The good news is The Battle Against Hunger bike ride and fundraiser did incredibly well. We raised over 14,000 dollars to supply the food cupboard. We are rejoicing at this abundant provision! Having another rider, Stephanie Newton, join our team gave us the opportunity to share Cast Your Cares with many new people. She was able to raise over 1,000 dollars! We are extremely thankful for all of your gifts and support.

We appreciate your prayers and phone calls regarding last month’s letter conveying our roofing issues. Jim has been diligently gathering estimates for the roof, mold removal, new insulation, HVAC work, and the cost of putting everything back together. He also received a phone call regarding having the supplies for a “rubber roof” donated. A rubber roof is the highest quality roofing material, but much more labor intensive. The cost will increase from his ten to twelve thousand dollar estimates even though the supplies are donated. It would require ripping off the 100 year old layered roof to install the new one. Please keep praying Jim will feel peace moving forward in this decision. He has had many occasions to share with all the men coming to give estimates our journey from Florida to Philly. One man said “That is just supernatural.” and Jim agreed. Pray hearts will be changed, touched and moved with compassion.

We are also facing an inspection on the ministry center building next door this month. We have a permit for construction that needs to be renewed so these periodic inspections are necessary. I am studying the book of Zechariah now and I am taken with the idea of just how important and difficult the rebuilding of God’s temple was. I am comforted that He knows the difficulty of gathering His people together for the common purpose of providing a place of worship and fellowship in a land surrounded by evil. I wouldn’t call our building a “temple” but it will diffidently be a house of the Lord. When people enter they will know it was built, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts” Zech 4:6. Our prayer is all who enter sense His love through the volunteers, be fed spiritually, physically; know how important they are to the heart of Jesus, and that Christ’s church loves one another.
We have big dreams! We are excited to see just how the Spirit will repair our house and finish the building. We surrender our will and have no might or power to do all of this ourselves. We ask for continued prayers of protection for our family. Please cover our health and safety, both spiritually and physically. We believe if this is to be done by His Spirit we must keep in prayer to heed His instruction and direction. Thank you for your care in all of these needs and for covering us. We recognize our need to be covered in prayer and would appreciate an increase in these days of decision. We will keep you informed as we move forward.

The apostle Paul reminds us that we do not war against flesh and blood but against principalities and spiritual forces of evil in this world. However, I am becoming more and more convinced that we DO war against brick and mortar! It seems living in a building that is over 100 years old is like fighting a never ending battle. Our home’s latest attack is in the form of a leaky roof. The living room pours forth a waterfall, the bathroom downstairs and most bedrooms have water stains and the attic has consequently commenced to growing mold!

While waiting for the resolution as to how we will fix this huge problem, the Lord has pressed upon my heart to hold to our gift of faith. We have begun the process of getting roofing estimates. It seems the estimate is around 10,000 dollars. We believe we must get a new roof then begin to repair the damage from the water. The mold issue faces challenges all on its own. We would like to get an expert in to determine if it is safe to continue living here while we fix the problems.

Would you please pray for us in our time of determining what can and needs to be done? We love our home. Its location is right in the heart of what the Lord has called us here to do. The avenue is where those in need wander. Many stop by here for food, fellowship and prayer. It is not a “beautiful” place to live but it has remained our blessing ground. Living in the atmosphere of Kensington where there is a lot of warring against the evil forces of this world is challenging enough. We would love to not question if our home is making our family sick. We exist here day to day because of your financial gifts but even more so because of your prayers.

Please pray for us to stand firm in our gift of faith that our Father will help us. We completely depend on His provision. Many of you faithfully give to us each month so we can continue to do what we truly feel blessed and called to do here. A significant part of our ministry is just being here. We have opportunities each time we come and go to reach out and love our neighbors. I never thought how much I would come to choose my home and be so thankful to live here.

We believe the circumstances we face that are impossible for us to fix are an opportunity for God to write another chapter of our story. Our story is filled with his miraculous provision. Once Jim was proclaiming that his heavenly Father owned the cattle on a thousand hills and the next week a dairy farmer from church gave him a check for 1,000 dollars and said he sold a cow and wanted to give Jim an offering! We do not want to slip into unbelief, fear and worry. We recognize something has to be done. We are asking you to pray with us for the answer.

We appreciate you so very much!
Thank You,
Jenifer Snider
August 2013