April/May 2025, A Report on Kathy's Health and Some Other News

April 2025:

Dear Partners,

 Kathy and I have been in a whirlwind of activity and emotion since we last wrote. I’ll not get into all of it right now--the whirlwind continues—I will, however,promise to get back with you in a couple of weeks.

I am writing, this morning, for two reasons:

·       To thank you for your prayer and support.
Thank you!

·       To ask you to pray for us as we travel to Guam.

First for those of you who only hear from us through these reports, let me give you a brief thumbnail of the whirlwind. In January, Kathy’s annual mammogram showed an abnormality. Further scans and a needle biopsy identified a tiny malignant tumor. A mastectomy was the best option. The surgery was done on March 19. Kathy is healing well. For those of you who knew and prayed, Thank you. We thank the Lord for a good medical team and local support.

We had been planning to go to Guam to meet with our fellow Liebenzell missionaries and other partners. When we shared this plan with Kathy’s surgeon, her response, without a moment’s hesitation, was, “Go.” So we leave Thursday April 24, and get back May 5. I (Howard) will be participating in the annual Board meeting at Pacific Islands University (PIU). We’ll also be seeking to recruit some of the students to be involved in an intern opportunity at our mission headquarters and retreat center in New Jersey. It is a great opportunity. We’ll be meeting with our missionaries who serve at PIU. Please pray with us. We need the wisdom of the Lord, and we want to love with His love.

Also pray for contacts with other missionaries we’ll be reaching out to. It’s an ongoing process. Thankfully, our LMUSA family is growing. Since our last letter, a new, young family joined our team in Ecuador. An early retired couple plans to join our team in Guam, later this year. We have young people who are headed on short-term trips this summer. Please pray for them.

We don’t want this to be a one way matter, so let us know how we can pray for you. We are aware that the wind blows in your life, too.

 

Ministering to those who are reaching out,

 Howard & Kathy

 

May 2025:

Dear Partners,

I’m writing in the outpatient surgery waiting room at a hospital in Lewisburg WV. This hospital’s chief claim to fame is this where my granddaughter, Kira, was born. I’m here this morning waiting on Kathy. She is having a port inserted. The purpose of the port is to enable Blue Ridge Cancer Care to administer a series of chemotherapy infusions. The first one will be tomorrow.

Some of you knew about this next step in our lives that began in January when a routine mammogram revealed a tiny mass in Kathy’s right breast. That led to another mammogram, a scan, needle biopsy, a mastectomy on March 19, and now a pretty aggressive series of chemo-infusions.

Though the tumor was tiny and was found early, it is an aggressive sort, thus justifying this full-court-press kind of treatment. Kathy will receive infusions about every three weeks. At first three drugs will be used. Later that will be reduced to just one of them. She has been prescribed various oral medications to help her along the way. She feels well. Both of us are confident that this is the right thing to do. We are confident in and pleased with the medical team. And, more than anything, we are trusting in the Lord. “Thy will be done.”

We waited to put out this latest news because we didn’t want this to be the main topic of conversation on our trip to Guam. We just returned from that trip, last night. It was a good trip, but:

·       Both of us caught a cold or something. Thankfully, it was a short-lived bug.

·       Some of our colleagues are dealing with some difficult times, so some of our conversations were intense.

·       I participated in the PIU Board meeting. That’s always a full time.

It was good to get to see some of our friends on that side of the world. In particular it was good to see some of the students in whose lives we invested using what they learned in serving others.

·       Praise the Lord for safety over the many miles.

·       We thank the Lord for the good care Kathy is receiving.

·       Reaching out with kindness and encouragement is always appreciated. It is a privilege to encourage these fine servants.

·       Thank you for your prayer, support, and encouragement.

 

·       Please pray for Pacific Islands University—enrollment, staff, President Ian Richards, and especially that the students will learn, grow, and use what they gain in the Lord’s work.

·       Please pray for Kathy.

·       Kathy and I are in conversation with missionaries around the world. Pray that we’ll have wisdom to be able to encourage them in their work.

 

Ministering to those who are reaching out,

Howard & Kathy

 

You can support our ongoing Missionary Care ministry here.

 

You can get in touch with us by email, text or phone. Kathy’s phone number is (540) 620-7077; her email is kmusiq@gmail.com. Mine are (540) 620-8429 and hmerrell@liebenzellusa.org

January 2025 Ministry update:

 Dear Partners,

 

I write from my warm living room on a cold January day. Being warm is just one of the many blessings for which we are thankful. Likewise, we offer thanks to you, and for you. You make it possible for us to “love on” a growing group of missionaries who are precious servants of our Lord. (For those of you who may not be familiar with the term “love on,” it is what these girls are doing to their grandma.

