This week I reminded the staff at the Home of Hope that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. The work we are doing is truly a spiritual battle for the lives of the women we are helping.

When working with women who have been so traumatized, the results can be slow in coming. Discouragement can set in. We see one woman make a good choice while the next makes the choice to walk away from the freedom she is finding.

In late July I wrote that one of our girls had run away from the home. She is our youngest girl, and she'd given her heart to the Lord at a camp in June. But the battle for her life was not over. A few weeks ago we finally located her in her village. She has no parents and thought she enjoyed the freedom there. But this week she went to her village social worker and asked to come back. So we pray again for her, that Christ would give her joy and peace in Him.

We also took in a new woman this past week. She comes with a 4 1/2 year old daughter. They had been living on the street and another of our girls saw them and told us her story and her need for help. Pray that Nelly* finds freedom in Christ. She also has some health issues. Pray for her complete healing.

I'm also rejoicing because I've hired a national director for the ministry. She is an amazing young woman who has been on the staff. She has such a vision for what God is going to do in the ministry now and in the future.

Please continue to pray for the women in the home. Pray as our young one returns home. Pray that she'd truly be set free in Christ.

Pray for our expecting mama. Her baby should be born in the next month. Pray for a safe delivery and a healthy little boy. We are seeing God do such amazing things in her life. Pray that she continues to grow.

Pray also for Elena, our director. Pray that God helps her as she moves forward in this position.

Thanks for your prayers. They really are making a difference.

Away

Andy, the girls and I have been away from Moldova for a few weeks. We are in the states for a bit of vacation and the Assemblies of God General Council to help with the Eurasia Experience and Eurasia Exhibit. It is a good time to reconnect with friends in ministry and also to talk to people about what God wants in their lives in missions. Please keep this week in prayer.

But as we are away, the work continues on in Moldova. The girl who ran away a few weeks ago has been found and will be coming back to the home later this week. Please pray for Victoria* that she would really understand the grace and mercy of God in her life. Pray that she would understand that God truly wants to set her free from a life of destruction.

Masha*, who came back to us is doing well, but her "boyfriend" once again is trying to contact her. She is moved to a safe place where we really believe God can work in her life and change her. Please pray for her in these weeks.

Pray also for the staff. This work is an extremely exhausting work and it is so hard for all of them. Please pray that they would find rest and peace in God in this week. Pray that He would give them the strength they need to continue. We also need to fill some staff positions and we'd ask you to pray that we can find the women needed to work with us.

Pray also for our family for our final days here in the states. Elissa has to have a minor surgery Monday morning. Her eye teeth are impacted and she needs to have the gum opened so they can come down. This is not the extensive surgery of wisdom teeth, but it is still a surgery and we fly out that evening. Please pray for her. Pray also for the refreshment our family needs at this time.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

An Empty stage

Masha* came back last week. Masha ran away last week. Masha came back last week.

That is how some weeks go. This week is an emotional roller coaster. Every time I promise that if she runs away again, we won't take her back. But we do. She's desperate for help and doesn't know what to do.

Today another girl disappeared. We know where she is. She is with a friend. We spent about half hour at dusk trying to find her, visiting with neighbors of the friend, hoping to find her. She did not want to be found. We'll find her in the morning.

Rebecca G had been in Moldova working with the girls when Masha returned. When I wrote her that Masha had run away, this is what she wrote to me:

"I'm not surprised, but saddened over Masha. What a beautiful,
potential-filled young woman...but a fragmented result of her abuse. I
probably mentioned to you that during art time she painted the past so
graphically, but she could not picture the present or the future. In fact,
her future painting was like a mini-stage with grass on the bottom and a sun
in the corner and nothing on the stage. Like she knew it could/should be
good, but she could not even imagine what life might look like. The fact
that her brain could not fathom present or future, only what she knew that
had been imposed upon her".

This is where most of our girls are at, and this is why our days are filled with so many ups and downs. Most of them can picture the past so vividly, but cannot dream of a bright and beautiful future.

We often hear it said that "you can take the girl from the brothel, but you can't take the brothel from the girl". That is something only Jesus can do. Pray that God will deliver them from the bondage they still live in. Pray that they can see hope for a new future.

Will you please pray for our girls at the Home of Hope? We feel that right now we are in an intense battle for them. We know they are changing, but we need to see them truly be delivered and changed by God.

