March 13, 2008

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Don and I are home and are feeling a bit of a crunch.  We are seeking God's will on whether to go to Casper,  Wyoming or stay in Florida.

We want God's will and it is very hard to discern what exactly we should do.  We know we have to work and at the present time just don't know what God has for us.  We only have a few days to decide so please pray for us.  We have our apartment until July 31 and then we are on our own.

Tours were good and God blessed. It was exciting to see what God is doing and to be in contact with so many who have supported us through the Great Commission Fund through the years.  It was very cold in Chicago, DC, Delaware, Toledo and Cleveland.  We saw a lot of snow and Joan was in the big snow storm in Cleveland, the worst in forty five years for the month of March. It was so bad that church on Sunday morning was canceled  at Grace Church and most churches. We met a lot of great people and made new friends.

We are headed for Ecuador the first of April for three weeks.  There will be  a team coming down to work on making a card room for Casa De Confianza (the place where paroled women stay).  SOUL Light Link is going to have women make cards who are out on parole and have no work to make ends meet .  Most of them have been making them in El Inca and now that they are out on parole have no work so we are going to try to help them by giving them work.  Financially the hardest time for these women is parole and then when they go home.  We want to help them adjust back into society and into a church and the family of God.

Please pray for SOUL Light Link as we get started and set up.  Pray for guidance, financial support and for the ministry to meet the needs of young women in need.  Pray for Pastor Ron Higey, Chairman of the Board, and each board member as we develop a team to serve God through prison ministry.  We want God to be glorified in all we do and undertake.

Pray for Melanie, from New Jersey, who was declared innocent after two years and seven months in prison.  Melanie accepted Jesus last August and will be returning to the states on Thursday night March 13.  Pray for JC as she mentors Melanie and helps her get back into society here in the states.  Melanie is pregnant and has a three year old little girl here in the states that she would like to be able to raise.

Pray for Chalene in South Africa.  Many of you have heard me share about her.  She has been going through a very hard time and has struggled with  old habits.  She is back serving Jesus and wants and needs to move to Durbin where she can get a job that would pay her enough to live.  Her 18 year old daughter, Zania, also needs to be in a bigger city where she can get a job and study.  Chalene has a heart for working with struggling young women who have fallen into drugs and addictions.  Chalene has been there and would have so much to offer.

I talked with her just a few days ago and she feels God is leading her to work and counsel young women.  Pray for her!

Continue to pray for Laura as she is working on papers and as we try to get her out of Ecuador by this summer.  Pray that God would work a miracle and grant her a visa to come to the states where she can study for her Master's Degree.  She would also love to share her testimony in churches and with young people.

Well, I will let you know more information later about our corporation and what steps we are taking. We are official and have applied for non profit status which the lawyer says will happen, but it takes time.

Pray for all of us involved!

Thank you for your prayers, love and support.  We will let you know our future plans as God leads us.  Don and I want his will in our lives more than anything else.

In His Service,

Don and Joan