Dear Family and Friends,
This week's update will include the following: important information about our support level and a request for pledged support to be donated; a family update; and prayer requests.
Important information about financial support:
1) Our percentage of support pledged is at 70%. We still have around 10 people that we need to follow up with from appointments and small group dinners and one church that is currently considering financial support. We are planning for another series of small group dinners in September and plan to make a support trip to Ohio and Michigan at the end of September.
2) We are tentatively planning to leave for Nicaragua in October. As someone reminded me today - Lord willing!
3) It is important at this time for us to begin receiving the funds that have been pledged into our account. We do have funds in the account from churches and some individuals, but know that we have not previously asked for all donations to begin. If funds are donated/received by World Missions by August 29, they will show up on our August report, giving us a better idea about the stability of our support level going forward.
4) If you have not yet pledged support, but sense that God is calling you to be involved in this work with us, you may go to www.danvanzoest.com and click on "How you can support our family" or let us know and we will send you the information. Ideally, we would love to invite you to a dinner or meet with you. Our approach to support raising has everything to do with building relationships with our supporters because missions is a team effort.
5) We would like to break down our support into monthly/yearly amounts because it seems less nebulous than communicating a percentage. We started this support raising process 2 ½ months ago with a need for $4,000.00 a month ($48,000 a year). God has provided commitments for $2,800.00 a month ($33,600 a year). This leaves our current need to be $1,200 a month ($14,400 a year).
Below is the $1,200.00 translated into monthly amounts and number of people which we know will vary, but this gives a rough idea of how this need can be filled:
12 people at $100.00 a month
24 people at $50.00 a month
48 people at $25.00 a month
120 people at $10.00 a month
We speak of monthly commitments or annual commitments because this is what our percent of support raised is based on. We cannot count one time gifts toward this goal, but one time gifts are helping us with one time purchases. We want to emphasize again that we are thankful for and celebrate each gift because we know that behind that gift is a person/a family/a church who desires to be involved in this ministry with us. Someone asked me if they would need to support us with hundreds of dollars to make a difference. I thought later about how with 10 dollars a month, we can buy 2 1/2 gallons of gas ($4.00 gallon) - we will live within walking distance of the school, so these 2 ½ gallons should last longer there than they do here; 10 dollars worth of groceries; or buy Rebekah and Will a shirt for their uniform for school. Each gift is very significant, very appreciated, and makes a difference in our lives as we serve and minister in Nicaragua.
Family Update:
We had a great week of reconnecting with family members that we have not seen in years while we were in MI last week. We now anticipate a move to my parent's house an hour away. Dan will stay in town with friends while he continues to work. We pray this season of family separation is a short one! I will begin home schooling the kids in September. I told a friend the other day that had I not home schooled before, I would be very anxious about the fact that school started last week at Nicaragua Christian Academy. However, I am now so much more relaxed and understanding about how our kids learn and how I can help them adjust when we get to Nicaragua. Never would I have dreamed that this was a piece of the puzzle when I started home schooling!
We are reading Hudson Taylor's biography as a family right now and God is using it to encourage us to trust Him with these next couple of months. Hudson so deliberately steps out in faith, certain of God's call. When a doctor told him that he was going to die from a disease, Hudson replied, "I am not afraid of death, but God has called me to China so I do not believe that I will die." And obviously, he did not. Today, I've been reflecting on the past few months, realizing that God has provided 70% of our support within two and a half months. And this happened in spite of the time spent with my parents during and following my Dad's heart surgery, in spite of the 7 support dinners we canceled in June due to the flood in Cedar Rapids, and in spite of the many obstacles that have made this journey difficult to walk. God still equips the called - with health, financial support, and with faith. We are in awe of Him.
Praise:
1) Safe travel to and from Michigan.
2) We met with 20 couples and several individuals at small group dinners the week before we left on vacation. Praise God for the availability of those who hosted and attended the dinners. We will be following up with them this week.
3) Our family is healthy.
4) Support coming from unexpected places: a church that we thought was not going to support us has now committed to support us; we ran into a couple in MI on Sunday who read something about our ministry and expressed interest in supporting us; an 88 year old man from another city said he read about us when he visited our church and asked us to send him information because he too would like to support us. Today, within the course of an hour, we received an offer for support in person, an email from someone offering support, and a phone call from a church offering support - together equaling $5,900.00 in support per year. We are so amazed at how God is putting our team together. Amazed and humbled.
