July 7, 2011

Dear Prayer Team - As you will see from reading this update, we really need to pray for God to strengthen David.  He emphasizes how tired he is, but he won't stop until the task is completed.  Pray for strength and for rest when he can find time for it.

Praise God for all that has happened there.  God isn't just sitting in Heaven watching what's going on.  He is active in Croatia and in Pearland too.  Thank God He is active in our lives.

Earl

Earl, Here is the latest on the Croaita Misson Trip from David. As you can see, there are many things to be praying about. Debbie Please get this out to those that are praying for us. My finger is numb and I am worried about getting the feeling back in the spot where I cut it. It is healing but the feeling is not coming back in it. I am very tired and I need some rest but so much is going on it is hard to do so.  We have seen God open so many new opportunities to minister and share and we are excited about them all. Rusty had a wonderful turnout for his lecture with the small business leaders and Chamber of Commerce. They had about 35-40 people there, some old and some young. Stefan said it went really well and that Rusty tied in God by saying the most important thing was serving Him and giving back to him in your tithing. He was real pumped up and excited about putting in some workshops next year and the people were real excited about him coming back. Chris worked with the team and Joe and I went and looked around town for a place to possibly buy for the future of this ministry. We found an awesome house in an awesome location but need to lift up the situation in prayer to see if that is where God is leading us. Would love to have a place to hold meetings, bible studies and invite people to come and hear about Christ. Chris worked the team out with a 2 hour practice and Shannon and Stefan went back up to the orphanage to share some presents with them and we bought two blow up pools for them to use with the children. They have approximately 75 children who live at the village and we are excited about the opportunity to share Christ there. We will have to work with the government on this and send some papers in the Spring of next year to arrange for us to come and spend some time with them. In the afternoon we all went to one of the Storks home to have dinner that the Storks provided for us. It was incredible and the fellowship and time spend with them was incredible. They are really receptive to listening to our love for God and the message seems to really be sinking in. Please pray they will continue to move toward Christ and not shut him out. They are beginning to see our vision of the field as one that is not just about them but about the many children who will come in the years to come! God is starting to work on their hearts in making themselves less significant. We spent some time in prayer on Tuesday night to pray one last time together as a team. Joe, Rusty, Chris and Grant left this morning at 5:00am and since not everyone would be up, we prayed last night. It was a very emotional time as we prayed for Stefan as we would be leaving him behind to carry on the mission when we returned to the States. I got everyone up and we got off to the airport at 5 and they made it to their flight with no problem. Joe and Grant and I prayed again after I parked and got into the airport, Rusty and Chris had already gone through security. I am so thankful for these guys and all they did while they were here. God is really using Grant to speak to the younger generation of players on the Storks and he is really connecting with them. Please pray for their safety as they return home and for their families. The ladies went to Zagreb to spend some time sight seeing with Marko, one of the Storks captains. He was very helpful in agreeing to spend this time with them to show them around. They all seemed to have a great time and enjoyed the chance to see the culture and learn more about the country. I stayed in Sisank and spent the morning and afternoon with Stefan. We shared and prayed what God was laying on our hearts and what we see happening in the future as well as the future of this ministry. He is on fire to serve his people and the respect he has gained with the parents and team is incredible. Since he has spent time in the States and graduated with a degree they are listening to him and respecting his opinion. We saw that last night when he came to interpret with Little John's father. Little John's father really admired what Stefan had done and what he had become. God is going to do great things in and through Stefan here in Sisak. I am very tired and need to get a shower and get some rest before getting up at 5:25am to take the next batch of people leaving for home tomorrow, Elizabeth, Sarah, Rachel and Katie all leave Thursday moring to head back. Pray for a safe journey and that their luggage would all make it home with them. We are heading to the Waterfall national park with Coach Daniel and several of the Storks so they can show us this wonderful place.  It is now 12:30 in the morning and I can hardly keep my eyes open. Thank you so much for praying and keeping us in your thoughts. We are loving them till they ask why and using our steps to leave Christ print, our hands, but His grip, our arms but His hug. God bless you all and have a wonderful God filled day! Hvala (Thanks) Your friend, Davie