Now that our trip to Europe is officially on, we have a lot of things that we could use prayer for.
• First our health. Last year Elisabeth's appendix ruptured ending our trip before we could even get started. Sometimes God speaks loud and clear when He does not want you to do something. As of right now everybody is healthy and excited about the trip.
Annalina came down with inflammation in hip. Scary moment thinking we may not go. All seems to be well now.
• For me, Jeff, to get into enough shape to at least be able to climb some mountains, as we will be doing a lot of that. I am exercising every day now to get ready. Pray that I do not pull anything or get a stupid injury due to overdoing it. But at the same time push myself so that I can be in the best shape possible.
• Karin to do well on her State Board Nursing Certification Exam. Now that she has graduated she just has that one remaining hurtle.
She passed! She is now a Nurse!
• My Business, "Paint By Design". We have a bunch of condos in Forest, VA that we are painting the exteriors of that should be enough work to get us through the summer. I believe I have the right people in place to run it while we are gone. Pray for those people to have the wisdom they need to run the jobs. I also need prayer on how to continue to oversee it even while we are in Europe. I want to be able to communicate with my employees on a daily basis to make sure all is going smoothly and I also want my customers to be able to readily get ahold of me. Pray for wisdom with the technology and all that is involved with pulling that off.
• Language. My German is minimal and I need to work hard on it between now and then. Kids German is non-existant. We could use God's super-natural touch to memorize and absorb as much as we can as fast as we can.
• Finances - God seems to be supplying our needs for the trip through the condos in Forest. Our bills should be able to be paid while we are gone. That has been a real blessing. Please continue to pray for His provision.
• Automobile for Trip - Possibility that Karin's Father will lend us his car but I do not want to depend on that. Please pray for God's provision as we will most assuredly need our own vehicle as we will not be staying in one place for very long.
Found out today, 07.13.11, that a family in Germany that we do not know is willing to lend us a VW bus for the month of may. Praise God.
• Looking for the right person or family to take care of our home and many animals while we are gone. Needs to take care of the yard and make sure the dogs and cats do not eat each other but only the food that that person or family will give them.
Found good person from church to take care of all of this.
• Wisdom on what to take and what to leave behind. Sorry, no room in the suitcases for those who want to come along.
• Our drive to New York, as we will be flying out of John F. Kennedy.
• Our Flight, as we will most likely be in a plane. Most likely.
• That we do not kill each other as it will be a long drive and flight. 10 hours by car. Another 10 to fly.
• Relations with Parents, In-laws and brother and sisters. Also that we do not kill each other.
• The greatest thing that we can use your prayers for:
That God would be honored in what we do. That we would "trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and lean not to our own understanding but that in all of our ways we would acknowledge Him".
We ask you to pray that God would use this time to grow us as a family, that He would give us the wisdom to see what He sees, to have his heart and mind for whoever we may come in contact with and that we would love as He loves. Pray that our children would fall more and more in love with Him on this trip and that He would use us as He sees fit and that we would be usable no matter where we are. Our pastor spoke today of having a vision of what God would do in our lives. We want a vision for what He would want to do in and through us on this trip. Pray that Karin and I would seek Him for that vision for our family and that we would have the eyes to see the fruit that he produces through us. That that fruit, the fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness faithfulness and self-control would be obvious in our lives.
Boy, that is a lot of stuff to pray about. What are you doing still reading this, you have to get busy.
Thanks for the prayers and we will keep you informed of how God answers it all.