5) For a great community of people who have offered to help us with moving. Dan has a friend flying in from CA and possibly another friend from MI who are coming to help us move. Along with many other friends in the area.
Petition:
1) That God would continue to show our family what He is teaching us through this support raising process.
2) That we would adjust well to the transitions we will be going through this month, taking each as an opportunity to learn more about trusting God and being flexible.
3) Please continue to pray for me as I pack this week. I pray that God would turn this too into a sweet time of seeing His strength through my weakness.
God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God's. But, what seemed to be failure from man's standpoint was a triumph from God's standpoint, because God's purpose is never the same as man's purpose. - Oswald Chambers
Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be. - Oswald Chambers
God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. - John Piper
Peace to you,
Lisa Van Zoest for Dan, Rebekah, and Will
Friday, August 22, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Nica Update: How are the kids?
Dear Family and Friends,
Thank you for your prayers for us this week! The inspections on our home have come back clear and our home is officially SOLD! We are thankful for our realtor, Rick Hernandez, who has done an awesome job of taking care of us and promoting our home to buyers.
Last night we shared our story at a small group dinner about how God called us to Nicaragua. It has been a four year journey with many mountains and valleys. It is difficult to summarize this story in only a few minutes, but I thought I would now share a part of this story that we may not have completely shared before.
The first question people will often ask us when we tell them that we are going to Nicaragua is, "How do your kids feel about this?" This is a very valid question. And it speaks to a passionate argument I had at one time with God and with Dan about this calling. I would say to both of them, "This will not be good for our kids. I do not think it is right to drag them to the mission field. I did this kind of thing as a single person and I was fine with that. I'm fine if we do this after we retire. But, not now." The interesting thing is that God used our kids to confirm this direction and to soften my heart to the idea of going to the mission field in Nicaragua. I will tell you the story of how this happened:
During the spring of 2006, a few different things were happening. We had withdrawn from pursuing ministry with FamilyLife the previous fall; a Christian counseling agency had asked me to consider going back to my career as a therapist after 7 years of enjoying time at home with our kids; Rebekah was graduating from a kindergarten program and would need to transition to another school for first grade; and Will would be starting kindergarten. Through a number of circumstances, God had also brought home schooling to my attention and I was curious about it. It felt as if I were at a crossroads. I began praying that God would show me whether His desire was for me to return to a career or to continue discipling our kids and educating them at home full-time. During a week in March, my prayers became much more passionate, knowing that deadlines were approaching. I remember one morning crying out to God and asking Him to show me what to do. I opened up the Beth Moore study I was doing, and the first verse I was to look up was Deuteronomy 6:6 - 9. Verses 6 & 7 read, "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." A peace settled in my heart as I read these verses and I knew God was giving me the answer. He confirmed this direction in a number of ways over the next months and in the fall, Rebekah and I embarked on our new educational adventure (Will attended the kindergarten that year and I home schooled him for 1st grade).
Included in our home school curriculum were books from the "Christian Heros: Then and Now" series which are biographies of men and women who have served on the mission field and in full-time Christian service. We read these books as a family right before the kids go to bed because all of us enjoy them so much. During this time, Will started to say things like, "A missionary's life is dangerous and exciting." After rolling this around in his mind for awhile, Will said, "I want to be a missionary, doctor, and scientist." He would imagine scenarios where he would be bandaging someone's leg while talking with them about Jesus. To this day, Will confidently says that this is what he will be when he grows up. During the same time Will was announcing his dream to be a missionary, Rebekah began writing up "defotions" on the computer which consisted of some teaching about Jesus, her own personal experience with Him, and a prayer that led the reader through asking Christ to be Savior and Lord of their lives. She then printed her "defotion" off and insisted that we go to a local park to hand them out to families that were playing at the park. I remember suggesting that she lay them on a bench so that people could pick them up if they wanted to, but my shy little girl walked around that park confidently handing her writings to the people there. This scene touches me still.
This particular year I was also looking for a place to serve at a church that we had started to attend. After looking into a number of different things and feeling no peace, I prayed one morning, "Lord, I know what I used to do in ministry, but that does not seem to be what you are leading me to do now. Would you show me what you want me to do?" A week later Mary Kay called and asked me if I would consider doing Missions Moments which involved teaching Rebekah's Sunday School class about China and a missionary family who serves there. This too, was a part of God's work in softening my heart as I got to know this amazing missionary family with five boys and learned more about what it looks like to be a family on the mission field.
