June Newsletter '06

Greetings,

It seems that life is a continual adventure of surprises, adventures and challenges. As it so happens to be, I'm writing this newsletter from the Appleton Co. Airport, where we've just been delayed 2 hours to O'Hare, and we are in jeopardy of having our connecting flight to Dallas canceled. This month has, in more ways than one, been a month of adjusting to circumstances.

Grandpa Ernie
As many of you know, this past week my grandpa (Ernie Flunker) passed away. It was a surprisingly quick diagnosis and road to the end, and for Emily and I it meant doing what needs to be done in a moment. Death is not an often occurrence, and to say it catches you by surprise is an understatement. Yet, we are thankful to be so incredibly blessed to have jobs and schedules that can be flexible and friends and family to support us.

My Grandpa was a great man. He lived a life of consistency and vibrance (May 4, 1930 - June 19, 2006). He enjoyed that which spoke dear to the human heart: family, community, hard work, polka music, ice cream, and dancing. He instilled those qualities which exemplified diligence and character into his 4 boys, to which they've passed on to their children. I'm very thankful for my Grandpa, he is dearly loved and will be sincerely missed.

Under the circumstances..
Though we would rather it be for Thanksgiving than a funeral, we did get to spend some quality time with family during our trip back to Wisconsin. Amazingly, there is always some kind of adventure going on back home too. I think that the little things we find exciting back home, tend to be taken for granted by those who live there. Just ask Emily: we got to go fishing, see a porcupine, mow the yard (no yards in Dallas), make Venison Jerky, play horseshoes, and even see a bear! I could write pages about how wonderful it was to be with my family again and to experience all the adventures of home, but I won't. If you'd like to read more check out Emily's Journal CLICK HERE for our day to day happenings. If you'd like to see more pictures of our trip check them out here CLICK HERE.

Update
Summer school is in full force at DTS, and my missing 3 days of summer class is essentially been equivalent to missing an entire month, so I'll be hustling to catch up this next month. Emily is continuing to work at Chick-fil-a and she is very thankful to have a summer job. Its hard to believe we're already halfway through the summer. May we learn to cherish each day, and make the most of it by remembering our Creator and worshiping Him through our lives.

Prayer Requests
When we look at what our lives could be, we're so humbled to see how the Lord has always blessed and taken care of us. Here are a few of the areas where we continue to need your prayers...

Pray for the summer teams in Eleuthera, and the missionaries who are currently hard at work with little rest.
Keep praying for my family and Grandmother as we mourn the loss of Grandpa.
Pray for Brad and Alicia Fox in Eleuthera as they journey through the adventure of pregnancy on the mission field.
Pray for my summer classes and continued perseverance between life, work, church, and school.
Pray for Emily the time she gets to spend this summer working at Chick-fil-a.
And Pray for financial support as we keep working towards building a support team.

Praise that we had safe travels to and from home this month.
Praise that we have such wonderful friends, neighbors, and family to support us in every adventure and surprise.
Praise that we have been provided the time off of work and school to spend with family.
Praise for the financial contributions we received from our church up north, and from family over our visit.
Check out our answered prayer requests here: CLICK HERE.

Thank you for keeping up with us and our progress in ministry. We so value your prayers and support, and we would ask you to take a moment and pray for our journey and how you can play a part. To find out how you can support us CLICK HERE.