You Can't Outgive God!

It’s been nearly a month since my last update, and for that, I apologize. Though we were in South Carolina for the first half of May, things were a bit hectic.

On Saturday, the 8th, I had the privilege of speaking at a ladies’ meeting in Roebuck, SC. My mom was able to join me on this particular occasion, and we had a wonderful time. The meeting was full of laughter and tears, stories, songs, and testimonies. All in all, it was a blessed time with sisters in the Lord.

During the next week, both of our vehicles were in the shop. Windy (our motorhome) was having her rear end replaced, and the CRV we recently purchased (who we decided to name “Stormy) was having a new engine put in. Yes, amid all the other chaos, our “new” vehicle decided to start having fits. Praise the Lord, it was still under warranty, and the dealership covered all the repairs. It was a bit disheartening to find ourselves with no home and no vehicle for a few days, but our families were more than happy to help out.

On the plus side, we were able to spend Mother’s Day with our moms. This was a blessing to them and us as it may be the last one for quite some time. We enjoyed church services and meals together on that special day.

On the 15th, we made our way to Ohio. We enjoyed services on Sunday with a couple of different churches in the Dayton area, then made our way to Xenia, OH, where we were allowed to park our motorhome for the week while we attended camp meeting services in Lebanon, OH.

The camp meeting was out of this world! There were morning and evening meetings, and while our bodies grew weary, our spirits were so refreshed. The preaching and singing were exactly what we needed to hear. The heart of the meeting was so precious. God met with us in a powerful way, and it was so terrific. We enjoyed fellowship with people from all over the country and were even reunited with friends we haven’t seen in years. Throughout the week, we had the opportunity to meet with several pastors and book some meetings.

As if all of that weren’t enough, on Tuesday afternoon during the camp meeting, we were able to take part in packing a truck delivering over 10 million tracts to Pakistan. We also helped out with boxing up over 160,000 tracts to be delivered all over the world. It was a long day, but having a part in getting the gospel into the hands of people all around the globe was a spiritual rush!

On Friday, after the camp meeting, we made our way to Canton, OH. The following morning, we joined Calvary Bible Baptist Church for their monthly breakfast, and Jason and I were both invited to give a short testimony or devotion. The breakfast was split into two groups: men and women, which made me a little nervous. Typically, when meeting a new church, I can stand in Jason’s shadow until I get a feel for my surroundings, but this situation didn’t afford me this luxury. As it turned out, I didn’t need it. From the moment I walked through the door, the ladies welcomed me with open arms. I instantly felt at ease, and we had a wonderful time of fellowship and laughter that morning.

Saturday evening, we had dinner with the pastor and his wife, along with a few other members of the church. Once again, we were made to feel comfortable and loved. It was a fun night sharing stories and getting to know one another.

On Sunday morning, we had a fantastic service. Jason was given the entire Sunday school hour to present our burden for Wales. Then, he was asked to give a brief testimony and preach in the morning hour. At the end of the service, the church voted to take us on for monthly support. (Oh, and I forgot to tell you that two other churches had contacted us during the week to tell us they had taken us on for support. Hallelujah!). We had a great time and hated to leave, but that afternoon, we headed to Diamond, OH, where we attended another sweet church for our evening meeting. Once again, we presented our burden, and once again, we were blessed by the many new prayer partners we found.

Tuesday, we attended a preacher’s fellowship in Lodi, OH, and had the privilege to share our hearts with the people there. It was another opportunity to worship with God’s people, and we enjoyed being able to participate.

Tonight (Wednesday), we’ll be back in Xenia, OH, at a local church we visited once before. We’re looking forward to reuniting with these precious people and worshiping the Lord with them.

As you can see, it’s been a busy month with a lot of different things going on, but it’s also been an excellent month. It’s been a joy to see our support creeping up at a steady rate. It’s been a blessing to meet and worship with so many of God’s children. And it has strengthened our faith to see God provide time and time again.

During the camp meeting, we felt the Lord’s leading to make a monetary pledge toward a worthy cause. With all the vehicle troubles and expenses we had faced in the last month alone, part of me balked at the idea of giving money away. But if I’ve learned anything through deputation, it is this—God always provides for His children! So, we made the pledge and gave the money, not sure how it would affect us in the near future. Within a week, God had brought in nearly double what we gave away. People we didn’t even know were putting $100 bills in our hands. It was amazing to watch God work, and it served to remind me that you can’t outgive our God.

I want to end with two special prayer requests. First, please pray we’ll be able to fill in the rest of our summer dates. Since we were planning to be in Wales for the summer months, we didn’t schedule any meetings. Now, we’re struggling to fill out the calendar. We need more meetings, and we need more support. So, please help us pray about this.

Also, please continue to pray for Wales and the missionaries working on this challenging field. Many things are going on behind the scenes that I am not at liberty to mention at this time, but they seriously impact the mission work in Wales. There are things we are praying about and decisions that need to be made. There are many factors involved in these situations, and we need God’s guidance and His working within the hearts of the people. Please, help us pray for Wales and all the missionaries and pastors working there.

Thank you so much for all your love, prayer, and support. Thank you for your emails and encouragement. Thank you for praying for these special requests. Thank you, in short, for allowing God to use you!