david@isemingerfamily.org

Phone:  276-219-9294

Dear Praying Friends,

It is hard to believe that we are into the second quarter of 2008 and that it is time for another prayer letter.

 I trust that all is well with each of you and the year is going exactly how you would have it go. 

 I am sure with spring in the air you are all very busy but I hope you will take a few moments and read this latest update so you can stay up to speed with what is going on with us.

 Furlough Update

As you might remember from our last letter, we had made a hasty retreat to Michigan to be near our home church and get our life into some semblance of order.   We were staying in the prophet’s chamber at Parker Memorial Baptist Church in Lansing, MI while we were looking for a place to live.

 We found a three bedroom duplex just outside Portland, MI.  The price was right but it was not ready yet.  After looking and calling about other places, it seemed clear that this was what God had for us so we paid the deposit and decided to wait it out.  As the Lord would have it, we got the Keys on February 22, the same day Parker Memorial needed their prophet’s chamber back.  We got moved in and have been working on getting some old wall paper down.  The kids rooms are done and we are working on the rest. 

 The new abode is in a quiet rural setting 16 miles from our church and convenient to both Lansing and Grand Rapids.  We are enjoying it and praise the Lord for a good place to live.

 I am also happy to report that we have Michigan Drivers licenses, plates on the car and voter registration as well, we have done away with the PA address and want to say Thank You to Barbara Sinclair for faithfully handling our mail for upwards of six years.  We still have a few stragglers that have not made the change yet so she will still be forwarding occasionally until the transition is complete, but we are all certainly grateful for her years of faithful dedication and love for us and our ministry.

 For the first time in many years everything is in one place.  The one straggler is our cell phone number which will certainly change when our contract is up next spring, but we may change to a Michigan number before that so please watch for the change.

 We have also done the much needed update to our prayer card and brochure.  Next up, Lord willing, is a complete revamp of the website, which I hope to be working on soon. 

Please continue to pray that God will lead us and help us to set all these things in order.

Thank You!

There are so many folks to thank that I am afraid that I might leave some one out.

 First off we want to thank all of you that pray for us regularly.  It has been amazing to watch things fall into place and God meet needs as they arise and sometimes even before they arise.  We certainly feel your prayers and I can assure you that they are working.  Please keep praying.

 We would like to thank all of you that support us financially as well.  We have taken on a number of new household expenses and with gas costing $3.50 a gallon in MI as I write this, we would likely be living in a refrigerator box somewhere if it were not for our faithful supporters.

 We would also say thank you to the folks that sent along an extra offering at some point this year.  These have certainly kept us going and met needs as they have arisen.  We are extremely grateful for your generosity and praise the Lord for your faithfulness.

Last but by no means least, we would certainly like to thank everyone at Lincoln Ave. Baptist Church.  When we arrived in January, we were in ragged shape to say the least and we were dropped in a situation where we knew lots of faces but few names.   Really didn’t know folks outside of the pastor and his family (The joys of showing up at your home church every 2 or 3 years for a service).  Everyone went out of their way to make us feel at home and “take us in” so to speak.  In many ways we are learning to be church members because it has been forever since we were around our home church for any length of time.  But it has been beneficial (more on that later) and we are grateful to the pastor and church folk for their love, concern and hospitality. 

Family Update

Right after we moved into the house Carmen’s grandmother had a heart attack and was put in the hospital.  A number of relatives advised her to come as soon as she could, so with the house still in boxes, she put some stuff in a suitcase and I drove her to Detroit and put her on a plane.  She got into Jackson, MS on a Monday afternoon and went straight to the hospital where she stayed till her Grandmother went to heaven on Thursday afternoon.   She then helped in making the arrangements and went through the viewing and the funeral.  Once all of that was done, they had to go through the house and take care of things like that.  I was able to go down after her and bring back some things that belonged to her grandmother.  All went well and we know that after 96 years on the earth, outliving 3 of her 4 children and 2 of her grandchildren she is far better off but will still be greatly missed by us all. 

The kids have been flourishing!!    Being around the youth group at our church has certainly been a good thing for them.  Lena took a trip with the seniors to Providence Baptist College in Elgin, IL and enjoyed it.  In March all of the kids went with the group from our church to “Cross America” a big youth conference at Midwestern Baptist College in Pontiac, MI.  They heard a lot of really good preaching and took part in numerous competitions during the 5 days of the conference and we are glad that they were able to be a part of some young folk activities. 

Carmen is not doing very well with her pain and could really use your prayers.  The cold has had some effect but the non stop stress for months on end, we feel is the culprit.  In a lot of respects we have traded one group of stresses for another and with her Grandmothers death and the travel and still trying to regroup from everything and adjust to this whole new life it is taking its toll.   I am sure that if I could speed up the decorating process it would be a help to her but we are doing what we can when we can do it.  Please keep her in your prayers especially. 

As for me, I guess I am hanging in okay.  There are a few adjustments I am having difficulty with and would be grateful for your prayers.  I am grateful that the weather is showing signs of improving so maybe I will be able to play a round or two of golf.  Finally, after three years of working to further my education in my spare time, I am putting the finishing touches on my thesis which is the last requirement for my Doctor of  Theology Degree (ThD) So it looks like I may graduate not long  after you get this letter. 

All in all the family is moving on and trying to get life back on track after our time in VA.  Again we are grateful for your prayers and could not be doing it with out you. 

Ministry Update

As far as what we are up to as of late, there are several things going on. 

 1) Updating supporters—at this point we have been able to update all of our Michigan supporters.   We are    scheduling the remaining supporters so that we will be able to get everyone updated as soon as we can.  We are trying to figure out the best way to combine trips for the most        effective use of time and money with the travel that needs to be done with gas prices the way they are. 

2) New churches—we are working at scheduling meetings in churches that are new to us as well as some that we have been in before but do not support us.   

After almost 4 years without presenting our ministry in a new church, I am trying to reacquaint  myself with working the telephone, and getting information out there.   One problem I have noticed is that a lot of my addresses for churches and pastors are no longer any good.  I don’t know if that means the churches have closed or have        relocated.   I am making progress but it is proving to be a slow process.  Please pray that God will open the right doors and show us the areas to concentrate on.   

Please also pray that God will meet the financial needs as we travel.  With gas prices soaring and none of the kids eating off the kids menu (for a number of years now)  out of town trips become quite the financial undertaking. 

3) Special Meetings—I have had several requests for meetings come in.  We will be holding a meeting in our home church April 27-30.  Please pray with us that God will work.  I am also scheduling several more throughout the year, we will keep you posted as to those dates as we firm them up.   

4) I am not sure the best way to word this, but another thing we are doing is making a serious effort to study much of what is going on at our home church.   We have spent the last 12 years going from small church to small church doing what we could with what we had.  We tried things that we had read about and things that people taught us from their personal trial and error and things that God would just direct us to do.   God has given us the opportunity to spend some time around a church that is thriving and seems to be working and running as it should.  It would take the rest of this letter to list all of the activities and ministries that our church is involved in but after 13 years of  Pastor Tharp’s work and leadership, there is much going on.  We are hoping to glean some of that inner working knowledge and use it to the best of our abilities as God sees fit.   

Please continue to pray with us and for us.  That God would continue to sustain us and help us to raise the support that we so desperately need and to raise it quickly. 

We are grateful for each of you and for your part in this ministry.  We will look forward to writing again in a few months and updating you as to what God has been doing with us.   

Because of Calvary,

The Iseminger Family

David & Carmen

Lena, David II and Emilee

Romans 10:13-15