After the Israelites were freed by God from slavery and had crossed the Red Sea they endured many battles with armies much greater than themselves. One of these armies was from the nation of Amalek. Moses orders Joshua to lead the Israellites in battle against the Amalekites. Moses, Aaron and Hur go up on the mountainside to watch the battle. As long as Moses held up his hands the Israelites were winning the battle but as soon as he dropped them they were losing. Aaron and Hur positioned themselves on each side of Moses to hold up his hands as his arms were becoming tired. Why did God do it this way. He could have asked Moses to raise his staff and the Amalekites would have been vanished from the earth. God loves to involve as many people that he can to give him glory. He chooses to include us in his victories. He doesn't need us to do his work but he chooses to. 

  Carol and I got the opportunity to come home for 16 days in July and August. Much of our time was visiting family and friends. We also came to do support raising. We got to speak at our Sunday School class and was asked to speak a few words at church. We hadn't really expected many people to show up for our presentation. When we arrived the room was packed. We were overwhelmed with joy. The hour went by and we were still talking. I can not tell how grateful I am for the support and love you showed us. We can not do this alone. We need the support of you raising our arms with prayers, financially and by sending teams. It took Moses having both his arms held up and an army led by Joshua to defeat the Amalekites. We can not do this on our own. We need the support of our church, family and friends. We have  friends in Guatemala whose home church is not supporting them because they went to Guatemala on their own as missionaries and not throught their denomination and are really struggling not so much financially but emotionally. It is so important that we have our home church saying to us that we are with you on this journey.