Doors of Opportunity

The beginning of a new year holds so many adventures. Of course there will be hardships and downs to go along with the ups in our lives. But I choose to see the glass half full. I choose to see the positive things that come along and not dwell on the negative. So what positive things are presenting themselves as possibilities for 2011? I can't wait to tell you.

We are finishing up our Intro to Panorama this month. The holiday busyness got in the way of our finishing in December. We are meeting with the Direct Mission Sending Council in a couple of weeks to make the transition from the inquirer stage to candidate stage. We start the Advanced Panorama in February and should be finishing it up in June or early July.  We will be working on building our advocacy teams and prayer support teams. We will also need to begin working on financial support during the next several months and beyond.

We will be going to San Angelo, Texas in March for a week long training with Water for All International. At first we thought John was going alone but they asked me to go as well. I am really excited to be included. It makes sense that we get to know each other because it will be a team effort for our family, not just John.

John has been searching the Internet for sources on making parts of the well on his own, like the pump. He is learning the many different ways you can make them. He has made a few different models in the garage. Jonathan has been quick to volunteer to try them out and pump the water out of buckets.

The Water for Christ team has a couple of people going to Niger this month to do some ground work in that area. They want to see what they are dealing with and how they need to go about gathering the resources needed for the wells there. Then they will make plans to go back over there in teams to drill some wells.

We may have the opportunity to go with Water for All International to Bolivia for part of the summer to work with them drilling wells there. They have asked us to be a part of that if we are able. Right now I don't see the provision for our bills and the trip. But we trust that if God wants us to do this, HE will keep the doors open and provide the provisions we need to do it. We would be thrilled to have the chance to go for whatever length of time provision is provided for. They will be there from June through August.

A few months ago we started a monthly prayer meeting in our home for The Water for Christ ministry. We hold that every third Thursday of the month. Anyone is welcome to join us that wants to be a part of praying for this water drilling ministry.

John and I are working on building prayer teams. That is going to be one of our main goals in the months to follow. Those teams are something we will continue to build all throughout our ministry. If you would like to be a part of that, please join us. There is nothing like prayer. We will keep in contact with the lead person of each team and allow them to share the information with the others. We would like for those teams to share their prayer concerns with us so that we can pray for them, too. At the bottom of this post, on our newsletters and on our Partner With Us page you will find a list of updated prayer needs. Please continue to lift those up. --Terri

     Just for fun: Jonathan staged this pose the day they were out drilling.

Specific Prayer Request

• Pray a hedge of protection around each of us. Spiritual warfare is very real.
• Pray for financial provision on upcoming training and mission trips throughout the year.
• Pray that all debt (car debt, student loans & medical bills) are able to be paid off quickly. The sell of the land would take care of a great deal.
• Pray for provisions for downsizing our income again as John plans to move into a day position that is a lot less pay.
• Pray for our 23 year old daughter as she continues to seek God's direction for her life.
• Pray for our 18 year old son that he will find a way to be self sufficient.
• Pray for our younger two children, ages 11 and 9, as they also prepare to serve with us.

Goals of Transformation in 2011

The theme for our church for 2011 is Transformed Along The Way. As followers of The Jesus Way, we are in a process of being spiritually formed, or more accurately described as transformation. Throughout the year Dr. Wiles will teach on six areas in our lives. Trust, Learn, Share, Love, Obey and Worship. I am so looking forward to seeing God move me closer to Him in these areas and how He does it.

My husband and I have been talking about this and personal goals for our family. We have discussed how we feel God calling us to be better stewards of our money and our possessions. I mentioned that we should take it a step further and include our time. This past year has been filled with many things that have shaped our desires for the coming year and beyond. While we haven't made huge strides in all directions, we have made some and at the same time seen where we need to make others.

We have learned to live on half the income we were making when the year started. It was a long hard struggle. But we came to realize possessions didn't make us happy or give us fulfillment in our lives. We had learned to live within the means we were accustomed to by the amount of money brought in. It seems like the more money a person makes the more they spend. We were not the exception to that rule. Soon we will have to get used to making even less when he changes positions at work to a lower paying one. He will have more time to live his life instead of it being all about work. So we are gaining more even though we will be making less. Today's world may find that hard to believe. We would rather him be a part of our lives and have less money than have more money and never see him.

The main thing that God is speaking to me about is my personal walk with Him. I want to grow closer to Him each day by making sure I start my day with Him. That I earnestly seek Him throughout my day. That I am sensitive to the Spirit's leading to pray, for my family and others that He lays on my heart at any given moment. I want to hear that still small voice ever so clearly and have Him stir my heart to action. I want to mirror that for my children and give them that example early in their lives so that they might have that closer walk with Him now and not wait till they are 45 years old.

We are beginning a new phase in our mission training. We will be starting the Advanced Panorama in February. We are so excited. This month we will meet with the Direct Mission Sending Council to talk about our next steps of being qualified to be sent. My hubby will be going on a week long water drilling training in March with Water for All International. The process of training is still very involved and we have no way of knowing how long it will take to get to the point God would have us be before we are sent. But God knows and we will be faithful to keep moving forward in whatever training He places before us. We feel one of the things we must focus on is gathering Prayer Teams across the globe to pray for our ministry. We feel that above all, prayer is key.

Another goal I have is my writing. I want to set aside time each day to do some kind of writing, be it on here or in a journal or working on a novel. I also want to set aside time to do writing exercises and read some of the great books on the craft of writing. I know God didn't give me the desire to write without a purpose. He has a purpose for my writing even if it isn't to be published. I am also getting more into doing reviews for some wonderful writers. God is speaking to me through those novels. It gives me an opportunity to recommend some great works to others so that His message through them can be heard.

I take my responsibility as wife and mother seriously. Not as seriously as I should, at times. I have let life drag me down and that is no excuse whatsoever. I am ashamed of how I have failed my family. But God gives us second chances and I am so grateful for that. Since it seems that I am not supposed to work outside the home at this time (when he goes back to days) then HE must want me to put more focus on the things in my home. I want to do a better job with my household responsibilities, with homeschooling, with teaching my children how to live The Jesus Way and being a better example of the fruit of the Spirit in my everyday life. Those are some challenging things but I know He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. The one that wants me to stumble cannot have victory over me because I have victory in Christ Jesus.

My weight is a huge issue, no pun intended. OK. Maybe it was. I am very upset with myself right now because I have let myself gain 35 pounds in almost 3 years. I had lost 26 pounds 3 years ago. And now I weigh even more than before. My highest non-pregnant weight. As we look towards and train for overseas cross-cultural work we have talked about "getting in shape". And I just keep getting more OUT OF SHAPE! I know part of the problem is my thyroid but mostly it is my eating habits. So that is another way I want to be transformed this year, eating smaller portions, eating healthier, exercising, and dropping this weight once and for all. I know I will be happier. I just have to do it.

I hope that you will seek His transformations in your life in 2011. Please keep us in your prayers as we seek that in our lives. 

Until next time...blessings to you.

Low Cost Water Well Drilling

God has placed this water well drilling ministry on John's heart with such a passion. He started doing this local training before he was able to go and train with the Water for All International ministry. And after that time he has continued to take groups out to this local area and practice drilling more wells to get the technique down better. 

Let me share a few pictures of the test water well drilling that John and our son Jonathan have been a part of. In these pictures the guys from Water for All International were there working with them and showing them how to do it.

Until next time...blessings to you.