2009

Happy New Year everyone!

We have excitedly awaited the coming of 2009 as a new start as 2008 was a tremendously trying year, spiritually, emotionally and physically. New starts are great … we have them throughout a year with Monday’s every week starting a new week, the 1st of every month starting a new month, and also with the beginning of each season. But of course the best ‘newness’ there is is that newness that Jesus brings us through salvation as found here: 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”.

We were guests of Jeff and Sharon Long, and their family, on New Year’s Eve and had a wonderful time.  We learned some new words too, as a result of the games we played to keep us awake till midnight — like deipnophobia!

What a Wonderful Gift!

In our November 2008 eNewsletter we shared about our need to acquire a new computer and a portable drive for the CrossRoads Missions office. One of our supporting families quickly responded to that need and purchased for us a new computer, the portable drive and an additional display monitor. Pictured to the right is Jim’s desk area at CrossRoads Missions showing this new equipment. Thank you so very much for responding so quickly to this need!

In addition to this gift another family sent in a donation to help us replace other equipment in the mission offices.  Today our file server has a brand new LCD monitor!  The file server was the last remaining computer in our offices using one of those huge and power hungry old style VGA monitors (you can see that monitor in the picture above … it’s the white one in the back that Jim often referred to as a “boat anchor”).  With this new monitor we’ve gained back a whole bunch of desk space and also reduced our energy costs.  Thank you!

Looking Ahead

We have many challenges ahead of this year.   Pray with us about an upcoming team meeting in the mission offices scheduled on January 9th.  This meeting brings our New Orleans team to Louisville, along with our office staff in Louisville, for a planning session as to how we are going to approach the New Orleans Ministry in this coming year.  It’s a very important meeting as we implement lessons learned in 2008 and also address our huge financial needs for this field.

The Lord has already opened some additional doors were we’ll be able to help other ministries with web site help.  We have a new web site in process, and plans for another one for a ministry in Africa and a one for a global transformation ministry.  This extension of our ministry work helps expand our involvement on a global scale!

With Jim being more fully recovered from last year’s surgery, and Phyllis, too – we’re looking forward to being able to help out more in the tri-state area with Help Build Hope events.  We are already scheduled to be back in Cincinnati on March 29th (Phyl’s birthday) for an event with the Church at Mason.  We additionally have tentative plans to be in New Orleans perhaps late February to help install their local computer network (and might be able to make a trip to Longview, TX along with this visit south).

With the state of finances and employment in the U.S. and the world we’re confident there will be some challenges unthought-of to date to face in 2009 for us personally and for the ministry.  We are also confident that the Lord will provide for each of these challenges.  As always, we are so very grateful for each and every one of you who enable our ministry through your financial gifts.

Big News!

Just after Christmas we were able to get together with our son Justin, and his wife, Katie, for some late evening nachos!  Justin and Katie shared with us one of their Christmas gifts for us.  We opened the gift box and found lots of chocolate candies and underneath was a small printed sign that read: “Your Second Gift Will Arrive Around September (9 months).”  Yup — grandbaby #3 is on her/his way!  We’re very excited – as you can imagine.  So our September schedule is developing as a tentative schedule as we anticipate this event.

As always, we are so thankful for you and all that you do for us!  Please don’t ever hesitate to let us know how we can be praying for you … and please do come and visit us where we’ll be happy to take you on  a grand tour of our mission offices, drop you by our church plant facility and spend some time with you rubbing hearts!

Lord bless…. Jim and Phyllis