Petersons’ Prayer Guide - August 2006

“I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken… trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:5-6,8

Gary has begun his new role with Guest and Event services at our Wycliffe Orlando office. He did take on the position described in our last prayer guide and has the title of Community Relations Manager for Wordspring, the visitors’ center. Pray for him as he gets to know his team mates better and learns to work effectively with them. His job is to get out into the community to let people know we’re here and introduce them to the needs of the Bibleless people, as well as to engage with the many visitors who come. He is trying to figure out how he can best balance his time and the limited resources to educate, encourage and engage people in the work of Bible Translation. Gary is still “Mr. Interruptible” if anyone wants to talk with someone. He is also helping to train volunteers to connect with visitors and tell the story of what God is doing here and around the world.

Some extra events Gary agreed to help with before he started this new job:
Aug. 7-9 The Orlando Connection. This is a program to help reorient Wycliffe missionaries to life back in the US. Gary will be helping to run the program for the kids. Pray that Gary and the team will really help these kids and their families make a smooth transition “home”. For most of these kids, “home” is overseas.
August 9 – 13 Global Impact Celebration at 1st Baptist Church, Callahan, Florida. Gary will be sharing with a wide variety of groups through this time. He will finish up late on Sunday the 13th, and then drive 4 hours home. Pray that he will inform as well as inspire these folk as to how they can be involved in Bible Translation.

I (Robyn) am really grateful to be spending some of this summer at home. I’ve enjoyed having a bit more time to read, and getting some projects done. I’m acting as Esther’s personal assistant handling her college application paperwork while she’s in Argentina. (She just received her letter of acceptance to Trinity College of Florida in New Port Richey with plans to begin there in January.) Gary and I took a short getaway last weekend while both our kids were overseas. We enjoyed the chance to reconnect and relax together. This is a new season in our lives, and it’s been good to have some time to talk and process everything. Please pray especially that I’ll be able to get caught up on the e-mail backlog that has been on our home computer for a long time. I was thrilled to get the inbox down from nearly 1000 to below 700 last week! Pray too for a balance in the use of my time. I want to make time for relationships with our neighbors, and will be getting much more involved with our small group as we recommence soon after the summer break.

Esther has been in Argentina for more than a month now. We eagerly look forward to her e-mails and the occasional phone call. She seems to be settling in well and enjoying most of the new experiences. Her biggest challenge is the language barrier. Having 6 roommates who don’t speak much English makes it hard to enter into conversations… Pray for a sharp mind and that she won’t get tired of making the effort to keep learning Spanish. She doesn’t get as much time to do e-mail as she’d like, so if you’ve written to her and haven’t had a reply, just be patient. She has to walk to an Internet café in the evenings after dinner (when she doesn’t have duties), and has to round up others to go along for security reasons, so it can be difficult.

Josiah has just returned from his mission trip to Ecuador. Let us know if you’d like to read his report about that experience. He says he’d love to do it again, so that tells you something! And his team leader said he’d welcome Josiah on his team again any time. He helped in a number of ways, from carrying bamboo poles, to sharing the Gospel using a special tool, playing with children, and praying. God seems to be building a real passion for prayer into our son, and we’re excited to see that! He will be a busy young man between now and when school starts on Aug. 7th, finishing up some assignments for next year as well as his on line Algebra II course. Pray for the strength and motivation to work hard and be ready for a busy new year.

God has provided another vehicle to replace our aging Honda. Our church here had one donated (a ’95 Dodge Intrepid), and it was offered to us when they heard of our need. It has required some mechanical work and a lot of cleaning to prepare it for our use, but we think it’s going to be a good car for us. Thanks so much for praying for this need! We’re also very grateful to a number of folk who helped us financially with the extra expenses we’ve incurred for all of this lately.

Thank you for your invaluable role as a prayer warrior for our family. You are truly a gift from the Lord to us! Robyn for the Petersons