Greetings family and friends!
Today is the first official day of Fall. I always have mixed feelings about this day because I am a summer-lover! I spend as much time soaking the heat into my bones as I can, wishing I could store it up for use during our cold winters here.
The Jerozal summer was a full one - family vacation out west, kids to camps, a couple other mini-trips, and poof - it was over. With the beginning of school came the adjustment to homework load and juggling extra curriculars.
So, here we are now. If you've been around us at all over these past months, you likely have heard us speak of our upcoming next Christ Community Church GO Team trip to our partner, CSS (Christian Service Society http://cssbd.org/ ). We are VERY excited to return to visit our Bangladesh friends, as we have been unable to travel there the since 2015 due to unrest in the country. Today, the atmosphere is much calmer, opposition has been securely quieted, and our partners have had several other Western visitors with no worries for their safety.
Jim and I are pleased to lead a team of nine others to minister to young people associated with CSS through both their Home of Blessings boarding school for school age kids, and Leadership Training Program (LTP), aimed at college age students. You can learn more about these programs on the website listed above. Our team is excited, talented, energetic and poised to be used by God to encourage our brothers and sisters half way across the globe (literally!) to stay strong and continue growing in their faith amidst a culture whose majority religion can be hostile to those who express their love for their Savior. At the same time, we are humbled and privileged to be invited to witness what God is doing in this densely populated country and in these beautiful young people. It is the common experience of those of us able to say yes to this invitation that we will be as impacted by God's Spirit and His global perspective as perhaps those we are there to serve. The team will be teaching, leading worship singing, and presenting dramatic interpretation of Scripture stories related directly to His good news. In addition, we get to sit among the country's future leaders in the LTP and facilitate discussion about real life challenges in staying true to their faith and the relevance of how God addresses these challenges in His Word.
As our loved and trusted family and friends, Jim and I ask that you be a part of our team. You can be a vital member of our GO Team to BD . We and our team need your prayers on our behalf. Please do NOT underestimate the importance and impact of your interceding to God with and for us. Closer to the time of our departure, I will post prayer points directly related to our timeline on the trip itself.
For now, if you would consider being an active participant in a team of pray-ers that plead on our behalf from now through our return from this short mission, we would be SOOOO grateful!
Our desire is that this team of prayer partners pray once or twice a week for us prior to the our departure, and then daily if possible while the trip is in progress. Believe it or not, prayers that continue a week or two after our return is also helpful, as adjusting back to our schedule and culture, and trying to process how the experience of our time in BD fits into life back home can be challenging.
PLEASE let us know if you can be a part of this prayer team by replying to the email you received that included the link to this letter in our blog, or send a Facebook PM. Jim and I would love to thank each of you who pray for us individually. You cannot know how much it means to us for you to commit to this. Here is what you can be praying for prior to our October 20 departure:
1. For safety and health of each of our team members prior to October 20.
2. For perseverance through any trial that comes up between now and then, and that nothing prevents any team member from continuing through this short mission.
3. For Jim and I - the health and safety of our 2 kids. Last year prior to a trip to India, our daughter was quite ill and we weren't sure I could still go. Thankfully, she recovered just before we had to leave and stayed well while we were gone. Also pray for peace in their hearts and minds while we're so far away. This is rarely an issue, so pray it stays that way.
4. For full funding of our team members. Individuals raise their own funds, encouraging others to partner in this trip and invest in eternal dividends. Jim and I have been blessed in many ways and are not seeking funding for ourselves, but if you would like to donate to this trip and team, you may do so through this link, designating your donation as for "The Entire Team":
https://ccc.managedmissions.com/Donations/Donate/31923 Your donation is tax deductible. Our team is currently 84% funded.
5. For the part of our BD team who will be serving by taking care of our home and kiddos while we're away. Grandparents and overnights at friends on weekends, and our sitter staying with the kids during the school week - health, safety, good communication.
6. Finally, for team logistics to come together: supplies, lessons, packing, rides etc.
Thanks SOO much to all of you for reading through this and taking the time to consider whether you can partner with us. We love you and look forward to providing you more details about the upcoming venture and reporting the many blessings of our experiences upon return.
With love -
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