Dear prayer partners,
Shortly after South Carolina loosened up some of its COVID-19 business restrictions, our family stopped in at a local coffee shop for a latte and a quick pastry. As we stood in line our son Jack looked around and suddenly exclaimed "PEOPLE!" After weeks of relative isolation, Jack expressed what we have all been feeling! While none of us would have chosen the circumstances our world has been thrown into, we know that God is at work, and has the ability to bring good out of the trials around us. Perhaps God is helping the world to recognize humanity's need for community in a renewed way. Scripture is clear that we were created as social beings in need of community (after the image of a three-in-one God), and I pray that through this, an increasing number of people will wake up to their need for true community—the community found only in Jesus' Church, through the salvation offered in his Gospel.
August Trip Canceled—Pray For a New Opportunity
We mentioned in our last email that we were planning a one-month trip to Bordeaux, France to get immersed more into the culture, help with ministry, and work on our language skills. We were worried that the trip would be cancelled due to COVID-19. We are sad to announce that the trip has had to be cancelled, but not due to COVID-19. The house we were going to stay in is no longer available due to an unexpected life and ministry change for the family that was going to house us. We know that God is in control and is working for our good and His glory. We also believe that a trip like this would be hugely beneficial for our family as we prepare to minister there, and are looking for another opportunity. Will you pray for us about this? The trip that we had planned was exciting because the cheap housing and transportation was going to allow us to stay for an extended amount of time. So going forward, we will either have to shorten the trip, pay more for housing and transportation, or find another affordable housing situation. Will you pray that God will open doors for us and give us the wisdom we need?
Booking and Rescheduling
Pray for us as we continue to seek meetings with churches, and attempt to reschedule meetings that were cancelled. Many of the meetings that we had booked during this time were in the North (NY and MI) where restrictions have been much tighter. We hope that we are able to reschedule many of these for later in the year. God has graciously allowed us to book a missions conference at a church in Glendale, AZ this September. Please pray that we will be able to book some other meetings in Arizona on either side of this conference. We appreciate you, and are thankful to have you as a prayer partner!
Your friends, Michael, Jessica, Amelia, and Jack Dunlop.