At the end of March, we had our last official deputation meeting. Even though we were already at full support, and are no longer seeking financial partnerships, we are always willing to present the burden that God has given us and acquire new prayer partners. We are so grateful for all those who stand behind us! The word “deputation” is defined as “the act of appointing a person or persons to represent or act for another or others.” So for all of those who support us (whether by prayer or financially), we are your “deputies,” acting in your stead in the nation of France. Yet this “deputation” is only secondary—Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (Jn 20:21) Every Christian is a deputy of Jesus. We are sent out to represent him in the world (Jn 17:18; 20:21; Matt 28:18-20; et al.). Yet this commission comes also with a great promise— the promise of his continued presence. Jesus said, "And behold, I am with you always." What a comfort it is to know that as we leave our home, friends, family, and church, Jesus goes with us by his Spirit. He will be there to comfort, strengthen, and embolden us! He has given the same promise to you. Intermediate Move As I write this we are one day into a two-day estate sale at our old duplex. This sale was made possible in part by the generous use of a basement space by the Naselli family from our church. Moving in here has given us the ability to much more efficiently sort through our belongings and determine what to keep and what to get rid of. This was a very clear answer to prayer from our last letter! Praise God. Plane Tickets! We are also very excited to report that we have received our airline tickets, and are scheduled to fly out on the 15th of May. The tickets were generously provided to us by a member of a supporting church in Texas! What a huge blessing and answer to prayer! Visa Update Many of you know that we had our visa interviews in Atlanta on March 31st. The interviews themselves went fine (it was more of a passing along of documents). We have however had several back-and-forth interactions with the French consulate over various requirements and paperwork. It is too much to outline in this prayer letter, but we have sent the latest reply with what we believe to be the documents they were asking for today. Please pray that they will accept what we have provided! Commissioning service The date has been set for our commissioning service for May 14th! It will be at our sending church, Palmetto Baptist Church, in Easley, SC. We are excited to be able to be commissioned alongside of some good friends of ours, the Simmons! If you are local we would love to have you join us for this time. But wait, there's more! We are excited to announce that we have a new member of the family on the way! Baby Dunlop's due date is September 18th. God is good to provide direct answer to prayer, as well as healing! We had a miscarriage last June, and that baby's due date was December 29th. It was the week following that we found out we were pregnant with this baby! The pregnancy has gone well, just some sickness and normal pregnancy discomforts, and baby and Jessica are healthy. Please pray for the continued health of Jessica and our baby as well as the moving process. Being pregnant and moving makes things a little more interesting.
Fifth teammate on the way!
Your friends, Michael, Jessica, Amelia, & Jack.
Prayer needs:
Pray for continued growth in our language-learning endeavors.
Pray for a safe and healthy pregnancy period for both Jess and the baby
Pray for the French consulate to accept what we have sent them and grant our visas.
Pray for us as we continue to work through the lists of items required by our mission to be cleared for the field. Pray especially that I (Michael) can acquire copies of all my immunization records—I am having a very difficult time tracking them down.
Praises:
Praise God with us for the baby on the way!
Our estate sale went very well.
We have a departure date as well as tickets!
Comentarios