1. June 13, 2008
Dear Supporters,
Greetings to you all with joy unspeakable and full of glory! If it were not for Christ’s gift of love on the cross, life
would be meaningless. But, we’re glad today that we can have such great purpose in living because He has told us
in His word to go and tell what the Lord has done for you. (Mark 5:19) We are so thankful for every opportunity
God has allowed us to do just that and pray that those who hear our stories will ask Jesus to write the rest of the
story of their life too.
By God’s grace, Tom officially graduated from ministry school at the end of February and now holds a Bachelor of
Divinity degree. Tom is glad not only to have benefited from the education he received, but from the relationships
he formed with students and teachers alike who continue to be a source of counsel and encouragement to him.
Over the past few months we have met with Pastor Mike about the vision the Lord has given him and us for Psalm
23. We have discussed some ideas for a training program and a brochure. We are excited about what the Lord
has in store for this ministry and we are praying that others will share our burden and catch this vision of reaching
out to those who are facing life-threatening circumstances, especially those who are lost and dying without Christ.
In May, we put together a Psalm 23 committee made up of members of our sending church, North Laurel Baptist.
They will act as a sounding board for our general operations and will contribute to the development of the training
program. Please pray that this committee will be led by the Holy Spirit as they serve and that we would be unified
together in our efforts to accomplish much for our Lord.
The committee recently approved a 2008 budget and has set up a Psalm 23 Ministry bank account. They will also
assist in putting together an advisory board made up of pastors, doctors and/or other professionals with whom we
will consult regarding policies and procedures as well as spiritual and medical insight.
On April 26th we attended a spiritual care training program in Hamilton, Virginia to gather ideas and information that
can be incorporated into our own program. We were very impressed with their presentation and have established
some great relationships with the leading spiritual care team of a national cancer center. They are very interested
in what we are trying to do and have offered to help us in any way they can. We know that this team will be a great
resource to us because they share our goal of reaching people for Christ. Please pray that we’ll be able to meet
with them again soon.
Tom is only booked for speaking engagements through the end of June, but the Lord has proved over and over
again that He will provide. So, we are no longer analyzing the financial concerns and are turning our focus toward
the work we have been called to do. This is not to say that we have raised all our support by any means. We need
more people committed to pray for us daily and we still have many financial hurdles to overcome, but we are
confident that if we do what the Lord is asking of us, He will supply what we need when we need it.
Please pray for wisdom in what to do about our vehicle. We need reliable transportation, but prefer not to have the
car payment. Also, Tom has had his own serious health issues lately, so please pray for continued healing and
strength.
Thank you for allowing us to share with you our burden for those going through the valley of illness and thank you
for the prayer and financial support that means so much. We appreciate that you care about a lost and dying world
and are willing to help us reach them before it is too late.
In His Service,
Tom & Terry Shuford