Hello to all of our family, friends, and followers! Does anyone ever wonder where the phrase “Dog Days” comes from? I actually had to look it up. Apparently it originated with the Greeks and refers when the dog star Cirus was brightest in the night sky. And what time of year was that? During the punishingly hot summer. And has this summer ever been punishing in Texas! I believe East Texas has logged over 40 100-degree days this summer including a record breaking 107 degree day. All of this with very little rain has resulted in drought-like conditions. Absolutely brutal. I don’t know how anyone survived here before air conditioning! Anyways, let me recap the last couple of months and share the exciting news for our next adventure this fall.
Amy’s year-in-travel has looked a lot like mine last year. She’s been in and out of town several times for both ministry and personal reasons. She and Savana (more on her later) spent some time in the Dominican Republic in April helping to lead a DTS (Discipleship Training School) outreach. In case you’re wondering how I survived her absence, we were all blessed to have aunt Lisa visit for a couple of weeks to help with the logistics of running the household. So thank you…thank you…thank you to my sweet sister!
As Amy and Savana returned they hit the ground running, with Savana finishing the school year and Amy and I preparing for one of the biggest events our family had yet celebrated…Nolan’s graduation from Christian Heritage School! What a special time it was to have Grammie and Amy’s sister’s family visit and celebrate with us. We soon after travelled to Michigan to further celebrate Nolan with family and friends at his open house. What fun it was to see the outpouring of love for him and our family! If you’re reading this and you were there, we’re so glad you joined us!
Nolan, Landon and I quickly turned around back to Texas and back to work, while Amy stayed in Michigan with the rest of the kids so they could spend a few more days with Savana before she headed to college. Wait a minute…COLLEGE? I said I’d have more about Savana and her whirlwind year…and a dream come true! Her next adventure was to join a group of high schoolers at Hillsdale College and set out for England and France to take a class about Winston Churchill and WWII. And if y’all know anything about Savana, France is and has been her “thing” for quite awhile. She had the time of her life experiencing Europe, and she may or may not already want to live there. I don’t think any of us were surprised.
Shortly after Amy returned to Texas, she turned right around back to Michigan (I told you she travelled A LOT) for a dear friend’s wedding and to retrieve Savana from her globetrotting, before heading back to Texas. So we all settled in together for our busiest season of the year, right? Nope. True to this year’s form, Amy (this time with Nolan) got to serve a group of teenagers for a week in July on outreach to New Orleans by cooking for them.
So now we find ourselves just a matter of weeks from the completion of staffing the DTS lecture phase, and it has been CRAZY busy! Now that the kids have started school again, another layer of logistical maneuvering has been added to our plates. But the Lord is faithful, and the answers and provision and energy are always there for us.
Now for the BIG news for this fall…wait for it…wait for it…Amy and I (along with our kids, minus Nolan) will be leading a DTS outreach team to Lebanon for a month and then to Bemidji, Minnesota for two weeks! We’re so excited to engage with people in the Sidon and Beirut region and to share the Gospel and love of Jesus through community outreach, education and skills development, food distribution, children’s ministry, and general relationship building with refugees! Our time in Minnesota will primarily be devoted to facilitating a Vacation Bible School at a small church on the Leech Lake Reservation. Please believe with us for safety, favor, open doors, and open hands as the Lord uses us for His purposes and His glory!
As usual, we appreciate all of the prayer we can get as we continue to disciple the DTS students through the remainder of the lecture phase and outreach. If you have any questions at all or want to learn more about what the Lord has done, is doing, future plans (as far as we know) for our family, or how you can partner with us, we encourage you to reach out to us! We love y’all…God Bless!
Neil