Making Choices

Today, I would like to introduce you to Isacka. We have known Isacka by sight for many years. He used to "walk" to town each morning at the same time my daughter, Sarah, walked to school. Isaak used to walk on his hands, he arranged his legs yoga style, put flipflops on his hands and walked with his body swinging between his arms. He walked about a three mile round trip into town and back each day. We never really met him back then but he was always smiling and pleasant. Sarah always greeted him with the expression, "Shikamoo" given to adults or people of importance to show respect.

Since we have arrived back in Tanzania this time we have actually met Isacka. He has told us that he got polio as a small child in the mid 1970's and has not had use of his legs since then. He has managed to purchase a special adult tricycle that is pedaled by hand. He stores his tricycle at our compound each evening and continues up the very steep hill to his home the way he used to travel; walking on his hands.

He asked permission to continue to store his tricycle at our compound when we arrived back in Mwanza. Isaak has made some good choices in his life; he has refused to become a beggar or look for handouts or use his handicap as a reason to be lazy or even to feel sorry for himself.

He has a shoe shine/repair business on one of the corners in town and goes to work every day. He is married to a sweet lady and they have three children together. Isacka is a Christian and attends church every week. He is happy and well adjusted; he looks you in the eye and smiles and is thankful for the blessings he has been given. Wow, his attitude should be a pattern for all of us who don't have to walk through life on our hands and yet can find nothing to be thankful for.

Isacka is saving money to buy a "pikipiki"; it's a sort of motor scooter with an enclosed body that can carry another person as well. He wants to start a little taxi service with his Pikipiki and will shuttle people around town. He would give up his shoe repair business and, as an extra bonus, he would be able to ride his pikipiki all the way up the long steep hill to his home and could give up walking on his hands. He's making plans, like most of us, for his old age when he will not have the strength in his arms to carry his body along the roads.

He has saved about half of the money he needs to buy his pikipiki; we are praying with him that the rest will come in soon.

Be blessed today, and if you are able to walk upright on your own two feet, be extra thankful today.

The Motto Family

Sunday we attended the church plant near Pasiansi; it is on the outskirts of Mwanza towards the airport. Pastor Ezekiel Motto started the church about 2 years ago and the church is growing and thriving.

Tim preached for the the morning service; the churches are always so appreciative that we are able to visit them. They know that we actually cover an area the size of the state of Indiana which has hundreds of churches; we will probably never get to visit all of them even if we continue to try during our four year term here. The best we will be able to do, is to visit the various sections and have the pastors in each of the sections come together for a combined meeting.

Pastor Motto, his wife Grace, and his three daughters live in a small house next to the church. In addition to being the pastor of this church, Motto is also a teacher at the Mwanza Bible College and is also the Secretary/Treasurer for the Lake Victoria District.

His children are still shy around "wazungu" (white people); especially the youngest girl, Shekina, who is not quite two years old.

We had a pleasant visit with them after the service and was served the traditional soda before departing. We took along our camera and took some pictures of the Motto family; their oldest daughter is ten years old and attends school in another city. The two in the picture are Eunice (6) and Shekina (not quite 2). They may be shy around us, but like children everywhere, they love having their pictures taken.

The building in the background of the family picture is the side of the church building; they have been blessed to be able to afford to build a brick building with a metal roof. Eventually, they will have the floor cemented and permanent doors installed.

Be blessed.

Heroes of Tanzania

This week has been a busy week with pastors coming to the house and Spiritual Emphasis week at the Bible School here in Mwanza. I would like to introduce you to a few "unsung heroes" of the family of God who will probably never be recognized this side of heaven. However, I know that they are definitely heroes of faith; going about their business unnoticed by people.

