Missionary work, what do you think of when you think of a missionary? What is the life you envision for a missionary? This might be different depending on the location that the missionary is in. For me, I didn’t know what to expect because the only missionaries I knew of that served in a country like our host country was the ones I’ve read about. Of course I’ve read a lot about Adoniram Judson, and then others such as Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, etc. My thought was that we would have it much easier than them since it’s been decades from the time they were in the field. What I have discovered though was there are many things that are the same. I read Judson’s stories about the people and I see the same faces, the same houses and the same clothing. I’m sure it’s a lot easier now than it was then, but then I think, ‘Man, would I have been able to handle it?’ Going into the mission field has been the hardest obstacle I have ever faced in my life. Being a missionary is signing up to be uncomfortable, being put into situations that will stretch you. You become vulnerable to all of your shortcomings because if you are doing God’s work, then you find yourself in a battle with Satan. You suddenly have a giant target on your back and you are constantly being tested or going through trials. This may not be for everyone, but this has been our lives for the last two years.

In this time we have become stronger as a family and have drawn closer to God. I’m truly grateful for the Lord and for Him never leaving nor forsaken us. Below is a brief family update. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.

The Lord has had our focus be more towards the church here. We have been blessed with a building and we have been working on transitioning all of our ministries there. We are praying that the Lord will send helpers to come alongside of us. We need a worship leader and a children’s ministry leader as well. We also need someone to come and pastor the church while we are gone on furlough.
 
We have had many visitors and illnesses since our last blog. I feel like God blesses us with visitors because at times it’s very hard here; and the visitors bring encouragement and they get us excited again about the work happening here, being able to see everything through their fresh eyes.
 
Home school is going well, we are trying to still figure out how to mold our lives with school and to trust in the Lord while doing so. Arron has 15 college credits completed and he is finishing up his freshman year of high school. He started playing Australian football at the Australian embassy which he has really enjoyed. He has also started on our worship team playing the keyboard. He finished up this semester taking language lessons at the University and will start up again after returning from furlough. Jocelyn has been busy and will prayerfully finish up 7th grade before we return on furlough. Her friend here just moved back to the Philippines, so please pray for her. We are spending lots of mother daughter time together and she is becoming a beautiful little lady. Julianna and Jenavieve are two peas in a pod. They are each others best friends and they do everything together. Julianna will prayerfully finish 4th grade by the time we head back on furlough and Jenavieve is finishing up 1st grade shortly.

Arron has been preaching at the church and other locations. He has also traveled to Chin State and to other regions in Myanmar to preach and teach the gospel. He has also been working with a translation team with many translation projects. I (Vicky), have been leading the women’s Bible study and working on translation work for the studies. 

Continue to pray for us! 

It’s been one year!

Are we the same? Absolutely not! We have been stripped down and fear there is more work to do. No kidding, it’s been really hard. Sprinkled throughout the following time line were things like illnesses not mentioned, bug invasions, Sunday fellowship at our church and others, weekly Bible study, many hospital visits praying for others, fellowshipping with all the ministries the Lord has called us to. Looking over the last year here’s a list we’ve come up with:
​

