May 2023 Ministry Update

“Look among the nations and see; wonder and be astonished. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”

Habakuk 1:5

The boys and I read through the short book of Habakuk this month. It was a joy to encourage the boys that while things may not always make sense to us, God has a purpose and is working out His plan. The New Testament is full of encouraging verses to just keep us focused on serving God where He has us. The has been helpful in encouraging the boys that God has a purpose for them too, and that God wants to use them as a light to the world. Please continue to pray for them as they learn these truths.

As the semester came to a close it was hard to see our family and friends here on campus packing up and taking off. As I mentioned in the past Rio Grande Bible Institute has a strong focus on Missions, and that is what many of the students have left for. I believe this summer they sent teams to Asia, Africa, South America, Central America and some staying serving throughout North America. Exciting to see these teams off, but things sure got quiet around here.

Now it is time to use what we have been learning. Mothers day was a special day for us. The kids participated in a song and poem reading and I (Jared) lead the morning in worship. This was something new and very out of the box for me. Due to some students leaving for summer ministries I have also been asked to play the guitar and lead in singing for the worship service. I am working at learning some more hymns so that we can make this happen.

We have a few things in the works for our summer break. The first thing is that we are working to connect with as many people on campus as we possibly can. We do not want to lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Time away from classes can set us back, so we are pushing hard to host as many meals as possible with students and staff. Please pray for us in making these connections.

The hardest part of this process is the goodbyes that frequently happen. This has been a hard learning lesson for the kids as many of the friends they have made over the few months have packed up and moved on. The missionary kid community can be very tight. The kids now have friends called to serve in Bolivia, Columbia, Mexico and others called to new ministries here in the states. Please continue to pray for the kids through this adjustment period.

We have a couple other exciting things on the radar for this summer. The first is that I have been asked to attend a church planting conference offered by Baptist Mid-Missions. I will be flying out to Des Moines, Iowa on June 2nd. I will be staying with Kathleen’s brother and his family while in the area. The conference will keep me pretty busy but I am excited to attend a couple area churches while I am there. Please pray for Kathleen and the kids while they keep occupied while I am away for a week.

The second thing I will be doing this summer is taking a week long trip to Paraguay. This thought came about while Kathleen and I were talking about opportunities to prepare for the move to Paraguay. After discussing it with our sending church and director it made sense to make a trip to lay some groundwork. This trip is threefold, 1) to encourage the church in Ciudad del Este of our soon coming, 2) to take some of our belongings down to have on hand when we arrive, and 3) to go over some of the details and communicate some of the needs we will have upon arrival. This trip will come at the end of July, and I will update with more information as we get closer.