Hey friends! If you haven't heard the news yet, we are expecting our second child! We discovered this wonderful news on April 29th and are so happy to be welcoming another member to our family. At first we weren't sure how this pregnancy would affect our journey... but after much prayer, deliberation and wise council, we have decided that we will be having this baby without the help of insurance in South Africa. (Our Global Health Insurance won't cover maternity until May 2011) Thankfully, a pregnancy and delivery are actually much less expensive in South Africa than here in the U.S. We are looking at a grand total of between 2,000-5,000 including pre-natal care and hospitalization. We are praising God for this added blessing and the fact that He has made a way for us to have this child overseas. We actually heard of a woman who lives in the states but chose to fly to S.A. to have her baby because she preferred the care offered there!!!
Well, we are "down to the wire" as far as our leave date! Only 12 days until we are supposed to be leaving! Please pray for us because our visa applications are lost in the mail... and have been lost since April 22nd. The last "touch" that shows up on our tracking number was on May 5th in Chicago. We have called multiple postal services and everyone we've talked to seems to simply give us excuse after excuse to get us off the phone. We've been told that we would know for sure on Monday... then Wednesday... then Friday... and so on. But we've run out of time to wait. We called the South African Consulate in Chicago (whose addressing mistake caused the package to be lost) and they are very apologetic and have promised to rush our visa application when it finally does get found. The head of the consulate also has promised us she will be calling the USPS daily until we find this package.
WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR PRAYERS. We need a miracle right now to be able to move forward. Without those visas, we cannot leave on May 30th. Please pray for us, because in that application are our birth certificates, passports, checks and marriage license. We need this package to be located THIS WEEK or else we won't have enough time for the consulate to process the application and return the envelope to us. PLEASE KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS.
We know that God is in control. We are trusting Him that this will all work out!
Be Blessed,
The Flores Family
Swag Bucks
Bryan & Claire
We leave the United States in roughly 6 weeks. Reality is beginning to sink in as we realize that everything we know is about to dramatically change. We are excited, scared, curious, and a little sad. But each day we get closer to leaving, we are more and more sure that this is indeed what God is calling us to do as a family.
I (Claire) was encouraged to speak at a church in Connecticut in late March. Even though I only shared with them for a few minutes, I was so blown away by their spiritual and emotional support and their financial generosity. It's fellow believers like that who are our "cheerleaders", affirming us in our desire to follow the Lord.
We want to say a special thank you to all our faithful supporters. You have no idea how much of a daily encouragement you are to us!
Please pray for us as we are in the midst of the visa process. Pray for expediency and favor with the consulate.
Also pray for us as we are still looking for housing in Cape Town. We have the opportunity to live with our teammates for the first month or so, and while we are grateful for that option, we are still looking for a place of our own in the meantime.
Remember to always check out our website for updated information!
May you all be blessed as you pursue God's will for your own life! Thank you for the part each of you play in our journey.
We were blessed enough to have the whole team together for Thanksgiving. At times, it's difficult to be apart during this season of preparation. It was so encouraging to be together and to be able to share some of our hopes, plans, dreams, and even fears with one another.
As we look forward, we know that God will continue to prepare us for this journey He is leading us on.
Waiting on the edge of something is never easy. But the anticipation can either motivate you, or cause you to turn back. Only by God's grace do we move forward.
We are at 20% of our monthly support and 57% of our set-up costs. We are praising God and knowing that He will continue to lead us forward.
Take a look at our website if you have a little time! Bryan recently revamped it.
Blessings on all of you... Thanks for keeping up with our journey! God is good!
We have officially begun the process of transition. Just another reminder that this venture is indeed, a reality! In a week, Claire will be flying to Vermont and Bryan will drive just a week later. We plan to be there with Claire's parents for 2 months and hopefully depart for Cape Town in January.
It's a bittersweet time for us as we say goodbyes to everyone we have spent the past years with. We will greatly miss our friends, family and church body! But as we move forward, sadness is not our tune... we are delighted to be moving into the season that God has ordained for us.
As far as support, we are still at about 10% of our monthly and 65% of our set up fund. We are praising God for the support that we have received and believing him for the rest. In the meantime, Bryan will find work in Vermont to help those numbers increase.
We are so blessed to have been able to live with Bryan's parents for the past month and now to be living with Claire's parents for the next couple months. Both of our families have been so generous in opening their homes to us.
As we walk forward in this journey, we ask for your continued prayers. Transition is never a completely smooth process, but please pray for us that it will be as smooth as possible, especially for 5 month old little Peyton.
Please continue to pray for us as we strive to be trustworthy with what we have been given by God. Even in only having a 5 month old, we are walking forward in this journey of parenting with hearts desires to do it to the best of our ability. We want to make decisions even now for Peyton that will set her up for a life of godliness even now. We also want to hold her with open hands and release her to the Lord knowing that He and only He can protect and sustain her. Pray that we will walk in wisdom even as we parent on the mission field. Thank you for your prayers and for being the body of Christ alongside us!
We have recently begun the tedious process of support raising. It's not easy, to humble yourself and ask other people for money. It goes against everything we've been taught, and every ounce of pride we hang onto... but it's something that, in this case, must be done for the advancing of Christ's kingdom.
The funny thing is, when someone asks us for support, we don't blink. We don't look at them and think they are a mooch, or lazy, etc. but for some reason when it comes to us being the ones asking, we immediately conclude that those are things people connect us to. We have had a couple of appointments thus far, and they've gone well. We haven't gotten any support out of them, but they were encouraging even just through the comments people made and affirmation we received.
At the end of the day, we just have to trust that if this is really what God has called us to do (which we know He has!) then He will provide. After all, we serve a God who owns "the cattle on a thousand hills" who could literally CREATE money for us if necessary.
Why do we fear when He is the One who goes before us and stands behind us?
But somehow, we still find ourselves doubting that our goal will ever be reached.
But God. I had a pastor when I was younger who would often repeat that phrase. "But God." "But God." He would always say that the most dismal Scripture verses were followed by that powerful, revolutionary phrase. "But God." No matter how much we doubt, or how dismal things appear, "BUT GOD." God will accomplish His will. God will advance His kingdom. God will send workers into the harvest. God will reach the people of Cape Town, South Africa.
He doesn't need our help. But He gives us the opportunity to become involved for our benefit and His glory.
Faith isn't always the easiest virtue to uphold, but it is certainly the most relaxing one.
As we continue in this fundraising process, we know that God will prove Himself faithful. Even when we are faithless.