• Said good bye to our loved ones - Sep 2016
• Met new friends in Thailand - Sep 2016
• Wedding Anniversary - Sep 2016
• Moved into our temporary home in Yangon - Sep 2016
• 1 Month - Oct 2016
• Family was taken advantage of and hurt by a national - Nov 2016
• Jocelyn’s Birthday - Nov 2016
• Vicky's GrandPa died - Dec 2016
• Moved to our permanent home - Dec 2016
• First Christmas in Yangon - Dec 2016
• Got pets (2 parrots, fish and cat) - Dec 2016
• Arron preaching every Sunday at different churches - Jan 2017
• Received our first package - Jan 2017
• Vicky got mouth sores, no eating for a week - Jan 2017
• Tried doing all the cooking, shopping and cleaning - no home school - Jan 2017
• Team of young men from US on mission trip in Thailand delivered Bibles - Jan 2017
• First language teacher - Jan 2017
• Vicky taught at restoration center - Jan 2017
• Fellowshipping with neighbors - Jan 2017
• Parrot died - Jan 2017
• Arron taught in Bible training center - Feb 2017
• Fish died / bought new one - Feb 2017
• Arron Flew to Kachin State and taught at a Pastor’s conference - Feb 2017
• Got ducks / ducks died - Feb 2017
• Got a helper - stole from us - Feb 2017
• New helper / stole from us - Feb 2017
• The Roesner’s visited - Feb 2017
• Outreach in Twentay - Feb 2017
• Outreach at Hindu temple - Feb 2017
• Delivered Bible sticks to restoration center - Feb 2017
• Second language teacher - March 2017
• Parrot flew away - March 2017
• Arron went to Shan State to teach at a conference - March 2017
• Fish died / new fish - March 2017
• Attended our first Myanmar wedding - March 2017
• Started experiencing bugs and power outages - March 2017
• Attended our second wedding - March 2017
• Arron had his appendix removed - March 2017
• Arron taught at a Bible training - March 2017
• Thanda started helping us - April 2017
• Home school resumed - April 2017
• Arron Jr’s birthday - April 2017
• Received boxes of Bibles and books - April 2017
• Took mission trip to the Delta to teach as a family - April 2017
• Small group from US visited us and we took them to outreaches - April 2017
• Started a church with Kaung Zan and Wahwah - April 2017
• Started Tuesday night Bible Study  - April 2017
• Jenavieve’s birthday - April 2017
• Planned trip to beach - canceled everyone sick - May 2017
• Julianna’s birthday - May 2017
• Took orphanage to see a movie - May 2017
• Arron’s mom had stroke, Arron flew to the states - May 2017
• The Ellman’s came - May 2017
• Shared all of the ministry with the Ellman’s - May 2017
• Vicky’s birthday - May 2017
• Tarantula in my room twice - May 2017
• Third language teacher - June 2017
• Got Bibles - June 2017
• Monsoon season begins - June 2017
• Jocelyn’s purity ring - June 2017
• Vicky Typhoid - June 2016
• Jocelyn viral infection / rash - June 2017
• Julianna and Jenavieve bacterial infection - June 2017
• Arron viral infection - June 2017
• Taxi accident, hit by motorbike - June 2017
• Arron taught IBS at Bible college - June 2017
• Funeral services - June 2017
• Arron taught at conference - July 2017
• Fourth language teacher - Aug 2017
• Jocelyn and Julianna start choir and art at Int’l school - Aug 2017
• Field trip to factory - Aug 2017
• We have internet - Aug 2017
• Many hospital visits for others - Aug 2017
• Visa renewed - Aug 2017
• Funeral services - Aug 2017
• Malaysia - Aug 2017
• Letter went out saying no longer any prayer, worship or religious activities outside of a registered church - Aug 2017
• Lockerbie’s visit - Sept 2017
• Received supplies to start making audio Bibles - Sept 2017
• Chiang Mai conference - Sept 2017
• 20th Wedding Anniversary - Sept 2017
• Arron helping with a IBS conference - Sept. 2017
• Arron traveling the country for a month doing conferences - Oct/Nov 2017

Looking over this list we are reminded of how faithful our Lord is. Praise the Lord. 

“It’s so nice coming here and being with so many other Filipino missionaries. It’s comforting that we are not alone. That we are in this walk together.” A sweet missionary friend at church shared this, as they were praising the Lord. It was sweet and as everyone in my family agreed and love their fellowship, it reminded us that we are alone. It’s not easy being here as pioneers, but we also know our family has been created for this. At times it’s difficult, discouraging and can be just plain hard. Satan has even used us against each other in our own home with our hardships, short tempers and irritabilities. Blessings have come from recognizing those things that come from Satan. 1 Thessalonians 2:18, Paul is saying how Satan hindered him from doing something. Sometimes God stops us but there are other times where it’s Satan. He does not want us doing God’s work.

It never seems to fail, whenever times have been hard God sends us encouragements. Sometimes these encouragements come in way of a visitor. A couple months ago, Arron’s mom was very ill and in the hospital, Arron flew to the states to be with her. The Ellman’s (friends from Indy) came to stay with us while he was gone; this was such an encouragement. Not only did they encourage us while Arron was gone which gave him encouragement it strengthened us for times to come.  Next month, Andrew and Justus Lockerbie will be coming to see us; this will be a huge encouragement. 1 Thessalonians 3:1-4 reminds us that we are not alone, Paul sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage the Thessalonians faith. The verse says that they should not be shaken by these afflictions and also guaranteed them the afflictions would happen.  

