Monday, August 26, 2019

God is Always Good, our Faithful Provider! He Has Brought Us to Armenia!

Hello friends. I am writing this update from Armenia, Colombia!! Yes, we are here in Armenia, and it is beautiful here!









Thank you to all who prayed for us, partnered with us, gave to our ministry, hosted us in your home for a meal and/or lodging, and gave us opportunities to speak/share about our ministry in your church, Sunday school class, small group, home, and/or other locations. Thank you to everyone who encouraged us while we were on this year of home ministry assignment whether face to face or through email/text. We appreciate all of you. It is through your loving support that God supplied what we needed to get to Armenia.

Today marks our 11th day back in Colombia. We are settling in to life here, enjoying laughter and fellowship with Pastor Jorge and his wife Kristina and son Felipe, have had the opportunity to do a little bit of sight seeing and learn about our new place of ministry, and are blessed to interact with/participate in ministry with our brothers and sisters at Iglesia Nueva Esperanza and Hands of Hope foundation. I was thinking yesterday how great it is that God's church is not just in one place and does not just speak one language, but is all over the world speaking many languages, and we can find beautiful fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world.


God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. He is worthy of our praise and adoration. All along our journey, we have felt your prayers and He has been in the midst of everything we have done, guiding us, directing our steps, protecting us, strengthening us, helping us. I have been wanting to share with you about of His providence and our adventurous trip coming here and first few days in Armenia and share pictures, so here goes. 


First of all, thank you for your prayers for our visa process. Chris obtained his visa first at the Atlanta Colombian consulate without any problems and the next day, the kids and my visas were approved! The Colombian Consulate representatives were super friendly and helpful, and everything went very smoothly. Melissa Weissenberger, our friend and fellow SAM missionary who works in the SAM home office had graciously translated all our official documents and helped us make sure it was all in order, which helped make the visa process go so well. We are so grateful to her for her hard work on our documents.

After the visas, we needed to get our dog, Rocky's health certificate so he could travel with us. In reviewing the process, I learned that Colombia and the United States had made a new agreement for pet travel that allows a person to obtain the dog's health certificate much faster with an electronic signature from the official USDA state animal import/export office via the internet without having to send paperwork off for a signature with embossed seal. That was awesome because it meant less delay to get to Armenia. It is such a new thing that I couldn't find a veterinarian who had signed up in the system, but when I explained it to one vet's office (the vet who just happened to be much cheaper and more knowledgeable of international pet travel than any of the other vets), he said he would take the time to enroll in the system and do it that way for us. Praise God! So we got his health certificate from the vet, and he sent it off electronically to the official USDA state headquarters. We had to make a few calls to the USDA headquarters to make sure we had the right paperwork, and then Rocky was good to go, or so we thought. That part of our story got interesting when we got to Miami where we were flying out, but God demonstrated to us how He goes before us and with us, even in the little things, like desiring to take our pet dog with us.

But first more praises of how God was providing. We needed a van to get us and all our suitcases to Miami from South Carolina. But everywhere we looked large vans were very expensive, especially to rent from one state and drop off in another. It was getting a little bit frustrating. Then one night I was awake about midnight and decided to just check again for a deal, and there it was! A large van for half the price of any we had seen before. Then we got an even bigger discount! When Chris went to pick it up, it wasn't ready and he had to wait a long time, so they offered him another $100 off. Even though I have seen God provide over and over, I am always still in awe of his providence and care for us. He knows our needs. He also provided us great last minute deals on airfare that were just as economical as the advance tickets. Our trip from South Carolina to Miami went very smooth. I just kept seeing God providing over and over so graciously looking out for us, and I kept thanking him for His goodness!!

We got to Miami a day early on August 13th late at night and settled into the hotel expecting a day of rest the next day before our trip to Armenia, Colombia on August 15th. We just needed to stop by the airport briefly the next morning(Aug. 14) to talk with the airline and make sure Rocky's paperwork was in order for travel so we would not have any problems on the day of travel. 

Our expectations are sometimes not what actually happens, and little did we know that the next day would bring unexpected stress, but also an opportunity to show our kids how to rely on God in troubling situations and praise Him when He provides for every little detail in ways that seem impossible and then rest in Him.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our adventure to Armenia, Colombia and find out what happened with Rocky. I leave you with this. God is our great provider, and prayer is essential in every aspect of our lives. God cares for His children. So look to Him, lean on Him, trust Him. He is faithful, and even when we do not see the answers right away and get a bit frustrated, God is in control and will never leave us. Thank God for His providence and His faithfulness!! 


Psalm 105:1-3
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

We love you all!!



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