We returned home on late Thursday afternoon from our
appointment service in Memphis.. It has been one of those weeks we will always remember! We met a lot of great people who are also preparing for overseas service. There were 61 in our appointment group. There were three of us who are pregnant. Many had infants and small children. Several had older children and a few had adult children that they will be leaving in the States. One family had 6 kids! Also among our group were a doctor, some nurses, teachers, a coach, business men, stay-at-home moms, and more. It was a great group of people to be around and get to know.
The service itself for us was very emotional. I began crying as we marched in and cried off and on the rest of the night. We were soo honored to be in that group and to be given the chance to return to the mission field. To be honest there were several times we doubted that we would ever make it to the appointment service. Not because we doubted our call, but because we didn’t think it would be possible we would get approved. There are many being held back, deferred, or just simply told no. But, praise the Lord, we made it! We are honored and humbled at the same time. We know that this is God’s will for our lives but we also know that it was possible because of all the prayers that were spoken on our behalf for this. Many of you prayed us through this long process and we can’t thank you enough. Many of our colleagues put in good words for us and fought to secure us a position- THANK YOU!
The service consisted of times of praise and worship, testimonies, a challenge from Dr. Jerry Rankin, and a presentation of our certificates. After the service there was a reception so we could visit with all the guests. We were very happy to have many people there to see and support us. We had friends from Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia. It encouraged our hearts that each one came. Here are a few photos from the night:
Marching in
receiving our certificates from Dr. Rankin
Us with Wendall and Jane Parker, retired IMB missionaries who served in Guatemala
Us with Joe and Sharon Tillery.
They were appointed with us and will also serve in Guatemala.
This is Cindy. We read each other's blogs and she came to meet me. It was very sweet of her to come. She's also a Mississippi girl! Us with Kala Baillio
She is a newly retired IMB missionary and helped us with our language study during our first term.
Me with Kathy Kelly.
Us with Tabb and Tonya Pearson.
They have worked with us in Guatemala and we have visited them in Georgia. We love their whole family. They are dear people who have a great heart for missions. Us with Allen and Laurelle Stoudenmire.
And here's a photo of our certificates!
There were others there that we don't have photos with or haven't emailed us their copies yet, but we were very glad they came.
Pray for us as we prepare to leave the States (March 24) and return to Guatemala for another term. We are very excited about it and hope you will enjoy following along on our journey.
