The mountain tops and the valleys.......



Clearwater Beach

Once again, thank you for your prayers and specially for those of you who prayed for the team that came from Midtown in March.  There is nothing sweeter than having fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ.  Outside of the huge encouragement that the team was for us here, they were awesome in helping us make connections with people here in Tampa.  We didn't want them to go.  We love you Josh, Toy, Alex, Blake, Corrine, Amanda and Jerri!!!!  You were used by God in many ways, keep serving the Lord!

One of the connections that was made that week was with a guy named Peter.  Mark has met with Peter a few times to study the bible.  Peter is going through some difficult times right now and has not made himself available to meet with Mark.  We already love Peter and have a burden for him so please pray that God will be at work in his life and that he will make contact with Mark again.



Teen bible study

Our teen bible study has been growing and our kids have taken the challenge to keep inviting friends.  We want to see each of them grow in their walk with the Lord and for those that don't have a relationship with God come to know him.  We are asking God in faith to bring a young couple that love teenagers to come and join our team so they can lead the teen bible study.  We love teenagers but we see the need of having somebody else take over.  So please be praying with us for that.

Mark and I were talking this week about the blessings of walking in faith.  What is walking in faith?  The bible says in Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Taking a step of faith is obedience without knowing what's on the next step.  Let me explain how this applies to us personally.  If you remember a year ago we asked you to pray about the possibility of moving from the area where we were living to the area closer to the university.  If you recall that meant that our kids would have to change schools again.  Mark and I were having a hard time with this because we didn't want to move our kids again. (This was going to be the fourth school for Dylan in a period of four years).  It was a big decision, so we started praying and asking God to lead and open doors if this was what he wanted.  He answered as you all know in different ways that was clear he was saying "MOVE".  We obeyed his voice not knowing what that would mean for our kids but trusting and believing that God will take care of them.



Syera in a play at school

 All of that to say, Cambridge Christian (this is the school our kids now attend) has been a tremendous blessing to each of our kids in many ways.  It has also given us ways to connect to other families to make new friendships.  God has taken care of our family in every way as a result of our obedience.  So, if God is asking you to do something in your life, don't be paralyzed by fear but instead take a step of faith and be obedient to His calling.  We finally feel at home after 4 years of feeling unsettled.  I believe this is where God wants us and we're excited to see what he has in store for us and the ministry.

As all of you know, and probably have experienced, life is not always colorful and pretty.  There are difficult and discouraging times too.  Needless to say, we've had those times too.  Making disciples one by one is a difficult task, and one that takes time.  There are times when I feel alone and wonder if there will ever be a body of believers gathered together. I know in my heart that God will take care of that but in my flesh there are times when I want to stop following the vision that God has given us and just take the easy route.  Some Christians stop walking with the Lord because at some point life gets hard, choices they have to make go against what most people do and they take the easy way out and they don't choose to endure.  I'm so thankful for God"s Word because during these times of discouragement and unbelief, I can go to his truth and claim his promises and change my way of thinking and endure the hardships of life, knowing that in eternity, it will be worth it all!!!

We were sad to see Mallory move back to Texas.  She had become a part of our family.  But on the other hand, she is a product of what we're doing here.  Lucy took a year to disciple her and invest in her and she went back to her home better equipped and with a heart to invest in others.  We personally (in numbers) didn't gain anything but in the scope of eternity we did!  God used Lucy to make a disciple that now has a heart to make disciples in her own home town.  Praise God for that because that is what we're all about.   Mark is doing the same thing here with some international students.   He meets with them every week and opens the bible and invests God's Word into men that, in a year, will be gone.  Once again, we won't have numbers to show it, but we are making an impact on the nations from Tampa.  This is exciting!!!  Please be praying for Wei's salvation.  He's one of the men that attends the bible study and he came with zero knowledge of Jesus and now he's asking lots of great questions.  The Totis have also made a connection with a couple that they are building a relationship with but they already have had open doors to share the gospel with them.  Their names are Charlie and Marie so please be praying for their salvation.

There is a lot more I could share but I'll stop here.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  Keep praying for this ministry and for God to give us lost people to invest in.  We covet your prayers everyday!!!


Prayer requests summary:

-Peter to be available to meet again with Mark
-A couple that has a heart for teenagers to come join our team and lead teenagers
-Wei's salvation
-Charlie and Marie's salvation
-Contact with more lost people to join us in bible study (Tuesday nights)
-Encouragement for our team during the hard times



We love you all and please continue to pray.  God is definitely moving and using us here in Tampa to further His kingdom!!!

The Schaffers