Set in September

This week I sat across the table from a sweet friend; for those of you who have been with us for a while, she’s a familiar character. We reflected together on the past two years in our respective families. Two years ago, her estranged husband wouldn’t even call her by name. Two years ago, we were heading into an extremely challenging pregnancy and an even more difficult parenting assignment. As we laughed and cried, we realized: God does answer all prayers, but rarely in the way we expect. She prayed for a return to the happy past, before the fight, and instead got a new, braver, rawer relationship. We prayed for financial stability and instead got a child who brought us into a social welfare network. 

These days, we find ourselves reflecting on the past and looking ahead with gratitude: one year ago, our baby came home from the ICU. Today, he is chirping with excitement as he crawls to tip over the recycling bin. One year ago, our pastor suddenly quit with one week’s notice. Now, we are still in a pastoral search, but our worship is full, and we have a rotation of speakers, and our kids program regularly has upward of 40 kids in bilingual classes. Last year, Ryan decided once again to postpone his next masters class in order to take care of the urgent needs of our family. This month, he completed his program and is waiting for his diploma. 

Such reflection of course points us to gratitude. We are grateful for God’s ongoing provision for us, and for the concrete ways in which you, our cloud of witnesses, live as the hands and feet of Jesus in our daily lives. Thank you for walking with us. 

Coming up: 

- CAJ high school students leave for School Without Walls this week, spreading out all over Japan to practice transferring their classroom knowledge to hands on experiences. Please pray for safety and rich learning experiences. 

- Our church will go on a one day retreat in October. Please pray for fellowship and unity as we enjoy spending time as a body and get to know each other better. 

Because of some accounting issues during a change of leadership in our fund raising organization, we are in a very tight financial season. Please pray for wisdom and discretion in our daily finances as we steward our resources and plan for the future. 

- Because of our son’s disabilities, we’ve begun to meet other families with children with various disabilities, mostly in the hours we spend in hospital waiting rooms. We are very aware of the loneliness and social isolation that often comes with a disability, and we’re also so impressed to find friends who are living out their abilities and disabilities with joy. Please pray for us as we engage with this new community.