First, we met Pastor Edward this week; he was a student at the Bible School when we opened it in 2001 right before returning to the states. Yesterday he was just visiting during Spiritual Emphasis week and was invited to the front to greet everyone. He came, walking slowly, his body was twisted and his hands and feet were turned and twisted. It was painful to watch until you focused on his face; there was nothing deformed or crippled about his face. He wore a huge smile and there was joy radiating from him. He came forward and made a joke about the special "walk" that God has given him and then he sang a little happy chorus about the goodness of God. We learned later that while he was attending the Bible school there was a problem with the supply of water to the water tank and Edward offered to climb up and fix it. He fell from the top of the tank and afterwards lay in a coma for week in the local hospital. They were not sure he would ever leave the hospital; it is obvious that even though he survived he must have received some type of head/spinal chord injury. And yet, he is a pastor and he is married with a family and he is...happy and content and joyful. Amazing.
Secondly, we had a visit from Pastor Samwel from Musoma in the Mara region; he is the Presbyter for that region. When we were here the first term we had helped Pastor Samwel purchase a bicycle. He still has the bicycle but now that he is presbyter he needs something a little faster; like a "pikipiki" which is a motorcycle. The Mara region is a huge area and the villages are far apart and isolated; he is unable to visit his struggling handful of pastors regularly because he can't get to them easily. Many of the villages do not have buses or transportation that go to them and he can't reach them in a day's time on his bicycle. He does his best and we will be praying that God will supply him with faster and more reliable transportation.
There are so many of these servants of God here in Tanzania; doing what they do in difficult circumstances and they rarely complain. They count it a joy to be servants in the Kingdom of God; I need to strive for that kind of servant heart and uncomplaining attitude.
Be blessed today.

Neighbors

Yesterday, we had our neighbors over for supper; it was a delightful evening. They are missionaries from Finland with the Pentecostal church. Vesa, Anita, and their two children; Jasmine who is in 10th grade and Oscar who is in 8th grade. Rosa also came with them; she is a young single lady here for a few months working with the youth in their churches here in Mwanza.
Tim and I confessed that we didn't know anything about Finland and suggested that they go around the table a few rounds taking turns telling us things about their country. They enjoyed the opportunity to share about Finland and we enjoyed learning about a country that we knew very little about.
Anita brought us a gift of Finnish pastries she had made; much like our American cinnamon rolls. We introduced them to a couple of new dishes as well; deviled eggs and coleslaw. We communicated well even though their main language is Finnish; they have all been learning English and do well with it.
We talked for a long time and had wonderful fellowship together; although, if we were in American I doubt if we would have ever shared a meal together. When we are in our own land and our own comfort zones, we have a tendency to fulfill the old saying, "birds of a feather flock together".
However, here in a foreign country where you are the outsider and Americans are a definite minority; you can go weeks without seeing another person from your own country. You tend to broaden your circle and allow for more variety among your acquaintances and friends.
This is one of the positives about living in another country; meeting people of many backgrounds, faiths, and nationalities and learning to find the things that you have in common and building relationships. So, now, we have new Finnish friends who live next door and we have some things in common; mostly, we are both here because the "love of Christ compels us". It's enough to build on!
Tomorrow is the ladies Bible study; I will be with Americans, Canadians, South Africans, French, Europeans, Baptists, Church of Christ, Africa Inland Mission, Pentecostals of all kinds, Anglican, and others!
What a wonderful benefit to being a missionary in a foreign land. It's good preparation for living in heaven too; there will be some from every kindred, tribe and tongue!

PO - KO- MO

I am trying to re-learn the Swahili I knew before and learn the rest of the Swahili that I need to communicate effectively in the remote areas of Tanzania. Although most of the pastors in and around Mwanza speak English; there are still a number of them that do not. My communication will tend to be with women and children as well; many of the women do not know English. So, I am endeavoring to learn Swahili in order to communicate effectively.
In my studies, I have reached the "Location agreements" of Po,Ko, and Mo. No, they are not family members of the three stooges; they have to do with location. "Po" is for a definite place (here), "Ko" is for an indefinite place (there) and "Mo" indicates being "inside".
So, I am working on, literally, here, there, hereabouts, thereabouts, inside, etc. As I was working on my Swahili grammar exercises I began to think about my relationship with Jesus. What location agreement would I use to describe my proximity to my Lord? The Bible teaches that we are "in" Him and He is "in" us. I hope that as I do whatever it is I do in the course of the day; whether studying, cooking, teaching, or entertaining visiting pastors, that it all has purpose and meaning because I am in Him and He is in me.
Be blessed!

On a flimsy wooden platform

Tanzanian outdoor crusades are a lot of things, but they are never boring or uneventful! Tim and I were involved in an out door crusade last week to help a new church plant in the Isamilo district of our city of Mwanza; this is a mostly Muslim community so we knew it would not be an easy week.

