Hello Friends,
Greetings from our family to yours! Thanks for taking a couple minutes to let us fill you in on our upcoming plans.
SUMMER OF TRANSITION!
Summer 2019, for our family, is transition time!
After 7 years serving as directors of Laredo Stepping Stone, God has clearly spoken to our hearts that is time to move on.
It has been a joy and privilege to serve the vision of Laredo Stepping Stone and we will continue to serve LSS as “advocates at large” well into the future, coordinating their bookings and maintaining their website, working in conjunction with their new directors.
Laredo will be our home away from home and we will be maintaining our same mailing address there: PO Box 451330, Laredo, TX 78045.
One of the greatest treasures God gave us these past 7 years is the most wonderful church family anyone could ask for. Our hearts are knit to Laredo Church of the Crossroads, our “Oasis in the desert,” and that bond will never be broken.
On August 1st we will be moving back to Lake Chapala, Mexico with our two youngest children, Ella (14) and Noah (13). We are excited about this transition and believe God is leading us into a new season of refreshment, growth and ministry. With many friends here in Chapala , ministry will come naturally as we reach out and love the people of Mexico.
In addition, Stasia and I look forward to focusing on our strengths. We see this move as a permanent one, positioning us for more strategic ministry in the years ahead.
On June 23rd we celebrate our 35th Anniversary and as we look back on 34 years of ministry, we feel like our best days are yet to come.
Stasia will have more time for writing & blogging and will now be able fulfill her Chaplaincy role with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team and her leadership roles the Women’s Bible Café and Life Verse Books. (We highly recommend subscribing to LVB, by the way!)
I (John) will have more time to focus on writing, blogging, and more effectively engaging my roles with Power Ministry, Justice For Youth/Human Trafficking Prevention, hosting ministry teams God sends our way, and encouraging ministry partners around the globe.
Most important of all, together we will have more time to mentor and encourage Ella and Noah at this crucial time in their lives.
We are so proud of Destiny, who just graduated from high school with two years of college under her belt. She will be remaining in Laredo, working, studying and renting a room from Rudy & Lauren in their new house. (Rudy has just accepted a position as EMT for US Border Patrol, and Lauren is on the final year of her RN nursing certification.) All of them will continue to attend church together at the Crossroads.
Brittany directs an 800 acre ranch just a few miles up the road from Laredo Stepping Stone. She and her husband both work and are the happy parents of our grandson and first grandchild, Castiel.
Chelsey is going through the difficult and painful process of an impending divorce, the inevitable result of a very abusive situation. Our whole family has been standing with her in this transition. Please hold her up in your prayers.
We will be making bi-annual trips to Laredo to renew paperwork and these visits will be wonderful times, we are sure, to catch up and compare notes as a family.
If you would like to visit us in Chapala, we will pick you up at the airport (just 25 minutes away) and take you back when you are ready to leave. Every day in between will be wonderful!
Thank you so much for your prayers and support!
In His Mighty Grip,
P.S. Our ministry house in Chapala, like our lives, is a work in progress. The on-going restoration project, (from all the damage from abuse as well as furniture and fixtures stolen these past several years), is not yet complete. Our water system needs serious repair which will cost: $750.00. All of our interior doors are rotting off the hinges and need to be replaced: $850.00. We still need to replace the stolen stove: $500.00. Washer: $400.00. The exterior (now partially painted in 3 different colors separated by several years each) needs a new paint job: $800.00. If the Lord lays it on your heart you can give toward any one of these needs by clicking the “DONATE” button. Just select “house restoration project” from the drop down on the Paypal widget. Thanks!
