Just an update~

This blog post is actually a newsletter I wrote to send out by mail. I am waiting to send it until I have my "prayer cards" made, so in the mean time, I am sending it out electronically. Some of you will be receiving this same letter by hard copy in the mail in a week or two...

~ Fisher Family News ~

Dear Friends-

It is with great joy that I write this letter!! We are back in the Endless Mts. of PA. & it feels like home. We are back at the Haft & it feels right. I will say this tho, we are here in a completely different role & that part will take some getting used to. Dutch, who knows carpentry well, is slightly out of his element working on the computer & studying P&L reports. So his new position is stretching him. His task also inludes decision making, keeping Dan & Jason busy with on-site jobs, & doing other administrative tasks. On top of that he is seeking the Lord for wisdom to direct this ministry in the way He (the Lord) would have us go. Somebody quoted this the other week & I like it- “from small beginnings, come great things”!! So we are excited about how the Lord is going to use us, our on-site team, & the Haft itself to bring honor & glory to Him.

A little bit about the Haft. The word “Haft” means “the handle of a tool” and it also means “a dwelling like place”. Our motto is refresh, rebuild, retool. This is a place where people can come & feel the presence of Jesus. A peaceful place of rest & refreshing. Our facilities have many uses, they are being used for retreats, for individuals who are seeking direction in their lives, & for sabbaticals etc. And currently we are working to develop a discpleship & mentoring program that we can offer to young people. So as Dutch & Dan meet together, & seek the Lord, we ask you to partner with us in prayer that God will go before us to lead the way.

Looking ahead- for us personally we have a busy month of March. We are planning to leave here on March 8^th & travel to Noah & Suzie Zook friends of ours in South Carolina. We will be leaving our children with our friends & driving 3 ½ hrs to Myrtle Beach to a week long “Discpleship Training” course taught by Steve & Dorcas Stutzman. After this intense week of training we will head back to our friends house to re-unite with our children. From there we will head further south to the SUNSHINE state where we will be taking a 10 day family vacation in Florida. You might ask why we would take a vacation so soon after we've arrived here, but the trip was planned back in 2012, before we knew we were moving back to the Haft. We considered cancelling the vacation, but decided against that, knowing we would probably need it following our training week in Myrtle Beach.

We covet your prayers! The following are areas you can pray about- Pray for Dutch & Dan as they develop a discipleship program, for safety for all of the on-site team, & pray for our family personally as we travel many miles in the month of March!! Also be in prayer that God will provide finacially for our needs personally & for the Haft itself. This is again a journey of faith for us. We have a budget that we try to live by. And we receive a small monthly stipend from the Haft, & a rent check from our home in Lancaster but beyond that we trust Jesus to provide in whatever creative ways He chooses. If He chooses you & impresses it on your heart to give, our address is at the bottom of the page. Gifts given on our behalf are tax deductible if they are made payable to “The Haft” & should be noted “for the Fishers” on a seperate piece of paper. Any gifts made payable to “the Haft” but are not specifically marked will go into the Haft general fund. Gifts can be made payable to us directly, but are NOT tax deductible.

Thank you for taking the time to read our update!!

If you're interested in keeping up to date with our lives you may read our personal blog... thedutchclan.blogspot.com

Blessings as you serve Jesus right where He has called you,

Elmer (Dutch), Rosa, ShaLyn, Madison, MaKayla, & Gabby

1 Haft Lane ~ New Albany PA. 18833

Matthew's Begats

  The kiddos & I have been memorizing this song for school the past week!! I love the tune of it, but more than that I love the fact that God chose to bring Jesus to this world through a rather "messy" family line. Now it may seem funny to say that, but if Jesus would have come from a pretty "perfect" line, what would that say for the rest of us. I believe God clearly demonstrated through Jesus' genealogy that He can use anyone, in any family, with any kind of past. For instance in Jesus family line you have Rahab a harlot, Ruth a Moabite (check out how the Moabites came to be), Solomon who came from David's wife Bathsheba who actually came to BE his wife because David had her husband Urriah put on the front lines of the battle to have him killed because he (David) committed adultery  with her (Bathsheba). Messy messy stuff. And that is just naming a few of the details, a thorough study of OT history would fill you in all on the details. So as my children & I discussed this it was so neat to see them connect with what I was telling them & Madison said, "I didn't realize that Jesus came from that kind of a family line". We talked about the "imperfect" people that God chose to use & how we're thankful that we serve that kind of a God!!! Because even "good" people are "imperfect"  in God's eyes so in reality those of us who think we are "better than" the harlot or the adulterer because we have never done that stuff, are still sinners just the same. We need a Savior whether we grew up "good" or "messed up"! Discovering that truth is so foundational, & important because it's what keeps us from becoming "self righteous"!!!!!
My conclusion- God wants to use ALL of us for His glory & He will, when we realize it's all about HIM  & not about who we are!!