Saturday, July 30, 2011

Nelson Newsletter – July 2011

Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we transition to living in America. We have been told numerous times how returning is more difficult than moving overseas. We believe it! So much has changed here, as well as in our own lives, that adjusting has not been easy. God has given grace, and your prayers are very valuable to us for these times. We are still in the “unsettled” stage, as they call it. We have been told it can take between 6 months to a few years! We praise God that He never changes - His love, care, and faithfulness are immovable. We have struggled to believe this at times, but here are some people God has used to help us move forward.

Missionary Debrief In May we attended DAR, “Debrief and Reentry,” at Mission Training International in Colorado with missionaries from all over the world. It was a wonderful, beneficial time of teaching, reflection, and fellowship with ones who could empathize with us and vice versa. Steve also received good counsel at the Pastor’s conference in June.

New Job Description Steve will remain on staff with Great Commission Ministries serving churches in the Southeast and continue his work overseas. He will mentor leaders and begin a network of organic churches in the Atlanta area; assist Riverbend Community Church with their house churches; and help the new house churches in St. Petersburg and Gainesville, Florida. Steve and Danelle will continue their work with Great Commission Europe to assist nationals in discipleship and multiplication of simple churches. They plan to return to Odessa, Ukraine in the next few months. Steve will also continue to write materials for evangelism, discipleship, leadership, and the Faithwalkers devotional. His book, Secure In An Insecure World, is in its third printing and being used around the world. It can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and I-books now!

Support Opportunities You all have been an amazing team of supporters while we worked in Ukraine. Thank you very much! As you can imagine, the cost of living, health care, and travel expenses are higher here than they are in Ukraine. Therefore, Danelle and I will need more financial support ($1,000/month) to serve on staff with Great Commission Ministries here in the United States. Also, GCM allows returning missionaries to receive a one- time housing bonus to help cover their initial housing expenses. Therefore, please prayerfully consider sending a special gift, and/or increasing your monthly support. Some of you may want to start supporting us each month for the first time. You can do so by visiting the GCM website (www.gcmweb.org), or by calling the office, 407-671-9700. We are still full time missionaries for Jesus, and we need you on our team. Please pray for us.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Our financial support needs to be met so we can return to serving full time.
  2. Finding and getting settled in a home.
  3. Starting new simple churches in Atlanta and serving those connected to Riverbend in South Carolina.
  4. Wisdom to help churches multiply disciples. The harvest is plentiful here!!!

 

Yours in Christ’s love,

 

Steve and Danelle