Wow! What an awesome God we serve. His love for us is so beautiful, so real, so precious and so faithful….Oh, how He loves us! At this very moment, I am so overwhelmed by His love for us. That He would love us the way that He does, without conditions, without regard to our response or actions toward Him. He chooses to love us anyway and He first loved us. Oh, how He truly loves us…..
I know it has been a while since we have posted to the blog. Let me apologize now for that and let you know that we ARE going to do a better job of keeping you up-to-date on the happenings with Voyage of Hope Ministries.
I want to begin by letting you know that I am WELL! Praise the Lord for His healing touch! After returning from Honduras, I was dealing with joint pain, fatigue and horrible migraines. For the next several months, I would visit doctor after doctor and try several different medications to see if I could get any relief. After CAT scans on my brain, echocardiagrams on my heart, pulminary function test on my lungs and a host of other tests, there was NO SARCOIDOSIS found active in my body. I was put on several medications to control the migraines and they are working. I haven’t had a migraine in about a month and I thank the Lord everyday for that. I want to thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support. It means so much to know that there are people lifting you up in prayer even in those times when you think that you can’t.
Even in the midst of sickness and pain, it amazes me how God continues to use us for His glory. Over the past several months, He has opened doors for Grant and I both to minister to many people in several different capacities. Grant is leading worship at our church on a part-time basis and he is co-sponsoring a Bible study at the college for the students. There has been so much positive response from the students as well as area ministers who are eager to give their time to help lead the study and sponsor meals. We continue to see growth each week and praise God for His faithfulness. I have had the opportunity to speak to several groups about missions and I began teaching a Women’s Bible study just a few weeks ago. I have also had the opportunity to start a prayer group at my school with some students who are involved in an organization that I co-sponsor. Grant and I both had the opportunity to minister to some precious women who are living with HIV/Aids. Grant led worship and I spoke to the ladies about the hope that is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. It was such a sweet time to share the love of Christ and to love on these ladies as He would. We are so thankful that He chooses to use us and allows us to be a part of His work.
Our hearts are so burdened for our missionary friends in Trujillo, Honduras. As you may remember from our post last summer, there were several North American families working in that area. There has been an attack from the devil like you wouldn’t believe on these precious families. Three of the five families are in the States right now, dealing with funding issues, sickness and other atrocities that keep them from doing the Lord’s work. Please join us in lifting these families in prayer as they seek to find their way back to the place that the Lord has called them to serve.
We are planning a trip to Honduras for this summer, but are not certain of the dates at this time. With things in our economy the way that they are and our missionary friends in turmoil, we are waiting for the Lord to guide our next step in our planning for this trip. We know that He uses us here as well as He does in a foreign land, so until He calls us there, then we will continue to serve Him faithfully right here in our own community, state and nation.
We are very excited about what the Lord is going to do through Voyage of Hope Ministries during 2009. We are so thankful for your continued prayers and support and want you to be a part of our journey. Please let us know if you are interested in serving on a mission team, becoming a prayer partner or financially supporting our work.
Continuously thanking Him for you,
Hope & Grant Staples
