Its been a while since we wrote, but
its not because the Lord has not been working among us at New Wine.
First, we want to express our thanks for those who were praying for
Jenny, our oldest daughter who lives in Nashville. She is now fully
recovered from a very bad and scarey staph infection that put her in
the hospital for over a week. We were all once again reminded how
very fragile this life is and count every day with each other as a
gift.
We are continuing to ask the Lord to give us opportunities to meet new people and, if given the chance, to share about our faith. As I had asked last time that I would specifically have a chance for "contact work", the Lord gave me a chance to catch up with the Revive Flint door-to-door prayer ministry that came to my home town of Flushing just after I wrote. I had a great morning of ministry door-to-door and for me it was a direct answer to my prayer request.
Last month I also was able to fulfill
my hope to spend time outdoors this year by going on an all day hike
on a Michigan nature trail. Five hours and 11 miles later, Jim
Smith, a member of New Wine, and I completed a great hike on an old
railroad bed trail. We had a perfect day and even better time of
great conversation. We hope to add to our numbers on other such
day-long hikes over the summer as Jim prepares to tackle another 4
day trek on the Appalachian Trail with his son this Fall. (Contact
me if you want to join us!)
We just said our good-byes and helped
the Robinson family pack up their earthly possessions and make the
move to a new job in New Bern, North Carolina. We have heard that
they have made it there safely. We feel good in knowing we sent them
off with our blessing and better equipped to be Jesus people and
mission-minded followers of Christ in a new community where people
need to know the Lord. The risk of building a church that focuses on
authentic intentional relationships is that when someone leaves it
leaves a great hole. The "short and momentary sadness" is
worth the cost in order to experience a depth of fellowship and the
quality of love that Christ wants for His people. I think we can say
many of us went "deep" and we are blessed because we did.
Our blessing also took on another form
this month. At the first of June, for the first time since we
started New Wine in 2005 there was not enough money in our account to
cover all the expenses. This year the Trustees had extended, in a
step of faith, the compensation afforded Deb and I to match more
closely our increasing living expenses by about $1000 more a month.
Just as the leaders readjusted our compensation down, we received an
unexpected donation of $3000 in the mail. What was amazing is that
this gift was not from one of our members, or from someone who was
particularly aware of our need, but from a friend of the ministry
from of all places - OHIO! :) The Lord once again showed us how
faithful He is in our time of need!
Pray that over the next few months the Lord will clearly guide and direct us as we enter a new season of ministry at New Wine. We really need your prayer for numerical growth and resources. We seriously covet your prayers. Please be intentional and walk with us over the next few months as you keep our needs before Jehovah Jireh, Our Provider.
