Looking to 2023

The last time we wrote we were on our way to the East Coast of America. Josephine did a summer intensive in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in personal and prayer ministry and also taught a week at YWAM in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Kent visited his sister Cynthia in Canada and sister and brother Wanda and Reggie in Fridley, Minnesota. He also taught a week via Zoom to students in Barbados who went to the Amazon region of Brazil for outreach. We completed our USA trip with friends and family in Minnesota – including a big Flermoen family reunion (my mother’s side).

In August and September 2022 we went to India, Bangladesh and Indonesia. After catching up with friends in Calcutta we flew to the Darjeeling region of NE India where we trained missionaries being prepared to go to the Muslim world. In Bangladesh we trained young students to go to unreached people groups in their country. In Indonesia Josephine gave a seminar in one church and preached in another; we participated in various ministries of YWAM Bali, trained their staff over a couple sessions and then taught in a Community Development Seminar. We experienced a lot of sickness, which made this trip particularly challenging. Josephine had COVID in April and Kent got it in June, so perhaps our bodies were still weak – I don’t know, but your prayers for health and strength are coveted as we want to go to these hard places as long as we can because the next wave of missionaries are coming mostly from these third world places. They are quality and committed, in spite of physical persecution and almost no financial support. They drink up everything we have to give. Pray for them too!

We are spending this Christmas and New Year in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. Our son Christian has taught High School here this year and has been granted a permanent position in the State Department of Education, so he is making this his long term “home”. Then, our daughter Chloe recently became the Director of the Abbey Museum of Art & Archaeology in this region and moved here a month ago. So we decided to have a family Christmas here. We drove the 2450km (1500 miles) from Adelaide. Our daughter Sasha (a psychologist in Melbourne) flew up this week and our daughter Alex flies up after spending Christmas with her husband Daniel’s family in the Gold Coast of Queensland.

For more about my role as Managing Director of Australian Mercy, I invite you to look at the first few pages of the 2021-2022 Annual Report. After the introductory pages are short 2 page summaries of the 21 projects currently under the banner of Australian Mercy. https://australianmercy.org/themencode-pdf-viewer/?file=https://australianmercy.org/wp-content/uploads/Annual-Report-2021-2022.pdf

If you would like to buy or gift our book River People to friends, family or those you are reaching out to, you can buy the Audiobook, paperback and all electronic versions in English or Spanish here:
https://www.ywampublishing.com/p-1914-international-adventures-seriesbrriver-peoplebrtaking-gods-love-and-transforming-power-to-the-amazon.aspx

Looking to 2023

We intend to make two major teaching and ministry trips in 2023 – one to India in April and one to Mexico, Brazil and the USA in June/July. As you are aware, the cost of air travel has increased significantly in recent times. If you are able to help fund these two important trips, please make an end of year tax-deductible donation here. For those in the USA: https://www.ywamtyler.org/funddonation?uid=0dc3af68-3294-4a7c-96a2-76110f256169 In Australia: https://lifetogether.com.au

Many thanks for your friendship, giving and prayer. We pray that you have a blessed Christmas. Thank you for your prayers for us in 2023. Do write us (see below) if you have a prayer request that we can pray on your behalf. May you have a blessed and fulfilling 2023.

With Love,

Josephine and Kent Truehl