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Please Pray for the Biedebachs
Our
dear friends and ministry partners, the
Biedebach family, have been on furlough
in California since mid-October. We have
greatly missed them, their friendship,
and their eagerness to strengthen the
church in Africa.
This last month has been a difficult time
for the Biedebach family. In
mid-December, Anita had an appendectomy,
ending a long period of medical
frustrations and unknowns. Then, on
Sunday, January 3, Anita started to
experience seizure-like episodes and was
rushed to the hospital. After a
week of tests in two different hospitals,
doctors have just diagnosed that the
seizures are related to the shock her
system experienced from
appendicitis. While it’s a relief
to have some answers after a week of
mysteries, Anita’s treatment is just
beginning. You can follow the
Biedebach’s blog for their
latest updates.
Naturally, this
unexpected emergency has led the
Biedebachs to delay their return to
Malawi by a couple more months.
While we can’t explain everything, we
know that God is both sovereign and
good. Please pray for the Biedebach
family as Anita begins her treatment in
California. Please pray for us as
well, as we serve at the church in Malawi
without them. Most of all, pray
that though this incident, God will be
exalted!
Fill the
House!
 We
prayed that the Lord would give us a
house with a big living room so that
we could have lots of people over -
we have that big living room now,
and we’ve filled it! We have 2
Bible studies meeting in our home,
we love having church families over
for lunch on Sundays, and we decided
to invite lots of people over for
the holidays!
There
were 14 of us for Thanksgiving dinner;
Americans, Malawians, and one
Welshman. We had a great time with
old and new friends, and encouraged each
other in thankfulness to God - for our
salvation, for our families, and for the
church body.
 For
Christmas, we hosted about 60 people
from the church in our home over two
different nights. We played
games, sang Christmas carols, and
together read the Christmas story
from Luke chapter two.
We
are so blessed to be forming these
relationships with the people of
International Bible Fellowship. We
love the role of facilitating fellowship
and as we get to know each of these
families and individuals, we see more
opportunities for ministry and
discipleship. Group events have
opened doors to spend time with these
people one-on-one, laughing, crying, and
praying together. Please pray with
us as we strive to make the best use of
our time and energies in ministering to
the family of IBF!
Baby
Floreen!
Yes,
it’s true - we’re expecting! Check
out our blog post for
a larger image and more information
on the wee one.
Another Family
Addition
If
planning for Baby Floreen isn’t enough,
we also recently adopted Simba, a Great
Dane/Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. You
can
check him out on the blog
too!
Mosquito
Season
And
if you’re wondering what rainy mosquito
season looks like for us, we also did a
blog post on
the precautions we take against malaria
and mosquitos.
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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