Rundown of news since our April Letter and some future plans.

Brian’s Dad hospice and 90th

There have been challenging ups and downs with the care of Brian’s father. We are his only family nearby and Brian is his Power Of Attorney and has to handle his fairly complex finances. At the same time that we were entering the crucible with false accusations and arrest, Brian was called to the ER where his dad had been sent after a violent anxiety attack. A completely hideous day ensued that included a car accident in the hospital parking lot and a hostile head nurse. Gene was finally transferred by ambulance to a mental facility for observation. The hospital had drugged him so heavily that observation was never conducted, and he spent a week in this horrible place. we were only allowed to visit him for an hour a day and he declined rapidly during that week. We thought he was going to die. Brian begged the facility to transfer gene back to his assisted living memory care. When this finally took place we engaged home health care so he’d have a helper right with him. Surprise! this resulted in a miracle turn around.

Even though he recovered from this ordeal, his dementia continues to progress. Two weeks ago we had to engage Circle of Life hospice for him.

We managed to visit almost every day and take him out for lunch or a movie as often as he is able.

Gene gets military honorsWe were privileged to be able to throw Dad a 90th Birthday party in our backyard. It was German themed and very fun! Brian brought back German treats and meats from the Frankfurt airport duty-free. (Dad lived in Germany in the 1970s).

 

Please pray for Gene Hogan. He is not saved and we want him to meet Jesus before the end.

Manitoba trip

Louise and I drove up to Manitoba in Canada to attend a wedding and give the bride away. we have been acting as parents for Petra as she attended the University of Arkansas. she is from Egypt and her father was not able to attend the wedding so she asked us to give her away. Petra married Shayne, a young missionary she met in Jordan whose Mennonite-background family lives in Manitoba.

It was a very long drive with stays along the way both going and coming, but it was needed. it gave the two of us some time together and a chance to reconnect after some very difficult months. We actually came back a little longer route so we could enjoy the sights of the Dakotas. Deadwood and Mt Rushmore were favorites.

 

Charleston

We also made a trip to South Carolina to visit Adam and Jocelyn Dost, long-time financial and prayer supporters, and second cousins of Brian’s. We had a fantastic time deepening our ties and exploring the historic old city and Fort Sumter in the harbor. We were having to deal with fallout from the slander scandal, and it was a huge blessing to be with supportive people who believed in us and loved us.

Kitchen remodel

Louise’s mom was one of many deaths we experienced during 2024. Her estate finally resolved and Louise received an inheritance. Having long wanted to do something about the backsplash and tired dated cabinets in our kitchen, Louise decided that her mother, a gourmet cook, would appreciate spending some of the money on redoing our kitchen. Little did we imagine how lengthy and uncomfortable a process this would be. We basically ended up using our camping equipment to make meals on our back patio for months. This made hosting the missionary guests we had already agreed to host difficult. For one family we borrowed a cabin and hosted, not in our own home, but on Beaver Lake. This was actually quite nice. Just now the kitchen is finally coming together with appliances, tile, and cabinetry installed and plumbing and electricity. We are waiting on the ceiling, lighting, and various other sundries, but the end is in sight. The windows give it a treehouse feel. It’s gorgeous and probably worth everything it took to get here. Louise is very happy with it.

Guests from Navajoland

Folks we’d never met, but who had heard about us for years contacted us about coming for a visit and some R and R. The Storer family are missionaries on the Navajo Reservation like we were from 1987 to 1989. We really hit it off with these folks and enjoyed trading stories about life among the Navajo. Taking pity on our kitchenless state, local church friends loaned us their beautiful cabin on Beaver Lake. We had a wonderful time swimming, playing games, and exploring nearby Eureka Springs.

Sara Lee and Hannah from Korea

A mother and daughter from Korea had contacted us wanting to Meet with us, stay with us, and explore northwest Arkansas. The mom, Sara Lee, had been a Bible translator In Mongolia at the same time we were working there. amazingly we’d never run into each other, though we had heard her name. She had adopted a Mongolian girl, Hannah, and raised her mostly in Israel. It was fascinating getting to know them and a privilege to provide two weeks of rest that they desperately needed. Hannah in particular loved swimming so we went to many swimming holes.

Angola

Our passion is training up disciples to go out and plant churches that multiply into movements. Our son and daughter in the faith, Justio and Noami Jone from Mozambique, had fled their country’s unrest. They ended up leading a Frontier Missions school in Angola on the other side of the African continent. Justino invited Brian to train on Disciple Making Movements in this school. What a fantastic group of motivated and ready African disciples! And on top of everything else they were over-the-moon appreciative that he’d come. These trips are expensive and there’s no money to reimburse our expenses, but they are the most worthwhile things we do. The benefits in eternity far outweigh any costs today.

DMM Board Meeting

Last month we had our first Board of Directors meeting in over a year and a half. We are supposed to do them annually but things just pushed it back over and over. it was so wonderful to have our board listen to what had been going on and be so supportive of Louise and I. One thing that came up was that we have been feeling overwhelmed in keeping up with the bookkeeping. The Board suggested that we hire an accountant for the ministry. One was suggested by a board member and Brian acted immediately on that advice. However the accountant took one look at the books and said that we needed to get them in order before turning them over to him. Days of number crunching and account reconciliation followed. We also discovered 2024 taxes had never been filed. We were plunged into a huge job that we feel very ill equipped at. God gave us Grace though and we finally finished and turned it all in to the accountant. I hope I never have to do that again.

FUTURE:

Wild At Heart

In a couple weeks Brian will attend a Wild at Heart conference (John Eldridge) with guys from our church. He’s really looking forward to a time of deepening relationships but also moving ahead in relationship with God.

Manitoba

Louise and Brian are headed back up to Manitoba, this time flying. A Filipino church has asked us to do their missions conference and some church planting training is going to be paired with that. We are looking forward not only to the conference but by face to face connection with the couple we have been doing pre, and now post, marital counseling with.