September 4, 2004
Our Anniversary
9/9/04
Today is our 200th month wedding anniversary! Since we got a late start on marriage and weren't sure we would make it to 50 years, we decided to celebrate each month. Often the celebration has been very limited, and even some of the yearly anniversaries haven't been much of a celebration (last January 9th we were just flying in to Portland after being stranded in Minneapolis for 4 days and the one before Ben and I were in Singapore and Dave and Wil were in Manila!) but tonight Dave and I are going out to a Swiss restaurant to commemorate our fabulous holiday in Switzerland last summer. Many of our photos taken there look like the came off of a calendar, so we will put some up on the website to share with you.
Posted by David at 12:48 AM
September 2, 2004
September Prayer Bulletin
Dear Team,
Thank you for your prayers. It took four days to get the van registered for another year, but I managed it before the end of the month. The boxes came from FedEx and Wil can now use the Playstation 2! He seems happy at school and back with his ‘mates.’ First encounters with friends are sometimes difficult, but each time we see them it gets easier.
Our first opportunity to work with other PMA staff came on August 21st when Karen and I along with four PMA colleagues conducted a Missions Involvement Seminar at Cosmopolitan Church. This is a large, influential but traditional church in downtown Manila. Thirty of the church’s leaders attended and responded very positively to our teaching by setting goals to begin cross-cultural ministry in nearly all of their existing outreach programs. Pray for follow through and the realization of their action plans.
On Sept. 5 we will both be sharing things we have learned over the past two years in both the English and Tagalog services at Faith Fellowship, the church we have been attending here in Manila. It won’t be easy, but we sense that the Lord wants us to do this. Pray that the Lord will give us the right words to say and the ability to share things, some of which are still very painful.
On Sept. 11 PMA is sponsoring the third annual, Bless the Muslims, day of prayer and fasting in several locations around the country. Pray for last minute arrangements and for good attendance. This year we will be seeking to raise funds to bless several Muslim communities by giving food baskets to some 600 families.
Sept. 14th will have us speaking at the weekly OMF prayer meeting. We enjoy the opportunity to pray with our fellow OMFers that live here on the east side of the city, mostly Faith Academy teachers and staff. And early in October PMA is conducting a Missions Trainers Consultation. This should help us get back in touch with what is currently being done in different programs.
Oct. 8-16 is Wil’s mid-semester break preceded by parent teacher consultations. Pray especially for his grasp of math and science, two areas he was weak in last year. He is working a lot harder this year, but not doing as well as he and we would like.
Pray for friends facing major health issues: Sue’s husband Hugh died in August of prostate cancer. Paul Gianelli from Damascus Community Church was diagnosed with cancer after we left and also Ed Statler, a missionary to Senegal supported by the church. Please pray for them and their families to know God’s strength and comfort as they walk along this very painful path.
We’ve visited Lord of Life twice, once for a service and to see their new purpose-built building, and the second time to offer our sympathy to the family of a lady in the church who died very suddenly. We saw her on our first visit and were shocked when the news came of her death.
Our days are in God’s hands, Dave & Karen
Posted by David at 12:51 AM