Plane crash

Dear friends,
In case anybody else heard about the story below, let me assure you we weren't on that plane. We are on our visa renewal trip, so we were flying yesterday, but we flew from Merida to Maracaibo Wednesday and from there through to Caracas and to Port of Spain yesterday. So no Merida to Caracas for us. However we have several flights Monday through Wednesday, so prayers for that would be appreciated as well as for the families of those in the crash (none of the students in the ministry were on the plane, but we have no idea yet if there are any relations to the passengers).

Additionally, I would appreciate prayer for me as well as during this trip I need to make a final decision about whether or not to reSTINT (return for a second year). Please pray for God to speak clearly and for enough distraction free time to not only hear from him about the decision, but also just some good time of connection in general.

Thank you all for your prayers.

- quoted text -

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A commercial jetliner with 46 people on board was reported missing in western Venezuela on Thursday, officials said.

Noel Marquez, director of Venezuela's emergency management agency in the western city of Merida, said the twin-engine plane did not make contact with control towers in two cities as expected after it took off from Merida en route to Simon Bolivar International Airport outside of Caracas.

"It did not make contact with the control towers," Marquez said.

He said authorities were searching for the plane and confirmed it belonged to the company Santa Barbara, a small Venezuelan airline that covers domestic routes throughout the country.

Belated updates and requests

Well, so much for being better about keeping this blog current. Hooray for living under a covenant of grace.

The most immediate things I want to share are three current prayer requests (keep going past them and you'll get to the updates of past prayers):

1. Wisdom for my decision about whether or not to return for a second year of STINT. As I type this, we're embarking on our second visa renewal trip. Being gone for a week gives me some time away to step away from everything to really listen. Pray that I take advantage of that time, and that God speaks clearly. Pray also for peace and assurance/security in the decision as I've definitely felt the weight of the decision growing over the last few days as the time to decide is finally upon me.

2. Safety and refreshment for our team on the visa renewal trip that I just mentioned above. Sarah and Chelsea have both been under the weather and are in process of following doctor ordered treatments to get better. Pray that they will feel better and be able to enjoy the time to be refreshed and ready to return to ministry at week's end.

3. Our apartment. We are still in the process of looking. We have at most until April 15, but would really like to be out as soon as possible. Our looking in the newspapers has not been very fruitful, and we will need to look into hiring a realtor (a very expensive option) when we return from the visa renewal trip. Please continue praying for God's provision.

And now for some updates from previous posts:
Some Crusade staff were able to come down and help us better look at our team dynamics. I guess this update could also count as prayer request 4, as I feel like we've not quite resolved everything that originally surfaced.

The adventure company was contractually obligated to give us 50% back on Ivan's portion on the cancelled post-Christmas trip. They finally returned a little bit more than that.

The student leader retreat went well. All the details came together, and it was a great chance for student leaders from around the country to come together and be mutually encouraged and equipped.

As evidenced by my mentioning the visa renewal trip a few times, we did finally manage to get the tickets and the trip planned, all well within budget.