Sap Season Continues. . .

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.”  Philippians 1:3-5 (NASB)

It seems that words are never enough.  We can never begin to tell you how much we have appreciated your prayers and your participation in our desire to share the gospel in Haiti. 

It has been a great month!  We picked up 7% in both our monthly and one time goals!  That brings us to 41% monthly and 65% one time.  Continue to pray that God will raise up monthly partners so we will not only get to the field, but we can stay there as well :)

As we continue to work toward our financial goals to enable us to minister in Haiti, we also continue to be busy with ministry here in the States.  Lee continues as the Associate/Youth Pastor at Calvary Bible Church  and Tina continues to direct PMI Pregnancy Resource Center, a crisis pregnancy center in Greencastle.  In our spare time, we are enjoying (hopefully) one last year of maple sugaring on our property and our neighbors.  Following are some more pictures of this activity that has become a family project for us.

Temperatures fell below freezing make it a challenge to collect sap.

After collecting anywhere from a few ounces to a over a gallon  of sap per tree, the long process of boiling it down begins.  Lee  usually gets the cooking started between 6 and 7am. 

Every 10 minutes, it is time to stock the fire and strain the impurities from the cooking sap.  Somewhere between 7 and 10pm, we will usually have the completed maple syrup in jars.  On most days we will cook off between 20 and 25 gallons of sap, which results in just over a quart of maple syrup.

Sap Season Begins!!

“Be still and know that I am God.”  Psalm 46:10

Take a break. . . let your hands fall. . . relax. . . I am God. This is not always easy for me to do with my personality (Lee’s) but God IS in control and He WILL work to accomplish His will.

It’s been a great couple of months.  God has continued to open doors and stir people’s hearts.  We have had the opportunities to meet with a missions committee, talk with a missions' chairperson and work on setting up a time to share in a church.  We have also shared God’s calling with families and individuals;  At times we were blessed by prayers and others by tears. 

Currently we stand at 58% of our one time goal!  We are thankful for each and every one of you who have graciously given and have partnered with us!  Keep praying for our monthly support!

The end of January brings a favorite time of the year for us.  It is time to start tapping trees and collecting the sap to cook down into maple syrup.  We thought last year would very possibly be our last sap season, but God has blessed us with one more to enjoy!

Heading out to tap some trees.

Tapping the tree involves drilling an upward slanted, 1.5” southern facing hole.  Pound in the spiral (tap), hang a milk jug and you are good to go!Nothing tastes as good as those first few drips from the tree.  Cookie waiting eagerly to get the sap season underway.  She knows her sweet treat is right around the corner.