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Every Tongue March 2007
Well here we are, we're now officially old and boring. Here's what we've been up to in the last three months...
Some goodbyes...
We were very excited to be finally reunited in Northern California at the beginning of December. But for Laura this was also a time of saying goodbye to some of the friends she had made over the last year and leaving the family she had been working with. For Mark too it had been a time of moving on, leaving behind the many friends he had made in Tanzania over the past 3 years.
Some exciting new opportunities
We saw a real answer to prayer too in December as the Lord provided a church in the US to partner with us and support us in the work we're doing. We've been so blessed by the opportunity to share what we're doing with the people at Calvary Chapel Petaluma (Laura's home church for the past year) and by their enthusiasm in wanting to support us. It turns out that they had also been praying for the chance to send people out from amongst their own congregation, so they were very excited to get rid of send us out.
Weddings and the like...
On 6th January 2007 the big day finally arrived and we were married in an unforgettable (for us at least!) service in rural Oregon in the US. It was a wonderful day and we were so blessed to be able to share the day with friends and family, many of whom had travelled quite a way to be there.
Soon afterwards we were headed north for our honeymoon on the incredibly beautiful Decatur Island in the far northwest of the US. We had a great week together on this remote island – we didn't see another person all week – and were blessed with 8 inches of snow too which made the whole thing even more romantic. But we won't go into too many of the details...
After a week with Laura's family in Oregon we flew to England where we spent a few days with Mark's parents in Wiltshire. We had a service of thanksgiving for our marriage which was a great opportunity to celebrate with many of Mark's friends and family who weren't able to make the wedding in America.
A new home
After having been on the move for the last couple of months we were more than ready to settle into our first home together when we moved to the Wycliffe UK Centre. We have a small apartment which over the last month has very much come to feel like home! We're really enjoying being part of life here at the centre – it's great to be working with so many people with experience from all over the world, all working together in the task of Bible translation!
We've been going to a small church about 2 miles away for the past few weeks. It's a bit different to what we're used to, but we really want to be involved in a local church and the community of that church. Please pray that we would know if the Lord would have us stay at this church, and that we would really settle in well and be part of the life of that church.
And new challenges
We're both now working in the Wycliffe UK offices, Mark taking on the role of Recruitment Coordinator and Laura working in the Personnel department.
We're really enjoying our new jobs, although there's obviously a lot to learn in the first few weeks. Laura is in charge of making sure Wycliffe UK members all over the world fill out year-end summaries about the work they've been doing which can be sent to their churches. It's a little bit overwhelming at times, sending out emails to over 200 people, but is rewarding knowing that the work is being made known.
Mark is involved in keeping contact with people enquiring about the work of Wycliffe and giving them information up until the point when they decide whether or not they will join the organisation. Other things include finding assignments overseas for new members interested in doing language work, and organising a “Wycliffe and Me” day on April 14, which will be a chance for people to visit the Centre and find out more about how they can be involved in the Bible translation task.
Looking ahead
We're still not really sure where we'll be living after the end of April when our rent runs out on our current home here at the Wycliffe Centre. Please pray with us that we will find the right place for then, whether that's here on the Centre or somewhere else nearby.
Points for prayer
- Thank God for a smooth transition to our new home and life in the UK, and that we've really enjoyed living and working here at the Wycliffe Centre so far.
- Thank God that he has provided everything that we have needed, especially for a new church partnering with us in the US. Pray that he would continue to provide for our needs, particularly accommodation and the funds to pay for it, over the next few months.
- Pray that we'd continue to make friends and to really feel at home in a local church.
- Pray that the Wycliffe and Me day would go well and would be useful for all those attending.
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Mark and Laura Woodward, 02/04/2007 |
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