Queen Esther and William Cowper

Nearly a month has passed, since the last posting. That doesn't mean nothing has been going on. Quite the opposite is true!

As you can imagine, preparing to liquidate most of your belongings, resigning from a perfectly good job, and searching for financial support (this IS a non-paying gig) are quite time consuming. It has been a busy June/July.

In early June, we were elated to learn that the Bell Trust would be giving us partial support. That was a welcome letter, as they will be providing approximately 1/3 of the needed funds. The Bell trust will be matching what the Simi Church of Christ had already committed. We have been blessed with two other congregations who will be partnering with us, the Cuba (KY) Church of Christ and the Barkers Mill Church of Christ, in Clarksville, TN. Seven individuals will also be providing monthly support. There are also two who have committed to a one-time gift. This all adds up to making our work a reality! We are lacking about $900 per month, to help us meet our budget. I am confident that will happen, in the next few weeks.

On the house front, we need prayers. We had a contract, but the buyers backed out. I like to think that God has someone with a bigger check waiting to look at it, next week! Join me in that prayer!!

I often think of the book of Esther. It is such a great story. So unique. My favorite part is where Esther tells Mordecai that she can't talk with the King about the troubles that his law has caused the Jews. Mordecai reminds here that maybe she has become queen, "for such a time as this." As I look back over the years, I feel Mordecai could be saying the same to me.

• Why would a kid from Memphis, who is perfectly happy living in Tennessee, pick up and move to California? FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS. God knew he needed to move me to Cambodia, gradually.
• Why would I choose to focus my international travel in Asia? FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS. Face it, someone else was going to have to pay for me to go that far. I wasn't going to learn about it on my own! The examples go on and on.
• Why did we just happen to watch Red Light, a documentary about the child sex trafficking going on in Cambodia, as I began to feel God moving me? FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.

The hymnist was right, "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform."