Dear friends & family,
Do you ever fall into a rough cycle of trying to do the right things but end up falling short each time?
So often as humans, we naturally want to take it upon our own strength and ability to go through life and accomplish what we need to. But the truth is so much less burdensome than this way of life. Jesus beckons us to come to Him like little children, understanding our need for utter dependency on Him. This teaching is what I always come back to (Matthew 11:25-30). The truth is that the more we depend on our own strength and “wisdom,” the further we go from God. But when we approach God eagerly with a child-like heart, understanding our great need for Him, it is to that kind of person the Lord reveals Himself.
These truths have been particularly speaking to mine and Geoff’s heart lately. Because as we have each grown out of childhood, have gotten married, and have begun a new life together with all kinds of new responsibilities, it is more natural to learn how to become “self-sufficient” rather than become dependent on God like a child. Afterall, aren’t all those typical steps of growing up moving you towards being an independent unit?
Yet as we put in the work for our new independent family, there must be a constant recognition of our utter need for God, otherwise we will find ourselves drifting further away from the One we were created for. Everything we have is ultimately from Him, even down to our functioning hands which allow us to work. Praise God He is our Provider and He has never let us down! When we look to our own frail capabilities or circumstances, there is anxiety. When we look to Him as a child trusts their providing father, there is peace.
So we write this newsletter full of gratitude in our hearts to our good Father, His gracious ways, and to all of you who He has brought into our lives. We have felt so loved by you and are grateful for your partnership in our lives thus far. May you be reminded and encouraged by these grace-filled truths of God as we have been.

Life Updates:
As we enter a new year of SGWM’s Missions Training School in late October, we will resume our biblical studies and cross-cultural training. Geoff has been progressing in his videography course as well, and has begun a few exciting video projects with more to come. It is amazing to see the Lord bringing different opportunities to Geoff and I’m excited to see how the Lord uses this gift for His kingdom.
Speaking of which, we were recently asked to go to Hawaii to film a class at the bible college in Kauai (CBI Kauai)! Our pastor here at CC Saving Grace, Trent Douglass, will be teaching his “Purpose of the Church” block class there in November and he asked Geoff to film and edit the teaching into video classes. Please pray for a smooth recording process and for Geoff to have a peaceful and clear mind as he takes this project on. We are so excited to meet the students there who are interested in missions and to see a bit of Hawaii too of course! We will be there November 3-7.
Finally, an update on our Japan vision tour. We are excited to spend about 3 months in Japan in the upcoming year! This will be an extended time of seeking the Lord for confirmation of our calling, a time of prayer over the country, a time of fellowship with the Japanese believers, and a time to get a better understanding of what living there would truly be like. We will get more connected with Abide Osaka church and see more of what ministry looks like there. We have hearts ready to serve however we can, but also desire to get to know the church, missionaries, and way of life first so we don’t overstep as newcomers. We will be in Osaka, Japan from January 16th to April 4th, 2025.
We praise God for this opportunity! Pray that He would speak to us clearly while we’re there and that the Holy Spirit would guide us and provide divine appointments in Japan. We’re also so excited to see our friends Jeff & Alishia Root again, who we went with to Japan earlier this year when they were planted in Osaka as SGWM missionaries! Pray the Lord reveals His will for more of us to join their team in Japan.
Thank you so much for reading another one of our updates! We really appreciate your prayers, encouragement, financial support, and email responses! We feel so loved by your care! May God bless you abundantly for your kingdom partnership. Until next time!
Sincerely,
Geoff & Lydia
A few moments from the last month:






Praise Reports:
- God is so good and gracious, the only One we can fully depend on!
- We get to visit CBI Kauai and film Trent’s “Purpose of the Church” block class.
- God provided the temporary housing we needed for the 2 months leading up to our Japan vision tour (thank you Gerry & Becca!<3)
- We’re going back to Osaka, Japan for an extended vision trip!
- God is providing more opportunities for Geoff to grow his skill and passion for videography!
- Lydia is growing more in her understanding of the Japanese language through both her 1-on-1 training with Mirei and independent study.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for a smooth filming process of Trent’s class at CBI Kauai and that God would continue to speak to the students through those teachings.
- Pray the Lord would raise up and send more laborers to Japan, a very spiritually dry country in need of the hope of the gospel!
- Pray that we would keep depending on the Lord for strength and endurance as we enter another rigorous year of MTS.
- Pray for our personal times with the Lord, that our love for God would grow and He would teach us more about Himself.