Happy New Year!

Dear friends,

I think all of us are happy to see 2020 off into the sunset. Of course, we are not guaranteed that 2021 will be any easier. But we do have a glorious future ahead. Titus 2:13 reminds us that we are “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ!” I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to that day more and more as the days go by. In light of that, let us “renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:12).

Thanks for your prayers for us as we transition to a stateside ministry. We are excited to be moving to Bryan/College Station, TX in the new year (Jan 5), and begin our new ministry at that time. If you missed our last update, we are going to be supporting the church planting effort in Papua New Guinea remotely (managing a “remote support team”) as well as getting into the ministry of mobilization, encouraging people to consider how they might be involved in fulfilling God’s Great Commission.

The whole crew together for Christmas 2020!

In this season of transition, we have a couple of big needs that we are asking the Lord for in the coming weeks. Would you please join with us in specific prayer for (1) a house for us in Bryan or College Station. We’ve begun the process of looking through a realtor, but we have not found the right fit yet. Also (2), we are asking God for a reliable second car for Neil as he will have travel associated with his new role.

We mentioned in our last update to pray for reimbursement of the money from our cancelled airline tickets that has not been refunded to us. Please keep praying for this, because this would easily be sufficient money for a second car. Having exhausted our options with the airline directly, we are now trying to work through our credit card company to see if they can assist us.

Grateful

It’s easy to complain, isn’t it? God has been challenging me (Neil) this week to maintain a spirit of gratefulness even in the midst of things not always going the way I would like them to. When I stop and think about it, we have so much to be grateful for.

We are so grateful for a great Christmas with our kids and families. We are grateful for the New Year, and new opportunities of ministry before us. We are grateful that God gave me a season this Fall to finish up my Master’s degree with Liberty University. We are grateful for these past few months that we’ve been able to spend with my mom here in Schertz. We are grateful for you all, your continued prayers and support for us in this ministry change. Most of all we are grateful to God for our Savior who gives us “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” May your 2021 be filled with hope and joy in Jesus.

Thank you,
Neil and Becky Burleson