September 2012
Dear Friends,
The majority of you folks that receive this letter through regular mail are also on my email list. There are few holdouts, however, so I’ll reiterate here what I’ve already said in my email letters. For at least the next year or so I’ll be sending out a prayer letter through email for two months in a row followed by a letter through regular mail the third month. That means if you only receive letters through the post office you won’t hear from me again until December. However, those folks on my email list will also receive an email letter in October and November. If you’re not on my list yet but would like to be, please do let me know (paul.rase@wordmadeflesh.org).
As I write today Ana and I are finally entering into the main part of our sabbatical. We’ve had three weeks in Galati, we had just over a week with my parents, and we had a week-long retreat with Lifegate Church, our home church here in Omaha. Yesterday we moved out to my sister’s house in Elkhorn, Nebraska where we will stay until the end of the year (minus a couple of short trips planned to here and there around the U.S.).
This morning we started our day with prayer together and then two hours of solitude for each of us to spend time with the Lord. We then came back together to share about our time of solitude. So far, so good – we’ve had a great first day. We had lunch together after our time of sharing and then, well, I’m writing this letter. But normally, we’ll have time in the afternoons for exercise or reading or maybe even napping and our evenings will be spent with family and friends (plus a date night for Ana and me at least once a week).
Those are basically our plans for the next few months. Please pray that the Lord will lead our time. Pray that He will help us to enter fully into our four “R’s” – resting, reflecting, rejuvenating, and rejoicing. Pray that we will grow in our love for Jesus and for each other. Pray that we will have good, quality time with family and friends. We’re usually so rushed when we come to visit. It’s nice to have time to take it slow and maybe to even see a few people more than once a visit!
Please continue to pray for Eleni and Florin. They are doing well, though they do miss us (and us them). Pray that the Lord will continue to capture their teenage hearts. Pray for their protection and also that they would have joy. Please pray also for the other children at the center and for the workers. Pray that God would lead each one, give strength to each one, and shower His love on each one in tangible ways.
Love,
Paul and Ana