Monthly Archives: July 2023

Family and Ministry Updates

Last month was full of family events and news for us. Amid a lot of work projects, we were able to take two short trips and do our best to support one big move from afar. Here’s a quick recap.

The month started with our daughter, Bethany, moving from Nashville to Green Bay, Wisconsin. She started her new job there, and likes both the place and the job. She’s farther from us, but is close enough to Verona, where Michael lives, that they can visit each other over a weekend.

We enjoyed Father’s Day in Holdrege, Nebraska, where I grew up. It was a full weekend which started with a small family reunion as my brother and his wife joined us for two days. Dad’s moving a bit slower, but his memory is clear. We drove to places where he spent part of his early life and on Sunday morning, took him to the church he attended for 50 years (top photo).

The next weekend, we traveled to Clearwater, Florida, where we celebrated Anne Marie’s mom’s 90th birthday. Anne Marie’s four siblings — Joe, Eileen, Kathleen and Maureen (from left to right in the lower photo) — were there from four different states, along with her aunt and a cousin from two other states. Her mom, Helen, is doing well and enjoyed the party.

All of that didn’t keep us from making progress on work projects. Anne Marie completed the editing of a Cru Storylines article and worked on a writers training event planned for this fall. I was in two all-day planning meetings with people from six teams. We developed a process that will help our teams work more smoothly together to serve our readers and to help them grow spiritually. Now, I’m the project manager helping carry out the plans we made in those two days.

This month, please pray for both of us as we work with one other team leader to continue planning the upcoming writers training. Pray for capacity for me as I edit some Cru Storylines articles while one of our editors is out for a medical leave. And please continue to pray for Anne Marie’s health as she battles an autoimmune disease.

We’re grateful for your prayers and generosity, which allow us to serve God full time.

Sincerely in Christ, Mark, for the Winz family