Prayer Mail

Dear partners in prayer,
This is our weekly public prayer mail.
We hope you are having a blessed Lent.

This week's overview:

1) Current courses are moving forward; we are preparing the next round of courses that begin after Easter.

2) I am resuming Swahili lessons and refreshing my Latin American Spanish.

3) We are in the process of developing our parish visitation schedule. Our Mudge Mission office is going to be split between supply at St. John's Ogdensburg over the next few months, starting March 5th, as well as: a) visiting parishes in the North Country, and b) as well as visiting parishes in the regions farther south, nearer Albany. The current plan allows us to take mission trips and allows us to continue with our online teaching.

4) How does the schedule work? While either one of us is at St. John's, the other will be available to be out and about, to visit parishes in the St. Lawrence Deanery, as well as the Metropolitan Deanery and surrounding deaneries, as well as mission trips and related matters. We have already had a few requests from parishes nearer to home. We are open to requests from North and South.

A little of this, a little of that, and the mission boat floats. It all helps.

5) We are still working on the medical insurance issue, but we have a short term plan for the time being.

Prayer requests:

1) For the students and their families, may the Holy Spirit transform them by what they learn and by what we teach. May what they learn be applied in God's ways.

2) For travel plans for the SAMS missionary retreat in early April, Western Tanganyika in late April, and Belize in mid-May.

3) You prayers for the Tanzanian trip would be appreciated, especially, as the plans just got complicated due to the health of a relative of one the key participants for making the Tanzanian trip happen. Please pray for the person's health situation. I may have to go to plan B with regards to planning the trip. It may be too early to tell yet, but time is moving closer to when we need to make decisions.

4) For my meeting with the Bishop of the Diocese of Western Tanganyika on the weekend of March 2nd, in the US.

5) For our parish schedule, that we be in the right place at the right time, and that people may be inspired by what we do.

6) For a resolution to the health insurance issue, God's way.

As I tell our students, "we are sailing the ship while building it...." It's an adventure, and that's missionary life. Your prayers are really important for us to be able to do this. I pray for you every day.

God bless you, and thank you for praying.
In Christ,
Shaw+, and on behalf of Julie+