Dear Prayer Warriors, May 2018 update
We are in Arizona now for about six weeks and will be able to get out an update on the last three months. It has been filled with travels and much activity.
Our annual IBIMI Retreat in Camp Verde at Living Waters Baptist Church was a highlight as well as probably the best attended. Only two of our families were unable to attend. We were blessed by the preaching of Dr. Bill Rice III, encouragement from several long time Advisory Board members and recognition of Mission families with 25+ years of service.
We were all encouraged with the introduction and acceptance of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Jones (Lydia) as missionaries working with Veldhuis’s on the Cocopah Reservation near Yuma. Lydia is their daughter and obviously is well acquainted with the work there. This new family along with Paul and Naomi Sondergaard working with Messicks on the Yavapai/Apache Reservation are working on their deputation process throughout this summer and beyond. They are setting up meetings to present their respective areas of ministry. If you would like to be of help in any way in facilitating their needs, contact should be made with Steve DeFord, Director, or by contacting us. These two couples are a definite answer to prayers for younger families joining in reaching the Indian fields of the Southwest.
While we were in Camp Verde for the retreat we stayed through the month of April at Living Waters and attended their services plus had the privilege of Becky speaking at their Mother/Daughter Banquet and David preaching the last Sunday of April.
Four days following the retreat we received word that our Pastor, Dr. DeWayne Felber had passed to his heavenly home. He was one of those in attendance at the retreat. We were so glad to have been there with him and share in his last missions trip. We drove to Indianapolis along with Messicks to the funeral and returned back to Arizona within a week.
May 4 we left Arizona and drove to Pensacola for our granddaughter Kara’s graduation. She is the 4th one of our ‘grands’ to graduate Bible college. She is to be married June 21 in Arizona and Papaw will be doing the service.
Our plans for summer are incomplete at this time, but we would like to visit with Becky’s sister in Washington and visit with friends in Wyoming and Colorado before returning to Arizona in the Fall.
We want to thank each of you who pray for us. We are so thankful for those who stand with us financially as well. We are enjoying the ministry the Lord has for us now in our later years. It is beyond our imagination at times to see what the Lord is doing. He is the God of the Impossible.
Praises:
Safety in many miles of travel
Two new Mission families
Good health for both of us
Requests:
Open doors to share the need for more workers
Travel safety
Dental and Dr. appts while in Az.
In His love and ours,
Dave and Becky DeFord II Cor. 4:3