God's Perfect Solutions--
Dear Friends and Family,
We want to thank the Lord and praise Him for how He has provided and blessed us in every way in the last few weeks (as He has every week before that, too). We had a wonderful vacation with Todd’s parents celebrating their 40th anniversary. The Bull Shoal’s lake was 40 feet above normal so the fishing wasn’t very good, but the girls (Michaela and her cousin, Madison) both caught some good sized croppy. It was relaxing and fun for all of us.
Our family and Todd’s parents came home a day early from vacation to work at the “barn raising” that Dardenne and Restore St. Charles put together for us with the direction of Scott Murphy from the church.
Five of the guys stayed from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and several other guys came for some part of the day. They were amazing--getting the walls up and bolted to the foundation, putting up the tresses, siding, and the
roof. At the end of the day they were all exhausted. Then the next
day Todd spoke at all four services at Dardenne and the Lord really worked through Todd in teaching people based on Ezra 1 about the partnership between those who go and those who stay. We also had a wonderful meeting on that Wednesday to share our ministry with several friends from Dardenne.
The forecast for that next week was rain everyday and we were concerned because the shed was not shingled, nor secure. The Lord kept the rain away. And on Monday the Lord provided the solution through a friend who put up the garage door for us at a discounted price. Then Todd’s brother-in-law and his brother, Vince and Tom, shingled the roof for us on Monday and Tuesday. Then the downpours came. Since then Todd has been busy in the evenings with painting the shed and putting up soffits and other finish work.
Also the same weekend of the barn-raising, we were to move into a new mission house. The plan was to come check the new place out (I, Julie, had never seen it before) on Sunday and then move into the house on Monday. Well, when we went to leave the house on Sunday evening, it was dark and the lights on our van wouldn’t turn on. We were stuck. How were we going to get back to Todd’s parent’s house? Well, we couldn’t, but it was not a big deal. The guest house was completely furnished with dried/canned goods in the pantry, dishes and pans, and beds freshly made. We had put some of our dirty clothes in the van, last minute, and since there was already laundry detergent in the house, I washed clothes for us to have things to wear in the morning. Are these all coincidences? How could we say that? God knew all along and He provided! God provided money through the church, First Baptist Church of Harvester, who owns this mission house, to pay for fixing the lights on the car. They even gave us a gift card for food! What a blessing they have been to us!
The verses I read yesterday in my devotions are from Psalm 20. Verses 3-5, 7 say, “May He remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” We do trust the Lord and want Him to receive all the glory for the support coming in and when we arrive in Brazil.
In the last two weeks we have spent time moving into our new place, spending time with some family and friends around the 4th of July, catching up on being away for awhile, and getting ready for our trip to Maine this weekend. We will be spending time in Maine leaving on Thursday and arriving on Saturday the 12th. Here is our schedule and we would love to get together with anyone who lives nearby, or see you at
the church. We will be staying with my brother Alan and Glauciana and
will be getting to see the little ones, Jonas and Isabel. We can’t wait! But we will be available for visits as well!
* July 13 a.m.—Meddybemps Christian Association
* July 13-19—Living Waters Family Camp
* July 20 a.m.-early p.m.—First Baptist Church of Pembrook
* July 27 a.m.—Possible Calvary Baptist Church
* July 27 p.m.—Canaan Calvary Church
* July 30 p.m.—Hudson Baptist Church
* August 3 p.m.—Hermon Baptist Church
* August 10 p.m.—Perry Bible Fellowship
We will then return to St. Louis the week of the 10th.
We are very excited to be able to tell you that we have seen a 3% increase in June and July! That is so encouraging for us after spending from December through May at a standstill. We are so grateful to the Lord for the opportunities that He has given us to share with so many churches. The best part is the new people we get to meet and the relationships we are privileged to build in so many different places.
There were 9 meetings in Kansas City in May, and we are still in process with a couple churches to know if they will be able to support us. This is the busiest we have been in our two year process of raising support.
We now have 37 prayer partners and are now at 76%. And we are praying for the Lord to provide all the prayer partners and financial support for His glory in His time. We hope for September/October but it is for the Lord to decide, not us. Even though it has been two years, we have friends that after two years are only at 40% and some friends that took
4 years to raise their support. We can wonder why—but the Lord has His special plan for each couple. This is a time of preparation, of growing in trust, growing as a couple and a family, and seeing God’s glory, how He works through His people and in our hearts.
If you have considered either supporting us through prayer and/or finances would you earnestly pray about it? And will you let us know soon if the Lord leads you to? We are not interested in pestering people for support. And with the economy the way it has been, I’m sure you receive requests for money all the time, and it is tight! We only ask if that is what the Lord wants you to do, not to make anyone feel guilty or pressured. We thank you for your thoughtful consideration and we look forward to sharing with you the ministry in Brazil.
Serving together,
Todd and Julie Hendry
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