Hello from Indiana!

Hello from Indiana! I had a last-minute opportunity to come up for a quick weekend of family events. We had a wonderful day enjoying time together yesterday and will celebrate another milestone on Saturday. Lord willing, I will be at Faith Church on Sunday and will fly back that evening.

Thanks for your prayers for Equip! We finished well and that group of new missionaries is off to continue sharing their story and Wycliffe's story on behalf of the Bibleless. We are now preparing for two Connections -- caring for and celebrating two groups of co-workers who will be with us, July 15-19 and July 22-26. And, two gals I coach are getting very close to complete partnership teams. Then they will be released to their field assignments -- one in Dallas, one in Romania.

I'm so grateful for your prayers and encouragements regarding my hips. I've continued physical therapy and have seen some progress, thankfully, especially on my stride. Now to just get my stance figured out! My follow-up doctor appointments are August 1.

The Lord has been so gracious in providing all of you to be alongside on this journey. Your faithfulness through your prayers and gifts for my Wycliffe ministry is a constant blessing to me and spurs me on as it also accelerates Bible translation. Please let me know how I might join you in prayer.

(Prayer requests are in bold above!)

Equip Update

Hello from the participants and Crew of Equip #43! I told the participants you are praying for them -- they asked me to thank you!!

We have all been healthy through the first week and are doing well. This is a very focused group and has been working hard... but they also are a very personable group and have come to know and enjoy each other on meaningful levels in this short time together. Please continue to pray. Each of the adults will be presenting a "Five-Minute Talk" on Saturday morning and then a "10-Minute Talk" (or a "16-Minute Talk" for couples) next Thursday as part of the process of learning to share their story and Wycliffe's story.

Reviewing Wycliffe history with Equip #43, Photo by Mark Borland

I received much news this week regarding my stride and stance. The hard news was confirming that I do have an unusual and significant "functional leg-length discrepancy." My right leg behaves as if it is longer than my left leg now. But I also received some very hopeful news and am on a new plan for physical therapy. In the meantime, I have some accomodations so that my stride and stance are better as we still work toward reducing or possibly even eliminating the discrepancy. I would appreciate it if you'd ask the Lord not only for continued improvement, but also that He would guard my heart as I go through the ups and downs of this process. I know this is no surprise to God and I need to trust that He has gone ahead of me every step of this path.

The many blessings the Lord has provided through your encouragements especially these past six months have been overwhelming. Your faithful prayers and gifts for my Wycliffe ministry make it possible for me to continue to serve. Thank you!

Equip #43 is coming!

Next Saturday, June 15, we will welcome 26 new colleagues and 14 of their MKs (missionary kids) for the two-week Equip onsite orientation to Wycliffe. These folks will serve all over the world helping accelerate Bible translation as translators, pilots, human resource professionals, project managers, media specialists, maintenance technicians and teachers.

Our goal is to give them the tools they need to have a good start in understanding Wycliffe as an organization and to help them as they ask the Lord to build teams of prayer and financial partners for their own Wycliffe ministries. After Equip, I’ll continue to coach one of the couples who is preparing to help translate in French-speaking Africa. A fun thing - they are Cedarville grads, so we have some common experiences in our backgrounds!

Because of your prayers and gifts for my Wycliffe ministry, your partnership will now extend to all those who will one day have access to the translated Scriptures because of their service. Thank you! Isn’t God’s plan to involve us all a wonderful plan?!

Personal Update

Once again, after my surgery, the Lord provided in amazing ways during my recovery. My yard work was done, meals were brought and someone took me to appointments before I was able to drive again. There were cards and emails and texts and calls and more prayers than I could ever know. I am so grateful. God used it all!

My healing has gone well and my stamina is returning. I was able to go back to the office full-time this past week. The expectation is for my stamina to be “back to normal” by the end of July.

Because of some differences in my right hip, it wasn’t possible to use the same type of prosthesis as was used in my left hip in November. The two prostheses function in very slightly different ways, so I am still working (and getting help!) on stabilizing my stride and finding ways to stand for long periods without fatigue. Thanks in advance for your prayers for a good resolution.

Post-Surgery

Praise God, I am now 17 days post-surgery (right total hip replacement) and am recovering well. This week, I "graduated" from in-home physical therapy. I'll continue out-patient physical therapy for the next four weeks so that I might gain strength and be fully recovered in time for June Equip new missionary orientation. Thank you for all the prayers and notes and texts and messages and calls and gifts and visits that have once again surrounded me with God's love.

As I continue rehab and recovery, I will not be with the "Crew" who facilitates these next two weeks of Connections (May 13-17 and May 20-25), designed to celebrate and care for our colleagues who have served overseas and to connect them with resources available to them through the Orlando office. The tasks I normally do are being shared by others on the team... in addition to the things already on their plates. Would you pray for health and strength for them and for things to go smoothly? As you and I pray, we are still a part of what God will accomplish through these events!

My prayer is that the Lord would bring you grace and renewal as you approach the daily things of life. It would be a privilege to pray other specifics for you, too. Please let me know how I might join with you in prayer.

Equip #42 is in the books

Thank you so much for your prayers for these past two weeks. We just finished Equip onsite orientation of 19 new colleagues and their 10 MKs (missionary kids). This group connected well with each other and learned much during their time in Orlando. As they shared about ways they are growing and ways that the Lord is increasing their faith on this Wycliffe journey, those of us who helped facilitate the program were very encouraged. We were all able to stay healthy, too, for which I am especially grateful.

They now go out to build teams of prayer and financial partners before going on to serve around the world accelerating Bible translation. As you have prayed for me and given for my Wycliffe ministry, YOU have had a part in helping them get a good start. Thank you!

For a personal update, take a look at this.