Missions at home

These are our four daughters. They are our first, and most important, mission field!

Kaitlyn, who is 10, is a confident leader who has a sensitive heart for the Lord. Last year Kaitlyn made a profession of faith in Christ and has been growing and representing the Spirit of God in her life more and more. We praise God for her desire to be a missionary at school in Montgomery, TX and in Albania. Please pray for Kaitlyn that she would learn to be sensitive to the Spirit and that she would allow God to harness her natural ability to lead (be bossy) for His glory. She has no fear of intimidating situations and we know that God can use her in a mighty way if her heart is bent towards Him.

Whitney (in the pink, flower dress), who is 7, is our sensitive, artsy girl. She is petite and seems shy and withdrawn. Don't let that fool you, she is the one to always try new things and climb the highest tree - and then jump! We call her "snugglebug" because she loves to hug and cuddle. My heart has been especially burdened for her lately because I know that she is coming to the age where she can comprehend the truths of the gospel and appropriate them for herself. She has expressed desire and interest in spiritual things and can articulate the gospel fairly well, but as of yet she has not made that personal transaction with God. Please pray that God would soften her heart and that she would see her need for The Savior, that she would repent and place her trust in Christ as her Lord.

Sierra (in the pink, geomtric dress), who is 6, is our spunky gal who has a personality that attracts people in an uncanny way. Her dry sense of humor and contagious laugh are a contant source of joy to us. She loves school, her friends and her sisters. I love to hear Sierra pray because she never forgets to thank Jesus for dying on the cross for her sins. Sierra has a soft heart towards the Lord, and a desire to please Him, but is still wanting "Sierra" it rule in her life. Please pray for Sierra that God would break her very strong will and that she become a mighty tool in the Almighty's hand for His glory. I know her God given talents are great and she can cause great harm or great glory for His kingdom. Pray for a broken and contrite heart that turns to Christ.

Breanna, who will turn 4 in two days, is the hard-headed and loveable "baby" girl. She is a daddy's girl and at this point loves Dora the Explorer and her blankey. Her desire to do everything her older sisters do has caused me many grey hairs. She loves to sing and draw. In the last few months we have dealt with the obstinate streak (it's a mile wide) on a whole new level. Please pray for Breanna to come to Christ at young age. Her desire to conform to what every one is doing is especially concerning because we know that it is so easy for children raised in a Christian home to delude themselves into thinking that they are Christians because they believe, intellectually, the facts of the Bible. Pray that we would be consistent to present the gospel to her, on her level, so that the Word of God can begin to pierce her heart and show her her need for God.

We covet your prayers as we try - and fail so often - to raise these gifts from God in a way that pleases Him. The mission field in Albania will add new challenges and great opportunities to teach them about the great God that we serve. Thank you for praying for our mission field at home!

Praises of His people

Psalm 96:1-3 says, "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples."

On a recent trip to Albania, a respected fellow believer, who has served for many years in Eastern Europe has this to report about a church he visited, "How thrilling it is to hear excited new believers sing new songs from the depths of their new hearts. More delightful love and contagious fellowship I have never before witnessed. Young adults come to church early and remain afterward, chatting for another hour. A virtual movement of God is surely underway! There is no place on earth more unlikely for this to have occured. A half-century of the most severe communist oppression followed upon the heels of 600 years of Islmic domination. Could the nation best known for darkness become the brightest light for the Gospel in all of Europe?"

I don't think that any of us can imagine the hopeless and godless life that these people have come out of. The previous dictator, Enver Hoxha, was committed to a communistic and atheistic country. He even viewed the Soviets and the Chinese as "compromising communists". He closed every church and religious facility and vowed to eliminate anyone who professed belief in God. He even imposed a seven-year, extendable prison term for anyone who possessed a Bible! Matthew 4:16 says, "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light. And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a Light dawned." How true these words are of the nation of Albania.