So, one afternoon I was just staring into space when God spoke to me saying, "Lisa, this calling is not just about you and Dan or for you and Dan. It is also about and for your children." It was this day that I began to turn the corner, recognizing that God was up to so much more than I was aware of. I finally understood that we were not dragging our kids to the mission field - God was calling us as a family. Since that time, God has shown me through the testimony of other missionaries and their children that growing up on the mission field offers lots of unique opportunities, shapes their world view, exposes them to poverty and injustice which leads to a sense of compassion for others, and impacts their walk with God as a result of needing to live daily with a greater level of dependence upon Him.
I am so thankful for God's patient way with us - gently leading us to a better understanding of what He is doing and how He is inviting us to join Him in what He is doing. He still speaks in a whisper and when I slow my life down long enough to listen, I hear Him speak. And it is quite often when He speaks through the mouths of babes.
When people ask about how our kids are doing right now, my answer is the following: They continue to embrace the greater vision of moving to and serving in Nicaragua. And they express excitement about this. However, it is our chaotic and unpredictable life during this season of leaving our home and raising support that is at times unsettling for them. I see them as being weary at times with all the travel and living in four different places these past few weeks. And yet, they seem to be growing closer to each other and still find ways just to be kids.
Rebekah and Will both have a blog which is not yet linked to our blog (This is on Dan's list, but will need to wait for now). Rebekah's is www.rvanzoest.blogspot.com and she gave me permission to post her devotions on her blog for you to read. And Will's is www.wvanzoest.blogspot.com. They would love to hear from you!
Update on prayer requests from last week:
1) As mentioned, our house is sold, but prayers for protection of our home and firmness in the buyer's commitment is appreciated.
2) We enjoyed a small group dinner last night and have 4 more to go this week. We are so thankful for this experience - helps us so much to build relationships with people and it is a very sweet time. Praising God for the hosts who step into and experience this process with us - our first dinner, we had tornados in several places around town a ½ hour before the dinner; our second dinner, the husband felt ill and the grill did not work until 10 minutes prior to the dinner. Today, before our next dinner, I lost part of a filing and part of my tooth. J Please pray for protection for us, our hosts, and dinner guests this week!
3) As far as our kids' education goes, I have arranged with Isaac Newton for the kids to participate in hot lunch with their class in addition to the recess after lunch one day a week to help them maintain connections with their friends during the time we are still here. I've also talked with a Home School Supervising teacher this week who has offered to meet with me for accountability and support.
4) The kids are at my parent's house for a few days while we attend our dinners. They are having fun with my sister and my parents. We will go to my parent's house on Friday to spend time with my family for a couple of days. Prayers for rest - especially for Dan.
5) On Aug. 27, we close on our home and will move in with my parents. Would you pray for me this month in relationship to packing/getting rid of our things. This has never been easy for me and is very overwhelming - it is a process of grieving the loss of "stuff" and recalling the memories that are attached to it.
Praising Him for . . .
1) A jump in our percent of support pledged - from 45% to 53%
2) A house sold just in time
3) My Dad and Sister's continued health and recovery. Dan's mom has returned to work after shoulder surgery and seems to be doing well.
4) Two churches who are considering supporting us (one meets Aug. 20, the other this coming Sunday to decide)
5) The kids and I were close to being in a car accident last week - praise God for protection!
Thanks again for your faithful prayers!
Lisa for Dan, Rebekah, and Will
Thank you for your prayers for us this week! The inspections on our home have come back clear and our home is officially SOLD! We are thankful for our realtor, Rick Hernandez, who has done an awesome job of taking care of us and promoting our home to buyers.
Last night we shared our story at a small group dinner about how God called us to Nicaragua. It has been a four year journey with many mountains and valleys. It is difficult to summarize this story in only a few minutes, but I thought I would now share a part of this story that we may not have completely shared before.
