We find it easy to complain and wonder why our life is so difficult, but as followers of Jesus Christ, we need only consider Him to put things into perspective. The writer of Hebrews reminds his readers, who are suffering the seizure of the property and being threatened with even greater persecution, to keep their eyes on the Son of God, the Founder and Finisher of our faith. When we think of what our Savior endured in life and death, our grumbling turns into thankfulness. Jesus endured the cross, and he also “endured such contradiction of sinners against himself” (Heb 12:3). Have we been betrayed by friends? Are people around us slow to understand, testing our patience? Do our closest friends and family misunderstand us? Are we accused of wrong we have not done? Consider Jesus, run the race before you with endurance, and do not give up!

We are thankful God brought us through our semester at language school in south Texas and safely back to Ohio. We are preparing for a summer of ministry, studying Spanish, and preparing to move to Chile. God gave us so many great friends, classmates, tutors, and teachers in Texas and we are thankful for all that we learned. Our plan now is to continue studying with a private tutor through the summer and fall in hopes of leaving for Chile by the end of the year, God willing. Our current plans look like this:

• May 21: Auglaize Bible Church, Harrod, Ohio
• June 26–28, July 3–8: Pastors’ Conference and Family Camp at Peniel Bible Camp, Chesterville, Ohio
• July 10–August 14: Ministry at Mountain Home Bible Church in Mountain Home, Arkansas.

We’d also like to invite you to join with us and our sending church for our commissioning service on Sunday, November 5. We will not be celebrating ourselves, but reminding all of us that we are teammates in a much larger endeavor, the “fellowship of the gospel.” If you’re interested, contact the church for more information.

Mark and his second semester classmates just before the graduation service.

We are thankful for the great friends and great memories we made during our semester at RGBI.

 Thank God with us:

• For his grace during our semester learning Spanish in language school. We learned a lot, made many great friends, and experienced God’s grace!
• For his grace and care for every one of our needs.
• For his grace in the 1,500 mile drive from Texas last week.

Pray to God with us:

• For spiritual strength and encouragement as we continue working on Spanish and making preparation for Chile.
• For his Holy Spirit to produce in us the Christlike fruit of patient endurance as we work hard and trust God.
• For his grace and wisdom in planning ministry, study, and preparation for the rest of
  this year.

This is our May 2017 email update. You can sign up to receive our updates in your inbox here. You can download a printable PDF here.