Amy and Ellia and I just finished up a wonderful seven day trip to the Dominican Republic! We had the privilege of participating in two different conferences where brothers and sisters from assemblies all over the Spanish speaking world came together for a tremendous time of mutual encouragement in the Lord. It was a great week of worship and prayer and bible teaching and networking and strategizing. The language and the palm trees and the tropical climate all made it seem a bit like the jungles of Peru but the comparisons stopped there as we were pretty much spoiled in every way. Each day we enjoyed incredible accommodations, air conditioning, beautiful beaches, blue Caribbean water and lots of good food...... different.... but Peru is still better :)

In the last few months the Lord has opened up many doors for us to encourage and inspire and motivate His people in the areas of evangelism and missions. In many places we have been able to rub shoulders with "on fire" Christians who have encouraged us more than we have encouraged them. We are so grateful for all the brothers and sisters that have opened up their homes and shown us incredible hospitality. Everywhere that we have gone it has been a real privilege to preach in churches and in houses and at youth events and conferences along the way. At times our schedule has been feverish..... but that makes things all the more exciting.... Two weeks ago, Amy and I were asked to share at the southwest Indian brethren conference in Dallas where I ended up preaching 7 times in one day! It actually felt kind of like our river church conventions where I used to preach and teach basically from sun up to sun down. God seems to be doing something special in a lot of places and we pray that He would raise up a new generation to plow forward with the gospel.


Since our last update we have driven through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon. We have put 17,000 miles on our van so far and we've had zero problems. The van and trailer have performed amazingly for which we are very thankful! The few times when we weren't staying with fellow Christians we enjoyed camping in campgrounds along the way. One of our highlights last month was going through Yellowstone national park. On our very first day we saw a grizzly bear, a black bear, a wolf, a coyote, a few big-horn sheep, lots of bison, and elk and deer. All of this has given us a tremendous family time as we try to take advantage of our last few months together before Javen and Cullen begin life on their own at college.


Throughout our travels I have tried to share the gospel with as many people as possible. In the streets, in campgrounds, at gas stations, in restaurants, at barbur shops, on beaches and at tourist attractions. I have given out lots of tracts and had numerous one on one conversations with people in 28 different states. In all this gospel work one thing has really stood out to me: People are the same everywhere! Whether we were in NY City or in Wyoming in or the Dominican Republic or in Canada people are in great need of our great Savior. "Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil" but when you share Christ with them in a loving and respectful way they will usually listen.


Missions quote of the day by Francis Chan: "Simon says: 'Pat your head' and we pat our heads... Jesus says: 'Go make disciples' and we memorize that verse"

Micah for the Tuttle's