April Newsletter

Dear WIT Prayer Team,

How do you handle the death of a vision? The loss of your dreams? The hurt and pain of betrayal by people you thought were friends? This will be our theme this summer at the ATI conferences. We have just come through one of the hardest seasons of our lives. The attacks were relentless, the pain deep, fear overwhelmed us, and depression fogged our minds. We searched our souls asking the questions we so often ask others....Is there any hidden sin? Has the enemy been given any ground in our lives? Where have we resisted God's grace?

For almost four months we were in such a place of confusion that we could not even bring ourselves to compose an e-mail asking for prayer. We sold our home way under its value and had to be out 10 days before Christmas. Jenny began to have health issues, and depression had a hold on both of us. We just could not bring ourselves to write a newsletter because we felt so defeated. We need to apologize for not calling upon you, our prayer team, to intercede for us during that time. All we know to say is, we simply could not. We were bound.

Yet, God in His mercy has shown His favor towards us once again and delivered us from our enemies. Slowly we have begun to find the steady ground, the fog has cleared, depression has lifted, and we are seeing the mighty hand of God go before us slaying the enemies who sought to take us out. These last months are not something that we would ever want to go through again, yet we have found great truths to hold on to in the midst of pain, suffering, and loss. We now have a new message of hope for the hurting that was formed in the heat of God's refining fire. We look forward to sharing this message with many of you this summer.

Lake Placid, FL. Marriage Conference summary:

Jenny and I just returned from the WIT Couples Conference in Lake Placid, FL. We were blessed to have this last conference be sponsored by Lakeshore Bible Church. The families there were a real blessing to us and worked hard to bring WIT Ministries to the Tampa area.

On Friday night of the conference, we counted four couples who were separated. By Sunday all four were making a commitment to stay married and work out the Plan of Action they had written out with the help of their WIT team leaders.

We had some tough situations ... One man was threatening to leave his wife on Friday night, and the team leaders had to step in to give her safety. On Saturday Butch Jalbert led that same man through "The Steps to Freedom" by Neil Anderson. The man, Paul, came to true salvation in Christ! Sunday morning he was crying like a baby, lying flat on the floor during our worship time. He had a incredible encounter with Jesus that weekend. His faced completely changed from angry and stern to loving and joyful. He asked to be baptized Sunday afternoon! One of the pastors of Lakeshore Bible Church baptized him in the lake with all the WIT attendees watching. We all sang, "Amazing grace...my chains are gone I've been set free....my God my Savior has ransomed me...." as he came up out of the water! What a glorious day!

Our scholarship fund was able to help pay for another young couple to attend, and they both were saved! Thank you to those who have given to the scholarship fund! So far three people have said they were saved at the Tampa WIT! No Roman road, no sinner's prayer being recited, just Jesus showing up and convicting of sin. Just ordinary people telling their stories of how Jesus has set them free! It is amazing how God uses these team leaders and their stories, told in humility, to convict others and bring them to freedom. He is an awesome God who seeks to not only save, but to deliver us! Can you tell we are excited? What a powerful weekend! God did so much in the lives of all of us!

ATI SUMMER CONFERENCES:

We have a story to tell! Among all the other things that were happening last fall, we were also talking to attorneys about allowing our business to file bankruptcy. How do you go from a thriving business to nothing in three years? The Lord has brought us through all this. We did not file bankruptcy but, instead, chose to negotiate with all our creditors and paid all the debt off with the sale of our home. We made a few steps of obedience, and God met us in an incredible way. We are looking forward to sharing with families this summer how our marriage has survived this horrible financial crisis and the lessons God has taught us.

Time & Place:

• Big Sandy, Texas April 26 - 29
• Nashville, Tennessee May 31 - June 3
• Sacramento, California June 28 - July 1
• Indianapolis, Indiana August 2 - 5

INDY SINGLES CONFERENCE!!!!

