Team Building, Moving and Other Stuff

We are awaiting Michelle and Aaron's arrival this evening. For the next two days the four us will be engaged in more pre-field training/team building before we head to the Congo next week. One of the staff from ReachGlobal, Lois, will be facilitating this time. We are looking forward to more time with Aaron and Michelle before we are Africa-bound and think this time will be very beneficial.

Sam and I successfully moved into my grandma's guest house this week, too. It is a huge blessing to have this home, rent-free in this time of transition. My grandma's property is beautiful and it is incredibly quiet and peaceful out here. We have only been here three nights and have commented repeatedly at how relaxing and peaceful it is to be here. God knows what we need at this time and I personally feel like living in this setting is helping me to think clearly and connect to the Lord in a refreshing way.

Things to specifically pray for us right now:
* That this weekend is encouraging, refreshing and that we cover all the topics that are important before we leave.
* Sam and I have a lot to do next week to get ready to leave for the Congo now that we are moved out of our apartment. Pray that we prioritize well and work well with each other.
Other fun (and busy) stuff:
* Sam's birthday was yesterday and it was fun to bake a cake for my husband. :)
* Today is Sam's last day of work!
* Our 1 year anniversary will be Sunday (which is hard to believe). We didn't imagine this is what we would be doing a year after our wedding. We plan to celebrate on Monday.
* Sam gets to go on a short fishing trip August 7th and 8th with my brothers and dad.
* Starlite Radio (Sarah's brother's band) is having a big concert at the Sinnissippi Band Shell next Thursday, August 6th @ 7:30 PM. We are letting people know because it will be a great concert and a good opportunity to see us before we leave until October.

Our future home!

Here are some pictures of the place we'll be living in while in the Congo in August and September.

Just a couple weeks left...

We are leaving for the Congo (D.R.C) in less than 3 weeks now! Time seems to be moving extra fast and we want to give you another update before we wake up and find ourselves on our way to the O’hare airport. We leave the U.S. on the night of August 11th and after 2 flights, a day in Paris, a ferry ride and a 10-12 hour truck ride, we will arrive in the D.R.C. on August 14th. (We will be sure to write about our travel experience if we survive).

We are so thankful for your prayers and support up to this point and continue to ask for more prayer as we prepare to leave. Here are some specific things to pray for us at this time:
- For peace and organization as we pack up our apartment this week and move to Sarah’s grandma’s guest house in Shirland, IL (we will live there temporarily and store our things there while we are in the D.R.C).

- That the Lord will bless and direct another team training we have scheduled with Aaron, Michelle and a couple of ReachGlobal staff August 1-2.

- Protection as we travel to the D.R.C. with the Larsens and Sam’s dad, Jim.

- That our focus will continually be on the Lord in the craziness of preparing to leave and during the adjustment of living in a totally different culture.

Not only are we grateful for your prayers but also for the financial support we have received. We are elated to report that the garage sale we had in June raised over $1,400!! We used that money to purchase items we will ship to the D.R.C. for our two-year stay (toiletries, air mattresses, bug spray, sunscreen, etc). It would have been difficult for us to purchase those items out-of-pocket, so this was an amazing blessing.

We still have a long way to go in raising financial support (see our financial update in the post below). We are currently at about 20% of the monthly support we have to raise in order to leave for 2 years. We would love to have you partner in this ministry with us and encourage you to prayerfully consider doing so. Please contact us via E-mail if you are interested in more information, supporting us or sitting down to chat with us.

Support Letter

Ministry Preparation Update:

We spent May 30th-June 5th in Minneapolis, MN where we attended the ReachGlobal Readiness Event. The first six days of this event are designed to orient potential missionary candidates with the vision and work of ReachGlobal. It is also used to assess the mental, spiritual and emotional health of potential ReachGlobal missionary candidates. On June 4th we were accepted by ReachGlobal and spent June 5th in staff orientation. This was a great learning experience for us and we are extremely grateful to work with an organization with such a clear and biblical vision for international missions.

Our friends, Aaron and Michelle Larson also attended the Readiness Event and were officially accepted. The four of us will be the team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.) for two years and it was a blessing to spend an entire week together. Not only did we have fun being together, we learned a lot about each other and how we will be effective as a ministry team. We are increasingly more excited about the opportunity to work with the Elikya project.

Financial Update:

We are so grateful for the financial response we have already received from many of you. We have already received enough financial support to go on our "vision trip" in August. However, we are far from the level of support we need in order to go to the D.R.C. for two years.

ReachGlobal has set up a financial support schedule for us. We need to raise approximately $4,200/month for each month we are in the Congo. We understand that giving financially is an important decision and we encourage you to prayerfully consider supporting our ministry.

We are passionate about our future ministry in the D.R.C. and it is our joy to share that passion with others. We extend an open invitation for you to meet with us and discuss this ministry.

Our Schedule:

August 11, 2009—Leave for the Democratic Republic of Congo for 2-month “vision trip”

Mid-October 2009—Return to Rockford and focus on support-raising

January 2010—Leave for the D.R.C. for 2 years

Prayer Support:

Your prayers are a vital part of our ministry. Below are specific prayer needs we have.

- That we will quickly learn Lingala, the primary language in the D.R.C.
- For us to continually focus on the Lord throughout this entire process.
- For God's peace in the midst of our preparation.

The Beginning

Our Story…

So much has developed since our wedding last summer and we are excited to share with you how the Lord is directing us to a ministry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.). As some of you already know, Sam had been raising support to join the staff of Live to the Power of Nothing. During the time of our engagement we began to pray about the possibility of being involved in ministry together. We also wanted our wedding day to be an opportunity to express the love of Christ so we asked our guests to donate to a ministry in D.R.C. called the Elikya Project. We were extremely blessed by the response of our guests who helped raise $2,500 to help rebuild widows’ homes.

This past fall we were presented with an offer to work with the Elikya Project alongside some very close friends of ours. This immediately resonated with our hearts and after much prayer we decided this past December to pursue this opportunity. We are currently in the process of applying with ReachGlobal, the International Mission of the Evangelical Free Church, to work with the Elikya Project.

The Ministry…

There is a large population of widows and orphans in D.R.C. due to HIV/AIDS and the political upheaval of the last 15 years. The church in Gemena, D.R.C. is responding to the needs of these neglected and often-mistreated people. They are developing a community where widows can support each other, learn how to farm, and learn new trades to adequately support their families. In this community orphans will have their physical and educational needs met. The orphans will also receive carpentry or masonry training and take basic computer and English literacy classes.

In the D.R.C. we will facilitate short-term teams who will train the Congolese leadership for the Elikya Project. We plan to go to D.R.C. in August 2009 to live for a couple months. This time will be used to orient us with the culture and to further seek God’s direction for this ministry. We will return home to finish raising support and leave again in January 2010 for two years.

Alongside the short-term teams, we will be teaching English, computer literacy classes, and agricultural advances to the Congolese leadership. Through this education the Congolese leadership will be better equipped to teach the widows and orphans. Our hope is that when we leave the Elikya Project, it will be a self-sustaining, flourishing ministry.

Your Role…

We need your help in supporting our ministry to these underprivileged people. Our desire is that you are able to join us by continually praying for us and possibly giving financially towards the advancement of this ministry. We have been conditionally accepted by ReachGlobal to raise financial support, though we are still engaged in the application process. Our application process will be completed in June.

We value your prayers on our behalf concerning our preparation for and completion of this time in the D.R.C. We also desire to speak more in depth with you about our involvement with the Elikya Project…perhaps over coffee or good food. We are blessed to have you in our lives.

Peace and Love,
Sam & Sarah