JULY 2009 UPDATE

Well, we have spent the month of July trying to get our schedule nailed down, and putting things into place that need to be accomplished before we leave for Spain. There are spiritual things to prepare for, but there are practical things, as well! :)

While we were in NY, my aunt... who is the best dentist that one could ever find!... examined and cleaned ALL of our teeth! That was important accomplishment for the White family! It was wonderful to be able to check that off our list! :) We actually stayed with Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Dick; and one day, while we were chatting over lunch, the subject of Wes' extra tooth came up. We had had another dentist tell Wes he could just pull it. One thing led to the next, and Wes ended up in Aunt Cheryl's chair that afternoon! I knew it would be major, so I called the Spencers (friends that I grew up with) to see if any of them could stay with the kids (who were all napping at the time), so I could drive Wes home after the tooth had been pulled.

We have amazing friends! When I called to ask, I was asking if one of them could come... now. They were over within minutes. Praise the Lord for close friends! So, I was able to be there, and that tooth came out after some digging and prying! (Cringe!) He still has a hole in his mouth, as the gums heal; but Aunt Cheryl did an amazing job! The next day, she decided to "play" a little bit and his smile is nearly perfect now!! He looks wonderful! (Of course, he did before, too... but now even more so!) :)

So, with some of the practical out of the way, we decided we had better focus on some of the spiritual stuff... :) No, seriously, one thing that has been very prominent on both of our hearts is the need for prayer. Wes and I both feel so strongly that prayer needs to be the basis of all we do... even more so now, as we go to a place that speaks a different language, offers different food, requires different living. :) Our job there will be no different than your job here... it's just that a new culture comes along with it. If we were to stay here, we'd be telling people about Jesus ... and eating Bojangles and Chick-Fil-A whenever we wanted. hehe :) There, we may not even be able to order our own meal at first; but our goal is still to share Jesus! :) We have many challenges and lots of laughter... and probably some tears, too... ahead of us. We ask for you to pray for us as we prepare to walk through all these new things.

We are very intent on raising prayer support before we leave for Spain. The idea of going out as missionaries without prayer support is very scary to us! We also realize that it is easier to pray for a missionary if you know them and have a relationship with them. The Lord has laid it on our hearts to begin to meet people and build relationships before we go.

While we were vacationing in NY, we had the opportunity to share at a church where Mark Spencer is the pastor. Many of the families in this church have known me since I was a child. It was just amazing to be sent out in prayer by people who were such a huge part in molding me into who I am today. Wes had the opportunity to share how God has called us to go, and some of what needs to happen for us to get there! :) It was wonderful for me to be around "family" again. :) There are some definite prayer warriors in this church, so we are grateful for added prayer support!

We were in NY two weeks, so we had another opportunity to visit another church... the only Southern Baptist Church in the area. I wondered if we would walk in and find it dead... a Southern Baptist Church in NY???? :) We were SOOO blessed at how full of life Emmanuel Baptist was! From the moment we walked into the door, until the moment we said goodbye, we were embraced and loved. We had simply intended to come visit and say hello, but Pastor Jim Hundley was so kind to invite Wes to share a little bit about what we were doing. It was so exciting to meet brothers and sisters in Christ and have such an instant bond.

As the weeks go on, we will be sharing at a number of different churches as we travel. It's been very exciting to see how perfectly the Lord has orchestrated everything... funny how we pray for it, yet are so surprised when it happens! :)

I have more to write, but for now, I wanted to give you all a quick update on our schedule for the month of August! Wes leaves for 10 days on August 7th to go to Argentina. He will be back for about a week, and then we leave on August 22nd to go Raleigh! We will be visiting with family and friends, as well as sharing at a couple churches. We will be back at Bay Leaf on the 30th of August, since many of you keep asking!! :) We can't wait to see y'all! We leave September 1st or 2nd to go to Jacksonville, FL. We will spend some time with Wes' family down there. While we are there, we will go to another conference with the IMB. We will officially be "appointed" on Sept. 16th at First Baptist of Jacksonville. We are excited!!!