Tuesday, September 29, 2009
3 Days and a few hours left!!
Hey Everyone! We are so excited to be able to "pray off" the Pratt family as they depart for Australia and the next part of their heavenbound adventure. We are hoping to surround them with people, love, support, prayers and fellowship on Friday night, October 2 at CLC. We have not had many RSVP's, which is "typical for our culture." Unfortunately, it makes it difficult to plan space and food. Please take just a few minutes to either call Carol Ryan at 360 331 2231 or email me at suejjones@aol.com and let us know if you will or will NOT be there. We have invited over 200 people, so purchasing food by guessing is not the best idea.
There is also time for you to email your words of appreciation, gratitude, love, encouragement and memories to be included in their memory book. You can also email a photo of yourself or your family. We will be taking pictures of those that attend, so that the Pratts can "see" their prayer partners and remember your encouragement. Don't miss the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of folks who went Beyond the Outback...to make a difference for others.
Friday night fellowship and food begins at 6pm, presentation and prayer time begins at 7pm. It's okay to be late..............just be there. Your smile or hug make a difference.
If you would like to contribute to the cafe fund, please see the options on the right. Any little bit helps you be part of the light shining in darkness.
There is also time for you to email your words of appreciation, gratitude, love, encouragement and memories to be included in their memory book. You can also email a photo of yourself or your family. We will be taking pictures of those that attend, so that the Pratts can "see" their prayer partners and remember your encouragement. Don't miss the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of folks who went Beyond the Outback...to make a difference for others.
Friday night fellowship and food begins at 6pm, presentation and prayer time begins at 7pm. It's okay to be late..............just be there. Your smile or hug make a difference.
If you would like to contribute to the cafe fund, please see the options on the right. Any little bit helps you be part of the light shining in darkness.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Farewell Tea-Australia Bound!!
It's official!!!
Farewell tea, sharing and prayer time with Lee, Stefi, Kaylyn and Hope
Date: Friday, October 2, 2009
Time: 6pm-7pm Tea, coffee and finger foods
7pm- Sharing time and prayer
Location: Christian Life Ministry Center
1832 Scott Road
Freeland, WA 98249
For Directions-see tab to the right
RSVP: Call Carol Ryan at 360 331-2231
Would you like to bring something? Cookies would be nice, but not necessary.
If you cannot attend, you can send a letter or note to Lee and Stefi via: suejjones@aol.com Your message will be printed and presented to them in a memory book.
You can also "buy a share" in the Cafe Ministry either online at the tab to your right, or by mailing a donation to the address listed. Our goal is to send our friends to Australia with the Cafe debt retired, their tickets paid and a bit of money to tide them over until jobs are found. If 100 people each give $200, this goal will be reached. Wouldn't you like to know that you "bought" something that may count for eternity in a place that few others would dare to go? Lee and Stefi and the girls went "Beyond the Outback" to a dark and dusty part of Central Asia to make sure that others know the way to eternity. Now it's time for them to start a new chapter, and leave the cafe in the hands of others. The new "management" unfortunately cannot afford to purchase the cafe "business," but we can....without even leaving home to do it! Some people can only afford to buy 1/10 of a share ($20), while others may be able to buy 5 shares or more.
Your prayers, encouragement and support are greatly appreciated. If you cannot give, please come anyway, we want our friends to leave well loved and prayed over. It's time to celebrate a job well done!
Farewell tea, sharing and prayer time with Lee, Stefi, Kaylyn and Hope
Date: Friday, October 2, 2009
Time: 6pm-7pm Tea, coffee and finger foods
7pm- Sharing time and prayer
Location: Christian Life Ministry Center
1832 Scott Road
Freeland, WA 98249
For Directions-see tab to the right
RSVP: Call Carol Ryan at 360 331-2231
Would you like to bring something? Cookies would be nice, but not necessary.
If you cannot attend, you can send a letter or note to Lee and Stefi via: suejjones@aol.com Your message will be printed and presented to them in a memory book.
You can also "buy a share" in the Cafe Ministry either online at the tab to your right, or by mailing a donation to the address listed. Our goal is to send our friends to Australia with the Cafe debt retired, their tickets paid and a bit of money to tide them over until jobs are found. If 100 people each give $200, this goal will be reached. Wouldn't you like to know that you "bought" something that may count for eternity in a place that few others would dare to go? Lee and Stefi and the girls went "Beyond the Outback" to a dark and dusty part of Central Asia to make sure that others know the way to eternity. Now it's time for them to start a new chapter, and leave the cafe in the hands of others. The new "management" unfortunately cannot afford to purchase the cafe "business," but we can....without even leaving home to do it! Some people can only afford to buy 1/10 of a share ($20), while others may be able to buy 5 shares or more.
Your prayers, encouragement and support are greatly appreciated. If you cannot give, please come anyway, we want our friends to leave well loved and prayed over. It's time to celebrate a job well done!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Save the Date!!!
Date and Time: October 2, 2009, 6pm until closing
Venue: CLC, Freeland
Purpose: An all family-we will miss you, we appreciate you, we love you, we-will-lift-you-up-to-our-daddy party for our four friends headed for Aussie land.
Details to follow....stay tuned!
Venue: CLC, Freeland
Purpose: An all family-we will miss you, we appreciate you, we love you, we-will-lift-you-up-to-our-daddy party for our four friends headed for Aussie land.
Details to follow....stay tuned!
