“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

It is midnight on a Friday at the Hospitality House at Ft. Bragg, NC. And as I sit and reflect on the night, I can’t help but think about the encouragement we received tonight. It is reflective of our trip as a whole. As the passage above states, our hearts have been encouraged and this has come as a result of the good deeds and words of those we have come in contact with. Every step along the way has brought some form of encouragement and we are grateful to many of you who are a part of that. This has come in your generous giving as you have been faithful to what God has laid upon your hearts. Thank you. It has also come in the words of many prayers. At every stop so far people have prayed for us and what we are doing. And God is answering those prayers as we continue along. He continues to confirm for us His calling on our lives for How He desires for us to minister in His name. We cannot understate the courage we receive from this confirmation. And finally, we have been encouraged by many different people who have spoken to us out of the experiences of their own lives as they have been in the place we are now. We are reminded that this is part of the faith journey we are on and that it is a part of the process of ministry and preparation for ministry. If God wanted to, He could easily provide all the necessary funds we need and do it at this very moment. But because He doesn’t, we know that we should continue to be faithful to ministering to the people we come in contact with. He has confirmed His call for our lives and because of this we know that He will also provide through His people what we need. We are grateful to be able to just share His love and His story and how we fit into it and see Him work from there. Thanks to all of you who have played a role in this season of encouragement. You are an answer to our prayers.