First of all, thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for the country of Bolivia. I was able to talk with some of my friends in Bolivia over the holidays and they said things seem to have calmed down for the time being. There isn't much happening there at the present, although the feelings of those involved haven't changed. Many of my friends believe that things will continue to remain calm for the next couple of months, until Carnaval, which is at the end of February. That tends to be a rather emotional time anyway so it could once again stir up the agitation buried during the holidays. Please continue to pray for everyone there. God is in control and His timing is perfect.
Speaking of God's timing...I continue to wait and pray that my condominium in North Carolina would sell. I haven't been told anything recently. I will try to contact the Realtor to see if there has been any interest within the last month or so. The last thing I heard was that they were going to be showing it to someone, but that has been some time now so I assume it was not the right person to buy it. Please continue to pray for that situation as well. I will keep you posted as I hear bits and pieces.
Thank you too for all who have been praying for and asking about Grandpa Pickles. He has been doing well although having a great deal of pain. The doctor recently ordered an x-ray to see how things were healing. It appears that the bone is healing quite well, but they determined that the screw is loose. They are going to need to go back in again later this week in order to correct it. This is believed to be the cause of a great deal of his pain. I will let you know how the surgery goes once I find out more myself.
Christmas proved to be a wonderfully refreshing time with my family. Janet and Rick and Emily, Christopher, and Wesley were all home. We celebrated Christmas on the 26th as is customary for us, then we left on the 27th to drive to Abingdon. We were able to be there for several days and all of us agree that we saw almost everyone we know while we were there...friends from Emory, Abingdon Bible Church, and babysitting days! All in all we had a great time together.
New Year's was a lot of fun as well. We actually stayed up until midnight (even though my dad said he wasn't going to make it that late). We had spend most of the day driving back from Abingdon, with a quick stop in Bedford, VA to visit my uncle. Emily, Christopher, and Wesley and returned to North Carolina so it was just Janet, Rick, Mom, Dad, and I. We had a nice dinner and watched a movie. It was great fun and meant that we didn't go to bed too late. One sad bit of news that we received on New Year's Day was that my aunt (my mom's sister-in-law) passed away. She has had several health issues recently, but her passing was still rather sudden. The funeral was on January 5. It is a sad time to lose a loved one and she will be greatly missed, but it is comforting to know that she is in a much better place!
On January 5, I joined Janet and Rick on their return to Texas. I will be here with them for about 2 weeks I am getting to meet many of Janet's students as well as hear a symphony concert that she has on Friday night. I will also get to do some shopping and a few tourist type activities. On Sunday, Janet has been able to make arrangements for me to speak to her church during the service in the morning. This will be a great opportunity to share about God's heart for the world. Of course, given the fact that I also still need to raise about $700 more per month, I'm praying that God will lead a few people in that direction.
I feel that this up-date contains quite a few prayer requests! Although that is why I am sharing them with you, I don't want you to miss the things that I am so thankful for today. Praise the Lord for giving me the strength to finish my classes last semester. I don't have any grades to report yet, but I'll let you know when I do. Praise Him also for the great time I was able to have with my family over Christmas, including our chance to visit friends we haven't seen in quite some time. Also, praise the Lord for bringing Janet, Rick, and me safely to Texas and for allowing me this time to spend with them. So far it has been great! Finally, praise God for continuing to teach me new things about Himself each day!
Well, I think this entry should keep you busy for quite some time! Sorry it is a long one! However, I do appreciate your prayers and look forward to our continued partnership this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment