New Website!

Please see our new site at www.thenealnotes.com !It is packed with lots of new updates and info.

It's Official-- We've Been Appointed!

After lots of prayer, meetings, forms, and evaluations, we were officially notified today that we have been appointed to serve as long-term missionaries with Trans World Radio (TWR). We anticipate that we will serve on Bonaire, a small Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela, South America, but we are willing to go wherever we are needed most.

Our next step of the process is to gather a team of prayer and financial supporters who will commit to partner with us as we minister with TWR long-term. We pray that God will help us clearly present the ministry to those He has chosen to partner with us. Please pray alongside us for strength and safety as we will be traveling a lot and our schedules will be busy.

We are also gathering information for those folks who would like more information and/or want to receive updates in the mail. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you fit into this category. We will still be updating this website but would love to you connect with you on a more personal level. Thanks for your love and prayers.

Candidate Orientation in Cary, NC

We had a slam-packed couple of days in Cary, NC meeting with TWR staff and the Sending Agency Team during Candidate Orientation. What a wonderful group of people! It was truly refreshing to meet so many people who are also passionate about touching lives with the unchanging message of Jesus Christ.

We spent a lot of time meeting team members and getting a feel for the culture and vision of the organization. We were thrilled to talk with so many people in all stages of life who had given so much of themselves in cross-cultural missions and/or ministry support services throughout the years. I was impressed by the rich history and lasting legacy of those who have gone before as well as the passionate enthusiasm and cutting-edge innovation of the current team. 

I was also blessed by the many stories of transformed lives and modern-day miracles that God has done through the ministry of TWR by "regular" people. How awesome it is that a person who may not have attended seminary or jungle training camp can be a part of touching lives across the globe and sharing Christ's love with them. How blessed I feel knowing that I (Laura) can use my Human Services background and Brandon can use his Business background in ways that impact lives for the Kingdom. Have you felt a call to serve in missions but gave up because you aren't a church planter, pastor, ESL teacher, or missions major? Click here to learn how you might be just the person TWR is looking for!

As we move forward we do ask that you would please pray for wisdom for the Sending Agency Team and pray on our behalf as we await the appointment/selection decision in the next couple of weeks. Your prayers have been so evident throughout the application process, and we do not take them for granted.

We will update as we have more information. Thanks again for staying connected.

Brandon Neal Music Updated Website

Brandon Neal Music is getting a facelift. Please check out http://www.brandonnealmusic.com/
Feel free to send us an email with any suggestions. We are still working on getting an online store to purchase Brandon's CDs as well as some other cool new features. Keep checking back. You can also go to: http://www.myspace.com/brandonnealmusic to listen to some samples of his music. Let us know what you think!

Come Support Brandon Neal in the PATHS, Inc. Southside Superstar Competition!

Great news! Brandon was selected as a top 20 finalist for the Southside Superstar Christian & Gospel Edition Singing Competition in Danville , Virginia! He has the chance to win $1,000 and recording time at a local studio! This fundraising event supports Piedmont Access to Health Services, Inc. (PATHS.) Finalists will perform in 5 Friday events and receive donations for PATHS. Each $1 donation equals 1 vote. The winner will be selected by a combination of votes and judges scores on the final evening. Admission is $2 at the door. Come on out to show your support for Brandon, enjoy a night of uplifting and encouraging music, and give to this worthy cause! The next event is at the Carrington Pavillion in Danville, VA at 7PM.

Waiting on God...........

Once again, we appreciate all of you have been fervently praying for our family as we follow His direction in our lives. I haven't posted much recently because there hasn't been a whole lot to post about as far as missions go. We were originally scheduled for Candidate Orientation and a meeting with TWR's sending team at the end of August for some of the final steps in the application process for missionary service, however, due to scheduling conflicts within the team it was rescheduled for September 20 and 21st. We did complete our psychological evaluation process with TWR consultants (along with the 5 assessments and 1000+ questions each.) I am thankful that Trans World Radio takes this process very seriously and cares so much about making sure that appointees are a good fit for service with the organization. We learned quite a bit from our meeting with the consultants and were able to identify areas to grow stronger in our relationship with God and each other. For now, we are just waiting and trusting God until our meeting with the sending team. We look forward to updating you more as we know more. Thanks again!

How much do I care?

New technologies have created limitless opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Trans World Radio utilizes many of these methods to reach untold millions of individuals, families, and communities every day. I am so thankful for new ways to shrink the gap between me and the rest of the world. However, I was overwhelmed recently with a sense of responsibility as well. Not so many years ago I could blame my apathy and inaction on the outrageous cost of traveling to distant lands or even the high price of a long-distance call to a different state. If a friend moved to another state or even to another town outside of my area code, I could count on not talking to her again except the rare case that I might visit her or she might visit me. I could always write letters, but life frequently got busy and she usually just faded from my memory, thoughts and prayers and was filed into the mental folder of “people I used to know.”

Now, thanks to Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and the like, I probably quickly find out where that friend in California ate breakfast today and who she was with (there might even be a mobile uploaded picture as proof.) “So the world is flat. What’s the big deal? ” you may be wondering. Just the other night the big deal occurred to me. I am now able to minister to others that I might have mentally filed away. Each and every day many people post status updates, photo albums, tweets, blog posts, comments, etc… I believe that each of these is a silent request for someone to care about my world and what happens in it. You might say, “I just like to post things.” You might be right. Be just think. Would I spend any time writing this post if I knew that no one would ever read it or be affected by it? You see, I can now reach outside my “Christian bubble” each time I get online. The walls are being broken down. I might be afraid to walk up to someone I haven’t seen in years and begin a deep conversation with her, but I might not be as afraid to write on her wall or re-tweet a comment.

For this reason, I ask you to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity to “…set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess” (I Peter 3:15, NET). Also, keep in mind that your testimony as a Christ-follower is on the line. With new technology comes the blessing of a higher level of accountability among believers but also a greater responsibility to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) as geographical borders become less of a limitation.

I would love to hear of some ways you have used new forms of technology to connect with others in a meaningful way to show others how much you care!