September, 2007

Dear friends and family,

Psalms 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord He is most worthy of Praise! His greatness is beyond discovery!”  Wow, isn't that amazing.  Just 2 chapters before this David is crying out.  In Psalms 141 he says to the Lord, “Please hurry!  Listen when I cry for help!”  Crying out has been a new experience for me in the past year. When we cry out and we see God move, we can only stand back in awe and amazement and praise Him and brag on His greatness. 

It has been a busy but great summer.  Our family is growing and it is very exciting to see what God is doing in their lives.  Patricia went to a camp in Indiana this summer.  She met lots of new friends and also recommitted her life to the Lord.  There is no greater joy than to know that my children walk in peace.  It is hard to believe that she just had her 13th birthday.  It seems like not long ago that she was born.  Austin played ball this summer and did very well.  His position was playing catcher.  Austin is getting ready to play football.  This will be his first year to play.  Jennifer is growing up.  I look at her and I say, “Wow, what happened to our baby?”  When it comes to baking or doing things in the kitchen she is always there. 

We went camping with friends for a weekend in June.  While we were there we went to a place called Cades Cove. It is thousands of acres owned by the government.  There is no hunting allowed but they allow people to drive through and see the wild life.  We saw lots of big buck.  I mean big!  You have all heard of big buck stories.  Well, to say the least these buck are that big.  We also saw a bear and a cub.  They had a water slide at the campground and it has given us hours of fun and entertainment.  They also had a fish pond where we were able to enjoy fishing and then had them for a midnight snack. 

We have had some family and friends stop by to visit this summer.  That is always a highlight and you are all welcome to come.   

Right now we are having very warm weather.  Last week Vivian saw 107 on the thermometer.  It is very dry and rain would be a very welcome site. 

Last week the staff here at Gospel Express went to Charlotte to see the Billy Graham Library.  It was more like a museum that showed a lot of the history of Billy Graham’s ministry.  Billy was an ordinary country boy who grew up on a farm and heeded the call of God.  Many lives have been changed because of his willingness to minister as God has called.  His wife just passed away this past summer.  She was very supportive and faithful to him and a great asset to his ministry. 

This past weekend six of us guys from church went on a motorcycle trip to Gatlinburg.  We left here Friday afternoon and got home Sunday night.  We all returned safe and sound and had a wonderful time. 

Please pray for us as we seek God’s will for our life.  Some of you may know that Vivian had a miscarriage this summer.  I believe God is preparing us for the future.  Pray that God would give us a discerning heart.  My prayer is that we could experience more of His Holiness.  I believe no matter where we are in our walk with the Lord, He has even more for us. 

Because of Jesus,

The Stoltzfus Family

Nate, Vivian, Patricia, Austin, Jennifer