isemingerfamily@juno.com

Phone:  616-755-3289

Dear Praying Friends,

It is hard to believe that we are now three months into 2009.  But here we are.  As is always the case, we have much to bring you up to speed on and much to ask you to pray with us about, so I hope you will take a few minutes and read this letter in its entirety.

Rolling Down the Highway Once Again!

Just about a year after it began, we wrapped up our first furlough time in early February.  2008 was a needed time for us and we got a number of long overdue logistical things taken care of.  But as 2008 drew to a close there was little doubt that as we prepared for our 15th year in this ministry, it was time to get the wheels rolling once again.

With some uncertainty about the timing of our move east (more about that later)  and still no truck to pull the trailer.  We packed up our house into a storage unit, loaded some things on to a borrowed flatbed trailer behind our van and began to reacquaint ourselves with the nomadic existence we have known for so long.

We are presently in GA, tackling several projects, updating supporters and getting into several new churches.  We have meetings scheduled through the End of April in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, from there we will presumably turn north and head to Michigan, with possible stops in Oklahoma and Kansas on the way up.  That is a ways down the road and we will be sure to keep you updated.

It is never easy to say good bye and after really getting to know some folks in our home church, this time was no exception.  The folks at Lincoln Avenue gave us a great sendoff that included our last Sunday night and Wednesday there, we will look forward to seeing them as often as God allows and praise the Lord daily for the church that stands behind us.

Family Update

All is fairly well with the family.  Our biggest news would be that David II just celebrated his 16th birthday.   We are very proud of the young man that he has grown into, with a passion for preaching and desire to serve the Lord.  We could not have asked for more in a son.  At 6’ 1” with a head of blonde hair, we assume it won’t be to many years till the girls are coming around. 

Lena is practicing piano every chance she gets and is still looking forward to starting college in the fall.  In January she was able to spend a few weeks with our friends the Swiatkowskis in New Jersey and had a great time.

Emilee is well also all she is talking about lately is being able to spend some time with her best friend in Louisiana next month.   She recently went past the 5’ 8” mark on the wall, Carmen is not happy that her baby is over 3” taller than her. 

Carmen is still digressing heath wise which is a source of concern.  She has started with some completely new symptoms that she has never experienced before and it is causing us some concern, we would certainly appreciate your prayers in this area.

I am well and certainly glad to be back in the thick of things again.  My children do not miss a chance to inform me that my gray hair is getting more intense and I, according to my son, seem to be getting weaker.  As always, we certainly covet your prayers for our entire family

Ministry Update

As I mentioned earlier the timing of our move east for the school project is presently up in the air.  We will be ready to move by mid May or so.  We spent time in Maryland in both December and January, and both times we looked for housing.  Everything in the area is quite expensive, even 30 or so minutes out of town the prices are all still pretty high.

At this point we are waiting to see what God does.  We clearly do not even begin to have the support base to be able to afford to live in that area, we are confident in the fact that if God wants us to move forward with this project, He is going to have to do something that is clearly beyond our power. 

It seems clear that this is the direction that God is leading, we are all at perfect peace with the decision and all that comes with it and we are confident that if this is the case, God will surely work things out and open the right door.  Please pray that He will indeed do so.

I would imagine by the time of our next letter, things in this area will be more clear and I will look forward to letting you know what is happening.

Support Update

On the support front we are hearing from many folks who the downturn in the economy is taking a major toll on.  We, like many have lost some support, but we have gained a bit as well so we have not really taken a major hit.

The one thing I am noticing is that many churches are cutting way back on scheduling missionaries.  I can certainly understand this and we thank God for every opportunity He gives us, and we are glad to be staying reasonably busy during a time like this.

Please pray for us that God will open the right doors in this area and give us good meetings over the next several months.

Transportation Update

One thing a ministry like ours is dependant on is reliable transportation.  It is amazing to me that since 1994

we have wracked up over 650,000 miles on two cars, a mini van and a seriously beat up truck that hauled our trailer around.

Our 2001 Grand Caravan has provided us good service since 2002.  228,000 miles later (in the words of my father in law) it is clearly growing tired.  At this point we are praying about giving the van a rest and getting something else.  Please pray with us that God would show us the right way to go, open the right doors and provide the means to work this out as well.  As you can imagine, banks don’t like to see you when you are offering missions support as your income, we are not sure what a bad economy on top of that will mean. 

Prayer Request Update

If you have read this letter through to this point, you have no doubt noticed quite a few prayer requests as you have read.  We have had a good number of folks ask us to return to a listing of prayer needs like we used to do, some things may be repetitive but the things at the top of our prayer list at the present are as follows.

A way to move our 5th wheel.  We need a truck big enough to pull it and someone willing to do this for us.  Please pray that God will provide a way to move this for the cost of gas.   Or provide the finances to pay someone who needs more.

We need to raise upwards of $2,000 a month in support quickly.  We have been painfully under supported for so many years and with loosing a fair amount in the past few years, we have got to rebuild the old and add new if we are going to take on anything new.

A retirement plan for our van.  We need God to go ahead of us and prepare our next vehicle and also prepare the financing for it. 

Lena attending college in the fall.  She is greatly looking forward to this next stage of her life but also understands that God is going to have to work several miracles on her behalf. 

Carmen's health issues.  Being on the road is not easy for a healthy person, please keep her in your prayers and that the new issues go away completely.

Thanks again for praying and holding the ropes for us as we press forward for the Lord.  We look forward to updating you again soon with all that God has done.

.

Because of Calvary,

The Iseminger Family

David & Carmen

Lena, David II and Emilee

Romans 10:13-15