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Automobiles and Houses
Matt
7:7-11 tells us how our Heavenly Father
gives good gifts to those who ask
Him. We’ve seen God answer our
prayers in some very specific ways in the
last 6 weeks. Here’s
two:
 First,
we told many of you that we were
trying to find a vehicle.
Since Malawian roads are often
rough, and become very muddy during
the rainy season, we were advised to
find something with 4WD. God
provided us with a great Toyota Surf
to get us around in all kinds of
weather and all kinds of roads
(including places without
roads!) An extra blessing is
the diesel engine, since diesel is
usually cheaper in Malawi.
We’ve been thankful for this vehicle
so many times already, and are
constantly reminded of God’s
goodness as we drive it!
And
in our last newsletter, we asked you to
pray that we would find a house.
Since our church rents the Sunday meeting
place, our ideal house would have a big
living room and enough parking for us to
have people over for midweek Bible
studies. We wanted our home to be
open and available for all kinds of
church events. But as we looked
around town, all the homes we found were
either extremely small, extremely
expensive, or extremely poorly built
(e.g. a kitchen with no room for a
fridge!) So we waited, prayed, and
kept looking.
 Then
one day a friend from church stopped
by and said that their family had
just decided they were moving to
Zimbabwe-- did we want to take over
the rental of their house? We
almost couldn’t believe that the
Lord had dropped this fantastic
place in our laps! The living
room can easily hold 30
people! The parking area can
hold 13 cars! The rent was
within our budget! And it’s a
10 minute walk to the church!
We were
stunned at how God provided a home
so much beyond what we had hoped and
prayed!
The
current residents will be moving to
Zimbabwe at the end of August, so we’ll
probably move in September. We
already had the opportunity to house-sit
for them July, which was a great chance
to get to know the house and the
landlord. We’re so thankful that
God has given us a house that will be
more than just a home, but a great tool
for ministering to others. Thanks
to all of you who were praying with
us!
The Gospel at
Work in Hearts and Lives
In
ministry, the last month has also been
very exciting around here! Here’s
some of what we’ve been up to:
Church
Life
With
the Biedebachs back in the country, we’ve
finally seen what “normal” church life
looks like with all hands on deck.
Matt is enjoying working alongside Brian
again. It’s exciting to see how
many of the ministry needs are in same
areas where we love to serve. It’s a
constant reminder that the gifts God
gives us correspond with the work He’s
prepared for us.
Women’s
Event
At
the beginning of August, Rachel organized
a women’s event with guest speaker Katie
Bartlett. Katie and her husband
Ryan had been missionaries here in
Malawi, and Ryan had been killed in a car
accident in November. Katie
returned briefly to Malawi, and her
testimony to the goodness, grace, and
faithfulness of God during these past 9
months was a great encouragement to all
the women.
Salvation
In
October 2008 when we came to Malawi to
scout out what life here would look like,
Rachel met a lady who had just started
attending IBF. She was not a
believer, but it was very evident that
the Lord was at work in her life.
We’ve prayed for her over the months, and
have been able to get to know her in the
weeks since we moved here. Just two
weeks ago, she gave her life to the Lord
and trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation
- Praise the Lord!
First Team
Visit
A
short-term team from Nebraska arrived on
August 2nd. They’ll be here until
the 17th, so we’ll write more about them
in the next newsletter. They’re
busy working at medical clinics, helping
with construction, and running VBS.
We’ve really enjoyed having them
around!
Thanks!
Thanks for being
part of our team, for your prayers and
encouragement! We know that this is
not something we do on our own, but that
we have the privilege of being a part of
the body of Christ. We are so
blessed to serve here, and cherish your
prayers all the more in these coming
months!
- Matt and Rachel
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Floreen
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