Please pray that God would take their brokenness and give them a hope for a bright new future. Please pray that they can see that God is making all things new.

Unto You

Rebecca has been teaching a dance to the girls from a song. The chorus is simple, "Unto You be all the glory! Unto You be all the glory! Unto You be all the glory! Unto You be all the glory!" That may seem repetitive, but needs to be the cry of our souls to God.

This morning we arrived at the Home of Hope and were greeted by amazing smiles. Masha* was not smiling, but she got up and hugged me. She stayed in my arms for several minutes.

When we first took her in the home when we opened last fall, she was a girl in need of help. She had been locked in a brothel and abused. Somehow she still had spirit and life, often acting like a small child full of joy.

Today I see a woman totally broken by the abuse of the past months--physical, emotional,and sexual abuse. She sits quietly, unsure of herself, unsure of all that she is, unsure of what the future has to hold.

Please continue to pray for Masha. Pray that God can come in and heal her completely. And pray for safety and distance from the man that held her. He knows where the home is, and we want her to stay safely away from him. She needs an incredible touch from God right now.

In contrast to her, the other girls, who are just baby Christians greeted me with smiles and laughter. They are seeing God at work. They see the answer to their prayers sitting among us. They are full of joy and hope.

So as they begin to dance to the choreographed moves of this song, the chorus rang out to me, "Unto YOU be all the glory!" Oh, our God is so good! His heart is for the broken and although Masha has been away from us, she has never been away from Him. He has heard her cry of pain, and He has come to meet her. Unto Jesus be the glory.

What a day to pray

Some days are just amazing.

I woke up looking forward to what God was going to do today, but a bit afraid of the day ahead. Started with an intense meeting with people who simply need Jesus to intervene in their lives.

Moved on to the Home of Hope. Rebecca, with Rescue Arts, has been here for the past week working with the women there. The first days were such a battle. Rebecca felt such an oppression even within the country, and it was so difficult to work with the girls. The girls didn't want to open up. When she tried to teach them dance, they simply sat down and refused to get up. It was a struggle to get everyone going on anything together. But today in her session the girls opened up in an amazing way, sharing the hurt from the past and the peace of the present.

Went from the Home of Hope to a meeting with an American man studying the issue of trafficking in Moldova. Here I was able to talk about being a faith-based Christian aftercare center, and that we believe fully that Christ is the only one who will bring change to a woman's broken life. As I told him of how many women in our home, saying one girl was not currently in the home, but we keep contact with her (believing she will return), my phone rang, It was this very girl, Masha*.

I immediately responded to Masha's call. She speaks Russian and so it is always difficult to communicate with her. She has my number and usually calls me, and I put Andy on the phone. But he was not with me. Through tears she said, "Doamne [Mrs] Nancy, (then in English) PLEASE HELP ME!" I told her I would call Andy immediately and we'd get to her.

But two hours later we still had not found her, realizing that he boyfriend (pimp) had found her. She'd escaped from the apartment where he keeps her locked and tried a desperate call for help. Before we could get to her, he had found her again and taken her back.

We begin to intercede for Masha. We drove back to the Home of Hope and prayed with the women and staff there. Amazingly, within an hour Masha had made her way to the Home of Hope.

Masha is free from the key that locked her in, but she is far from true freedom. She needs freedom for her soul. Please pray and intercede for her this week. Pray that the chains that hold her in darkness will be broken. Pray that the tie to this man will be broken completely. Pray that God will give us wisdom as we work with her this week.

Pray also for us. The work here has been intense. I feel like today was a day of walking how God wants us to walk. We were fighting for the souls of many and progressing. BUT this is emotionally exhausting. It is exhausting for Andy and me. It is exhausting for Rebecca, and it is exhausting for the staff. Please pray that daily God would renew us with His strength.

Pray also for our last day of Rescue Arts tomorrow. Pray that God would move again on the hearts of the women and that they would see that Christ will be their hope and peace for each new day.

Art Therapy

This week a friend is here to work with the women at the Home of Hope in areas of art therapy. Rebecca works in India with survivors of sexual exploitation and agreed to come to work with our girls for a week.

Today we had the first session, and we felt like it went to well. We see God moving in the lives of the women and that is always exciting.

Will you keep us in prayer this next week as Rebecca ministers to the hurts these women face? Pray that God will bringing healing to their scared lives. Pray that He will take the painful memories of the past and bring peace and healing. Pray that they begin to see who they are in Christ and understand their new identity as a believer.

