Tuesday 4 July 2017

July2017

The Schaefers in Asia    

     
                   

                                                July 3, 2017
Dear Praying Friends,

Hi, and blessings on you, and on all whom you love, from the Right Hand of the Father.  There is no other source of good things except through the Blessed Son of God.

Thank you for all your prayers for us, especially for Ruth, during the past few months.  In our Lord’s kindness, she has experienced enough healing from the tumor-removal surgery to be able to travel overseas for Gospel ministry with me.  She still has residual pains while eating, so please keep praying for her.  And thank you for your encouragements to me in light of my dear dad’s going to heaven in early March.

Somehow, we feel like the Lord has patched us up ok.  Our plan is to depart tomorrow, July 4th, for Singapore.  From Singapore we plan to make a couple of ministry excursions into India and Philippines, with His gracious help.  It seems my own calendar for teaching and preaching may be at least 1/3 full already, and as always I’m hoping for a schedule that will grind me to powder for Jesus’ sake and for His Gospel’s sake.

Please Pray:
·         For dear Ruth to get the full relief from the pains she’s been living with since her surgery in April.
·         That we’d make the best use of our time and energy during this 14 weeks’ trip.
·         That Ruth and I would represent our Lord Jesus well and speak His good words to everyone we meet.
·         For our flights, scheduled as follows, so far: 
Miami to Singapore, July 4th.
Trip to India, July 23rd to August 19th.
Trip to Philippines, September 11-16th?
Make our move from Singapore to arrive back in the USA by October 10th.

Chit-chat:          As you know, Ruth and I have spent most of this second quarter dealing with her health issues.  On Wednesday her surgeon gave her a new medication to try, and we’re waiting to find out whether it will help her.  But God is love, and we’re trusting in Him alone that 2017 will turn back toward “normal” for us now.                        Ruth has been a great comfort to me while we’ve been working with my sister and brother to take care of all my parents’ things.   I’m reminded of my parents all the time.            Our daughter Elizabeth is expecting to deliver us another grandchild in December.  In our Lord’s kindness, this would be our eleventh.                        In addition to everything else, we hit a new bump in the road four weeks ago.  Ruth seems to have been bitten by a brown recluse spider.  Yowie.  Thankfully, she’s nearly fully healed from that incident as well.                As always, thanks so much for your prayer on our behalf.

Sincerest affection and blessings to you all,

Stephen and Ruth Schaefer
John 14.23

 “Serving with the International Gospel Missions” 


990 Calkins Road,  Rochester, NY  14623      Phone:  585-334-9048