Category: Uncategorized

You Hold Our Arms Up

Marie’s team –  – from left to right – Luke, Tara, Steve and Marie

We have all served on some wonderful teams, and working with people you enjoy and love daily is a privilege. For the last four years, Marie has had the joy of working closely with the president, Steve Sellers, and a small team that feels like we are the Aarons and Hurs (from Exodus 17: 12-13) – who hold up his arms as he leads our movement. Marie had such a close working relationship with this little team that she sometimes spoke to them in Afrikaans before remembering they were not family.

On 18 July, Steve handed over the leadership to our newly elected president, David Robbins. Marie coordinated his commissioning service, which was a beautiful celebration of God’s faithfulness over the last 73 years of our organization.

You can watch the recording of the service.

Please pray for David as he steps into his new role and as we learn to support him. 

Thank you that you are our Aarons and Hurs, holding our arms up as we serve the Lord on the frontlines.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Praise the Lord for Stefan’s successful visit to North Africa. The interviews their team did with believers and church planters to understand the movements in that country went well. The only challenge was that his suitcase had its own itinerary and arrived 13 days late – but it did arrive!
  2. Praise the Lord that Kenneth is safely back from Alaska after a great adventure.
  3. Thank the Lord for our wonderful co-workers.
  4. Pray for our student ministries as they prepare for the start of the new academic year in many parts of the world. We have many outreach strategies, especially for first-year students.

No Disabilities Or Obstacles Too Big

Stefan in Medellin, Colombia

Your prayers and blessings make a difference in the lives of people around the world. Here are three short stories of God at work through our partnership.

From Fear to Faith: Calling Out to God (America)

Through an unexpected series of events, Sara (a Jewish student) from Florida is now being mentored by one of our missionaries. After a scary car accident, Sara started calling out the names of God in Hebrew. Then, by accident or choice, she called out the name Yeshua (Jesus) and stopped. She sensed something. That “something” sparked an active interest in Jesus. Today, she is a follower learning how to help others find Yeshua, too!

The Gospel Not Stopped By A Disability 

In Chad, our missionaries trained storytellers and evangelists to use stories to proclaim the gospel in the Toumak language, spoken by a minority group. Recorded stories are an excellent resource for proclaiming the gospel in this part of the world where most people are oral learners. In four weeks, 18 storytellers and 22 evangelists were trained, with 42 stories.

Caleb was one of the trainees. He is blind and unable to read or write, but during the public oral practice, many people were touched by how he told stories. This training has transformed Caleb’s life. He realizes that his disability can no longer prevent him from proclaiming the gospel to those around him. He has a voice and stories to tell anyone he meets.

A Newly Trained Evangelist

Mrs. Camara is from Côte D’Ivoire. Her husband was a devout follower of another religion and refused to learn about Jesus. After participating in our evangelism training, she presented the gospel to her husband. By the grace of God, he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord and is now active in the local church with her.

Prayer Requests

  1. Pray for Sara, Caleb, and Mrs. Camara to be strengthened in their faith and used mightily by the Lord.
  2. Thank the Lord for the good meetings Stefan’s team had in Colombia.
  3. Pray for Stefan in Türkiye, who is leading a leadership development program with some of our global church planting leaders. Pray for protection and good health.
  4. Pray for Kenneth and Monica as they complete their academic year this month.
  5. Pray for Marie, as she is leading a large communication project requiring much change. Pray for stamina and wisdom.

Come With Me To Cambodia

Greetings from Cambodia!

Cambodia (also known as Kampuchea) has a rich history in architecture, culture, and tradition. Cambodia continues to recover from the ravages of past regimes, and while it has one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies, most of its population still lives in poverty.

I (Stefan) visited several churches this weekend in the countryside near the border of Vietnam. There are over 20 churches in this particular rural area. It was encouraging to meet with the leaders of this small network to hear their strategy for starting new churches in all the village communities throughout the region.

Each church intentionally applies what they learn from God’s Word each week, reaches out to their community and families, and launches new churches. During my visit, three people indicated they believed in Christ, and the church members will immediately begin helping them to share their new faith with others.

I can’t show you photos of the people for security reasons, but I thought you would enjoy seeing the rice-based snacks they shared with us after church.

Prayer Requests and Praise Items:

  1. Thank you for praying for my trip to this country, and continue to pray for stamina and good interactions with church planters.
  2. Thank you for also praying for Monica at university. She is settling in well. Pray she finds a Christian community quickly.
  3. Thank you for praying for Marie’s Mom. She did not need surgery for her shoulder after falling while visiting us in America. She is comfortable and recovering slowly.

 A Life-Changing Dream

With Marie’s Mom at the Disney Yacht Club Hotel

Like most people in her closed Central Asian country, Alina* followed the majority religion. She believed Jesus was a prophet but nothing more.

