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Hello Friends, Also, at the bottom of this page you can download a PDF of the newsletter we mailed out or simply read it here! Thanks for being a part of our lives, Mark, Sheri, Megan, Emily, Grace, Nathan, Michael, Daniel, and Addison Thanksgiving Thoughts“But I want hot peppers without olives,” one of the kids complained as they surveyed the four different kinds of pizza Sheri had made for dinner. This provided a great opportunity to have the kids remember all of the times they had eaten pizza when there was only one option – and they were perfectly happy. “Somehow, having options breeds discontentment,” I was telling them. When our silly discontentment is brought to our attention, however, it is not that hard to make the shift to being thankful.This is the essence of Thanksgiving for me – taking the time to set aside my silly discontentedness and refocus on what I have to be thankful for – a loving God, my family, clean water, health care, ample food, and a heated home as winter sets in. And as often happens when we reflect anew on God’s goodness in our lives, our attention somehow shifts off of us and onto others. So as we all rejoice in Him this Thanksgiving, may God grant us renewed strength to minister to those He has brought our way in life. Halfway There!It is with great joy that we report to you that our monthly financial support team has grown to 39 different families, individuals, and churches that have pledged over half of our monthly needs to minister at RVA. That’s right - we are over halfway there! In addition, our outgoing fund for our one-time expenses to get to the field is now over 65%. We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.Thinking of Thanksgiving and this harvest season, the verse that has been on my mind lately is Luke 10:2. “And He was saying to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” Thank you for praying for us and “beseeching the Lord of the harvest” to send us forth. Please continue to pray not only for us, but that even more laborers would go forth into His harvest. Rock Piles and Mission Conferences“I know this is last minute, but can you come?” Pastor Chulka was asking me on the phone. Hope Bible Church had lined up four families to join them during their annual missions conference, but now one family was not able to make it. Little did I know then the connection this would be in my life to the Israelites crossing the Jordan. Life is busy for all of us. As we tend to the details of the day – going to work, shuffling kids around, cooking dinner, and a myriad of other things – our focus can become getting done the tasks of the day. This pattern of life tends to draw me into my to-do list and away from reflecting on the bigger picture of what God is doing in my life.  Retelling our story reminded me of Joshua 4 where we find the Israelites emerging from the other side of the Jordan River. God had one person from each tribe go back and pick up a stone from the center of the Jordan and carry it out to make a pile on the far side. Then comes my favorite verse. “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD.” The Lord wants us to remember what He has done for us. But He knows that we are prone to get bogged down in our daily to-do list and not take the time to remind ourselves, our children, or others of what He has done. So we need rock piles – and mission conferences – to remind us to take the time to share what the Lord has done and is doing in our lives. And when any of us takes the time to share, God is on center stage being glorified and everyone around is blessed. Field Preparations“So, are you guys still on track for going to RVA?” people often ask us. We are! Or at least we think we are. :-) Preparing for the field is a theme that runs through our lives and we work on it each day. Here are some of the things we have been doing over the last month to get ready for the field.• Gathering up lots of documentation so our agency can prepare visa applications for us. • Meeting with a realtor to figure out what needs to be done to our house in order to sell it. (If anybody is interested in living in Gahanna, OH, let us know. Have we got a house for you!) • Diving into realtor-mandated home projects. • Praying for God’s guidance in the many decisions we have to make. • Looking for opportunities to share with others about the ministry. • Keeping an eagle eye out for ways to downsize – giving things away, selling things online, getting giddy over things that break that we don’t have to replace. • Doing required training. Sheri is currently enjoying reading The Church is Bigger Than You Think by Patrick Johnson. • Writing this newsletter! Gifts of support can be made online at AIM Giving or sent to: Africa Inland Mission P.O. Box 3611 Peachtree City, GA 30269 *Please make checks payable to Africa Inland Mission and include a note (in the envelope but not on the check) saying “for Mark and Sheri Daubenmier.” Gifts are tax deductible. |
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November 2011 Newsletter |