From Iraq into Pakistan

I have now been in Iraq for a little over two weeks. Karla will be here in just over one week.

As a quick recap, we will be here in Iraq until the beginning of September, and we will launch a 10 day trip from Iraq into Pakistan the end of August. We cannot do this without your prayers and support.  

If you do not get our prayer newsletters and would like to know more, please send me an email at Eric@SojournersUnited.org.   

These two weeks have been filled with a cycle of a good, actually a great day, followed by a really, really, really hard day. I have had a diarrheal illness that brought me down for a whole day, adjusting to heat with heat fatigue causing mental fatigue and mental fog lasting over 10 hours. New crazy developments on various projects that can overwhelm and disappoint. Yet there have also been incredible times of seeing God move: mid-day teachings on the Sermon on the Mount and the Proverb of the Day that lasted three hours yet flew by. Our house lease has been renewed positioning us for renewal of our non-profit status in Kurdistan. Ties with local churches and groups are strengthening. I thank you for your prayers, and pray that I will be able to pace myself better as the weather gets hotter here. To slow down on the good days. And to rejoice and draw on God's strength during the hard days. That God will use our evolving twice daily gatherings to bless people that are in distress and need to know His eternal Kingdom more. 

Since my departure from El Paso at the beginning of June, Karla has completed a 5,000 mile road trip with her Dad seeing precious friends and relatives as they worked their way to Walla Walla Washington and back to Canada. Karla then pivoted to join for five days our Texas home church mission trip to Creel Mexico where she helped a Mexican doctor reach people in the surrounding mountain villages. Sadly, Karla sustained a substantial hit to her head when the driver of the vehicle hit a bump that sent her as a passenger slamming into the car rooftop. She returned three days ago to the States and has been medically cleared of any broken bones. However, she is in significant pain and needs God's healing touch on her neck that has a lot of spasms and has disrupted her sleep. God has his purposes for all things to advance his Kingdom even in our brokenness and sufferings. Please pray for her healing, and continued hearing from God as what to do each and every day. Karla is also working on solidifying two teams to help families properly immigrate here to the United States and nest into a community of believers. Pray for the administrative paperwork and relational coordination needed for these efforts!

These are just a few of the things that God is doing. Thank you for your prayers and support. We could not do it without your help, standing by and uniting with us. Even when you are not here in body, your spirit is when you pray, and you strengthen our hands to help when you give of your time and resources.  

We will be in Pakistan later this summer, but due to relationships we have on the ground, we are able to pour in support to Christians being attacked and fleeing Sargodha right now!

As a reminder, Karla and I are retired, and we use our retirement to fund all our travels as well as to cover the administrative costs of Sojourners United. This maximizes your tax-deductible gifts to helping the disadvantaged and those in distress. https://www.SojournersUnited.org/donate