Back from Vietnam!

Dear friends,

Hello to everyone! I have returned from an excellent trip to Vietnam only to be replaced in Asia by my traveling husband! As I write this from the comfort of Falmouth, Massachusetts, Steve is teaching and sweating in India. His time at the School of Frontier Media in Thailand went well and I know he was blessed to see our teammates who continue to hold down the fort in Chiang Mai. He has moved onto Jaipur, India to teach in a Media Discipleship Training School for a week and to test the rough-cut (sort of the first draft) of the evangelistic film in Marwari that was shot in April. He has even had the unexpected blessing of being reunited with his suitcase that was taking its own trip in India for the last 12 days! I'm sure he will have many details to share when he returns on August 20th.

My trip to Vietnam was a blessing and a treat! I was able to accompany my oldest friend Jenifer (friends since 7th grade!) as she led a short-term team to Da Nang, Vietnam. Jenifer runs an orphan ministry in Western Mass and this trip was to support the work of Orphan Voice, an agency caring for orphans in two locations in Da Nang (check 'em out: www.orphanvoice.org). I had the privilege of coming along to help and to shoot video. I will be producing and editing a promotional video for her ministry as well as a travelogue of sorts to document the trip. While we were there, we spent as much time as possible just holding and getting to know the kids. We also took all 50 of them to the dentist and spent time beautifying one of the orphanages with paint and a new wall. The three guys on our team completed an entire playscape—no easy feat since there are no Home Depots around and the lumber was delivered by bicycle! It was a wonderful opportunity to be part of this trip. I loved every minute of it.

Now that I am home I am quite busy with two research projects for Create and running my kids around to appointments and things. In addition to my work with Create, I have also signed on with Todd Johnson (fellow YWAMer and director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell) to assist as an editor in his next publication The World Christian Chronology. Todd has recently co-edited The Atlas of Global Christianity, a beautiful book that references the status of global Christianity for the past 100 years. These volumes are important to understanding the status of world missions and for planning the continuing work in the unreached world. I am very excited to be part of it! This does not change my status as associate staff with Create International but complements the work we are doing in the field nicely.

Once Steve is back we are taking a short support-raising trip down the east coast with stops to see Steve's dad in Maryland, and other members of our support team in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Virginia. We are cramming this trip in while getting the kids prepared for school and Samuel off to college! It continues to be our busiest summer ever and no vacation yet! :) Please pray for safety in travel, great appointments with family and friends, and the finances necessary to pull this speedy trip off successfully.

As we are learning, it seems to be these busiest times that the enemy comes against us. I'd like to ask you to join us in prayer for a few things. First, Samuel has been battling headaches and persistent, severe eczema for a while now. Despite many doctors' advice, medicines and creams he just can't seem to get ahead of it. It has been an increasing problem all summer and seems to be in a bit of a crisis now. Would you please pray for relief for Samuel? He is worn down and depressed and we want to see him healed of this—especially before he heads off to school. We want him to start off his college career in great health—and we will need a miracle now for this to happen. Gratefully, we believe in a God of miracles.

The second prayer request is in the area of our finances. Through many of you God has provided so beautifully and generously for our ministry travel expenses—it has been a miracle to watch and we are always in awe as the Lord gives us the green light for a project and then provides for it. While our travel has been covered, our living expenses have become steadily more and more difficult to manage. Our regular support has recently diminished because of changes in people's employment and income level. It also seems like our car is requiring regular trips to the garage to keep it going and that repeated expense has been beyond our budget. We know what it is to enjoy an abundance and to be in want. We have had many natural ups and downs over the past years but this time it feels like an attack designed to discourage us and throw us off course. Our desire is to raise the necessary funds to return to the field with the rest of our team. Would you please join us in prayer as we resist the enemy in the area of financial discouragement? We know that God means to keep us dependent on him—and we welcome that—but we also know it is not his way to beat us down. And we are feeling a little beaten these days.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy lives to follow along with us. We are grateful for you. We are also grateful for the extraordinary privilege it is to do this work for the Lord. We would not trade it for any amount of money or the promise of health or even for a brand new car. We intentionally stepped out of the world of working for profit in order to follow this call and we do not regret it—no matter how hard some days may be. Thanks for standing in prayer with us. We pray for you, too!

