This is a very special year for Rick and I. Last month, we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. We both are wondering where all those years have gone. God has truly blessed our lives, our family, and our ministry. As these 40 years have passed, one of the many blessings was the birth of our five children. When they were born, we dedicated each of them to our Savior in the delivery room. We never could have imagined how the Lord would raise them up to love and serve Him. We can only give God the glory for the way that he has worked in their lives.
Josh and Tasha are in Rolesville, NC with their five children. After a long and grueling three years, God added to their family a very sweet Ugandan child, Alethia. During this time of adoption, our entire family learned what it truly meant to trust in God alone. Josh continues to serve as the worship pastor at Journey Church in Raleigh, NC. Please pray for them as they live on mission in their daily lives to reach the hearts of people in Raleigh.
Smooth (whom we named Jonathan) and Kelly are missionaries in Uganda, Africa with their five girls. Jonathan is pastor of the exciting Jinja Town Church and also trains African pastors and helps to plant new churches. They are in their fourth year of adoption and are still awaiting a visa to bring their daughter Chloe home to the US. Please pray with us as we wait. Psalm 27:14 is on our hearts a lot these days. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
Jared and Danielle and their three daughters live in Radford, VA. Jared is the ministry director for World Reach and is training and leading all of our mission teams as they take the Gospel all over the world. Jared is also staying busy with his traveling/speaking schedule. What a blessing it is to serve Jesus along side of Jared and Danielle. Please pray for Jared as he is dealing with Lyme’s disease.
Jacob and Keesha are missionaries in Port Au Prince, Haiti with their five children. They are a part of a disciple-making and church-planting movement happening across Haiti right now. They are multiplying disciples and training local leaders. Haiti is a very hard place to live with its crime and poor living conditions. Please continue to pray for their health and safety as they minister there.
Joy and Jay are living and working in Roanoke, VA. It is so good to have our daughter close to us. You know, she is our little girl all grown up. The Lord blessed them with a precious little boy, Cohen, last December. They are very active at Bedrock Community Church in Roanoke, volunteering their time to serve the church. Joy works very hard at balancing being a mom and working as a Special Education Coordinator at the Blue Ridge Autism and Achievement Center. We are very proud of her.
Many years ago, we prayed that our children would always love Jesus and follow him wherever he led them. God is answering our prayers. Our prayer now is that our grandchildren will follow after Christ with all their hearts. Ten of our grandchildren have chosen to follow Jesus. Now, nine more to go. Hallelujah! Praise His Name!
– Janet