The Lord has encouraged us by His Word, this week alone, we have been studying separately and both of us have been reminded of Satan’s craftiness. To beware and to be encouraged. Mark 4:40 ‘Why is it that you are so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’ Arron was getting ready to preach on this section of scripture and he was feeling very discouraged. While preparing the lesson he was encouraged that he must have faith during these difficult times. He said, ‘In times like this we must double down in our prayer and personal study of His word.’ 

When I had typhoid and received treatment, and when others in our family became ill, the Lord gave us strength. He reminded me to be thankful in all situations. When I was getting my IV infusions, I listened to worship songs and I was reading about Corrie Ten Boom. I was reminded to give thanks in all things during this time. When Jenavieve was lying in the hospital bed and I was lying beside her, I had scripture worship music on. The songs that played were Psalm 23; Philippians 4:6-7 (be anxious for nothing); Habakkuk 3:18 (Yet I will Rejoice). Colossians 4:2 says, ‘we are to be earnestly in prayer being vigilant in it with thanksgiving’. Even though all of us were sick with one thing or another, finding ways to be thankful helped our family. It has led us to start a new tradition, every time we pray now we go around saying one thing we are grateful for. What a sweet treat to come out of a difficult time. 

Last week we were feeling discouraged, because of the rain, attendance had been down at the bible study and for the church service. With the constant rains, not feeling well and being inside our home (all 6 of us) our emotions were piling up. We were tired of not being able to communicate to others, tired of eating rice, dealing with bugs, walking through water, etc… Sunday we were invited to a church in the morning for Arron Jr. to play piano, and for Arron Sr. to preach. We showed up and they were so hospitable and sweet. The choir sang half of their songs in English and it was very beautiful. Afterwards they served us a meal and visited with us, it was very encouraging. Sunday evening we had a missionary pastor who attends the church preach, Arron was able to enjoy the message. We had around 60 people show up; it was amazing. We had new people come and some of the men walked right up, picked up guitars, drumsticks and started playing the keyboard. We had an amazing time of worshiping the Lord, we even alternated between Burmese and English, and it was beautiful. After service no one left, that never happens! Everyone was visiting and fellowshipping: it warmed our hearts so! Tuesday night we had a record attendance at the bible study: there were over 15 adults. We started out Saturday struggling and feeling down and the Lord kept giving us bits of encouragement. 

We were blessed by the Roesner's coming and spending time with us. We kept them very busy while they were here (maybe a little too busy). They brought us packages from home, from all of our loved ones which was a sweet gift. The kids loved spending time with Popo (Al), Pwapwa (Pat) and Coco (Daniel). The kids call them by these Burmese names which mean grandpa, grandma and brother. We did an outreach in a Buddhist area with our Dala friends who are building an orphanage / church. We also did an outreach in a Hindu Temple which had many challenges, but God paved the way and everything went smoothly. We delivered audio Bible Sticks to those who are illiterate including women at the restoration center. After the Roesner's went home Arron went to Lashio where he came alongside a group there holding a pastor conference. He had the privilege to teach for two days.

