January Newsletter
Word of the day:
Change: n, 1: making or becoming different. In Tonga, ‘kucinca kwa zizintu’ means ‘things are changing.’
January 2008
Dear friends and family,
CHANGE IS IN THE AIR!
Actually, a host of dark rain clouds are in the air. We have had inches of rain these past few days and the Sinazongwe District Commissioner has counted 120 homes have fallen down so far this rainy season. Yet, our Zambian friends are still praising the Lord for good rains which will produce good crops. But… there is also a lot of change in the atmosphere.
The partnership agreement between Missionary Ventures International (MVI) and Action Zambia (AZ) expired in December 2007. After much thought, prayer, and counsel by AZ, MVI Zambia, and our support systems in the US, Susan and I feel that the wisest and most logical move is to leave Action International at this time and join MVI.
We both left ministry and the AZ team in Lusaka on a good note and have been able to establish ourselves well in Sinazongwe. Susan and I see much room to build and revise the medical ministry here and are excited to see it grow and reach many. We are making connections with individuals, families, and communities that will allow the Gospel to go forth.
And so, Susan and I are some of the newest members of the MVI team. We have been accepted on a one-year basis with the requirement of attending orientation and interviews in Orlando, FL in late September 2008 to be official members.
There are some final transfer points to work through between ACTION and MVI, but we are confident these will be worked out without any problems. One of these being a tax situation with the Zambian government which all Non-Government Organizations are trying to understand. Both teams would appreciate your prayers as we seek the right way to sort out taxes, give the government what is due them, and proceed in the future without further problems!
These past months in the Tonga Valley of Zambia have been full of opening up a small outpatient clinic, establishing a clientele, and beginning our training of students. Susan has 3 health care workers and 1 malnutrition worker she trains and I have 2 midwives that I am training. It has been such a blessing to get to know these two women, Sandra and Favorite, and to see their hearts both for ministry to other women as well as providing good health care.
Susan and I, along with a rotation of our students, host a Monday clinic day and a Thursday follow-up day on the mission base in Sinazongwe. We also have a mobile clinic we set up in a church or MVI’s training center at two remote locations on Wednesdays. We hold classes for our students on Tuesdays and the rest of the days are full of charting, visiting the local hospital—which often has only 1 nurse on staff and hasn’t seen a doctor in months, or helping with the malnourished baby/child program Karin started. Our students also double as translators and are invaluable to us!
I was thrilled to be able to visit Washington for 6 weeks in September and the beginning of October to help my sister with the birth of her first child. It was such a blessing to see my family and be there at that special time while we accepted a new member, my niece, Mac.
I’m looking forward to this New Year that has already brought with it so much change… and potential for change.
One change that I would like to ask you to make is to shift any financial support of me from Action International Ministries to Missionary Ventures International. This will require notifying ACTION of your intent to switch your support of me by phone: 1-800-755-6918 or email: info@actionusa.org. They are in agreeance with Susan and my moving to MVI and are aware that we are requesting our financial supporters move with us. The process for sending support through MVI is similar to that of ACTION’s. Once you have sent in an initial check or online donation you will receive a tax deductible receipt and information on sending on-going support, as this applies to you. To donate online, go to: www.mvi.org, click on the tab 'Giving,' on the side column select 'Make a Donation Now,' and enter my name next to "Missionary Support" on the form. To mail in support, use the following address:
Missionary Ventures International, Inc.
P.O. Box 593550
Orlando, FL 32859-3550
Please make the check out to ‘Missionary Ventures International, Inc’ with my name in the subject line of the check. For more information, please feel free to email MVI at: info@mvusa.org or call them at: (407) 859-7322.
You may have noticed that this newsletter is a bit different than my past ones. ACTION had an incredibly helpful publication ministry that I could simply send my newsletter to and they did the rest. Changing organizations has left me in a bit of a bind. This letter was printed by Susan’s family in California, but… I need help! I am looking for someone in the greater Seattle area who would be willing to volunteer to print my newsletters (at cost to me). I have already had a volunteer to stuff envelopes and get the letters into the mail. Would you pray about this and shoot me an email? I would require help 3-4 times a year to send out hard copy letters. Thank you!
Thank you for your flexibility and your continued support of me in so many ways! Please keep in your prayers the Tonga people, so many of whom have lost their homes in the rain storms.
May we never be satisfied with where we are, but always allowing the Lord to bring us change that will make us more like Him!
Stephanie
*Please note that I have no internet access where I live, so please allow 1-2 months for replies and blog/picture updates, thanks!
