January 19 update

Dear Friends and Family,

I am excited to say that my one-time amount is now at 100% ($10,022 of $10,022) and my monthly is at 41% ($1123 of $2733). I am excited to see that my one-time cost has been raised and I think you all for your help and blessing in reaching that mark. Does that mean that I can’t accept one-time gifts anymore? No! What will happen is now that my one-time category is full, each time I receive a one-time gift it will be divided by 24 months and placed in the monthly category.

I wanted to remind all of you that as soon as my monthly reaches 90% I will be able to purchase a plane ticket to go to Japan. If you have thought about sending a commitment in, I would encourage you to do so because the sooner the monthly goes up the sooner I am able to leave and start ministering.

Please pray with me that God will bring in my monthly support soon because the break in the Japanese school year is from February to March and school starts a new year in April. I would love to be able to arrive in February and start my language study before the new school year begins in April.

Praise! I received a phone call from a missionary in Japan this last week who was looking to see if I wanted to teach an English class to adults on Tuesday nights. I have been desiring to teach English while I was there so that I could pay off my monthly school loans. After talking with her, I found out that I could teach 2 hours a week, a total of 8 hours a month and be able to pay off my monthly school loans. Praise God for providing answers to prayer requests.

Also, please pray for my phone calling this next week. I am trying to set up appointments in South Bend for this next weekend as well as I am trying to contact everyone that I have sent a letter to by the end of this week.

Thank you very much for your prayers and support.

God Bless,

Alan

P.S.- I wanted to let you know there has been a small change to my budget. There has been a 1% increase in my budget which will go to the Navigators. This is to try and help the Ethnic ministries in the United States be able to make more of an impact.

Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Dad's Funeral Information

Thank you all for your prayers and support. I wanted to let you know that the obituary will not go into the South Bend Tribune until Friday. My Dad's funeral is going to be on Monday at 6pm for the viewing and 7pm for the memorial service. We were not able to have it on Saturday or Sunday. The location will be at Emmanuel Baptist Bible Church in Niles, MI. Niles is an adjoining city with South Bend.

9 days on the road

This last week I was in South Bend and then on Friday headed down to Indianapolis for my works Christmas Party. The Christmas party was a lot of fun as we had a magician, a funny white elephant gift exchange, and some prizes. I stayed at my bosses house during the weekend which was a lot of fun as he has 7 adorable kids.
I am now back in Lafayette until Friday as I will then head back to South Bend for the Christmas family get together. I have received a couple more gifts this week and I am at 33% (890 of 2700) monthly and 76% (7520 of 9910) one-time. Please continue to pray that God will bring in my monthly support. I am praying that I will be fundraised by January 1st and leave by February 1st. Will you please pray with me? Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement.

God incomprehensible

During this last week I have been reading from "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer and have been challenged on the way I view God. This is his opening prayer in the book that I have been praying:

"O Lord God Almighty, not the God of the philosophers and the wise but the God of the prophets and apostles; and better than all, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, may I express Thee unblamed?
They that know Thee not may call upon Thee as other than Thou art, and so worship not Thee but a creature of their own fancy; therefore enlighten our minds that we may know Thee as Thou art, so that we may perfectly love Thee and worthily praise Thee.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"

God is not exactly like anything or anybody. When I think about this it bothers me because I want to be able to comprehend God. I want to know what He is doing at all times and I try to figure Him out. How ridiculous it is to think that a finite being can understand the infinite God! God is incomprehensible and if I were able to figure out God, then there would be no reason for awe and reverence of the Almighty God. What is God like? I may only know from what He has revealed to be true of Himself through creation, the written word, and in the person of His Son.

Thank you for your continuing prayers during this time of fundraising. Through God's blessing I have received 33% (890 of 2700) monthly and 74% (7320 of 9910) one-time. Please continue to pray that God will bring in my monthly support by January 1st so that I will be able to leave by February 1st. In order for me to purchase a plane ticket I have to be at 90% monthly. Please pray that I will continue to have perseverance and pursue fundraising even harder during this time.

90 lbs!

My Dad is continuing to become better. Since he went into the hospital he has lost 90 lbs of fluid. He says this is probably the best he has looked in several years. His swelling is almost completely gone. He says that his feet and legs look normal, his right arm is almost back to normal, and he may still have some fluid left in his stomach. He has been working with physical therapy and been moving around a bit more. He has been taken off his IV's and is only taking pills now, which is a huge plus.
We are still looking for a nursing home that he can stay at for a while. Emily, my sister, and I will be going to a place in Muskegon, MI today and will hopefully get a lot more information. Please pray that we will be able to find a place for him to live soon.

Please continue to be praying for me that fundraising will come to an end soon. I am praying that God will give 12 more people or churches to give a $100/month towards my trip. I am at 31% monthly ($840 of 2700) and about 68% one-time ($6800 of $9910). Pray for clear communication over the phone and that peoples hearts will be open to help in the ministry of Japan.

My Dad is Better

I talked with my Father today and he is doing a lot better. Part of the problem with his heart not pumping like it should is that his body had been collecting fluid. The doctors guessed that he probably had at least 60 lbs of extra fluid in his body. He has been on medication to help him lose this fluid and he has lost 56 lbs of fluid since he went into the hospital two weeks ago. His kidneys are doing better and he has started to do some walking in the hospital. Thank you for all your prayers for my Dad and please continue to be praying for direction as he will hopefully be leaving the hospital soon and going to a 24 hour care nursing home for more recovery.

October is Done!

October has been a crazy month for me. October 1-13 I spent in Colorado Springs for the cross-cultural conference and then commissioning at the end. So as soon as I am fundraised I am able to go to Japan! Then October 13-15 was the Navigator Fall Conference. I then spent 5 days in Lafayette, where I live and then went to South Bend for the weekend. I returned home and then went straight to Pennsylvania because my Dad is in the hospital in Harrisburg. Please pray for him that he will recover as his heart is only working at about 15%. He is 100% mentally there but his body is becoming weaker. I then returned home on Halloween.

I am currently at 31% monthly and about 65% one-time. Please pray that God will continue to bless me and provide monthly donors so that I will be able to leave in the beginning of January.

God is continuing to teach me that He is my refuge and how much I need to rely on Him. Psalms 34 has been a passage God has laid on my heart over the last few weeks.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!