Dear Family and Friends,
In hectic seasons, it can be hard to take time to be quiet, to “be still and know that I am God.” Our coach challenged us to make a few minutes of quiet every day a priority and we appreciate that reminder. It is much easier to pray as we are on the go and working on various things than it is to set the distractions and tasks aside and listen to the Spirit. But it is vital to take that time, in the busy seasons as in the slower ones.
Since our last letter, we have spent a morning service at First Friends Church in Vancouver, Washington, at East Hill Friends Church in Kent, Washington, and one at our home church. Worshipping, fellowshipping, and sharing with Friends in other congregations has already been such a blessing! We look forward to visiting more churches in the next weeks. We’ve also spent a blessed weekend with my mom’s side of the family in La Grande, OR. These times together are a joy.
Fred continues to serve as interim IT manager for the City of Sequim, though we are hopeful that a new manager will be hired soon. Balancing that increased workload with EFM training and deputation, family time, and church needs has been a strain. Thank you for your prayers for him; please continue to pray. He will continue to work full-time until our monthly fundraising is at 50%, at which time he will quit his job, and we will be able to focus more on pre-field training, connecting with churches and partners, and moving preparation. We are very grateful for those of you who have already partnered with us in prayer and financially, thank you!
In the meantime, we are working on building our connections with contacts in the Balkans. We are working through a reading list with our coaches and meet with them regularly. I continue to clerk our church missions committee and serve on the Northwest Yearly Meeting Board of Global Outreach. We have a few situations with extended family that are taking more of our emotional bandwidth, especially as we watched my Grandpa Comfort dying. It’s a season of transition, with some joyful highs but still holding painful lows.
It has been a joy to spend more time walking together as a family recently. I love reading with the kids and seeing their excitement over books. They sing along with their catechism songs, and Alex is working on memorizing a few verses. Alphabet hide-and-seek, Roar, toddler soccer, and pretend-to-be-asleep (until the child startles you awake) are favorite games. Thank you for your prayers for them; this schedule and time of transition are difficult for little ones.
Prayer Requests
- Keep praying for Fred as he balances his various roles and tries to finish well at the city. Pray for moments of rest.
- Keep praying for the kids, that we will parent them well through this season, that they will find joy in the new relationships and will continue to travel well.
- Pray for the Balkans: that God will draw many to himself, that he will strengthen and increase his workers there, that he will bring peace and healing to the people there.
Thank you for your support and prayers!
Fred and Jonelle Liddell
Alex and Jael
Partnering with Us!
We currently have 193 prayer partners and have a goal of raising it to 500. If you know anyone who would like to pray for our ministry, please forward this form to them. We are currently raising funds for our monthly needs. We are so grateful for those of you who have already begun supporting us financially and in prayer, but we have a ways to go. We need to be at 50% funded before we can transition to full time ministry. Please partner with us, we would love to share in this ministry with you. There are four ways to financially partner with us:
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