Learning New Levels of Trust

Dear Family & Friends,

We are definitely feeling a sensation that we are flying over our nation seeing things from a new viewpoint and as they are connected with one another; rather than viewing all of this from within the forest where we usually reside. We are getting a view of our dear Foursquare family in different geographic regions, ministry venues, cultural backgrounds and age distinctions. Taking it all in is changing us, and our vision of where we are, as a nation and as a church. We are realizing, as never before, how urgent it is to be in intercession for our church and the nations including our own.

We see God moving in each individual church, in a unique way meeting every community of believers and teams of leaders, exactly as they have need and direction, in this difficult and sometimes confusing time in history. God is in control of the events in our tiny corner of the universe, as well as, in the largest nations of the world. We, as believers, are in a tandem relationship with the God of the universe...a yoke. What a ride! We are yoked with God...fathom that!

Mt. 11:28-30; "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls . For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

In these past two months we have had the privilege of being in three of our Foursquare district conferences and it has been such a great encouragement. We have heard the words of our leadership to us; Our President Glenn Burris spoke with gentle perception regarding 'Living Free From Hurt'; why this message now? This is a strategic epoch as never before in which leaders at all levels are finding themselves subject to being wounded; these wounds are not "mortal wounds" and we can be forgiven and forgive one another in a manner that, all involved are able to receive remedial care from the Holy Spirit, and move on to new areas of growth and maturity.

There is a strategic work of the enemy to take advantage of areas of unfinished character formation in all of our lives; and precisely in those areas he attacks us and brings injury before the formation of character is complete. This leaves us injured and if it is not dealt with we will literally grow around these issues without resolving them. This then becomes a debilitating injury, causing us to limp and often not realizing what has been the root cause. I would like to take this opportunity to alert my family and friends that Satan's "state of the art" tactic with leaders today is to take advantage of any lonely, wounded, unhealed areas of our lives and strategically target and hit us there. We in turn receive the "offense" and everything is then "colored and filtered" through the wound, created by the unhealed offense.

Dear ones, I encourage you, as well as, myself to let go of all these offenses; pray for our offenders; allow the Holy Spirit to heal these wounded areas; and stay free by not rehearsing the events in our hearts or minds, re-wounding our souls. Only then can the "Body" recuperate and resume the calling of each one, acting accordingly, out of a healed soul, and freed mind and spirit, until the "Day of Jesus Christ".

We have been clearly blessed these past months being in so many of our churches and conferences. We have had the blessing of meeting with pastors; life long friends, as well as, making new ones, being with our fellow missionaries and, not only giving out to the Body but receiving from the various gifts in the Body.

Every Sunday with the exception of one we have been sharing and ministering in one of our churches the messages that God has put on our hearts for our denomination regarding signs and wonders following the growth of godly character in the saints; and a reminder of the hope that is living in each one of us as we labor daily, in a world full of hopelessness.

Just to keep you up to date we are lingering at right around 70% of our projected and approved budget; so many of you are among that 70% and we are deeply grateful for your open hearts. We are however restrained here in the US until the agreed 100%, with and additional 20%, in the wings for the purpose of any unexpected attrition, is completed; and then and only then will we be released by our sponsoring agent, FMI (Foursquare Missions International)to deploy for Brazil. This is a loving safeguard for us and others who raise their own support, so that we do not leap into the needy field without proper backing and funding from those committed to stand with us in this respect.

God bless you, each and every one. You are all so very precious to us and we rely on your prayer greatly. Thank you for your prayer and generosity in helping to meet the budgeted needs.

His servants with you in our minds and in our hearts,

Dale & Patti Downs

Prayer needs:

1) Anointing and flexibility in the upcoming marriage retreats; one in English and one in Portuguese.

2) Needed transportation at the end of our New England and east coast support raising season; if you will remember our Mitsubishi 1999 died last month and our very, very kind sending pastor, Pastor Cairo Marques has generously loaned us one of his vehicles to utilize while here in the NE. We will need to finalize a mode of "dispensable" transportation to the west coast in order to close up the very last details of our home, storage, visa applications and airline tickets. Therefore will will need also transportation in CA. Please pray with us for a plan to accommodate all of these needs.

3) Continued comfort and reassurance to our children and grandchildren as we prepare to leave them behind for this season. There will be SKYPE but it is not quite the same.

Dearest Friends and Family,

We just finished a really rewarding week-end doing a Marriage Retreat for two combined churches in the Gardiner, Maine area. The second church was one in Hallowell, ME. It was very special and we witnessed God do a lot of work in not only the participants but also in our lives. We ministered in the Faith Baptist Church of Hallowell, Maine on Sunday morning; this historic Maine church is pastored by LIFE Pacific graduates. We had a great time with Pastors Michael & Kelleen Longfellow and so enjoyed the fellowship and sharing we experienced.

The Gardiner, Maine, Foursquare Church joined together with the Faith Baptist Church for this retreat and each church had 9 couples. Teri Orwiler is the pastor of this church and also a very dear long-time friend. Kelleen happens to be Teri's daughter and that is how the connection of the two churches was facilitated.

The retreat was held in a the gorgeous "Sugar Loaf Lodge & Inn" a mountain ski lodge retreat center. The leaves were just breath-taking and the work of the Holy Spirit was even more impressive. :)

We are in the middle of the Northeast District of Foursquare Churches and next Sunday we will be with The Capital Church, of Pembroke, NH with Pastors Peter & Lisa Bonanno. We are really excited to see them and be with their congregation. The week-end of Oct. 17th we will be speaking in the Brockton, MA Portuguese Speaking Foursquare Church with Pastors Valdir & Sueli Facioni. We are equally excited about returning to this church to share and fellowship with them.

For those of you who are wondering about our deployment time we are waiting on God just as fast as we can! We are still in support raising mode and as soon as we reach our monthly budget and our start-up costs we will deploy. We are around 65% there.:) Please pray with us, for those who God touches and assigns to us; that resources will be released to them, so that they are able to participate.

In the meantime just so you will be clear on what we are doing; we are traveling around the US visiting our Churches and inviting them to participate in supporting our return to Brazil to help form "Pastoral Care" ministry for the pastors and their families. Our means of support during this period is not the "missions support" we are raising; but simply free will love offerings that are shared with us from each church where we minister. God has totally carried us along and these offerings have been meeting our travel needs abundantly. We also have very dear friends and colleagues who have freely opened their homes to house us and shared their hearts and housing; this is an incredibly huge gift!

Our house is being sold in a short-sale and is presently in escrow; please pray with us that the offer will be accepted by the bank and this burden will be alleviated from us. We are praying and ask that you will join with us for a speedy deployment; hopefully before the end of the year we will reach the 100% level and be on our way. Every day seems more "urgent" when you reach this age and time of life; and you feel that you "must be about Your Father's business" although we know we are doing His business even while we are in this "holding" pattern.

God bless you all and may His joy and hope fill you up and bubble over wherever you are!

Our love,
Dale & Patti Downs

Dear Family & Friends,

We have had a very refreshing, blessed and exciting month in the Northeast! We arrived simultaneously with the home-going of our dear friend and sister in Christ, Pastor Sonja Lartey. We were able to be present for the evening visitation/wake in Jamaica Plains, MA. It was an honor to know and have had time with her during her “earth-side” journey.

The following Sunday we were in the Hyde Park Foursquare Church where the Lartey’s have pastored for over a decade of ministry. We went that morning to be a comfort and support to our dear friends and colleagues in ministry and in reality they were full of hope and spilling out all over those who came. We were exceedingly blessed from the moment we walked through the door until leaving after a wonderful time of fellowship following the morning service.

The next Sunday we had the joy of being with Teri Orwiler in the Gardiner, Maine Foursquare Church. We started our visit on Saturday evening at a church softball game and were hosted by Pastor Teri in her home. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and communion together with this dear friend and sister in Christ. The Sunday morning service was a joyous celebration of the presence of the Lord in their midst; worship, ministry and words of encouragement from the Holy Spirit to our hearts.

The following Monday evening we had a time of fellowship with Pastor Eduardo & Livania Marques. After supper together at their home Dale and Pastor Eduardo headed off to the late night Monday evening prayer time the men of the church have together. It actually begins at 10:30 PM and ends around midnight or later; these dear brothers who work long and hard hours in Boston are only able to get off work (many restaurant workers) around 10 PM or later. God gave Dale a rich word of encouragement for them through the life of the 3 Hebrew children and Daniel as they struggle themselves in a “foreign” land not of their birth.

This past Sunday morning we were with Pastor Joel & Marlene Menezes a downtown Boston Hotel location. It is a new and growing work and is effectively reaching the Brazilians of their area. The majority of all these dear pastors and their wives work tirelessly at full-time jobs and still lovingly care for the sheep God has placed in their care with great love and compassion.

Sunday night was aptly described by Pastor Cairo Marques as one of those "sweet & bitter" occasions at the same time. His son, Roberto, and family; Marcia, Leonardo and Marianna are departing their ten year church plant in Brockton to take an existing Portuguese-speaking Foursquare Church in San Diego, CA. The Brockton, MA Portuguese-speaking church had its inception during our years of pastoring in Brockton. Pastor Roberto and Dale simultaneously felt led to launch this church in our exiting facilities. We were both blessed! Later they found their own facility in downtown Brockton and have grown beyond belief. We were able to be there Sunday night to help in the sending forth of the family to their new assignment from the Holy Spirit. The Brockton Portuguese-speaking Church literally gave birth that night. It is Pastor Roberto & Marcia's goal and mission to plant five new churches in the coming five years. I can't tell you what a great blessing it was to be a part of those who prayed and sent them forth. They will be missed but God has plans for this great work and they will be good.

This week we have been in the state of Maine hosted by dear friends of many years in a lakeside setting. What a refreshing and reinvigorating experience; we have canoed and kayaked, and had time to pray and meditate together. We are preparing for a week-end in our Foxboro, MA church with Pastors Mike & Mary Bave on Sunday morning and Pastors Eduardo & Livania in the Weymouth Foursquare (Portuguese-speaking) Church.

Thank you so much for your prayers and faithful support as we continue to connect with our churches and ministry colleagues to share our ministry plans of returning to Brazil for the purpose of giving pastoral care to many of our former students who are now pastors and leaders in that great work.

We give thanks to God for each one of you;
We regularly pray for many of you.
Our love,
Dale & Patti Downs

Prayer Needs:

1) Strength and health to carry out the will of God for our golden years.
2) Insight and wisdom as we visit with pastors and friends; it is our desire to be an encouragement to them in their place of service.
3) Churches and colleagues with willing hearts to be a part of our support team.
4) Holy Spirit preparation of hearts and churches in Brazil to receive and participate in the care of pastors and leaders through prayer and people resourcing.
5) Continued navigation of our personal needs: the selling of our home in Indio, CA and the closing out of all other financial obligations.

Blessings dear friends and family! D & P

The Lady in "Waiting"

We are in the midst of a very blessed and unusual time of "waiting". We left CA, house, belongings, what was left after liquidating and giving away all but some remaining boxes of our earthly belongings, on the 27th of June. We set out for the east by way of Aurora, CO and stopped at our Daughter and son-in-law's house, Debbie & Damian and the grandchildren, Naomi & Declan! It was our delight to have some hours with them and to eat a lovingly prepared "42nd Wedding Anniversary" breakfast at their table.

Next, we headed to Decatur, IL, where we spent a few quick days with many dear life-long friends there and had some dental work done. Our dentist and his wife have lovingly hosted us many times as we have crossed this nation in these past 15 years. They are dear lifelong friends. :)

Now we headed into our 2nd all night drive to Bridgewater, MA where we are graciously and lovingly hosted by dear friends and fellow believers. They are "washing our feet" and we pray that we are "washing" theirs also. Our first Sunday here we had the joy of ministering in the Bedford, NH Foursquare Church, where dear friends pastor a wonderful church full of the grace of the Lord. It was an unforgettable experience!

I spoke to a group of Portuguese speaking women on the following Saturday night, and since there was one English speaking lady present, I did my own interpreting; something, I realized, I would not like to have to do on a regular basis. :) This session was followed by a "Prayer Vigil" until 1: am with their entire congregation. They are Pastors Eduardo & Livania Marques whom we have known nearly 30 years. We remember when they started dating in Brazil when we were there previously as missionary representatives. :)

Our second Sunday we enjoyed a service in Norwell, MA with dear friends who pastor there and it was a great blessing to see how God is using and blessing them in that community. Then a time of fellowship and lunch afterward with some dear friends from our past history in New England. What a blessing to see what God is doing in the lives of those who faithfully grow and nurture others on their way through life!

What does this all feel like? I haven't talked a lot on this blog about my feelings; it has been more informative and not so much a look into the personal journey I am on. Recently I felt led to formulate a teaching around the fruit-bearing in our lives and how it is nurtured and cultivated. May I encourage any of you who read this, by sharing that the most difficult times of our lives can become, if recognized and turned over to God, the most meaningful times of our lives.

This time of uprooting and accepting the challenge to return to Brazil has been, it seems, far more difficult and character-building than was the first time with 4 children in hand and all the luggage involved in moving your whole family. There is the aspect of leaving that family behind, in a manner of speaking; a scriptural concept, I might add, even though not an easy one. There are more in the family now, counting in-laws and grandchildren. And we have wonderful enriching relationships with our adult children as they continue to navigate their way through life; all of them in some form of military life. They are growing at different rates and in different ways in their spiritual lives as we accompany them in prayer. We entrust them to God and know that in His time we will have together "family" times, yet in our future.

We will be in New England for the months of July and August. If our FMI approved budget is not yet met we will spend the remaining time with our children in Virginia and Colorado making ourselves available to serve and share in the churches in those respective areas, until we reach the goal that has been set. In a recent meeting with a member of our FMI deployment team, we were encouraged as to the fact that, this process usually takes at least two years and that we are currently ahead of the norm, which we owe to many of you who have stepped forward during your own financially difficult times and stood with us.

One marvelous answer to prayer has been the on-going help, on the other end, in Brazil, of a dear life-long couple, fellow missionaries, of over 40 years, who have stepped forward to handle the preparation of the FMI owned apartment we will use while there. They have lovingly repaired, refurbished and cleaned the apartment in anticipation of our arrival. We will of course reimburse them financially out of our start-up funds but we can never repay the labor and time that these dear people have sacrificed to "prepare a place" for us. :)

As we have traveled throughout the US and visited our Foursquare churches we have been blessed to see how God is moving and directing so many pastors and churches in the same direction. There seems to be a universal "prompting" from the Spirit of God to prepare "the Bride" for her "Groom". We see many making their way back to God, and currently growing believers taking more seriously the day and time in which we find ourselves. Even though we grieve over the defiant and rebellious ways we see the world citizens resisting the message of their need, and the only answer, we continue to faithfully spread the table and invite the guests!

Please remember us as we prayerfully visit churches and invite them to stand with us in what, we believe, the Lord of the Church is calling us to do in this new epoch of our life and ministry. We are open to do anything He wants and this, so far, is all He has indicated to us. So we move forward in faith and obedience. It is our desire to be a great blessing to our state-side churches even though our target ultimately, will be to bless our Brazilian pastoral families with spiritual and emotional care, as well as, support as they wage the battle in these final days of history.

I do not doubt for one minute that we are in the final days of history as we know it and I want to be found faithful regardless of the cost, until the end....or the beginning...depending how you look at it. :) God bless you all,

Patti (for Dale & Patti)

Prayer Needs:

The sale of our home
Continued health and strength
Acute spiritual hearing
Continued provision as we raise the needed support
The Brazilian Church and leaders: Marriages and family
Our children and grandchildren

Thanks so much for prayer...without it nothing happens. :)

Setting Ourselves to Return to Brazil for God's Season

To family, this sight is very familiar, but to many of you it is unknown. This is one small swath of the enormous, third largest city on the planet, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. It is approximately the land size of the LA Basin with a population of approximately 25 million inhabitants. This was home to us for 9+ years between 1982 and 1991. Our children learned to love it and its citizens. Dale and I learned to navigate it (Dale better than I) but I did learn how to get lost in it and then to get found, more times than I care to remember. :)

We are on the brink of returning to this city and this wonderful country; our hearts are full of excitement and wonder about what God has planned for us in these coming days and years. Our Portuguese is coming back and our Spanish is diminishing...I wish there were a way to keep them both on the tip of the tongue but alas they are so "alike" and yet so "un-alike" that you have to suppress one to speak the other. So we are making the switch and I have to say, for both of us there is an inner joy at reclaiming our Portuguese. It is such a fun and delightful tongue, that one just enjoys it way too much!

In the event that any of you have missed the news of our approval, we are finally fully approved and have begun the serious work of mounting a "support team" both prayer and resource. Would you add us to your prayer list and remember us as often as you can. There are 15,000 churches and meeting places in Brazil and 2,000 in the state of São Paulo where we will be, serving the church, the majority of our time. There are 27,484 licensed workers in the nation-wide church. Last year alone nearly 1/2 of the converts reported in our Foursquare yearly reports took place in the country of Brazil; 1.4 million world-wide and 731,821 of those were in Brazil. There are 60 Bible Colleges and 150 Bible Institutes. Last year alone they planted 331 new works all thriving.

You might ask yourself, "What in the world do they need you for?" In the burgeoning rapidly growing miracle of a church, there are many great men and women who are working day and night to see their communities reached; pastors are stretched and their families are burdened and fragile from the strain of the labor. It is into this venue that we go bearing encouragement and care for the hearts, marriages and families of our workers there. Obviously we will not be able to carry a load of that magnitude by ourselves but we can, by the grace of God, begin a system of care-giving that, it is our prayer, will rapidly multiply and catch the all-to-frequent fall-out of tireless workers in the harvest.

In our wonderful Foursquare world-wide family there are all kinds of ministries going on simultaneously and this is one that will join with them to help our brothers and sisters "finish well". It is our prayer that if the Lord places us on your hearts you will pray with fidelity for our strength, wisdom, resource, national cooperation and the trust of those hearts that stand in need. It is our prayer to be "Jesus" with skin on for our laborers and workers in the Brazilian field; that they may have respite and renewal in the battle and be resourced by our American Church with "ministry gifts" that will come and share in the encouragement of these men and women of God.

Thank you for following our journey and lifting us up in prayer, as well as, with resource; we could do nothing without this backing by our American Church. We also realize that here in the USA we are in a season of tremendous financial uncertainty; much like some of the churches in the New Testament who gave out of their clear and apparent need, in order to see their brethren encouraged and fortified spiritually. Brazil does not need our financial resource, but they need our spiritual support and care and the Lord has seen fit to call us back to the harvest field to stand in the gap and urge and encourage (Heb. 3:13-14) "one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14) For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end..." It is for this purpose we set ourselves to return for a season and we desperately need your prayer and intercession for this task.

We are in our home, which is for sale, and actively saving resources for the upcoming mission. While waiting, we are working. Dale is this week serving in security for the Tennis Tournament in our community; I am available for substitute teaching and have applied for Census work, as well. We are speaking during the week-ends in our wonderful Foursquare Churches in the So. California area. I need to say that each Sunday is an absolute delight as we are gathered in by our loving and gracious pastors and their flocks; shown hospitality and renewed in heart and spirit as we worship together and share the word God has placed on our hearts.

