Monday, August 29, 2011

29 August 2011 Update

Philippians 4:6 instructs us:

"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

Your prayers are such a comfort to us. In our 'anxious' moments we find strength in the knowledge that so many folks actually set aside time to intercede on our behalf. Thank You!

We've had a busy few days. We've been able to see some good high school football. Jeff's brother is on the coaching staff at Petal High School so we've been rootin' for the Petal Panthers the past two weekends. A great benefit of being the family of the coach is that Jackson and Jeff have 'All-Access' the the locker room and the sidelines. Jackson has had a blast seeing the real world of Mississippi high school football. Also, Haylee's high school (and Liesa's high school) is Brandon High School and we played our huge rival, Pearl High School, this past weekend. We arrived 90 minutes before kick-off to find the stadium already full. Fortunately we found some seats and yelled our best 'EAT DIRT PEARL!' cheers.

We are living in the missionary home of Crossgates Baptist Church here in Brandon, MS. Crossgates has been so good to us! The home is incredible and we are enjoying being just down the street from Liesa's parents and their pool! :-) Our dog 'Amazon' is living at Liesa's parents and seems to be adjusting well, too! We are really loving the people at Crossgates. Pastor David is a very effective communicator and the worship is kickin'. The pastor called for a 21-day Fast about 18 days ago so Liesa and Jeff are looking forward to a return to food that is bad for you in a few days. Haylee and Jackson are enjoying being in the youth group and are making some good friends.

Last week we were a part of meetings in Birmingham with the leadership from our America's Affinity. As you may know, the IMB has launched an effort to encourage Southern Baptist Churches to EMBRACE the remaining people groups of the world where no one is attempting to plant churches. This is a huge task and we are excited about what God is going to do in the America's. If your church is looking to plant churches in Central or South America, please contact us. We'd love to hear from you.

The students finally arrived at Mississippi College last weekend. Jeff and Liesa had a great time helping with move-in for the freshmen girls. We loved meeting the new students and their families...especially those moving in the 1st and 2nd floor! We tried showing some love to the 5th floor folks, too. The MC campus is alive with students and we are grateful for the opportunity to be able to help. We are excited about working with international students, also. MC has over 300 international students with most coming from Asia.

We're busy this week with work at MC and the kids and all of their activities. Jackson is loving 7th grade football. Of course, nobody has tackled him yet so that may change. Haylee is always the perfect student and is continuing her guitar lessons. We are headed to Oxford this weekend to see our first football game on campus at Ole Miss in 4 years. We are so, so ready. EAT DIRT BYU!

Thank you for your friendship and your partnership with us as we enjoy a few months in the USA. Please join us in praying:
  1. For Haylee and Jackson as they continue to adjust to new schools and new friends and a culture that is very different from what they've had the past 4 years.
  2. For Jeff and Liesa and the work at Mississippi College. Pray for 'divine appointments' with students so that we can be used by the Father to advance His agenda.
  3. Traveling. Liesa and Jeff will be traveling to Atlanta next week for an 'Embrace Event' where churches will hear about world-wide opportunities among peoples that need to hear the Gospel in a way they can understand. We're also a part of the Mississippi Missionary Parent Retreat in September. Liesa and Haylee are helping lead a retreat for girls at Camp Garawaya in a couple of weeks. Jeff is traveling to Hillcrest Baptist in New Albany, MS to speak to the youth group.
  4. Future. Pray that the Father would continue to clearly mark a path for us to follow.
Blessings to all! If you're in the Jackson, MS area please let us know!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee and Jackson

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