August prayer requests and praises

Is August really here already?? It is hard to believe. This summer has been flying by and it seems everytime we sit down to rest, we realize another month has past. And since it is the first of the month, it is time to update all of you on our progress and our path.


This has been the busyiest time of our lives, hands down. Our family has not slowed down since we accepted this challenge back in Jan. We are still in the process of meeting with people and sharing our story, selling off our possesions here in Iowa, showing the house, visiting with family, and packing to move. And in the midst of all the busyness of these days, we are more and more convinced that our path is clear and we are doing exactly what we are being called to do. God makes His presence in our lives evident every day in very tangible and practical ways. He meets our every need and we are very humbled and grateful.


One of the most evident ways we have seen God's hand in our lives is through support raising. We reached our initial goal of support earlier this month. That means that we are 100% funded for the first year to work at Agape. Through the gifts we have received and/or have been pledged, we will be begin working at Agape as soon as possible. Praise God! But, that does not mean we are done, we will still be working on securing funds to help with moving expenses, training/conferences for Lance, and funding to secure the future years. We have reached our initial goal but we are not stopping there. We know that God has provided every penny and He will continue to fill every need. We are trusting Him for all things.



Our next step is for Lance to take a short trip to FL within the next few weeks. While he is there he will visit at Agape to check out the needs of the computer systems so he can begin plannning his work. He will also check on some houses for us and get to know the area. We would like to have a good idea of the market and a few possible houses lined up for when this one sells. That help greatly in the transition process.



We have seen God work in big ways in the past 6 months and we are so grateful for all your faithful prayers. Here is the list of prayer requests for this month:

Praises

• God completed the first year of funding for us to work at Agape. What an amazing story in the economy of the world today!?! He is sooo much bigger than the world.


• Doors have continued to open for us to share our story.


• More "stuff" has sold from the house and I believe we are almost out of things to sell.


• The house showings have picked up again and it is prime time for us to sell, now that funding is complete.


• We have had time to have some great family time with Daddy. This time of waiting, since Lance has been layed off to now, has allowed us to spend time together every day and really enjoy having Daddy time. The girls are really going to miss him when he goes back to work. This time has been a real blessing.

Prayer requests

• Please pray for our house to sell. We have given this to God. He is in charge and He can move mountians. We are confident He has a buyer already selected for this home. Pray for the buyer to come see it and fall in love with this house.


• Please pray for our travels. We will be spending time alot on the road in the next month. We are traveling to Green Bay this weekend for a family reunion and then Lance will be traveling to FL.


• Please pray for our housing in FL. We are having some issues with where we will stay once we arrive in FL. The timing of the sale of this house and the availablity of a new house will have to come together for the move to be smooth. We are confident God can make this happen.


• Please continue to pray for a hedge of protection around our family. We have experienced alot of satan's tactics to discourage us but we are holding on to faith in our powerful God. Just like Nehemiah, we are not stepping off the wall.

We are grateful for all of you and for your time in prayer for us. We are humbled by all that God is doing and we are thankful to be allowed to be a part of this amazing adventure. Many thanks for all you who are encouraging us and standing with us. We could not do this without you.

Have a great month and stay tuned for updates on the house.

Never give in!
In His service, Lance, Lynn, Grace and Hope.

Happy Birthday, Hope!!

It's another special day in the Anderson family. Today, we celebrate Hope's 3rd birthday. Hope is our 2nd child and we are so blessed to be her parents.

Hope is a wonderful little girl. She is very active and very imaginative. She and her sister make up games and stories all the time. I don't know what "land" they are in half the time, because I am not always allowed to play. Hope loves to ride her bike, swing on the swing set, swim, ride horses, ride the ATV, play with her doll house, dress up, ride horses and tickle her dad. Hope is a singer and she is constantly making up new songs or adding words to songs she already knows.

Hope is our reminder that we are to never give up. As the second child, she is constantly trying to catch up with her sister. If there is something Grace can do, Hope will be next in line to give it a try. She has a very persistant attitude and she will not stop until she conquers whatever she is working on.

Here are some picts of Hope from today and from 3 years ago.

Hope's hospital photo (sort of looks like a mug shot)

Grace and Hope on the day we got home from the hospital

Hope finally let me do her hair after almost 2 years.

Hope in swimming lessons
Hope's favorite part...jumping in.


We are so blessed to have Hope in our lives. I can not imagine our family without her. We named her Hope because we wanted to be constantly reminded of the greatest gifts God has given us. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We have hope in the Lord and we are grateful to also have Hope in our family.



Happy Birthday, Hope! We love you!

Never give in!

In His service, Lynn