De Souza’s Prayer letter 9/23/17  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'” Matt. 25:40 |
 We are Getting Closer! As we have taken steps of faith toward the goal of relocating to Angola, we have seen God’s hand even as we’ve faced incredible obstacles. The enemy would like to intimidate us into giving up and being satisfied with the status quo, instead of pursuing our God-sized, God-given calling. We were reminded in our mission class that God does not NEED us, but He chooses to use broken, unworthy people like us to spread His Gospel, that His glory may be revealed throughout the earth. We are just the jars of clay that He pours out His love through! That’s incredible! We don’t have to believe the lies of the enemy, and we shout, “Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world! (John 4:4)” In ourselves, we can do nothing, but it is God who works in us and through us. What an awesome God we serve! For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Cor. 4:6-7 |
 Not only do we have a God who gives us strength on this journey, but we also have all of you who have been willing to walk alongside us! It is with your help that we are excited to let you know that we are nearing 50% for our launching funds and monthly goals! Also, during the past 6 months we have seen our launching fund rise from 5% to nearly 50% and our monthly financial partners have increased by about 200%! To that, we would like to say a huge “THANK YOU!” Because of you, the people of Angola will be reached with the LOVE, LIGHT and SAVING HOPE of JESUS! As we get closer to being 100% funded, our plane will progress closer to Angola. We still have a way to go before we’re able to move. Please look at the charts below and pray about being a part of taking the Good New to those who are living and dying without it! Launch Fund Monthly Financial Goals   We are steadily getting closer to our launch fund financial goal. These funds will help us get to the field…plane tickets, vaccines, visas, a vehicle in Angola, and house set-up expenses. Each financial gift brings us one step closer to reaching our required goal of 100%. Would you consider giving toward this? If you are interested in helping toward a certain need, such as covering plane tickets or vaccines, we can give specifics about the cost of each of these needs. There are many ways you can be involved as a committed monthly giver. This is what will sustain our family over our first term in Angola – 2.5 years. The picture above is one example of what our support team would look like to get us to 100%. The red people represent commitments that have already been given while the gray people represent commitments needed. Would you prayerfully consider claiming one of the gray people to help us get to 100%? *All gifts are tax deductible. Please see giving info below. *One huge benefit we have is that, since the national language of Angola is Portuguese, which we both speak fluently, we will not have to spend time or money on language acquisition.   Two Beautiful Little Girls! Both created in God’s image. Which one does God love more? Since He has given us the resources and abilities to care for both, is it right to love and care for one and not the other? If one of them was your little girl, what would you give up? What hurdles would you cross to get to her, to show her love, to provide for and care for her? Most importantly, what would you do so that she could know the hope that is in Jesus? God loves both little girls with all of His heart. What should our response be?  Why Angola? If we think about the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, most of us in America are the ones who received the 10 talents. Most of us have abundantly more than what is necessary to survive. Most of us have access to clean water, adequate food, medical care, education, and so much more. Most have had the opportunity to learn about God and His love and sacrifice for us. This abundance is a blessing from God. We can’t even take another breath if it is not Him giving it to us. How are we stewarding all that He has entrusted us with? Are we burying it, just spending it on our own comfort and pleasure, or are we investing it into His Kingdom and making an eternal difference? In the part of Angola where we will be going, the situation is drastically different from our reality here! We have already outlived the life expectancy of about 38 years. Mothers lose 1 in 3 of their children before age 5. The missionary per capita ratio in Angola is one of the lowest in the world, and many precious people never have the opportunity to hear the saving love of Jesus. We are reminded of the lyrics of a popular Christian song, “Do Something,” by Matthew West… “If not us, then who, if not me and you? Right now, it’s time for us to do something.” We are following God’s call to go and to serve. Will you prayerfully consider praying and giving in order to help us get there? Together, we can make a difference! Highlights from the Last Few Months  We had an excellent visit with Dr. Steve and Peggy Foster. They have been missionaries in Angola for the past 40+ years. Dr. Foster is the medical director of CEML Hospital where we will serve. We are so excited to join their team! Dr. Foster shared an impactful message at our “Hope for Angola” event.  At the end of the event, we were blessed to receive prayer! Thank you to all who came for the event! We hope you came away inspired!  We were also immensely blessed by the children and leaders at our church’s VBS (Lakes Area Vineyard). We were blessed to be able to share with the children about Angola, and they prayed over us with such power and passion! Some of the most amazing experiences we have had over the last few months is seeing people give sacrificially of their time, finances and talents for the Kingdom of God, or maybe they just want to get us out of here! So many have spent hours praying with us and for us! The children of one family donated all the money they had been saving up, saying that it was more important to help us get to Africa than for them to buy the special item they had been saving for. There have been Indian taco sales, huge garage sales, beautiful beadwork sales, essential oil sales… It is incredible to see people give selflessly for God to be glorified and lives to be touched! Plans for the Months Ahead Our main goal during this time is to continue to meet with individuals, families, small groups, and churches over the next several months. If you would like to hear more and possibly become involved through prayer and/or financial support, please contact us! We would love to meet with you or your small group or church! Together, we can let God use us to make an eternal impact in Angola! Currently, we are enrolled in a wonderful missions course called “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement,” which will run through December. We are gradually transitioning from life in rural Minnesota, to life in Angola, which means downsizing and stepping away from many activities here and figuring out logistics and necessities for a family of 6 moving overseas. It is a time of mixed emotions – excitement, sadness, joy, worry about the unknown, feeling overwhelmed, already dreading the goodbyes, eagerness to see what God will do… Our goal now is to be here through the end of the year. In January we will apply for visas for Angola. After receiving those, God willing, we will travel to Brazil for a month or so to continue to raise prayer and financial support there. From Brazil we will fly to Angola – hopefully in February or March. Click Here to Join Our Ministry Team! To Give Online without Using the Above Link: 1. Visit: simusa.org/give 2. Enter Eduardo or Jocelyn De Souza 3. Enter Missionary #044522 Can’t give online? Send checks to: SIM USA, PO Box 7900, Charlotte, NC 28241 Please write “De Souza #044522” in the memo line. Please Pray for Us! For Financial Provision. Pray that the Lord would touch the hearts of those that would join our team to share God’s love in Angola. Pray that we would be to at least 80% of our support goals so that we can leave for Brazil as soon as receiving our Angolan visas in January. For the Lord’s Guidance and Help with all of the Details Ahead of Us. During the next several months we will be traveling and meeting with individuals and churches, finishing training, acquiring visas and tickets, etc., all while continuing with homeschool and regular life. For Smooth Transitions for Our Children and Ourselves. There will be many changes during the months ahead, even before we leave for Angola. Please pray for peace and protection (physical, emotional and spiritual). For Angola. Please pray for CEML Hospital, the Missionaries there, and the Precious People to whom they are Ministering. How Can We Pray for You? We would also like to keep you in our prayers. Please let us know how we can be praying for you!  May the Lord Bless you and Keep You! Let’s Keep Serving Him Together! With Love, The De Souza Family Our Story Who are we? We are just regular people, saved by our awesome God! We would have been completely lost and broken if it were not for the saving love and grace of God. To see a film of our story please click on this link: https://youtu.be/tnKVrBFiHEw We have learned that no matter the depths of pain we have felt, no matter the mess we have made of our lives, we are never so lost that His grace can’t save us. There is always hope in Jesus!  Stay in Touch Our Mailing Address: 14512 Shoreline Ln. Lake Park, MN 56554 Phone: 218-204-1334 E-mail: eduardo.desouza@sim.org jocelyn.desouza@sim.org |
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