Sometimes God says "Not Now"

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5)

God is indeed faithful and good, and we also believe this is true in regards to the recent developments for our family. So while our hearts are heavy, we share this news with hope and gratitude to our loving and awesome God:

After several years of fundraising, we simply have not reached sufficient funds to depart for the field. As we have prayed with the leadership of Josiah Venture and First Baptist Church, we have decided to pause our fundraising efforts indefinitely and pursue a different direction.

We believe that God desires to grow us and use us during this next phase of our lives and look towards it expectantly. We pray, and covet your prayers also, for guidance during this transition period. God is faithfully making us aware of what our family needs during this next phase and we trust that He will provide accordingly.

You may follow our journey on Facebook or via our quarterly letter, which we plan to send out again in January. (If you are not yet receiving these and would like to, please send your email address to ellenhopkins1229@gmail.com)

In other news, we are rejoicing that Jim and Lina Miller have departed for Germany on October 19th and will be representing Josiah Venture in Germany. We rest in knowing that our work over the last few years was not in vain and that Josiah Venture will still be equipping young German leaders to fulfill the Great Commission through the local church.

Education in Leipzig

At times, a missionary family may have to make sacrifices but we have an opportunity to share a blessing with you: the promised quality of public school education in Leipzig. -- I know positive news about public school education is kind of a rarity, so all the more reason to rejoice!

Saxony's education system placed 1st in a 2014 study of all German states. Among their top qualities are the individualized advancement of students, their popular university, and their educational opportunities for at-risk youth. Those include after school programs and school forms with extended days. You can begin praying that we would be able to work within those schools, become a part of their after-school activities, as well as invest in many of the university students.

Of course, we are also thankful to hear that our daughters will be able to attend good schools and receive quality education. Pray for us as we plan to continue to supplement their education at home to teach them about God and a biblical worldview.