Update #17 - 5/12/24 - Mother’s Day

For our family, Mother’s Day has a greater significance this year than ever before. What we once took for granted we now are so very thankful for. Another year with Kara has felt like such a gift. God has been so good to us and we are so thankful for the lesson to not take people for granted. Life for us has started getting back into a normal groove but we are still faced with the realities of cancer as Kara goes in for her immunotherapy and other appointments. Her treatments will continue until the end of the year, but the season of surgeries is coming to an end! Kara has her last surgery on Tuesday. This will be the final stage of her reconstruction, and the surgeon tells us that the recovery this time around will be much shorter due to the less invasive nature of the surgery. 

Please be praying that everything will go as planned, including all the insurance stuff. Kara’s insurance situation will change at the end of this month, at which point we will have to start paying out of pocket for a lot more things. It is very important that we get the surgery done before this happens. 

If you don’t already, will you prayerfully consider supporting us financially? Beyond all the surgeries and treatments is a ministry God has called us to. I mentioned back in October that we are looking for some more people to join our financial support team and I’d like to expand on that if I may. We currently receive about half of the support we need through salary from the church plant, but it takes time for a new church to grow enough to be able to fully support a pastor. We chose to commit in faith to full-time ministry, and trust God to lead people like you to join us on this adventure of church planting. God has never failed us, yet in our weakness we still foolishly worry at times that our needs will go unmet. But I know He won’t let that happen, and I’m praying and asking that you’ll partner with us for the other half of our financial support needs.

I can't gloss over the fact that many of you have already given sacrificially to meet our needs over the past year or more, and we are so thankful for you! Truthfully, last April, I had begun drafting a letter like this one on a Friday during a time when we were watching our finances evaporate. Three days later, on a Monday, we got the news that Kara had cancer. That was literally the last time we worried about money until recently. God has taken such amazing care of our family through your faithful giving!

Part of me says, “How can I ask more of these friends who have given so much already?” But then I think, “How can I not ask my heavenly Father to meet our needs?” I feel the tension constantly, but the truth is we currently need about $1,500 more per month. The government might be able to get away with operating at a deficit, but in our situation it’s catching up to us. As it often does, ministry life has come at a cost; since moving to Lakeland to start Neighborhood Church several years ago, we have accumulated some significant personal debt as a result of increased living expenses. We have been asking God to meet this need, and we know He will provide! 

So now the question is: are you part of the answer to that prayer? Click below to become a monthly supporter and see God use your gift to further His kingdom!

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