Joel Troester – August, 2011
Sorry for the delay in writing. Let me give you a quick update on the last couple of months. In June we enjoyed the 30 day visit of Junior Taylor from Jamaica, a student from Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, IA. He was a great help as he preached and taught in each one of the ministries that we conduct. The people loved it. He is considering returning after he finishes up several years of seminary training.
Junior came to our rescue as he filmed ministry activities and gave us a huge hand in moving into storage in anticipation of Pastor Odenilson’s return from his furlough and our approaching furlough. Oh, the joys of moving.
In anticipation of our return I sat down with 5 different guys that have been involved in our neighborhood ministry. How exciting to hear about when they had accepted Christ and how God has been at work in changing their lives. Plans are in motion for you to be able to watch some snippets of these testimonies.
Saying goodbye to the Mozambicans that we have come to love was difficult. The gang from our neighborhood has grown to 17. Pastor Odenilson is leading our group forward in our absence. Team-work. We are anticipating officially starting our church with these folks upon our return in April of 2012. Pray with us as we begin to pull together the resources to purchase land and put up the initial meeting place. Pray that God would raise up Mozambicans capable of leading our churches. We are starting from the ground up.
We returned to the States on July 23 and have been on the run every since: 1) looking for a suitable car within our price range — Finally found after 3 weeks. PTL 2) Visit the dentist – more times than I would like to remember 3) Visit the doctor – routines 4) Visit the eye doctor – check-up 5) Visit a supporting church in Philadelphia 6) Most exciting of all, work at getting ready for Nathan’s wedding this weekend (Aug 27) in Brooklyn, NY
From hear we head to IA, MN, IN, WI and Canada to visit churches. The forecast for no snow still looks good. We’re looking forward to seeing many of you in the upcoming months. Until then.
Serving together, Joel and Joanie Troester