Well, the day has arrived as we leave tonight for S.F. to spend the night & then to the airport at 6am to check-in & are scheduled to depart at 8:30 am on Tuesday. We fly to Minneapolis-St.Paul, then to Amsterdam, & then on to Jo-Burg South Africa.
(27hours flying time) We will stay with Pastor Chad & Heather for a few days to rest before flying on to Malawi.
We enjoyed our last Sunday for a while at CCMB with Pastor Nate and the fellowship. It was one of those bittersweet days, joy in receiving all the love & prayers of the saints we so love, but very difficult in saying "Dovojana" (Till we meet again") to all of our love ones! Nora & I have been blessed to serve at CCMB these past 29 years at CCMB & having the privilege knowing so many wonderful people. We too shall miss all of you so very much, but GOD.....
Once we arrive in Malawi, we will bring all of you up to date on the trip and what we have gleaned from the Lord in HIS direction for the immediate future as well as all of our prayer needs. In the interim, please be praying for a safe trip, good health, and that our Lord will be speaking to both of us as we travel! Also be praying for the widows & orphans of area 44 in Lilongwe & Pastor Tom of CC Lilongwe as they prepare for our arrival & the start of the new Pastoral Training & Discipleship School.
May our Lord bless you & keep you, may HE lift up HIS countenance upon you & give you HIS peace. We love all of you and appreciate all your love & support so very much!!!!
Steve & Nora
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Time is short before departure
We have just recently returned from the International Missions Conference at the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta, Ca. It was a wonderful conference, great speakers, wonderful fellowship and the ability to meet new friends & co-laborers.The food wasn't bad either, good job Bible College staff!
There are just 14 days left before we get on that airplane to head to South Africa first before heading on to Malawi Africa. There is yet so much to get done before we leave, but God.... HE never lets us down as long as we are cooperating with HIM. Last night at CCMB's Missions Prayer Meeting, we were blessed by the people whom we love so deeply, were able to express their hearts toward Nora & myself. It was as sweet and as encouraging as it possibly could have been for us!! Thank you all who are praying for us as well as those who are helping in our financial support, who likewise are praying for us. God has demonstrated HIS love towards us in each of you and both Nora & I want to express our sincere love & appreciation to all of you!!!!
The next two weeks before departure will be consumed by DE-junking our house, cleaning out the loft & garage, moving much of personal belongings into a storage unit and helping our son Tom & his family move into our home in order for them top assume the care responsibilities of Nora's mom while we are away. We are so blessed to have such a great family who look out for one another in times such as these.
Our current plans are to go to South Africa, first to meet with several of the pastors in South Africa, who have expressed a desire to come with teams to Malawi to assist us & the national pastors to grow stronger in the Lord and to plant more churches in Malawi with strong leadership, fully trained to be shepherds to their flocks so they are ready for the work of the ministry. Then by early February, we will be in Malawi, working with Pastor Tom Mambo of CC Lilongwe and all his leaders.
Current prayer requests are as follows:
1.Getting the Embassy of the Republic of Malawi do complete our extended stay visa's on time so we can depart on schedule.
2. Sale of our two auto's - 2006 Ford 500 & 2002 Ford Explorer Sports Trac
3. Sale of our Newport Beach Villa's Timeshare weeks.
4. Complete all that is necessary around our home before we leave.
Thank you all for your love & support, we both appreciate it more than you could ever imagine.
There are just 14 days left before we get on that airplane to head to South Africa first before heading on to Malawi Africa. There is yet so much to get done before we leave, but God.... HE never lets us down as long as we are cooperating with HIM. Last night at CCMB's Missions Prayer Meeting, we were blessed by the people whom we love so deeply, were able to express their hearts toward Nora & myself. It was as sweet and as encouraging as it possibly could have been for us!! Thank you all who are praying for us as well as those who are helping in our financial support, who likewise are praying for us. God has demonstrated HIS love towards us in each of you and both Nora & I want to express our sincere love & appreciation to all of you!!!!
The next two weeks before departure will be consumed by DE-junking our house, cleaning out the loft & garage, moving much of personal belongings into a storage unit and helping our son Tom & his family move into our home in order for them top assume the care responsibilities of Nora's mom while we are away. We are so blessed to have such a great family who look out for one another in times such as these.
