See You Next Year!
Hello, family!
We have had quite a busy October! From helping at one of our church's front yard parties on Halloween, to serving at other church functions, working, and everything in between. During all the busyness, we have also been trying to take time to pray together about what the Lord would have us do in the New Year. To learn more about what we've been up to, keep reading!
2025 Halloween Outreach
As we mentioned before, our church had an outreach on Halloween that James and I got to be a part of. This night each year, a few different church families volunteer to host a party in their front yards where trick-or-treaters and their families can come and receive candy, gospel tracks, and most importantly the love of Jesus. Both this year and last, James and I have served at the busiest front yard party, where nearly a thousand people come through! Eager to take our culinary skills to new heights this year, we decided to learn how to man the cotton candy machine. It was a sticky mess, quite the shoulder workout, and so much fun! Being able to bless people and share the love of Jesus, especially on such a spiritually dark holiday, reminds us of Matthew 5:16, where Jesus says "...let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Please pray for those who received gospel tracks and had spiritual conversations with volunteers, that God would stir their hearts to come to church and learn more about Him!
Care Team Meetings
Another thing we get to steward in our church is missionary care. What this means is that we are sort of a liaison for providing care and support to our workers overseas regarding their prayer, financial, and personal needs. These workers serve in a country in the Middle East, but the exact country cannot be disclosed for security reasons. We and others from the body aim to gather once a month and pray over these workers and dear friends of ours. Currently we have ten people serving in this region, with another on her way to join the team this coming January. It is truly a blessing to be able to "carry one another's burdens" by praying for the various needs of these amazing saints who have devoted themselves to learning a new language and living in a foreign land for the sake of furthering the gospel! Which brings us to the next thing we wanted to talk about.
Possible 2026 Vision Tour?
As many of you already know, James and I have felt a stirring in our hearts for the Middle East, which is predominantly Muslim. While James went on a vision tour three years ago with a group from church, I (Tatiana) have never been. When he was there, he and the group were praying in a Baptist retreat garden which overlooked a small town. When the call to prayer from the mosque sounded he saw a vision of black hooded figures, like that of women dressed in full burqas, jumping from all the windows of every building. This touched James when he saw two little girls worshiping Jesus in the local church, knowing how easily they could have been on their way to that same fate. James also had a vision a few months before the trip, of silhouettes of a boy and mother in burqa walking towards a setting sun, accompanied by Romans 10:14, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Our prayer all this time has been that God would send more gospel workers to plow the hard soil of these countries that are difficult to reach, and plant seeds for the harvest, but what if we are part of that answer to prayer? To help answer this question, James and I would like to go to this region of the Middle East together for a more extended period of time to pray over the land and really seek the Lord's will for the future. It would be a big leap of faith for us that will require a lot of careful planning, confirmation, financial provision, and of course prayer!
Would you please partner with us in praying over this possible trip?
Thank you for taking the time to read our update! With the holidays fast approaching, may God bless you and your families, refreshing you with His grace and filling you with joy.
Praise Reports:
- We made another large debt payment
Prayer Points
- Relief and wisdom for how to treat a minor back injury of James’
- Continual provision to pay off our debt
- Guidance and provision for a future vision tour
- For James to find a Starbucks closer to home, or another job if the Lord wills
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