News From the North...

 Greetings from the beautiful North,

We hope this month’s newsletter finds you all doing well. Since our last newsletter, so much has happened it will be hard to fit it all in as our “suddenly” season continues. In January of 2005, we decided to do a cross country road trip to visit with family and friends before heading to Nigeria. One question we had before the Lord on this trip was, long term, where could we find a place more convenient than Juneau for ministry purposes that we would both be happy to call home. One of the stops along the way was Redding, California to visit the “favorite” cousins. While we were there, the Lord started placing Redding in our hearts. At that time, it didn’t really seem to make sense and we couldn’t imagine why God was saying Redding, but we kept lifting it to the Lord, knowing we were hearing Him. When we returned from Nigeria, Redding was not an option. So, we did what was before us to do, continuing to lift Redding to the Lord trusting His timing even when it frustrated us! Fast forward ten years, and “suddenly,” out of nowhere, Julie was given the opportunity to submit her resume, and was than offered a job in where? You guessed it...Redding. As you are reading this newsletter, Julie will be starting her new job and beginning the house hunt. Mark will remain in Juneau another 4-6 weeks to finish packing and divesting us of the detritus (you know, “stuff”) people tend to accumulate over time.

Logistically, without the travel expenses of getting in and out of Juneau, being in the lower 48 makes many things more feasible. We have long recognized how being in Juneau limited our ability to raise support. People rightfully want to know who they are supporting in missions, and developing those kinds of relationships is difficult from a distance. This move will provide Mark with more opportunities to minister stateside, develop those relationships, and will allow for us to travel and minister together, which has long been a desire of our hearts. On a more personal level, we are excited to see what God continues to do in us as we settle into our new home.

Juneau will always have a soft spot in our hearts: not just as Mark’s hometown, or the place where we raised our family; but, as the place we grew up in ministry and where the Lord birthed a love in us for the American church. Juneau was our proving ground, or “threshing floor” if you will. Over the last eight years, in addition to overseas ministry, we have served in just about every capacity imaginable in the church: from janitors to youth pastors, home group leaders, worship leaders, teachers and preachers. Time and again, we’ve seen the Lord grow and stretch us. Stretch our capacity, stretch our hearts and stretch our vision. This next step is simply a continuation of that process.

In April, we were blessed to be part of Lighthouse Worship Center’s annual Missions Convention in Galliano, Louisiana. It never ceases to amaze us how God knits hearts together and forms true and lasting bonds in His family. We forged new ties with some, and picked up right where we left off with others. There are no words to describe how timely the encouragement was that we received from the speakers and the fellowship. To see and know that His heartbeat for people and nations beats passionately in the hearts of others is food to our soul.

ROMANIA
We have a date! Mark will be traveling to Romania the week of July 24th.
The focus of this trip will be to review the curriculum with the local leadership team, finalize any changes in the syllabus; and to begin working through the logistics of opening the school later this year. In addition to continuing the work on the curriculum, Mark has begun the process of recruiting teachers for the school, literally from around the world. It’s actually pretty fun seeing how God is pulling it all together.

Your continued prayers and support for each of us individually, and for Leadership Training International, Inc. as a whole, are greatly appreciated.

Yours for the Kingdom,


Mark and Julie Dyar