Our current plans are to go to South Africa, first to meet with several of the pastors in South Africa, who have expressed a desire to come with teams to Malawi to assist us & the national pastors to grow stronger in the Lord and to plant more churches in Malawi with strong leadership, fully trained to be shepherds to their flocks so they are ready for the work of the ministry. Then by early February, we will be in Malawi, working with Pastor Tom Mambo of CC Lilongwe and all his leaders.
Current prayer requests are as follows:
1.Getting the Embassy of the Republic of Malawi do complete our extended stay visa's on time so we can depart on schedule.
2. Sale of our two auto's - 2006 Ford 500 & 2002 Ford Explorer Sports Trac
3. Sale of our Newport Beach Villa's Timeshare weeks.
4. Complete all that is necessary around our home before we leave.
Thank you all for your love & support, we both appreciate it more than you could ever imagine.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy New Year!
We hope & pray that all of you enjoyed a glorious Christmas celebrating our Lord's Birth with family & friends. We are already 3 days into 2009,with much to do that we are aware of, and so much more we have no idea what the Lord holds for us. But lets all remember, we cannot redo yesterday, tomorrow is never promised for any of us, so today let us be about HIM in all we do, for today is all we have to be obedient to HIS calling!
Nora & I leave for the Missions Conference in So. Calif. from January 5 to 8th and then visiting other churches and ministries there before heading back home to wrap all the last minute details before we leave for Malawi on January 26th. Time is growing short, but with God's help we will get all done before we leave.
Have received three e-mails from from Malawi concerning our anticipated arrival, expressing their joy in our soon arrival! God is so good to us, preparing the way for us, setting up new friends and co-laborers for the gospel of Jesus Christ, We are truly blessed!!
Our prayer needs are many, but are a few:
1.Missions Conference
2.Finalize support raising activities
3.Ability to wrap up all last minute details
4.Sale of two auto's & our Timeshare in Newport Beach
5.Safe & enjoyable 27 hour flight to Africa.
We want all of you to know how much we appreciate you and love your prayer & financial support. We will be attempting to keep you informed on this blog, over the next 23 days before we depart as well as when we arrive in Africa.
May our Lord continue to bless all of you as you serve HIM, we remain,
In HIM,
Steve & Nora
Nora & I leave for the Missions Conference in So. Calif. from January 5 to 8th and then visiting other churches and ministries there before heading back home to wrap all the last minute details before we leave for Malawi on January 26th. Time is growing short, but with God's help we will get all done before we leave.
Have received three e-mails from from Malawi concerning our anticipated arrival, expressing their joy in our soon arrival! God is so good to us, preparing the way for us, setting up new friends and co-laborers for the gospel of Jesus Christ, We are truly blessed!!
Our prayer needs are many, but are a few:
1.Missions Conference
2.Finalize support raising activities
3.Ability to wrap up all last minute details
4.Sale of two auto's & our Timeshare in Newport Beach
5.Safe & enjoyable 27 hour flight to Africa.
We want all of you to know how much we appreciate you and love your prayer & financial support. We will be attempting to keep you informed on this blog, over the next 23 days before we depart as well as when we arrive in Africa.
May our Lord continue to bless all of you as you serve HIM, we remain,
In HIM,
Steve & Nora
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Merry Christmas
Nora & I want to wish all of you a very Christ filled holiday celebration of our dear Saviors birth with your family & friends. As we all know, "Jesus is the reason for this season"! It is HIM we celebrate and the gift HE has provided to all of us who have accepted Jesus as our personal Lord & Savior.To HIM be the glory, both now, and forever!
We have been experiencing some wonderful opportunities this past week as we have seen Jesus continue to be faithful to us over & over again in so many different wonderful ways.Today, we were blessed to attend the wedding ceremony of a precious couple from our fellowship at CCMB, Jeremiah Cheatum and Angela Park who have been in our fellowship for about 2 - 3 years. We have seen our Lord bring them together to become one flesh in Jesus Christ and they made their covenant with each other for the rest of their lives to love & cherish each other, forsaking all others,& making Jesus Christ the center of their lives and marriage. The ceremony was absolutely outstanding, a most beautiful bride and a very handsome groom, but most of all seeing first hand their love for each other and their total commitment to Jesus Christ. My good friend and former Senior Pastor, Bill Holdridge, performed the ceremony and as usual did a masterful presentation of the sanctity of a marriage commitment, as they made their vows before God and the witnesses in attendance.
New news, we have now booked our flight to Africa and will be leaving from San Francisco on Monday January 26, 2009, flying to South Africa to visit our friends and fellow colleagues there, before traveling on to Malawi.The time is rapidly passing us by, with the holidays before us, then to the Missions Conference at the CC Bible College, visiting additional churches and friends in Southern California before returning to Monterey to wrap up the last of the details necessary to allow us to depart on 1-26-09.
