August 20, 2020
Psalm 126
I think it is fair to say that our family and the ministry has taken on a new rhythm at this point. As I write this we are just past the 5 month mark of lockdowns and ceased face to face large group ministry. July has become one of our favorite months for ministry.
Normally in the month of July we assist in Faith Covenant Church of God’s annual Camp Meeting. Most of you are familiar with the idea of a camp meeting. The host church sets up a tent large enough to hold 200-300 people and set up a week’s worth of ministers, evangelists and worship leaders to hold morning and night sessions. Each night of the week draws more individuals and a greater presence of the Holy Spirit. This is the first cancellation in YEARS for Faith Covenant. They have expressed their hope in a double effort and impact for next year. We join them in that prayer. Due to the cancellation we missed the opportunity to serve alongside Connect Church from Jacksonville at this event. We miss you guys and look forward to seeing you in 2021!
We have continued to receive supplies in the form of non-perishable food, masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, diapers, etc. The items shipped are organized based on need for the local congregations we can reach by a short drive due to being hampered by nightly curfews and weekend lockdowns. We have also contributed much of the donated items to the Utah Navajo COVID-19 Relief Program through Utah Navajo Health System (Justin’s employer). They have a large network of delivery vehicles, pick up locations and events to distribute the goods far and wide.
With the limits on face to face services we have redirected funds from travel and other previously designated efforts into Visa gift cards to be mailed to our Navajo partner churches that are more remotely located. This has empowered the leaders of those churches to purchase the items they need most as well as put the cards directly into the hands of those most in need.
The Navajo Nation is beginning to loosen the restrictions on the Reservation. I imagine there will soon be “drive up” services available or extremely small groups allowed to meet. Our prayer is that the numbers of positive cases and deaths continue to drop as the people begin to move about. We pray that there is a rekindled fire of the Holy Spirit at the events. We are thankful for the opportunities for some of the churches to increase their impact by holding Facebook live services during this time. Ashli and I have been in prayer asking God to continue speaking to us about “how” we do ministry. The methods have changed but the message remains the same. We believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has given us new norms and new opportunities to serve. Please continue to join us in prayer and service of the indigenous churches.
Prayer Request Update: Last month Jeffrey Benson, one of our board members was hospitalized for Acute Pancreatitis. We appreciate the prayers as he was treated, released and slowly recovered back to his lively, outgoing and fun-loving self.
Beautiful Harvest Website and Blog
Sincerely,
Justin and Ashli Galloway
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