Thank you

Thanks for your prayers and support. We arrived in Malawi safe and sound (and only missing one bag)

We had quite an adventure in Johannesburg. Imagine 2 kids, 5 carry-ons, retrieving 8 massive bags and 2 car seats. Now imagine pushing that  around the airport, paying someone to wrap, lock, and guard the luggage overnight (unsafe to recheck luggage) convert dollars to rand, then stand outside at night hoping that our hotel shuttle really will come and take us somewhere safe to sleep . Then imagine 2 kids wide awake from midnight to 3am. and then waking at 5:30am to hop back on the shuttle retrieve all baggage and recheck it, and finally board our final flight to Lilongwe, Malawi. Nothing has been even close to that difficult since arriving. We're so thankful for your prayers for patience and safety! JJ and Georgia Mae did amazingly well.

We are enjoying our first week of orientation and trying many new things that we'll eventually share.

We miss you all and are thankful for your continued prayers and support. with care, Jess and family

Here we Go

Please pray for us.  Here is a favorite from the Heidelberg Catechism.

 Question #1

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

That I am not my own, but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. 

Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Goodbye Columbus, Walnut Creek Presbyterian, sweet friends and family and wonderful supporting churches.

June in photos

Dear friends and supporters,

One month from tomorrow the four of us will board a plane to Africa. We are grateful for your prayers. God is providing and we have a few more weeks to raise our last bit of needed support.

This June we made the trip to Georgia to visit Jonathan's family for the last time, as well as visit dear friends in Florida. We met with First Pres in Deland, Christ Community PCA in Thomasville, and Jonathan's home church, Eastside Baptist. We felt so encouraged by these great communities. I also traveled to Slippery Rock, PA to visit my parents and help with their VBS. My sister and her three daughters came in from Toledo to say goodbye. On June 28 we celebrated our 7 year anniversary.

Please continue to pray for us. Goodbyes are so hard.

love
jess and family

 JJ and Georgia with Snickers

 St. George Island

 Grammy and Papa

Aunt Julie and Aunt Charity

Eloise and Georgia Mae

Molly Jo and JJ

cousins

 alli and me and baby lotti

 Dr. Tim checking JJ's teeth

 year 7...(yes, I know we look like teenagers)

June Update

June has been a whirlwind for the Robson clan.  With stops in Georgia, Florida, and Pennsylvania, we enjoyed spending time with family and friends.  Even more, we had the pleasure of seeing churches, families, and individuals excited about what God is doing in Malawi.

Our moving plans for August are shaping up.  One piece of exciting news is that we have purchased a car from a couple at African Bible College.  Not only was it great to find a reliable and affordable vehicle but also within a few weeks, a family donated the exact cost of the car.  We're overwhelmed by God's care for us and by the generosity of His people.

Here's a brief update on our financial situation.

Budget Update
One-time Needs:  85% (about $3000 to go)
Monthly Needs:  80% (about $700/month to go)

We need your help to reach our financial goal by August.  If you would like to give, click here or go to africanbiblecolleges.org ("Give Now" on the right-side menu) for instruction on how to do that.  Please contact us with any questions.

Prayer Requests

1. Please pray for God's work in Malawi through African Bible College.  Pray that He will raise up Christian leaders and equip them for ministry.  
2. Join us in thanking God for providing churches, families, and individuals to partner with us in this ministry.  We love you all!  Continue to pray that God will protect the health of our family.
3. Please pray for God to give us wisdom in deciding which Malaria medication is best for our kids.  Along with this, pray that God will protect the health of our family.
4. We have a number of other decisions to make and details to deal with in preparation for our move.  This can be stressful.  Please pray for God to replace our anxiety with His peace.  

Your prayers are essential to this ministry opportunity.  It is deeply encouraging to know that so many of you are supporting us in this way.  Thank you!

Why August?

At the beginning of the 2010 school year, over half of the African Bible College faculty will be in the US raising support and visiting family.  This has created a urgent need for teachers.  Jessica and I want to help meet that need which is why we want to be in Malawi by August.

Will you help us reach our goal?  We need you to join us by praying and giving.  God has provided in amazing ways, and we're not far from our financial target.  If you have not done so, would you let us know about your commitment to support us?

Budget Update
One-time Needs:  69% (only about $6,000 to go)
Monthly Needs:  65%  Since our last update, our monthly support has nearly doubled!  We're grateful for the generosity of our partnering churches, friends, and family.

If you would like to give, click here or go to africanbiblecolleges.org ("Give Now" on the right-side menu) for instructions on how to do that.  Please contact us with any questions.

Prayer Request

1. Please  pray for God's work in Malawi through ABC.  Pray that He would continue to raise up Christian leaders and equip them for ministry.
2. We continue to meet with churches, small groups, and individuals.  Pray that God will sustain us and provide us with partners in ministry.
3. Join us in thanking God that Jessica's dizzy spells are less frequent.  Please continue to pray that He would protect our physical and spiritual health.
4. We have a number of decisions and details to deal with in preparation for our move.  This can be overwhelming.  Please pray that God would replace our anxiety with His peace.

Your prayers are essential to this ministry opportunity.  It is deeply encouraging to know that so many of you are supporting us in this way.  Thank You!

Update

Here’s a quick update on our progress.   

Budget Update

One-time Needs: 50%

Monthly Needs:  35%  

God is providing and we are so grateful!  Would you consider supporting us financially?  We need your help to get to Malawi by August.   

Click here for a summary of our financial needs. If you would like to give, click here or go to africanbiblecolleges.org for instructions on how to do that.  Please contact us with any questions.  

Prayer Requests

1)  Please pray for God’s work in Malawi through African Bible College.  Pray that He would continue to raise up Christian leaders and equip them for ministry.  

2)  The next few months will be busy as we continue to meet with churches, small groups and individuals.  Pray that God will sustain us and provide us with partners in ministry.  Upcoming presentations include:

     April 11 - Northwest Presbyterian in Columbus, Ohio

     May 1 - Harvest Presbyterian in Medina, Ohio

     May 16 - The Granville Chapel in Granville, Ohio

3)  Jessica is undergoing some physical therapy for vertigo.  Please pray that God would take away the dizzy spells and plant her feet firmly on the ground!  Also, pray that He would protect the physical and spiritual health of our family.  

Over the past month, many of you have encouraged us with your words, prayers, and generosity.  Thank you!  We’d love to hear from you. 

Partnership

The word "partnership" is a popular term in fund raising circles.  Often, its just a polite euphemism for "give me money!"  The cynic in me didn't want to use it as we began raising support for Malawi.  Then, I read the Bible.  That's always dangerous for my cynicism.

In Philippians 1:5, Paul described his relationship with the Philippian church as a "partnership in the Gospel."  Maybe the Greek sounded hipper, but Paul envisioned his connection to this community as a partnership.  This description isn't just for first-century believers.  All Christians are connected by the message and the mission of Jesus.  This connection extends around the globe even to places like Malawi.

God has given us an amazing opportunity to participate in this Gospel connection with the Malawian church.  We're asking you to be a part of it as well.  We need you to pray.  We need you to give.  When you give, you don't just contribute funds to us.  You join us in a partnership in the Gospel.

(On the right side of the page, there are links to pages that detail our financial needs and explain how to give.)