November 2007.
Praying Friend,
Summarizing these last few weeks is no small task although it has delightful written all over it. Amazing, challenging, enriching, humbling, energizing, and exhausting, are all apt descriptors for what we saw and did.
We boarded a plane late on a Monday afternoon and landed the next morning to Amsterdam , a major European gateway to the continent. We dozed on the plane as we flew all night from Canada . We then decided that with a 5 hour layover, we should go through customs, board a commuter train and tour the city rather than sit in the airport. A good decision as the late morning and early afternoon in the Netherlands was warm and welcoming. We said to ourselves that the day was a like a mini-vacation despite the jet-lag. Once more we boarded a plane in the early afternoon for our night flight to Almaty Kazakhstan . We arrived about 6:30am napping occasionally on the flight and were met at the airport by our hosts. It was our first visit t
o this location and the first day was full of adventure. As we toured the city we listened intently to their descriptions of ministry, family, opportunity and challenge. We had lunch after ascen
ding a mountain peak by a ski lift and viewed the stunning area as we discussed how our hosts had adapted to this country as a family. Finding our beds was a welcome end to our first full day. The next two days were a flurry of activity; meeting contacts, and facilitating a conflict resolution team meeting were just part of the opportunities we were given. We m
et individuals whose lives have been transformed; delivered from addictions and now serve with passion as they work to see local meetings flourish. We sensed that the work in this location is both challenging and rewarding as the nation faces an economic boom, a surge in nationalism, and an ongoing identification with Islam that is mixed with the effects of the old regime.
Nationalism became a theme of our trip as we boarded another late night flight at 3:30am (after an hour delay in
the Almaty airport) for our next country visit. We were met at the Istanbul airport, in the early morning, by our young hosts and began another round of visits and meetings. The shadows of Islam surrounded us as we walked and toured their commun
ity. The challenges remain great, and yet there are glimmers of hope and rich opportunities for their work. Far from discouraged by their task, our workers and their team are committed to seeing their purpose advanced in this culture. Resistance is everywhere, yet the hope of the team is evident. Our workers are considering some new ventures under the team umbrella and we were encouraged to discover the gains made in this direction. While there is a fatigue factor from serving in a high investment and low result place, our couple expressed encouragement and commitment to their task.
Our next flight was an afternoon crossing through Europe. We arrived in a blizzard over Vienna and were required to circle the airport for a while until the w
inds shifted and we were able to land safely. We had a short wait on the ground and boarded a plane for Barcelona where we were met by a veteran couple; Eugene and Liz Ciria. This couple is church planting under a sponsoring Church umbrella in a valley north of Barcelona. LaGarriga has been home to them for several years and is now the site of a fledgling Church which, like the community, boasts a congregation of local Catalonians as well as an assortment of Spanish and African Immigrants who have made this area home. The Cirias are planning to see this Church stand on its own by 2009, and are well on their way to making their goal reality. We spent our days in deep conversation 
over the state of Churches in this country and our own and together we pondered how to create a sustainable movement of church growth and church planting. Both Liz and Eugene have made Spain their home. With a grown daughter working and living in Barcelona and a newly married son and daughter-in-law in Canada, they feel the pull of two countries and two cultures as they serve in Spain.
The names and identities of our first two worker families remain confidential due the place and nature of their work. Both Donna and I felt a distinct honor to be serving with FEBI as we visited these three fields. Donna and I are so grateful to you, our partners, because you give us the means to serve our FEBI family in this way. Your prayers, financial support and other means of encouragement enable us to serve our mission by caring for individuals, families, fields, and their local teams.
Dave and Donna
Prayer and Praise Items
- Give thanks with us for effective visits to these three fields
- Join us as we pray for the search and appointment of a new director for FEBInternational
- Ask the Lord to help each of our FEBI workers and their partners to continue to work effectively in their ministry areas.
- Remember to ask the Lord to refresh our workers through vacations, conferences, reading, study courses, and peer relationships.
- Ask the Lord to raise up additional workers to join our current teams and to open new fields for Church planting and Church development.
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