Getting Close...

Hi Friends and Prayer Warriors!

Family photo April 18

Thank you so much for taking the time to lift us up before the throne of King Jesus.  It is the power of the Holy Spirit moving in us that enables us to press on every day.   We are excited to be preparing to move to East Tennessee to join the Cornetts and the Havens serving with Mountain Vision.  Presently, we’ve raised about 75% of our necessary monthly support goal.  We’re working diligently to raise the remainder of the necessary funds in order to move from North Carolina to Tennessee by the summer.  Since we began this process last July, we’ve been praying we would be able to move by the end of April.  Sadly, we’re not quite going to make that goal.  However, by God’s grace we won’t miss it by very much, a move by the end of May is very plausible.  Last week, Meredith put in her notice at her job that she’s leaving!  This is a huge step of faith for us, and we’re both very excited about it.  For us, it solidifies the reality that leaving is right around the corner. 

If you've been following the blog and praying for our ministry, but haven't yet committed to partnering with us financially, we would ask that you prayerfully consider doing that at this time.  It's NEVER our desire that anyone feel pressure to support our ministry financially, and that only those the Lord clearly leads to give would do so.  It's our heartfelt desire to be able to follow the Lord's direction and begin to actively minister in Appalachia, and we're getting close.  We just need a few more financial partners to be able to make the move.  If you feel like the Lord might be leading you to join us, please give me a call or send me an email and I'll follow up with some instructions on how to do that.

In our home life, Lily is growing like a weed.  It’s hard to believe that she’ll be eight months old on April 23.  By God’s grace, she’s finally learned to nap well and sleep well at night, so the sleep deprivation in our home is slowly subsiding.  It’s been a busy year for the Shraders.  With my sister’s wedding June 5, all four of my siblings will have gotten married since July of last year.  Add to that the birth of my daughter and my sister-in-law presently expecting twins, and there have been a lot more family functions this year than usual.  It’s been a blessing getting to spend the extra time with them before we relocate to Tennessee, and I’m thankful the Lord has given our family this wonderful year. 

Things you can be praying for:

 On Wednesday night, April 20, I'll be sharing about our ministry with good people at Temple Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC.  Please pray that some of those who attend would be moved by the Lord to partner with our ministry!

Please pray for the last 25% of our support to come in directly, so we will be able to transition to Tennessee before the summer.

Please pray for Meredith’s transition out of her job.  She works in mental healthcare and some of her patients are not taking the news of her departure well.  Please pray that all of her patients will be able to comfortably adjust to new providers in the next 6 weeks.

 

Please pray that Lily will come to know the Lord at an early age, and that she’ll truly be willing to give her life completely to Him.  This is our prayer for her on a daily basis. 

Finally, please pray for our friends and neighbors who were affected by the terrible storms and tornados that tore through North Carolina on Saturday, April 16.  Among others, some dear friends of ours had a tree destroy 30-40% of their home, and they’ll be displaced for another month or so during the reconstruction.


Here are some recent family photos- most of them from my brother Sam and his wife Alex's wedding reception.  Notice that Lily is making a different face in almost every picture.  She's very expressive! 

These are Lily's 7 month photos!