Pray also for our staff. Three of the staff are doing the sessions also. Pray that they find healing for things they need. Pray that they make themselves open and are honest with themselves and, therefore, God. Pray that God teaches and uses them in this week.

Pray that God uses this time to knit the women and staff together.

Pray also for Rebecca, that God's anointing would be upon her and that she would speak "words of life" to the women as she teaches.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Praising God

I asked for prayer for one of the women the other day who is pregnant and had an infection in her uterus. We prayed and God answered!

Today she went for an ultra-sound, and they see nothing. The tests she's had have come back negative. God has healed. We are rejoicing that once again He is showing himself to her.

Healing needed

One of the women in the home is pregnant. She is 24 weeks pregnant and has an infection in her uterus. She has been on antibiotics for a few weeks but the infection continues to grow and she may need to be hospitalized for a few weeks of antibiotics. Please pray for a complete healing for her. The baby's life is in danger at this point. We are asking God to show himself to her in a miraculous way.

Last week the girls at the Home all went to a Christian camp for the week and all of of the girls accepted the Lord. There is still a lot of discipleship that needs to be done, but we are praising God for the work He is doing in their lives.

Also, Andy's eye is much improved and has not become infected. Thank you for praying for his eye.

Andy's eye

I have a short prayer need today. Last night (Wednesday evening), Andy's eye was scratched by an overhanging plant (the long sharp type of leaf) as we entered a restaurant. It was extremely painful, but after about an hour it was okay. As we were going to bed I lifted my hands and accidentally touched the eye again (but hardly touched it) and it shot pain again.

The eye is sore and scratched and this morning it is sensitive to light so we are keeping the lights off. Please pray for a quick and complete healing of Andy's eye.

camp week

This week the women from the Home of Hope are going off to camp. They are attending with 3 of the staff and it is a church came sponsored by the church of our Social Worker. Please pray that the women and their children enjoy the camp, are refreshed and that they are opened to God working in their lives this week.

At the same time most of our AGWM team (but not all) and our summer interns are off to experience their own brand of camp. They are heading to small village for a week of evangelism and outreach. Andy & I are not able to go this week, but Elissa, our oldest daughter will join the group. Please pray for health and safety for all 9 of those gone. Pray also for God's anointing on them as they work with the church of this village to share Jesus.

The Project Rescue interns are in their last weeks with us. Pray that God continues to use them and show them His way for their lives. These are 2 wonderful young women and we have been blessed to have them here.

Pray also for us as we are away from our families. Some days we really miss being near them. We love what we do and where we are, but sometimes we miss those at home.

Thanks for your prayers.

Nancy

Updates

We just returned from a great week away. We had time for our annual retreat. That is always refreshing. It is so good to get away and worship in English, hear good preaching and have time to visit with others.

While I was gone we took in a new woman and her 14 month old daughter at the Home of Hope. I'm so proud of my staff because they went ahead and made all the decisions needed to make this happen. The organization referring this young woman did not want to keep her with her child, saying she could not learn to parent. But the HoH staff said they would not take the woman without her child. I was so proud of them for standing strong. The baby is a beautiful little girl and we now have an opportunity to again touch another generation. Please pray for this mother and daughter as they adjust to life at the home.

Next week all the women and some of the staff will go to the first camp of the summer. They are all excited for this. This is a Christian camp. Pray that they hear from God in a special way. Pray that they meet Him while there.

We also have 2 great interns with us this summer, working with the House of Hope. We have another 2 interns working with local churches. Pray for these young women as they seek God for their futures. We feel like we have 4 really wonderful young women this summer. Pray for God's continued hand on their lives this summer.

We also have the opportunity to partner with Salvation Army in a sewing project. We are excited about this. Please pray for the women as they learn to sew and begin to have an opportunity to make some money.

Thanks for your prayers. Everyday I know I cannot do anything without the wisdom and understanding from God. He is guiding us.

Blessings.

Having a Baby!

No, I'm not pregnant. You can stop that rumor right now.

Glad I'm not dealing with that at this point in my life, but beginning the Home of Hope ministry is a lot like having a baby. There is a lot of waiting, a lot of preparation, a lot of pain and agony. One day we know that this baby will be birthed and that day will be full of joy. Right now we are still heavy with labor for this new baby.

