Author: Stefan

Hudson Taylor sailed to China.
William Carey sailed to India.
The Dells flew to Orlando.

As we reflected on how different our lives are to the “Fathers of Modern Missions” we have much to celebrate this first month as missionaries serving away from home:

1. We have Skype – not a single week has gone by without connecting with our families and we can see & hear them. Contrast that with sending a letter by ship.
2. We have email/whatsapp/sms – instant communications with our partners
3. No language barriers (although it would help if we could speak Spanish)
4. GPS & Google Maps!
5. Google – to search for information about our drivers test, insurance quotes and the stationary needs for our children at school. Everything available on the internet.

What we have in common with Hudson and William:

1.  A deep commitment to see people come to know Jesus – seeing how technology is helping people hear about Jesus, thrills us
2. Missing our friends & family at home
3. Faithful partners that pray for us and remember our financial needs
4. Stress as we learn to adjust to our new country and culture

Driving on the other side of the road requires training.

Pray with us for:

1. Our drivers licence test on Monday, 19 August
2. Kenneth & Monica start school on Monday, 19 August
3. Finalisation of our home purchase
4. Wisdom for Stefan as he takes on his new role. He is flying to San Diego today (15 Aug) for meetings regarding mobile phone training for pastors.

Many of you have been asking, “What is happening with your house?” so here is a quick update.

1. Our Social Security numbers were available on Wednesday morning – only 3 days after we applied. Most American’s say it is an incredible miracle! We KNOW you prayed for it.
2. Having Social Security Numbers, and being foreigners confused the Mortgage companies and they didn’t quite know how to proceed with our mortgage application. Two finally got it figured out, so pray that we will get a good interest rate etc.
3. Our offer for purchase was accepted on Friday.
4. Pending the final mortgage approval we should be able to move into our home by the end of August. Pray for every person involved in the approval process – especially for Roxanne & Michael.
5. You can see pictures of the house here and some Maps

It is easy to feel overwhelmed with all these details (and many more, like studying for our drivers licences :-)) but in it all we are experiencing the Lord’s presence and peace. We know your prayers are vital to our survival. Thank you!

Greetings from Orlando!

We received a warm welcome – both from our co-workers and the hot & humid climate. We are nearly over our jet-lag and have started on our list of “Settling-in to-do’s”.

Today the children had a medical examination, a requirement for school admission. They were given a clean bill of health. The huge amount of paperwork we had to complete for the doctor’s visit explains why it was so expensive – just imagine the cost of all that printing!

Prayer Requests:

1. Praise the Lord for our safe arrival & for His favour on us. We had some extra bags and the airline did not charge for them.
2. Pray for our house hunting! We need an address to register for school due to zoning restrictions here. Registration is before 7 August so we would love to have everything in place by then.
3. We need to be re-tested for our drivers licences within 30 days. Please pray for favour and calmness to get it done in the midst of all the other changes.
4. Pray for stamina, wisdom and good prices as we re-build our lives here. We have to make 100’s of decisions every day and it is quite overwhelming 🙂

We are so grateful that we are not walking this road without your prayers and support! Thank you!

“Totsiens, tsamaya hantle, hamba kahle, au revoir, auf wiedersehen”, … – Saying “Goodbye” in any language is hard but we have been preparing for this farewell for many months now. So while we are sad to part with so many special people and South Africa we are ready to say “Hello” to our new life in America.

On Sunday afternoon we take off. Won’t you please pray for a safe journey for us and all our earthly belongings?

Also pray for:

• A house for us in Orlando
• Easy registration at the right school for the children
• Wisdom to make wise choices as we settle

Thank you

Stefan, Marie, Kenneth & Monica

There are 17 sleeps before our departure on 14 July to Orlando. Our excitement is growing as we see everything falling into place. Please pray that we will finish well.

We would love to have you join us for one of our Farewell Events on Sunday, 7 July 2013 if you can.

• Johannesburg 10am: Rosebank Union Church second morning service + Tea afterwards (Galilee Room)
• Pretoria 3pm: Campus Crusade for Christ Office at 398 Rigel Ave, Erasmus Rand

Please let us know if you can join us (RSVP)!
RSVP Johannesburg
RSVP Pretoria

Counting the days….

Stefan, Marié, Kenneth & Monica Dell

• Moved out of our house without difficulty
• Settled in a friend’s townhouse – cosy & comfortable
• Said goodbye to our darling cats – they found wonderful loving homes
• Bought tickets departing 14 July at a good price, route & luggage allowance
• Finished school – Kenneth & Monica both completed their grades

We realise that this is God straightening the path for us because of your prayers. Thank you for carrying us in this way and the encouragement you have been.

Please join us at one of our Farewell Events on 7 July 2013:

• Johannesburg 10am: Rosebank Union Church second morning service + Tea afterwards
• Pretoria 3pm: Campus Crusade for Christ Office at 398 Rigel Ave, Erasmus Rand

Please pray for the following as we wish to finish well here in South Africa:

• All the many little details that we need to deal with.
• For us to find the right house to become our home in Orlando and the finances related to it.

As we queued to enter the US Embassy our nerves made their presence felt, but the moment we stood before the interview window answering questions we knew that God had prepared the way for us. Thank you for praying for our interview!

We are grateful to report that our “Intercompany Executive Transfer visa” was approved and we will soon get our passports back with the visa inside. This allows us to move to the USA.

The next hurdle is to find cheap tickets with a big luggage allowances. 🙂 Please pray with us in this regard.

Your Missionaries!