January 2005

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Dear Family and Friends,

Orlando, here we come!!

In the next couple of weeks we will pack our bags for warm weather and prepare for the two day drive to Florida. Praise God! We plan to travel on either January 27th or 28th arriving on January 29th. The cultural training will last for seven weeks, so we will return to Fort Worth in mid to late March.

Agape International Training (AIT) will prepare us for living in, working with, and ministering to other cultures. We are so excited to prepare for this training and eager to learn how to cross cultural barriers. While there, we will begin language training, though not learning German specifically (that will happen once we get to Germany). In addition, the AIT team in Orlando has prepared for us to stay with a Crusade staff family to help save on our living expenses.

MPD Follow-up Training and
The Month of December

Since it has been a couple of months since our last Prayer Letter, we will try to fill you in on a few things. At the end of November, we attended a conference for Campus Crusade that was a follow-up for us in developing our Ministry Team. To be quite honest, we were a little afraid to go, but God is so good that He provided one of the most encouraging weekends we have had. We expected to see some familiar faces, but certainly not the many that were there. It was such a warm welcome to walk in and be hugged by fellow staff members who began this same journey at the same time we did. The words “God will provide” and “keep going, you will get there,” were said too many times to count. And you know, we found ourselves saying and meaning those same words to others as well.

December was a wonderful month, filled with family time and Holiday celebration. We even gathered some new ministry partners amongst the Holiday bustle! Many of you contributed an end of year gift that will help with our expenses while attending AIT. We are encouraged to let you know that the Lord has provided wonderfully and our seven weeks in Orlando will not be filled with any financial worries!

So continue to pray for our endurance as we run the remainder of this journey. We are so excited to be a part of what God is doing in Europe, and you know, we are as well excited for all the time until then. Through developing our ministry team, the Lord has strengthened, challenged, stretched, amazed, and encouraged us not only for the preparation of moving to Germany but also to draw us closer to Him. So join us as we thank God for all the wonderful provision, not just financially, but emotionally as well!!

Prayer Requests
Safe travel to Orlando
Fruitful support development for the remainder of January
Endurance to keep going
Ready hearts and minds for AIT

Many Blessings,
Thad and Jana