August Newsletter

Prayer is God’s invitation for us to co-operate with Him.-Dr. Tom Eliff

            

Julia and I arrived at Field Personnel Orientation on Monday, July 30^th. We quickly moved into our quad and met all of our quad mates for the next two month. We even received official name tags! Monday-Friday we are in training from 8:00-3:00pm. These first eight days we have focused on that which is most important on the field; our spiritual walk with God. We have had sessions on prayer, Bible study, Spiritual Warfare, and Doctrine. We leave training each day exhausted from the mental exercise of focusing and learning! Last Sunday, we had a mapping ceremony where everyone at training stood up before the group and said where they were going and placed a picture of their family on a map of the world. I wish I could have taken a picture of the map, however, due to security concerns I was unable. Julia and I were amazed at the dedication of the families which are being sent out. We are in class every day with giants of the faith; these dads and moms have left everything to follow Christ and serve the people in the country they are headed. I was brought to tears singing praises to our Savior with these incredible men and women. We are thankful for their commitment.

           

        One of our assignments while in training is to memorize six verses of Scripture which will be useful to us while on the field or in training. I will be including a breakdown of the verses in each newsletter. If you would like to read my thoughts on the verse for these two week please follow this link (A Slave to My Lord)

Praises:

•  We have arrived safely at Field Personnel Orientation. We our bonding with our quad-mates over Spades, Ticket to Ride, and Catch Phrase.
• We have had the opportunity to meet a couple who has been to Nalerigu. They said the village was rural with only one paved road, however, the people of Nalerigu and the team which works at the hospital is filled with joy and have a love for life which is contagious.
• We have begun to unplug from our life here in America. We have begun to shut off our cell phones (yes, they can do that), we have no television (what’s the Olympic medal count?), and very little access to the internet (yes, you can survive without Google).
•  We have been challenged to study the Bible, pray, and serve others.

Prayer Requests:

1.       Please pray that we would redeem the time at training; rather than looking towards our assignment. Pray that we would focus in the sessions, learn from our teachers, and enjoy life with our quad mates.
2.       Please pray that we would remember and live our John 15:5. Please pray that every day in the midst of our busy schedule we would spend time with God in prayer and the Word.
3.       Please pray that we would serve our quad-mates.
4.       Please pray for our Visas. We will be applying for our Ghanaian Visa as well as our Burkina Faso visa. Please pray that we would correctly fill out the forms and we would receive the visas in a timely manner.
5.       Please pray for us on Friday, August 10^th and Friday, August 17^th. We will be receiving shots on those days. We each have to receive three-four shots on each day. Pray we don’t cry like babies.
6.       Please pray for the country of Ghana. The Ghanaian President passed away last week and the country will be in mourning August 8-10. Please pray for Ghana’s leadership.

Julia and I are thankful for Southern Baptists, Lottie Moon, and the Cooperative Program. We are thankful for the sacrifice of so many which make it possible for us to be here. Thank you.

Serving Him,

T and Julia Welch