Prayer letter - August 10, 2009

Monday, August 10, 2009

Dear friends,

The past month has been super full! We have conducted our annual training for Servant Partners here in Los Angeles, bought a home and moved in (!), and celebrated Emily’s first birthday. Read on for more details!


Servant Partners GUTS training

In my last prayer letter I asked you to pray for our GUTS training, July 18 to 25. That first week went fabulously well. The candidates have now gone to Manila, Philippines for five more weeks of training among the poor in the slums. Please keep praying for them in Manila!

I facilitated the training throughout the week, and did about 15 hours of the teaching (there were other trainers as well). I am very excited about this group of new missionaries, and the eagerness with which they are giving themselves to the training and to the work ahead. We had a fabulous time getting to know each other and building our relationships. By the end of the first week of the training, they were enjoying their new friendships so much that they were already talking about how great it would be if they could all be on the same team on the field. I told them with a smile, that’s why the training is six weeks long instead of one – long enough to start to get on each others’ nerves! :^) They are a wonderful group of people and I’m so glad each of them is part of our Servant Partners’ staff team.

I would also appreciate your prayers as I have four more speaking engagements / teachings in the coming month – two for Servant Partners, one for our church here in Long Beach, and one for a supporting church. Thank you for praying for my preparation, and that God would bless and use each teaching for his purposes.


We bought a house!

For the first time in our lives we bought a home. We got a great deal on a foreclosure right here in North Long Beach, less than two miles from our church. Our mortgage is cheaper than our rent was at the apartment, so financially it works well. We moved in a week ago, and we really like it!

Please leave a comment if you would like our new address, and do not have it yet.

One reason why we are excited about the home is to have a greater degree of stability with our neighbors. Homeowners move too, but there is even more turnover in apartments. It was sometimes frustrating, in our apartment, to begin to get to know our neighbors, only to have them move on after a couple of months. We hope to build many long term relationships with our neighbors at our house, Lord willing for years to come. In this first week we have started getting to know a few of our new neighbors. We also plan to begin leading a small group Bible study in the Fall based out of our home, and are very excited about being able to invite our neighbors to it, and to our church, as we get to know them. PLEASE PRAY for us as we settle into this home and neighborhood, that we would be a light and the presence of God’s kingdom in this community.

God is also at work in our real estate agent who helped us get the house. She is a Buddhist Vietnamese American. As we have told her about our life, she expressed interest in learning more about Jesus. We gave her a Bible and she has started reading it and asking us questions. We explained the kind of work we do in Servant Partners, and she told us that we should send Servant Partners people to Vietnam because people there are becoming Christians! So it seems that she is very open to the gospel. Please pray for her to come to faith.


Family Update

Emily turned one on July 28! She’s just starting to walk.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and our ministry. We are grateful to be able to share our pilgrimage with you, and are always happy to hear from you!

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

Emily's first birthday party

Emily Faith turned one on July 28! Happy birthday Emily!! Here are some pictures of the birthday girl, her big sister, and mommy and daddy at her birthday party. Her favorite gift was this little wagon in which she sits, and it is so adorable when her big sister pulls her around in it!