Archive of category "Newsletter"
Dear Friends and Family,
We wish each and every one of you a very Merry and Christ filled Christmas. Galatians is not the most usual passage quoted at Christmas but it expresses God’s sovereignty in His plan for all time. This is also then what has helped us hold the course during what has been a very tumultuous year of emotion and happenings. As we mentioned in our last letter tensions had run high throughout the first half of the year due to the rebel activities in February. This was compounded by the fact that one of our team members was being held hostage by yet another renegade group in the North. These were trying times for many of us who did not have much information as to what was going on. In contrast to this several of our team members had sacrificed their ministries to be involved in negotiating Steve’s release. It proved to be even more strenuous to them who had “all the information” and yet many times things seemingly progressed slowly and even regressed despite their efforts and our prayers.  Yet God is always at work and in His time Steve was released. This was a wonderful culmination to our vacation time. However the day before leaving to return to Chad we received news that 3 of our co-workers had been tragically killed in an auto accident. Why? Someday we will know but till then we trust God. Each had a vibrant testimony and we were privileged to arrive back in Chad to be a part of their memorial service. We each must trust God knowing that only he knows the number of our days. Our job is simply to make each day count for glory as we serve in that place that God had called us. Several other changes that have added to this year’s challenges has been the early departure of the family whose children were in Palmview, due to medical concerns and the retiring of our field leadership after some 40 years of service. It makes me feel “a part of the furniture” knowing that I can remember when the Hodges arrived in Chad!
We had a wonderful time of vacation and are very grateful to each of you that contributed to this extra ordinary time of relaxation and renewal. Stephen even managed to share several days with us as a family at a cottage. It was a very nice time. Another major change that came from this of course was that we sadly had to leave yet another of us behind. We are grateful for Daniel’s desire to pursue some form of ministry and we covet your prayers for his direction. After one full semester at E.B.C. he says… “It was definitely a hard semester.  I hope that, now that I know the system, this next semester will go better.  It was a little bit of a shock getting into the groove of things here.  I think that I have it down now, though” Besides school he currently leads the junior youth at our church. Stephen continues to enjoy his co-op placement and will soon begin another school semester. He is hoping for a placement “where it is happening” (Silicon Valley) in the spring. Pray for the many details that will need to be ironed out to make this happen.
We are thankful for the arrival of a new couple to take on some of the administration tasks that our senior missionaries (the Hodges) handled for many years. Hard to believe that I remember when they came to Chad, when I was 12 or so.  We also find the lack of students for Kathy to teach at the school somewhat providential as she is now able to help Jessica more fully, to complete her high school education. This will be Kathy’s main focus for the remainder of this term.
We recently had our annual field conference during which our speaker helped focus on the fact that though we often see God as reactionary (working out things for His purpose), He is actually proactively designing our lives that we come into a full knowledge and relationship with Him. The conference also approved a budget to enlarge the guest facilities at Koutou station. I will begin this project in January and am hoping that a small work team can come in the summer to help me put some finishing touches on these accommodations.
I continue to be swamped with constant repairs and am often feeling very inadequate but the Lord continues to provide strength for each and every day. Â Pray too for our aging parents that we leave behind that God will be gracious to them.
We thank you for partnering with us as we enable those bringing God’s hope to those who have no hope. We trust that you too will “mark out a straight path… that those who follow… will become strong.
Paul, Kathryn, Daniel & Jessica