Transitions are hard. Change is hard. Some people handle it better than others. If given the option, this writer would prefer to avoid change altogether; nevertheless, life offers up changes on a regular basis. The best we can do is to make the best of it.
We are in a period of some transition at Palm Beach Lakes, as we noted two weeks ago that Robert Lupo was coming in to work with our Family/Youth Program. That means that Josh Blackmer is moving into his new mission work. Things are really changing around here. In July, Josh will lead our Sr. High and Adult Mission Trip to North Carolina, and then he will co-direct the “Forever Camp” week at CFBC. Then, for the rest of 2023, Josh and Cara will be on the road and raising funds. What kind of mission work will they be doing this time?
As part of our “PBL Answering Macedonian Calls” effort, Josh and Cara will travel the country for seven or eight months each year, working for short periods of time with smaller, isolated congregations who need some assistance and encouragement. Josh’s grandfather did a similar work for many years with congregations out west. Josh will also travel to various international works during the other months of the year, including Paraguay, Easter Island and Cuba.
From the moment that Josh and Cara arrived at PBL in July 2004, their heart has been set on mission work. Their five years in Paraguay (2009-2014) and Josh’s efforts to plant the Lord’s church in Easter Island solidified that desire to spend their lives in the mission field.
It has been a tremendous blessing to work side-by-side with Josh in the kingdom. Josh is a good friend. He is humble, he is a hard worker, he is sound in the faith, he is trustworthy, he has a heart for lost souls and a deep concern for smaller congregations of the Lord’s church. I did not know Josh’s grandfather, but I suspect that I have known that dear man through this two-decade friendship with his grandson.
Please keep Josh and Cara in your prayers! Pray for them to have safety as they travel for the remainder of 2023 and then as they begin this new, full-time work in 2024. Pray for them as they raise funds, that congregations will be eager to support a domestic mission effort to help smaller congregations in various places. Pray for the congregations with whom Josh will be working, that his efforts with them will be profitable and uplifting. Pray for their children, who are both at Freed-Hardeman University.
Josh and Cara, we love you! We will miss you at Palm Beach Lakes, and we will look forward to those short times each year when you are back here! May God be with you!