December 8, 2004

Dear praying friends,

Have you ever pictured in your mind the perfect holiday season only to have those expectations fall short due to circumstances that were beyond your control? As we have shared in our letters, we expected that our paperwork would be finished and that we would be moving to Spain by the end of September. Our expectation was unmet. Are we disappointed? Yes. Are we discouraged? No! We are trusting the Lord and seeking His guidance though we are uncertain of God’s timing. The Israelites have been our model of what not to do. It is easy to complain, but we are determined to claim God’s promises and trust that His ways and timing are better than our expectations.

Here are some things God has done during our transitional time:

  1. We have taken care of some medical procedures and tests.

    Dena had some questionable test results back in August. After the retest in November she has been given a clean bill of health. We praise the Lord for that! Josiah had surgery on October 29th. Both his ear tubes and hernia repair were successful. Again, we praise God.

  2. Dena’s grandfather, Paul Scoggins, passed away on Oct. 17th at the age of 83. We had expected to be in Spain already by that time, but because we were still in the United States, Dena was able to go and be with her family during this time of bereavement. She was especially glad to be able to spend some extra time with her grandmother during this difficult time. We know that God’s timing is always perfect.
  3. Our family was able to participate in two mission conferences in October. During the conference at First Baptist in Canton, Michigan we had the opportunity to be a part of two salvations, one on Wednesday evening and another on Sunday morning in the fifth grade Sunday School class. It was wonderful for the Holy Spirit to use us in His redemptive plan for these young girls’ lives. The other conference was in Brown City, Michigan. I actually was there with our four oldest children while Dena was in Louisiana for her grandfather’s funeral. Pastor and Mrs. Price and the people of Faith Baptist Church were a blessing to the children and me while Dena was away. Dena was able to join us for the last day of the conference. When we were not at other churches, we have been involved in our home church. Some of the highlights have been participating in the church’s 25th anniversary celebration, teaching the Adult Sunday School class, and the kids singing in the Christmas musical.

Future plans: We are starting language school in Edinburg, Texas on January 7th. We are excited to begin the first phase of our future goal: to share the gospel with the people of Spain. Pray with us that our paper work will come in so that our second block of language training will be in the country of Spain. Though we try to plan ahead, we realize that God’s timing is perfect and we want to be in His will. The gift of your prayers for us has been our greatest blessing. Thank you all so much.

Striving together,

Bill & Dena Rose with Brianna, Kelsey, Jordan, Joshua, and Josiah

 

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