Wow! What a month September has been! September marks many particular highlights for us. First, we have OFFICIALLY been on deputation for ONE FULL YEAR! We launched out on the deputation trail a year ago, and the Lord has blessed us so much. Second, this has by far been the busiest month of our deputation so far. Within two weeks, we took part in four different missions conferences. It has been busy and exhausting, and we have another fully booked month coming up.
Our month began with a meeting at a church in Palmer, Texas. We had a wonderful meeting and made a great connection with the church. After that began the missions conference at our home church, Worth Baptist Church. This conference felt so unique from other missions conferences because it was our home church. In many ways, it was the strangest feeling and most nervous we have felt in a missions conference (both Joneia and myself). We have been traveling across the states telling strangers about our ministry and asking for support, but this time we were telling a bunch of people that we know and who know us. Something about that simple fact made us both feel a lot more nervous. We had so much fun during the conference, and the Lord provided for us in a great way. One thing we loved about our home church missions conference was the Christmas for Missionaries they do every year. The members of the church donate to the needs of each missionary family, those donations are then used to purchase several gifts and needs, and then the missionaries get to open up those gifts - like it's Christmas Morning. It is a wonderful way that the church members get to see their giving to missionaries in a very real way.
The next morning after missions conference number one, we drive to El Reno, Oklahoma, for missions conference number two. We had a wonderful time at the missions conference and enjoyed the fellowship with the church. We even got to sample a World Famous Burger that I can honestly say is one of the best burgers I've ever had in the United States. After mission conference number two, we drove back to Texas for missions conference number three in Haslet, Texas. We shared this wonderful conference with five other missionaries and got to see the burden for missionaries all around the world. My wife and I shared our ministry with kindergarteners at their school (Joneia's favorite age group). We enjoyed our time getting to know the church who has been supporting us since we started deputation.
After a one-day breather, it was off to missions conference number four. Hilariously, missionary Tyler Yates to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico was with us for almost every single one of our conferences in Texas! We are so excited for him as his deputation is really starting to take off. He blessed us with his exceptional guitar skills. We had our fourth missions conference in Denton, Texas, and enjoyed a good time with a church before our final meeting on Sunday in Arlington, Texas. All of our meetings went very well, and we are getting that much closer to Brazil. We just broke 60% support, and are on track to get to Brazil by January!
After that final meeting, a dreaded day for me finally came. Since we had a week off, it was time for me to have a procedure done that I had been putting off. I had an ingrown toenail removed. Unfortunately, I have been dealing with it for a long time, and the last week of September was the only week until December when we would have time for me to recover. So I finally went in, got it removed, and am still recovering from it even as I type this blog. As I recover, Joneia had the opportunity to go to her first ladies' retreat with our home church. I eagerly await her return to hear how it all went.
As we look ahead, October almost looks busier than September, but we face it with God's strength and are encouraged to see a full schedule because it means we can make it that much faster to our goal. Be praying that my recovery will be very quick, that we will stay refreshed and energetic for our upcoming meetings, for continued safety, and that all of our support comes in before January. God has been so good to us, and we anticipate what more He will do this next month!