May is not too far away!

Well friends and family, we are now only 6 weeks away from departure to Swaziland!! We are so thankful for your prayers and support, because even getting ready to go has its challenges!
Here are some updates and answers to prayer for which we are already praising God:

• While in Cleveland last month, my father's friend and fellow pastor, Roscoe Heath, invited me(Michaele) to share about the Swaziland Partnership with his congregation at New Praise Ministries. The people were so encouraging and blessed me tremendously with their prayers, their enthusiasm, and their pledge to support us financially and with prayers!
  

• We spoke at Bedford Church of the Nazarene (my parents' church) on Sunday, March 29. This was a wonderful time! The people were so welcoming and affirming, and prayed over us a great deal. They also gave us a very generous love offering that is moving us closer to our goal!! You can hear audio of that service by going to the BedNaz website. http://www.bcn.org/media/media/recent.php?mediatype=Audio
  

• As of today we are close to 1/3 of the way to completing our financial goal! In order to live for a year as volunteers in Swaziland, we need to raise $15,000 -- and God is certainly providing.

• The packing at home is also getting underway. I'm so thankful for friends (Kristin VanValkenburg especially) and family (Robin & Cal, Beth & Matt) who are helping us to pack and store our belongings while we are gone.

• Several other churches are supporting us as well, and have asked us to speak in their services. Here is our speaking itinerary if you'd like to join us!

-- Wed. April 1, 7pm -- Mount Vernon First Church of the Nazarene
-- Sun. April 5, 11am -- Kelloggsville Church of the Nazarene
-- Sun. April 5, 6pm -- Cherry Valley Church of the Nazarene
-- Sun. April 26, 10:30am -- Mansfield First Church of the Nazarene
-- Sun. May 3 -- Comissioning services at Bethany First Church of the Nazarene (Oklahoma City)
-- Sun. May 10, 11am -- Comissioning service at West Side Church of the Nazarene (Mt. Vernon)
-- Sun. May 10, 6pm -- Lakeholm Church of the Nazarene (Mt Vernon)

As you can see, we will be busy in the next six weeks! We are so appreciative of all prayers and support. Packing and planning are far less exciting than actually going to Swaziland -- and we feel very ready to go! Yet we know there are many important things to be done here. Please pray for the following in these next weeks:

• That God would continue to prepare our hearts and minds for Swaziland
  
• That all necessary finances would be raised
• That our speaking engagements at each church would be blessed of God, ane encouraging for us and those congregations
• That our time with family and friends would be wonderfully rich in the next 6 weeks
  
• That God will grant us, me (Michaele) especially, a greater attention span for the packing and arrangement-making that needs to be done! :)

Thank you for partnering with us on this exciting journey! God bless you!!

ps -- the picture is what we are giving out at churches as prayer card reminders. If you want one, let us know!