The F. Family (Secured)

Read the latest news this family ministering overseas 

Fall 2022 Update

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our travels over the last several weeks. We left home on August 12 and made it to Virginia with no major travel issues. We even got all our luggage when we landed! If you have been following world air travel lately, that is a major answer to prayer! After four days in Virginia, we set off on a cross-country road trip all the way to southern California and back. Along the way we reported at a few supporting churches, visited with family members in several states, caught up with some old friends, met with individual supporters, spent time with ministry partners, took a fun rest day here and there, and experienced God's creation whenever we could.

Our first stop was in "A's" home town Bolivar, MO. We spent time with her family including her 95 year-old grandmother. We also gave a report at supporting church WBC.  Both kids love listening to "Adventures in Odyssey" stories by Focus on the Family. After seeing family in Kansas, we stopped at their headquarters in Colorado for the kids to see Odyssey and Whit's End.  

On the way to CA, we drove through the Navajo reservation. "P" took four mission trips there during high school and college. it was good for the family to see one of the places that was important in his early walk with God. Only "P" had been to the Grand Canyon before, so we spent a day there seeing God's handiwork. We also saw lots of elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorns, and wild horses.

We spent an encouraging week at Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, CA. We saw a few old friends there we know from our sending church. The Shadow Mt. mission office treated us to tickets to Sea World while we were there. Also, only "P" had ever been to a MLB game, so we caught a Padres game on Labor Day. Nothing like a view from the cheap seats!

On the way back to VA, we saw friends and family in Texas. We were happy to spend time with our Muslim ministry partners. it was so encouraging to attend their Afghan church with them. We  got to see more of "P's" family in VA on the last day of our trip. What a blessing to see our two living grandparents on the same trip!

So what is next for our family? Thank you so much to you all for praying about our housing situation. We found a house in Williamsburg, VA to rent for three months that is fully furnished. We will be busy reporting at our supporting churches in the area beginning with TB in Chesapeake on September 25 and finishing with our sending church, DB on Nov. 20.

Please continue to pray for the on going Ukrainian refugee situation. our church there is still receiving several new Ukrainians every week. We are still able to provide funds and are trying to help coordinate as much as we can from this side.  

Summer 2022 Update
As refugee ministry continues, we are trying to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of the Ukrainians God brings our way. We are thankful for regional teammates from several countries that have been coordinating getting Bibles and Christian literature to those who need them. We are hearing report after report of Ukrainians wanting a Bible and then reading it, sometimes for the first time. Please continue to pray for the Gospel to reach refugees. Many Ukrainians are returning to the more "peaceful" parts of the country. We hear reports from churches in Ukraine that are bigger than when the war started. As we write this report, a Ukrainian pastor and his family are staying at the church refugee center for a week before they head back to Ukraine.

We are beginning to turn the refugee ministry tasks over to our church members so that we can focus on our other ministries before furlough. 'P' has preached several times over the last few months. Last Sunday, he preached and met with five men after church and planned a five part sermon series for while we are away. 'A' is actively working with the entire worship team. especially one teen, to be able to play the keyboard while we are gone.

Please continue to pray for our upcoming furlough. We look forward to seeing many of you, Lord willing. We still don't have housing lined up in Hampton Roads for Oct-Dec, but we do have one lead through our sending church Denbigh Baptist. If you know of something let us know.

Tid-bits....

• The flow of refugees has slowed down, but we are still getting calls from the Varna refugee center to pick up people. Our church refugee ministry has filled 2,100 beds since the beginning of the war.
• We are so thankful to have our teammate 'K' (serving in Ukraine) with us right now. It is a blessing to have someone to speak Russian/Ukrainian with when  we help people. She also helped the kids finish up their school. Without her help, we would have had to cut back on our other ministries.
• it was great to have our regional director visit Varna for a few days. We first met the 'R' family on prefield at Temple Baptist in Chesapeake before 'H' was even born!
• It's hard to believe 'H' turned 11 in June! She is really struggling with leaving her guinea pigs for our upcoming furlough, especially Cookie. 

Most of our ministry focus right now is through our main church here in Varna. Our church plant is on hold because of COVID restrictions. Please pray for wisdom as we figure out how and when to reopen. “P” preached three Sunday mornings in February with a short series on “Characteristics of True Disciples.” “A” continues to lead the music team, but she has limited her lessons because of restrictions. We are very thankful that the team led music themselves while we were in the States. This is a blessing because one of our goals is for them to become self-sufficient and be able to help at future church plants. We are continuing our language study with online lessons. "P" is also working on planning and equipment for the outdoor men’s ministry to start back when the weather improves. The team’s “Expositional preaching” book project has been fully translated and is now in the publishing phase. We are beginning a smaller project to get a small booklet called “first Steps in the Spiritual Disciplines” translated to Bulgarian. We both used this resource in the States and in Israel.

Our son’s newest passion is Rubix cubing, and he is fast enough to embarrass the rest of us. He also got a flute for Christmas, so “A” has been teaching him that. He is helping out on the worship team on different instruments. In February both kids went back to school in person so just pray for safety and that they would continue to be able to meet in person.

“H”, our daughter, was very glad to get home to her pet guinea pigs! She is still singing with the music team and everyone at “CH” is encouraged by her participation. She is continuing with her violin lessons. She is also a big helper around the house. Both kids are looking forward to better weather to get outside more.