God has been continuing to work faithfully in our lives. We thank God and all of you who are a part of His provision for us & the Aka.
We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the folks from Global Outreach Mission during the annual conference and orientation the end of June on the shores of Lake Ontario. The meetings were packed with useful informative sessions, and excellent Bible teaching. The fellowship around meal times with the other missionary candidates and veteran missionaries just returning from overseas was truly a blessing.
The end of family practice residency at 12:00 AM, July 1st, was a big relief for us, but the time of adjustment that followed presented an unexpected challenge. Like a newly retired couple, it took several weeks for Becky to adjust to being offered so much unsolicited advice. Olivia and Claire enjoyed seeing their Dad more, but wondered if he was around too much. He was used to cramming all his fathering into 1-2 hours. Joe missed going to work in a climate controlled environment and a predetermined schedule. It took him a while to realize that even when working at home it's important to take breaks, because the work is never done. We really appreciate your prayers!
July 14th has come and gone. On this day Joe sat in a big room for 8 hours with 800+ physicians from the Washington, DC, area to take the Family Practice Board Exam. He feels he did OK, but we won't find out the final results until October.
We made it home to Erie in time for Olivia and Claire's 4th & 2nd birthday party on July 25th. Our girls are a blessing from God, and an encouragement to our hearts. Life on the road is hard on them, but they are ready for action and often display their enthusiasm for moving to the Congo, which helps us know that they'll do OK.
Olivia gave Claire her first hair cut today in the corner of the living room, using Armor-All for hair spray, while Mom & Dad were innocently writing this newsletter. The rest of the day was filled with more mundane activities like catching flies for Frankie the Toad who was given to Olivia by a friend at church camp; holding our kittens Purdy, Pongo, & Jasmine who were born in May to Mitsy; and playing in the kiddie pool with neighborhood friends in the back yard.
We are relieved to have received peace from God about planning to move to Brazzaville, the capital city of the Republic of Congo, this coming January. We have been offered the opportunity to study in the Peace Corps intensive language training program. Joe will be taking a 3 week trip to Brazzaville with his mother on September 20th to investigate this opportunity, and hopefully to secure a place to live and furnishings. Another primary goal of this trip will be to spend quality time with Rev. Gene & Sandy Thomas. The Thomases are the ones who introduced Joe to the Congo when he was a child. They will be leaving Brazzaville to retire on October 31st after 43 years of ministry. They have made many contacts in the country, and have valuable advice and information to share.
We thank God that as of 8/1/95, 21.9% of our monthly support need has been pledged. We wonder how our prayer support is coming along, as it is more difficult to measure, although we feel the effects. Will you pledge to pray for us more often?
With trips now behind us to New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, New York, Ohio, and around Pennsylvania in July & August, we are happy to be home for a short time before heading out again. We are doing all this travelling to share our concern for Congo with churches, other groups, family, and friends. We'll continue to do so as well as work on the logistics of our transatlantic relocation (packing, sorting & disposing of our stuff, getting shots, writing letters, obtaining medical supplies, getting our house ready to sell, etc.). There are gaps in this schedule so if you would like to see us, please let us know when & where.
| 9/20-10/14 | Joe & Marlaine to Brazzaville, Congo via NY & Paris. Becky, Olivia, & Claire will be home in Erie, PA. Olivia to attend pre-school. |
| 10/21 | ACMC missions conference, Wexford, PA |
| 10/28-29 | Three Village Church Missions Conference, Setauket, Long Island, NY |
| 11/3-5 | Fellowship Bible Church Missions Conference, Metairie, LA |
| 11/6 | New Orleans CMDS Graduate Chapter Dinner Meeting |
| 11/7-9 | Houston & Dallas, TX |
| 11/10 | Baton Rouge, LA, CMDS Meeting |
| 11/12 | Nashville, TN |
| 11/17 | Long Island, NY |
THE HARVEYS
Joseph & Rebecca, Olivia & Claire
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