Tales of the Tryons Vol3

"I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Philippians 12:12,13

Well, seems like it's time for an update!
Still Moving Forward: Since Christmas time, our number one focus has been on developing our Partner team. We are currently at around 1/3 of our support goal, so we have definitely been making progress, though at times it seems painfully slow. We have presented our OM vision 28 times. We currently have 97 prayer partners, of which 26 have pledged regular support, and another 20 have given one time gifts. We are grateful for each of these people who have said that they are standing behind us. I'm definitely chomping at the bit, waiting to begin work at the Operation Mobilization office, but it seems that the Lord has some more lessons He wants us to learn before we go. One of the lessons we have been learning is that, right now, our real focus has to be on ministry with our partners, and our dependence has to be completely on the Lord and His Grace.

In the Storm: One of the stumbling blocks in front of selling our house (one of the requirements for our moving to Atlanta) has been the condition of the roof on our old house. We had to replace one section this year (roughly a quarter) when it started leaking badly. The north facing part of the roof was still in good condition, due to the fact that it gets very little sun beating on it. However, the largest (south facing) part of the roof was very old, and the shingles were curling badly. We knew we needed to replace it before selling, but given the current prices on roof work, we were NOT looking forward to the bill.

Well, we had a serious wind storm here in Rochester in January (75mph winds). There were a lot of trees and power lines down in the area, and some people took several days to get their power back on. Thankfully, we didn't have any tree damage, however the wind did peel off a couple dozen shingles on the southern side, enough so that the roof REALLY needed to be repaired before we could sell the house. We called up our insurance company, and after taking a look at it, they agreed to cover the damage. So, God sent a storm to damage our roof so that we could get the money to replace it.

(Hmmm... I guess sometimes God DOES speak in the storm.)

Grandma: In other developments, our daughter, Melinda, just announced to us at Christmas that she and Phil are expecting their first child, due in late July. We, of course are delighted to have our first grandchild, though I have to admit I'm still trying to get my brain around the concept of being called "Grandpa". However, I have been assured by multiple current grandparents that you don't have to be "old" in order to have grandchildren, so I guess I don't have to worry about hanging up my keyboard yet.

Great-Grandma: Speaking of grandparents (and soon to be great-grandparents), one serious item for payer is Sue's mother's health. We just found out on Valentine's Day that her 85 year old mom is having plenty of heart trouble. She has been having tests for a couple months, and discovered that she has total blockage of two main arteries, and her heart is now working at 50%.

After prayer and careful consideration, she has decided to go ahead with bypass surgery. It has just been scheduled for Tuesday, February 26. Sue and her brother, Peter, are currently working out the details of flying down to Venice FL to be with her for the surgery, and for the recuperation afterward. Her mother has always been physically active, even teaching a water aerobics class at the community pool where she lives, so this has been quite a shock.

On a technical note: I am playing around with some different formats for this letter. I've seen people send prayer letters both in ordinary "text" form, as well as html mail, or an attached PDF. Regardless of whether or not you understand what those terms mean, please let me know if you receive and can read these letters. Personally, I tend to get wrapped up in the technology, and sometimes forget that there are ordinary people out there just trying to make sense of these silly computer things.... ;-)

Praises:

1. Our growing list of Partners and their desire to invest in the Lord's work through us.
2. Becoming grandparents.
3. God's continuing provision financially in our journey to OM.
   

Prayer Requests:

1. Continuing encouragement and tenacity in building our Partnership team.
2. God's hand over Sue's mother in her coming surgery and recovery.
3. Health and strength for Melinda and the little life developing inside of her.
4. More opportunities to present our vision of serving with Operation Mobilization.
   

The temptation at this point is to view this time period when we are developing our Partner team as just a bridge we have to get over, rather than seeing God's hand working in us and through us. What I am beginning to experience is that God is still working day-to-day, often putting us back in touch with other members of His body whom we have not seen or heard from in many years. We are learning that, no matter what circumstances the Lord puts us in, that's exactly where He wants us to be at this moment, and we are still to find our strength in Him!

Blessings to you!


Chuck and Sue Tryon