Why the baby picture?

Last week I was in Lyon, France with two women from our AGWM team and one member from my Home of Hope staff for a Christian conference on Human Trafficking. The conference blessed us and we learned new things that will be so helpful to all we are doing. On the second morning of the conference, we sat to breakfast and Elena, our counselor at the Home of Hope said, "I had the strangest dream. I dreamed I had a baby. I told God, 'I'm too young. I'm unmarried. It is a shame.'"

I was shocked because I too had woken up that morning with a dream of having a baby. I told God, "I'm too old. It is too much. I don't want a baby at this point in my life." And when I said this, Irene, a Swiss woman, said, "dreams of babies means God is birthing something in you."

Now, I was not big on dreams and interpretation. I have never studied this or asked what these things meant. The Bible says, "in the last days I will pour out my spirit... and you will dream dreams." I'm beginning to believe.

So I begin to ask God what He meant by these dreams. What is He saying to us? Later in the day I told Elena that we are like Mary & Elizabeth. She is telling God she is young. I'm telling God I'm too old. BUT God is birthing this ministry in our hearts. We are feeling the pains of labor right now, but God is bringing it to life.

This Sunday we will celebrate the dedication of this ministry with many of the leadership in the churches here in Moldova. We also have guests coming from the states. We are excited about this celebration and ask you to pray for the day. Pray that God's hand of blessing would come down on that day in a mighty way. Pray that His work and will would be done.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Sometimes Life

Sometimes life overseas is just a pain.

My washing machine has been broken for more than 2 months. There is no Sears store to call for the repair guy. We've thought we've had the part sent 3 times, only to find that the parts supplier keeps sending the wrong part. Today again we found the wrong part had been sent (same wrong part every time, although Andy has given them a picture from THEIR website of the part we need). This just gets discouraging.

Our registration papers for the Home of Hope have been rejected again. From what we've heard, the communist government made a deal with the Orth. Church to not grant any new humanitarian works with the evangelicals.

And today Elissa has gotten sick like so many others around here are sick. Sore throat, fever--we think it is strep throat and put her on some antibiotics.

Please pray for us. That I'd finally get the right part. That we can be registered. That Elissa is healed. Sometimes things here are just a pain, and we get so tired of it.

PS--Yes, I'm getting laundry done by carting it to the Home of Hope each week and doing it there. But this is just such a hassle and my washing machine lays on it's side gaping open.

Many things

Our country is in turmoil. The elections were Sunday, and the young people do not want the communists to be in control again. They are tired of living in a communist country. There are riots in the center of the city (we are staying away). They have burned the president's building and the parliament building. Please pray for Moldova.

In the midst of this Elissa and I have packed and are ready to head to the airport. This has nothing to do with the protests. She has the opportunity to go to a Eurasia MK retreat in Turkey with 30-some other teens from Eurasia. We are so excited for this time for her. The MK department in Springfield has brought in a team to work with the students and a special youth speaker with share with them. Our kids don't get yearly youth camps, winter retreats or youth conventions. We are excited for this time for them. Please pray that God works in a special way in Elissa's life this weekend. (Brian Pingel, the speaker, has asked you to especially remember to pray on Good Friday).

We are also waiting for the documents to be finished for the registration of the Home of Hope. Please pray for this. The communists want to shut down all humanitarian and religious work and workers in the country. Please pray that God would go before us and we'd get these much needed documents even in the midst of all the unrest in the country.

Thanks for so many of you who write or let us know that you are faithfully in prayer for us.

Signs and wonders

We've been praying for signs and wonders to happen in the lives of our women at Home of Hope. Who would know these would begin with a child?

A week ago Natalie (our 9 year old) woke up and said, "I just had the best dream. Ir---(I can't list her name here) came back to the Home of Hope, and she was so changed. She found Jesus." Ir--- had run away several times. Two months ago we finally told her she could not come back. Two nights ago Natalie and I were talking and I said, "Natalie, you know that dream you had last week about Ir----?" And Natalie said, "Mom, that was not a dream. It was real. It will happen."

So today I had a phone call and Ir--- was at the Home. She asked to come back. She asked for forgiveness. I was heading over there anyway, so as a family (and our guests who were in our home) we sat and prayed for dealing with her.

It is impossible to put in a blog the conversation Elena (our psychologist) and I had with Ir---. But it was amazing. I really learned where she has come from. She knows she is lost, and she knows the Home is a place of safety and security. She knows she is loved here, and it is something she has not ever felt in her life.

