Saturday, February 7, 2009

An Update on Karl and Debbie and an African Pastors Conference

Here we are -- and it is already the middle of February! Can you believe it? It seems that the first 6 weeks of 2009 have just flown by.

Tomorrow morning (February 8) Debbie and I are leaving for the campus of Baylor University for meetings with leaders involved in HIV/AIDS ministry in Africa. Several key people will be there
, and we would ask that you would pray for:
  • A safe trip there and back. We are driving the 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from Phoenix to Waco, Texas.
  • That God would enable us to connect with the right people and that we would have those "divine appointments".
A few days after we return from Texas, Karl will be flying to Edmonton, Canada to celebrate his father's 80th birthday as well as meet with some pastors and mission leaders from local churches. He will also be attending the Missionfest Conference and connecting with several key leaders doing work in Africa. Pray that this will be a fruitful trip.

Once February is over, we'll be home for a while -- but there is much to do. Here are some of t
he things on our calendar you can pray for:
  • Plans are taking shape for the first City AIDS Summit. The Summit will be held in Baltimore sometime between the end of February/beginning of March. We'll begin laying the groundwork for the Summit with a group of churches there.
  • Theresa Malila, the Founder of Somebody Cares (our partner ministry in Malawi) will be in Baltimore and Phoenix March 18 - April 7. We are helping to organize the trip and will be hosting Theresa while she is in Phoenix. Pray that God will anoint her and bless her time of speaking in churches, schools, with government officials, etc. If you would like to know when Theresa is speaking, feel free to contact us.
  • Karl will continue to meet with pastors and Christian leaders about ministry partnerships Africa. Pray that God will bless those meetings and that partnerships will develop with the right churches, people and organizations.
Pastors Conferences in Malawi and Zambia

In April Karl will be going to Malawi and Zambia to participate in two pastors conferences, meet with potential ministry partners and see how some of our ongoing projects are developing.

The confer
ence in Malawi will bring together more than 800 pastors -- most who are from the peri-urban and rural areas surrounding Lilongwe. While we do on-going pastoral training with many of these pastors, this conference will be a unique opportunity for them to be together, learn and deepen their relationship with God. What these pastors learn at the conference will be taught in their churches for the next several weeks!

Most of these pastors live on less than $1 a day. They can't afford to come to an event like this without help. For $20 you can help a pastor attend this two day event by paying for his or her transportation, food and teaching materials. If you can donate $40, then we can send a pastor and their spouse.

If you would like to help Malawian pastors attend this conference, you can make your check out to "Visionledd" and put "Malawi - Pastors" in the memo line. We would like to see all 800 pastors sponsored by March 31. If you would like to help, send your checks to the following address:

In the USA
Visionledd
PO Box 20158
Mesa, AZ 85277

In Canada
Visionledd
PO Box 460
Burlington, ON L7R 3Y3

Thank you so much for your help.

Thank you as well for your encouragement, prayer and support. We are deeply grateful for all of you.

Karl and Debbie