Last month...

Well, it's 11:50am, Sunday, October 2nd as I start to write this - if I were feeling normal, I'd be at church right now...basically that's the residue of this last difficult month.  I'd love to strike it from the records, but I also know that the toughest times can also be rich opportunities for God to do a deep work.  So, I pray that the good work that God has begun in us would come to perfection and that the growth and fruit would be richer as a result of having lived through a tough time.

As mentioned last month and in Angela's newsletter (and that I more fully detailed in this blog post), my gall bladder was removed at the beginning of September.  While many people have experienced things FAR worse and do so each day, this period of hospitalization really shook me up in several ways.  However, it was not just me, but Angela too, who was really shaken by the experience - having given SO MUCH to me and at home in my absence without "refill" that her "empty loving cup" caused her deep pain.  As a result, our marriage too has experienced extra pressure during this time.  We've been reeling this month...and...we still don't know how much this all will cost financially!

Angela, our relationship and I are all three still in recovery, but I think also in all three situations we can say that we've seen the faithfulness of our covenant-keeping God in direct comfort but also through our brothers and sisters in Christ, near and far, who have been absolutely amazing in prayer and contact and gracious words of care.

But, while my world seemed to rock off its axis at times last month, God continued His work on many fronts, including these things you prayed for:

• Renovation - Still the major issue in the renovation at our church is to move forward with an installation of an elevator.  In the excavation for the foundation of the elevator, there was some concern about how deep the building foundations went.  Thankfully further excavation showed that they went deep enough.  There is still, however, much "grunt" work to do before we turn over the work to those who actually do the elevator installation.  The numbers of people actually digging (by hand) and hauling away dirt and rock is very small and they still need strength to accomplish the remaining digging.
• School Trip(s) - Olivia's class trip to Budapest was a great success despite the linguistic challenges.  She was able to receive revelation about herself from the Lord and her classmates got a real boost in speaking English…and based on her pics, Budapest is a beautiful place!  Noah is currently in Rome on the annual BFA senior trip.  We're praying that they all have a powerful, fun and safe time.
• IT work and help - Work continues and I feel like I have a significant deadline for the last week of October, but progress is also happening.  One front which excites me is that the school just hired an individual to work on administrative issues.  That, in and of itself, is a great blessing at our school.  What's wonderful from my perspective is that he is well-versed in effective use of IT resources and good practices.  This may add challenges to me in that it requires that we (I) "raise our game" in providing IT services.  However, this is also a blessing in that we begin to use IT resources correctly, which is a great boon to me!  Thank you Lord!
• Angela's school year - As most of you read in Angela's newsletter, she has assumed the duties of English teacher for Olivia's class at school.  She has received tremendous insight from the Lord about the book she's doing with the class (but I'll let her share about that in her next newsletter).  It looks like an exciting challenge for her.

This month...

• Renovation at our church - Please continue to pray for the people doing the shoveling/hauling away grunt work and those coordinating the renovation projects (often the same people) and the companies doing the work that God's perfect timing would be honored.
• School Trip - Please pray for Noah's senior class in Rome this week that they would sense God's presence, learn more about their own history as reflected in the history of the Western world in Rome, that they would be more closely knit together and for their safe return.
• IT work - I feel like I need to get over a significant infrastructure hurdle during the last week of October, which is a vacation week.  To do that however requires testing and preparation to be ready to implement during vacation.  THAT requires that I have solid blocks of time where I'm well and where I'm NOT interrupted by other small IT emergencies.  It feels like a tall order at this point. I know, however, that God has a way forward. Please pray for discernment and understanding (Proverbs 2:3) as I approach this effort that I would aligned with God's ways and timing.
• Surgery recovery - Specifically, I'm concerned with a complete restoration of my digestive system.  It's been pretty up and down at this point.  Please pray for a normal and healthy functioning digestive system to be restored.
• Angela's ministries - Angela's implication in the Sozo inner healing ministry continues to be rewarding, but at the moment more heavy.  The small team of 3 is continuing at a pace that is just barely manageable and at the time there is an effort to train up a larger team.  So there are pioneer growing pains and challenges at the moment.  Taking a page out of IHOP's apostolic prayer practices, I'd ask that you'd use Ephesians 1:17-19 and Ephesians 3:16-19 to pray for Angela and the Sozo team during this month. Her other primary ministry at this time is as English teacher for Olivia's sophomore class.  Please pray for her love for those students and an anointing of creativity to impart a love for the English language and Anglophone culture.

Thank you so much for your care for us!!!

David