Duplantis Update, April 22, 2012

Dear Friends,

Well, you all know that "time flies when you're having fun" so we must have been having lots of fun because we cannot believe how fast the last month has flown by!  We've been resting, reading, visiting, eating and shopping and somehow the days have zipped by almost without our noticing, but we have been encouraged! 

 

We've been encouraged by your words and interest and continued support and prayers.  We have been encouraged by Peter's continued good health - he says he feels back to 100%!  We've been encouraged by worshipping and hearing the Word in English!  We've been encouraged by a generous gift that gets us well started on what we need to purchase a new vehicle to continue our ministry in Angola.

 

We've also been feeling daunted.  Daunted by the finances still needed - both regular monthly committments and one-time gifts for the previously mentioned vehicle.  Daunted by the size of the task before us in Cavango - the endless needs, the amazing opportunities, the struggle to not be overwhelmed by daily living! Daunted by trying to share what the GOD of the Universe is doing in a very small corner of it called Cavango and in our very small lives and hearts! 

 

Daunted but not dismayed!  We know He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine!(Ephesians 3:20) Today, I was convicted by this thought from Jesus Calling - "Walk with me in holy trust, responding to My initiatives rather than trying to make things fit your plans. I died to set you free, and that includes freedom from compulsive planning.....A mind preoccupied with planning pays homage to the idol of control......Listen to me and live abundantly!"  I am a "planner" and like to "know" what is going on....Ha!  So I need your prayers for me to listen to God and not my "plans" that I may radiate His Joy and Peace!

 

Ironically this next paragraph is about our plans but we know that they are all in His control!  We plan to leave on Weds, April 25, and return to Greensboro around June the 7th.  We will be in Louisiana for just over two weeks to visit many of our Duplantis' family and then we head up through Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania to visit many of you!  If you live in those places and you don't know about our coming then let us know and we'll see if we can't work something out!   We'll be going over 3500 miles in 7 weeks!  Pray for "Scarlett" - the little red VW bug that has been graciously loaned to us - it is adorable and we love it, but it has a lot of work ahead of it!  

 

Running the Race Together,

Peter and Shelley Duplantis
Advancing the Gospel in Angola, Inc

 

Field Address:
C.P. 33 Lubango, Angola via Portugal

 

Home Office Address and Donations:
25 Maple St.,  Addison, NY 14801 USA
Acct:  01002

 

Blog: www.duplantisdialog.blogspot.com

Website: www.hopeforangola.org (you can donate online!)

 

Duplantis Update, March 20, 2012

Dear Friends,

It's hard to believe, but we have been in the US already for two weeks today!!  It's been a busy time of visiting, getting on to the right time zone and appointments, but we are glad to be here and looking forward to getting to see many of you!  Our airline travels went well, we have a lovely place to stay in Greensboro and we just came back from Alabama picking up the car that has been loaned to us for the time we have here.  Our daughter, Jasper, very graciously loaned us her car for these first two weeks so that was also a huge blessing.

We plan to be here in Greensboro, NC until mid April or so and then we hope to start a long trip going to Louisiana to visit family and friends there for a couple of weeks and then wending our way up through Alabama, Tennessee, Kentuckey, Indiana, Michigan and then into Ontario, Canada and back down through New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and home again!  Please pray for these many miles and the many visits and conversations that we would be encouraging and a blessing to all that we meet.  Also pray for all the logistics of our travels to work out and that the car we have been loaned will stay well for all that distance!

Our phone number is 336 543 7701(mobile).  You can text us or call!   

Other prayer requests:  For Cavango - for the health of our colleagues,  spritual growth for them (and us), for the clinic and the house to be safe (and, personally, for our dog and cat too?!), for the pastor to have daily wisdom and strength for all that is required of him. 

Thank you for your prayers and love!

Running the Race Together,

Peter and Shelley Duplantis
Advancing the Gospel in Angola

 

Field Address:
C.P. 33 Lubango, Angola via Portugal

 

Home Office Address and Donations:
25 Maple St.,  Addison, NY 14801 USA
Acct:  01002

 

Emailing: DSCN5469, DSCN5481, DSCN5482, DSCN5483, DSCN5485

The house now fully plastered - the team of young men who helped and the whole team celebrating on the day of completion!

