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I'm here at the IFCA (Independent Fundamental Churches of America) convention in Kalamazoo, MI. Over Saturday and Sunday I drove out here with 2 others from my church, Eric and my close friend Catherine. We had such a blast in the car! Long road trips are never quite as bad if you have fun people in the car. We shared our life stories, listened to the Bible on tape, read, slept, laughed, chuckled, and laughed some more. As most of you know, wherever Melanie goes, laughter will abound. :) Both Eric and Catherine have a love and desire for missions, (and both just happened to have gone to Uganda as well!!) and it was so refreshing to be in the company of ones who share my passion. Now here at the conference, I've gotten to talk to many people about that passion as well as hear the stories of like-minded men and women of God. I must say I'm a bit out of my comfort zone as I try to single out people to talk to among the teeming masses. I'd usually much rather a small group or one on one, but I recognize that this is the first of many ways I'm going to be stretched and grown during my "Damascus" time (cf Gal 1:17 when Paul was in Damascus after his conversion for 3 years before going before the disciples).

Ok, new updates.... Vince Tharp, TBM's mission coordinator, is recently back from Uganda. He said that Mamma Aidah and Pastor Morris have invited me to come stay at their home just as soon as I could get out there. I was just thrilled at the possibility of staying with them, but I am also needing to get my ministry finalized before I decide for sure where I'm going to stay. I've sent an email to Pastor Morris with a couple ministry ideas, and now I'll just have to wait for his reply. Patience, I'm reminded, is still a fruit of the Spirit....(not just a virtue as you might hear :)). I would solicit your prayers for Morris and Aidah. They're in the middle of the summer when most of the teams go out to do church planting. Morris is in charge of the church planting efforts, so this is the busiest time of the year for them as they coordinate teams and oversea the work being done. Please pray for strength, wisdom, and patience for each of them. Also pray for a rich harvest of souls this year as well.

Since it's rather late, and I have a full day of sessions tomorrow, I shall make one more attempt at sleep. Rest well, loved ones.

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