When our local staff team members came to her village to distribute food and clothing, Alina welcomed them gladly. She listened as they talked about Jesus. At the end of their visit, Alina told them about friends who also needed help. The team was happy to provide them with meals as well.

Alina insisted on going with them as they visited each home. She watched team members express the kindness of Jesus in a tangible way, and she listened as they talked about His eternal hope.

A few days after the team delivered aid, Alina urgently asked to talk with them again — she had seen Jesus in a dream.

Alina told the team members about meeting Abraham, Isaac and Jesus in her dream. At first she thought she was meeting three of the main prophets of her religion. But then Jesus walked up to her and said, “You’ve heard about Me. You know I’m the Way. It’s time to start following Me.”

Alina realized that Jesus was more than a prophet. She was ready and eager to follow Him. The team members prayed with Alina as she joyfully responded in faith to His message. 

Today Alina is part of a house church in her village. Over the past six months, team members have seen others experience the kindness of Jesus and come to faith in Him. Six new house churches have been established in this previously unreached area!

Encouraging our workers and church-planters to remain strong in the Lord is one of the highlights of Stefan’s work and he recently heard this and other stories of what God is doing in some very hard to reach places. 

Family News

Unexpectedly the doors opened for Marie’s Mom to visit us for a few weeks. It’s been lovely to have her here.

Kenneth is home doing an internship with a surveying company. He entertains us each night with stories of snakes and fire-ants as he is bundu bashing through swamps to locate things for various construction projects.

It is a treat to have a house full of people, and we savour the time because we know we will soon be empty nesters, with Monica also leaving for university in August.

*name changed for security

Prayer Requests:

  1. Praise the Lord for the people He draws to Himself in hard-to-reach places.
  2. Pray that Marie’s Mom will have a good visit with us.
  3. Pray for Marie as she is working on a big communications project.

5 Amazing Highlights

How have you felt entering 2023? Excited? Exhausted? Hopeful?

We started the year reflecting on God’s goodness in 2022 and anticipating His work in 2023. Our friends and coworkers, Josh and Holly Newell, who lead the Jesus Film Project, prepared a video of what God did in 2022 and we thought you would also find the five stories inspiring. Can you believe the film is now available in over 2,000 languages?

CLICK or on the image below to watch the video

2022 Jesus Film Project Highlights

Personal News

In May, Monica finishes Grade 12 and leaves for university. Soon we will be empty-nesters, so we are enjoying all the “lasts” with her. It is bitter-sweet and also very exciting. Pray for her as she waits to hear from the universities and scholarships where she applied.

Marie returned from Dallas last week, where she met with consultants helping her with some communications responsibilities.

In early February, Stefan will travel to meet with our church planters from North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia (NAMESTAN), as well as partnering organizations. You help to make all of this possible. Thank you!

Prayer Requests:

  1. Praise the Lord for the success our mission experienced in 2022.
  2. Pray for Monica to have wisdom and discernment regarding her future.
  3. Pray for Stefan’s meetings with church planters in NAMESTAN.
  4. Pray for Marie’s work to help our organization communicate better.

Thanksgiving This Year!

Thanksgiving is our favourite American holiday to celebrate. It is always on the forth Thursday in November. 

The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

A pumpkin patch – typical for this time of the year

Here are a few things we give thanks for:

  1. Our marriage – this month we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary!
  2. Our good health – several of our friends have recently been diagnosed with illnesses, some terminal, so we are very aware of this gift.
  3. Our children are happy and fulfilled in their current phase of life—Kenneth at university and Monica in her matric (final year of high school) year.
  4. The completion of the her.BIBLE audio bible in women’s voices! The 34 readers represent 18 ethnicities from 10 different countries. It was a huge task, but we are so grateful to see people downloading the app or listening to it via the YouVersion Bible app.
  5. Church expansion – churches are planted in places previously without churches. Even though the communities are small, their presence is a testimony of God’s hand over the church through the ages.
  6. The godly missionary leaders we have the privilege to serve. Last week, the former president of Campus Crusade for Christ, Steve Douglass,died due to complications with cancer. He was a mentor to Marie and a prayer partner. We are grateful for the years we could work closely with him and learn from him.
  7. You! Our partners who stand with us, back us up in prayer and enable us to serve the Lord, you continue to be one of our the biggest blessings.
Celebrating our 25th anniversary

Prayer Requests:

  1. Praise the Lord for our 25 years of marriage.
  2. Pray for our Campus Crusade for Christ family and Steve’s family as we mourn his passing.
  3. Pray for Stefan and our global church planting leaders who will be meeting 14-18 November in Colorado

Yours in Christ,

The Dells

Update: We Survived Ian

A neighbour is helping us tie down a tree in the wind.

