“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8

You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
Psalm 119:68

Dear brothers and sisters,
Please forgive our long delay in communicating with you. To use Jeremiah’s tree analogy above, 2020 has come with a lot of heat. We have felt it, personally and broadly. We have felt it acutely in our marriage. And still the call is to trust the Lord, who is good and does good. 

That is the promise that has come to my heart and mind often in recent days - usually as a prayer for more faith to believe it. Because the tree in Jeremiah only survives because it sends its roots into truth, God’s Word. That tree knows who God is and what he has promised. No matter what the tree experiences above the soil, its roots find nourishment and refreshment in the unchanging God. 

The more heat comes, the further down the roots go. That’s how the leaves stay green and the fruit keeps coming. Isn’t that a marvel? Above is desert heat and wind. The tree would surely perish. But because the roots connect the tree to a life-giving source outside itself, it doesn’t just survive. It flourishes.

I’m sure if we sat down together over a “cuppa,” as they say here, each of you could share with us stories of heat from your own lives. So we want to encourage you to root down into the Person and promises of our God. He is always good. Soaking that in helps us weather the heat because we know he would never allow hard things to be cruel or just because. He only is good and only does good. Always.

UPDATES

IN OUR FAMILY

Since our last update, Martin stepped down from his staff role as a gospel worker and Cristi stepped into an admin role with the church plant. There are lots of ways God showed this to be his kind provision for what we need and what the church plant needs right now. For those of you who partner with us financially, your giving still supports us as a family; but now it’s through Cristi’s salary with 20schemes.

God provided Martin a job as a support work for people with complex needs, and he has also already provided lots of opportunities for Martin to have faith conversations with his coworkers. He’s not allowed to initiate gospel conversations with the person he supports, but it's obvious God is at work there, too. Please pray with us for God to save these men and women. Ask boldly for Martin to have opportunities to open up the Bible with them (Romans 10:17).

Cristi wears lots of hats in her role with the church and loves it! A few big projects she’s done during isolation are creating the church website, contextualizing a recovery curriculum for those struggling with addiction, and developing resources for kids. Please pray for God to establish the work of her hands and give his wisdom so these endeavors bear much fruit. She also has been able to connect more with her neighbor ladies during the last weeks of lockdown, so please ask for opportunities to study the Bible with them, too.

Additionally, would you please pray for our marriage? As mentioned above, it has been a very difficult year. We see God at work in amazing ways and are so grateful for his help. Please pray for continued restoration and for a marriage marked by humility and surrender to Jesus in every way. Pray for protection against the enemy, who is always prowling about, seeking our destruction.

IN THE CHURCH PLANT

As you can imagine, COVID-19 changed the face of our local ministry. We went to online meetings for the launch team and suspended all of the outreach efforts during lockdown. We’ve been able to maintain contact with some of our folks, but most of them really withdrew during isolation. Many of these men and women we love and pray for have struggled even more with addiction, hopelessness, and despair. Please pray for God to be working behind the scenes to shine in their hearts “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). Ask God to provide opportunities to share the hope  of Jesus with them.

Food poverty is a concern with the economic effects of the pandemic, so we’ve been asked to start making hot meals once a week for those in the community who need it. We’ll start that soon. Please pray with us for this to bring about good connections in the community and for wisdom as we seek to re-engage with more outreach.

If you have any questions about these shifts, please don’t hesitate to ask. You are dear to us, and “our hearts are wide open to you!” We are grateful for your gospel partnership in the ever-present battle of being light in this darkness. These past months are marked by the love and care of the Church showing us God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, reminding us of his goodness. We truly can’t minister here without you!

We would love to hear from you and know how we can be praying for you!

With much love in our Good King!
Martin and Cristi