            First, we want to thank each and every one of you for your prayers and support towards our family. We hope you can take the time to read this letter. We know it is a long update, however the Lord has been keeping us busy and we wanted to share all that He is doing with you.
            Our Lord has flooded us with so many ministry opportunities and yet since He works all things for good and in His timing we have not been overwhelmed. We have been in Myanmar four months and we are just amazed with everything we have had the privilege to be apart of.
Ministry
Arron’s Ministry:
            Arron has had the opportunity to preach most Sunday’s since arriving to Myanmar. This has opened the doors to allow him to make contacts with pastors and church leaders in the area to introduce the Inductive Bible Study (IBS) method. The churches vary in size from 50+ to home churches with a dozen people. One of these churches is a Buddhist home, yet he was asked to come and share the gospel.
            In February Arron is flying to Kachin State to teach at a pastors conference with an attendance of over 150 pastors. Arron will teach a 3 day introduction to IBS in hopes of returning later in the year for a full 1-2 week class. He has also been told there will be some pastors there from Chin State that would be interested in this teaching method with hopes that this will open the doors to travel to Chin State and share the gospel there.
            At the end of February he will fly to Shan State and work with a Calvary Chapel from Oregon to hold a conference for pastors and leaders. This is the same group that was featured in the Calvary Chapel magazine we showed last year as we traveled. It is a great experience to be able to partner with them in sharing the gospel.
Vicky’s Ministry:
            Vicky has been volunteering at the Thelo Restoration Center teaching women how to study the Bible. Jocelyn has also been able to attend which has been a great mother-daughter ministry for the two of them.
            Vicky is developing a good relationship with Po, the lady who runs the Restoration Center. During her visits at the center she learned that there were a handful of women who are illiterate. The Lord set a burden on Vicky’s heart because these women could not read their bibles. Everyone who arrives at the center is issued a bible, however because they lack the ability to read they cannot receive the full counsel of God and are dependant on someone else to be taught the word.
            Vicky wanted to help these women learn to read but lacked the resources and was unsure how she could do it. Then the Lord opened a door. When she returned home she posted on Facebook some of the items the women at the center were making.  Many commented that they like the items and wanted to know how to get them. Vicky offered to send items back to the US, with the US teams that visit, in exchange for a donation to the center. We were able to raise over $300 which will go directly back to the center. In addition to raising the money, a family from the states donated $1000 towards the purchase of 20 bible sticks in Burmese along with other teaching supplies for the illiterate. This will help the center and our family’s ministry because we believe we will be encountering this problem quite a bit. Vicky hopes to be able to go back regularly to teach the ladies and lead a bible study.
Family Ministry:
            Update on the Dala Orphanage that we visited the first month we arrived in Myanmar:  During that visit we noticed a need for bibles. A family in the US sponsored the purchase of bibles for this orphanage and we had the opportunity to deliver this gift. The family was very generous and also provided a Christmas to all the children at the Dala Orphanage. Our family purchased the bibles here in Myanmar along with the other gifts. We were able to teach the children how to play Uno, soccer and American Football. It has been a great joy to see our children interacting with and being able to love the children here. 
            A fun story that happened a few weeks ago: We were invited to teach Sunday school at a church near our home but since we had a busy travel week we declined the offer. They then persuaded us to attend and just teach one song to the children. We decided to go ahead and participate. They had us open in prayer and teach the song, Arron then shared and taught, then Vicky shared and we closed in prayer. It is amazing the love for the Word of God here and how the people desire the richness of it.
Outreaches we have been a part of:

• An outreach at the All Boy Correctional Center: This is a center for boys 16 and under who were either arrested or lived on the streets and is a government-run facility. The outreach consisted of sharing the gospel, singing, creating a couple of skits, and feeding them. There were over 70 boys who came up to receive Christ.
• The same day we delivered the bibles and gifts to the Dala orphanage, the church arranged an outreach in a new building they recently built. They had an open house in the building feeding about 300 people who came from the local village. The church family shared Gods love by loving the village.

Outreaches we are initiating:

• A new building near Dala will be our base for our first large outreach. We are blessed to say we will have our friends from the states, the Roesner’s, here to help. We are expecting over 300 people, most of which are Buddhist.
  • Part one will be for the adults. We will be showing "A Gospel Film" followed by a short teaching and a meal together.
  • Part two will be with the children. We will show them a short film followed by a teaching of the wordless book (sharing the gospel), making gospel bracelets, teaching songs and memory verses followed by some games. They will then join the adults for the meal.
• We will be having two more outreaches in Thanlyin with the Roesner’s. These will be geared toward the children but all parents will be present. We will again be teaching on the wordless book, making bracelets, teaching songs and memory verses and playing games. We will be expecting around 100 people between both outreaches, most of which are Hindu.