Our fund raising is going well as we are approximately 75% completed for 2009, so please keep praying for God's provision for us. We desire to focus entirely on the ministry duties prior to departure. We are also waiting for the Malawi Embassy in Washington D.C. to respond to our inquiry regarding obtaining all the required documentation to allow us to obtain an extended multiple entry visa's. As Americans, we are allow to go and stay up to six months without any visa, but our plans are for us to live there and to come home every 12-18 months over the next 3-5 years, so this presents a different need for the visa's.
We wish to thank each of you who have already given sacrificially to our ministry efforts for Malawi, words cannot possibly express properly how much your love & support has meant to us as we have stepped out in faith to follow HIS call on our lives! You are are a vital part of this work to be done in Malawi,as you hold the rope on this side of the world as we become your eyes, hands, legs,& ears, as we listen to God's sweet voice as to what HE desires us to do upon our arrival. We think we have a handle, but we also know we know very little, so we desire to be led by HIS Holy Spirit in all we attempt to accomplish in HIS name.
May our Lord bless you all real good and always remember, HE is God and we are not!! Let us be the Ephesians 3:20 Christians who truly believe HIM to do "exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask, think, or imagine, by the spirit that dwells in us."
Steve & Nora
We have been experiencing some wonderful opportunities this past week as we have seen Jesus continue to be faithful to us over & over again in so many different wonderful ways.Today, we were blessed to attend the wedding ceremony of a precious couple from our fellowship at CCMB, Jeremiah Cheatum and Angela Park who have been in our fellowship for about 2 - 3 years. We have seen our Lord bring them together to become one flesh in Jesus Christ and they made their covenant with each other for the rest of their lives to love & cherish each other, forsaking all others,& making Jesus Christ the center of their lives and marriage. The ceremony was absolutely outstanding, a most beautiful bride and a very handsome groom, but most of all seeing first hand their love for each other and their total commitment to Jesus Christ. My good friend and former Senior Pastor, Bill Holdridge, performed the ceremony and as usual did a masterful presentation of the sanctity of a marriage commitment, as they made their vows before God and the witnesses in attendance.
New news, we have now booked our flight to Africa and will be leaving from San Francisco on Monday January 26, 2009, flying to South Africa to visit our friends and fellow colleagues there, before traveling on to Malawi.The time is rapidly passing us by, with the holidays before us, then to the Missions Conference at the CC Bible College, visiting additional churches and friends in Southern California before returning to Monterey to wrap up the last of the details necessary to allow us to depart on 1-26-09.
Our fund raising is going well as we are approximately 75% completed for 2009, so please keep praying for God's provision for us. We desire to focus entirely on the ministry duties prior to departure. We are also waiting for the Malawi Embassy in Washington D.C. to respond to our inquiry regarding obtaining all the required documentation to allow us to obtain an extended multiple entry visa's. As Americans, we are allow to go and stay up to six months without any visa, but our plans are for us to live there and to come home every 12-18 months over the next 3-5 years, so this presents a different need for the visa's.
We wish to thank each of you who have already given sacrificially to our ministry efforts for Malawi, words cannot possibly express properly how much your love & support has meant to us as we have stepped out in faith to follow HIS call on our lives! You are are a vital part of this work to be done in Malawi,as you hold the rope on this side of the world as we become your eyes, hands, legs,& ears, as we listen to God's sweet voice as to what HE desires us to do upon our arrival. We think we have a handle, but we also know we know very little, so we desire to be led by HIS Holy Spirit in all we attempt to accomplish in HIS name.
May our Lord bless you all real good and always remember, HE is God and we are not!! Let us be the Ephesians 3:20 Christians who truly believe HIM to do "exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask, think, or imagine, by the spirit that dwells in us."
Steve & Nora
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Update as of 12-9-08
It has been a very full two weeks since we last updated all of you, and there is still so much be be accomplished. Our support continues to come in and we are about 74% funded at this time and our goal is to be fully funded by 12-20-08. So please continue to pray for us in this arena as well as getting all the rest of the details accomplished before 1-15-09.
Nora & I both have been extremely blessed by the warm responses we have received, both from those at our local church(CCMB), as well as many other churches we have had the honor of sharing about our ministry to Malawi Africa. God is just blowing our minds as HE opens doors no man can open and HE keeps reassuring us that we are in the center of HIS will! God is so good to us and we truly are blessed by all of HIS people.
