JUNE 2009

“Mobilizing Families for God’s Kingdom Worldwide”

"As you share your faith with others, I pray that they may come to know all the blessings Christ has given us."
~ Philemon 6

Dear Friends in Christ,

Life continues to 'percolate' on. It is always refreshing after the bleak mid-winter months, to enjoy the fresh green growth and blooms of spring. We hope you are enjoying the refreshing weather as well as the mini-economic come back.

Here are a few snippets from recent weeks…

FAMILY MINISTRY

Father-Son Dinner & Outreach - Vision Forum did not have their annual Titanic Dinner this year, so Bernie took on the challenge of having his own, with the added tweak of making it an outreach with his own Titanic Gospel flier. He wrote the flier himself, and Aaron worked it up for print. The event went very well, many positive and encouraging comments were given. Sarah went along as photographer. We thought you might enjoy the enclosed copy of one of our Titanic fliers the men gave to others on the streets and at the D.C. Titanic Memorial itself.

Cherry Blossom Festival Outreach - We went with another family to take 'Spiritual Interest Surveys,' and hand out Cherry Blossom fliers and Gospel of John booklets. We met some wonderful people and had some neat conversations. Most people seem to like being asked for their opinion in the surveys, and it often opens doors for them to want to know what you think. Sometimes they actually ask you to explain your view. It doesn't happen that way every time, but we always get to sow seeds and trust God to bear His fruit. His Word does not return void! (Isaiah 55:11 & I Corinthians 3:6)

Neighborhood Outreach - Bernie has invited our neighbors to a tree identification hike in the park area around our home. In preparation, he invited a friend who is a tree identification expert to go through and begin the process of planning the event by choosing a route and identifying trees. Please pray for this sowing opportunity to bear fruit, and for the plans to come together. Please pray for God's continued oversight and leading as we move forward sharing the gospel as a family and helping others do the same. Other outreaches and gospel fliers are in the works.

FAMILY NEWS

Josh and Aaron were invited to represent two different high school paths for homeschoolers (as it relates to a future career path) at an HSLDA conference at Patrick Henry College. Josh explained how he finished college by distance learning and testing, while working. He also discussed how he gained real life experience by developing several businesses with Aaron, and also by apprenticing in high school. Aaron described how he built a work portfolio in high school and entered the workplace at 17 with an entrepreneurial web business, then at 19 got a good paying job position as a professional graphic designer, skipping the college step altogether. He had already completed the 2 years of work experience most companies require for a position. Both saved lots of time and money this way. Both did a great job explaining their experience!!

Other exciting news, Josh and Kerin are expecting baby number 3 on Sept. 19th! Please pray for them as their quiver grows: for healthy mommy and baby, and for God's continued grace and joy for this holy calling. Pray for them also as they are looking at property where they can begin building a log home to fit their growing family and needs.

Sarah, having graduated, is generating income by teaching and doing accompanying work for musicians, as well as being available for weddings and chamber work. She is grateful her own teacher is giving her referrals for work he doesn't want or have time for. She is enjoying every minute. Recently, she accompanied for fifteen students for a flute studio at Shenandoah University. The flute teacher was extremely grateful and hopeful that Sarah will accompany again next year for her studio. Other future opportunities include accompanying for a concerto competition and a vocalist at a graduation ceremony, and playing at a wedding.

Another encouragement Sarah received was a 'bravo' from her teacher at her last performance class; he told her he had lots of positive feedback from the other students and instructors. She did Ravel's Sonatine, Movement One. She will be doing all three movements for a June 13th recital. It really is lovely.

Please pray for the Lord's blessing and guidance as opportunities come Sarah's way to use her ability to serve others, and for her focus to remain grounded in the sufficiency of Christ.

Family Road Trip God's hand seemed to be with us as we took a rather crazy family adventure. The main thing we went to see was a violin concerto, 18 hours away in Ft. Myers, Florida. As Sarah is learning and growing musically, we are growing with her, and enjoying together seeing other musicians. It seems to span and unite the generations. Even Bernie's mother is enjoying concerts with us, we are looking forward to her taking us all to see Joshua Bell and Andre Watts at Shippensburg University in July. Although we couldn’t take any pictures of the Beethoven violin concerto itself, it was wonderful. The violin soloist was just amazing. Though pretty young, he is definitely the best violinist I have heard anywhere ever. Although burned badly at age 15, he has recovered totally. And at 25 years old, God has opened some pretty amazing doors for him. I wonder if the adversity he faced at a young age has given him a depth of character that shows in his musical ability.

Daniel In some ways this could also be dubbed 'the insect adventure.' Dan was kind of discouraged the first day, since he was really hoping to find certain insects and butterflies that he knew from his study of the insect world would be in Florida, and things weren't looking too promising after the first day. So we prayed and asked God, if He wanted to, to encourage Dan. Well, we ended up meeting a Christian young man at the 'Butterfly Estates' (a live butterfly atrium) who was so impressed by Dan's knowledge of insects, and also very encouraged by us being Christians. He was not only an answer to our prayers, but he seemed greatly encouraged by us as well. He told us of a nearby park where we might find the exact insects Dan was looking for, and Dan and Aaron found them all in about 15 minutes. So that was just one example of how God moved. He cares about the stuff we might consider small. I think Dan felt loved by God, that He would care enough about Dan's heart and interests to act in the way He did. We came away realizing that in normal day to day life, we probably don't pray enough about things. Things that seem mundane or obvious sometimes don't seem to require our prayers. But God tells us to pray without ceasing. He reminded us of that on this adventure. He also helped us see, that in the same way that God so instantly answered so many small prayers for us during this short trip, He is just as active and working in answer to those more difficult and heart wrenching difficulties we all face in different ways. Have faith, persevere. God is there and He is working.

Please pray for Dan as we continue to explore and pursue what God would have us do related to various issues with Dan's genetic syndrome. There is a surgery that could help with his severe under bite, after some extractions and orthodontics. We are not sure if we will do the surgery at this point, we will wait and see what improvements are made through orthodontics, first, but we would appreciate your prayers for wisdom and guidance. Also, his severe kyphosis of the spine is improving some through bracing, please pray for that to continue, to avoid another possible surgery on his back. There are other issues too, but those are the main two possible surgeries that may be in the future for Dan. Both are major surgeries and a lot to go through. Dan and us as his parents need to be sure they are worth the inherent risks, and feel the Lord's leading. At this point the jaw surgery is probably more likely than the back, as long as we continue to see improvements in his curve.

God bless you all!

Linda and family

P.S. If you want to see more photos, please register at our Beallfamily.org site!

“Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” ~ I Peter 5:7