Dear Prayer friends, Peace be with you. This is our weekly public prayer mail:
The Week in Review (you might pray as you read):
We continue to make progress down the road in discerning God's call for us in mission, but sometimes, it appears only to be a straight line, from God's perspective. Please keep our discernment in your prayers, especially for the following three areas:
1. Belize:
The Bishop of Belize contacted us with his vision for what he would have us do. We responded with our version of his vision. The two visions are very similar, but some questions remain. This assignment would be a mixture of pioneering ministry and a coming-alongside ministry, at the same time.
2) Uganda:
We had a very good two-hour phone call on Sunday morning, before Church. Consequently, we are praying about the two options below:
a) We have been informed about a potential assignment in a diocese in central Uganda. It seems like a very good assignment. This would be more along the lines of coming-alongside current ministry.
b) We have been informed about a potential assignment in a diocese in a part of Southern Sudan that borders Uganda. It is a bit more rustic assignment than the one in Uganda, and it would be a pioneering assignment, kind of like helping a virtual diocese become reality.
Our prospective site visits for both the Uganda and Southern Sudan assignments might be held in conjunction with someone else's short term mission trip to Uganda, scheduled for March, 2012.
3) Kenya:
We continue to wait to hear back about a potential assignment in western Kenya; that would be a coming-alongside kind of ministry. We do not expect to hear back until some time after Christmas.
Prayers:
1) Please keep Lydia in your prayers, for exams and vacation plans. She seems to be doing reasonably well in most subjects, but she needs your special prayers for one particular course.
2) Please keep parents in your prayers (my mom, Julie's parents), as they plan their lives over the next few months.
3) We are currently SAMS missionaries on Home Mission Assignment. This is the phase in which we are preparing for our next assignment. Please pray for our finances, meetings, logistics, and the right open doors in the Lord's timing.
God bless you, and I continue to pray for you every day. Your prayers matter to us.
In Christ, Shaw+ and on behalf of Julie+
Dear Prayer friends, Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail:
I hope you are having a good Advent.
The Week in Review:
1a) This past week there have been quite few developments as to where we might be serving next. To keep it simple: there is at least one location in Belize, possibly several locations exist in Uganda, and a location in western Kenya. We anticipate that we will find more about the Kenyan possibility as the process unfolds there, over the next month.
1b) Finding a good missionary match is very much like a clergy search process, both for the missionaries as well as for the dioceses involved. We are prayerfully evaluating all the missionary options.
2) Julie's parents have decided to move to Colorado, perhaps by next May, moving out there with Julie's sister and brother-in-law. We are pleased to have helped them come to a unanimous decision, and thank you for your prayers.
Prayers:
1) Please keep Lydia in your prayers, for school remaining work, exams, adjustments, and vacation plans.
2) Please keep Julie's sister's family and Julie's parents in your prayers, as they plan their relocation to Colorado from Connecticut over the next few months.
3) We are SAMS missionaries, even in the US, even as we plan our next venture. Please pray for our finances, meetings, logistics, and the right open doors in the Lord's timing over the next few months.
4) We have an important Ugandan phone call this coming weekend, communications permitting. Your prayers would be appreciated.
God bless you, and I continue to pray for you every day. Your prayers matter to us.
In Christ, Shaw+ and on behalf of Julie+
Dear Prayer friends, Peace be with you.
This is our weekly public prayer mail:
Welcome to Advent, and I hope you had a pleasant Thanksgiving.
The Week in Review:
1) This past week there have been several good connections about our future missionary plans, and it would take a while to good while through it all step by step. It has been happening quickly. We are excited. To summarize:
a) We had a good Skype call with Bp. Philip of Belize about potentially serving in the capital city of Belmopan, potentially looking at us making a several week site visit in the early months of 2012. This is very encouraging.
b) We have also had other encouraging additional news from SAMS about the possibility of serving in the Diocese of Northern Uganda. A proposal is in the process of being made to the Bishop of that Diocese.
c) Other possibilities emerged, as well, such as potentially serving in Nairobi, Kenya, or in the northern part of Kenya among nomadic tribes (the latter is a more remote possibility - in more than one sense - at the moment).
We are prayerfully evaluating all the options.
2) We had two good Thanksgiving gatherings, one for our immediate family and two friends in New York State, and one with Julie's immediate family, in Connecticut. We enjoyed touching base with our daughters, Ruth, Hannah, and Lydia, and with our parents. Of the options at the moment, our family is giving us feedback on where they might like us to serve, and Belize takes the top vote for just about everyone.
3) We have enjoyed touching base with supporters during the past week or so. You all are an awesome bunch! We have made new friends along the way.
