The Exciting End of an Era!

Today, Nate got his braces off! After 2 years of having to deal with discomfort and not being allowed to eat popcorn or sticky foods, he has finally been set free. Here is a "photo journal" of our exciting visit to the orthodontist today...

Nate waits in the chair for Dr. Opin to remove his braces

Dr. Opin goes to work!

Nate gets some comfort from the therapy dog, Cooper. (Cooper is seriously the coolest part of every visit to the orthodontist!)

Nate and Cooper celebrate

All done!

Our First Commissioning

Sorry for the blogging hiatus! We've been traveling a lot this month and it's been tough to keep up with the blog. But we are trying to get back into a rhythm!

This week, we are back in Connecticut with my family and yesterday, we had the special opportunity of being commissioned by my home church in Easton. My youth pastor from growing up, Rev. Cary Slater, still works at the church and it was really great that he was there to commission us. (By the way, in the photo to the left you see a wilderness backdrop...this is not normal for the church :)  Their VBS program is this week.)

We started with sharing with the congregation a little bit about our ministry and how they can specifically be praying for us in the coming months. Then Cary invited anyone from the congregation who was a part of my discipleship growing up, like Sunday school teachers and youth group leaders, to come to the front to lay hands on us and pray over us. It was very powerful for me to see the great group of people surrounding us who were lifting us up and who have shepherded me in so many ways. God has used many people along our journey to help prepare us for the mission field!

At the end, Nate and I lit a candle and carried it out of the sanctuary, symbolizing being a shining light and sharing Christ's light in Austria. The commissioning ended with singing "Send Me" with the congregation. I'm so thankful we were able to be sent out by Covenant, and we feel very supported by them. After church, we hosted an open house and lunch at my parents' house to celebrate. It was a great day, and we'll miss all of these wonderful people here!

30 Days of Prayer

In just a few weeks, we are kicking off a special month. August 1 - 30 will be 30 Days of Prayer for our ministry and departure for Austria. As we get close to our departure goal, we are ready to come boldly before the throne of God and ask Him to work mightily and to open the doors for us to get to Austria in early October.

All of our prayer team members will receive 1 email a day for 30 days, containing specific prayer requests and updates on progress towards departure. If you would like to also receive these emails, you can complete the form at the bottom to join in the effort!

Right now, we are at almost 90% of our support goal and we must reach 100% (with monthly, quarterly and annual commitments) in order to depart. We are praying that we reach this goal by September 1st, giving us 1 month to purchase tickets, ship items and prepare to leave.

Why do we need to depart in early October? Getting on a plane the first week of October will enable us to jump into language learning full-time early enough to pass a crucial language competency exam in December. We will need at least two months of language learning in order to pass the test, so arriving in October is important. Passing this exam is required by our visa application, which we will hand in January 2nd.

Would you join us in prayer? Please be praying for our departure and that God would work in people's hearts to join our support team. Please pray for shipping and departure details to come together. But most of all, pray that God would be working in our hearts and preparing us spiritually, mentally and emotionally for the transition ahead.

We are eagerly anticipating how God will work during these 30 Days of Prayer!