This is really happening! God is already blessing us financially, and we are so excited (and nervous :)). Here is a copy of our prayer letter that we sent out. And we will keep you all updated through this blog & facebook with pictures and posting after the summer! We need lots of prayers as we begin to prepare our hearts and minds for this trip. Thanks so much for all your support!
Dear Family and Friends,
We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. We wanted to write all of you with an update on our journey to go overseas. After going to orientation with Pioneers and getting accepted into their organization in August, we thought that we would be going overseas by the end of 2011. Well, here we are, still in South Carolina. There have been some doors shut in the process of getting overseas for long term, but there is light at the end of the tunnel!
We have an opportunity to spend the summer in Croatia with Pioneers, through their summer program called The Edge. Croatia is between central and eastern Europe and lies along side the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Many of the Croatian people would probably claim to be Christians, but it is more of a status symbol and closely tied with their ethnicity. Some might even say, “I’m a Christian, but I don’t believe in God.” Pioneers’ goal over there is to introduce them to a real relationship with Jesus Christ.
While we are in Croatia, Guy will get to be involved in baseball camps that they put on for the children and youth. They use these camps as a witnessing tool and are able to share the gospel through the sport of baseball. The women that are working over there have many different ministries that I can get involved in. One lady works with young children and runs an internet café. Others have a music ministry and disciple Croatian women. We will basically be living with the missionaries that live over there and minister to these people day in and day out, so we will just plug in and help in whatever way we can. We are excited to see what all they are doing and how the gospel is being shared to the Croatian people.
We would like for you to partner with us on this journey. First of all through prayer, please pray for safe travel, for God to soften hearts of the Croatian people, and for boldness as we minister to these people. Secondly, we need financial supporters. We need to raise $5,000, which we know that God will provide. If we can get 100 people to give $50 then we will have met our goal. If you would like to partner with us on this journey, please fill out the response slip and send it in the included envelope.
We are so excited about this trip, how God is going to change us and the Croatian people. We look forward to letting you all know how God is working in Croatia.
Sincerely,
Guy and Holly Howard
