To Kansas and now back to Africa!
As Lynn and I conclude our time here in North America (this time around) visiting friends, family and partners of the mission, we have been blown away with the warmth and generosity of so many people and local churches.
Our recent travels, starting in July, took us through British Columbia to Salmon Arm, then Surrey where we were grateful to meet a number of church planters who compassionately reach out to some of the most marginalized in our society. From there we visited friends and family in Vancouver and Seattle and then flew through to Denver and on to Kansas, two time zones away. Here we were so encouraged by a small but incredibly on fire and generous little church, Courts of Praise, in the town of Atwood. This local church has been a sponsor of Earl and Ruth and the work in Brazil from its inception. In the past 10 years they have also supported the work in Mozambique.
Earl and Ruth with Barney and Cathy Horton from Courts of Praise in Atwood, Kansas
Travelling can be very tiring but we had the privilege of spending this time on the road with Earl and Ruth Trekofski, so it was filled with lots of laughs and fun! We retraced our steps and landed back in Edmonton where we are now preparing for our return to Mozambique on the 28th August, 2016.
On the road with these special people!
Before we leave, we have the privilege of helping to plan and participate in my mother and father’s (Arthur and Gladys Lagore) 60th wedding anniversary. In reviewing old 8mm films, we have been reminded and challenged again by their willingness to obey God’s call in the mid 50’s, get on a ship (actually two ships…the African Crescent and the African Sun) and travel to Africa where they served as missionaries for 38 years! Their legacy of sacrifice is a great encouragement to us due to the challenge we face of leaving family, and now, our first grandchild (with a second one on the way) to return to the land of our calling. Thank you in advance for your prayers!
Arthur and Gladys Lagore (Dwight’s mom and dad) who served as missionaries in South Africa for 38 years!
This month saw the return of Rick and Heather Neufeld to Canada to take up leadership of the Grunthal Abundant Life Fellowship. As many of you know, Rick’s father, Dave Neufeld, was tragically killed in an ultralight accident last year and so Rick will provide lead pastor duties to the church in Manitoba. We will miss this dear family’s active role on the mission, but they will continue to be involved in a variety of ways to support the mission from Canada. Please keep them in your prayers as they make this transition.
As we conclude our time, our appreciation goes out to all of you who received us and blessed us in so many ways during our months of travel. Thank you to all of you who support us in so many different ways, and also to those of you who support the missionaries who serve with us.
Funding almost raised! Thank you to all of you who donated so generously.
I am pleased to communicate that with your help over $48,000 has been donated toward a new van (one of our featured projects on this new web site- click here to see the project) which will serve our short term mission teams as well as generally support the transport needs of the mission in Mozambique. We are confident the remaining funds will come in and we plan to take the next steps in the purchase of the vehicle as soon as we return to South Africa.
Our return to Mozambique comes at a challenging time. Mozambique has not only faced the worst drought in decades, but it has returned to political and economic instability that is hurting, killing, and sending thousands of her people into exile in surrounding countries. I receive reports daily from our Mozambican team leader, Joao, who has reported on numerous thefts of mission property as well as attacks on people and vehicles in our immediate area. We covet your prayers for peace, protection and wisdom as we return to join our amazing team who have remained “Committed to Serve”!