministry. We made several connections, but had hoped for a more successful weekend. However, I did make a good friend who is my age and is also going to be a big brother in December! We shared toys and had a lot of fun.

Mommy had the opportunity to preach at the end of May on how we are all called to be missionaries whether in our homes, our neighborhoods, our cities, or in our world and how each of those callings is equally as important as another. It was pretty great, but I don’t really like her being up front for so long. I would rather she stay with me. Anyway, you can listen or download here (http://www.sermoncloud.com/cedarcreek/go–and/).

We had a wonderful dinner with some of the Pacific Northwest Conference’s staff where we discussed our frustrations with the lack of talk surrounding international mission and ministries, fundraising, and possible solutions. Greg Yee, our conference superintendent, gave us excellent advice and suggested that we visit the Covenant Churches in Hawaii as they are strong mission supporters, but often do not feel connected to the conference or to the denomination. We have emails sent off and hope to be in contact with them this month. I got to run around a lot and play with my new friend Dave.

June proved to be a month of much excitement as we had the opportunity to meet with the missions team from Evergreen Covenant Church on Mercer Island and talk a little about our call to Oaxaca. After meeting with us, we all spent a week in prayer about our potential partnership and decided to support us both financially and prayerfully. We are so excited and grateful for their generosity – their support has bumped us up to just under 30% pledged! We are almost a third of the way there!!!

We heard back from two other churches in June and met with one of those last week. They have asked for the month of July to make a decision concerning partnering with us. Please pray for their team as they consider what is best for their church and us within God’s will. This week we have the opportunity to meet with another church about partnership. Please pray that the meeting goes smoothly and that we would be able to discern what our relationship will look like in the future.

We have talked briefly with two churches in Portland, and hope to hear more from them in the next several weeks. We also have the opportunity to possibly visit a church in Eastern Washington, while they cannot support us as a congregation, they have invited us to come and talk about our call. Even if no financial support comes from the visit, we feel it is an important one to make. We have several friends in Spokane who have suggested we visit their churches, so we might just make an Eastern Washington tour later this Summer.

Me with my Godfather! We are throwing rocks and puddle jumping, important business.

Daddy has been busy at work and hasn’t had much time for typical Daddy projects, but we do have a new batch of soap curing on top of the fridge and a new homemade screen door. I don’t really like the screen door – it means when the big door is open I can’t just run outside. Mommy has also been busy at work, as well as busy with her school schedule. She aced her first Summer course and will begin her next one this following week. My sibling makes sudden and strange appearances, like last Sunday when Baby decided to visibly dance in mommy’s tummy followed by Monday when Baby disappeared and there was not even a bump to be seen. Mommy has an appointment this week, please pray that baby continues to grow well!

The last thing on our hearts is our struggle with our timeline. Financial support aside, we are looking at a very interesting year with Baby due in December, our mentors (Erika & Nils Clauson) leaving for homestay next May, and wanting to be supportive of our home church (Cedarcreek) next Summer as they deal with several things. Please pray for us as we listen to the Holy Spirit’s leading in this.

Thank you all so much for your continued support during this process! We have been blessed immensely by individuals taking up our cause. We are so grateful for each of you and hope to have more updates for you soon. Please continue to let us know how we can pray for you as you pray for us!

Love,
Rory
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Report This Post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *