The Anthis Family Adventures

Volume 1, Issue #5 joel.anthis@sim.org August 2003

PLEDGED/RECEIVED SUPPORT
	6/03	8/03
ONE-TIME OUTGOING	100%	100%
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT ($ and equipment)	<30%	60%
MONTHLY PLEDGES	90%	97%

Greetings from Texas! We have finally returned from a five week trip that took us to Charlotte, North Carolina for three weeks of training and to at least seven other states along the way (we may have lost count or slept through one or two!) God answered all your prayers for a safe trip and a profitable time. The kids could not have been better despite long hours on the road. We have definitely bonded as a family and are thankful for the increased space we will have here at home for the next three weeks…..

THE BIG NEWS…. We finally have a departure date. Thanks to all of you who prayed faithfully for our visa situation! We were granted a three month entry visa which will allow us to go to Nigeria on September 3, 2003. We will need to apply for the long term visa once we get to Nigeria, but we are thrilled to not have our departure delayed while waiting for the immigration to review the current quota of missionaries allowed into the country. This is a huge answer to prayer and yet another confirmation of God’s hand in every detail.

ANTHIS FAMILY TIMELINE:

Joel preaching at Cornerstone EPC (all are welcomed!): Sunday August 10^th. Joel and Cindy give mission update in combined Sunday School at 9:00, and Joel preaches at 10:30. Cornerstone is on South Mason one block north of Highland Knolls. The # is 281.579.0770.
Speaking at Baylor College of Medicine students’CMDA meeting: Thursday August 14^th
Moving out of our home: Saturday August 23^rd
Anthis/Nigeria prayer team meeting at the Mason’s in Katy (call 281.599.0357 for directions): Thursday August 28^th
Depart for Nigeria from Houston: September 3^rd!

The time between now and our departure will be packed full (pardon the pun) of packing for Nigeria, packing for storage, or simply getting rid of stuff, continuing to vigorously collect medical equipment, and most importantly lots of goodbyes. Please continue to stand with us in prayer in this time of many transitions for all of us.

PRAISES:

For the incredible provision of prayer and financial partners for our ministry.
That our visa has been granted allowing us to go to Nigeria!
For the great time of training at SIM orientation, and for God’s awesome hand of protection during our recent traveling.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Pray for Joel as he prepares for and preaches his first ever sermon this Sunday.
Pray that God would continue to provide the specialized medical equipment we need, and the means to get it all safely to Nigeria.
Pray for peace, joy, and energy for Joel and Cindy, as well as Austin, Allison, and Abigail in this time of transition.
Pray for sweet fellowship as we say lots of hard goodbyes.
Pray that God would continue preparing our place of service before us in Jos Nigeria!

HOW YOU CAN HELP: In preparation for our departure we are trying to update our database. If you are receiving this newsletter via regular mail, then we do not have your email address. Once we are in Nigeria we plan to send most of our correspondence via email. We plan to send a final mailing with a prayer card before our departure, so we also need everyone’s current mailing address. Also, if you would like to be removed from our list please let us know.