Lots of PRAYER needed!!

Below: Mosque in Babrru (suburb of Tirana where our first camp will be held)


4 pictures below: Advertising for Camp in Babrru, a village of Tirana

(Above: Josiah Venture Albania Camp Team)

Hey, everyone! We haven't done a more "newsy" update in a while to let you know all the valuable ministry and events that are happening over the summer here!

The Lord continues to give us many opportunities to pour ourselves into the students' lives here, and we're grateful for that. We are reminded continually that this next generation is needed to change this country for Christ!! Life-on-life discipleship is ministry strategy we're about, and that happens in exciting and also lots of mundane ways as well. Here are some highlights that WE REALLY NEED YOUR PRAYER FOR!!

1. EVANGELISTIC CAMPS! We are doing 3 Josiah Venture evangelistic camps in July - two English camps and 1 sports camp. We've never attempted 3 in one summer, and we are excited to see how the Lord will show Himself faithful. Please pray for a great spiritual harvest this summer. And pray that we would be diligent and creative in our follow-up relationships with all of these students. One very specific prayer request regarding the first camp we are doing: we don't have any students signed up yet, and this is a camp for a church plant in a nearby village/suburb of Tirana. Please pray that students will come and that they will get plugged into the local church.

2. "Lies Young Women Believe" Girls Bible Study/Discussion Group. I (Gretchen) will be leading a 9-week evangelistic Bible study for our teenage girls and their friends. We will meet on Monday mornings throughout the summer. This is an AMAZING book/ministry, and I am really excited to lead this. We will meet as a large group on Mondays, and then each of the girls will meet in small groups with their friends for discussion/prayer at another time during the week. So I am really excited to use this as a evangelism and discipleship tool! (Check out the website by clicking on the icon in the sidebar.)

3. "Elements" Bible Studies. We will use this very effective Bible study for new believers as a follow-up tool after camps. Please pray that many students will be involved and learn how to grow in Christ! (Click on the link to find out more.)

4. Our Family. Please continue to pray for us as a family. Pray for our unity in Christ, for the protection of our marriage, for us to be godly parents, and salvation for our children! We need your prayers for our personal lives as well as our ministry. Our family is our first ministry, and the Lord uses your prayers to minister to us!! We treasure your prayers for us and could not be here without them! For more pictures than you could ever want of our family, go here.

5. Financial Support. It's no shocker (with the lagging economy and the falling value of the dollar overseas) that our personal and ministry support is down quite a bit. Please pray with us that the Lord would supply our every need and that He would shepherd our hearts while we trust in Him. If you have followed our ministry and prayed for us faithfully over the years we've been here, may we ask you to join our financial support team? We would love to hear from you, and would be happy to answer any questions you have. Send us an email or contact our home church, Grace Church of DuPage in Warrenville, IL. We need regular monthly supporters as well as one-time project support. THANK YOU!

We thank our Heavenly Father for you, for your prayers for us, and for our fellowship in Jesus. Thank you for checking the blog and come back soon!!



and on a random but fun note: HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TO OUR MIRACLE BABY GIRL - Evangeline Sarah Hall!! We had a great day celebrating her and praising God for her life! Hop on over to our family blog to see our day. Thank you Jesus for Evangeline!!!!!