Packing and Other Move-Related Tasks

Since returning home from our last trip, we have been packing up a storm, and trying to take care of a multitude of administrative tasks to get ready for our year in Venezuela. We're both tired but also very content and trying to take things one day at a time, and take at least a few minutes each day to rest and enjoy God's grace. Though we don't fly to Venezuela until August 4th, we only have 1 week of packing time remaining, because of our upcoming travel schedule prior to the Venezuela trip. Thank you for your continued prayers. We are so thankful for our friends and ministry partners. The worldwide Body of Christ is amazing to behold. Much Love, Dan and Nancy

Heading Home

Completed research in Charleston, then with another church in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Attended the North Georgia Annual Conference in Athens, then last night enjoyed seeing a lot of our close friends in the Alpharetta area. We will visit with Ralph and Donna today/tonight, then head home tomorrow. We'll have a couple weeks to try to almost-finish packing up for our move to Venezuela in August, and then we'll head to St. Louis to visit with Chris and Eleanor, plus do research with a church in Illinois. This will be followed by Dan going to Costa Rica to translate for a mission team, while Nancy stays in Wilmore to make last-minute preparations for our move. Thank you for your continued prayers. Much Love, Dan and Nancy

Christians and Fun

We are currently in Charleston, where Dan is engaging in interviews with a local congregation. The interviews are going extremely well, and he is gaining a lot of insight related to his dissertation. An interesting question came up in one interview: should Christians have fun? We believe that Christians of all people should be joyful and live life fully. We are reconciled with the Father through the Son and are empowered/guided by the Spirit. We can/should understand priorities better than others, and thus should be able to enjoy life in wholesome, healthy, vibrant ways, to the extent that other folks yearn to live as we do. In this context we are not thinking of "fun" in any way that dishonors God, so that "if it feels good, do it." However, we do believe that the fullness and joy of our lives is an enormously powerful testimony of the work of God in our lives. If we are not enjoying life, then non-Christians won't have very much incentive to investigate what it means to be Christ-followers, because they won't see any benefit to following Him. There is a sense, therefore, in which your "fun factor" directly influences your abilitiy to be used by God to reach others. As Nehemiah says, "the JOY of the Lord is our strength." Hoping you are having fun in Jesus! Much Love, Dan and Nancy