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| Our final prayer card picture (thanks to Kristin!) Our prayer card has our names and birthdates added along with my ministry e-mail and where we will be serving. If you'd like one, please contact me and I will send you one via e-mail. |
Immediately following is the update I sent out last night... below it are the two previous updates I sent out that I neglected to post on the blog. Thanks for remaining so faithful to us!
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Well, I’ve been waiting to send out an update hoping I could tell you some good Visa news… but I guess I need to go ahead and send out an update that asks you to pray some more! Our visas have NOT been approved yet, but we are hopeful they will be in the next week or two. The government has been asking for more paperwork regarding our education & degrees & certifications… we have been giving them everything they ask for! Once they are approved, we will purchase our tickets to leave.
We did get some GOOD NEWS today… we can stay in this house in Hendersonville until April 15th! That gives us 5 more days of “wiggle” room! =0) That enables us to breathe a little easier!
More GOOD NEWS is the wonderful time we had at our dinner that Keith organized for us. It was a night of sweet fellowship with family, old friends, & new friends. Thank you, Keith!
This Friday we are celebrating Emma’s 6th birthday with family (although her birthday isn’t til next week)! We’ve also had a couple of busy weeks with dental & vision appointments with more to come and an appointment with a lawyer to make sure all our “affairs” are in order before leaving! Shew… no wonder we can’t finish sorting all our stuff!
I’m sure there is lots of more info I could give you… but I will leave it at that!
We know the enemy can be busy at work; we know prayer can change things; and we know God is sovereign! Thank you for praying on our behalf! We know God hears your prayers!
Please pray for the Lord’s will to be done in HIS PERFECT timing.
Please pray that the enemy would be bound from our visa process and any part of our lives!
Please pray that the government would find favor with our family and “Mr. H” and grant our visas ASAP.
Please continue to pray for our family’s health… we have been enjoying good health, praise the Lord!! An AMAZING PRAISE is that Emma’s cough is COMPLETELY GONE… she doesn’t even need any medicine anymore! Thank you for your prayers! Not only is this just wonderful for her HEALTH & our peace of mind… it will save us around $150 a month in medicine!
Please pray for God to provide the rest of the money we need to purchase our tickets. We have 100% of what we need for our visas. We have approximately $5000 toward our airfare. This is great! Thank you! Depending on when we purchase our tickets, we’ll need at least $7000 total to purchase our airfare.
Attached is our NEW PRAYER CARD! Please print it out (or have it printed at Wal-Mart or wherever) and put it somewhere that will remind you to pray for our family on a regular basis. (As mentioned in the caption above... I've only attached the picture. If you'd like a prayer card, please contact me.)
Thank you for allowing us to pray for you!
Serving alongside you,
Melinda for the gang
Dano, Melinda, Olivia, Derek, Emma, Wesley, and Virginia Whited =0)
visit our blog or find us on facebook.
HOW TO GIVE:
Send in a check made payable to Wycliffe Bible Translators to:
Wycliffe Bible Translators
P.O. Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862-8200
please include a separate note designating it for Dano & Melinda Whited Account # 215422
(gifts with this designation that are not our normal monthly gifts will go toward our airfare costs)
You can also give online or by phone:
or
1-800-WYCLIFFE
You can also visit this link for other ways to give:
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Whited Update - Visas & Dinner (3/16/11)
Our last update was a call for prayers of healing and encouragement… we just wanted you to know that God answered those prayers abundantly! Thank you!
Olivia’s illness was very short lived and didn’t even require a doctor visit! Everyone else got well or stayed well. We were very encouraged in our spirits by God’s Word, your words, and several circumstances that took place! Thank you! We have been able to spend time with our family & celebrate Virginia’s 2nd birthday. This week my sisters & kids are on Spring break… so our kids are getting some fun cousin time this week!
Another fun event this week is the dinner that Dano’s friend from high school has organized for us THIS Friday! If you are in the area, we hope you can make it! If you are on facebook, you can RSVP http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=167384173305150… if not, Keith assures us that you can just come… there will be plenty! We sure hope you can come to say goodbye… even if we haven’t seen you in years… come to say goodbye! It is a “come as you are” event! No need to dress up… but if you are coming straight from work, don’t worry about dressing down first. If you are wearing your muddy workboots, that is okay, too! Just come as you are! And YES, KIDS are welcome! Our crew will be there! There won’t be any activities planned, but kids are welcome to come and eat… then they’ll be able to play in the fellowship hall. For the most part, it will just be a casual dinner get-together. At some point during the evening, we will be sharing about what we’ll be doing and showing some pictures of where we are going. There is no charge for the dinner. It is from 6:30 to 8:30 at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Springfield at the corner of HWY 76 and Bethlehem Rd. E-mail or facebook if you have questions!
