Course Development and Upcoming Trip

We've had a busy week. Dan has been working diligently on the development of a Theology of Evangelism course to teach in Venezuela June 22-26. In addition to the difficulty in choosing which material to include and how to help the students engage the material, he has had to work back and forth between Spanish and English. He has written a Spanish-language note-taking handout (26 pages), plus a combination Spanish/English teaching manual (45 pages). Nancy has writing reading reports on some of the texts related to her year-long advanced course on Prayer and Healing, plus getting a lot of our household affairs in order for us to be gone so long on our upcoming trip. We will leave on Friday. We will be traveling to Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Venezuela, and Costa Rica. Thank you for your financial support that makes it possible for us to offer ourselves to the Lord's ministry in the States and in Latin America. Thank you for your prayer support that provides wisdom, protection, and encouragement. Much Love, Dan and Nancy

Graduation Weekend, John and Tara

We had a great weekend celebrating the graduation of John and Tara from Asbury Seminary. Chris drove over from St. Louis to be with us (Eleanor is in California on a work research project), and almost all of Tara's family came from Atlanta, Kentucky, and Las Vegas. In about 10 days John and Tara will move to Athens, Georgia. She will serve as an Associate Director (with Prayer Ministry) at the UMC campus ministry at UGA (Wesley Foundation), and John is looking for a ministry job in the local area. Thank you for your prayers for Chris, Eleanor, John, and Tara. Much Love, Dan and Nancy

Fun Visit with Ralph and Donna

We had the wonderful joy of a weekend visit with our friends Ralph and Donna. They came in Thursday night and left this morning. We were able to celebrate Ralph's birthday on Friday, which was a rare privilege. We took him to the new Star Trek movie, treated him to Graeter's ice cream, then enjoyed a beautiful drive in the horse country surrounding Wilmore. We are very thankful for God's gift of friendship. Many Blessings, Dan and Nancy

Venezuelan Missionaries in Paraguay

We are very excited to receive an update today from our friend Fabio and his family. They are Venezuelan missionaries serving in Paraguay, whom we met several years ago through his participation in the Wesleyan Seminary of Venezuela. Of particular interest is a new ministry they have begun to provide music lessons to special needs children, accompanied by an inclusion of these children's musical abilities in the church's worship services. The Lord is using this ministry to bless the children and in turn using them as a channel of blessing for the congregation as they worship God in music. This kind of passion for touching peoples' lives in creative ways is one of the things we treasure the most among our Venezuelan friends. Go God!

Closing In

Hi All,
We're closing in on the end of the semester, which takes place in 2 1/2 weeks. Dan continues to enjoy his classes and learn a lot. He is especially enjoying his Gospel of Mark class. There was a great discussion on Tuesday about the need to link our Scriptural studies of particular passages with the whole of the Bible, to be followed an appropriation of the Spirit's insights to allow Him to transform us. For example, some Christians search in the Bible for principles that will support their idea of the good-like, but God wishes for them to immerse themselves in the Bible deeply with an open mind and heart in order to discover His intended God-life. This kind of discussion reminds us how grateful we are for the gift of God's Word and the double gift of this time of learning, reflection, and equipping. Thank you for supporting us during this phase of our ministry. We are deeply grateful. Much Love, Dan and Nancy

Still Alive and Kicking

Sorry for the delay between posts. We're still not accustomed to blogging. Anyway, we're doing well. We had a great Easter weekend. Nancy went to St. Louis to visit with Chris and Eleanor the weekend prior, then on Easter Eve we had a super fun celebration with 0ur monthly small group, followed by worship with John and Tara at their church on Easter Sunday. Dan's classwork is still consuming all his time, but we are thankful that he continues to learn. Concerning Nancy's year-long program on Advanced Prayer Healing, she is at the stage of writing reading reports on some of the 10 books she has been reading. She is learning a lot too. Dan has especially enjoyed his Inductive Bible Study class this semester on the gospel of Mark. This has really helped him learn to dig deep into the Word in a different way, and he is grateful. He will eventually teach a course on Mark in the Wesleyan Seminary of Venezuela. This June he will teach an evangelism course, then stay in VZ an extra two weeks to check out some dissertation research possibilities. Thanks for your love and support! Much Love, Dan and Nancy

Global Jesus

March 22nd we had the fun of kicking off the Global Missions Emphasis Week at the Nicholasville UMC in Kentucky. Dan preached, encouraging the congregation to be globally focused. The following Sunday the senior pastor (Mike Snyder) preached on the need for Christians to share the good news of forgiveness with non-Christians all over the world. It was a helpful week of planting seeds that we pray the Holy Spirit will water and bring to fruition, as this congregation grows in their passion for the nations. We appreciate the opportunity to be a part of that seed-planting, and thank our supporters for making that possible. Much Love, Dan and Nancy