Covenant Presbyterian - Jackson, TN

Our dear friend Mark Bolyard (photo taken in Riga in '09)

So far, the trip to Jackson has been very encouraging!  It's always good to have a chance to connect with Mark Bolyard - a friend that we met on our very first trip to Riga.  I'd never met Mark's wife (Susan) or children (Chris and Andrea).  They're a great family, and they've been wonderful hosts.

Last night, I met with some of the high school and college students who attend Covenant Presbyterian, and this morning, we had breakfast with others from the church before going to help out at the local soup kitchen.  It was fun to get to know brothers and sisters in Christ as we worked together for the advancement of the Kingdom in Jackson.

This afternoon, Mark and I drove up to Martin and had lunch with students from the RUF group at the University of Tennessee in Martin.  The time was rich with good questions and valuable insights all around the table.  One of the young men was even taking Japanese and most were openly wondering whether God might be calling them to spend time working in cross cultural missions.  As we talked, I imagined that some of our paths might cross again as co-laborers on the field in Japan.  As you read this entry, please take a moment and pray that God would raise up new workers who will relocate to fields like Japan.  The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Pray that the Lord of the harvest would send out more workers into his harvest field.  And pray specifically for the RUF students in Martin who are willing to go wherever God might call them...and are just waiting for their marching orders from the King.

While you're at it, please pray for us.  We're ready to go but still have a lot of money to raise.  The numbers seem overwhelming at times, but we also realize that nothing is too hard for God!

To be continued...