Pray BFF #96                                  August 21, 2006

Preparations finished!

One wedding done; one short-term mission to go!

The wedding and the short term trip are very different, but both require a lot of extra concentrated work! We give thanks to the Lord for caring for our family and friends during this very special time of preparations.

Christy's marriage was glorious. But it went by too fast. We hardly had time to catch up with old friends during this short time. But it is over. We are exhausted but thankful.

Now it is time to gear up preparations for the short-term mission trip to India. The basic preparations of the handouts are done. This means that Paul knows what he will speak on. The handouts are needed earlier to be translated into two languages (Oriya and Telegu). Earlier was better because there was so much to do around the house and for the wedding.

Less than two weeks remain before leaving Paul will be gone for 2 1/2 weeks. Pray for him during this time that Northwest will not strike, that he will be able to 'heart' prepare for the messages as he prays and meditates on them.

Paul will be visiting three cities: Palakimidi (Sept 7-9), Rayaghada (Sept 11-13) and Bobbili (Sept 14-16). May God protect his travels. Most important is to get to India by Wednesday. We have a way to travel before we start our first conference on that very next day, Thursday the 7th. Unfortunately, there is no one to accompany him from this side of the world, but it is wonderful to work with the team there in India. They are a great group of devoted brothers and sisters. It is an honor to be able to work with them in this ministry.

We want to thank the Lord for another $1,000 that has come in or is promised. We are praying for $3,000 more. It costs about $10-15 US dollars to provide housing, food and training for three days for each pastor. We also provide a BFF book for them in their own language.

Could you also pray that the documentary in UK comes out at the right time. Originally, they were saying the end of August. But Paul will be out of town until later in Sept. We are thankful that this date has been postponed a bit. May God oversee. We do not know what to expect as a response, either in antagonism or in request for futher help.

Paul is not sure if he can give email updates during the time of the conferences. He will not go back to his home base. If he can, he will. Your prayers are that which God uses to uphold him in that hot and humid weather. Linda sure appreciates prayers to as she at the same time plans for children's ministry in the church and gets our own home school in action.

Serving Together for the Glory of God,