“He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters.” Psalm 23:2. Maybe you have also been feeling like life recently is unremitting and exhausting, with too much to do and insufficient time. We have been working on balance during deputation as we’ve been traveling, working, and parenting, but over the holidays, we were blessed by a season of rest. Over a month with no travel, Sundays at our home church, routine for the kids, and during this time, God brought relief from some of the most stressful things at Fred’s job. There is a new manager now and Fred is back to mostly doing his normal job, which is a huge relief. Thank you for praying. We needed this season. Needed the quiet waters, the time to drink them in peace. Needed the fellowship with our church family here. Needed the respite for our kids from constant change. Needed the time to catch up on communication and work on some different pieces of preparation.
This time ended with a week and a half in San Diego, visiting Fred’s family and childhood friends and sharing at the church he grew up in. We expected joy together, but God gave far beyond our hopes. Family time was sweet, fun, restful, and active. We played at the beach, visited the zoo, and went to a dinosaur museum/play place that may be Alex’s favorite place ever. We spent time with friends who we hadn’t seen in months to years and had such a good time catching up. We saw Fred’s old home church in such a healthy place, with a lot of new faces and a lot of dear friends.
That visit started our next season of travel. We have two visits to churches in Oregon as a family coming up, and Fred will end the month with a weekend at Man Camp in Idaho, with men from the Friends churches there. We are very thankful for our new partners, in prayer and in finance, and appreciate your continued prayers for us to reach full partner support.
Kids Moments
Alex has a dual obsession with letters and dinosaurs. At the dinosaur place, he was completely delighted to walk around the corner and see a T rex model. Arms in the air, “A TYRANNOSAURUS REX!!! RAAAAHHHRRR!!! DINO DANA!!!” (Dino Dana is a kids’ show). He gets excited whenever he sees letters on our clothes, signs, or in books, and often sings the alphabet song. Jael was delighted to hold her baby cousin and loves wearing her stuffed animals in a baby carrier or “wrap” (a scarf) the way I wear her. We rode a miniature train in San Diego, and Jael was snuggled next to me, just watching the things going by, until we came around a corner and saw the bear statue. The whole train could hear her yell, “BEAR!” But they couldn’t see her beaming face when she saw it! Both kids love praying: Alex tells Jesus all about his day with its highs and lows. Jael isn’t always intelligible, but she is always excited to pray.
Prayer Requests:
– For our preparation, that we will be learning what we need to, sharing what God wants, and will be faithful in this waiting stage.
– For the kids, that their hearts will draw near to God and will find peace in the changes as we prepare and as we move.
– For the Balkan people, that the Spirit will draw them to him and that they will find the true rest that comes with letting go of control and hatred and turning to the one who is love.
Fred and Jonelle Liddell
Alex and Jael
We currently have 230 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 are currently at 29% and 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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