VISA UPDATE: We have been told that we should receive our visas THIS Friday if all goes well! Please pray specifically for this. “Mr. H” is the one that is working to get the approvals for us in Jakarta. In Indonesia, relationships are more important than policy and process like we have in the US. Please pray specifically for “Mr. H” as he works on this. Pray for attention to details for all the needed documents. Pray that the staff at the government offices receive him well and that he is able to maintain a positive and effective relationship with them.
When we receive our visas, we’ll be able to purchase our tickets! If you’d like to help us purchase our tickets, you can give at the dinner mentioned above or you can give according to the information below. It sounds like our visas our going to cost more than we originally thought. They may be closer to $3000 instead of $2400. If prices haven’t changed too much, it looks like our airfare will be close to $7000. We know God is able to provide all we need! Thank you for many of you who have already given toward this need! What a blessing! Thank you to each of you who give to us so faithfully each month so that we can serve!
We are making progress with our belongings… finishing the sorting & purging & shredding & storing! Please pray we finish this quickly so it will be behind us and we can begin PACKING for our departure! We will need to begin purchasing items to pack that we will want to take plenty of. For example, we’ll want to take plenty of sunscreen with us. We’ve been told by several that we’ll want to bring enough sunscreen (SPF 75) to last for 3 years! That is a lot of sunscreen! A lot of things are available where we’ll be going to language school, but some things are not. Some folks who are there have really been blessing us by giving us their opinions on what we might want to bring. So, soon we’ll be making those decisions/purchases based on their recommendations, our desires, and what we have “space” for. We won’t be shipping any belongings (other than Dano’s tools). Everything we take will be our checked baggage. This is limited to 2 bags per person… 50# per bag… and the bags can only be a certain size. So please pray with us to have wisdom and discernment as we pack!
Please also pray with us as we tie up loose ends. On Thursday, Virginia gets her Typhoid Fever vaccination (now that she has turned 2). We need to get legal papers all taken care of. We are all trying to go to the dentist and get our eyes checked. We need to get our international driver’s licenses (simple… but just another thing to do). Etc., etc., etc.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for standing with us. Thank you for your interest in our ministry and family. THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAITHFULNESS to our family in prayers and financial gifts.
Please let us know how we can pray for you!
Serving alongside you,
Melinda for the family
Dano, Melinda, Olivia, Derek, Emma, Wesley, & Virginia
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Whited Update - Encouragement Needed (3/9/11)
Wow… God is so faithful to our family, and it is His promises that we rest in. However, we are standing in the need of prayers for healing and encouragement!
1. We moved successfully to the mission house in Hendersonville, TN. It is good to be “home” again. This move was ONLY accomplished through the amazing help of our friends who helped us get everything ready and who actually helped us get here. You can visit the blog to read that story!
2. Our kids have been sick with strep throat, but not just throat symptoms… they have had gastrointestinal symptoms, too. UGH! The three youngest were finally getting over it when Olivia’s symptoms started in the wee hours of Wednesday… but her throat doesn’t hurt… so is this the same thing or something different?? We think Derek had it before we left, but who knows. We know we are exhausted. I think I’ve taken the kids to the doctor more in the last week than I have in the past year! Please pray for HEALING & pray for ENDURANCE for us. We are EXHAUSTED.
3. We came to TN to spend our last 5 weeks with family… well one week has gone by & we have seen very little family due to the illnesses. We’ve only seen my brother & Dano’s mom & step-father. The kids are dying to see their cousins (and vice versa). It is challenging to be so close… yet so far away. Please pray that we would be able to have quality time starting soon. Also, Virginia’s 2nd birthday (and party) is this weekend. We hope to be able to celebrate with family!
4. PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR VISAS TO COME THROUGH SOON SO THAT WE CAN PURCHASE OUR TICKETS. We have this house until April 10th….
5. Please also pray for the remaining money we need to come in for those tickets. How much do we need? It will depend on when we are able to purchase the tickets!
6. Please pray for the many loose ends that we are trying to take care of & the continual sorting & discarding & donating of our belongings.
I hope this e-mail does not seem too discouraging. I strive to be encouraging to you as we communicate… but we feel heavily burdened now. We know God is able to handle these burdens, and we cast them at His feet… but we still have the day in and day out stuff to take care of… like throw up! =0)
May the Lord bless each of you. I know many hearts are burdened with the trials of life. Please know that we are here to pray for you. Don’t hesitate to share your requests with us. A verse that was encouraging during Daddy’s battle with cancer was Romans 10:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. I hope that we will be found faithful in prayer even when we don’t get the immediate answers we want. We are trusting in God’s sovereignty knowing that we are here for His Glory and knowing that He always knows what is best.
Serving alongside you,
Melinda for the gang
Dano, Melinda, Olivia, Derek, Emma, Wesley, & Virginia
104 East Ridge Ct.
Hendersonville, TN 37075
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