Home
            We have been so blessed by the Lord for finding us this home and neighborhood. There have been many fun adventures living here. There have been power outages, and government water shut-offs (which is a mystery of when this will happen and when the water returns). Vicky sleeps with the mosquito zapper by her side and the bite relief in her hand. Each of the children take turns with who gets to sleep with the bite relief cream.
            Fun facts aside, our neighbors are awesome. A couple times a week a neighbor will bring us food and then come back and teach Vicky how to make it. We taught one neighbor how to make pizza and we have had a couple of movie nights with them. We found a great taxi driver at the end of our road who is more than reasonable and there is also a taxi bike driver that helps us shop at the market. One neighbor supplies drinking water so when we are low we just walk next door to get more.
            We have another young man who lives on our street who speaks English well, he has tagged along with us quite a bit. He will start teaching us the language twice a week until we find a teacher. Our neighborhood is a great ministry field for us, we live by many Christians who are cultural Christian. They can pray awesome prayers and sing from their hearts to the Lord but they are not firm in their bible knowledge. It is a blessing to be able to share with them as well as learn from them.
Our Children    
            Our children are adjusting, the younger ones more easily than the older ones. They are trying to all get caught up in their school work from our initial move and constant sickness. The older children are torn between being here and missing Indy. We are involving them in all of our outreaches and some of our individual ministries. They are also interacting more with the neighborhood kids.
Hardships

• In December our family lost a patriarch, Vicky’s grandfather, Bert Millspaugh, who went to be with Jesus. He was a great father in her eyes and has always been there for her throughout her life. She is grateful for the time the Lord gave them to be together before she left the states. She is at peace with it now, that being said, she misses hearing his voice. We have never had to grieve someone who was so close to us before and it has been a challenge. We both thought we were prepared but we were not. As a family we are trying to support one another.
• Over the holiday season we all missed our friends and family. We received our first package from home. The package was very well received and needed during our difficult time. The comfort it brought us was nice. We were expecting the package to be a Christmas surprise, however, the bag showed up almost 2 weeks later. It was worth the wait and we were super excited. 
• We have been sick most of the time. Any given week at least one of us is ill. As I’m writing this four of us are sick. This may be our new normal. The sicknesses range from colds and stomach problems to rashes. Adoniram Judson, who was a missionary here in the late 1700's, had many hardships with sicknesses as well.
• We have had our share of bug bites! We have been bit by mosquitoes, ants, spiders and we don’t even know what else. Adoniram Judson’s 3rd wife (the other 2 died from illnesses) mentioned the bugs here in her journal. Centuries later, they are still an issue. 

Highlights / Lowlights
Arron Jr.
Highlights: Going to the Monkey Park, going to the Dala orphanage, and getting our first package from the states.
Lowlights: Being sick
Jocelyn
Highlight: Going to the monkey Park.
Lowlight: Everyone getting sick
Julianna
Highlights: Getting our bag of goodies and going to the monkey park.
Lowlights: Doing school and being sick.
Jenavieve
Highlights: Getting my lucky charms from the US, and going to the monkey park.
Lowlights: Bug bites and having bugs in my food.

We are so blessed to have arrived. Everything went so smoothly from the children, the luggage and our visa's. Our time in Chiangmai at the conference was a blessing to fellowship with other missionaries. We are now in our temporary housing while on a house hunt for our permanent residence. The children are adjusting well and enjoying the culture and food. The girls are struggling with the heat and some of us have also been sick. Sui Pi is a young lady who now lives with us. She has been raised in the orphanage and has been there for 17 years. This is a adventure for her and she has been experiencing new things such as a kitchen stove and oven, a western shower, etc. This is a large transition for her as well for all of us. In some ways while we are stepping out of western culture she is stepping into it. She has been a blessing to our family from playing with the kids, shopping in the markets with us, cooking, and teaching us some of the language. We have learned a couple of phrases such as 'thank you' and 'you're welcome'. We are also teaching Sui Pi english which she say's is very difficult although she is doing great. We have set up the kids room for them so our house has now become a home. 
Sunday we made a vital mistake making multiple plans in one day. We quickly discovered we can only plan one thing a day as to not wear out our children and to give attention to one thing that day. In the week to come we will be visiting more churches and orphanages. We will be meeting up with new friends and some old ones as well. God has truly blessed us with so many contacts. Please visit our Support page for our updated Prayer requests. 

