Exciting news from the Bookkeeper’s Desk

Justin and Haley’s full update can be viewed here:  Exciting news with my update!

Hey there everyone, it’s time for another update! 

 Just a word of warning, this will be a longer newsletter than normal!

I have some super exciting news as well as the usual updates.

 As I’m sure you know, Haley Gray and I are engaged! I proposed to her on the last day of March during a hike at the WildCat Hills just South of Scottsbluff, NE. Admittedly, I was SUPER nervous. I had planned it to be a larger group hike but it was looking like it was just going to be the two of us. Thankfully, a couple friends volunteered to come with us after I hinted that I was planning to propose. I needed a photographer to take our pictures! We spent two or three hours hiking before we stopped at the place I had picked out to propose…then I froze! We allowed it to just be an awkward photo time until I could calm down enough to do what I needed to with a clear head.
Long story short, she said YES!

We were originally planning on getting married in August during the week before school started. We thought this would be easiest because of the virus going around and the timing involved in planning a larger wedding. Then Frontier decided to send students home for the rest of the semester at the end of Spring Break. This brought our plans to a screeching halt.

Haley’s family lives around the Seattle, Washington area which is a major hotspot for the virus outbreak, so her parents decided it would be best for her to stay away from home and try to find a place to live in LaGrange. Since this would be difficult to arrange long term we all made the decision to change up our wedding plans and get married sooner. Our new “I DO” date is May 4th, 2020!

For the short term, Haley is staying in one of the guest rooms at TBM. Thankfully, her family will be able to attend the wedding, but they will be driving down instead of flying due to safety concerns and the high cost of tickets. Thankfully, both my parents will be attending as well.

Since my last newsletter, I’ve continued helping out Frontier and Tentmakers Bible Mission. My desire is still to do online classes, however, I am waiting to start this process because it is not financially possible with my current level of support. I do not want to go into debt, so I’m patiently waiting and trusting God to provide for this in His timing.

I am still working on raising my monthly support level so I can focus on serving TBM full time. Both Haley and I have the ultimate goal of being able to serve full time in the positions of ministry that God has called both us into. In order to do this we need to meet a combined total of $2000 per month in support. I am excited to see how God will open doors and increase our support level so we can increase our service in ministry. I’m also excited to have Haley as my newsletter proofreader and editor!

Our plans for the immediate future consist of several things. The first priority will be Haley finishing up her senior year of ministry training at Frontier School of the Bible while I look at bus driving for the school district. This would be in addition to my work at TBM. Thankfully I would get paid roughly $900 a month for this, which would cover most of our immediate bills. Haley is also in the process of transferring her Nurse Assisting license to Wyoming so she can get a part time job in a hospital. This will help her pay for school tuition as well as bring Christ’s love and hope to others in the midst of this fearful health crisis.

There will also be three new incoming staff couples at Frontier and a handful of interns so I won’t be needed in the library next year.

  Lord willing, we will be using this next year before Haley’s graduation to prepare for our move to UT and the beginnings of our missionary work there.

We will be saving up any extra money we acquire right now, as well as preparing ourselves spiritually and physically for missionary service as we grow closer to the Lord and grow together as a couple.

Some specific ways we are preparing include: researching the needs of the local body of Christ, studying up on the beliefs of the LDS culture we are going to be immersed in and forming a strong support team of prayer warriors and financial partners who will join us in reaching the LDS community with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Praises:

• We have been blessed with the opportunity to get married sooner than we thought.
• The wedding planning has gone over smoothly for the most part and is coming together quickly.
• We were able to find a small trailer to rent in LaGrange that is a much lower price then the normal amount.
• While renting this trailer, we are able to grow a vegetable garden, which will lower our food costs dramatically this summer and fall!

Prayer Requests:

• That Haley and I will be well prepared for marriage and keep God as our permanent foundation.
• That our marriage can bring God glory and accurately portray a living example of Christ’s relationship to the Church.
• The provision of furniture and extra finances that we need to start things off as a new couple. (This includes initial health insurance costs, rental fees etc.)
• Continued provision for many of us missionaries around the world who are struggling to get by, because their support team partners are out of work. Pray especially that they would remain steadfast and confident in God’s ability to provide for their needs.
• Next years freshman class at Frontier. Pray that sign-ups would continue to grow and that God would prepare their hearts and minds for a year of strengthening their foundations and their faith in Him.
• That God would provide a full time job for Haley during the summer when college is not happening.