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Newsletter
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Newsletter
News and Information about Godspeed
"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a
time for every event under heaven..."
Ecclesiastes 3:1, NASB
Note to self, December 2003: Got the newsletter out in
the nick of time, just before we are to leave for Kiev. We'll
be in Ukraine for two weeks, visiting missionary teams in four
cities, giving presentations, meeting with individuals and
couples. Hopefully we'll be back in time to catch up on a few
things before the Christmas and New Year visits to Maryland and
Texas. Maybe I'll be able to get another newsletter out sometime
in January...
Note to self, January 2004: The newsletter is going to
have to wait a bit...we have the missionary training conference
in Indiana this month, plus the schedule for the day each week
I am seeing folks at a local Christian Counseling Center is
filling up quickly, and the relationship with Missionary
Resources of Columbia is developing a day or two a week as
well. Have to save some time to take care of the Godspeed
day-to-day business and paperwork. February is looking better...
Note to self, February 2004: I have GOT to get to work
on the newsletter. Maybe while we are in Maryland visiting the
church and all our friends and supporters there...and before I
have to give the talk at the annual Mental Health and Missions
Conference back in Columbia...
Note to self, March 2004: Well, God has known all along
that there were going to be this many missionaries in need right
here in Columbia, SC. I had thought I'd have time to write the
books on Missionary Psychiatry and Medical Information for
Missionaries, but the days keep being filled up with
consultations with folks who are here studying, training, or
on home assignment. Their stories are each one a picture of
His blessings and provision...would make great items to put in
the newsletter...when I get back from the meeting in Moscow
with the missionary team who has asked me to come, maybe I
can get something down on paper. Karen will be taking a class
on Biblical Counseling that last week so I'll have a chance to
work on it...
Note to self, April 2004: What a marvelous time it was
to see God at work in Russia, but no time for a full newsletter,
so I will trust that my e-mail
Reports from the Field that go
out to a lot of our friends will suffice for now, and they're
posted on our web page so anyone can see them...at the moment
I just need to catch up with the accumulated paperwork and
correspondence before we leave to attend to family in Texas...
Note to self, May 2004: Too bad I can't work on a
newsletter while I drive...there are plenty of miles and hours
between SC and New York City. Hopefully the annual meeting of
the Christian Medical Association Psychiatry Section will offer
a chance to connect with other doctors who might want to get
involved in missionary care...there's no shortage of work to go
around. From NYC I'll drive to Kentucky to meet up with family
as we see our younger daughter graduate from college and help
her move. Then we'll need to get back to welcome a missionary
from Mozambique who will be staying with us, and I know we will
have a joyous time with her...
Note to self, June 2004: I wasn't sure when we would go
to Haiti since the first trip was scuttled several months ago
due to the political crisis, but the team wants us to come now
as they regroup and deal with the stresses of living in that
disrupted country. Ah, yes, the newsletter...maybe while I'm in
Ukraine later this month continuing our work with two missionary
teams there. Karen needs the time to work on her courses while
I'm gone, and l may have time in transit or in an airport
somewhere...
Note to self, July 2004: Everyone will have forgotten us
by now. How long has it been since I sent out a newsletter??
Five months? Six? Seven!!!??!! I'm off to Indiana in a few weeks
giving lectures to missionary candidates on how to handle stress
while on the mission field. One of the points in my talk is
to stay in regular touch with family, friends, and supporters,
being disciplined about getting newsletters out, for instance.
Timing, timing, it's all in the timing...
Note to everyone else, August 2004: This timely
newsletter is going out just before Karen has to leave to
co-lead a Missionary Re-entry and Renewal Program being
sponsored by Missionary Resources of Columbia. As I review
the experiences God has taken us to and through since the last
newsletter, I realize again what a full and rewarding work God
has given us. We know that none of the above would have been
possible without the prayers and support of so many people, and
we are grateful. As we look ahead, on the back of this letter
are those items we ask that you keep in mind and in prayer...
For the next few months: in September, we have
again been asked to attend the annual mission conference of a
large church in Alabama to meet with the missionaries who will
be arriving from around the world. November will find
us at the Global Medical Missions Conference in Kentucky, where
I have been asked to give a repeat presentation on Missionary
Stress. In December I will be returning to Ukraine
briefly to complete some team building work, and there are
tentative plans in late January to go to Thailand where
I will assist another missionary care specialist in seeing a
large group of missionaries serving in Asia.
For our own personal family and health: Karen's health issues
are stable for which we thank God, but I have noticed that the
aging process is becoming more evident in my own life. We need
time for our own restoration, and to have time to stay in
appropriate contact with parents in Texas and Florida, daughters
(and granddaughter) in Texas and Kentucky, and lifelong friends
spread about. We are becoming actively involved in a local
church and are developing valued friendships here, as well.
For wisdom in the management of the ministry: Handling
the correspondence and financial responsibilities of a ministry
is a regular task that continues regardless of our geographic
location at any given moment. God is faithful and has provided
for us personally and for the work of Godspeed through the gifts
of individuals, churches and businesses, but like so many
missionaries we know, predictable and adequate finances are an
ongoing concern. One particular additional ministry need: the
aging laptop which travels with me weekly to three offices and
throughout the year to many lands is increasingly announcing
its imminent demise. It is the prime tool for staying in touch
with others, and yes, for the writing of the rare newsletter.
For discernment in prioritizing time: Local ministry
requests compete with international, time to write competes
with time to teach and time to counsel, time for work competes
with time for study and time for family. We are awash in good
things and need God's guidance to know His best for us at any
given time.
Note to God: Thank you for the window of time you have
given me to write this long overdue newsletter. Bless the lives
and times of those who read it, and keep them in our hearts and
prayers, and us in theirs until I can get the next newsletter
out, which I will do just as soon as there's time...
Godspeed,
Barney, for Karen and the Godspeed team
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