Change: n, 1: making or becoming different. In Tonga, ‘kucinca kwa zizintu’ means ‘things are changing.’
January 2008
Dear friends and family,
CHANGE IS IN THE AIR!
Actually, a host of dark rain clouds are in the air. We have had inches of rain these past few days and the Sinazongwe District Commissioner has counted 120 homes have fallen down so far this rainy season. Yet, our Zambian friends are still praising the Lord for good rains which will produce good crops. But… there is also a lot of change in the atmosphere.
The partnership agreement between Missionary Ventures International (MVI) and Action Zambia (AZ) expired in December 2007. After much thought, prayer, and counsel by AZ, MVI Zambia, and our support systems in the US, Susan and I feel that the wisest and most logical move is to leave Action International at this time and join MVI.
We both left ministry and the AZ team in Lusaka on a good note and have been able to establish ourselves well in Sinazongwe. Susan and I see much room to build and revise the medical ministry here and are excited to see it grow and reach many. We are making connections with individuals, families, and communities that will allow the Gospel to go forth.
And so, Susan and I are some of the newest members of the MVI team. We have been accepted on a one-year basis with the requirement of attending orientation and interviews in Orlando, FL in late September 2008 to be official members.
There are some final transfer points to work through between ACTION and MVI, but we are confident these will be worked out without any problems. One of these being a tax situation with the Zambian government which all Non-Government Organizations are trying to understand. Both teams would appreciate your prayers as we seek the right way to sort out taxes, give the government what is due them, and proceed in the future without further problems!
These past months in the Tonga Valley of Zambia have been full of opening up a small outpatient clinic, establishing a clientele, and beginning our training of students. Susan has 3 health care workers and 1 malnutrition worker she trains and I have 2 midwives that I am training. It has been such a blessing to get to know these two women, Sandra and Favorite, and to see their hearts both for ministry to other women as well as providing good health care.
Susan and I, along with a rotation of our students, host a Monday clinic day and a Thursday follow-up day on the mission base in Sinazongwe. We also have a mobile clinic we set up in a church or MVI’s training center at two remote locations on Wednesdays. We hold classes for our students on Tuesdays and the rest of the days are full of charting, visiting the local hospital—which often has only 1 nurse on staff and hasn’t seen a doctor in months, or helping with the malnourished baby/child program Karin started. Our students also double as translators and are invaluable to us!
I was thrilled to be able to visit Washington for 6 weeks in September and the beginning of October to help my sister with the birth of her first child. It was such a blessing to see my family and be there at that special time while we accepted a new member, my niece, Mac.
I’m looking forward to this New Year that has already brought with it so much change… and potential for change.
One change that I would like to ask you to make is to shift any financial support of me from Action International Ministries to Missionary Ventures International. This will require notifying ACTION of your intent to switch your support of me by phone: 1-800-755-6918 or email: info@actionusa.org. They are in agreeance with Susan and my moving to MVI and are aware that we are requesting our financial supporters move with us. The process for sending support through MVI is similar to that of ACTION’s. Once you have sent in an initial check or online donation you will receive a tax deductible receipt and information on sending on-going support, as this applies to you. To donate online, go to: www.mvi.org, click on the tab 'Giving,' on the side column select 'Make a Donation Now,' and enter my name next to "Missionary Support" on the form. To mail in support, use the following address:
Missionary Ventures International, Inc.
P.O. Box 593550
Orlando, FL 32859-3550
Please make the check out to ‘Missionary Ventures International, Inc’ with my name in the subject line of the check. For more information, please feel free to email MVI at: info@mvusa.org or call them at: (407) 859-7322.
You may have noticed that this newsletter is a bit different than my past ones. ACTION had an incredibly helpful publication ministry that I could simply send my newsletter to and they did the rest. Changing organizations has left me in a bit of a bind. This letter was printed by Susan’s family in California, but… I need help! I am looking for someone in the greater Seattle area who would be willing to volunteer to print my newsletters (at cost to me). I have already had a volunteer to stuff envelopes and get the letters into the mail. Would you pray about this and shoot me an email? I would require help 3-4 times a year to send out hard copy letters. Thank you!
Thank you for your flexibility and your continued support of me in so many ways! Please keep in your prayers the Tonga people, so many of whom have lost their homes in the rain storms.
May we never be satisfied with where we are, but always allowing the Lord to bring us change that will make us more like Him!
Stephanie
*Please note that I have no internet access where I live, so please allow 1-2 months for replies and blog/picture updates, thanks!
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on Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 8:10 AM.
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