We are currently attempting to finish our Global Grace mobile counseling center.  We had an RV donated to us many months ago, and we are currently roofing, painting, and upgrading it so that we can use it for the next trip.  This has been an ongoing project that we really need to finish.  We would like to be better prepared as we potentially face an upcoming disaster, wherever that may be.  Please pray for us as we finish up this project.

 In light of the tornadoes that occured in Lady Lake, FL as well as many other cities, I have contacted four different emergency disaster hotlines to see how Global Grace could be involved to help assist in the efforts of clean-up.  I contacted the state of Florida’s disaster hotline as well as the hotlines of two of the counties that experienced the worst of the storms.  Both directed me to the United Way which was coordinating all of the efforts. 

 I did have a great conversation with one of the directors (who, by the way, thanked me for calling instead of just “showing up on her front porch” as many others did and were then turned away) of the United Way.  She said that all was under control, and that they had all of the items and help that they needed.  Please continue to pray for us as we continue to work on some behind the scenes efforts.

 Again, thank you for your support of the Bixby’s through your generous donations to Hannah’s Heart and the Corban Fund.  Corban was experiencing some complications and was rushed to the hospital last week with a pretty severe infection.  He was admitted to the hospital for 4 days and was treated with antibiotics.  Praise the Lord that he is back home and doing well!     

Once again, we praise the Lord for the opportunity to have a part in the adoption of a child into a God-centered home. The Bixbys made a request to God that He would once again shower His grace upon them by blessing them with another child. God certainly showed Himself faithful by granting this request.

Morning Star Baptist Church began a prayer chain specifically for the Bixbys beginning on Monday at 4:00 am and continued to pray throughout the day until midnight Tuesday morning. Again, we began praying as a church on Tuesday at 5:00 am and continued to pray every hour until midnight Tuesday night. God showed Himself faithful by answering our prayers!

On Wednesday night we then had a prayer and praise service where we sang and read many Psalms praising God for His faithfulness to us as a church and for His grace that He bestowed upon the Bixbys! What a great time we had!

Please continue to pray for the Bixbys as they travel back to Rockford from Greenville, SC.

Please consider sending a gift to Hannah’s Heart in order that we might help the Bixbys with costs accrued throughout the past month and a half. Check out “The Corban Project” website at www.globalgracemissions.org/blog/corban.html to make a donation, either via PayPal or by sending a check in the mail.

Praise the Lord for His incredible grace!

This past May 2006, Shannon and Tricia Brown went to China to bring home a baby girl: Grace Lu Brown. Grace was to be their fifth child, but their first adopted child. The Browns are very normal, human beings who happen to have an extraordinary story to tell - a story almost inseparably intertwined with the story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“We had one name to choose from, and that was GRACE…. Adoption has given us, given my family…a fuller understanding of God’s grace to us in our family, and what He has done on our behalf - how He must feel when a child is rescued into His family, when He rescues somebody. And how He must feel to be able to shower them with love and make them part of His family.”

To gain a better understanding of adoption as a rescue ministry and something close to the heart of God, take the time to listen to this brief testimony of the Browns’ experience adopting Grace:

a testimony about Gospel-centered adoption
(MP3 testimony from Shannon Brown, 7 January 2007)

Journey to Grace (http://www.youbelong.net/thebrowns)
Browns’ online adoption journal
_________________________________________

Beth Murschell is home now in Florida with the Murschells’ new family member: Chloe Jane Yoon Jin Murschell

Read more about the Murschell family and Chloe Jane here:
http://juxtaposition.wordpress.com
http://www.murschell.com

Also, please continue to pray earnestly about the Bixbys’ adoption situation, especially over the next several days.
Bob’s weblog
Bixbys’ YouBelong journal (password required)
The Corban Project

What a great opportunity Global Grace is having just this week to help someone in need! We received an email tip of a local need in the Rockton, IL area. Our very own Ed Foster and his son Joel are laying laminate flooring for a widow who recentlyl lost her husband. We are helping by meeting some renovation needs that her house has needed for some time. We will be continuing the work for the next two days.

We know that the Scriptures clearly teach according to James 1:27 that, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (NASB) We are attempting to “flesh out” our love for our Lord by loving our neighbor and meeting a need that is evident.

