This has been an amazing summer!
For the entire month of June, we were consumed with Missionary Training/Pre-Field Orientation, Reentry, and Renewal. We relocated to Evangel University from June 3 to July 3, and while we were there, we were privileged to prepare 140 new MKs for missions life. We could fill a library with books of each new family’s story. We worked with so many incredible families, including five adult MKs heading into missions with their own young MKs. One young family even came from the youth group Dargan and I first pastored! ISMK also just returned from an All-Eurasia Conference, where we ministered to 200 MKs. A team of 45 volunteers—made up of young adult MKs and a great team from The Caring Place church in Indianapolis—came and led the various MK activities. Our young-adults MK volunteers always do a super job at retreats! It is so cool to see these MKs, many who live in such remote, lonely places, come together for a week of intense community. Each age group was blessed with powerful services and a fun time of building relationships. We are now preparing for the second year of our ISMK Academy. In our first school year (2017–2018), we enrolled 46 MKs in 17 countries and from all six regions. Around 55 students are already enrolled for the 2018–2019 school year. This school exists to give families an accredited education in places where that option might not be available. Every student has a certified teacher, and every teacher comes from an ISMK background. Would you continue to pray for this school? It still needs a sizable financial support base to keep it affordable for our families. Any help you can give is deeply appreciated.
Please note that we do not post photos of our MKs online due to safety concerns. Many of our missionary families live in places where they could be in danger if they are identified as missionaries. The consequences can range from losing their visas or permits to imprisonment or death. That is why our standard policy is to refrain from posting any MK photos. (Of course, parents are free to post them according to their discretion.) This can make sharing MK stories more difficult, since pictures can bring together a story so much better than words alone. However, the best stories are definitely told through our kids, so if you can speak to any of our families about ISMK and what it means to them, they all have incredible stories to share.
Over the years of our time serving with AGWM, Dargan and I have been blessed by so many tremendous supporters! We started our overseas ministry in 1994, and a great number of you have supported us monthly since Day 1. Your sacrificial giving has blessed not only us, but every missionary family serving under AGWM. Through your generosity, we are able to prepare, train, disciple, encourage, and empower MKs all around the world. Missionary parents are then enabled to fulfill their calling because of your investment in their kids. Please pray with us for our full budget to be raised. We are about $1500/month below our basic budget. Thank you! Also pray with us as we and our team of volunteers lead the MK programs at our annual Thanksgiving Retreat, the Live Dead Arab World conference in December, and an MK youth retreat in Northern Asia.