​     Thank you for your support and prayers over the last few months. We have traveled across North America, visiting friends, family and churches. We have visited: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Canada, and Washington, traveling over 6000 miles by road. The Lord has given us opportunities to share at many churches, partnering with them in His mission. God has paved the way for us to meet new friends including some from Myanmar, broadening our ministry opportunities there. Thank you to all who have hosted us in your homes and churches, we are overwhelmed and humbled by your generosity.   
The next step in our mission is approaching quickly. We are scheduled to leave the USA on September 22nd at 1 am from San Francisco to Chang Mai, Thailand. There we will attend the Calvary Chapel Southeast Asia Missions Conference from September 26th thru September 29th. We then will continue on to Yangon Myanmar on September 30th.  
     The Lord has been so faithful to His calling for our family. He has continued to strengthen our faith by giving us continual confirmation. We have had so many different blessings along our road trip and would like to share some of these experiences.
     While visiting Myanmar we noticed one of the greatest needs was among the pastors. There was the lack of understanding the Bible. The Lord pressed upon Arron’s heart a vision to come along side these pastors and teach them how to inductively study and understand the Bible.
     This prayer was answered when we received a call from Dan Finfrock, a teacher who instructs third world pastors in the Inductive Bible Study (IBS) method for over 30 years. The IBS method is designed to help leaders learn to study the Bible by carefully observing, interpreting, and applying God’s Word. Dan invited Arron to join him on a trip to Mexico for one week while he taught the program to national pastors and leaders. While on the trip, Arron was able to observe and learn how teach the material through an interpreter in a way they could understand. This method of studying the Bible will give the Myanmar pastors a skill that will help them create small study groups and create sermons that are biblically sound without any other resources.
     One recent major prayer request has been for housing. During one of our visits in Oregon, it was a divine appointment that we met a family from Myanmar, who God is using to provide housing for us when we arrive to Myanmar. The home they have offered for us to rent was previously occupied by a pastor who used the home for a church and also as an orphanage. We were told it needs lots of TLC and love. We are amazed as God reveals His will and plan to us, that He had preordained all along.
     Our current prayer request/needs are: First that all our flights and travel arrangements would go smoothly. Second, that as parents we would know how to provide for our children’s needs during this transition emotionally, spiritually and physically. Finally, that our visas would be approved and our financial needs would be provided.
     Once we arrive in Myanmar you can reach us several ways; toll free by phone (775) 410-2043, by email, Skype, Viber, Imessage, Facebook or FaceTime.    

     Many of you have been praying for our family on this journey and we would like to thank you for your prayers. The Lord has been putting so many things in place for us we wanted to share a few with you. 
     First, we prayed Vicky would have plenty of time to spend with her Nana and Pa while in California. Vicky's Nana has the beginning stages of dementia and they just discovered a brain tumor in her Pa's brain. Since we are planning on being gone for a couple of years it was very important to all of us to spend time with them. Pa started his radiation treatment the Monday we arrived and beforehand then we were asked if we were available to take him each morning. To us this was a answered prayer, what a great opportunity for us to be with them each day of our trip, spending special time visiting. Our God is so gracious to us, knowing our hearts desires and answering these prayers.
     While we were in California a new friend introduced me to Dan Finfrock. We had dinner with him and his family. Dan teaches IBS around the world to pastors. Again, this was a answered prayer, we had been praying asking God how He wanted Arron to teach the pastors in Myanmar. Dan invited Arron to a week long teaching in Mexico going through his program and seeing how to use it hands on with national pastors. This was such a blessing in so many ways and it leaves us in awe at Gods work and how He is in control.   
     Last but certainly not least, we asked for prayers on our housing when we arrive in Myanmar. We had been praying and had several contacts looking in to housing options for us. Every time we heard back on a possible house the rent was over double of what we could afford. We both decided we would rent a temporary apartment when we get there and we would then search for a house in person. We weren't sure if we would rent a apartment or stay at a hotel for sure and again the prices were not clear. One morning while still in bed our phone rang and it was a family member of a friend of ours who said they would rent a apartment to us while we looked for a house. She said usually we rent this apartment at $2000.00 a month. We said all we can pay is $800.00. She said, "no problem, you guys are missionaries and we want to help you. Also, we have a home you can rent, it's by the airport, it was used for missionaries, has a study for the pastor and a room to teach, we will rent it to you for $800.00 a month to help you." We told her we wanted to live by the airport and it was such a blessing to us. She lives in Portland Oregon and we are having dinner with her next week! Praise the Lord!
     There have been many different examples we have of God confirming the calling He has for us. These have been encouraging and we wanted to start this blog by sharing these with you. Please continue to pray for our family as we finish preparing for this journey. In a earlier blog we said how it was going to be a difficult time. We seriously underestimated the journey which played ahead of us. Living out of our bags, traveling from location to location across the country for 3 months has been incredible training for the mission field ahead of us. This journey has taken a tole on our family, our marriage and our children. It has drained us and brought us closer all at the same time. We ask for your prayers for endurance in this last month as we finish getting ready for our plane ride. Please pray for our children during this time. We will update our support page with prayer requests as well. God Bless  