Please pray for our efforts. We are certain that this widow and her sons do not know Christ as Savior. Again, what an opportunity for us to show the love of Christ.

Jeremy and Anouk have come home to Rockford, have taken jobs in town, and are heavily involved in the ministry here at Morning Star. The people we helped to relocate have now moved back home to Louisiana and are expecting another baby. We have sent a couple more teams down and our leadership team are involving themselves in conferences discussing philosophy and practical methodology for mercy ministries.

One of the major developments for Global Grace in recent weeks is that Chris Metras will be directing it now. Chris has left his teaching job and switched to his own full-time painting business so that he could have the flexibility to work for Global Grace.

This Thursday Chris, along with Ben Walsh and John Iverson, will head down to Bay Saint Louis, MS, as a part of Global Grace’s continuing outreach efforts to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Along with providing assistance in rebuilding a home of an elderly Christian lady, Chris will be surveying the area and meeting with other pastors to find additional opportunities for Global Grace to minister in the area. Please remember to pray for these men as they travel to the area, that their efforts will be fruitful and that God will open doors for them to minister to both the physical and temporal needs of people and that these open doors will also lead to opportunities to address the spiritual and eternal needs of people as well.*

*Thanks to Pat Berryman for the above text, taken from our church blog, http://msbclife.blogspot.com.

This spring and up through Mother’s Day, Morning Star Baptist Church teamed up with Alpine Bank of Rockford to raise awareness and funds on behalf of the Hawkins family, whose lives changed radically when a tornado devastated their home and left Amy paralyzed.

In a sacrificial decision, Amy threw her body over her two boys to protect them when the tornado hit their home in April of this year. The family was given an Extreme Home Makeover to help them rebuild a home and adapt to Amy’s new needs. Both Jerrod and Amy grew up in the Rockford-Byron area. We have $1,000 to give to the Hawkins family, and Chris Metras plans to deliver it when the next work team goes through Tennessee this weekend.

We promised pictures of our new home that God has graciously provided for us. It has taken us far too long to post them, but nevertheless here they are. God has once again proved that He will provide exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think!

God bless,

Jeremy & Anouk

Most people have heard the saying, “God works in mysterious ways”. And when most people hear that statement they probably nod their head in agreement. However, when it is your life in which God is working mysteriously, it isn’t always as easy to nod your head in agreement.

After our mission in LA/MS, we moved back to Rockford, Illinois. Here was our plan: I would get a full time job someplace right away. After I started my job, Anouk would try to find a part time job someplace. We wouldn’t really look for housing until I had my job, then we would decide if it would be better to buy a house or rent first.

Here is God’s plan: Anouk would find a full-time job very soon after moving back to Rockford. I would keep looking. Instead of waiting to find a house until I got a job, we were to rent a house. I would keep looking for a job, and finally get a part time job.

So, where are we at now? In God’s gracious plan for us in our beautiful new home. The job that He gave to Anouk is a great job. My job situation has been a little more difficult (you should have seen some of the looks I have received when people look over my resume). This coming Monday, I am starting my new job as a chaplain for Wesley Willows – a retirement / nursing home facility. The job was offered on a part time basis due to the fact that there is another person that they are considering for the position. Originally, the position required a Master’s of Divinity degree (oops, I forgot to pick one of those up at Wal-mart last night), and the other candidate has an M.Div. I will work part time for a month while they determine if they should offer the position to the other candidate or to me. I am only praying for God’s will to be done.

God has given me a backup plan as well. Target is opening a new distribution center in DeKalb, IL. I have been offered a position as a warehouse worker. The job won’t start until May 31st, and if the chaplain position turns into a full time position, I can back out of the Target position at any time.

Seeing how God works is indeed mysterious at times, but it is always better than what we deserve. Take our house for an example. We have a house filled with beautiful wood trim that has never been painted (that is a miracle in itself!). The rent is far cheaper than what we were expecting to pay, and the owners have given us a free first month of rent! God used them to bless us.

“God works in mysterious ways” – true, but I have always liked a good mystery . . .

(there will be pictures of the house within the next few days)