Cafe Funding
Ever wondered how one "funds" a small business, that cannot be called a "ministry" for the sake of one's own life, while knowing that the "business" will most likely not ever be very lucrative or able to be sold in a "bad time?" How does one entice "investors" to participate in something that is full of risk, far away and that cannot be publicized lest the business owner's life be jeopardized?
That is the dilemma that Lee and Stefi had while serving in a dark place while trying to be a light bearer. A cafe was the vision that God gave these dear saints in order to reach out to the needy, lonely, seeking ones in a dark city. Equipment was purchased, space was rented and renovated, and the Oasis was up and running. Unfortunately, constant danger and threats required the closing and relocation of the Oasis. Potential profits turned into losses. Items purchased on faith, on credit, were not able to be sold to repay the initial investment.
Starting over in a new place was expensive, yet promising. A nice locale, great ideas, helpful partners made the venue seem like a real possibility, until life and war intervened. A hard choice had to be made. Sell for profit and pay off the small business loan, or practically give the business away, in hopes that it would bring some seekers to Glory one day. The choice to err on the side of eternity was made, and Lee carries the business costs with him from country to country.
A less faithful servant would have not risked their own welfare for others, not chosen the less lucrative buyer, not honored the debt from nation to nation. This servant reports to the King, so bit by bit, step by step, the cost of serving others was carried by one family.
If you would like to help fund an ongoing ministry, with great potential to bring light in the darkness in a way that other means would not work, you can help pay back the loan incurred for the start up of two cafes beyond our borders. How? Future posts will tell you where and how you can give. You can give one time, you can give monthly, you can give later........but you can still give.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could know that we each had a small part in starting something amazing, in a very far away and very scary place, that just might bring someone to our eternal family reunion? I can't think of a better investment....can you?
That is the dilemma that Lee and Stefi had while serving in a dark place while trying to be a light bearer. A cafe was the vision that God gave these dear saints in order to reach out to the needy, lonely, seeking ones in a dark city. Equipment was purchased, space was rented and renovated, and the Oasis was up and running. Unfortunately, constant danger and threats required the closing and relocation of the Oasis. Potential profits turned into losses. Items purchased on faith, on credit, were not able to be sold to repay the initial investment.
Starting over in a new place was expensive, yet promising. A nice locale, great ideas, helpful partners made the venue seem like a real possibility, until life and war intervened. A hard choice had to be made. Sell for profit and pay off the small business loan, or practically give the business away, in hopes that it would bring some seekers to Glory one day. The choice to err on the side of eternity was made, and Lee carries the business costs with him from country to country.
A less faithful servant would have not risked their own welfare for others, not chosen the less lucrative buyer, not honored the debt from nation to nation. This servant reports to the King, so bit by bit, step by step, the cost of serving others was carried by one family.
If you would like to help fund an ongoing ministry, with great potential to bring light in the darkness in a way that other means would not work, you can help pay back the loan incurred for the start up of two cafes beyond our borders. How? Future posts will tell you where and how you can give. You can give one time, you can give monthly, you can give later........but you can still give.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could know that we each had a small part in starting something amazing, in a very far away and very scary place, that just might bring someone to our eternal family reunion? I can't think of a better investment....can you?
Homeward Bound
After many years of living in "other people's countries," Stefi will finally be heading home. Or, is it home? She will have to find that out after she flies from Seatac to Australia on Saturday, October 3, 2009. Lee has been "home for a bit," but is it really HOME anymore? The girls have transitioned from country to country since their infancy. They will enter a new stage of being semi-permanently in an English speaking country where they can play with friends, shop without head's covered and dream of becoming anything a little girl can grow up to be.
Find out just how it feels to be "heading home" after years of being somewhere else.
We are all grateful to those who are willing to turn their back on "home" in order to be "homeless" for a season, or a lifetime, in order to make sure that those that do not know Him will find their Forever Home.
Find out just how it feels to be "heading home" after years of being somewhere else.
We are all grateful to those who are willing to turn their back on "home" in order to be "homeless" for a season, or a lifetime, in order to make sure that those that do not know Him will find their Forever Home.
Homeward Bound-What's next??
Where is home anyway? After years in living in someone else's country, our dear friends are headed to a new home. We, as island family, would like to celebrate their years of service, years of obedience, and upward looking lifestyle. They have lived with less, so that someday, forever, others could live with everything. This has not been an easy journey, or a smooth journey, but it's been a faithful and faith-filled journey.
So what happens next: On October 3, 2009, Stefi returns home to spend time with her sister, who is due to have a baby very soon. She will provide "auntie services" while Lee and the girls "finish up" on Whidbey Island. October 11, the rest of the family will board a one way flight to Australia to start the next chapter of their lives together.
Goals for the next few years will be:
So what happens next: On October 3, 2009, Stefi returns home to spend time with her sister, who is due to have a baby very soon. She will provide "auntie services" while Lee and the girls "finish up" on Whidbey Island. October 11, the rest of the family will board a one way flight to Australia to start the next chapter of their lives together.
Goals for the next few years will be:
- Getting Stefi into the Austrailian healthcare system to better control her diabetes and keep her as healthy as possible. Australia has a universal heathcare system that covers the family upon arrival, since they are Aussies....Lee included
- Introducing the Kaylyn and Hope to their mum's culture and new school system
- Providing support to Stefi's dad, now 82, and "being" with Australian family for a season
- Finding jobs to help support the family through the next phase of following the leader
- Obtaining more international business education for Lee
- Being family without the extra stressors of violence, scarce resources, foreign language and culture
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