I apologize that this is not very well put together but I completely forgot it was Tuesday until this morning. Things in our world have been 100mph. Each day has been full of meetings and planning. There are about fifty irons in the fire so we are just trying to keep up with it all.
We continue to be amazed at the connections and relationships that God is bringing about. This week already I have had meetings with several coalitions, city officials, psychiatrists, developers and more. Every piece of this large puzzle is coming together and the only possible way it is happening is the Lord.
It is so encouraging to receive so much positive support from almost everyone we talk to. Even the folks that initially are not in favor of what we are doing have simply misunderstood and we have been able to clear up many of the misconceptions. The Lord has enabled us to answer tough questions and ease the minds of those that are concerned about our calling.
Everything right now is exciting and we are so anxious to get started that I find it hard to turn off “The Field’s Edge Mode” and just be John-Mark. I don’t want to make the same mistake I did before and let my work become my identity. My primary responsibility is to God and then my family so I am very much looking forward to a trip to the lake this coming weekend with our friends. It is going to be nice to just chill for the first time in a while.
Late last night I purchased the plans for our tiny house on wheels. In the months ahead we will be pulling it around town to help people visualize what we are doing and gain support. Through an amazing friend, we have found someone to help build the house and a place to build it. We are going to need someone who speaks Spanish to help us communicate with the builder so let me know if you are bilingual and have some time to help. As I mentioned earlier, every little detail has started falling into place, sometimes not how I expected, but we feel the presence of the Lord in our work every day.
I have been driving around a lot looking at land and have found some real dreamy properties. Initially we thought that we might get 3-5 acres and build a working model community but the more we plan, the more we realize that we want to try to obtain our permanent 20 acre property from the beginning. Moving buildings from one place to the next and then selling property is going to be complicated and I feel strongly that we will be able to find the permanent land we are looking for, God willing. Ideally we would be outside of the Midland City limits and inside the Midland ETJ. This would help us have a better chance of getting a bus route and access to city water. We want to be fairly close to town so that our people can get the services they need. There are several prospects but the question is how to pay for it. Being a land guy, I have some creative ideas and who knows, maybe someone will donate property.
We are continuing to schedule meetings and would love to meet with anyone interested in helping make this a reality. We have most of our steering committee together but are looking to add someone with fundraising experience to help put our plan together. Thank you all for your prayers. Personally everything is going well, we are settled in to our new spot in Greenwood, we have a healthy growing baby boy due in October and a spunky two year old that keeps us busy. We feel fortunate to be following the Lord and invite you to join us. Thanks for reading as always.
Prayer Requests:
· Discernment for adding new board members.
· Land.
· Future neighbors and missional residents.
· Partnerships and funding.
· Upcoming meetings with people who oppose what we are doing.
· That we prioritize making disciples as we go (Matthew 28:19).
· Our pastor as he is preparing for his last chemo treatment on June 8th.
· W and M as they witness to the nations in SE Asia.
· The Grimes family as they prepare to move to Africa to serve the Lord.
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