Off the Record

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

You’re receiving this email because we didn’t want to post this information on our blog.   

We just wanted to share our excitement with you.  With most of the thanks going to Raya’s outgoing nature and the weather FINALLY turning nice, we have been making some real connections on our cul-de-sac recently.  Just in the past 2 days, we’ve had three different sets of neighbors in our home, and have been in the homes of two neighbors that we hadn’t before.   

We just came from a cookout dinner at the home of a young married couple with no kids.  They had also invited another couple who have 3 kids and are several years older than we are.  As we were finishing eating, another family dropped by: this couple are Grandma and Grandpa to a boy Raya’s age who lives at their house every other weekend.  It was such a cool, multigenerational get-together. 

At first glance, this may not seem like top-secret-email-worthy news.  But relationships like this are what simple churches are built from; they are exactly the way we are hoping to win the lost for Christ.  So we are asking for your prayers for these neighbors, and for the others on our little street. 

We’re sending this message directly to you rather than posting it on the world wide web, because we wouldn’t want any of these people—whom we love and enjoy spending time with—to get the impression that we see them as projects.  We don’t.  We see them as our neighbors, people who are becoming our good friends, with whom we trust our kids.   

But you know as well as we do that the best thing we could ever do for them is introduce them to Jesus.  So please, whenever the Lord brings us to mind, pray for them.  Pray for us, that we will not miss or neglect any opportunity to extend Jesus’ grace and love to them.  Pray that regardless of our own circumstances, our home will be a place where peace, hope and love will be tangible.   

As always, thank you for your support and prayers.  We love you so much. 

Marty & Jaclyn