The first question people will often ask us when we tell them that we are going to Nicaragua is, "How do your kids feel about this?" This is a very valid question. And it speaks to a passionate argument I had at one time with God and with Dan about this calling. I would say to both of them, "This will not be good for our kids. I do not think it is right to drag them to the mission field. I did this kind of thing as a single person and I was fine with that. I'm fine if we do this after we retire. But, not now." The interesting thing is that God used our kids to confirm this direction and to soften my heart to the idea of going to the mission field in Nicaragua. I will tell you the story of how this happened:
During the spring of 2006, a few different things were happening. We had withdrawn from pursuing ministry with FamilyLife the previous fall; a Christian counseling agency had asked me to consider going back to my career as a therapist after 7 years of enjoying time at home with our kids; Rebekah was graduating from a kindergarten program and would need to transition to another school for first grade; and Will would be starting kindergarten. Through a number of circumstances, God had also brought home schooling to my attention and I was curious about it. It felt as if I were at a crossroads. I began praying that God would show me whether His desire was for me to return to a career or to continue discipling our kids and educating them at home full-time. During a week in March, my prayers became much more passionate, knowing that deadlines were approaching. I remember one morning crying out to God and asking Him to show me what to do. I opened up the Beth Moore study I was doing, and the first verse I was to look up was Deuteronomy 6:6 - 9. Verses 6 & 7 read, "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." A peace settled in my heart as I read these verses and I knew God was giving me the answer. He confirmed this direction in a number of ways over the next months and in the fall, Rebekah and I embarked on our new educational adventure (Will attended the kindergarten that year and I home schooled him for 1st grade).
Included in our home school curriculum were books from the "Christian Heros: Then and Now" series which are biographies of men and women who have served on the mission field and in full-time Christian service. We read these books as a family right before the kids go to bed because all of us enjoy them so much. During this time, Will started to say things like, "A missionary's life is dangerous and exciting." After rolling this around in his mind for awhile, Will said, "I want to be a missionary, doctor, and scientist." He would imagine scenarios where he would be bandaging someone's leg while talking with them about Jesus. To this day, Will confidently says that this is what he will be when he grows up. During the same time Will was announcing his dream to be a missionary, Rebekah began writing up "defotions" on the computer which consisted of some teaching about Jesus, her own personal experience with Him, and a prayer that led the reader through asking Christ to be Savior and Lord of their lives. She then printed her "defotion" off and insisted that we go to a local park to hand them out to families that were playing at the park. I remember suggesting that she lay them on a bench so that people could pick them up if they wanted to, but my shy little girl walked around that park confidently handing her writings to the people there. This scene touches me still.
This particular year I was also looking for a place to serve at a church that we had started to attend. After looking into a number of different things and feeling no peace, I prayed one morning, "Lord, I know what I used to do in ministry, but that does not seem to be what you are leading me to do now. Would you show me what you want me to do?" A week later Mary Kay called and asked me if I would consider doing Missions Moments which involved teaching Rebekah's Sunday School class about China and a missionary family who serves there. This too, was a part of God's work in softening my heart as I got to know this amazing missionary family with five boys and learned more about what it looks like to be a family on the mission field.
So, one afternoon I was just staring into space when God spoke to me saying, "Lisa, this calling is not just about you and Dan or for you and Dan. It is also about and for your children." It was this day that I began to turn the corner, recognizing that God was up to so much more than I was aware of. I finally understood that we were not dragging our kids to the mission field - God was calling us as a family. Since that time, God has shown me through the testimony of other missionaries and their children that growing up on the mission field offers lots of unique opportunities, shapes their world view, exposes them to poverty and injustice which leads to a sense of compassion for others, and impacts their walk with God as a result of needing to live daily with a greater level of dependence upon Him.
I am so thankful for God's patient way with us - gently leading us to a better understanding of what He is doing and how He is inviting us to join Him in what He is doing. He still speaks in a whisper and when I slow my life down long enough to listen, I hear Him speak. And it is quite often when He speaks through the mouths of babes.
When people ask about how our kids are doing right now, my answer is the following: They continue to embrace the greater vision of moving to and serving in Nicaragua. And they express excitement about this. However, it is our chaotic and unpredictable life during this season of leaving our home and raising support that is at times unsettling for them. I see them as being weary at times with all the travel and living in four different places these past few weeks. And yet, they seem to be growing closer to each other and still find ways just to be kids.
Rebekah and Will both have a blog which is not yet linked to our blog (This is on Dan's list, but will need to wait for now). Rebekah's is www.rvanzoest.blogspot.com and she gave me permission to post her devotions on her blog for you to read. And Will's is www.wvanzoest.blogspot.com. They would love to hear from you!
Update on prayer requests from last week:
1) As mentioned, our house is sold, but prayers for protection of our home and firmness in the buyer's commitment is appreciated.
