Tooth Hurty

The kid's joke goes something like, "what time is it when it's time to go to the dentist?" The answer? "Tooth-hurty". Get it? ;) Well we just got back from a wonderful mini vacation/camping weekend with two other families. It was a really great time- except for one thing- Mike had an awful toothache that only got worse throughout the weekend. He was trying to get by taking ibuprofin, and at one point when he was up in the middle of the night to take more he asked me what time it was... guess what? 2:30. Funny, huh? Kinda. It was miserable for him, but on Sunday the dental office called in a prescription for him for antibiotics & pain killer & now he is feeling relief finally. But we imagine there is a serious problem with this tooth that will need to be taken care of. Same toothache problem that tormented him in Rwanda. So he has an appointment with the dentist for tomorrow morning.

Tooth problem + no dental insurance + very limited finances = need

We have a need, we have God, the only missing part of this equation is God stepping in to take care of our need! We need God to either provide the funds needed to repair the tooth or to heal the tooth.

We continue waiting to see the fulfillment of God's provision- that our family could be fully supported enough to afford to go to Rwanda. We desire to go in November, but we can not if things do not change drastically. Right now we barely have enough funds to pay our bills here, much less to afford the extra expenses of living in Rwanda (renting a house there, higher food bills there, etc.) I have been homeschooling for a year and half now with KaLia, but honestly after our last time there I just felt like I can't do this anymore. Having to always be the one who has to lean on her to learn & complete her work - I just don't have the motivation to fight that fight anymore. I would like to be able to afford to enroll her in a small one-room schoolhouse type of thing there- something started by missionary families & a place I think she would thrive in. It costs about $2500 per year I think. I would love to be able to afford to send both KaLia and Nate (as Nate enters kindergarten this fall) to a school like this while we are there.

So, along with prayers for God's provision right now I am also praying for wisdom- to know what God wants me to do about the kids for school, to know if we are going to Rwanda in November or not (this affects the plans I make for the kids in the fall), and so on.

Thank you for joinging with us in prayer.
God Bless You,
Lisa


Nate & KaLia & friends riding the ferry back from our camping spot

Testimony, Faith, Promise

This last Sunday was the one year anniversary of our church, Heritage Church. Pastor Bryan Davenport preached a message titled, "History, Hope, and Mission". Talking about our history- the testimony of what God has done for us in the past, our hope- the promises we are believing God for in the future, and our mission- what the previous two things lead us to do in the here & now!

Here a few lines I wrote down that stood out to me,

"Today, we live by faith, between testimony and promise."

"Faith is what I do between (testimony & promise) and because of (testimony & promise)."

"Nourish yourself on testimony"

We are still waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises towards us, but we remember & rely on what we've seen God do in the past. We live by faith!

God has been taking care of our needs, but we still are waiting & believing for the additional provision we would need in order to return to Rwanda in November of this year.

Thank you for praying with us!
Blessings,
Lisa & family

kids at the zoo