The Compassion Pregnancy of the Monterey Peninsula, where Nora has served the past 25years, gave her a going away celebration this past week. It was so good to see and fellowship with so many people who have served at the CPC over the past years as well as those serving today. It seems to very hard to realize that Nora will not be an active part of this ministry since she has been involved since its inception.... but God! Thank you Debbie Jones, Terrie Bennett, and the entire volunteer staff for your love and support all these many years. We will miss you a lot, but plan on keeping in touch by e-mail & skype.
We want to wish all of you a very blessed Merry Christ mas and an extremely Happy New Year. We will be in our prayers and please keep us in yours.
Steve & Nora Braselton
Nora & I both have been extremely blessed by the warm responses we have received, both from those at our local church(CCMB), as well as many other churches we have had the honor of sharing about our ministry to Malawi Africa. God is just blowing our minds as HE opens doors no man can open and HE keeps reassuring us that we are in the center of HIS will! God is so good to us and we truly are blessed by all of HIS people.
The Compassion Pregnancy of the Monterey Peninsula, where Nora has served the past 25years, gave her a going away celebration this past week. It was so good to see and fellowship with so many people who have served at the CPC over the past years as well as those serving today. It seems to very hard to realize that Nora will not be an active part of this ministry since she has been involved since its inception.... but God! Thank you Debbie Jones, Terrie Bennett, and the entire volunteer staff for your love and support all these many years. We will miss you a lot, but plan on keeping in touch by e-mail & skype.
We want to wish all of you a very blessed Merry Christ mas and an extremely Happy New Year. We will be in our prayers and please keep us in yours.
Steve & Nora Braselton
Friday, November 28, 2008
How To Be involved
The work in Malawi Africa is an on-going ministry that will not be completed in our lifetime, but we all can be a part of what our Lord desires to accomplish to bless the saints there in a poverty stricken society. Each day there are so many people dying out of starvation, Aids/HIV. Malaria, lack of clothing, proper health care, education, and find themselves dealing with hopelessness due to no apparent hope for the future.
We can do our part by reaching out to assist in the process of sharing God's love to them, teaching more in depth the work of God with & to local Pastors & church leaders, so they may instruct their fellowships for the work of the ministry, along with meeting some of the physical needs of daily living necessities like food, blankets, wood to cook with and in some cases, providing a literacy program to widows and orphans who find themselves without the ability to compete in the limited business market place found in so many villages and communities
If you would like more information on specifics, please contact us at http://www.roadtomalawi.blogspot.com/ or snb097@aol.com and our telephone numbers are (831) 422-8579 & (831) 277-2244. These telephone numbers are good through January 2009 as we will departing for Malawi. Your love gifts and all tax deductible donations can be forwarded to Calvary Chapel Monterey Bay located at 3001 Monterey-Salinas Highway, Monterey, Ca. 93940 with a notation funds are for the Malawi Outreach. The telephone number at Calvary Chapel is (831) 649-1158
We also have a short video presentation (2 minutes 12 seconds) that can be viewed on www.GodTube.com for those who would like to see a brief overview of our ministry in & around Lilongwe, Malawi Africa.Thank you for your prayers & financial support as we team together to reach more for the kingdom of God.
We can do our part by reaching out to assist in the process of sharing God's love to them, teaching more in depth the work of God with & to local Pastors & church leaders, so they may instruct their fellowships for the work of the ministry, along with meeting some of the physical needs of daily living necessities like food, blankets, wood to cook with and in some cases, providing a literacy program to widows and orphans who find themselves without the ability to compete in the limited business market place found in so many villages and communities
If you would like more information on specifics, please contact us at http://www.roadtomalawi.blogspot.com/ or snb097@aol.com and our telephone numbers are (831) 422-8579 & (831) 277-2244. These telephone numbers are good through January 2009 as we will departing for Malawi. Your love gifts and all tax deductible donations can be forwarded to Calvary Chapel Monterey Bay located at 3001 Monterey-Salinas Highway, Monterey, Ca. 93940 with a notation funds are for the Malawi Outreach. The telephone number at Calvary Chapel is (831) 649-1158
We also have a short video presentation (2 minutes 12 seconds) that can be viewed on www.GodTube.com for those who would like to see a brief overview of our ministry in & around Lilongwe, Malawi Africa.Thank you for your prayers & financial support as we team together to reach more for the kingdom of God.
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