Bless you all,
Allyson & Steve

Return to Asia

It's been about a month since we last wrote here on the blog and so much is going on. We are like Grand Central Station here at our furlough base in Falmouth these days. Rachel is recently back from Mississippi and extremely blessed by that experience. Allyson is wrapping up her tour-of-duty in Vietnam with Orphan Voice and Redeeming Families. And Steve is only one day away from leaving on his return trip to Thailand where he will be teaching on “Directing Video” in the School of Frontier Media. After a week in Thailand with old and new friends, Steve flies directly to India for about two weeks to continue work on the rough-cut of the M*rwari film and to teach young Asians on video production in a discipleship training program.

Praises for:

- Rachel's successful ministry trip to Mississippi with the Lanesville Congregational Church

- Allyson's time of abundant blessing in Vietnam (She returns Saturday night)

- Steve's ability to finish the rough-cut of the M*rwari film on time and for the school preparations going well

- a wonderful tour with old friends and family in Southern CT in July.

Please Pray for:

- a continuation of ministry effectiveness in Vietnam for Allyson and the team for this week

- for the orphans of Danang (more on them in the next post)

- safety for travel for Steve and Allyson coming and going from Asia in the next few days and

specifically for on-time, uneventful flights—Steve has some tricky connections that if missed will be problematic so we hope to avoid that

- all of Steve's equipment and gear making it all the way to Chiang Mai and back in one-piece

- health during the trip

- Steve to be a blessing to the students and teammates at the two centers he will be visiting over the next month.

- overcoming jet lag and great focus for teaching and editing video in the next few weeks.

- Nana and grandpa who stay with the kids for 4 days while Steve leaves before Ally returns

- Samuel's preparations for University and the girls returning to school in the fall

- an increase in our regular giving needed for us to return to our base of operations overseas

- wisdom in making decisions about the many exciting ministry plans for the Fall (Thailand outreach, Cape Town 2010 conference in South Africa, YWAM 50^th Anniversary in Florida, etc.).

Attached you will find an exciting ministry report from Create for July 2010. This is a newsletter they publish twice a year with great insider-information on current and future projects. The international directors are also planning on touring the America continents in 2010.

"Above is Create International's latest E-newsletter--just four easy-to-read pages with condensed yet very exciting reports from all of our Create International centers. If you are unable to receive this version of our E-news please follow this hotlink to the web browser version which you can read online. Alternatively you can visit our website at http://www.createthailand.com/ where you can view and download higher quality versions of this E-news as well as past E-newsletters. Most Create International centers and staff are also on Facebook--so please keep in touch!

God bless you and thank you for your continued support of this ministry. Please let us know if you would like to have a presentation by us or one of our Create International staff. Carol and Calvin plan to be traveling and speaking throughout both North and South America March-May 2011."

Simon Says

It is my honor to introduce you to some new friends of ours of whom we are quite fond. It was a privilege to work closely with Simon and Anima of Create India. They are the international directors of the base in Jaipur with whom I recently partnered in order to direct the Marwri evangelistic film. Here is Simon's report on that work that we did together.

Simon says: " The climate has been very hot, 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) and dry, with lots of sand storms along with strong hot winds blowing making it difficult to do our work effectively, but by the grace of God we have been able to do our work and accomplish things...There were times we had difficulties in getting actors for the film but God helped us and we were able to complete the filming successfully. Even with the climate being very hot and other problems coming up everyday for us to carry out the filming, the crew and actors were patient and did very well. We thank God for His help so that we could successfully complete the filming. Now the editing is being done in the USA by Steve, the film director, and should be completed by Sept'10." Thanks, Simon!

Simon and Anima have invited me back to India in August to work on the rough cut of the film that I'm editing now. While there I will also teach video production for missions to young Indians and other international students. I will also stop in Thailand to teach in the School of Frontier Media for one week. My goal to teach young people in the areas of media and missions has very quickly become a reality!

To make this trip a reality we need $2900 in funds primarily for flights to India and Thailand. If you would like to contribute to this special project, contact us at sevenlampstands at gmail dot com to find out how to best support this work. You may also wish to make an additional donation to help support the work of Create India.

Please pray for:
* stamina and focus to complete the rough-cut of the Marwri film on time
* wisdom in booking the jumble of flights from Boston to Delhi, India to Bangkok, Thailand to Chiang Mai and back
* $2200 in funds to come in right away to purchase the round-trip tickets and an additional $700 prior to departure for the other expenses
* focused time to prepare for teaching two different classes in Asia this August
* safety in travel, including equipment
* an openness and readiness for the students to both learn and to ignite a passion for using media effectively in frontier missions work!
* Create India to receive the funds they need to continue their work
* that workers will go to engage the M*rwari people who desperately need to hear the life-giving Good News!

Simon's closing statement to his prayer partners is true for us as well. "We hope and pray that you are doing well by the grace of our Father in Heaven. We as a family remember you every night in our family prayers and thank God for you for partnering with us in the work that He has called us to do here. There are many of you that pray for us, write encouraging letters to us and support us in different ways. All this and your friendship helps us to keep moving forward here in Jaipur, India" . . . and even, by God's grace, in Massachusetts!

Coming attractions: Allyson shares about her upcoming trip to Vietnam and Rachel's report on her missions trip to Mississippi!

"I would like to thank Steve, who had taken time from his busy schedule to come to Jaipur, India to help us with the production, filming and editing of the evangelistic video drama film for the Rjasthani, Mrwari people group. The Rjasthani Mrwari are a mega unreached people group with no known church happening in their own language for their own people. Steve came here in the month of April, an extremely hot time of the year here in Rjasthan. I and the team were very blessed by Steve's attitude and his hard work, committing himself everyday to finish the work even when he felt a bit sick some days due to the heat and food. Steve's positive attitude and fun loving nature was a great encouragement to many of us on the team, the crew and actors, in the midst of difficult situations arising due to power cuts, the heat, actors not showing up on time or even pulling out, equipment problems, etc. He always had a positive attitude. Steve also took time during the Mrwari filming to train and help our local staff get some experience in filming and directing. Now even while he is back in the USA, he is working on the editing of the Mrwari film. I personally as the ministry leader here in Jaipur was very blessed by Steve and hope and pray that he continues to come back to India to help us make many more films for the numerous unreached people groups that live here. I thank his family for releasing him to come to India to help us." - Simon, Director, Create India

"In addition to being a deeply cherished and trusted friend and co-worker, Steve was our positive and persevering film director on the set. Early on, he committed himself and never once wavered. His contributions go above and beyond; yet humility goes before himself. He blessed us tremendously with his humility in receiving feedback on cross-cultural interaction, and the way he attempted to apply it immediately for the sake of team unity." - JoAnne, Create International Global Communications & Resource Centre, Thailand.

"I just thought it'd be cool for you to know that there is a Brazilian audience excited about what we did! ;) And I am sure they will be amazed when they see the end product. I love the passion you and your family have for the Kingdom! And the fact that you guys are bold enough to step out in faith and do what you do, wherever it takes you. I will stand in prayer for you." - Teammate Mila, School of Frontier Media graduate, Brazil

"Working with a talented, hard-working group to accomplish the goal of creating a relevant evangelistic film and overcoming trials and tribulations together to get there is just what I signed up for!" - Steve

Rachel Strikes Out On Her Own

Hi, this is Rachel! 

It's been my heart's desire for a long time to be a m!ssionary. In the past year I've had amazing opportunities to step out in m!ssions with my family. Now I have a chance to take a trip without my family to Mississippi with the Lanesville Congregational Church in Gloucester. We're going at the middle of July, and driving down to Canton, Mississippi. There we will be running a VBS and doing some minor construction work for the poor and needy. The trip is for two weeks and I'll be there with my best friend and thirty other kids my age.

The entire cost for this trip is $450 for food, accommodation, and transportation. I've been able to pay the registration fees of $75 and I'm hoping to raise the rest in support. Would you please pray about contributing to this trip? 

If you feel at this time that you can support me, please contact my parents about making a donation for this work. 

Thank you for considering my need, and please keep me in your prayers as I take this trip.

Sincerely, Rachel  

Vol 16 - Report on Incredible I-N-D-I-A

Indi* was indeed “incredible” as advertised. Our conference week was a tremendous blessing and time of prayer, worship and discussion about the future of the ministry. We gathered to remember what God has done in the past and to seek Him about the future direction of the ministry. It was great to see our teammates from around the globe and to see some of Indi*. We really enjoyed a trip to the Taj Mahal and a tour of famous sites in J*ipur, the Pink City.

Allyson and the girls returned home after the conference. Steve remained in Indi* to direct the ev*ngelistic film project for the M*rwari people of R*jasthan—an unreached people group of over 10 million. It was hot, hard work sweating from new found pours in over 110 degrees for 12 to 18 hour days. There was a lot of spiritual resistance to this project including conflicts with rebelling actors having trouble committing to the project. We also learned firsthand about something called I.S.T. or “Indi*n Stretchable Time.” That means things won't happen when you think they will and you hold very loosely to your best laid production plans and hope for the best. Nevertheless, the team persevered, got the needed footage, witnessed to the actors, and had a great time making a movie in Indi*. Steve will be diligently working on editing this project over the summer. Thanks again for praying for us during our expedition, we were very encouraged by your prayers.

In other news, Samuel has been officially accepted to UMASS Amherst in the College of Engineering. We got this news just a few days before we headed off to Indi*. We are also pleased to report that he got a great financial aid package as well so our expected family contribution should be manageable. All of our prayers are being answered regarding his future education. Thank you for your faithfulness. We continue to pray for Samuel that he will have a great transition from high school to university later this year.

Our newest challenge is summer housing. Allyson's parents have graciously offered to rearrange their home to accommodate us all, but we are hesitant to displace her parents for 8 weeks. In addition, we would love to be on the North Shore for July and August (although we're not limited to being there). We need something affordable that accommodates the five of us within our reduced furlough budget. Here's the kicker: we don't own any furniture. House-sitting or a furnished apartment would work best for us. If you have any leads, suggestions or ideas please contact us. We have been in this position before and know how God likes to provide at the last minute! We are trusting in his goodness and wait in expectation.

Rachel is excited to have a missions experience of her very own. She has committed to going to Canton, Mississippi this July on a “mercy ministry trip” with a friend's church team from Gloucester. Let's pray that all $400 in finances for her trip are raised as well.

Lastly, our support levels are slowly but surely rising. Our plan is to leave fully-funded this time after reaching 100% of our goal. Presently, we are at 70%. If you intend to start, increase, or change your giving for our ministry in the next year—please let us know at this time.

We still also hope to see all of you sometime over the next few months. Feel free to contact us at anytime using our new ministry email address.

Prayers and Praises:
* Thank God for the amazing break-throughs for the production teams in Indi*
* Pray for Steve and others who will be diligently editing the film footage in the months ahead
* Pray for housing for us for July and August
* Ask God about contributing to this work financially (starting for the first time or increasing funding) to help us reach 100%
* Pray that Lord will raise up others to participate in this ministry effort
* Pray for Rachel's upcoming ministry trip to Mississippi with a church group in July.

Steve sets up the next shot while the team checks on the translations of lines from English to M*rwari.

Recent R*jasthan Tour Video

A quick peak of our recent R*jasthan tour of duty. I now have 17 hours of video footage from Indi* to log and edit into an hour long movie. That's months of awesome work that I love! Please pray that this editing work can start soon and go well until a timely completion--and mostly that the finished film would be a great blessing to the people of Indi* for whom it is being made.

The URL for that video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtEpt0mdiro&

There is also a short outtake that can be found at www.youtube.com/sevenlampstands called "Keep Indi* Beautiful."

Myanmar Montage

Remember that trip Steve took back in November? Here is a visual meditation on that journey into Myanmar: Yangon, Shwe Dagon, Sule Pagoda, Mandalay, Shan State and back. Here are the beautiful people of Burma in a beautiful land. Pray for them and for peace.

If the blog clips the widescreen video, go tohttp://www.youtube.com/sevenlampstands to see it in all of its widescreen wonder.