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October 08, 2007
October 2007
Dear Friends,
It has been several months since you heard from us and we do apologize. The worst part is that so many critical things have happened for which we could have used and continue to need your prayers. We are a bit overwhelmed. We are also very excited, a little stressed, healing, over-worked and looking forward to a little break. Where to begin? Where to begin?
Preparation and teaching continue to be our primary focus. Alvin taught courses on the Gospel of Mark and Old Testament Theology in April through September. Laurie finished teaching 1 & 2 Timothy in May, did her Summer series “Wonderfully Made” in June and just began the Fall study on Ephesians.
The big news here is our fellowship. On the recommendation of one of our supporting churches to broaden our support base and through a series of interesting meetings, the Lord has lead us into a church planting situation. So, in addition to being busy with our teaching responsibilities we have been busy planting a new church, Northwoods Fellowship [www.northwoodsfellowship.com] . No, Alvin is not the pastor (he still has a full-time job with SETECA), however, we have been working closely with the pastor and his wife. We have an interesting congregation with 50% of the people in recovery from addictions. This is not surprising considering the biggest social problem here in North Idaho is meth and alcohol addictions. It’s huge around here. So, our church has established a Celebrate Recovery program (begun by Saddleback Church). This has been quite a challenge for all of us. We are all learning to deal with the numerous family crises that are a regular occurrence in recovering families, as well as the spiritual needs, the physical needs and of course the financial learning curve that is required. For example, one couple in our church recently received custody of their 5 children from 2 previous marriages, and were in great need of assistance. Needless to say, we are doing counseling and some hands on help. Meanwhile, Alvin is an elder and has done some preaching and he is leading our fellowship group. Laurie is developing the women’s ministries and leading a Bible study. Oh yes, she is also the administrative assistant for the church and is doing the visual projection on Sunday morning (quite a learning curve). She took this position to help make up our financial deficit (we are $1,650/month under full support - click to donate). Unfortunately, the need is tremendous and the pay is slim (when it comes). We are happy to be serving here. It’s sometimes exhausting but very exciting and we recognize that the need is great.
This summer we experienced much joy and some difficulties. We helped our son, Vaughn and his family move into their very first house and our daughter, Jacqueline and her family came to visit from Dallas for a couple of weeks. Children and grandchildren are truly a blessing from the Lord! Then, as you will recall, one of the reasons that we chose to live here in Coeur d’Alene when we moved back to the U.S. was to help Laurie’s sister care for their parents. After their father had a medical crisis this summer, we helped move them into a retirement home. As you can imagine, this has been an adjustment for all of us. Oh, and did I mention Laurie broke her toe? She’s healing.
Fall looks to be busy. Along with a very busy schedule we have a 15 year old friend from Guatemala, Paola, who is coming to spend a couple of months with us to work on her English. This will be fun. Alvin will also be presenting a paper at the Evangelical Theological Society Annual Meeting. Still lots of work to be done. As you can see, there are a lot of prayer requests in this letter. Here’s an overview:
Preparation and teaching of the Word
Wisdom in ministry
Grace and energy serving Laurie’s parents
Financial support
Gratefully,
Alvin & Laurie
alnlaurie@roadrunner.com
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8625 La Prada Dr.
Dallas, TX 75228
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