And now it is March ....

When we last left our hero's  Richard was just about to undergo knee replacement surgery on his right knee. Since then there have been many adjustments to living. I pondered showing you the progression from  knee elevation & walker and ice packs, TO a cane and smaller ice packs & knee elevation TO walking freely but carefully, and driving to his own PT appointments. We "walked" this out through the Thanksgiving-Christmas-NewYear's holidays. We have met many wonderful servants along the way who have helped us, encouraged us, answered our many questions, did gift shopping for us and cooked meals for us. It is an amazing journey. We are not quite at the end of the valley but we can see the light. The picture above is the New Year with Daniel and Melanie visiting from UK and Nick & Abby (local to us). Their coming around us helped us to turn a corner and we thank Father God for them. We are looking for what God has for us next as Richard heals.
PS I am so grateful that I only had to shovel snow once, and just a few inches at that!

Catching Up

 

Expect the unexpected; when you walk with the Lord you don't get bored; Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world....there are so many words and "sayings" that help us as we walk through life on this earth. There are also many promises in His Word that encourage us with the truth of His Love, His Presence and His Power. Richard and I have been laboring to rest in His truth!

In less than 2 weeks Richard will have his first knee replacement surgery. In mid September he had surgery to remove the screws from when he broke his knee 20 years ago. After some initial bumps the recovery process went pretty well. Then we got a call from a niece that his sister Barbara was declining. So we hastily put together a trip to see her in Colorado. It was a challenging time with some surprising opportunities and heartaches. Now we are back, recovering and pushing through the pre-op requirements. We are trusting that Father God is doing what He needs to in others & us so we can return to actively serving Him in the field of His choice.

We appreciate your prayers as we press on to the goal (Phil 3:14) and victory prize through the anointing of Jesus. We believe GOD IS ABLE!

New School Year Approaches

 A lot has happened over the summer months for our team! There are some new additions to our team, for which we are grateful to God and new areas being reached. 

The above map shows the area we reach out to and the schools being reached by our current team. We are all looking forward to new student outreaches, welcome dinners,parties, picnics, and tabling activities. We are currently in 40 days of prayer with our prayer partners and supporters to soften the ground for us.
Please join us in praying for good contacts, favor with university/college administrations, and volunteers to come alongside and join in the harvest.

Where did Spring go?

 Visiting one of our favorite & delicious places, we noticed some changes (there is a building missing!).

 We enjoyed visiting the "ladies" that help provide the delicious ice cream!

 We are enjoying a longer than usual spring in VA, but it is coming to an end here.

 We were blessed to spend a very full, wet, and fun week in CT during May. We got to visit some of our favorite people and places. We were enjoying ourselves so much we often forgot to take pictures...duh... So not all our fun times and people and places made it to this blog.

 Of course we spent an evening at ICF! Richard got to teach and even Carol said a few words of encouragement.

 It is such a blessing to see how God & the Alumbaughs are continuing the ministry at UConn with faithful and loving volunteers! We praise God for you all!!!

Special Friends

ICF blessings!

We spent our last evening in this wonderful place of peace with special friends. Kissed by God!

Volunteer Training

 The DC Regional Team came together in February to offer training to those interested in reaching out to international students.

We were blessed by good attendance at a generous local church where one of our team is now working as staff.

 We are praying that the seeds sown will take root and lead to some volunteers for outreach at Northern Virginia Community College Loudoun campus.

Behind the Scenes

December and January is the season for behind the scenes work and prayer. Time to contact pastors, formerly interested volunteers & students. Time to pray for God's plan for the up coming season of Conversation Cafe. We are currently engaged in 40 days of prayer for the new semester with our DC Region team. Conversation Cafe begins again in February. We are looking forward to it. We have a volunteer training event for our team in Fairfax on February 9th. Hopefully there will be good attendance and some new beginnings for our work at NOVA Loudoun (Northern Virginia Community College=NOVA.). Please join us in praying for God to bring His people to work in this harvest field.

The Battle continues ...

This semester has been an adventure! We have had great attendance at Conversation Cafe. In September we had a lovely dinner night, in an American host home, followed by English practice in discusing American life style or Bible. Students could choose which option to attend. Of the 11 students attending, 9 chose the Bible option, much to our delight!

Conversation Cafe

Conversation Cafe

 While attendance at Conversation Cafe continues to bless us, the dinners in October &  November  were cancelled due to weather and other issues. A bit disappointing after such a great start.

Dinner Night English Practice with the Bible

Dinner Night English Practice American Culture

                                                                                       

The semester for the English classes ends in two weeks. So we will continue to pray and connect with students that we know live "closer" to us.