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Dear family and friends,
Laurie and I
hope this finds you doing wonderfully, enjoying these summer
months. We wanted to send you an update
on us and share an exciting opportunity for you.
As many of
you know, I (Ben) am working towards my Master’s Degree in Counseling at Reformed
Theological Seminary in Orlando. This is
an intensive full-time two-year program encompassing 76 credit hours. In addition
to the intensive course load, I am seeing 8-10 clients each week as well as
co-leading groups. This past spring and
summer I provided over 80 hours of counseling as a GriefShare group leader at a
local church and this fall I will be transitioning and co-leading an addictions
recovery group for men. Being with
people who are hurting and in need has been very challenging but rewarding for
me. I have been deeply impacted by these
experiences and continue to receive confirmation from God, through affirmations
from my professors and peers, and through the work I am doing with my clients,
that this is the right path for me.
When we felt
the Lord calling us to move to Orlando and pursue the counseling program, our
assumption was that Laurie would quickly be offered a job as a Guidance
Counselor, having graduated last May from her own Master’s program in School
Counseling from Hunter College in New York City. However, fourteen months later, she has been
on many job interviews but has still not landed a full-time position and is
instead working three part-time jobs. I
am working two part-time jobs as well but even with all these part-time jobs we
have realized that we will need additional resources for the upcoming year.
After much
prayer and counsel, we feel God calling us to invite others into our journey,
one that has been filled with abundant blessings so far. The biggest blessing is that we are expecting
a baby girl on Christmas Day of this year!
So we are
asking you to join us as we continue in faith along this journey, as I complete
my coursework at RTS and continue to minister to the many clients I am
privileged to work with. We are hopeful
that the Lord will put it on the hearts of others to partner with us both
prayerfully and financially. Would you
prayerfully consider giving a monthly or one-time only gift to help cover my
tuition, books, clinic fees, and other monthly expenses for the upcoming school
year? This will allow me to be able to
continue ministering to others through counseling. We are hoping to raise $2,500/month.
If you feel
led to join us as we continue our mission in Orlando, either by financially
supporting us or committing to pray on a monthly basis, please fill out and
send back the enclosed card. We will add
you to a monthly email list that will include updates and prayer requests.
We are
excited to open our lives and bring others in to the work God is doing
here! We hope you are too! Over this last year we have seen God move in many
powerful ways. We are excited to see what
He will be doing in and through us in the upcoming year!
Many
blessings to you and yours.
In Christ,
Ben and
Laurie Mills
