Hi all! Two weeks ago, Norah, the kids and I took one of the largest steps of faith that we have ever taken as a family… We got onto the plane to come back to the United States! We’ve taken some pretty large steps of faith over the years; planting churches around Bolivia, moving, trusting God for our safety and finances, etc. We’ve also seen God’s mighty hand so many times over the years. We have learned that when he says GO, we GO. 🙂 But even for us, this seems far fetched. To come to the U.S. with nothing, start over in almost everything in life, and to plant a church that will not only grow, multiply and impact North America in a great way, but will also be a powerful force in helping the Bolivian church surge forward, changing that nation for Christ… THAT is a step of faith. We may be naive in many people’s eyes, but we’re believing and proclaiming in Christ that this is what will happen as we move forward in this new stage of our lives.
It took much longer than expected to finally leave Bolivia, but God worked out everything perfectly. We left the church in Pastors Daniel & Claudia’s care. They are such great people. We were afraid that many would leave once we departed from the church, but the three week overlap of us and the new pastors being there really helped everyone to get to know, trust and commit themselves to them also! We too were able to get all of Norah’s US immigration paperwork done. Overall, we left both the Sucre and the Santa Cruz churches in great shape… And we know that the best is yet to come!
Our last two months in Bolivia were exhausting. Thank God those times of high stress and non-stop work don’t last forever! Since we’ve been here in the States, we’ve been able to rest and to get our heads screwed back on right so that we can figure out our next steps.
Our goal over the next few months is to prepare ourselves for next years church plant completely; spiritually, strategically and financially. I (Jason) will be traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 23rd to visit and plan with the main pastors of “Catedral de la Fe” (Faith Cathedral). This is the church that has taken over our churches in Bolivia. They are very interested in working with us here in the United States also. It is possible that they will help us financially, so we ask that you would pray for us and that God would direct everything according to His will.
After my trip, we will begin visiting all of the churches that have supported us over the years, and our wish is to sit down and talk to every single one of you personally about our next step in ministry. We will be here in Garrett County until December. We will move to plant the church right after Christmas.
Before I close, let me share a few petitions with you. Please pray for my parents and all of us, as we are ALL staying here at their house during this time. It’s nice to be with family, and we can save on rent and utilities… but… there are 8 of us in the house spread across four generations! For some reason I feel that we haven’t left Bolivia yet! 😉
Pray for our kids, especially Erynn and Jordan. They will go to school here, and then we will transfer them mid year. They seem to be doing very well, but all of this change can’t be easy on them.
Please pray for our finances. It’s weird. God has blessed us tremendously. He has provided everything that we need and He has shown us clearly that we are not mistaken on this path. At the same time, we are starting with nothing here, and the Hand of Hur is three months behind in paying our salary. Giving has REALLY fallen since we’ve announced that we were returning here. I wish that everyone understood, but it seems that some don’t. We ask that you please continue to give until we have the chance to sit down with you and talk about what’s coming!
Thanks for your time, love and prayers. We’ll be in touch! May God bless you greatly!
Love,
