Rhiana is doing really well, however, we would ask you pray for her. She was recently diagnosed with Central Sleep Apnea. This is a rare form of sleep apnea and is, most probably, due to brain stem damage. During part of her sleep cycle (and frequently during the day) her brain does not receive the message to breathe, so she stops breathing and suddenly gasps for air. We are in the process of investigating this more, in the meantime Rhiana sees a Pulmonologist every 3 months to keep an eye on things, but she gets pretty tired and there are some side effects. Please join us in praying that God will heal Rhiana of this condition and that she will not require further medical intervention. She is currently enjoying school and starting to look towards her options for College. Right now, she is keen to study Fashion Design & Business and is considering staying in the US v coming back to the UK for her studies!!! Jordan is currently taking his end of year exams, and will start High School at the end of the Summer! He is still actively involved in soccer and scoring goals and he is enjoying his guitar more and more (especially now that we have a London themed music room in the basement!!
We are looking forward to some visits from family later this year. Trev's parents are coming out in October, followed by Tracy's parents in December, staying for Christmas. We are excited!!!!
Many people are interested to know where our 'visa/green card application' stands. Well, it's a long story and full of complications, but the main issue right now is tied up with our taxes. Please pray that this gets resolved soon and that our green card application is found favorable. It will be a long process, but we will keep you posted!
Revive and Restore are both doing really well. Revive now employs around 25 staff, full and part-time, and stays continuously busy day after day. I believe we now have over 6,000 consignors! Please pray that the relationships and friendships that have been made through the store, will bear fruit and that we will see many of these amazing folk saved and added to Jubilee Church! We believe that God has provided an amazing venue, with a great atmosphere, that causes people to 'open up' and we have been privileged to pray with many of our customers while they are there. We are expectant of miracles, salvation, signs and wonders and would ask you pray that God moves powerfully in this community, which is so in need of Him.
Restore is currently serving around 10-15 homeless individuals in our community on a regular basis, and has the privilege of serving many others, who call for help or drop in to use the food pantry or the resource center. We would really appreciate your prayers for the 'next step'. We are seeking God about opening a 'transitional house' for a number of these guys. Many of them require shelter, in order to find employment etc and we are considering purchasing a 4-5 bedroomed house, to accommodate these individuals, while we work with them to resolve issues of unemployment, addiction, hopelessness, etc. We are also considering starting a 'back to work' program, where these guys can take unwanted pieces of furniture and 'restore' them, selling them at Revive, to make some money. We would ask you to pray for the people we are serving - many of their situations look 'hopeless' but we have a God who is more than able to provide all that they need. Our hope is that, ultimately, they will find Him as their Savior, but in the meantime, we want to demonstrate His love and acceptance to them on a daily basis, whilst looking to help provide their practical needs, including food, clothing, hygiene products, etc. Our desire is to "Provide hope, help and healing to individuals, without discrimination, restoring broken lives, one at a time". We would appreciate your prayers for Ronnie, who we met a few weeks ago. He was homeless, unemployed and hungry. He was invited to our "Community Table" that evening, where he had a good home-cooked meal and then joined us at our Sunday morning meeting that weekend. He has been coming ever since and God has been moving powerfully in his life. Ronnie is currently living with us, as part of the family, and now is employed part-time at Revive. His hope is to purchase a vehicle and start his own 'handyman' business, enabling him to get back on his feet. For more information on 'Restore', please visit our new website at www.jubileechurchrestore.com
Thank you for all your love and support. We pray that you have a great Easter, celebrating our risen King!!! He is the reason for it all!
With our love,
The Atkins
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