PRAISE ITEMS:
1. MAY 22 – A special thanks to you who prayed for us during our final speaking engagement in Michigan on May 22 at Al’s former home church. Pastor Wigand gave Al the entire time to speak during Sunday School, the morning worship service, AND the evening service! Reconnecting with family and friends there and making new ones was a wonderful way to end our month in MI.
2. TRIP HOME – We praise God for a safe trip back to PA on May 24. It was a blessing that during our more than 2,000 miles on the road during this month-long trip, our vehicle had no mechanical difficulty or flat tires. We had some near misses with deer along the way and are thankful that we and the deer survived the excitement.
3. TEST RESULTS – Thanks for praying about the medical tests that I (Mickey) was scheduled to have after our return to PA. As it turned out, I got a call from my doctor’s office after I got home saying the doctor had actually ordered a myelogram (where a dye would be injected into my spinal cord when they did the CT scan). Because I had concerns about having this done at this time, it’s been “put on hold”. The other two tests that I had done (a neck x-ray and a nerve conduction study) did not show any reason as to why my arm goes numb so often, but they did show that my neck still moves properly and the artificial disks are still in place. PTL. Pray that massage and chiropractic adjustments will bring relief to the numbness.
4. WWW.BIBLE.IS – One of the new websites that we’ve recently been telling people about is “Bible.is” – a wonderful place to find the Scriptures in over 1,900 different languages AND where you have a choice on how you access the Scriptures (i.e. printed, audio, or video)!
Recently, I (Mickey) was ordering something by phone from a company in Canada. I could tell by her accent that the young woman assisting me was a Filipina, so I said something to her in Tagalog (the national language of the Philippines). That led to a nice conversation about how Al and I lived 23 years in the Philippines helping people to get God’s Word in their own language. When I asked her where in the Philippines she was from, I recognized the name of the town and the language group as one where our SIL colleagues had worked on translating the Scriptures. I asked if she had a Bible in her language but she said no. She was very excited to hear that she could go to Bible.is and get a FREE download of the Scriptures in her own language onto her computer or phone!
PRAYER ITEMS:
1. ANXIETY – I (Mickey) would appreciate your prayers that I would not be anxious or worried about things in life. I know the Lord is trustworthy and that He has my future under control, but it seems that I so often ‘forget’ and allow myself to get uptight and anxious about many things. Pray against the Enemy’s stronghold in my life in this area.
2. FOCUS ON AUSTRALIA – At the request of the Director for the work in Northern Australia, I (Al) have been asked to help them in the development of a crisis management plan. I will be working with the Australia staff remotely rather than making a trip, so good communication by email and voice calls will be very important. Please pray with me that we will have good insight into the details needed in this plan and good communication through this process.
3. ON-LINE PERSONAL SECURITY TRAINING PROJECT – For several years I have been working with a team on this project and we are getting down to the last few hurdles in making this training available to Wycliffe and SIL staff around the world. The preliminary training package is in testing now with a variety of our worldwide staff and the feedback has been encouraging. Please pray that we will be able to bring this project to completion soon so that it will help our staff to be better prepared to meet the security challenges they are facing.
4. BEASLEY FAMILY CRISIS – You have heard me mention Norm Beasley as one of the people I have worked closely with in my Security and Contingency Preparedness role. Early in the morning of June 11, Norm and Cathy’s son Jacob was involved in a very serious five-car accident near their home in Waxhaw, North Carolina. Jacob and the driver of another car died in this accident. Please be in prayer with us for the Beasley family and their many friends who are grieving with them through this time. Jacob loved the Lord and that is a comfort.
5. INCREASED SUPPORT NEED – We praise God for all of you who are part of our Wycliffe ministry financially and prayerfully. During the past two months, several dear friends have told us they are increasing their monthly giving and one church has joined our Wycliffe ministry team. Please pray with us that more individuals and churches would join our Wycliffe ministry team so we can continue serving the Bible translation work in Asia.