As I’ve often said, “Before missionaries were missionaries, they were people.” People need to be loved on.

I started 2024 with a two-week trip to Zambia. That trip allowed relationships with LMUSA missionaries who serve there to be deepened. In May, Kathy and I were able to return to Guam where we served for four-and-a-half years. Old relationships were strengthened and new partners found a place in our hearts. The impact of those trips continues. We can speak into the lives of those servants in a far more meaningful way than we would be able to do if we hadn’t been present. Thank you for making that possible. We are planning to travel to Guam again this spring. I’ll participate in the annual Pacific Islands University Board of Trustees meeting. Both Kathy and I will spend time with the LMUSA personnel who serve on Guam. We’ll minister in other ways.

Resently, I traveled to Mount Bethel New Jersey. I was able to represent LMUSA at the commissioning service for Steven and Gwen Anderson. They and their three little boys will be moving to northern Ecuador next month, to join our team there. LMUSA is privileged to partner with Mount Bethel Baptist Church in sending this family to Ecuador. It’s been our privilege to love on this family. We want to continue.

In October, I was privileged to join some other LMUSA representatives at the Columbia International University Missions Conference, in Columbia SC. While there I spent time with a retired LMUSA missionary. What a privilege. As our missionary force ages, recruiting new-goers, like the Andersons, is increasingly important.

Not only is it our privilege to love on the missionaries that serve with LMUSA, we are promoting a culture of care among the missionary family. We recently saw a step forward in that regard. Each month I lead an online meeting, the Second Monday Missionary Meeting (SMMM). This month’s SMMM focused on sharing words of wisdom and encouragement to Gwen and Steven. We asked the Lord of the Harvest to bless this young family in their adventure for Him. It was a precious gathering.

I’m also involved in assisting with some administration matters. Liebenzell Mission USA is growing.

Prayer and Praise: (I don’t try to pass on all the prayer needs that come to our attention. The following are a couple that stand out, plus some that apply directly to us.)

•         Pray for the Anderson family. They have tickets to fly to Ecuador on February 10. Thank the Lord that a support team, including Mt. Bethel, has joined them.
•          Bill and Jenny Morrison are missionaries to the increasingly pagan land of American higher education. They are working to build a Center for Christian Thought, literally right across the street from the undergraduate dorms at UNC Wilmington. They have already purchased the property. Praise the Lord. They were supposed to host a big fundraising event seeking to finance the beginning of construction, today. The unusual ice and cold in in coastal NC forced a reschedule. Please pray.       
•          Amano Christian School, where I spent a week, last January, ministering to LMUSA missionaries, and other personnel, is in serious need of teachers and a maintenance supervisor. ACS is a great place for a one-year, or lifetime ministry. If you, or someone you know, is interested, let me know. Again, please pray.
•         One of our missionary couples, involved in intensive discipleship with a needy group of people are facing serious health issues. He just began the long, painful recovery from rotator cuff surgery.
•          Pray for ongoing recruitment efforts.
•           Kathy and I thank the Lord for good health. Example: I was able to drive 850 miles in two days, on that NJ trip. No hits, no runs, no errors. Praise the Lord. Pray that we’ll be able to continue.
•          I mentioned that I’m involved in administration at LMUSA. One reason for that is our short-staff situation. Please pray that the right people will be identified to fill critical positions. I’ll be participating in a Board Retreat January 31-February 1. . . another trip to New Jersey.
•          There are always people needs. Pray that Kathy and I will be able to help.
•          We praise the Lord for your partnership with us.

Many of you know our boys. A quick update:

Chad and Tanisha continue to minister at North Rock Hill Church, NC. All their kids, except Ava, are on their own, from Rock Hill, Greenville SC, Utah, and Louisiana.

Chris and Nancy are in College Station Texas. Silas is a student at Wheaton College. Kira just transferred to Colorado Christian University. Chris & Nancy are in transition. They continue to serve the Lord in a variety of ways. Pray that they’ll land where the Lord wants them.

 

Again, Thank you. Please let us know how we can pray for you.

 

Loving on those who are reaching out,

 

Howard & Kathy

 

You can support our ongoing Missionary Care ministry here.