hello from the mideast

Just wanted to drop a quick note from the middle east. The team leaves the capital city today after several good days here. We had a good time of fellowship with the national pastor here yesterday morning--the team was encouraged to hear of his faith and joy in serving our Father in very difficult circumstances. We had lunch with him, his wife, and son, and in the afternoon, a few on our team went to see the plot of land that may someday be the site of a church building. The team is learning and growing as we spend time in this culture. At times, the team has been dependent on the help of strangers as we have navigated the cities, and always we have needed to depend on the grace and mercy we receive so freely from above. Each team member is adding to this experience, and we are praising God for what we see him teaching all of us.

Please pray for the team's saftey in our return to the larger city today--as we close out our time, pray that health will stay strong (we have been pretty heathly thus far), that some of the things we are learning and seeing will begin to sink into our hearts, and that we will know ways to clearly communicate them upon our return. Pray for the last few days to be full of rich interaction, that we would be loving one another, bearing with one another, and that our love for one another will spill into our interactions with those around us. Pray for our partners in ministry here, that we might be an encouragement to them. Please know that we are dependent upon your prayers and it has been encouraging to us to think of the many from tneth and elsewhere who are upholding us over this time.