August/September 2024

Catching our breath..

August for us was a mixture of some downtime after the busy summer, and fall planning. We had a VBS and a few church outreach events we supported, but for the most part, we got some rest and began planning for our upcoming Released Time and Book Club ministries. We enjoyed some "staycation" time in late August catching up on some work around the house and spending time with family. Our son-in-law Will graduated from his air traffic controller training and surprised us by choosing Muskegon airport as his first assignment! He and our daugther Emily were able to stay with us for about a month as they transitioned from living in Greenville, SC to now living in Muskegon! It is such a blessing to have them close for a season!

September has been spent planning, promoting and recruiting for our fall programming. Also tossed in the mix was our much-needed and very restful CBM National Conference, as well as helping our two newlywed kids move into their respective apartments.

We feel rested, blessed, and ready to tackle the school year ministries!! Here's a brief update of each...

Released Time

Released time kicks off in October, and as of this writing we have 3 schools with sufficient sign-ups to begin a class. Five additional schools have a single sign-up, and are just waiting for another family to sign up before classes can begin. Please pray for these schools, and our ability to promote and bring in additional sign-ups. Please pray also as we recruit volunteers in anticipation of these other schools beginning shortly.

God answered our prayers this month by providing a 15-passenger van to use with Released Time! We have been raising funds for over a year, and have finally found the perfect van for our needs. The Lord provided just the right amount for the vehicle, giving us a mere $16.50 to spare! Pray now that we can fill it with students, and that we can find donors who are able to help us with the new monthly expenses (insurance, fuel and maintenance) that will come along with this blessing.

Book Clubs

Our two book clubs kicked off in September with a combined attendance of 17 students. The first meetings introduced a few new famililes and laid the groundwork for our theme this year, A Balanced Diet. We are selecting books from a greater variety of genres, some of which are new territory for book club. We look forward to the year ahead, and to learning from the lessons contained in various types of literature. As always, our aim to is to use good books to teach kids discernment, point them to biblical principles and share the gospel.

Next Summer...

While its still a long way off, we are already starting to think forward to next summer. We are hoping to reach even more kids by expanding our summer offerings in two ways. First, we are planning to do a 2nd Day Camp in Grand Haven! Details are still in the works, but it looks like it will be on a slightly smaller scale - at least for its first year. The second means of expanding is to increase our adventure camp from 3 to 4 days, hoping to build off the excitement of last year and to attract additional campers. Please pray with us as we seek the Lord for direction in both these areas.

Prayer Requests

Would you take a few minutes right now to celebrate and intercede for us?

Praises

The Lord has provided a van for our Released Time ministry!

Will and Emily have moved into the area and live a mere 10 minutes away! Pray for Emily as she looks for interior design work in the area.

Brandon and Nayab have moved their wedding date forward to January 10th! Pray for them as they plan for their big day.

Requests

Pray for the five schools that are awaiting a 2nd family to participate in order to get the classes going, and pray for volunteers to help us staff these schools when they come on board.

Pray for wisdom as we are pondering a monthly event through the school year to connect with families and their kids.

Pray for guidance as we plan to increase our summer camp offerings next summer.

Pray for Justin and Fallyn as they settle in to their new apartment and as Justin enters his last year of college. Pray that God leads him to fulfillng work opportunities after graduation.

Pray for Cameron and Tori as they continue to raise their boys to love and serve the Lord!

Closing Thoughts

This is now the start of our 4th school year since we have been back in Michigan. The time has flown by, and we are seeing God bring families and students to be served by the ministry. Growth has been slow but steady as we build relationships with families, churches and school leadership in our community. Pray for God's continued work along the West Michigan Lakeshore!