Greetings
What a year! I want to start off with a huge thank you to all of you friends and family who responded to our last blog, when I had detailed the many problems we were facing with our living space and cars. It’s very easy to get discouraged when water is pouring from your living room ceiling and your two cars die in quick succession, not to mention having a baby on the way! But so many of you stepped up and gave generously when we needed it most and we feel so blessed by your love. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
I’m happy to report that our apartment situation was rectified and we were not only blessed with a FREE car by some dear friends, but were able to scrounge up enough money to purchase a second used car, and so not suffer the inconvenience of sharing one car. Thank you all so much!
But all of that aside, the most important announcement we have is the arrival of our newest family member: Eleanor Lúthien McRae
We couldn’t be more excited for her beautiful addition and we look forward to sharing more of her with you all soon. Thank you for your prayers over her and Samantha, who has been recovering swiftly since giving birth.
Ministry
It’s also been a busy and exciting time at Emmaus over the past few months, between lectures, seminars, program planning, and graduation. As always, I’m so incredibly proud of the students who dedicated the last 10 months of their lives to know God through His Word, what an encouragement and blessing to the body of Christ!
I ended my teaching schedule for our school this year by lecturing on the book of Hebrews for the first time. It was incredibly challenging, but also one of my favorite books that I’ve had the pleasure of digging into! I can definitely say that my preparation was filled with a ton of heart wrestling, and I came away from it even more awestruck at the work that Jesus completed on the cross. Hallelujah!
This Summer
Samantha and I will be sticking around in Florida this summer (pray for our pathetic heat-dreading souls) as we are working on a lot of program planning for next year. As Emmaus has settled into its new location and office spaces, we been picking up momentum with our ministry programs and the work going into them. Four years ago, we were running an amazing Bible training School that reached small intimate group of hungry learners every year. Now, God has enabled us to continue doing that while also developing new programs to reach even more people, helping to train over 100 people every year. We really want to work hard to make these programs the best that they can be as we continue to grow.
Over the summer I’ll also be picking up more work at our local church in order to help our finances.
Prayer Needs
This has obviously been a tough year for everyone, and while our family has fortunately been spared much of the pain and inconveniences that others have suffered, some of the repercussions have started to hit us. Because so many have been unable to make their rent payments, many local rental properties have been forced to raise their rent prices to stay in business, ours included. Right now, our apartment is looking to raise our rent by nearly $300.
Samantha and I have remained under-funded since we began our time here with Emmaus, but especially now, we’re having a hard time finding affordable housing for our family. This is easily our most pressing need at this time.
How Can You Help Our Mission?
- Financial Support – Would you consider joining our team at $100 a month or some other amount that’s significant to you? If you would like to give a one-time donation, set up a recurring plan, or increase your giving amount, you can do so on our ministry website here: emmausbibleministries.org/donate#staffsupport
And if you’re reading our blog for the first time or have never considered giving, we’d love the opportunity to talk with you personally about our ministry, why we love it, and to ask for your support, you can find our contact info through our website menu above. - Referrals – If you’re unable to help financially, there’s another great way that you can help us! Are you able to refer us to 2-3 specific individuals, friends, family members, or a church that you think could be excited about partnering with us in our mission and vision? We’d love to meet with them!
- Support our Teaching – Although we are a community of teachers, we are above all a community of learners who are constantly looking to grow in our knowledge of the Bible. As such, we’re always looking to grow our library of resources. If you’re uncomfortable financially supporting us, would you be willing to support our learning by buying a resource off our wish list?
http://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/22ROEPGXAWV3B?ref_=wl_share
We love you all and thank you for your constant care and support!
-The McRae Family
The McRae Family 