Then she told me about a dream she had last night. She saw herself, me and Tania (a worker in the home) and we all had halos on our head (she had no idea what a halo meant!) Then she said all of us at the Home were pulling her up out of darkness. I think God was showing her that she can be good, and this is the place to be pulled out of the darkness of her life.

Now we are going to cut back to Natalie. Tonight she told me, "Last night I prayed that God would give Ir--- a dream." Signs and wonders, and they are starting with my child. You cannot believe how this is hitting me as a parent!

Please pray for our little lamb that has returned to our fold. She is so lost, but she knows she is lost. Pray that as we speak to her she will understand. As I spoke to her tonight I said something about Satan. Then I asked her if she knew who Satan is. No, she did not. She doesn't know anything really. She has no context for God, Jesus, Satan. She only knows what is outside the home is bad and what is in the home is good. She shared with me about her life. It is a life that I can't even imagine having to live. She is so afraid she will repeat the life of her mother, which is the reason her life is so awful. Please pray that she will understand that Jesus is the Light of the World, her Savior and that he has come to set her free.

Pray for the other girls in our home too. We have 5 girls total now and 2 children. One doesn't want to deal with personal issues and constantly wants to leave. Tonight she said she'll leave tomorrow. She is very hard, and we keep dealing with her.

God is showing himself to another girl. She has been in the home just 3 weeks and she is seeing God's love for her. Yesterday she said, "I know now that I don't have to live the life I did. I know Jesus loves me so much."

But all of the girls need to understand the reality of Jesus in their lives and that He is their Savior. Please pray for this. Pray for miracles in their lives. Pray that God continues to reveal Himself to them in dreams.

Pray also for our documents for the Home which were rejected the first time but have been submitted the second time. Pray that we get authorization to be a registered Christian social organization in the country. This allows us to help the girls at such a greater level.

Thanks for your prayers.

Celebrations

Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of one of the women in the Home of Hope. She turned 31. It wasn't anything huge--a few roses and a birthday cake after lunch. When I gave her the roses and then we began to sing "La Multi Ani" (Moldova's Happy Birthday song) she put her head down and began to sob. The other women in our home also began to cry.

I wondered when the last time was that anyone celebrated any of them. When was the last time their birthdays were acknowledged in any way? Was this woman a child the last time she was even given a cake for her birthday?

I pray that all of these little things of love and concern will change the hearts of the women in the home. That God will speak to them of His great love.

A week ago some workers with a partner organization were in the home. They commented on the peace that they feel when they walk into the home. One said, "I wish I could stay here for a week. There is such peace here." This peace is something new to her.

This is something that so many prayed for before we opened. We had multiple groups in the home, bathing it in prayer. People continue to pray. We want the Home of Hope to be something different, not just another shelter, but a place where the presence of God dwells.

Please understand that every day and every moment in the home is not like we are skipping around fields of daisies. There are intense moments of anger or fear in the lives of the women.

Pray with us today that God would continue to fill the lives of the women with a sense of peace and that they would understand that when they submit to Him, He brings "the peace that passes all understanding." Pray for an incredible and supernatural healing in their lives and spirits.

Pray also for some staffing issues we have at the home. I need to hire for one more spot, and it needs to be the right person. Pray that God opens that person up to us and brings us together.

Thanks for your prayers for this ministry. God is doing such amazing things.

Blessings,
Nancy

Challenges

Andy & I just returned from India where we attended Project Rescue Leadership meetings. It is always good to meet with the other leadership and to know we are not alone.

The trip was long. We spent a lot of time in airports. To get to India the flights are always overnight so we missed 2 nights of sleep out of the last five. That is travel. I'm blessed that we live in a day that we can make trips like this and do it within a few days.

Our house of hope in Moldova always has challenges. A few weeks ago I wrote about meeting with a partner organization that wants us to take in a young girl who was sold by an aunt in her home village. We are willing to take her. While I was gone, someone from the state came to the home demanding how things would be at Home of Hope if we took her. Understand that this girl has no place to go, but they are making her transition to our home difficult. We are willing to work with them, but not on their secular terms. We will maintain as a Christian organization.