• Verity Campus AUGUST 10 - 13

Mark it on your calendar! We are looking forward to another powerful singles conference! Singles ages 18 to 102! Be set free so you can be all God has called you to be...NOW! Marriage will never make you whole! The theme for WIT 1/2 ....OPEN, BROKEN, FREE!!! Parents sign up your young person! Under 18 accepted with parents' permission. WIT Alumni....contact us if you are interested in being Team Leaders!

TWO WIT CONFERENCES COMING THIS FALL (stay tuned for more info!)

• WIT #1 BREAKING FREE .....VERITY INSITUTE CAMPUS .....SEPT. 29th - OCT. 1st
• NEW... COMING IN OCT.....WIT #2 MOVING FORWARD! This conference is new and will be for WIT alumni only.

4 Days 2 Freedom:

www.4days2freedom.com God continues to expand this ministry. Paul and the men who make up the 4D2F team are seeing incredible demonstrations of God's power to free those who have been bound. Jesus said in Luke 4:18, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me, To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed." This is the call that is upon our lives as believers! We cannot sit back and watch as our brothers and sisters remain in captivity. We must go against the norm, say the things that no one wants to say, and, as one of our friends recently described it, " You gotta roll up your sleeves and get down in the filthy muck and help them climb out." That's what the WIT team does! These team leaders who volunteer to come assist are invaluable! These men help cement the hope into these guys hearts that, yes, you can be free! Several testimonies are below!

Upcoming 4 Days 2 Freedom: Tampa FL. May 19 - 22

More being scheduled monthly.

The Speeds Are Moving to Florida!

The Lord willing, we will be moving to Land O Lakes, FL, (near Tampa) on June 15. This has been a huge decision, and it does not come without many tears. We will be leaving behind wonderful friends who have walked through some of the darkest days our family has ever experienced. How do you replace friends who have walked with you through it all? Our hearts break as we say goodbye, but we know that the last chapter has not been written. Our God is a good God...all the time!

Why Florida? Paul is from the panhandle of FL where his widowed mother still lives. We will be moving to central FL which will be six hours closer to her. As we prayed about what to do after the house in NC sold, we felt the Lord directing us to be closer to an international airport for our ministry and his mother.

Please Pray for a Home!

We have placed an offer on a house, but, because it is a short sale, it could take weeks or months before we get a response from the bank. We are trying to trust God one step at a time and just keep walking forward and making plans. The Fechtel family at Lakeshore Bible Church has offered us a temporary place to stay in case we do not have a home by June. The pastors of Lakeshore are also helping us get our 501 C 3 paperwork finished, and we are forming a board of directors for WIT Ministries. Until the paperwork is finished, tax deductible donations for WIT Ministries can be sent to:

Lakeshore Bible Church

531 County Line Road

Lutz, FL 33549

Lakeshore has been very kind to offer their guidance as we take WIT Ministries to a greater level of serving those who are hurting. We are grateful for their assistance!

Monterrey, Mexico:

Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 19, Jenny will be flying to Mexico to join Christina Rodriguez and her family to speak to 150+ girls who are from poor and shattered backgrounds. The Rodriguez family are missionaries to Mexico and Christina hosts a summer camp every year for teenage girls. Jenny has been asked to be the speaker for this year's camp. She will have eight sessions with the girls over a period of three days. Jane Alvaranga, WIT Team Leader, who is from Columbia and speaks Spanish, will be attending with Jenny to help with translation and also will be sharing her own story of abuse and the road to forgiveness. They are very excited about sharing the love of Christ with this group of young girls. Please pray for a special anointing to be upon the ministry team as we have been told that these girls have little, if any, understanding of Christianity. Thanks to those who helped pay for Jane's plane ticket! (Pictures and a report coming soon!)

Doors are opening!

Just this week we have been contacted by people in California, Canada, and Malaysia asking us to bring WIT to their areas. We praise God for the opportunities to help others experience freedom in Christ. We are humbled by God's goodness. We thank you, our prayer partners, who stand in the battle with us. We are grateful for each of you and pray that you are living in the light of God's truth! If you ever need us, please feel free to contact us through e-mail. We are now back in the battle and stronger than ever! Praise Jesus!

Whatever It Takes!

Rev:12:11

Paul & Jenny