Thank you for all your love and support in so many ways!
May the Grace of God visit you in these unique days when all that matters is HIM and His purpose.

Dale & Patti :)

God's Journey Back to Gilgal for Healing

Dear Family & Friends,

Freezing cold wind, cozy car and a beautiful scenic highway; there we were on our way from Woodbridge, VA to Decatur, IL. This would be our first visit back together to the Decatur Foursquare Church since our farewell in June of 1997. We were so looking forward to seeing and experiencing what God has been doing, as well as, seeing many life-long and very dear friends. Excitement vibrating in our hearts and minds we pulled over in Cambridge, OH to take a call from the FMI office. Immediately following the call we headed back onto I-70 East, when a warning chime went off and signaled for us to check the heat gauge, which was in the red zone by then. Getting off at the very next exit we headed to a near-by truck garage. They checked the engine, and by now the car could not move without being towed. It was towed to the Jeep dealer in that city and the bad news was that the engine was gone and would need to be replaced. The estimate was nearly $7000. We were stunned! I could just see Dale sinking further and further into his chair. We stopped and prayed asking God to intervene.

After a few calls to check with friends for any other options it was decided to tow the car to Decatur where a very dear man who is a mechanic in the church checked the engine out and gave us his version of the situation. Just a side note: the owner, himself, of the tow company, took the day off, and drove us (Dale & me) in the cab with him, as he towed the car. It was a divine appointment and for 8 hours we were able to minister to this dear man.

The Decatur mechanic shop owner, also a member of the church, checked out our situation and gave us an estimate of 1/2 of the estimate we had received in Ohio. (No offense Ohioans) PTL. That very Sunday we were to be guests in the Decatur Church and share about the plan to return to Brazil and what we would be doing this ministry season there. The kindness and generosity of this church and its loving members covered all of the cost of the replaced engine. This was a huge miracle for us. We have much for which to give thanks! We are now awaiting the engine to be completed and then we will head for Aurora, CO to dedicate our new grandson, Declan Rhys, Debbie & Damian's son.

During our short sojourn here in Decatur we have been so lovingly received and hosted by dear life-long friends. We had the joy of being received by Pastors David & Lori Catron in the two Sunday morning services; it was a wonderful and unforgettable experience. The building and ministry of this church has so grown and is effectively touching so many dimensions of this area that we cannot help but be very blessed that we were able to be a very small part of their honorable history. We were blessed to see Mrs. Erickson, Lori's mother, who for all intents and purposes, was a mentor for us, at the very commencement of our public ministry. We have been very privileged in our lifetime to have had so many incredibly rich relationships and to have received so much from servants of the Lord, such as Mrs. Erickson.

Tuesday morning I (Patti) had the joy of sharing with a women's Bible study hosted by the church and again was able to renew so many life-long friendships, as well as, make some new ones. It was a very special time of sharing about the hope we have in Christ in the midst of what seems to be hopeless times.

On Wednesday evening we were just amazed as we entered the Monticello, IL Foursquare Church known as, "Open Hearts Foursquare Church", pastored by Dave & Ellen Stogsdill. This amazing church has literally "opened their hearts" to hundreds of teens to see their lives changed and discipled. That night there were approximately a hundred kids present. Pastor Rod & Sam Burris (a couple who were kids in the Decatur church when we pastored there) have taken these kids under wing and are growing them up in Christ. Wow! They gathered around us and prayed for us. It was an awesome moment. :) Very dear life-long friends, Ken & Polly Schnipp have helped in the formation and progress of this body of believers. Isn't it amazing how God knits his gifts together to do a work for His Glory. What a joy to see Bill & Brenda Tolly whom we have know so long that neither of us care to count. :)

We also had a very special reunion with Rev. Jim & Loni Newcome, remembering some of the unique times we shared at the very beginning of both of our ministries together in the Decatur church 40 years ago. Part of the joy was catching up on the lives of our children and grandchildren together.

I must draw all this to a close...what a week we have had. Thanks to all of you who lift us up in prayer and maintain our cause before the Lord. Oh yes! In the midst of all of this excitement we got word that Jonathan Hall had received the long awaited letter that we have been praying for to enable our re-entry into Brazil; he literally had it in his hand. That was just icing on the cake.

Our most earnest prayer request is for Denise, our youngest daughter; she is being checked out this coming Tues., Feb. 9th, due to the results of a biopsy she had; part of which was pre-cancerous. We would so appreciate your prayer for her. She is serving in the Air force in Guam.

God bless dear family and friends,

Dale & Patti :)

God's timing is so often a mystery to our way of thinking; we have to quiet our hearts and wait on Him and His plan to unfold. That is where we find ourselves in these days as we travel the nation and share with our precious churches and pastors the intent of our hearts and our plans to return to Brazil, should the Lord of the Church continue to open the door in that direction.

We spent most of December and some of January in the Northeast visiting the Portuguese speaking Foursquare Churches and sharing with them the words of encouragement God had place on our hearts for them. My heart went out to so many of them as I realized anew the incredible trials and difficulties that they have faced and that each immigrant faces in their new country of habitation.

I have been with dear and precious people who, after establishing a career and family in one nation have been prompted by the Holy Spirit to uproot and leave all to go to a new country and do it all over again. So often they are not received with open arms; they cannot enter into the same career path they had established in their country of origin and are forced to do menial and low paying jobs that "hack" away at their self-image and self-worth in their own eyes. They suffer miserable humiliation at the hands of governments or communities where they find themselves; and some find themselves doubting the call of God.

While visiting these dear and undaunted Portuguese speaking pastors and congregations we have been challenged anew about, "What really is important in this life?" They have laid it all aside and believing God and His promises, they have come and given all to plant churches in our nation, in order to reach not only their own "transplanted" nationals, but to be a blessing to our country. "A blessing to our country?" You may ask; yes! They are entering into the community where God directs them, finding work that most of our citizens prefer not to do, and they begin to intercede for our nation and its spiritual condition and use their strength and resources to open churches to minister to the spiritual needs of their expatriates.

I have seen that they have adopted us whether we have adopted them or not. I personally, can see how that as we join together in communities we can share resources and even facilities; helping us both in so many ways. God is on the front and cutting edge, "OF COURSE", of this plan, and only wants our humble cooperation. I fully believe that the more we partner with every "immigrating" people to help them reach their "transplanted" citizens the greater God is going to heal our hearts as a people and cause us to flourish in a time when "flourishing" is not the norm. I'm a candidate for that!

A quick update regarding our timetable: We are awaiting official invitation from the Foursquare Church in the country of Brazil and we understand that this is forthcoming. If this should be God's plan for us, please agree in prayer that this step will also be completed. After 9/11 all foreign travel, immigration, and obtaining visas of any kind has been noticeably complicated. Hurdles exist that never were a problem before but are now looming hugely before all, including God's people, with a mind and heart to do His will and be a blessing in the receiving nation. This is where God's people come in and must stand in the gap in intercession. Join us as we do this very thing.

Every country, including and especially ours, at this needy hour, needs missionaries. Why? Because the missionary is a voice that speaks to a nation, not of his origin, the Word of the Lord and it is more closely listened to and meditated on in the process. We as Americans listen and meditate more closely on the word and message of those we hear from other countries, No Eh? (Isn't that true?) We didn't devise this system but the Lord of the Church has devised it. Isn't it only in another country that the "prophet" is thoroughly heard and his words regarded? It is true here also. God is amazing!!!

God bless all of you, dear family and friends, as we commit to do our best to keep you updated on the things that God places on our hearts and the progress of His plans for our remaining years of service.

Greeting all of you with a Holy kiss and embrace!

Dale & Patti

Romans 15:13 (Our prayer for you!)