Even though we had paid the fees to rent the entire field; we were just one of many events going on simultaneously. Satan provided a variety of distractions which included a soccer game that went on each evening at the same time and occupying the space right next to us on the field. This, of course, involved the occasional fight between players and spectators and the occasional run away ball that rolled into our midst as well as the noise of the crowd as they cheered their team. Add to this mix, the children running and playing, the wind, dust, rain, vendors hawking their wares, people traveling across the field to get to their destinations and the vehicles honking and making their unique sounds as they drove by us on the road.

I mustn't forget to mention the nearby mosque that broadcast the call to prayer each evening; we did notice that each evening it got louder and longer.

However, God has promised that His word will not return void and seeds were planted; some for future harvest and some were harvested during the crusade.

Tim preached from a very rickety and flimsy wooden platform; he preached about a Saviour who had died on an old wooden cross for the sins of all. At the end of the crusade, 45 people came forward for salvation and several who were demon possessed were set free.

It was a good week!

What is a toy?

For an African child, the only toys they usually have are the ones they make themselves. We have been involved in an outside crusade this week and while the students from the Bible school set up the equipment, I watch and interact with the children.

Of course, one of their favorite pasttimes is to watch "wazungu"; this is the Swahili name given to "white people". The name "wazungu" literally means "people who run in circles"; a pretty accurate description of white people for the slower moving pace of East Africa. So, all you have to do is show up and you become an immediate source of entertainment for adults and children alike. All it takes is a smile to cause the children to gather around and the fun begins. Some of the braver ones will eventually touch your skin, your freckles, rub the hair on your arms, touch your painted toenails, feel your hair, the opportunity for entertainment is endless. And, if you actually speak to them in English (for those who are learning and want to practice) and Swahili the opportunities are absolutely endless.

I watched the children playing around me and saw the following; boys playing in the sand and loose dirt, children kicking a small ball made of old plastic bags formed into a ball and held together with old string, laughing, chasing, running, a game of tag, and several children playing with the metal hoop pictured at the beginning of this journal entry. They form a piece of wire into a hoop and another piece is formed into a small hook. They run along side the hoop as they roll it along with the hook.

Of course, the rest of the fun begins when the crusade starts; the music and singing begins and all the children dance and sing. Tanzanians love music and they must move when they sing; the children jump, run, twirl and laugh as they sing the praise choruses that the various choirs sing.

And, at the end of the evening, some of the children who have been playing and you thought weren't listening go forward to receive Jesus as their Savior. And, for me, that's the greatest fun of all!

Kindness - where can it lead?

Recently we were giving one of the pastor's who also teaches at the Mwanza Bible School a ride home. As we traveled he was telling us that his church is growing and they now have their own church building and property and are looking to buy more land and build on to the church in the future. As we traveled he pointed out an Orphanage and said that the church had rented a room from them when they first started. They had been searching for a place to meet and finally checked with this orphanage to see if they could use one of their classrooms for their church to meet in on Sundays.
The director of the orphanage asked them what religious group they belonged to and was told that the church was part of the Assemblies of God. The director thought for a minute and said, "A few years ago, a missionary with your group had a daughter who brought a group of students from her school and they spent the day with us. They told stories, did crafts, sang songs, performed with puppets and gave our children a wonderful day of fun. Because of this, we will let you rent one of our rooms to hold your church services in until you can find or build your own building.
We recognized the orphanage; we had been there before. Our daughter, Sarah, was the student who had visited them with some of her classmates almost eight years earlier. Sarah had started a "Kindness Club" at school and the orphanage had been the first recipient of their acts of kindness.
Because of that small act of kindness done by a group of caring young teens, a local Assemblies of God church was given a place to begin having their services in a community where there was not yet a church established. The church now is growing and touching their community with the Gospel and with additional "acts of kindness".
Do a kind deed today; you never know how God may use it later to advance His Kingdom.

Mwanza Bible School (Chuo ya Biblia)

It was our joy and pleasure to teach at two of the morning chapels this past week at the Mwanza Bible School. This school is dear to our hearts; we finished building it and dedicated it right before we left at the end of our first term in Tanzania in 2001. There are 77 students enrolled this semester from all over the western part of Tanzania; they have a desire to be trained to do the work of the ministry. Most have made great sacrifices to be able to attend and some will come with only partial tuition and trust God to provide the remaining amount before the end of the semester. The school will allow them to come and stay if they can pay at least half of their school fees, but the remainder must be paid before they can return for another semester. These are men and women who have answered the call of God and have made a commitment to receive the education and training they need to carry out their responsibilities.

