October 2019 – so far!

The kids carving pumpkins!

Grand Rapids, MN – 10/6/19

Our first October meeting was at Full Gospel Church in Grand Rapids.

Unfortunately, Norah got sick the night before heading out there, and stayed sick all weekend. I (Hannah) had to stay back and was truly disappointed not to be able to go. Cooper stayed back as well to help out.

Ben, Sage and Wes had a wonderful time of connection with the Salmi family! Pastors Ben and Crystal are good friends of ours, and they are pastoring a vibrant group of believers.

Ben preached and shared about our upcoming work in Oaxaca. After the service he was able to have lunch with the church in celebration of the Salmi’s first full year of ministry with FGC! It was a super special time to be able to be part of the celebration – these guys deserve to be celebrated for sure.

Duluth, MN – 10/13/19

Last week we went north again to Duluth Gospel Tabernacle. Everyone was healthy – hallelujah! Pastor Rebecca Haapanen preached. It was super encouraging to hear her preach. It was a shot in the arm and a reminder to pursue radical obedience to God’s direction even if we don’t understand it. Obedience means getting it right, when we could get it totally wrong in our own understanding.

Ben and I both shared about our Mexico plans and were very encouraged by the response. Lots of new prayer partners, as well as an offering that will go straight toward our purchase of a vehicle.

After church we got to attend a connect group – the kids played, the adults talked and prayed, and everyone ate. It’s clear that these folks are living life together in a beautiful community of relationship.

On the way home, we stopped in Esko to visit with Ben’s Aunt Lila and Uncle Gene and some of their kids. It was refreshing to be able to hang out with them. They are examples of a life lived in faith!

What else?

First, some of the more challenging things. I (Hannah) am discovering more and more how draining it can be to already have one foot here and one foot in Oaxaca. There are SO many things – large and small – to take care of here before we go!

We are moving out of our home of 8 years by the end of October. This is coming SOON. Every day we are packing, sorting, throwing, selling. We are also showing the house to potential renters almost every day, which means keeping the house as pristine as possible. Tricky to do since we still live here! If you know of anyone looking to rent a home in St. Paul starting November 1st, please let us know. (We get a discount if we find our own renters!)

We will spend November in New York state with Hannah’s family. We are scheduled to speak and share in two churches there, as well as catching up with friends and sharing the vision! We’re looking forward to it. We’ll be back in Minnesota for December to celebrate Christmas and New Year with family as well as speak in a few more churches before heading out just after January 1^st!

It seems that almost daily we are making important decisions, and sometimes without all the information on what will happen when, and how. This is beautifully challenging to our faith. We are persevering in trust in ways that we haven’t before as a family. It’s good, and stressful at times! Pray for us as the Lord brings us to your mind. It’s so needed, and truly appreciated!

We have had some truly exciting moments in these last couple of weeks too. There have been so many great conversations and encouragements, and a couple of major highlights:

We had a couple share with us that they felt the Lord leading them to cover Level 1 of Ben’s Spanish School. They wrote a check on the spot for $550! It’s truly humbling to know people are behind us in that way and want to help meet our needs. Thank you, Lord!

We have our eyes on a vehicle (our largest one-time expense before moving to Mexico). It fits our needs at a good price! We are running down details and if all goes well, we will be able to purchase it late next week. This is really exciting but also a major decision – please pray for us! For wisdom, the right timing, for every detail to work out financially. Even after purchasing, there are other costs associated with it (registration, insurance, and most importantly, import fees). So we want to be sure to get the right thing.

THANK YOU for being willing to walk on this journey with our family, and for your prayers, encouragement, and support. It’s really happening!!