Alabama

I'm in the middle of my layover in Phoenix en route from Birmingham to Las Vegas. The last two days have been spent with T.J. Wolters, a great friend who is pastoring at Covenant PCA in Birmingham. He's been one of the greatest advocates of our ministry work in Vegas. From day one he has been one of our most vocal encouragers, writing, texting, and calling frequently to see how we are doing. You can't embark on this kind of work and maintain any kind of endurance without the benefit of outside voices who encourage and continually point back to the faithfulness of Jesus. T.J.'s solid in both categories.

Yesterday over lunch he invited me to share an update on the work God's been doing in Vegas with the missions board there at Covenant. Last evening was spent with other personal friends who wanted to hear more about the work, some of whom have already given critical finances over the past year or so. It was such a privilege to meet them and share some Greek pasta (no idea what it was called, but it was delicious) in their company. The campfire chat that followed was the perfect cap to a great day.

This morning one of those men at last night's dinner met us for breakfast, and then another contact from another one of the guests took time out of his morning to discuss our work and financial needs going forward. He had been encouraged by one of the men at the dinner to meet with me before leaving town. He made time right away. I'm always amazed when someone entrusts me with a relationship by way of an unsolicited referral. Humbling stuff!

Getting away from the work to share a few of the stories allowed me to realize just how much God has done in our presence over the past year. Unbelievable!