Chapel services are a time of great rejoicing, but also a time of earnest prayer for God to provide for their needs as well as for the needs of their families and churches that they have left in order to receive their formal training. It is a privilege to be able to be a part of their lives for the time that they are here in Mwanza. We will see them in the years to come scattered around Tanzania fulfilling their respective places of ministry.

What is sacrifice?

A few days ago, Tim and I went to eat at one of the pastor’s homes here in Mwanza; I should say his “room” instead of his home. He came to the house and rode with us to his place; it’s off one of the many winding streets around Mwanza and he, his wife, and their little 5 year old son, Gospel, have rented a room in the building where a number of others live also. We went into their one little room; there is a bed in one corner with one sheet on it and nothing else. Against the wall there is a small bookcase, two small stools and a little wooden table. Tim and I sat on the two little stools and the pastor and Gospel sat on the bed with the little table between us. Mama (pastor's wife)had a tiny little one pan charcoal cooker in the corner on the floor with a box containing a few old pans and a few mismatched dishes. She cooked ugali (a very thick porridge), cooked greens (michiche), some avocado slices, 3 bananas, and a small pineapple; all grown locally, and two small fish. They placed all the food on the table in tiny little bowls/pans and gave Tim and I each a bowl-no utensils-so we ate African style with our fingers. They wanted us to eat all the food but Tim and I refused all though we took very small portions and ate seconds(eatings seconds and thirds shows that you like the food). We insisted the pastor eat also but the three of them did not eat until we were done and Mama never came to the table with us. The room had no lights and one small window. The pastor left and returned with two soda's; one for Tim and one for me as well as a large bottled water. I was humbled and wanted to insist that they not spend what little money they had to buy soda for us; but we could not cause them to be embarrassed or insulted so we accepted all they gave us with thankfulness and gratitude.
This pastor, his wife, and their youngest child traveled here a year ago by bus bringing only what they could carry in their luggage with them. Their three other children remain behind with family members so they can attend school. Pastor goes out everyday visiting his neighbors, who are mostly Muslims, sharing the love of Jesus with them and trying to build a church in this area that he feels God has called him to; his little church runs about 20-25 people.
He speaks of how blessed he is to be a servant of God and how happy he and his family is to be able to do this work. This pastor is not unique; many pastors across Tanzania live as he does because "the love of Christ compels them".
This is sacrifice! May God forgive us when we who have so much complain about our lot in life and are consumed with our desire for more.
Blessings,
Tim & Joyce

Memory Lane

Every A/G MK (missionary kid) is given a trip back to the field they were on with their parents sometime between their 18th and 23rd birthday. Our daughters, Jennifer and Sarah, have been waiting seven years for their return trip; we left Tanzania in 2001 and just returned last month.

So, after we were in Tanzania for one week, Jenn and Sarah flew out for their trip down memory lane. We had just finished General Council in Dar Es Salaam; the girls flew in on Saturday and we began a whirlwind of travel for the next 10 days that ended in Nairobi, Kenya where we lived for some time during our first term and Jenn lived most of the time there going to school.

The first place we went before heading out of Dar was to the island of Zanzibar just about a 20 minute flight on a very small plane from the coastal city of Dar Es Salaam. We had never been there before so we went there as a family to make a new memory; we had a wonderful visit on the island.

We made a sweep through Tanzania from Dar to Dodoma to Mwanza. We spent a few days in Mwanza and unloaded the container that held all of our belongings we left here in 2001 so that the girls could pull out those things they wanted to take back with them. We spent time at the home of our good friend, Seni, went to a church service at Kirumba Valley, and ate at a couple of the restaurants they remembered.

For the last leg of our journey we spent all of one day driving up through the tea fields of Kericho, Kenya and stopping at some of the places the girls remembered. On the morning of the second day we reached Nairobi for the final leg of our travels. We visited Rosslyn Academy where both girls had attended school; Sarah spent one year there and Jenn was there for three years. We visited friends and some of the places the girls wanted to go.

All in all, it was a fast-paced trip down memory lane but even with some bad roads and long days and a lot of different sleeping arrangements in less than ideal situations, we had a wonderful time as a family and made a lot of new memories.

This time brought closure to our time as a family here in Tanzania and it was a time also to make some great memories that we could pull out in the days ahead as we are separated and remember them. We took lots of pictures which you can view on our website under pictures and also we made a few short videos that are also posted.

