Dear Praying Friends,

I am typing this prayer update from a Visa office sitting next to one of our interns, praying that this attempt at a getting her a visa works.  We are still figuring out how to navigate where to make appointments, and the website is unclear.  Hopefully this time we have it figured out!

We also have a short-term team on the ground, and we have been really enjoying our time with them.  They have spent time involved in missions through learning and missions through prayer, and today will be involved in a service project at a local refugee home.  Tomorrow they will be helping us throw a grill-party for a partner ministry.  We are really thankful that they are here!

Thank you for praying for us as we prepare for our home assignment.  Elissa met with someone yesterday that she knows from her Knight‘s Guild that is willing to take our dog, Ringo, for the year!  We have some other decisions that we cannot make until some other people make decisions.  That is uncomfortable, and certainly has impacts on our sense of feeling like we can control what is coming up.  While this is probably good for us on a spiritual level, the stress and anxiety of the coming deadlines are something I am definitely feeling.

Pray for the spiritual community we are developing at Envision Berlin.  Tonight we have one of our community focused events.  Pray that God continues to bring people in to the events!  On Sunday, our house church will meet again.  Pray for us as we gather.  My specific request is that our gatherings will be marked more by the presence of Christ than by the impending absence of the Picconatto‘s.

Please also pray for the aXcess team focusing on North East Berlin.  They have had two households leave for home assignment in the last month.  Pray for them as they adjust tot he change!

Some other BIG prayer requests:

1. Pray for our son, Joshua, to get a visa appointment.
2. Pray for our son, Caleb, as he finishes up his internship.
3. Pray for our daughter, Johannah, as she searches for a new job.
4. Pray for us (both personally and as a team) as we wait for some decisions that are important for us as we make decisions for the coming 1-2 years.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Mike