Ministry Update
Brent and Michele Howard
ChurchCare Construction
January 2025
Dear Family and Friends,
Adventures await is the theme of this prayer letter. Although this week feels like the adventures are fully underway. We praise the Lord that He answered our prayer to allow the steel for the long awaited stairwell project at Temple Baptist church in Lincoln, Nebraska to arrive. The guys have been busy working to install the steel in elevator shaft while Brent was pushing the steel company to get the steel manufactured to enable him to install the stairwell this week. Thank the Lord it arrived and they got right to work assembling everything. Today, they poured the concrete on the steel pan and treads for the stairwell. It was quite an adventure as Jimmy and Riley wheeled the cement in one wheelbarrow load at a time and Brent finished and straight edged it. They turned out great!
Since our last prayer letter, we completely remodeled the sanctuary. It was quite the adventure painting in the peak on the wall above the stage. Praise the Lord for safety working off of a 40 foot ladder. That was a new experience for me. The small lift we used to clean the entire ceiling, change out the lights, and paint the rear wall into the peak was another whole adventure. We appreciate the help of a work team from Quakertown, Pennsylvania. The 3 men helped us with tile work on 2 bathrooms and various other projects. This enabled us to complete the 3rd set of 4 bathrooms in the building just before Christmas as well.
Pray for our co-worker, Jimmy Stevenson, as a new adventure for him will be leading the completion of the project. For the first time in 17 years, Brent and I will be pulling off of a project before it is complete. Jimmy will be working here the next few months until the elevator is installed. He will be completing a little drywall around the stairwell and an adjacent classroom. Then finishing off a few areas of the building with paint, carpet, and rubber base. Along with the usual punch list of items to complete.
An adventure for our family is that our daughter Ryanne and her husband Daniel are expecting a baby girl to join Marcus in their home. She is due right in the middle of our sabbatical trip out West, so we will be headed to Ohio to welcome a granddaughter to the family in mid-April!
In 4 short days, our long awaited adventure to the Western half of the United States will begin! Riley arrived on Sunday as he will be traveling with us for the next 6 months. I will be enclosing the list of places where we will be stopping. Please follow along in our Facebook page for more immediate updates on the projects we do- Howards with ChurchCare Construction: https://www.facebook.com/share/18sNtPT8nA/
Prayer and Praise:
Please pray that we are an encouragement and help to these we will be visiting. Also pray that we can be a testimony at the places we will be camping along the way.
Praise the Lord for continued safety for the workers finishing the project and good progress on the elevator for the church here at Temple Baptist in Lincoln, NE. Brent was relieved to receive most of the parts and be able to assemble the stairs before our departure date.
Pray for the church people to finish strong as we have been working on the building here for over 1 year and everyone is tired of the mess and busy days of work.
Praise the Lord with our coworkers, The Stevensons, as their 2 year old son, Leroy, had a successful surgery to remove the cyst on the top of his head in December.
Praise God for His faithful provision. He abundantly meets our needs over and over. We are so blessed to have 90% of the funds needed for our trip. As we travel, Michele can continue to sell her Norwex products in order to earn the last 10%. Thank you for those who gave extra gifts in the last few months to help make this trip possible
Adventures can be so exciting! They can also cause a little stress. When we first began as missionary builders, Brent loved to say that Proverbs 3:5&6 were just some very good verses to know until we were fully placing our faith in God to really guide our steps as we trusted in Him. We are so thankful that we can claim this promise, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct Thy paths.
Howards Working Sabbatical List January-March 2025
March 11-13 Joshua Tree National Park
March 14-16 Visiting Terry Carroll’s cousin Rev. John and Marilyn Ploog
March 17-22 Sightseeing Pinnacles, Sequoia, Yosemite, and Kings Canyon National Parks
March 23-31 Assisting Crossroads Baptist Church, Tracy, CA
