Stress Fractures

Greetings from Bloomington, MN - headquarters of Bethany Gateways Mission. Alberta and I will be facilitating workshops at Bethany's missionary retreat next week. Alberta will be leading discussions about grief and loss. I will be covering the topic of stress.

In the engineering world, there are clear principles to follow to avoid stress 'fractures'. We had experiences in the Philippines where a bridge we used to go in and out of our village would be damaged by someone not obeying the maximum load capacity, often to their own peril! 

In missionary service, added stresses are inherent in the move to another culture. We teach missionaries to recognize the symptoms of stress and adjust their life style to more healthy rhythms. We don't want them experiencing stress to the point where their spirits are sagging like the  bridge in the picture above. 

Pray for us as we facilitate these two workshops next week. We will also be doing debriefs with those who request them. There will be around 35 workers in attendance. 

Prayer Requests: 

1. We represented Bethany at Lowell Glick's funeral June 4 in Washington, IL. It was done in Spanish and English, honoring Lowell (and Sheri) for their many years of service in Mexico. It was live streamed to Zacatecas, Mexico where their ministry was based. Pray for Sheri and her daughter Adriana as they travel to Mexico to say goodbye to friends and ministry partners, gather their personal belongings and return to Texas. Pray for Sheri as she seeks the Lord about His plans for her future. 

2. Continue to pray for Heather as she seeks new accommodations. Also pray for her as she does some directing work for a play for the Edinburgh (Scotland) Fringe Festival. 

3. Pray for us as we continue our travels north by west. We will visit two supporting churches in Northwood, ND and then travel on to Alberta, Canada to visit Alberta's brother, George, and his wife, Wilma and family. 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta