On Your Mark, Get Set, GO! …And we’re off!
Well, the time has come. This will most likely be our last communication with you, from this side of the Globe. Our flight is still scheduled to depart the Boise airport on Monday, September 26th at around 7:45 am.
We have been in contact with the airlines and have been told that we each get 2 checked bags, up to 50 lbs each, with no extra fee. So, now we start the process of packing, weighing, and re-packing again in order to get every ounce possible. Most of our “long-term” supplies have been packed into the shipping container; however we will have to survive until it arrives in Kinshasa sometime in December or January. This includes the children’s school materials, clothing, etc. Please pray as we are preparing these last few items.
Please also continue to pray for family members as we are spending time with them and saying good-byes. This is not an easy process for extended family; those being left behind are in just as much in service of The King as those who are sent. They are giving much in order to see the Gospel spread, souls ministered to, and disciples made! Please remember them in your prayers as we go.
Ephesians 3:20-21
We began our deputation in February of 2009. We were able to enroll in language school just over 1 year later. A year of language school down, and we’re off to the field. (Wow! That was much easier said than done!)
After one of our first presentations in 2009, we were told that we should have a “projected leave date” of when we would like to be in Congo. After much prayer, we selected the fall of 2011 (just 2 ½ short years from that time). There were many reasons behind this choice, but mostly it was because we knew that God was [and is] capable of making it happen. Likely? Of course not! But He is able to do exceeding abundantly above…
“Don’t you know that our country is in the worst recession since the great depression?” But you see, the Lord didn’t check with Wall Street first before calling us to Congo.
So, how did we raise support so quickly? The honest answer: we didn’t, God did. The Lord lead to the selection of the date back in 2009, and has honored it. There is not a formula, process, or program in order to get missionaries to the field more quickly. God calls and sends His people, and God provides through His people. Thank you for letting the Lord provide through you!
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Titus
As I write this, Titus is sitting next to me with a bright green cast on his right arm. This week, during a friendly soccer game, his arm was broken (by his wrist). It is not a “bad break” but enough that he will be in the cast for 4 weeks; we will have it taken off after we have been in Congo for a few weeks. He is still getting used to this new addition, and still has some swelling and pain. Please pray for fast and proper healing!
The Container
We would love to be able to tell you that the container is half-way to Congo right now, but it’s not. For some reason, the Lord has chosen for things to be delayed. His timing is the perfect timing! We are working with the shipping company and are hoping to send it off around the 15th of September. This puts it in the port of Matadi around the beginning of December. There is still no word on how much it will cost, or the time it will take, to get the container from Matadi to Kinshasa. It is all truly in the Lord’s hands!
We would like to have people praying for the container and the process it will be going through. First, it will be put on a truck from Caldwell, ID to Seattle, WA. Then it must pass through the US customs. This can be a tricky step since we are shipping vehicles (pick-up, motorcycles, etc). It will then be placed on a very large boat. Because of shipping patterns, our boat will most likely go from Seattle, down around the end of South America, back north up to Canada, across to Europe, and then south along the coast of Africa. Of course, it will be making many stops along the way. This whole process is only supposed to take 75 days (which is pretty amazing, really). Once delivered to Matadi, we are at the mercy of Congolese processing. We are praying that the Lord will allow the container to travel this whole process un-opened, until Kinshasa where we can be present for and supervise its opening and inspection.
We are still waiting upon the Lord to provide the final funds to make all this happen. We have enough to pay the trucking company to get the container to Seattle, and get it on the boat heading toward Congo (at the price we were quoted). However, they are still estimating several thousand dollars will be needed to clear it in Matadi, and a few thousand more to get it from Matadi to Kinshasa. We don’t know how much this will cost, be we serve the one who does! We trust the Lord will provide exactly what we need, when we need it.
Pressing toward the mark,
(Philippians 3:14)
~The Clancy Clan
Sparky, Myndii, Martha, Titus, & Ruth
Time in Kinshasa