Purpose

Hello, from Michael, to all that follow what the Stephenses are up to!

I have to say that my wonderful wife is the one that usually writes the blog for our family. I have input most every time she writes. However, she pens it out and corrects my wording and punctuation. For those who know me well, to write anything longer than a sentence is a feat. So, then let's get on to why I am writing this blog.

I want to make sure that our friends, family, and followers have an accurate picture of what our purpose is. Some parts of our blog show the Stephenses traveling all over the country and the world, and it may appear to many that we are out for the adventure. We DO love the adventure. However, this is not why we are all over the place. The reason we are here and there is because Fawn and I have been saying, "Yes, Lord." We have been called by Jesus to bring his Name to the nations. (.....Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations. Romans 1:4b-5)

Like Christ with our Father, we want to be obedient, first and foremost. He (God) knows our DNA. (Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you...Jeremiah 1:5). He knows that Fawn and I, along with our children have adventurous hearts. He is now preparing those hearts to obey by being in the mission field of Indonesia.

The acceptance and support that we are receiving from our family and church body and friends has been overwhelming. I do want to make something very clear, though. The Stephenses are going to Indonesia for God's purpose and not our own. We are choosing to be obedient to Him calling us, regardless of what follows. We are very excited to see how the Lord will use us for His purpose. He is a great God all the time.

To see another aspect of Helimssion's purpose, watch this video clip about the work in Ethiopia:

Also, please let us know if you'd like to give us the opportunity to share more specifically what God is calling us to in Indonesia with your congregation, small group, etc. We love to talk about it and it is our strong desire to be connected with you all here in a deep, spiritual way before we leave.

In the Name of Jesus Christ,

Michael

Countdown

It's been almost two months since we left beautiful Switzerland and Helimission headquarters. Wow! That went fast. Which brings the point home that we will soon be headed to New York for Bible school and then Indonesia! INDONESIA! What?! Anyway, every now and then it hits us and we experience multiple emotions at once - excitement, humility, fright, anticipation, nervousness. This month marks ONE YEAR until our lives shift into a whole new gear - full time cross cultural missionaries. In August 2014, we will say "see ya later" to our friends and family and our home and move to NY, then move to the island of Java, Indonesia for 6 months, then move again to the island of New Guinea, Indonesia. One year sounds really close. REALLY close. Praise God and Help, God!

We are moving quickly into what in missionary circles is called "support raising". This involves many facets. The most often thought of is finances, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. God will move, and is moving, the hearts of those who have some money to give to help us fly helicopters to bring the good news of eternal hope and freedom in Christ to the unreachable places of Papua, Indonesia. We are not worried about that (well, occasionally).

What we really desire to do during the next year is connect with God's church here in the USA, and abroad, and share His heart with you about these people He has asked us to serve. We want you to be aware of them and how desperately they need Jesus, and how He, in His great mercy and LOVE is reaching them! We want you to be aware of God's call on us, and stay connected with us and the work God will do through us as we move to the other side of the world. We will very much need people to be praying for us to be able and willing to do the hard work that will come our way. If you know what's happening there now, and once we are there, you will have the desire and ability to pray for us and for the people there that God wants to spend eternity with. We have a desire to share with you - if you would like us to speak to your church small group, seniors' group, congregation, men's breakfast, etc., we would love to! We have some great videos, pamphlets, etc. to share as well.

Speaking of which, this quarter's Helimission newsletter is too good not to share. These are just the pages regarding where we will be stationed. There are several other pages regarding the bases in Ethiopia, Madagascar, and the headquarters in Switzerland. Please read this, there are some amazing stories, from patients who nearly died to earthquakes and bullet holes in the helicopter windscreen. For some perspective on how well we live here on this side of the world, read page 13.