2) We enjoyed a small group dinner last night and have 4 more to go this week. We are so thankful for this experience - helps us so much to build relationships with people and it is a very sweet time. Praising God for the hosts who step into and experience this process with us - our first dinner, we had tornados in several places around town a ½ hour before the dinner; our second dinner, the husband felt ill and the grill did not work until 10 minutes prior to the dinner. Today, before our next dinner, I lost part of a filing and part of my tooth. J Please pray for protection for us, our hosts, and dinner guests this week!
3) As far as our kids' education goes, I have arranged with Isaac Newton for the kids to participate in hot lunch with their class in addition to the recess after lunch one day a week to help them maintain connections with their friends during the time we are still here. I've also talked with a Home School Supervising teacher this week who has offered to meet with me for accountability and support.
4) The kids are at my parent's house for a few days while we attend our dinners. They are having fun with my sister and my parents. We will go to my parent's house on Friday to spend time with my family for a couple of days. Prayers for rest - especially for Dan.
5) On Aug. 27, we close on our home and will move in with my parents. Would you pray for me this month in relationship to packing/getting rid of our things. This has never been easy for me and is very overwhelming - it is a process of grieving the loss of "stuff" and recalling the memories that are attached to it.
Praising Him for . . .
1) A jump in our percent of support pledged - from 45% to 53%
2) A house sold just in time
3) My Dad and Sister's continued health and recovery. Dan's mom has returned to work after shoulder surgery and seems to be doing well.
4) Two churches who are considering supporting us (one meets Aug. 20, the other this coming Sunday to decide)
5) The kids and I were close to being in a car accident last week - praise God for protection!
Thanks again for your faithful prayers!
Lisa for Dan, Rebekah, and Will
Friday, August 1, 2008
Lots Happening
Dear Family and Friends,
There is a lot happening right now. I thought I would give you quick updates on things and then write out some prayers for each item. So, as you read you can just pray! Thank you!
We have an offer on our house contingent on inspections. So far radon has come back clear; house inspection is still coming up. If all goes well, we close on August 27.
Dear Father, thank you for this offer at just the right time. We pray for inspections to be clear and for a closing without surprises. Lord, bless the new owners of this house with memories as great or greater than the ones the Van Zoests have enjoyed within the walls of this gift of a home and neighborhood.
We have 6 small group dinners scheduled for next week - three are full and three are still open and available for people to attend.
Dear Father, thank you so much for the blessing of 6 couples who desire to be involved in the process of building a support team for the Van Zoests. Thank you also for those who are taking the time to participate in the dinners. Please empower the Van Zoests with energy, and speak through them as they present your vision for ministry in Nicaragua and your call on their lives.
The school year is approaching and we are needing to make decisions about how to educate our kids. Our hope was to be in Nicaragua by the end of this month and then would enroll the kids at school there. However, we are not at a level of support right now that this seems responsible. We've decided that I will home school the kids, keeping in close communication with their teachers in Nicaragua by email.
Lord God, we pray that you would empower Lisa with confidence and encouragement as she adds the responsibility of educating Rebekah and Will to the demands of raising support, packing up/getting rid of 12 years of possessions, and moving to her parents house at the end of the month.
Dan has been working full-time and working on support in the evenings. I see him getting worn down at times physically.
Lord, please protect Dan's health as he juggles being a husband and dad, work, and raising support. Please provide times of rest for him as well.
I had a talk with our kids today just reflecting about how things are not the same as they used to be as my priority has always been focusing on my relationship with them over completing tasks. I've needed to be more task minded and spend a lot of time answering emails and making phone calls. It was good to talk with them about this today - both said that they miss how it used to be, but understand that this is something Daddy and Mommy need to do to help us to get to Nicaragua.
Lord, please continue to provide times of open communication for the Van Zoest family. Please be with Rebekah and Will and assure them of their parent's love and of your love.
My sister will fly in on Sunday from Texas and stay at my parents for a week. My Aunt and Uncle will be here from MN too. Yea!
Father, thank you for this time with Brenda and Lisa's Aunt and Uncle. We pray for safe travel for everyone and for a relaxing and fun time with loved ones.
We will leave for MI on Aug. 13 for around 5 or 6 days with a trip to Ohio in there too.
Lord, please give the Van Zoests a safe trip to MI and Ohio. We thank you for the family reunion with Dan's family that they get to attend and for time with Dan's Mom in Ohio.
