Thursday, November 29, 2007

Birthday Greetings,

Actually it is my birthday tomorrow. How old? Let’s put it this way. If I am middle age I will live to be 112 years old..

BUSY
Vickie and I have had an incredibly busy couple of months. Along with ongoing missions services and ministry, the first week of October we found out that the house we have rented for five and one half years was going to be sold. After a day of “what now God?” we began to see His hand at work. There were so many blessings that happened in the next couple of weeks that we were just amazed.


  • What do we do with our household “stuff”? A dear friend, a true Christian business man, graciously agreed to purchase a 40 foot container for us to store things in when we move to Africa.
  • Where will we live? Our son Ryan suggested that we consider moving to Springfield, MO for the remaining few months to be near him and our daughter Cristi. What a great idea! Ryan was also able to help us find a house and we are totally enjoying getting in some “kid connection” time. Ryan and Cristi are both very busy but they seem to find time to squeeze in some of Mom’s home cooking.
  • The Kansas District Women’s Conference came along the first weekend in October and in spite of having a household to move Vickie found time to decorate the stage for the conference.
  • Just for fun I threw in an unexpected gallbladder attack on Saturday, October 6th and spent the day in two different hospitals. On the 10th of October I had my gallbladder removed. The Dr. told me not to “lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk”. RIGHT! With us in the middle of a move? I wish. Our container arrived two days after the surgery.
  • Trips to New Mexico, Nebraska and Missouri all seemed to blend together as well. I feel like we have “frequent flyer miles” with U-Haul. And of course, ITNERATION GOES ON!

BUDGET
“How is the budget raising coming?” Understandably, this seems to be the most often asked question. After a slow start, the last few months have been very good, thanks to many of you. If we were new candidates we would be on the field by now. The candidate budget is considerably smaller than the veteran missionary budget. The candidate starts from zero and the veteran builds on their already existing budget. BUT, we have the challenge of raising a veterans budget but starting from zero like a candidate. So obviously, we have the biggest challenge of all. Currently we are approaching 75% at this time. Monthly support is our primary need at this point. If you can help us finish this budget off with any amount of monthly support please go to:
http://worldmissions.ag.org/agwm_commit_form.cfm
God is good and He supplies. I heard it said once that if “it is God’s will then it is God’s bill.” He is providing and He has perfect timing. Thank you so much for your support and your prayers.

BROCHURES
This is actually about our newsletter but I needed another “B” word to go with “busy” and “budget”.

We are currently mailing our last newsletter for the year. With some help from friends I am gong to attempt to attach our newsletters to this blog. No guarantees. My previous attempts to email newsletters have been a dismal failure, but I will not be deterred from trying again. Please pray.

Seriously, Vickie and I are excited about the calling on our hearts and we are honored to serve with the Africa Oasis team of missionaries. The needs for fresh water and the Living Water of Jesus Christ in Africa are overwhelming. Fortunately we have the opportunity to meet both those needs with your help.

Vickie and I want to take this opportunity to wish you the most blessed Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. May our gift giving make us ever mindful of the wonderful Gift that was given to us on that joyous morning.

Always your missionary servants,

Mark and Vickie Alexander