On the days when I miss the girls, I scroll through the many pictures we made of our trip together and remember; it makes me feel like we are not so far apart.

Tanzania General Council

Friends,
Our first week in Tanzania was spent in the capital city, Dar Es Salaam; we stayed with one of the missionaries there, Ron & Gloria Hanson.
Tim left every morning with Ron; the men attended the General Council sessions each day while the missionary women and children had our own schedule of events. These events were basically shopping and eating at various restaurants; the missionary family in Tanzania only gets a chance to get together maybe 3 or 4 times a year. It is important for us to bond together as a family and team during these brief times. It is also important for the children to have a chance to play with and bond with their missionary families in Tanzania; most of them will not see there stateside families more than once every four years.
In the evenings, the men joined us and we spent time talking over the events of the day and storing up memories for those long months when some of us are far away in other parts of Tanzania. For us, Mwanza is a long two day drive from Dar Es Salaam and three other families live a long day's drive away.
General Council brought many surprises; all three General Council positions (Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and Sec/Treasurer) were filled with new faces.
The ministers of the Tanzania Assemblies of God overwhelmingly voted for change; as the winds of change begin to blow across the TAG we pray that they will be driven by the wind of the Holy Spirit. It is a new day for the TAG here in Tanzania with so many new faces in leadership positions and we pray that God will grant these leaders wisdom to move forward according to His will.
There was a record number of ministers ordained this year at the General Council; about 250 altogether. It was a moving sight as all the missionaries attended the final evening of General Council to witness the ordination service. The missionary men moved among the ordination candidates along with the TAG leadership laying hands on each one and praying for them to be anointed of God for service.
Pray for the missionaries here in Tanzania, that we will be able to build strong relationships with our various leaders so that together we can do the work of the Kingdom together as one body.
Blessings
Tim & Joyce

Tumefika! (We Have Arrived!)

Dear Friends,
Tim and I arrived in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania on Sunday night, August 3. We had a safe trip but two days of flying is a long time; we were glad to finally get to our destination. We were met by some of the Tanzanian missionaries who came to welcome us back to TZ.
We will stay in Dar this week for the Tanzania A/G General Council and we are looking forward to seeing many friends this week and meeting the new missionaries on the TZ field since we left. We have to take care of business such as getting our phones, picking up our vehicle, and buying a few supplies that we need for here. We will work all the business in around the busy General Council schedule.
We woke this morning to the sounds of Tanzania outside our window and I was smiling before I even got out of bed! Ahh, a dream come true!
Blessings
The Jarvis'

Kwa Heri! ( Swahili for "Goodbye")

Dear Friends,
We have raised both the cash amount and the monthly pledge support required for our reduced budget; we have been given final clearance. We will leave for Tanzania on Saturday, August 2 and will arrive on the 3rd in time for the Tanzania Assemblies of God General Council which convenes on August 5.
We are rejoicing at the goodness and faithfulness of God. We are also thankful for the many individuals and churches who have prayed for us and who have given financially to our ministry.
All we can say is "THANK YOU"! We pray that God will richly bless each one of you.
Please continue to pray that in the months ahead we will be able to finish raising the remainder of our monthly support that was cut from our original budget; we are $1,500 per month under our original budget. Until that happens, we will continue to trust God to provide for our needs and provide the funds to keep us on the field.
We have been amazed at what God has done for us financially in the past few weeks; truly we serve an awesome God!
Blessings to each of you!
Joyce

"Marvelous Things"

I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. Psalm 9: 1,2

Dear Friends,
We have met our requirements for monthly support according to our new reduced budget and we praise God for that; we are going out $1,500 short of our original budget. We will be at a disadvantage financially but we believe that we will continue to have new ministry partners join us and that our original monthly budget will eventually be met. God will take care of us while we are being faithful to do His work in Tanzania.
We are still $5,000 short for our cash budget; we believe that this is going to come in some time this next week so that we can receive final clearance to leave for Tanzania.
We have tentatively set August 2 as our departure date; however, we cannot finalize that date until we receive clearance.
Please continue to pray for all of the last minute things to fall into place; our desire is to be in Tanzania in time for the Tanzania Assemblies of God General Council which convenes on August 5. We will keep you updated as we press on towards our goal!
Blessings to each of you!
Joyce

