We've had a very busy month of October, capping what was an extremely busy five months from the end of May thru October. We are intentionally taking a slower pace this month, and figuring out what a household of four feels like for the first time. And it's weird, and good, but we miss Grace. We're proud of how she's doing - please continue to pray for her as she nears the end of her first college semester. This past month Ken spent a good amount of time traveling for a quarterly meeting. The UNHCR reported in June, “one out of
every 122 humans is now either a refugee, internally displaced, or
seeking asylum,” and everyone has been watching the migrant waves
from Africa and the Middle East flood into European nations. Germany
has been the most receptive of these, and actually responded better to
receive the waves of need. Ken witnessed various stages of housing
and learned of diligent integration and screening efforts applied by the
government. Many church members are involved in these processes
as employees or volunteers within their communities. Ken will be
writing more about this visit soon because there are so many
testimonies out of the German churches.
It has been our joy to partner with, support, and serve as requested
with the Heart for Lebanon ministries. The excellent quality and diversity
of services they provide in the nation with the most desperate crisis of
refugees is a testimony of Christian obedience and sacrifice by each
one who has served through these ten years. A beautiful mosaic of
refugee children played instruments and sang songs of praise to God in
the celebration concert. Lives given hope through love.
Spotlight on Titus: Our son Titus turned 16 years old this month! We are so proud of the young man that he is becoming. Titus has now lived internationally for five years and has grown to appreciate different cultures and nationalities through a diverse group of friends. He is now a sophomore in high school, and this year he has begun taking computer programing and has a developing interest in writing computer code. LIke most teenage guys, Titus enjoys gaming and spending time with his friends. He has a sense of humor that is even appreciated by his teachers. If we let him, his diet would only include pizza, chocolate, chicken fingers, orange chicken, koshari (his favrotie Egyptian dish), Coca Cola and coffee.
Our family is also facing a budget deficit for our ministry. It seems that we are every year, and that's true in part because the budget has had to increase each year for different reasons. But the increase we face this year on top of some supporters needing to decrease their giving, creating a larger support need than in previous years. Please pray that we will see new supporters or increases by current supporters to meet the need. We have also been behind in our monthly receipts of support; if you or your congregation are behind in meeting your pledged amount for the 2016 calendar year, please either send those gifts in or contact us to let us know if the pledge needs to be amended.
Spotlight on Titus: Our son Titus turned 16 years old this month! We are so proud of the young man that he is becoming. Titus has now lived internationally for five years and has grown to appreciate different cultures and nationalities through a diverse group of friends. He is now a sophomore in high school, and this year he has begun taking computer programing and has a developing interest in writing computer code. LIke most teenage guys, Titus enjoys gaming and spending time with his friends. He has a sense of humor that is even appreciated by his teachers. If we let him, his diet would only include pizza, chocolate, chicken fingers, orange chicken, koshari (his favrotie Egyptian dish), Coca Cola and coffee.
Our family is also facing a budget deficit for our ministry. It seems that we are every year, and that's true in part because the budget has had to increase each year for different reasons. But the increase we face this year on top of some supporters needing to decrease their giving, creating a larger support need than in previous years. Please pray that we will see new supporters or increases by current supporters to meet the need. We have also been behind in our monthly receipts of support; if you or your congregation are behind in meeting your pledged amount for the 2016 calendar year, please either send those gifts in or contact us to let us know if the pledge needs to be amended.
In addition to that prayer concern, please pray for us and our team as we gather for our annual 3W staff meeting at the end of this month.We will be talking about a variety of annual reports and review of the goals for our region; we'll also discuss and pray about personal issues. Pray for this time of review and the discussions related to the region.
Thank you for your continuing interest, prayers, and support of our family's service to the believers and ministries in the Middle East, and in Europe. It's a joy and honor to serve the Kingdom in this way.
Grace, Mercy & Peace...
Ken & Kelli
