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24Nov
Thankful for His provision – Hurricanes, Hernias, and the Holy Land
Categories: News
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are enjoying some time with family and friends thanking the Lord for what He has done for us! This post is long overdue and I want you all to know that I have been thanking the Lord for each of you and your partnership with us as we seek to serve our King!!
Thank you for your prayers over the past few months. Things have been challenging with Hurricane Matthew narrowly missing a direct hit on Jacksonville. We did have to evacuate, well… Lori did! I was scheduled to have hernia surgery the day before Matthew hit, but they cancelled the surgery due to evacuations. I had been suffering from severe abdominal pain that ended up being four hernias severely impacting my ability to function or help Lori. She moved everything upstairs, secured all the stuff around the house, packed the kiddos up, and moved us to our friend’s house on the other side of town. Even over there we lost power for about 24 hours, but Lori was a trooper (as she always is)! Unfortunately, immediately after returning to the house and moving everything back in it’s place, replacing all the stuff in the fridge and freezer, she had to deal with my hernia surgery, and a impatient patient!! The girls were great, but Bekah and Abby did not understand what had happened to Dad and why he couldn’t hug them and pick them up as usual!!:-( In addition, Lori is still dealing with her own medical issues from a head injury that happened over a year ago! She definitely is up for mother/wife/caregiver of the year!! Please continue to pray for her health and healing!
Recovery for me has gone well and I should be back at 100 percent in a few weeks. SWAT Bible Studies continue to go well and now there are 5 studies in the Jacksonville area impacting over 80 men. Unfortunately, I was unable to travel to India this Fall due to my need for surgery, but with your partnership and the faithful warriors of SWAT, we were able to help acquire the land for a discipleship training center in Northern India and a home for one of the leaders of the the ministry who is being forced from his rented home! The training center graduated their 15th batch of 39 students that will go to the darkest places of India, Bhutan, and Nepal to spread HIS LIGHT!! Pictured right is the class from the Spring graduation. Please continue to pray for India and for this vital ministry!
Tomorrow, Lori and I will be leading 36 people to Israel for 10 days to “Walk Where Jesus Walked!” We are so excited because we were not sure Lori was going to be able to go. Our sweet friends who helped us last year called and were unable to come again this year, but God provided others to step up in their place so that Lori could travel with me again this year. This is a special time for both of us so we are pretty excited! Please pray for us as we lead the group and for our children and those caring for them while we are away!
Throughout all the issues of life that we’ve been going through, our children are doing great! Rachel continues to do well and is now playing softball! Kate and Ellie are awesome helpers and preparing for the annual Nutcracker. Bekah and Abby make us laugh and smile everyday, bringing so much unexpected joy into our home! They always keep us on our toes, but both of them continue to develop and have a great teacher at school that is making such a difference in their lives!
As I prayed this morning, I was so grateful for my wife and family, all the friends God has brought into our lives, and all the people that help make it possible for us to spread HISLIGHT throughout our world!!
Doug and Lori
Psalm 18:1-3
“Thankful for our Rock”