Please pray today for this girl. Her Social Worker from her village is a Christian and has been praying for her. It looked like God's answer for her life had come, but Satan does not want to see her redeemed. He is fighting all the harder to see that she does not change. He is using the broken Moldovan system to try to keep her from coming to a place of safety for the first time in her life. This situation shows the reality of the verse "we do not fight against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers in the evil realm."

I do not want to give names of these girls any longer. They need to be protected in all ways. God knows their names. Please pray for this one, this situation, and ask God to smooth out the difficult path so that she can come into the Home of Hope. Ask God to break the powers that would hold her in darkness.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

understanding

We continue to move forward in the ministry at the Home of Hope, but there is so much more that needs to be in place. Yesterday I told someone that we are in the start up phase of this ministry, meaning we are putting in a lot of capital without a lot of return at this point. We are realizing each day that there is more to do, more to put in place, more to understand.

We need to know laws. We need to know how we can work with minors. We need to know how to lead the women to healing. I realize all of this comes with time and God is bringing the work together, but it is a slow process.

Please pray for us. Pray that God gives each member of the team wisdom to deal with the area in which they have responsibility. Pray that we have understanding, patience and grace for the women. Pray that the women come to an understanding of who God is in their lives.

Pray also for Andy and me. I write this as we sit at the Chisinau airport waiting to board a flight to Turkey and from Turkey we fly to India. We are going for Project Rescue leadership meetings this week. The girls are home with wonderful missionary associates, but we still hate to leave them. Pray for protection as we travel. Pray for peace and safety for the girls at home. And pray that we will learn from those who have done this work now for many more years than we have.

The Hand of God

I've been so blessed with seeing the Hand of God in the ministry we are doing. He continues to move ahead of us.

At the end of December it was clear that we needed a Christian counselor and social worker in the Home of Hope. These are not always easy to find in Moldova and it is not something we can just put a "help wanted" sign out for. But in the same week I was told about a social worker and a counselor. I met them the next week and hired them both. It is key that they work well together, and they work amazingly together. They came just as we needed them and at the right time.

Today we met with a partner organization about taking in a girl that they have. We talked with two other organizations who have been helping her. When we were done the social worker from the state came to us and said that she too is a Christian and she has been praying that God would give this girl the right situation and somehow take her from her pain. Tears ran down her face as she saw our home as an answer to her prayers.

Andy has been in the states speaking at some churches. It has been a good time for him, but we all miss him. He'll be back next week. Pray for safe travels for him yet while he is there and a safe return to us in Moldova.

Pray also for Elena and Oxana, the counselor and social worker, as they begin to learn their new jobs and find their place in the ministry.

Pray also for the new women we are taking into the home. God cares for each of them.

A year

Today I realized that it is one year since I last talked to my mom. It was Sunday morning for her and Sunday afternoon for me. We talked about my visit the next week, made plans for our schedule together. We talked about the great sale prices that she found the day before and said she'd go pick up some skirts and pants for me too after church that day. I don't remember what else we talked about, but we were excited for me visit the following week.

That week following the conversation we had a guest and no internet most of the week. Saturday we had internet again and Sunday I tried to call again, only getting the answering machine, wondering where she could be. A few hours later my brother called saying she'd had a stroke. I boarded the plane knowing she was home with Jesus.

So this week is the anniversary of my mom's death in this world, but her advancement to Heaven. I love that my mom is in heaven. Each time I hear that someone has died, I see my mom greeting them and sitting down to talk with them. I see her free of pain and grief and I see her worshiping Jesus--live and in person.

But I also miss her so much. Today I was talking about the Home of Hope with a friend and I thought, "I'd love to call mom, tell her what I'm learning, ask her to pray." The girls do something cute or learn something new and I want to tell her what is happening with them. I want her to see Elissa playing the violin or all of them at the piano (she couldn't sing, but loved music). I want to call her for recipes. I want her to meet my dog. She loved dogs.

There is a lot on my plate here this week. Much is happening at the Home of Hope. Andy is traveling. But what I asked in prayer for this week is for myself, for my siblings (there are 6 of us), for my children, my nieces and my nephews, who will all once again grieve this week for the loss of Mom and Grandma.

An update on my dad is that he has needed greater medical care as he is now unable to walk or move himself (he only has movement of his right arm so he can still feed himself). Last week he was moved to a nursing home and is doing okay, but on most days he doesn't remember that my mom died.

Thanks for your prayers. I'm blessed by those praying for us. It truly is our strength for the work we do.