    There have been some exciting things happening in our preparation to embark on our mission to Myanmar. We won’t keep you in suspense. As some of you know Vicky had been scheduled for a back surgery on June 20th. Vicky's back has always been a ‘sore’ spot for her as she has had previous back surgeries. Vicky's pain, however, was so intense that the doctors said she should have another surgery before leaving the country. We submitted to this detour and many of you have been in prayer for the healing of Vicky's back. We too were praying for healing, but it took the prayer of our little 5 year old Jenavieve to remind us of our lack of faith. Her prayer wasn’t like our prayer in asking for healing it was, “Thank you Jesus for Healing moms back.” We are so excited to let you all know that Jenavieve's and our prayers have been answered. The Lord our God has healed Vicky and taken away her back pain and because of this the surgeon has canceled the surgery!    When we first realized Vicky was pain-free we were puzzled. We went to home fellowship that night and everyone there flooded us with their love and faith. Vicky was reminded of the story in Mark where the father who had a sick son, asked Jesus if he could heal his son. Jesus replied, “What do you mean, ‘if I can?’” Jesus stated, “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” This is how Vicky felt when she had asked for healing and then received it. Jesus receives all glory and honor for this miracle, He has given to us. We are also thankful that Arron and the children health are doing well. We stand in amazement while we are walking forward in His Faith.       
    Due to our ability to continue with the original plan, our last day at Horizon Christian Fellowship was June 5th, which was bittersweet. Our new departure date is June 20th, making it our official "homeless" date to head west to visit family, friends and churches. We will make our way to Texas first and then head to California, Nevada and finally Oregon. We are excited to say that we have purchased our tickets to Thailand in order to attend the Calvary Chapel Asia Missions Conference. From there we will proceed to our mission field in Myanmar. 
   We covet your prayers for this next and most anticipated phase of our mission. This is also one of the most difficult parts as we pack up our few belongings and say goodbye to the people we have come to know and love. Other specific prayer requests are still for the hedge of protection against the enemy, his attacks and for the financial support we will need as we travel across the country to our destination.
    If you are interested in receiving our prayer requests you can email us and we’ll put you on our prayer team. Please also know we pray for each of you; if you have any specific prayers please email those as well.
    As you can see the power of prayer is so powerful; please do not under estimate this in your lives.

We had no idea what to expect when we arrived to Myanmar. We knew the Lord had called us to this foreign country that we had only read about and seen pictures of, but we didn't know why. God showed us His calling through scripture to go and disciple His people, but how and why us was a constant thought. We started this journey knowing we would eventually go as a family straight on faith because there was no logic to this idea. Arron arrived to the country first and every picture he sent me it was as though he had a glow, a glow that could only come from the Holy Spirit. He seemed to have an overwhelming joy when I would talk to him over the phone. He had fallen in love with this country within days of being there. I was so excited for my trip and I was praying the Lord would show us more when we were there. When I joined Arron I was flooded with the same love for this country and its people. They were warm, loving, and open to receiving us. Words can't describe how we felt in this short time of being there. We visited with orphans, played with them, loved on them and shared lots of hugs and laughs. We visited a widow's home, prayed with them and shared hugs. We taught the Word of God, baptized and laid hands in prayer. We smiled and told them that they were beautiful. We were ready to come home to be reunited with our children. Since we have been home the Lord has placed a longing on our hearts to return.
When we first arrive at the orphanage the bus is surrounded by over 400 orphans. As you step off the bus the children choose who they want to spend time with through the duration of our trip. I had 6 children choose me and Arron had 5 children choose him. After spending days together every day they would look on our phones at our family photo on our home screen. On the last day together they asked if they could get a family photo of all of us together on our phones.
Visit our picture blog to see photos.