Dear Praying friends and family,
“And
to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled
with all the fulness of God. Now unto HIM that is able to do EXCEEDING
ABUNDANTLY above ALL that we ask or THINK, according to the power that worketh
in us, Unto HIM be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end. Amen.” Eph. 3:19-21
We have a powerful
God… One who delights in doing,
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think!!! We just wanted to give a
praise report of how God answered all of our prayers in behalf of our quota
application. It’s been 2 ½ weeks now that Chad went in to the Ministry of
Interior and spoke with the officials.
Chad had prayed, and prayed about what he should do and what he should say. And
he felt like he had the most peace about asking if we could withdraw the quota
application for now. He explain to the lady that we are planning to come back
to the States the beginning of next year and when we return to Ghana we will
try and do things the more ‘legal’ way. Then she suggested that instead of
withdrawing it we could just postpone it so that we don’t have to redo the
paperwork that is already started. Chad
was glad for her advice and thought that would be a good idea. So she told him
that she needed to talk with her supervisor before she can finalize postponing
it. Her supervisor is the man who had told us earlier that we were here
illegally and would need to be fined for it. So Chad waited prayerfully as she
went in to speak to him. She return surprisingly fast and told Chad that he
should travel outside of the country next year and they will take care of everything!
Chad looked at her puzzled and so she asked, “Do you understand what I’m
saying?” And Chad said, “NO?” So she explained that they will go ahead and
process our quota application while we are gone in the States and we should be
able to come back and get on our own quota when we return! God is merciful! We don’t have to pay any
fines and we can have our application being process while we are away instead
of having to do all that processing when we get back which may take up to a
year to complete! We are praising God for his goodness in changing the heart of
this man! Seeing how God worked out these details for our quota application
gave us fresh courage to know that God really does care about us and He has a
purpose for us being here in Ghana! Yes, at times we get discouraged and wonder
why God ever called us here, and if we are qualified for His work here. But HE
DOES CARE!!!!!! He is watching over us and delights in blessing us!
Over the same
time Chad talked with the Ministry of Interior about the quota, we had also
spent a few days with Irvin’s in Accra. It was right after their missionary
retreat so we got to glean a few tid-bits from them! We really miss the
fellowship of other believers and especially fellow missionaries who know and
understand the joys and stresses of missionary life! The one evening Chad and I
and Irvin and Mattie had a couples night… not the kind of fun and fancy couples
night with candles and chocolate, sparkling grape juice and lots of laughter.
But the kind of heart to heart… sharing are weaknesses and struggles as young
missionary families. Irvin’s shared some things that Bro. Emmanuel Esh had
shared with them that was a blessing. And we shared some of the things we have
struggled with in the past 2 years. It was a sweet time!
The children
are doing good and seem to enjoy life here in Ghana. Elayna had malaria a week
ago. It was a bit stronger strain and lasted for almost a week but she is now
her normal self. Chace gets the normal bumps, scrapes and bruises that little
boys get. We have to constantly stay on top of treating even the smallest scrap
and sore so as to prevent infections! Jarren just pushed through his third
tooth… one of his top ones. He had a low grade fever and diarrhea for a few
days… but seems to be feeling a lot better now.
Just this
past weekend Irvin & Mattie came out to visit US!!!! It had been more than
a year since they came out our way… so we felt honored to host them! They came
late Friday night on public transportation since their van wasn’t fixed by the
time they were ready to leave. And stayed till Mon. noon. It was so sweet of
them to brave public transportation and come without their vehicle! We know
it’s not always the easiest with little children! Their visit was such a
blessing and highlight for us!
We are
really, really getting excited about Grandpa & Grandma Martin coming!!!!
Chad’s parents, Vern & Elaine Martin, along with his sister Melody are
coming the 12th of Sept. They will be with us for 8 days! It’s been
year and a half since we saw them last… and they have yet to see their new
grandson! The children are all talk about them coming…. And can’t wait to pick
them up at the airport! J
May Jesus
richly bless you for all your prayers on our behalf! Please keep praying!
Specific prayer request:
·
Language learning - understanding
minds
·
Our Health
·
Wisdom to know what to do with the
Church property that Moses, the squatter, is claiming
·
God’s protection over us
Rejoicing in
God’s goodness and mercy!
Chad &
Elizabeth Martin & Family
Juli Yoder and our children
Our sweet helper
Elayna, Chace, Joy Lynn, and Rachelle
Sorry that this post got way delayed in posting! Hopefully those of you that get our updates on email at least got the written part!
