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
