Dave and Donna .ca

Dear Praying Friends;

A beautiful housebound snowy Victoria day was all the motivation we needed to write all of you with our updates.

In the last week of September Donna and I caught what seemed to be a day that never ended as we flew first to Toronto, then on to Bogota Colombia and finally on a commuter flight to Medellin Colombia. While the city is increasingly safe, a few cars making the late night commute from the airport are targeted by thieves so we spent the night in Oriente; the site of a daughter church prepared to plant again. Phil Webb one of fellow FEBint missionaries met us and took us to our hosts home.

The next few days were spent in a wide variety of meetings. First off was an excellent day with our three mission families; the Cardonnas, Robinsons and Phil Webb, who discussed their future directions and current ministries. Donna and I were encouraged by the scope of opportunity that is in front of our maturing field. I had the privilege of speaking to Church leaders (about 40) over the next two days. Donna and I then led a one day Marriage Enrichment conference for pastoral couples with 24 in attendance. Eternal Spring is the best way to describe the climate. We traveled the local subway and took a gondola up the hillside into what had been an extremely dangerous barrio. The drugs and violence has been gradually replaced as the economy and policing has gained success.

The El Redil Church, with four separate sites, nearly 1000 in attendance, and an ongoing pastoral and leadership training program is a model of effective church planting for any culture. Donna and I feel privileged to encourage the missionary and ministry personnel connected to our works.

Having served less than a week in Medellin, Donna and I took an Areo Postal flight direct to Carracas Venezuela to experience four days of ministry alongside the Jolleys and Wrays. The two couples are working in different areas of the city and in different but compatible ministries. The Wrays introduced us to the core of their cell church leaders and we were thrilled to talk with them in lively conversation over how God is building His Church using them. We witnessed a group in action and shared testimonies with them. The Wrays remarked to us that this is the most productive period of their missionary career. It was thrilling. We were able to see some of this sprawling Venezuelan city in the company of the Jolley’s as we listened to their hearts for the work and witnessed first hand some the economic challenges that the city and country face. The country is soon to go to the polls to elect a new government and needs our prayers.

Our trip home was an all night flight through Toronto which gave us a chance to meet our director and his wife for breakfast in the airport. We were so deeply engaged in conversation that we nearly missed the continuation of our flight, but made the next leg of our journey safely albeit in a near state of exhaustion.

We came away praising God for the work we saw in progress, the small part we had in our ministry of encouragement, and the privilege of supporting on site our missionaries.

November came on fast as we shifted from South America to South Africa. Credo and Esperance Mangayi flew into Vancouver after a panicked delay due to the undeclared requirement of a transit visa for the Netherlands. Secured by the grace of the Lord the couple arrived experiencing fully the jet-lag all of us know first hand. They arrived November 3rd for a 3 week visit.

Credo was welcomed into the pulpits at Central Victoria, Campbell River and Emmanuel Abbotsford. They also spoke to various mission committees, and groups interested in their work with HIV/AIDS infected and affected, on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Credo works for our partners in the Baptist Union of South Africa leading their wholistic initiative called Deeds of Love Ministries (DOLM). Their trip has raised interest in the support of orphans and their care-giving grannies. For more information on this you can request information from us. For $100CAN an orphan can stay in their community school.

Donna and I are now planning our pastoral care trip to Japan and Pakistan in March. We had a trip planned for the end of January to several South American countries, but that has been postponed for the time being.

We remain grateful to the Lord for this opportunity of serving our missionaries and our churches, and to you for your ongoing prayer support. Without your prayers we could not undertake this work. Many times during this fall the Lord has reminded us that others are praying for us. We are grateful that as we stay connected to our staff around the world that you are fueling our work.

Together with you in the grip of His grace,

Dave and Donna Marttunen

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