Rachel arrived back in Maryland on Wednesday! She’ll be giving a longer update soon, but for now has said it was a great experience, and the Lord blessed it tremendously!

Our Acapulco team had a wonderful time at Casa Hogar this year. Every year I believe we leave knowing the kids a little more and learning how to love them a little better. I thank you all for all your support for the trip. This year was particularly fun because we did demolition in the mornings. We tore down concrete walls and a ceiling. So we got to spend the days swinging sledge hammers and being destructive.

In the afternoons we taught the kids on a theme “Making your Mark” from Isaiah 55, where God tells us His word will not return void–it will make its mark. We can too by God’s Spirit, make the world a different place. To illustrate that theme, we painted two murals with the kids with silhouettes of the kids that we took from photographs. We had a tremendously good time enjoying the kids and the hot work.

The Acapulco Mission team returned on Sunday, and we’ll have a report posted here soon! In the meantime, visit gallery.me.com/scottjsimmons for photos from the trip.

This nine-week Perspectives mini-course will be offered at Columbia Presbyterian Church beginning September 8. If you would like a better understanding of what a Muslim is and how they think, we encourage you to join this class. Total cost is $280 including registration, course fee and course materials.

For more info contact Karen Michener at karenmichener@gmail.com or visit the course website at www.ptmw.org.

The Ukraine Women’s Conference team returned on Sunday, June 29 with a wonderful report:

“The women’s conference at Komosomolsk, Ukraine was attended by over 60 women. Heidi Taylor, Kathy Heckman and Anne Marie Norling personally counseled 38 women. They opened up their hearts and lives for healing. How beautiful it was for them all to see themselves as Christ’s brides forever.”

We also received an update from a Brussels team parent:

“I spoke to Patrick Wednesday…8 p.m. their time, they are working with about 60 people on the Serve the City project. Everyone has been putting in their work hours in the particular areas where they are serving. Painting, gardening, beauty, etc. They sounded REALLY good and everyone is healthy. [A team member] said that after dinner they are getting a chance to explore the city. It all sounds wonderful. Continue to keep them in your prayers.”

After arriving here last week, I was very nervous about meeting the boys at RESCUE. Not only was it hard for me to understand the accents of the natives, but it was very hard for me to adjust to how everyone lives and eats here in India. I was very afraid the boys wouldn’t like me.

Finally, after much prayer and “butterflies” in my stomach, P, Elizabeth and I got into a taxi and drove down to the RESCUE home. The boys greeted us the moment we drove up the rocky driveway. The boys kindly opened the car door for me and helped me down. I felt like a princess! Afterwards we played some games including volleyball and badminton. The boys treated me with kindness, asking me many questions, and asking me to take their pictures. A couple of the boys even took their own pictures with my camera by themselves. . .

The afternoon spent with the boys at RESCUE was a perfect day. I will always remember these boys for the rest of my life. They have touched my heart with their humbleness. . .

This month we also joyfully send out a group led by Heidi Taylor that will travel to Ukraine to lead a Women’s Post-Abortion Conference. If you would like a prayer itinerary please email Kelley at kwolbert@chapelgate.org. The Ukraine team leaves on June 20 and returns on June 29.

A team led by Patrick Donohue from the high school Breakaway ministry will go to Brussels, Belgium on June 26 to take part in “Serve the City Brussels” where they will participate in service projects throughout the city. This team returns on July 8.

We received word that Rachel has arrived safely in Bangalore and she’s doing well.

Along with this email we also learned that P’s lower back pain is flaring up again. He had surgery five years ago and now the pain has returned worse than before surgery. He is not able to walk freely and sit without pain. It is hard as he has to commute on his motor scooter on bumpy roads outside during the day. He went for an MRI. It didn’t look good. The doctor has put P on full bed rest for the next week and heavy medications. If his pain is not reduced and they do not see significant change by next week he said we will have to explore other things like potential disc replacement surgery putting in an artificial disc prosthesis. If the pain is reduced then he will send P for Physical Therapy in a couple of weeks. Please pray for him. It is hard for him to be out of commission physically. We are always so busy. He is still able to do some things over the phone and have some people come to us instead of us going to them.

It brought us joy on Sunday to pray for Rachel, daughter of Vachel and Kathy Davis, who will be spending two months serving alongside P and K Bandaru and Rescue Home Ministry. We praise God that He raised nearly double the amount Rachel needed for this trip, a wonderful confirmation in her life! She leaves tonight and will return on August 20. Pray for Rachel during her trip, but specifically today as she flies to India through London, that she makes her connection and finds P at the airport in India. We look forward to reports in the days and weeks to come!

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