January 5, 2008
Introducing Us
For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant peace shall not be removed”
(Isaiah 54:10)
As Stasi and I sit down to write this letter, we are thankful for God’s promise in Isaiah that His peace will remain with us regardless of our circumstances.
So much has changed in our lives and we know that if God were not in control, it would be impossible to have any real peace or confidence. We thank God for working in all things and seeing us through these hectic and often uncertain times. We are writing you this letter to briefly update you on what is new with us, and to share the exciting things that God has called us to.
Since our June wedding, we have been living in a small apartment in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Along with adjusting to being married, we have been keeping busy with work, all kinds of everyday life, and fundraising—but that’s getting too far ahead. Allow us to back up for a minute.
We believe that God has called us both to serve in a support role for the ministries of Youth for Christ in Slovakia, working in areas where He has given us talents and passions. We will be living and working at a ranch that YFC has recently acquired and plans to use as a resource for many ministries. Micah will be filling the need for a full-time caretaker and will be working on the continuing construction and renovations that are needed for the ranch to reach its full potential. Stasi will be serving in the area of media—she will be editing videos, doing event photography, and a myriad of related projects to enable YFC Slovakia’s ministry to be more effective.
The ranch is located in central Slovakia at the base of the Low Tatras Mountains. The history of this land draws a parallel with YFC’s acquisition of the ranch: In the 13th century servants of the king settled this area to maintain it for a royal hunting getaway. In the 14th century, as a reward for generations of faithful service, a later king gave the servants ownership of this land. We believe that The King of Kings has provided this land for YFC Slovakia, and it will be available year round for church groups, retreats, seminars, and other events.
The land also serves as a home for the music festival CampFest. CampFest 2007 was held there in August, and over 4,500 people from Slovakia and the surrounding countries came to the festival to camp out and listen to Christian musicians from around the world. More then 500 people met with trained spiritual counselors during that one weekend, and about 50 of them made the decision to follow Christ. The potential for God to work in this place is immense.
There is simply no way we would even dream of doing this on our own—but thankfully, we know that God never asks us to do anything in our own strength. We believe that He will raise up people to support us in prayer and financially. Would you please ask God to show you what part He has for you in this ministry?
May the Lord bless and keep you in every way in this New Year. We praise God for the wonderful opportunities that a new year brings, and for His promise to remain with us and see us through.
(Isaiah 54:10)
As Stasi and I sit down to write this letter, we are thankful for God’s promise in Isaiah that His peace will remain with us regardless of our circumstances.
So much has changed in our lives and we know that if God were not in control, it would be impossible to have any real peace or confidence. We thank God for working in all things and seeing us through these hectic and often uncertain times. We are writing you this letter to briefly update you on what is new with us, and to share the exciting things that God has called us to.Since our June wedding, we have been living in a small apartment in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Along with adjusting to being married, we have been keeping busy with work, all kinds of everyday life, and fundraising—but that’s getting too far ahead. Allow us to back up for a minute.
We believe that God has called us both to serve in a support role for the ministries of Youth for Christ in Slovakia, working in areas where He has given us talents and passions. We will be living and working at a ranch that YFC has recently acquired and plans to use as a resource for many ministries. Micah will be filling the need for a full-time caretaker and will be working on the continuing construction and renovations that are needed for the ranch to reach its full potential. Stasi will be serving in the area of media—she will be editing videos, doing event photography, and a myriad of related projects to enable YFC Slovakia’s ministry to be more effective.
The ranch is located in central Slovakia at the base of the Low Tatras Mountains. The history of this land draws a parallel with YFC’s acquisition of the ranch: In the 13th century servants of the king settled this area to maintain it for a royal hunting getaway. In the 14th century, as a reward for generations of faithful service, a later king gave the servants ownership of this land. We believe that The King of Kings has provided this land for YFC Slovakia, and it will be available year round for church groups, retreats, seminars, and other events.The land also serves as a home for the music festival CampFest. CampFest 2007 was held there in August, and over 4,500 people from Slovakia and the surrounding countries came to the festival to camp out and listen to Christian musicians from around the world. More then 500 people met with trained spiritual counselors during that one weekend, and about 50 of them made the decision to follow Christ. The potential for God to work in this place is immense.
There is simply no way we would even dream of doing this on our own—but thankfully, we know that God never asks us to do anything in our own strength. We believe that He will raise up people to support us in prayer and financially. Would you please ask God to show you what part He has for you in this ministry?
May the Lord bless and keep you in every way in this New Year. We praise God for the wonderful opportunities that a new year brings, and for His promise to remain with us and see us through.
January 3, 2008
"If I could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: 'God with us.'
~John F. MacArthur, Jr.
Have you ever let your mind wander and imagined what it meant for Jesus to become “Emmanuel, God with us”? He left the vastness of heaven to come to our little planet. He left His home, His Father, His power, His divinity all to come and be with us. He gave up all that even though He knew that being with us would be costly. The kind of love would make you consider that is mind-boggling.
The Bible talks about God being with us through the Old and New testaments. “God with us” bookends the gospel story. It begins with proof in a manger that God is serious about being with us. The gospel continues full of stories about Jesus’ time with the people he meets. And the story ends with the Great commission to “go make disciples of all nations” and with Jesus’ promise “be sure of this: I am with you always”
We are holding on to His promise to never leave us as we continue to raise funds so that we can serve with YFC in Slovakia. We believe that God has created unique places at YFC’s ranch in Slovakia for both of us to serve and we are anxious be serving together in the place He has for us. God has blessed us by providing work for Micah the past 5 months, but that is coming to a close soon. During the early days of 2008 we will both be dedicating ourselves to full-time support raising efforts in an effort to make it to Slovakia as soon as we can. It is our hearts desire to make it to Slovakia early in 2008.
But we cannot do this all on our own. Will you prayerfully consider the part that God has for you to play in the ministry of YFC in Slovakia? Currently we have 32% of our support pledged. We need to have all of our support pledged before we can set a date to leave. If 20 people pledge to give $100 a month, or 40 people give $50 a month, all our needs would be met and we could leave for the field. Would you please pray about how God might use you to meet these needs through a pledge or one time gift.
If you plan to make a pledge or continue a pledge through 2008, would you please take the time now to fill out the form at the bottom of this letter with your intentions and send it back to YFC? We would love to have you join us in the work that God will do in Slovakia.
Trusting Him,
Stasi & Micah
P.S. All gifts through YFC are tax-deductible.
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