The Swazi Team
Southern Baptist Missionaries working with the Swazi People
Sponsored by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
For more information, email us at: information@swazimissions.org
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The Swazi Team Southern Baptist Missionaries working with the Swazi People
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Last update: 03/03/08 Allen's African Adventures - March 2008 |
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"Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth. " 2 Timothy 2:15 (American Standard Bible) Baby Boy Allen Update: We want to say a big thank you for so many prayers that have been lifted on behalf of our family, esp. over the past few months, in anticipation of the birth of our second child. It is a miracle of the Lord that baby Allen has not made an appearance yet and he is doing very well. The plan is for a scheduled c-section on Friday, March 7 and we are quite excited that his arrival is almost here. Continue to pray for Steven and Lacie as they are in Swaziland and Monica is waiting in Johannesburg. Steven and Lacie will be joining Monica on Monday, March 3 to wait for the delivery of the baby, obtain the baby's South African birth certificate and then the baby's USA passport. Whew...so much paperwork for a little one! More than likely, our family will be in Johannesburg for most of March waiting on documents as well as participating in our company's mission meeting towards the end of the month. We will keep everyone updated when our little one arrives. Pray for a safe and healthy delivery for both Monica and baby. We have been blessed by missionary friends that have agreed to help with watching Lacie so Steven can be at the hospital for the birth and duration of Monica and baby's stay, if possible. Rooms in the maternity ward are based on a first come-first serve basis but we are praying for a private ward where the husbands/fathers are able to spend the night as well.Pray for everything to work out with the best plan for everyone. Ministry Updates: - Continue to Pray for our co-workers and mission family as they faithfully serve the Lord...Kimber Ringler; Julia Tarr; Truman, Becky, Samantha and Trey Oakley; Wayne and Barbara Myers. We are blessed to be part of a wonderful mission team! Pray for strength and balance as we all are seeking the Lord daily in our lives. - It is hard to believe but Easter will be here before we know it. The Baptist Convention of Swaziland has already begun plans for the annual Easter services for all our churches. This is a special time for our churches to gather together for worship, teaching and fellowship. The services are being planned for March 20 - 23, 2008 in the Hhohho region (where we live) for this year. Although it will be in our area of ministry, our family will more than likely not be here for the services with the anticipated arrival of Baby Allen this month. Steven is trying hard to work with the committee in getting everything planned in advance for these special services. Pray for all the final details to come together soon and for continued unity among those making important planning decisions. - A volunteer team from the South Roanoke Association in eastern North Carolina has been in Swaziland the past week continuing ministry in the eastern part of Swaziland. Pray for the follow-up work that needs to be done and for the many lives that have been changed for Jesus Christ. The team is currently visiting Kruger National Park in South Africa and will be returning to the USA on March 3. Pray for a safe trip back to the USA and we are so thankful as a mission team for their willingness to come serve the Lord in Swaziland. - March 24 - 29, around 400 missionaries will be gathering in Johannesburg for our annual mission meeting. We normally do not gather each year all together for our annual meeting but we are looking forward to meeting new faces and reconnecting with old friends. It is also special time for our children, too, as they will be in classes led by a volunteer mission team each day with kids their age learning about Jesus. Pray for the many details to be finalized with travels, logistics, speakers, etc. for this important meeting. More importantly, begin to pray now for the Lord to meet all of us in a special way during our time together. - Our family is getting geared up to host two volunteer teams in coming months. One is an university team from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina coming in late May and another one is from Washington, North Carolina coming in late June. Pray for both of these teams as they are making preparations to come serve in Swaziland through children and youth ministries, homestead visitations, speaking in schools, revival services, etc. We are looking forward to seeing what God has planned for both teams during their times of ministry in Swaziland. Lacie's Little Notes:I am very excited about my baby brother coming to join our family in less than a week. I cannot wait to hold him and I love calling him "my baby". I enjoyed getting to be with the volunteer team and playing with the Swazi kids in the rural areas this past week. My Swazi Gogo, Maria Shandu, is back in Swaziland and I am glad to have her home again. I look forward to our family being together again and getting to play at the playground at the Baptist guesthouse next week. My parents had me get the chicken pox vaccination recently and I thought I was not going to be able to have "chicken POPS" from Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore. I was quickly told that was not true! :) ***Remember, we live in Africa and there is no guarantee that our e-mails are received or even sent out correctly. If you have written and not heard from us, please write again. We would rather receive e-mails two times than not at all.*** We are up and running with a few, new modern technological things.... Let us know of ways we can be praying for you and your families! |