David and Patti West write:
Dear Partners in Ministry,
What a blessing it is to serve the Lord in pre-field ministry. It is such a joy to be in so many churches sharing the ministry of starting a seminary that will be used to train nationals for the work of the ministry in Argentina and beyond. For the past few weeks we carried out our ministry here in Iowa and Wisconsin meeting old friends and building relationships with new ones.
One of the ministries that all of our friends can participate in is the ministry of prayer. Without your constant conversation with the Lord on our behalf we would not be able to carry on our pre-field ministry. Period. We count your intercession a valuable part of our partnership with you, and it encourages us to know that we are constantly being brought up before the throne of grace. In the Bible we see an enlightening picture of prayer in the life of the apostle Paul. In Romans 15:30-32, Paul shares three prayer requests. First, he asked that he be delivered from the enemies of the gospel in Jerusalem (where he was planning to go next). Second, he requested that the believers in Jerusalem would accept his ministry. Third, it was his desire to go to Rome with joy according the will of God. We find the dramatic answer to those prayer requests in Acts 21-28. The details of how God worked out the specific prayer requests are remarkable reminders of the power of prayer.
We are often asked about our specific prayer requests and we have come up with five of our most important requests. We will share them with you in the next few letters. Our first prayer request is in regards to our travels. Specifically, our van has very high mileage (260k plus miles). We ask that you pray for the mechanical well-being of our van and that it would endure to the end of our deputation. Also, we are on the road nearly every weekend. At this time of the year in the upper mid-west, weather and road conditions have a definite impact on our travel. When we are negotiating a slippery highway in the midst of a snowstorm it gives us much peace to know that we are being prayed for! We are happy to report that in over 100k miles of deputation travel we have only broken down twice! Because God answers your prayers we have never missed a meeting and never ended up in the ditch. Praise the Lord! We love to travel. But we are ever mindful of the constant exposure to “issues” as we drive from Ankeny to points everywhere. Please keep us in your prayers. We will share the other four requests with you as these updates come along.
Thank you for your ministry of Prayer.
In His Service,
Dave & Patti West
