06/16/2016
To All of our Friends and Family,
This is easily one of the toughest letters we have ever written. But it is one we must write for several reasons.
First and foremost, we are so grateful to our Lord for his calling in our lives over the past 8+ years here in Lynch. From the beginning we have prayed and asked for God to direct us in service and to provide for us in every way imaginable. Clearly he has. Living by faith in this crazy world is not always easy. We have found, however, that once you finally get there and trust him completely, he removes any and all anxiety in your life that you ask him to. It makes no sense living any other way.
Over the last eight plus years, God’s provision has come in so many ways. Most people think of money and physical things as provision. They are, however, there is so much more that God provides when you pray and ask him for his provision. I think “peace” is the greatest provision God has for us. While the devil uses anxiety and worry and many other personal feelings as tools to distract us and lessen our relationship with the Lord, the Lord makes peace available to us so that we can serve him without these distractions. That was easy to write, but not always so easy to live. That is why I said above…”first and foremost, we are grateful to our Lord”.
The second reason for needing to write this letter is to thank all of our family and friends who support us both regularly and upon occasion. The most important support you can offer us is your prayers. Non of what we do, receive and give are possible without God’s answer to prayer….yours and ours. Then there are donations of both food and money that we use to minister to the locals in our communities through our food pantry and that allow us to do this. Regular monthly donations provide approximately 60% of our budget. The rest each and every month shows up from unknown (at the time) or irregular sources. That’s incredible because that’s God answering our prayers for going on nine years of service.
After we knew we had been called into service and before we moved to Lynch in February of 2008, I insisted that we go back to Lynch and talk to the missionaries about how we were going to support a ministry. I remember sitting with Joyce and the late Harold Scroggs at the Pizza Hut in Cumberland on that trip and asking them how they raise money for their ministry. Harold immediately began to chuckle. He said to me… “we pray and go to the mailbox”. Interpretation: “we live by faith and trust in God alone”. On our way home I said to Lis and she agreed…”If we are going to do this, we are not going to ask anyone other than God for anything”. To date, and only if asked, have we ever discussed our needs. We post a prayer list in our newsletter each month and have a project list on our website. Then we leave it up to God to move others on our behalf.
You’re probably wondering where I am going from here with this letter. It is very bitter sweet that Lis and I are both at the point in our lives and in our ministry where we believe God is releasing us from our ministry here in Lynch. We are currently praying for God to send us his choice of saint(s) to take over and continue the ministry or to assist us in shutting it down at year-end. We are committed to our ministry commitments through December and have placed our two homes in Lynch for sale. Around here that means putting up a yard sign, posting it in the post office, putting it on Craig’s list and listing it in several local county yard sale facebook sites. Now there is a godly barometer! Truth be told, not many homes are sold in our neck of the woods. The Red Door House is deeded to and belongs to the ministry and will be given to another faith-based ministry of God’s choosing. The walk-in freezer at the pantry also belongs to the ministry. Should no one come forward to continue the ministry, it will also be donated to a faith-based ministry of God’s choosing.
Lis and I are very much at peace over this announcement and relying, as we always do, on God going forward. This was not an easy choice for us. For a while recently I would tell people that Lis and I were not “on the same page” over this…but we’re definitely “in the same chapter”. Now it is clear to me that we are totally in agreement. We trust totally in his will and in his perfect timeframe.
We are also personally looking forward to being closer to our children and grand children and other family and likely looking at the low lands of South Carolina for what would likely be our last home on earth. Even being at peace over this direction in our lives, what a bag of mixed emotions we are experiencing and trying to stifle so as to remain focused on God’s will going forward. Our ministry and personal needs remain unchanged through the end of the year. We continue to ask God for his provision in that regard and we ask you for your prayers regarding all of the above.
We love you in Christ and will keep you informed of developments in our ministry and in our personal lives through our monthly newsletter. Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers.
Sincerely,
Fitz and Lis (John and Melissa Fitzwater)
Loaves and Fishes Ministry
Lynch, Ky
loavesandfishesmin.org
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? ”
Isaiah 43:19
