We have been led to partner with the local body at Victory Memorial Baptist Church. It is an old church that was at one time very vibrant and fruitful for the Gospel, but in the past several years has been declining in number and in fruitfulness. We have joined with a few other students and families from the Seminary as interns for the church (well David is techinally the intern). We have just hired a full time pastor and are beginning to make some changes. Please pray that God would revive this local body and use us to reach the surrounding community and that we would find encouragement in the fruit that we do see. We have recently started a Ladie's Bible Study on Wednesday mornings which has been a blessing for me in time with the Lord and in fellowship with sisters.
I am now back to one child! I was keeping another little girl during the days. This lasted for about 3 months and ended the week after Christmas. I really enjoyed the time with this precious little girl, but it is nice to be back with one child. This was just one more way God showed us His mighty and perfect provision: We used the extra income to pay off our hospital bills. I actually ended up watching her for about a month longer than originally planned, and the amount we earned was almost the exact amount of debt we had. Praise God for His Perfect Provision.
Oh back to the books. We really enjoyed Christmas break and are very grateful for the time we were able to spend together as a family. David has began his 2nd semester of classes. He is currently taking his second course in Greek, an Introduction to Biblical counseling, and a survey of Christian Ethics. So far he is enjoying his classes and is thankful for the opportunity.
I have started my 3rd class in the Seminary Wives Institute. This term I am taking a Baptists Beliefs class, which is similar to an introductory systematic theology class. It is taught by Dr. Mohler (the president of the seminary) and 3 other professors. I am really excited about this class, and have already been blessed by the first 2 nights.
So people are always saying kids grow so fast, dont blink or you'll miss it....man is it true! It seems like we were just discussing baby names and wondering what our sweet little girl would look like. And now, she is 8 1/2 months old and is getting into everything! Gracyn now has 4 teeth, and is in the process of getting 2 more. And she has certainly learned how to use them. At 8 months old, we have already receieved news of her trying to bite other kids in the nursery. She has become an expert in crawling and is now standing and pulling up on everything, as well as walking along with a walker toy (not sure the correct name for that). She is so much fun and it has been such a joy and blessing to watch her grow and see her personality starting to shine.
Prayer Needs:
Please Continue praying for David's job situation. He is still working at Cintas, but we are praying for open doors for a different job. This job is extremely strenuous on David's body and with a full time school schedule and an almost fulltime work schedule, David is left with little time for a wife and daughter. 2 days a week David is only home for 30 minutes while Gracyn is awake. We are praying for something that will open up for more time at home and more time to spend on school work, but will still pay the bills. But more importantly, please pray that God will continue to use David at Cintas to further build His Kingdom. David has had several opportunities to share the Gospel with a few co-workers, and we praise God for all He has done and is doing there.
God has been so FAITHFUL!!! He has provided every need and has overwhelmed us with His steadfast love. We have been so blessed by the support of our brothers and sisters from Venture and we are so thankful for all the prayers and support from all of you! Thank you!!!!
