I would like to start off by thanking all of you for your continued interest, prayers and support of this work. Thank you for your trust as we try to serve together to accomplish the will of our God!
The first of the month we helped several people move. One lady we recently were introduced to, is trying to change her life for the better. We pray she continues to look to our Lord for the wisdom and strength. Rita has come to worship several times and we have had a chance to study with her, but Wayne and Susan Floyd have really given of themselves to help Rita draw closer to Christ.
It was great to celebrate Faith’s first birthday. She has struggled with some health issues, but is doing better now. We hosted the party at our house and had a good turnout from the congregation. Evan and Crystal will be leaving us the first of July to head up to Denver to start preaching school at Bear Valley. They have about . of their support secured. If you are interested in supporting them financially, please make checks payable to Salt River church of Christ (memo: E. Todachine) and send it to our home address.
Decovan, Brianna and their baby daughter, Ellie, have moved back to the Navajo reservation this month. We hate to lose this young couple, but they are fulfilling one of our goals. We wanted to convert the Natives that are here in Phoenix and if/when they move back they can help strengthen the church on the reservations they came from. Decovan told me that he helped Terry Laurence in Ft. Defiance with worship & that he will be helping to teach a children’s class. I know this is a huge encouragement for the church in Fort. We pray this can be a long partnership in the Lord’s work there.
Most of the month I was on the road for a support trip through NM and TX. The day I left for the trip, I received a call that Aurora (aka: Boo) Guajardo decided to be baptized into Christ. She is the youngest of the four daughters of Steph & Will. You may remember that the oldest sister, Echo, obeyed the gospel about 10 months ago. We are thankful for this good family & the growth they are having in the faith.
Alayna was the only one of the family that was able to come with me this time. All the others needed to finish up on their homeschooling. This was great daddy/daughter time. God truly blessed our trip and we feel extremely honored to have the supporters we do. Thanks to all of you we met and stayed with on this journey
First night on the road I taught in Morenci, AZ and stayed with my parents. The next night I gave an update to the Country Club Rd church in Roswell, NM and stayed with the Morrow family. This congregation supported us when we attended Bear Valley and they are now working with us again. Thursday night we stayed with the Lemmon family and met with a few brethren from the Austin Ave church in Brownwood, TX. Fred and Ester are extremely involved with the Navajo Nation. The next several days we stayed in Hico, TX with the Keller family. Brandon and his wife Nikki, along with about 10 other adults and children have been coming out to the Navajo REZ Camp to be our cooks. By God’s grace they will be coming out again this year. We appreciate all their work and sacrifice. Alayna was excited to have some kids to play with. Saturday night they had a young families cook out. It rained, not only that night but most of the trip. Thankfully, I was not caught in any flooding, but it was happening all around where I was at. After preaching and giving an update, and of course an awesome potluck, we drove up to Frisco, TX to give an update to the brethren. Todd, who preaches at Frisco, and his wife Rose have been friends of ours for some time now and it was good to celebrate Memorial Day with them and their two fine boys. Also had a chance to spend some good time with David McCain and share the work with him, as he was visiting from out of town.
For our second week on the road we spent several days with the Stephens Family. Alayna got a lot of time to play with her friends. We were able to share the progress happening here in Phoenix with the Decatur, TX church of Christ. God has given us some congregations that have been with us a long time and others that we are just getting to know more intimately.
So grateful for both and the strengths they all contribute. The next day we drove to League City, TX which is just south of Houston. Again, there was a lot of rain and standing water all around us, but we were unaffected. We know there were many who suffered greatly because of the flooding and we would ask for prayers on their behalf. For the next three days Alayna and I were able to spend some quality time with my brother and his family. Cousin time (pictured below)! Sunday we worshipped and gave an update for League City who will be coming out this summer to help us do a VBS. After another great potluck we met for several hours to make plans for the work they will be doing. We are excited about this opportunity & look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store.
On the way home, we stopped back in Morenci in time for their VBS and to meet up with Divine and the kids. They stayed a few days for VBS and time with grandma and grandpa.
While I was gone the men of the congregation really stepped up. Wayne Floyd taught our Wednesday classes. Evan taught a class and did a sermon. Dean taught a class, while Brother Bill Salazar came in and preached for us one Sunday. He is the youth minister and a good friend from the Camelback congregation.
We thank God for our safe journey and for the opportunity to share news of the happenings in the desert!
Josh, Divine Austin & family