Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this letter finds you well. I (Rachel) write to you after two full weeks in the States spent with friends and family as well as working on our summer fundraising and advocacy plans. The first week we were back was spent finalizing details for our art auction in Columbus, Ohio on June 30th. Thank you to all of you who came out, purchased art, made donations and participated in the raffle. We also want to thank Abbey in the Oaks (www.abbeyintheoaks.bandcamp.com) for playing their beautiful music to close out the evening. We raised $2,109, all directly benefiting La VIA, Word Made Flesh Moldova’s local organization.
At the auction John and I were joined by our team member and Iowa native, Annie Keith, who provided a lot of help, support, laughter and encouragement for us that evening (as always). We also could not have pulled any of it off without master art auction planner Hilary Buchanan and countless other friends and family members who helped make it a success. THANK YOU! We look forward to our next art auction in Portland on Wednesday, July 24th. If you are unable to make it, check La VIA’s Facebook page for photos that will be posted.
So, what is next for the Koons? We will be traveling to Indiana this weekend to speak at Community Church of Columbus in Columbus, Indiana, followed by small gatherings in DC, Seattle & Denver and the art auction in Portland. In Portland we will also spend time connecting with our US-based WMF staff in their new office location. We are looking forward to what is next and soaking in our last few slow workdays at “home” before we make this next long multi-city trip.
Prayer Requests:
- Energy, plenty of down and alone-time for John and me. We want to be able to continue to enjoy each other during the stressful times and really come back to Moldova filled up and not depleted!
- Continued improvement in communicating as a team while we are apart for the summer and as we move into another school year this fall.
We are so grateful for this time to be in the States, as stressful and packed as it is. We recognize God’s deep love and provision for us as we live each day seeking peace. As I close and think about the words “grateful” and “gratitude,” I am reminded of a quote from a movie about the fact that the Creator is eternally abundant with gratitude. We need only to choose it.
With deep love and gratitude,
John & Rachel