Status Report

Friends,
It's been another long week but we have seen the Lord's hand working on our behalf. We have had some additional monthly support come in this week; we now only need $455 a month in monthly support and we still need about $14,000 in cash.
We know that this is an insignificant amount to God; we know that if it is His will for us to go to Tanzania we will go. Please continue to pray with us that God's will for our lives will be accomplished. We have about four weeks left to raise the remainder of our funds.
If He speaks to your heart to become a ministry partner with us; please be obedient and let us know as soon as possible.
Blessings to all of you!
Joyce

Progress Report

Dear Friends,
We have come to the end of a very long week and we want to give you a report so you can continue to pray for us. We know we have many prayer partners praying for us across this country and in Tanzania and for that we are grateful.
God has brought in $7000 of our cash budget this week; we still have $15,000 more to raise to reach the minimum amount we need. Also, $200 of the $800 in monthly pledge support has come in.
Our deadline of July 31st looms ahead of us and will be upon us before we know it.
Thank you for your love and support; pray for a good harvest of funds for next week!
Blessings
Joyce

Waiting...

Waiting is one of the hardest things we have to do in life; Americans especially are an impatient lot and we have grown accustomed to having things instantly. The human population as a whole are by nature impatient; it must be interesting for the eternal God who has always been and always will be to listen to our complaints about "waiting".

Tim and I are now in the "waiting" mode. Since our meeting last Wednesday we have been in a flurry of activity. We have now notified every church/pastor in Michigan and Southern Missouri about our July 31st deadline; we have called, emailed, or sent a letter to each one. We have emailed our list of family, friends and missionaries. We have followed leads given to us and we have called a number of churches/people in several other states. In all, we have made about 800 contacts.

Now we must wait and pray; we have to believe that the God we love and serve can speak to the hearts of people on our behalf. Our future is, has always been, and always will be in the hands of our Lord. We will accept the future that He has for us; even if it is not the future we want for ourselves.

Thanks to each of you for your prayers on our behalf; we will continue to update you.

Be blessed today,

Joyce

Good Things are Happening

Dear Friends,

We want to update you on events of the past few days. If you read the earlier postings you know that we have a deadline of July 31; we need to have all of our cash ($26,000) and the remaining 25% of our monthly pledge support ($2,200) completely raised.
Yesterday we met with leadership to discuss some options; they have heard from the National Church in Tanzania and from the missionaries and all of them have said that we are desperately needed in Tanzania. Because of this and the fact that we are 13 year veterans, we were given the choice to make some personal concessions to cut our budget.
We believe that God wants us back in Tanzania and we also believe He will provide for our needs if we will step out in faith. With this in mind, we allowed our budget to be cut down to the bare necessities and a large part of these cuts were in the area of our personal salary.
After the cuts, we now have 90% of our budget raised; we only need $800 more in monthly pledge support to come in by July 31. We still need to raise $22,000 in cash; there was very little we could cut from the cash budget.
We believe God is going to honor our willingness to cut our personal benefits, including our retirement fund, and will bring in the funds we need before July 31.
Please pray with us and if you are able to help with monthly pledge support or give towards our cash budget, please contact us at tim.jarvis@agmd.org .

Blessings to all of you!
Joyce Jarvis

People of Faith

Hello everyone,
I had a very long talk with my oldest daughter, Jenn, yesterday; it did my heart good. First, because I only talk to her a couple of times a month and so I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with her. Secondly, it did my heart good because sometimes you wonder as a parent what kind of an impression you made on your children as you raised them and what they remember about their lives.
My daughter spoke to me yesterday about a conversation she had with a co-worker a few days ago. She told them that she was raised in a family of faith and she watched her parents help people in need all her life. She remembers that her parents loved people and lived to help people; that we were people of faith who trusted God to meet our needs because we were faithfully trying to meet the needs of others. She said something like, "Mom, I know everything is going to be OK; God has done so much for us already and I know He is going to take care of this too."
We still need about 24% of our support by the end of July; we have been calling and leaving messages with churches and pastors. Our financial status has changed little since the last blog I posted; however, we are choosing to live as people of faith. We trust God with our future just as we have always trusted Him in the past. Whether we go to Africa or not is not dependent upon our efforts; it is in the hands of the God who is faithful and trustworthy. Today in my devotions I read Psalm 121:1-8, read it and be blessed.
In Him,
Joyce Jarvis