We arrived …

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!

3 Sleeps …

_DSC5768“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

17 Sleeps and Counting

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.

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

Counting the days….

Stefan, Marié, Kenneth & Monica Dell

Wow! What a week!

  • 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

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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:

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.

We Got 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!

Maria Magdalena

My names, Maria Magdalena also belonged to my Dutch grandmother and a special lady in the Bible. After seeing the poor treatment of women in a closed country, Willie and Marie helped retell the story of Jesus from Mary Magdalene’s perspective. The South African couple contrasted the treatment of women in that country with Jesus’ interactions with women. This birthed the film “Magdalene – released from shame”.

13 05 Mag ShowThe film has been seen in many countries with tremendous impact. The Lord used the Afrikaans premier of “Magdalena – bevry van skande” in Kimberley on 24 May 2013 to unite seven churches to share the gospel.

The translation of the film into South African languages has been difficult. Please pray for:

  • The finalisation of the Xhosa and Zulu versions.
  • The Afrikaans version to change many lives.

Interested in buying the “Magdalena – bevry van skande” or any other Jesus Film products? Contact CCCSA Media or call +27 (0) 12 347 6981

Pray for us:

  • Praise the Lord for Stefan’s good trip to the USA and for fruitful meetings with his team
  • Continue to pray for the right house – Stefan was not able to find something.
  • Our work permit interview is on 21 May @ 9:00. Pray for favour
  • We move out of our home at the end of May. Pray for a smooth transition & all the arrangements. We will move into a friend’s townhouse until our departure in July.

Your Missionary

Maria Magdalena (Marié) Dell

To Do…

Stefan Leaving

  • Passport       – Check
  • Toiletries       – Check
  • Cool clothes – Check
  • “must-move-with-us” stuff squashed into remaining gaps – Check

Stefan is preparing for his last visit to our Orlando Headquarters before we relocate there in July 2013. He is there for meetings and strategic planning, but will also be looking for a house, medical aid and a long “to-do” list that his wife is preparing for him.

Please pray for:

  1. Good flights for Stefan (he is traveling with his maximum luggage allowance)
  2. Stamina while he is in Orlando
  3. The right, affordable house in Orlando. The Lord knows our requirements & desires.
  4. All the big and small “things” to fall into place for our move to happen
  5. Protection for the rest of the family at home packing. Stefan will be away 21 April – 11 May.

Thank you for your partnership with us!

Operations in a Box

GTL-Secure

“We have started using the ‘Ops in a Box’ reimbursement tool in our (Area) office, and will be rolling it out to our countries over the next few months” reported JR, the technology leader for Eastern Europe at our Global Technology Leaders meeting held in Thailand. For the past two years a group of us have been developing a tool we called “Ops in a box”. The tool is to help smaller ministries succeed with their operational needs and ease the administrative burden on our missionaries.

Satisfied and excited I listened to JR as my thoughts drifted through the many hours my task team worked to complete the financial part of the tool. To see our dream come true is such a joy. Pray with us that it will free up many hours for our missionaries, enabling them to share Jesus with more people. Thank you for enabling me to be a part of this initiative.

Requests:

  1. Thank you for your prayers for my trip to Thailand. All went well.
  2. Continue to pray for our preparations for our move to Orlando in July 2013

Blessings

Stefan

Coincidence?

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Annoyed I stared at the email (in Afrikaans) from pietp@mail* on my computer screen.

Dear Marie

No, you do NOT have the correct address.

Greetings

Piet Pogenpoel

Florida, United States of America

We had just met Piet two days before and wanted to confirm his email address. Why did he have to frustrate us and pretend he was from the USA? Not very sensitive of him! Just before writing to him, I decided to check the details he gave us and discovered my mistake with his email address. It should have been pietp73@mail.

I wondered “Could there really be an Afrikaans Piet Pogenpoel in Florida, USA?” I thanked him for his reply and mentioned that we were also moving to Florida, USA, and would he answer a few questions for us?

He wrote back quickly – he and his wife have been in Florida since 1996, they are our age and are from a similar background to me. He would gladly introduce us to other South Africans and even a “Springbok” supporter club. We linked up on Facebook and he really has been a star in helping us.

Reflecting on this “Did I really just make a mistake when I typed the email address? Or was it God’s hand in connecting us with an Afrikaans speaking friend in Florida?” Whatever the answer, we are aware of God’s Hand over us as we prepare for our move.

*Name changed

Please pray for the following:

  1. Stefan will be in Thailand (11-18 March) to meet with the Campus Crusade technology leaders from around the world. Pray for wisdom and creativity as they discuss how to better use technology to help our missionaries and to spread the gospel.
  2. We continue to challenge people to join our support team. Pray that many would join to pray for us and contribute financially to our new needs.
  3. Kenneth and Monica are working hard to complete their current grades by June 2013. Pray for stamina and endurance.

Thank you for joining us in this adventure!

Marie

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