October Trip out East

What's Been Going On?

In October, we packed up and headed out on a three-week trip to visit churches in Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan. First, we had a great time at Coleville Wesleyan Church in Bellefont, PA. Pastor and Mrs. Ron and Blanche Kilgus were fun hosts. We loved how the church faithfully sets aside time during each Sunday service to pray for missionaries.

We then headed up to Vermont for a week with Alan's family. Vermont is beautiful in the fall, and we enjoyed relaxing and visiting family and friends.

After Vermont, we drove back to Pennsylvania for a weekend with Pastor and Mrs. Ken and Arlene Stephens at the Summit Hill Wesleyan Church in Howard, PA. We are usually the ones doing all the talking about missions, so it was a treat to hear Pastor and Mrs. Stephens and Annie Crissinger share about their recent trip to Swaziland. God is working around the world!

We drove to Clearfield, PA, where our friend Scott Muirhead lives. Scott led the EuroCamp team with Alan for several years. That evening, we visited the Hyde Wesleyan Church. We really enjoyed meeting Scott's family and catching up with him.

Next was Cuba, New York! Our friends, Jon and Ashley Ward, pastor the Wesleyan church in Cuba. They allowed us to stay in the church's mission house for over a week. This was a restful break for us. Toby and Benjamin loved the park right across the street from the house. We loved that it was a small, safe community and we could let the boys go play by themselves. While we were in Cuba, we visited Houghton College and our friends, Kevin and Cindy Austin, former missionaries to Germany and the Czech Republic.

The next weekend, we traveled up to Buffalo, New York, for a missions conference at Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church. We stayed in the home of John and Faith Fisk (thanks, guys!) and enjoyed connecting with the people of Eastern Hills as well as the other missionaries that participate in the conference. About half of our team to Czech this summer were from Eastern Hills, and we loved seeing them again.

We traveled back to Cuba for a few more days, before heading to Dryden, Michigan. It's (theoretically) shorter to drive through Ontario, Canada from where we were to where we wanted to go. Plus, the kids have never seen Niagara Falls. So, we visited Niagara Falls! The boys' reactions were so fun to watch. While we were in Niagara, we were shocked to run into Jason and Kerensa McFrederick, who are also missionaries to the Czech Republic. We had a great impromptu visit. Then, on across Canada!

Our last weekend away from home we spent at the Dryden Wesleyan Church in Dryden, Michigan. Pastor and Mrs. Dan and Carla Wilson welcomed us, and Jerry and Linda Pakkala welcomed us so much, they moved out of their house for the weekend so we could stay there! We shared with everyone from the children to the youth to the Best Years Fellowship group!


What's Next for November and December?


Since we've been back home in Rock Island, we visited the Hoyne Avenue church in Chicago. We stayed with Pastor and Mrs. Joe and Donna Blasczyk. This weekend, we'll visit the DeKalb Wesleyan Church in DeKalb, Illinois. Next, we are at Broadview Wesleyan Church, again in the Chicago area. We'll take a break for Thanksgiving!

The first weekend in December, we will participate in Heritage's missions emphasis weekend and travel to Hope Wesleyan in Galesburg, Illinois. December 9 we will visit Lawrenceville Wesleyan Church in southern Illinois.

Praises

• We've reached 50%!!!!!
• Safety and provision during our long 3-week trip
• Time with family and friends
• Good fellowship with pastors and churches
• God's flawless timing

Prayer Requests

• For continued favor with churches and individuals, that we may push on to the 100% goal so we can move to the Czech Republic!
• Safety as we travel many miles in the van
• For physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional well-being for our family members
• For the team of missionaries and Czech believers that is already working hard in the Czech Republic.
• For those Czechs who do not yet know Christ. May their hearts be softened and their ears opened to hear the gospel.

Thank You

We cannot adequately tell you how grateful we are for your support. Some of you provide prayer support, some financial support, and some are able to do both. We know that God is hearing your prayers and honoring your contributions. Thank you for caring about taking the gospel to the Czech Republic.


If you feel God prompting you to give, you can visit http://www.praygivego.com/. Click on "Give," then on "Become a Financial Partner."

For photos of our October trip, click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/alanaimee/OctoberTrip?authkey=uPUMqHCIPCM.