Here is a brief update since hurricane Ian passed through Central Florida. The storm changed course and went further to the south before going out into the Atlantic earlier today. So, Orlando was spared from the highest winds and rainfall amounts. We had over a foot (12 inches) of rain in one day, a new record for Central Florida. 

We have friends and colleagues who have had major flooding. Thankfully, we did not have any. We did not lose power, and city water was never interrupted. Besides three uprooted trees, we have no significant damage in our house or around the garden.

Overall, we feel very blessed compared to the flooding still occurring all over Central Florida.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! Continue to pray for those still in the path of hurricane Ian and all the cleaning-up operations.

Dells, Are You Okay?

Hurricane Ian – Predicted Path

We are in the path of Hurricane Ian. In one prediction, shown above, we are smack in the middle of the potential course (see the blue dot). While Ian is a strong storm at the moment, the forecast seems to have it calm down a little by the time it reaches us.

Stefan and I have returned from our meetings in Turkey, and Kenneth is home from university, so we are glad we can be together as a family during this storm.

We have done what we could to prepare our home for this hurricane, and now we are praying for the storm to weaken and for God’s protection.

Please join us in prayer:

  1. Pray for the hurricane to weaken.
  2. Pray for God’s protection of our brothers and sisters who are affected by this storm.
  3. Give thanks for the Lord’s guidance and fruitful meetings in Turkey.

On a lighter note – enjoy these decorations created by the housekeeping team at our hotel in Turkey.

4 Things To Pray For

A Florida sunset viewed from our street

This week, Stefan meets with church planters from Europe as they gather in Turkey for mutual encouragement and to learn from each other. In some places, the “soil” can be very hard, so they trust the Lord for new ideas and ways to connect with people in societies where they often question the relevance of the church. 

In addition, the ongoing Ukrainian war and the refugees are creating opportunities for the church to show the love of the Lord. Believers have done a lot already, but coordinated efforts can enhance this even more. Pray that this gathering will help make those connections stronger.

In Africa, the coordinated efforts of our church planters in 36 countries during May resulted in great fruit. 

  • 256 trainings took place, equipping 22,357 people for church planting.
  • 1,672 (676 new churches and 996 groups were planted) 
  • 863,145 people heard the Gospel of Jesus 
  • 101,566 people prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

Each of these numbers represents a person that the Lord touched. There are many stories, but let us share this one from Guinea-Bissau. In one of the villages, a young lady who suddenly went dumb and lame in both legs six months earlier started to talk after one of our church planters ministered to her. She responded to the prayer of faith to the astonishment of everyone. As a result of this miracle, 20 churches were planted in that area.

We praise the Lord for what He is doing and how He continues to draw people to Himself. Thank you for joining us in making Him known.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Praise the Lord for His provision for our passports. Stefan, Marie, and Kenneth received new passports, and each passport has a miracle story as there were many complications in getting it.
  2. For the European church planters to be refreshed and inspired as they meet in Turkey.
  3. Next week, Marie will also travel to Turkey for meetings with the Global Executive Team. She is coordinating their program and will also facilitate two sessions. Pray for wisdom, insight and stamina for our leaders.
  4. Monica is starting to submit her university applications. Pray that the Lord will show her where He wants her to attend and reveal what He wants her to study.

Your Story Can Count

Enjoying the view close to Thabazimbi

On our last Friday in South Africa, our youth pastor allowed us to share with 45 young people how effective their testimonies are to help others find Jesus.

Many Christians think they need theological or evangelism training before sharing about Jesus. But we all have a story of our lives before we became Christians, how we became Christians, and what our lives look like now (after receiving Christ).

While the young people were practicing their stories in pairs, we prayed for them to have many opportunities to tell their testimonies in the future.

One of the youth leaders reported that his sharing buddy confessed that he had not yet become a Christian but was moving closer to making that decision. We prayed for that young man to take that vital step.

Back In Orlando

We returned to Orlando with our hearts filled with African love and memories. A particular highlight was Marie’s sister from the UK, and her children, were also in South Africa. It was a sweet reunion for the Ferreira family. All the siblings were home for the first time in 6 years. We had precious times of fellowship and lots of “swallowship” – great braais and desserts!

We loved our time in South Africa and reconnecting with friends and family.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Monica started her Matric year. Pray for stamina and guidance from the Lord as she starts applying to universities. 
  2. Kenneth continues his engineering studies. Pray for diligence.
  3. Marie has two projects she is working on that are way out of her comfort zone. Pray for the Lord’s wisdom and creativity as she leads these projects.
  4. Stefan has several people on his team with family members with health challenges. Pray for him to be a good ear and support to them.