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2 Little Bugs Graphic Floreen Newsletter Update
February 2009

 

Matt and Rachel at Mount Hermon

Our New Address until 

March 20, 2009:


 

Matt and Rachel Floreen

852 Sun Grove Drive

Camarillo CA 93010


 

www.AfricaStories.com

info@africastories.com


 

February 2009

Issue #4


 

Please direct all 

financial support to: 

Grace Ministries Int’l
Grace Community Church
13248 Roscoe Blvd.

Sun Valley, CA 91352  

(818) 909-5700


 

www.gracechurch.org/ma

gmi@gracechurch.org


Map of Lilongwe

Support Statistics
Support Statistics

Every time we see that someone has donated towards our ministry in Malawi, we are humbled.  A few precious people have given so sacrificially that we’ve been moved to tears. 


We understand that many of you are experiencing uncertainty in your personal finances.  So when people commit to support us (especially monthly!), we recognize that they’re looking to God with confidence, and it’s beautiful to see.  God is exalted by that kind of faith.  

 

Rachel and I long to live a life marked by undying dependance on God.  And it’s awesome for us to watch our brothers and sisters in Christ do the same.  We’re thankful for the tiny glimpse we get of that faith, and look forward to seeing God bless you (Phil. 4:17).  

 

As for us, we’re trusting the Lord to provide the remainder of our monthly support by next month.  It’s a lot of money, but nothing for Him.  We look forward to writing next month’s newsletter to tell you what He’s done!  

 

Thanks for joining us in trusting God! 


Prayer Requests

Please pray with us!  

- Pray for our faith as we wait for support.  Pray that our confidence in the Lord’s guidance would remain firm and would be a testimony to many.  

- Praise the Lord for giving us such a wonderful opportunity to serve Him and love the church!

- Please pray that we would love Jesus more every day.

- Pray for the church in Malawi, that they would continue to grow in knowledge and grace.  

- Pray for our rest and encouragement.  We’re tired, but we know that the Lord is our source of strength and joy.  Pray that we would look to Him and that He would grant us abundant grace!

Matt and Kwacha

Kwacha

We have a rare opportunity to spend some time with a great friend and fellow laborer, Kwacha Simwaka.  Kwacha, a Malawian believer who is currently studying at The Master’s Seminary in the LA area, has been Matt’s friend since 2001 when they met in Mozambique.  When he finishes seminary, Kwacha will be returning to Malawi to join the ministry of International Bible Fellowship with the Biedebachs and ourselves.  Kwacha is a tremendous blessing to us now as he teaches us things about Malawian culture and ministry, and we’re so excited for his return to Malawi in a few short years.  Please pray for him as he works hard in seminary!


 

 

Life on the Road!

We’ve been on the road for 4 out of the past 5 weeks, speaking at churches and meeting with lots of friends and family.  It’s been a great to catch up with many of you, and to share our excitement about our ministry in Malawi.  Check out the filmstrip below of some the people we’ve been able to see on our journeys! 

Road Trips Filmstrip

 

Being Cared for On the Road

We have been so loved as we've traveled!  Here's a list of things that many of you have blessed us with in the past couple months:

 

* Restaurant gift cards

* Internet access

* Gas money 

* Memories of childhood 

* Words of wisdom, counsel, and encouragement 

* Great tips for little side trips 

* Prayer - and praying with us! 

* Good night's sleep 

* Laughter and joy

* Testimonies of faithfulness that inspire us

 * Opportunity to play with lots of kids

* Time to catch up on email and the blog 

* Birthday celebrations for both of us! 

* Love for ministry and Jesus Christ 

* Messages from far away that cheer our hearts 

* The chance to catch up on laundry! 

 

This is just a short list of ways we've been blessed by you.  Thank you so much for your ministry to us as we've been on the road!  We have loved the opportunity to meet many of you, catch up with others of you, and see the body of Christ support and encourage one another!  This truly is a great adventure! 

 

How You Can Help

It has been an incredible joy to

have many people ask us how they can help us!  Here are some of our biggest needs right now.

 

1. Pray for us.  Rachel and I aren’t exceptional people, but we serve a mighty God.  More than ever before, we have seen Him answer the prayers of His people.  See the Prayer Requests

column for some specifics.


2. Consider helping us financially.  This is still a need too.  See the Support Statistics column for details.

 

3. Share your burdens with us.  We value every person that God has put in our lives.  If there’s some way we can minister to you, we long to know about it.  Even from Africa, it would be our delight to do anything we can to serve you.

 

Our Last Days in America

It’s hard to believe that our departure date (March 20th) is less than a month away.  Here’s how we’re spending our last days in America:

 

1. Speaking at Churches.  We have seen God’s hand in leading us to Malawi, and we welcome every opportunity to testify to His faithfulness.  We’ll be at a different church each Sunday until we leave.  (See below for the details.)

 

2. Tying up Loose Ends. Moving around the world is complicated, and we have a lot of loose ends to tie up: getting shots, closing down Matt’s photo business, selling our cars...

 

3. Saying Goodbye.  Especially to those of you whom we have haven’t seen for a while!  

 

Please to pray for us during these full days!

 

Churches We’re Visiting

Join us if you can!

March 1 - 8:30-9:30am - Placerita Baptist Church, Sunday School Class, BSC 100. 

 

March 8 - 9:00-10:15am - Pleasant Valley Bible Church, Sunday School hour.

 

March 15 - 8:30-10:00am - Grace Community Church, Cornerstone Fellowship Group

 

Want to Know More?

The blog is our online journal of the every day things we think about and the adventures we have along the way.   Click here to see our blog!

Rachel cleaning old apartment

 

 

 

We’ll keep you up to date with everything from cleaning out our old apartment...

 




Matt with mice on a stick

 

 

 

To mice and all the other interesting things that come our way!

 

 

 

 

Thanks again for your love and prayers!  We are so blessed to have such a wonderful community of support!  

 

- Matt and Rachel