We are currently staying this week at a beautiful home in the country. Friends from church offer their basement living space to missionaries and pastors for retreat. We will stay here until inspections and showings are complete, hopefully by next week.
Dear Father, thank you for this retreat from the business of house showings, inspections, etc. for the Van Zoests. Please enable them to rest in you when they get overwhelmed. Help them to maintain their priorities of relationship with You first, relationship as spouses second, relationship with their kids third, and ministry fourth.
Thank you again for your faithful prayers for us.
Wanted to tack on something that the kids said this week that was funny. They overheard me say that I had scheduled doctor's appointments for them to get checked out before we go to Nicaragua in addition to getting some injections for things like Hep A and Typhoid, etc. Will asked, "Do you think that they could put me under when I get the shots?" Dan said, "Well, they would have to give you a shot to put you under." Rebekah, having had surgery and remembering the process said, "But, they give you the gas before they give you that shot."
There is a lot happening right now. I thought I would give you quick updates on things and then write out some prayers for each item. So, as you read you can just pray! Thank you!
We have an offer on our house contingent on inspections. So far radon has come back clear; house inspection is still coming up. If all goes well, we close on August 27.
Dear Father, thank you for this offer at just the right time. We pray for inspections to be clear and for a closing without surprises. Lord, bless the new owners of this house with memories as great or greater than the ones the Van Zoests have enjoyed within the walls of this gift of a home and neighborhood.
We have 6 small group dinners scheduled for next week - three are full and three are still open and available for people to attend.
Dear Father, thank you so much for the blessing of 6 couples who desire to be involved in the process of building a support team for the Van Zoests. Thank you also for those who are taking the time to participate in the dinners. Please empower the Van Zoests with energy, and speak through them as they present your vision for ministry in Nicaragua and your call on their lives.
The school year is approaching and we are needing to make decisions about how to educate our kids. Our hope was to be in Nicaragua by the end of this month and then would enroll the kids at school there. However, we are not at a level of support right now that this seems responsible. We've decided that I will home school the kids, keeping in close communication with their teachers in Nicaragua by email.
Lord God, we pray that you would empower Lisa with confidence and encouragement as she adds the responsibility of educating Rebekah and Will to the demands of raising support, packing up/getting rid of 12 years of possessions, and moving to her parents house at the end of the month.
Dan has been working full-time and working on support in the evenings. I see him getting worn down at times physically.
Lord, please protect Dan's health as he juggles being a husband and dad, work, and raising support. Please provide times of rest for him as well.
I had a talk with our kids today just reflecting about how things are not the same as they used to be as my priority has always been focusing on my relationship with them over completing tasks. I've needed to be more task minded and spend a lot of time answering emails and making phone calls. It was good to talk with them about this today - both said that they miss how it used to be, but understand that this is something Daddy and Mommy need to do to help us to get to Nicaragua.
Lord, please continue to provide times of open communication for the Van Zoest family. Please be with Rebekah and Will and assure them of their parent's love and of your love.
My sister will fly in on Sunday from Texas and stay at my parents for a week. My Aunt and Uncle will be here from MN too. Yea!
Father, thank you for this time with Brenda and Lisa's Aunt and Uncle. We pray for safe travel for everyone and for a relaxing and fun time with loved ones.
We will leave for MI on Aug. 13 for around 5 or 6 days with a trip to Ohio in there too.
Lord, please give the Van Zoests a safe trip to MI and Ohio. We thank you for the family reunion with Dan's family that they get to attend and for time with Dan's Mom in Ohio.
We are currently staying this week at a beautiful home in the country. Friends from church offer their basement living space to missionaries and pastors for retreat. We will stay here until inspections and showings are complete, hopefully by next week.
Dear Father, thank you for this retreat from the business of house showings, inspections, etc. for the Van Zoests. Please enable them to rest in you when they get overwhelmed. Help them to maintain their priorities of relationship with You first, relationship as spouses second, relationship with their kids third, and ministry fourth.
Thank you again for your faithful prayers for us.
Wanted to tack on something that the kids said this week that was funny. They overheard me say that I had scheduled doctor's appointments for them to get checked out before we go to Nicaragua in addition to getting some injections for things like Hep A and Typhoid, etc. Will asked, "Do you think that they could put me under when I get the shots?" Dan said, "Well, they would have to give you a shot to put you under." Rebekah, having had surgery and remembering the process said, "But, they give you the gas before they give you that shot."
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