And consider subscribing...it's free! Here is the link to subscribe: http://www.helimission.org/english/publications/

Michael has a special message to share and will be blogging next time - be on the lookout! Something to mull over in your heart this week -

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Romans 10:14-15



Love,

The Stephens Family

Our GREAT news! (And tons of pictures)

We're home from Europe, and have a lot to tell you! We have a lot of pictures to show you also, and we'll get to that. BUT, we want first to let you know that the Lord definitely met us at CDC at Helimission in Switzerland, and we were confirmed with going into the overseas missions field. We now have a plan (!), with a place and a timeframe. It's so exciting! Of course, we plan and the Lord directs our steps, so we remain flexible and sensitive to Him. After an incredible week of worshiping the Lord and praying earnestly with the staff of Helimission for God's plan for our family, we all came away saying "Yes"! God spoke especially to Michael's heart through scripture and prayer, and he is confident in the Lord's leading of our family into the overseas missions field.

SO....in the beginning of 2015, we will be headed to Papua, the western half of New Guinea, an island in Indonesia.

Click here for a map of Papua.

We are praising God for allowing us to partner with Him, to participate in His great plan of redemption for all peoples. We know there is much work to be done, and many things that must occur for this to happen, and we daily rely on Him for His strength and grace.

THANK-YOU for praying for us during this time. We know the Lord heard and answered you - He met with us, and took great care of our kids while they were in Montana with grandpa and grandma. Praise Him!

After our amazing week at CDC, we spent a couple more days with Simon Tanner, director of Helimission, and his family. We helped him with a couple of things, and they entertained us with some Swiss treats like fondue and a trip up a mountain in the Appenzell region. After that, we went on our own for a few days to the alps and onto Milan and Venice, Italy.

Switzerland:

Lilacs in the Alps! This was where we stayed one night - unbelievably beautiful!

Out for a little walk.

Michael has his very own Coke, literally.

The beautiful night sky over Trogen.

Our new friends, and also Helimission missionaries from Washington state, Matt and Amanda.

Michael, Matt and Simon auditioning for the Appenzeller cheese marketing campaign.

Hard to believe it is real - a scene in the "Mini-Alps".

The Rhine River Valley - Germany behind us to our right, and Austria and Lichtenstein behind us to our left.

"Raclette" - a Swiss tradition of melting cheese in trays and then pouring it over potatoes. SO tasty! With the Tanner family.

The Jungfrau - one of Switzerland's most famous mountains.

The Victoria Grand Hotel in Interlaken - beautiful! (And expensive! We got to stay with new friends instead.)

Our new friends in Interlaken, Ernst and Madeleine. They are former HM missionaries to Madagascar. It was wonderful to meet them and they graciously housed us and fed us. Lovely people!

The beginning of the trip up into the Alps.

Sticking our heads out the windows on a train up into the Alps on a beautiful day was one of the best experiences of our lives. It was exhilarating!

See?! We were like dogs hanging our heads out of the car window!

Coming around the bend, we saw this. It just took our breath away.

This was the view from our hotel room. Notice all the waterfalls.

Aaaaahhhhh.......

We took a series of four cable cars to get here, the top of the Schilthorn. These views are 360 degrees around. The Jungfrau is directly behind us.

An afternoon walk, with no one around. We praised God the whole way for His marvelous creation.

Michael talking to the cows.

Hay harvest.

One of the lakes around the city of Interlaken (which means "between the lakes", there is another on the other side).

The view from the first of four cable cars.

Italy:

On the train into Italy from Switzerland.

We arrived in Milan on the train, took the subway to where we had a tour scheduled, and popped up from the subway right into the Piazza del Duomo. Quite a surprise!

Milan

Downtown Milan

We took a walking tour of Milan and got to see the original Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper painting (this is not it).

In the Piazza del Duomo in Milan.

We flew home from Venice (it was actually cheaper!), so we got to spend a couple of days there. It was everything we thought it would be.

On the Rialto Bridge, overlooking the Grand Canal.

On our Gondola ride.

What a treat!

Our hotel offered a complimentary boat ride to Murano, an island famous for glass blowing, where we also got a free tour of the factory. We felt so blessed!

If you've seen The Tourist, you'll recognize this scene. It's the fish market. This was across from our hotel.

Glass blowing - this process to make one plate took about 25 minutes. The same family has run this operation since the 1400s.

Murano, an island behind Venice.

The day before we came home we got to swim in the Adriatic Sea. It was amazing!

Avidazen! Arrivederci!