It is with intense joy and anticipation that we look forward joining that contagious fellowship in Albania. When we read about the growth and the work that God is doing in the hearts of the Albanian people, we begin to feel that maybe we are getting the better end of the deal. Could it be that God is sending us to Albania to be challenged and spurred on by the white-hot passion of these people? I am sure that our going is as much for our growth as it is for the training and equipping of the people there. Praise the Lord of all the nations, that we have the priviledge of seeing Him work in this mighty way.

Support Update

PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

Here are the latest numbers regarding our financial support:

52% of our one time budget has been given or committed
45% of our monthly budget has been committed
6 people have committed to pray daily for us
17 people have committed to pray regularly for us

Kris and I are humbled. Truly, we just feel so unworthy of all the support we have received from so many of you. We know that your giving is for the Lord's work and to further His kingdom; but that you would use your resources and time to give to us is overwhelming. I have to say that to see the funds and prayer support coming in, has really increased my sense of God's providence. I know that God has provided every day before this process began, but there is something about having to raise money for daily living expenses and ministry that puts a whole new emphasis on how generously God cares for us.

Just to give you some perspective, the fund raising process usually takes 1-2 years to complete. Early last fall, we received the OK from the leadership at Lakeside Bible Church to be sent out as missionaries. We were really excited to get the process rolling. God, however, had other things in mind for us. Circumstances out of our control (aren't they all) dictated that we couldn't officially begin fund raising until late October. Those weeks of waiting were times of amazing reliance of God. It seemed that He was stripping us of all the human advantages that we thought we had (time and momentum from the summer...) to remind us that when the funds came in, it would be because HE did it, not us. I have to say that I discovered a whole new dimension to my faith in God during those months. I praise God that He allowed us to be in that "waiting room". So, from the human perspective, we were running short on time to raise our funds if we planned to leave in July. But from God's perspective, we were right on schedule.

I guess the thing that has been so truly amazing about these past 3 months has been to see the Lord use the body of Christ to provide "above and beyond all that we could ask or imagine". We are looking forward to the next 5 months as we anticipate God continuing to work in an amazing way. We are ahead of the "normal" first-time fundraising curve, and it's ALL because of God's lavish, abundant, overwhelming, extravagant generosity towards us. Thank you for being a part of His extravagance.

Only God knows when we will actually set foot in Albania, but I am absolutely confident that God can condense a 1-2 years process into 8 months, just to show off how powerful and beyond our comprehension He is.

My prayer is that God will be exalted and your faith will be strengthened by our testimony of how He is working in our lives through you.

Lights out...

30 hours without electricity in 30 degree weather! That is the report we have received from some friends in Tirana. BRRRR! This power outage is due to electricity rationing by the government. Typically, in the spring, in Tirana, electricity is shut off for about 4-6 hours a day (that includes water). Many villages in Albania go without electricity for days. However, this spring is worse than usual. The official news from the government says the cause is "bad metrological conditions, and unusual drought winter, and scarce electricity production in the Balkans." Another factor is that a great portion of Albanians don't pay their electricity bills. Remember, that up until recently the communist govn't paid for all these things. This is a new thing for them. The Albanian govn't is reportedly seeking electricity from Russia, who has become a major player in the energy business.

Needless, to say we are really looking forward to these times of "cozy weather". It's nice to know in advance, however. Maybe we shouldn't be trying to lose those extra pounds from the holidays. We might need them to stay warm. LOL! Our girls, who have no body fat to begin with, will really need to bundle up.

By the way, the electricity goes out in the summer too. We have been there for that on the mission trips. When you throw together 95 degree weather, lots of walking, no electricity, no running water and a group of stinky missionaries, you get great memories! We hope you all come to visit in, let's say, July - the hottest month of the year! Please bring your deodorant.

Picture this!

We would like for everyone who is praying for and supporting us to send us a picture. You are all being so faithful to bring us before the Lord and we would like to do the same for you. So, if you want to, you can e-mail me a picture of you/family at stirealbania@gmail.com, mail one, or just give it to me if you live close. We are looking forward to getting your prayer requests and hearing how God is working in your lives as well.