Hi praying friends,

After a great week at Council, we flew back to the Twin Cities on Saturday morning, got back to our rented housing, did some laundry, slept soundly, and woke up on Sunday morning to head to a church we haven't been to before in Northfield.

On the way, we heard a strange sound from the front-right of the car. It sounded like rubber flapping, and I thought - "Oh no, I think I have a flat tire." But, the car did not behave like I had a flat, the noise went away, and on we drove - until a few minutes later, the battery light came on, and I knew immediately what the noise was - the serpentine belt had shredded.

We continued on to the church, paying close attention to the gauges, backed into the parking spot, and popped the hood. Sure enough - there was no belt to be seen.

I want you to know how God answered your prayers for "safe travels" for us in some remarkable ways in the middle of this situation.

1. We were only traveling 30 minutes. This week, we head to Vermillion, SD - and a breakdown on the road would have been so much more difficult.
2. The couple who lives below us in the house we are renting goes to the church, so it was easy to get a ride back home.
3. One of the church members is a mechanic, and he was able to look at the car that afternoon and will have it fixed by later today.
4. God has provided for all of the repair costs, what a blessing.

In addition to all of that, I can honestly say that once we had communicated we had car problems, and the church contacted a mechanic - we were able to focus the entire morning without worrying or being stressed about what was going to happen. It was a great morning of connecting with the people in the church!

So - thank you for praying!!

Here are some additional requests:

1. The swelling from Joshua's infected root canal has come down, and the tooth is scheduled to be removed tomorrow - if everything still looks good. Please pray for Josh!
2. Our resident, Josh S. and an intern returned last week to the US. Pray for them as they readjust to US living and as they look for what God has next for them, and pray for our site as the team adjusts to them being gone.
3. Pray for safe travels! This week we head to Vermillion, SD.
4. The wildfires in Canada have made the air quality in Minneapolis really bad this week. Both Elissa and I are feeling it in sore throats and raspy voices. Pray for health as we head off to speak this week. Please also pray for the thousands of firefighters and tens of thousands of people who are impacted by the fires - we know that our sore throats don't begin to compare with what they are experiencing.

How can we be praying for you?

Blessings,

mike