Prayers:
1) Please keep Lydia and our parents, particularly Julie's parents, in your prayers:
a) Lydia's college roommate has departed for the school year, may reenter next Fall. Please keep Lydia in your prayers, for school work, exams, and adjustments.
b) Julie's sister's family, along with Julie's parents, are considering relocating to Colorado from Connecticut sometime in the near future. We will be included in important family discussions this coming weekend.
2) Please pray for our finances, meetings, logistics, and the right open doors in the Lord's timing over the next few months.
3) Bishop Philip of Belize has asked us to keep him, and the Church in Belize, in our prayers. We would appreciate your praying for them, as well.
God bless you, and I continue to pray for you every day. Your prayers matter to us.
In Christ, Shaw+ and on behalf of Julie+
Dear Prayer friends,
Peace be with you. This is our weekly public prayer mail.
This past week we had a good visit with Lydia at college, and a good visit with SAMS in Pittsburgh.
Prayer requests.
1) We have spent two months at a missionary program in California, and during that time, have been discerning where to serve our Lord best. We talked over our discernment with SAMS (our mission society), and we have the green light to go into another mission field. We have options to explore, on different continents, as prep work for the next assignment. We would appreciate your prayers for the right fit.
2) Please keep Lydia and her schoolwork in your prayers.
3) Please keep Julie's parents and my mom in your prayers.
God bless you, and I continue to pray for you every day. Your prayers matter to us.
In Christ, Shaw+ and on behalf of Julie+
Dear Prayer partners, Peace be with you. This is our public prayer mail for this week.
a) Our prayers continue to be the somewhat the same this week, as last week (i.e. we return this Thursday and ask for safe and timely travel as well as finishing strongly here, and for our time at SAMS this coming Monday).
b) We have been truly blessed by our time here in California, not only encouraged for lies ahead, but also blessed by each other. A side benefit for being here is that we feel as though we were on a second honeymoon. We are blessed that we have three outstanding daughters, who we love dearly.
c) In addition, we would ask prayers for:
our visit to Lydia this coming weekend in Massachusetts, and
Julie's parents, who are in a temporary shelter, due to snow fall and power outage in Connecticut. Ellen, Julie's sister, is their primary caregiver, and we would ask your prayers for Ellen, who deserves a stained glass window.
God bless you, and I continue to pray for you every day. Your prayers matter to us. In Christ, Shaw+ and on behalf of Julie+
Dear Prayer partners, Peace be with you. This is our public prayer mail for this week.
Thanksgivings:
1) An awesome birthday week with Julie.
2) The missionary program is fantastic. About 1.5 weeks to go.
Prayers:
1) For our transition from the missionary program over the next two weeks, including time zone changes and smooth travel arrangements.
2) For Lydia's continuing adjustment to college and to the US in general.
3) For our meeting at SAMS, in Pittsburgh, on Monday, November 7, in two weeks.
God bless you. I pray for you every day.
In Christ, Shaw+ and on behalf of Julie+
Dear Prayer partners, Peace be with you. This is our public prayer mail for this week.
Thanksgivings:
1) For Julie. Her birthday is this week.
2) The missionary program continues to be really awesome. About 2 weeks or so, to go.
3) For the great church service yesterday.
Prayers:
1) For the people who have asked us for prayer this week, that their prayers for discernment be answered.
2) For Lydia's continuing adjustment to college and to the US in general.
3) That we would continue to be a blessing to all whom we meet. And for a strong close to our missionary program.
4) For our meeting at SAMS, in Pittsburgh, on November 7.
God bless you. I pray for you every day.
In Christ, Shaw+ and on behalf of Julie+
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Disciples Making Disciples.
Discípulos Haciendo Discípulos.
Contact information:
Skypename: shepherd110 (The call is free if you use Skype: download at www.Skype.com).
Skype phone number (Albany, New York, area code), with voicemail: 518-632-4058.
Email: shepherd110@yahoo.com.
Home phone in Lima: 011-51-1-242-5726.
Cell phone in Lima: 011-51-1-996513124.
Lima is in the same time zone as Chicago.
Weekly prayer blog updates: http://mudgeperureport.blogspot.com
SAMS webpage: www.sams-usa.org
Tax-deductible contributions towards our ministry work in Lima, Peru,
may be made on-line at http://www.sams-usa.org/sjmudge.html or by sending a check
payable to: "SAMS" (with "Mudge family" in the memo line), and mail to:
SAMS, P.O. Box 399, Ambridge, PA 15003.
You may also arrange for automatic deductions from your bank account by calling SAMS at 724-266-0669.
