Winter Update 2019
Big News!
We have been a little quiet the past few months as we have been focusing on getting through classes, ministry obligations, and trying to take care of our family. The reason being that we are expecting another little one! And if you remember Kelsey’s pregnancy with Simeon, you’ll recall that it was not an easy one. Kelsey has hyperemesis gradivarum again this go around. She is coming out of the first trimester now and we are hoping it doesn’t last all 9 months like it did the first time, though we are trusting the Lord with this if it does. We would appreciate your prayers for Kelsey’s and the baby’s health and safety throughout the rest of the pregnancy and for a healthy delivery (due June 24th).
One highlight from this past semester had to be our Culture and Language Acquisition Practicum course where the teachers simulated 13 weeks of what it would be like when we start out in the tribe learning a new culture and language. Boy was it tough! But so rewarding. We learned and grew a lot through all that the Lord, our fellow classmates, and our “consultant” teachers taught us. We truly felt the highs and lows of this course deeply and feel a lot more prepared for our ministry overseas.
Speaking of our overseas ministry, we have spent this semester prayerfully considering both the fields of the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. After discussing our family values and spiritual giftings, we believe the Lord is still leading us to PNG. We hope and pray that God would use us in whatever capacity in this ministry to glorify and honor Him through making His name known among the unreached.
We graduate from training on April 4th and are still deciding on if we should stay in MO so Nathan can take a summer tech course on campus until after the baby is born or if we should move to AR after graduation and deliver the baby there. We would love your prayers for wisdom and guidance in this decision.
Either way, we will be moving back to central Arkansas at some point after graduation to begin full-time Ministry Partnership Development. This is a huge first step in our ministry and we would love prayer that the Lord would raise up a strong group of believers who will “hold our ropes.”
“I will go down into the pit, if you will hold the ropes.” - William Carey, missionary to India
Celebrating Simeon’s first birthday on Oct 9th with sweet friends, family, and fun minute-to-win-it games!
Nathan and our team used all of the Tomo (a simulated tribal people group) culture and language that we learned during our Culture and Language Practicum course to develop and present a Bible lesson over Genesis 3:14-19. It was tailored well to this fictitious people group so that they could truly understand and be impacted by God’s Word, just like what we hope to do in PNG!