Thursday, January 21, 2010
More Than Halfway There!
We are very excited to announce that, as of yesterday, we have surpassed the halfway point of monthly support needed! We are now at 54% of our monthly support! It feels great to know we are a little more than halfway there. Please consider helping us reach our goal by becoming a monthly supporter. We are so blessed by God's faithfulness and have been pleasantly surprised to receive support from unexpected people and places.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
January Support Letter
Happy new year to our friends and family! We hope your Christmas season was enjoyable and that you are looking forward to 2010. We celebrated Christmas several times this year and are so grateful for the quality time spent with our family. It is always a joy to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
We have also spent much of our time working with a small team of people developing some of the plans for the Elikya Center. We have been putting the pieces together to develop ESL and Computer Skills curriculums that will be used at the Elikya Center. We are also putting together the application process for short-term team members. In February we are going to New Orleans to meet with people from ReachGlobal who will be helping in the application process.
Recently, there has been some unrest in the Ubangi region of the Congo where the Elikya Center is located. After fighting began between local tribes over rights to fishing ponds, a group of men led by a witchdoctor began traveling through the region injuring and killing people. The group of men retreated before they reached Gemena (the city the Elikya Center is located) but many people are currently displaced because they fled to avoid the fighting. This news has been hard for us because it directly affects the people that we know in the Congo and our hearts have been heavy. Yet, we have also heard powerful testimonies of God protecting people and using Christians to minister grace and healing in this situation.
Due to the instability in the Congo, we will not be returning to the Elikya Center in January as we had originally planned. We will wait until the region becomes stable before we set a date for returning but we are hoping to return early this spring. This change in plans has caused us to trust the Lord even more with our lives and the ministry at the Elikya Center.
Financial Update:
We are so grateful that many of you have responded to the financial and prayer needs that we have. It is exciting to have support coming from so many different people and churches. We have currently raised 40% of our necessary monthly support. Our greatest need is for people and churches who are able to give monthly financial donations. When we receive 100% of our needed monthly support we will return to the Elikya Center. Please prayerfully consider joining us in this exciting ministry by being part of our support team.
Prayer Support:
Your prayers are a vital part of our ministry. Below are specific prayer needs we have.
• That God will raise up more financial support for us.
• Wisdom as we help develop plans for the Elikya Center.
• Peace in the Congo and strength and wisdom for the local church leaders.
We have been back for a full three months now and it has been a busy time. Our main focus during these past few months has been raising support in order to return to the Congo. It has been a blessing to spend so much time with friends and family and to begin building new relationships with some of the churches we have visited. It is so exciting to share face-to-face with people about the Elikya Center.
We have also spent much of our time working with a small team of people developing some of the plans for the Elikya Center. We have been putting the pieces together to develop ESL and Computer Skills curriculums that will be used at the Elikya Center. We are also putting together the application process for short-term team members. In February we are going to New Orleans to meet with people from ReachGlobal who will be helping in the application process.
Recently, there has been some unrest in the Ubangi region of the Congo where the Elikya Center is located. After fighting began between local tribes over rights to fishing ponds, a group of men led by a witchdoctor began traveling through the region injuring and killing people. The group of men retreated before they reached Gemena (the city the Elikya Center is located) but many people are currently displaced because they fled to avoid the fighting. This news has been hard for us because it directly affects the people that we know in the Congo and our hearts have been heavy. Yet, we have also heard powerful testimonies of God protecting people and using Christians to minister grace and healing in this situation.
Due to the instability in the Congo, we will not be returning to the Elikya Center in January as we had originally planned. We will wait until the region becomes stable before we set a date for returning but we are hoping to return early this spring. This change in plans has caused us to trust the Lord even more with our lives and the ministry at the Elikya Center.
Financial Update:
We are so grateful that many of you have responded to the financial and prayer needs that we have. It is exciting to have support coming from so many different people and churches. We have currently raised 40% of our necessary monthly support. Our greatest need is for people and churches who are able to give monthly financial donations. When we receive 100% of our needed monthly support we will return to the Elikya Center. Please prayerfully consider joining us in this exciting ministry by being part of our support team.
Prayer Support:
Your prayers are a vital part of our ministry. Below are specific prayer needs we have.
• That God will raise up more financial support for us.
• Wisdom as we help develop plans for the Elikya Center.
• Peace in the Congo and strength and wisdom for the local church leaders.
Us with Eyenga & Kongba, two boys in the orphan sponsorship
program called Global Fingerprints
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Elikya Video
While we were in the Congo we filmed a lot of the work going on at the Elikya Center and Aaron and Michelle put together this video. Please watch it and get an even better idea of the amazing work going on at the Elikya Center. We would also greatly appreciate your prayers this week as Sam's dad, Jim, is in Africa meeting with local church leaders. They will be discussing some of the current issues due to the recent fighting in the Congo, as well as planning and evaluating some of the current ministries. Jim will return to the States this coming Friday and we look forward to receiving updates from him.
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