Greetings from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania! Safe Flight, Great First Conference…More Great Things to Come!

Dreary eyed travelers, somewhere over the Middle East on the 13 hour leg to Washington DC.
Dreary eyed travelers, somewhere over the Middle East on the 13 hour leg to Washington, D.C.

Thank you so very much for your prayers! The flights from Manila to Washington, D.C. went well, albeit they were some of the more turbulent that we have been on in our years of travel.

Several times throughout the flights we were all advised to remain in our seats, cabin service was suspended, and it looked like one of those scary movies, with things jostling around inside the cabin.   Needless to say, we were very glad to have our feet finally on solid ground.

Flying the long way around the globe to get to the States...saves a lot of money...just a lot of time in the air.
Flying the long way around the globe to get to the States…saves a lot of money…just a lot of time in the air.
Connie catching some much needed shut-eye in the terminal at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Connie catching some much needed shut-eye in the terminal at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Oh…have to throw this picture into the story.  Our air travel, with layovers and delays, took around 30 hours.  Connie was about ready to crash (while on the ground – no airplane involved) so I told her I would stay awake and be her guardian angel while she took a nap on the terminal carpet.

Control Tower with the sun rising through the sands of the Arabic Desert in Abu Dhabi
Control Tower with the sun rising through the sands of the Arabic Desert in Abu Dhabi

We made our way from Washington / Dulles International Airport to the Eastern Region Work and Witness Conference where we set up our table and banners, representing the Asia-Pacific Region.

General Superintendent Emeritus Dr. Jesse Middendorf
General Superintendent Emeritus Dr. Jesse Middendorf

There was a great turnout for the conference.  General Superintendent Emeritus Dr. Jesse Middendorf was the keynote speaker for the conference and brought two great messages.  He really hit a home run as he talked about the fact that going on a Work and Witness trip was not your only mission, a one-time thing, but rather an outflowing of your “life of mission.”   He also spoke on the power and necessity of prayer covering for these missions.  We definitely believe this!  There is great power in prayer.

This morning we are getting ready to speak at the Reading, Pennsylvania Church of the Nazarene.  After today’s meetings we will climb back in our little rental car and head three hours back to the area around the airport for a very early departure tomorrow morning for Boise, Idaho.   We will stop here briefly, (give great big hugs to our kids and family) pick up more presentation materials, another car, and then head for the Oregon Pacific District and the Northwest Region Work and Witness Conference.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Dr. John and Shauna Mullins and family.  See earlier blog posting.  We are planning to stop and visit/pray with them on Monday.   We continue to claim healing for Dr. John.
  2. Dr. Jim and Kathy Radcliffe.  Jim is our lead surgeon at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in Papua New Guinea.  He will be heading into surgery on Tuesday, May 9th, here in the states, for the removal of an adrenal tumor.  Pray that it is benign and pray for rapid recovery.  Great story about Dr. Radcliffe.
  3. Jet Wing
    Many miles of travel to be made on this trip.

    Traveling safety.  We have many hours to drive and fly during this trip.  Yesterday at about 4pm as we were driving to Pennsylvania, I finally told Connie, “I just can’t go anymore.”  We found a McDonald’s parking lot, pulled in, and slept for about 30 minutes, so we could keep on traveling.

  4. Family. Like most families, we have so many who are in desperate need of a touch from God.  Please pray for healing for Aunt Bev, Aunt Sheryl, Curt, Ronan, our 6 kids (David, Dwayne, Jessica, Cale, Courtney, Landen).  This is just the start – the family list is long, but prayer makes a difference!

We will close for now.  Thank you so very much for your prayers on behalf of Connie for her shoulder and eye.

Connie with her super smile, sharing about our ministry at the Eastern Region Work & Witness Conference
Connie with her super smile, sharing about our ministry at the Eastern Region Work & Witness Conference

She is doing so much better.  You can tell that she truly loves what she is doing…I’m not sure that it is physically possible to smile any bigger!

Thanks for making the journey with us, for praying, partnering, encouraging and supporting.  We definitely couldn’t do it without you!  Together we are making an impact in Asia!

There are definitely more great things to come!  Stay Tuned!

 

Answers to Prayer…the Journey begins!

Manila Airport
Sitting in the Manila Airport, waiting for our flight to depart. Manila – United Arab Emirates – Washington DC

Connie and I are sitting here in Terminal 1 of Manila International Airport, waiting for our flight to depart for the Middle East and then on to Washington DC.  We will be at the first regional Work and Witness Conference in about 48 hours.  You can see the travel and speaking schedule here.

We are so very blessed!  Quite literally, we have received notes and comments from around the globe from friends and family committing to pray.  God is answering!  Connie’s shoulder is feeling much better.   Her range of motion has increased substantially and the aching pain has decreased.  The blistered area of her eye (the entire sclera – white area) has resolved with the medication.  We are both feeling much better, fevers resolved, and we are ready for the next 4 weeks of conferences and speaking!  God Is So Good…and we are so blessed to have such a tremendous prayer team.  Thank you from the depths of our hearts.

Many of you receive an email each time we post and we don’t want to flood your inboxes over the next few weeks, so we are starting a special page on our site to share news about this trip.  You may follow along as we post praises and prayer requests, but you won’t automatically be sent updates.   Here is the link

The WMC-AP Team as we said goodbye this afternoon before leaving for the airport.
The WMC-AP Team as we said goodbye this afternoon before leaving for the airport.

We would so greatly appreciate your continued prayers for:

1)  Dr. John Mullins, Shauna, and their family (see the specific prayer request).  We are hoping to visit with them in person on September 8th, and to be able to spend time in prayer with these dear friends and partners in ministry.

2)  Kudjip Nazarene Hospital Surgeon Dr. James Radcliffe, as he is scheduled to have a tumor removed on September 9th (see his story here).  Also pray for the rest of the doctors and the team in Papua New Guinea.

3)  Our World Mission Communications Asia-Pacific Team, as they work on many projects over the next couple of weeks.

4)  Our several friends and family members with cancer.  The Lord knows their names and we would appreciate your prayers.

Thank you so very much for being part of our prayer team.  We truly couldn’t be here without you there, praying and paying the price.  Together, we are reaching the Asia-Pacific Region for Christ!