April 2007

April 19 was my 65th birthday. My white board is still covered with age related remarks. A colorful plastic Happy Birthday strip is still scotch taped to the top of my office door. Large, yellow smiley face balloons are still hanging scotched taped to the front of my desk. A sign with a tombstone and my name on it was stuck in the ground outside AIM’s front door. The insurance card that I had in my billfold has been replaced with a Medicare card, a supplement card and a ‘scripts’ card.

What does it mean to me to be 65 years old? Other than sensing being liberated from having to do something that I don’t really want to do – as this seems to be the culturally conditioned ‘rite of passage’ into retirement, there is a sense that the help that Nancy and I may be to younger missionaries who view older missionaries as a resource to do what they are being led by God to do has been expanded even more.

June 2007 World Race and September 2007 World Race training took place this month. We were asked to sit in on the training for those who were asked to come early for training to be World Race team leaders and we were asked to be prayer counselors for the fifty or so World Race participants who were able to make it to AIM’s headquarters for the 10 days of preparation for the upcoming two World Races. It was again a very inspiring time for us to be around so many who are willing to do whatever to experience for 11 months what missionary life is like in other country cultural environments

and settings. The World Race participants were told to arrive in Georgia with their tents – that they were going to have to set them up and sleep in them while they were at AIM’s headquarters.


Nancy and Connie
Don and Connie have moved in with us for now. AIM has accepted them as missionaries. They are in Michigan right now visiting Don’s parents and friends who live in the Detroit and in the Holland areas. Don and Connie are really hoping to have raised their monthly support budget of $5,500 by June 1. Please pray for Don and Connie – that they will be able to go on staff here at AIM beginning on June 1. Not only will they need to have two months of salary in their personal account by June 1 for them to go on salary with AIM, they will also need to have their monthly budgeted support amount pledged by that

date. If you sense that God is leading you to be a partner with Don and Connie Rock through a special gift or through regular monthly support, we would be very grateful and they would be encouraged. Don is being asked to oversee AIM’s Ambassador Teams while Connie is being asked to join Shepherd Services. One of Connie’s responsibilities will be to design a ministry that will have her keeping in touch with and helping in whatever way that she can with AIM’s growing ‘missionary kids’ community.

Shepherd Services has an offsite planning retreat scheduled for the first four days next month. This will be a time of dividing up communication responsibilities and which will lead to periodic visits to the various countries where AIM has missionary teams staffed by AIM career missionaries. It has been very gratifying to us to be as involved as we already are with AIM’s missionary family and in AIM’s ministries.

Thank you very much for your prayers and for your gifts. Please do pray for Don and Connie as they make the adjustments to moving to Georgia and as they pursue their support to begin at AIM. Thank you.


Sincerely in Christ,

Gary and Nancy

 

More Information:

Prayer Letters

Contact Gary and Nancy

Pictures from recent short-term missions trips