Wanted to give you a quick update, thanks for your prayers in these things. God is answering!!
We are finished with the process for a 2 month visa with the local sports club (different from original plan to get it through Olympic committee). We began the process on the last day before our last entry visa expired! Pray that we could move forward from this with greater faith and more radical obedience. Pray for us to be an impact for the Kingdom while we are doing our job for the club.
We still have plans to talk with the Olympic Committee in the next month to come to an agreement about their support and partnership for the Basketball Training this year since they originally postponed it for a later day. Pray that meeting would happen and for an extended one year residency, and a fair budget to be approved by them for us to start the training!
We have started language learning.....using a NEW approach, and God brought us a wonderful language helper for the time being! She will likely connect us with another person to take over after she has to leave next month. Pray that we can have a long-term language helper set up by next month, and for us to stay committed to the large amount of hours language learning takes each week.
We have had a great first two weeks homeschooling in a co-op with two other foreign families here. Pray that we can continue in this well, and that our kids will grow strong in the Lord through it!
In the first couple of weeks back here, we have experienced the panic that can easily come when we are not sure how God is going to get things done. Then, we repented when we understood that the panic was actually because we lacked the faith that God was really going to do what was needed. Now, we can know the truth that our security, provision, and identity were never really in question all along!
We are learning (as we also pray that all who read this will learn more too) that in order to serve our great God, we must learn to let Him serve us with His abundant grace and peace first. He came into this world not be served, but to serve! Then, we can go out into our day and serve Him in love no matter what the circumstance, having within us the "great calm".