We have been in Oregon for just over a month.  It has been a special time with family (Melanie’s parents, Melanie’s sister and family, plus bonus time with Hannah who is studying an hour away) and a chance to re-connect with dear friends in the area.  We were able to take a six-day holiday/vacation with Melanie’s parents in the Columbia River Gorge, which was a real treat.  Some of us haven’t seen them for close to three years because of Covid.  Last week, Melanie and I got a couple of days away together, which was also a really special time.

As far as ministry goes, I have been busy with preaching almost every Sunday.  I was able to run a 1.5 day seminar at a church in Portland, as well as a shorter two-hour seminar at a church in Sunriver, and another report session at another church in Sunriver.

The main feature of this trip is time with people.  There is never enough time!  It has been a busy time with lots of visits.  We love the people we are seeing, so it is a joy, but it is also busy and there are challenges.  We are now in the final stretch in Oregon.  A couple of weeks and then we will be moving on to Chicago for just over a week.  Please pray for stamina in these final days.  The schedule is inevitably filling as we try to squeeze in the connections.  Melanie has had a couple of migraines, which are obviously painful, but also frustrating as it is not possible to re-schedule meetings and so she has had to miss out on a couple of them.

We are thankful to be here, but also looking forward to seeing everyone back home too.  Thanks for your prayers!

(I am sure we will get some pictures on here soon, but thought an update is better than nothing for now!)

Kaylah and Jessah were so happy we didn’t get Covid until after their 3 weeks of riding lessons!

Well, we are five days into our family Covid isolation and we are thanking God for his mercies to us so far.  (See previous post for back-story) Aliyah’s been isolating much longer since she was a contact of a friend who developed Covid and she was the first of our family to get it.  She is almost 100% now, just has a small lingering cough, which didn’t stop her leading zoom worship for church today.  Hannah and Mariah and Joel are definitely improving, though they still have a little ways to go.  Kaylah and Jessah seem right as rain and so far I myself have no symptoms. Strangely, I was the only family member to get a negative PCR test. We’ll see what the coming days bring, but perhaps I’ve already had it and so have natural immunity?  I’m trying not to feel like a sitting duck!

Poor Peter is really miserable.  He’s definitely had the worst case out of all of us.  I can’t really remember seeing him this lethargic and unwell.  Please pray for him – for healing and patience and perseverance through this illness.  One of the other elders at Trinity and his wife both have Covid too so we’d appreciate prayer for them too. The other elder is on holiday with his family. Needless to say, church was online today with a pre-recorded message!

It certainly feels like we’ve been in a season of challenge, disappointments and discouragements.  The world around us all has changed so much and we believe there are genuine reasons to fear what might be ahead for us all.  We need our Father’s help to choose joy and gratitude and to keep persevering in serving the Lord no matter what storms are threatening around us. We have true hope in Christ, both for ourselves and to hold out to a fearful world around us.

Some practical prayer requests: (besides healing!)

Please pray for us as we book our flights to the USA very soon – we plan to travel there to see family and prayer partners and supporters at the start of September.  Despite uncertainties about travel and restrictions, we would like to book this trip by faith and we are asking God to pave the way for us to be able to see those we love face to face and re-connect with them.

Aliyah is also working on booking her flight to join the Logos Hope in the Bahamas at the start of September.  Please pray all the details can be worked out soon.  And for her last weeks here to be very precious even with all the disappointments and special events cancellations she’s had to endure.

Hannah has re-booked her flight to the US for next Friday.  There are also some paperwork details to be worked out so this can happen so please pray for this.  She will be stopping in St. Loius to see her boyfriend, Noah (for one day rather than the planned 5!) and then going onto Oregon where she will need to go straight into her training for her job as a resident assistant (student leadership).  Please pray she will have the strength she needs and be fully recovered by the time she leaves.

I was reading Romans this morning, including chapter 8, one of my favourite chapters in the Bible.  There are a myriad of incredible verses but I will just share a few which stood out to me as particularly relevant:

verses 22-23 – We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. (Yes! We are sharing in creation’s groaning . . . )

verse 28 – And we know that in all things (even Covid!) God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. (Thank you Jesus – this gives us hope.)

verses 35-39 – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Thjs is the truth, even if we don’t feel like a conqueror.  One day Jesus will come and defeat death and all evil and we will conquer with him.) ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation (including diseases, pandemics, tyrants, the loss of freedom or ANYTHING ELSE), will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.