Summer 2011
To our friends and family,
What an amazing God we serve! God has continued to open and close doors and provide for us in ways beyond what we could have done on our own effort. We are consistently reassured by God’s provision that we are indeed doing what it is in His will for us to do. Here is a quick recap of the past 3 months of how God has shown us his love and mercy.
In our previous letter we mentioned that Jeneson was working a temporary job at a Family Practice in Lake Zurich that was to go until the third week of June. When that contract ended two weeks ago, Jeneson had a few leads for his next job, but no actual job offers. He just accepted a new position as Academic Coordinator and part time instructor at his alma mater, Malcolm X College. God provides. We prayerfully made the decision a couple of months ago that Jeneson would not take any permanent positions so that when the time came for us to leave for Sierra Leone we would not have any job obligations holding us back. We are trusting God to provide for us, not 3 months at a time, but one week at a time. Not an easy thing to do with a family of 5!
Through the generosity of some wonderful friends (you know who you are), God has also provided a place for us to live. I just love looking back and seeing how God has orchestrated all the little details of this opportunity for us. After living with Sandy’s parents for almost 4 months (THANK YOU DAD & MOM!!!) we moved into a beautiful house in Elmhurst with plenty of room for the 5 of us. We are looking forward to using this blessing and hosting church events. We can now walk to church and enjoy all the amenities of suburban living.
We just returned from our meetings with Global Outreach Mission (GOM) in Buffalo, and also enjoyed a pre-anniversary mini vacation to Niagara Falls and Toronto while the kids stayed in Illinois playing with family and friends. Our meetings were encouraging; we feel like a valued member of the GOM team and we are all anxious for us to be on the ground in Sierra Leone. We have been given the approval to leave for Sierra Leone once our house is ready. Right now our house is basically a jungle with concrete walls; a roof needs to be put in place and the inside cleaned and redone. Our house needs to be 100% livable before we will be allowed to go, a reasonable requirement since we will be going with 3 small children. It is projected that this will be completed by the end of the year and we all pray that the construction goes smoothly.
Construction is coming along, but they are in desperate need for licensed medical personnel there. The clinic will most likely not be completed when we arrive in Sierra Leone, but that will give us the much needed opportunity to transition as a family to living in Sierra Leone and get settled, meeting the villagers, traveling to local villages, and starting some public health outreach and education. Much of the medical suffering can be alleviated with what we would consider simple public health education, but because of their lack of resources and culture, it is not always so simple.
Please continue to pray with us for the people of Sierra Leone, that they will continue to be open to the message of the Gospel and accept the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. As you are praying for us and our preparation for Sierra Leone, also pray for Charles and Petra Wirrell who are already doing a great work there and are battling feelings of isolation and the pressure of the immense needs of the people.
We are ever so thankful for those who continue to be faithful in giving on a monthly basis and grateful for the many one-time gifts. Please prayerfully consider partnering us. You can use the enclosed card to indicate your willingness to support us and mail it back to GOM. We know that God has brought us this far and will prove Himself faithful in completing what He has laid on our hearts.
Blessed,
Jeneson & Sandy Abraham
Josiah, Lydia, and Sofia
Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him be the glory…who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,…