Duplantis Update, Feb 29, 2012

Dear Friends,

We had a wonderful month out at Cavango and managed to complete the external plastering of the house!  We even had an extra day left in which Peter had the guys attach the roofing sheets to the generator house so we were very pleased to be leaving things so much improved!  It was a busy month as we had two medical teams visit for weekends and our very first car visitors from Lubango came for another weekend!  It was wonderful.  We also have been rejoicing because Peter has been feeling better recently.  The sad part was saying goodbye to our friends and colleagues out there that we won't see for several months....but we know they are, as ever, in God's very capable hands!

We left Cavango last Thurs and managed to squeeze in a much awaited beach trip this past weekend and now we are at Tchincombe having arrived yesterday from Lubango, and tomorrow we head south to Namibia with Donna.  We hope to get to Windhoek on Friday, and visit with our friends and supporters at All Nations Church in Windhoek on Sunday and then on Monday evening we leave Windhoek for Frankfurt and Tues we arrive in Charlotte, NC!  Another huge praise is the answer to a prayer request of our last update - we have been offered a car for our time in the US!  In fact I hadn't even finished sending the last update to our whole list before we got a reply!  God is good!

Mom is doing quite well.  She has times where she seems sadder and more depressed than others, but other times when she seems "ok".  When I said goodbye to her yesterday, she very deliberately squeezed my hand so it made me glad to know she does understand and care even though she can't express herself verbally.  Pray for my siblings who are in the day to day care of her as it still tiring.

We are so thankful for your love and prayers.  We are looking forward to seeing as many as we can!

Running the Race Together,

Peter and Shelley Duplantis
Advancing the Gospel in Angola, Inc

 

Field Address:
C.P. 33 Lubango, Angola via Portugal

 

Home Office Address and Donations:
25 Maple St.,  Addison, NY 14801 USA
Acct:  01002

 

website: www.hopeforangola.org

blog: www.duplantisdialog.blogspot.com

Fw: Emailing: DSCN5447, DSCN5452

The clay court season is open at Cavango! good for the physical and mental health!  Praise the Lord that Peter is MUCH better even before the court was finished!

Emailing: DSCN5410, DSCN5412, DSCN5417, DSCN5419, DSCN5422, DSCN5425, DSCN5428

Plastering the house!

Duplantis Update, Feb 1, 2012

Dear Friends,

Where to begin?!  First, a HUGE thank you to all of you for your prayers and love and sympathy expressed in these last few weeks over the passing of my dad, Dr Bob Foster.  We have really felt sustained by you all!  The funeral went really well - the church folk in Lubango wonderfully took care of all the details - basically we as family just had to attend.  It was/is all a bit of a blur still, but was also very God honoring and as lovely as a funeral can be.  You can read tributes, if you are interested, at www.drbobfoster.blogspot.com or you can send tributes to be posted there to sjffive@gmail.com. Keep Mom in your prayers, too.  She is grieving.  

The next big thing for us - is FURLOUGH!! Wow - as we think back it has actually been four years since we were really in the US to visit our "team".   We fly out of Windhoek, Namibia to Frankfurt on March 5th and then from Frankfurt directly to Charlotte, NC arriving at 3pm on Tues, March 6th.  We plan to be in the US until early July.  Apart from all the "boring" routine medical appointments, our plans are to VISIT as many of you as physically possible!!  We will be in touch more personally as we know better what our schedule will look like.  We also want to pursue as much physical, spiritual and mental healing/health as we can and toward that end are also booking in time with a  Christian psychiatrist/counsellor couple and we will follow where that leads us - particularly hoping it is out of the depression doldrums and on to full recovery for Peter.   We thank you for your prayers to that end. 

One really big need we have is a vehicle for furlough.  Our original plans have recently fallen through, sooooo if you or someone you know would be willing to loan us a vehicle we do need one!  We need something to get around the Triad/Triangle area of NC initially and then we need something that could go up and down the east coast in order to visit our out-of-NC supporters and family.  Please let us know if you can help us out!  We are a bit "late" for the missionary service organizations that do this for ministry - but we know God has a plan! 

We are currently at Cavango and it is great to be "home".  As of today we have 8 young men working on plastering the outside walls of Livingstone House(that's the name of our house) - so hopefully it will be completed before we leave for furlough!  That is the goal anyway!  We will probably need to make a trip to town next week for more cement and a medical team comes the following weekend(18-20th) so we will be busy to the end!  

Once again this year, Jesus Calling, is hitting me where I need it!  Today's reading started out with "Follow Me one step at a time.  That is all I require of you." and it ends with this admonishment  - "Keep your mind on the present journey, enjoying My Presence.  Walk by faith, not by sight, trusting me to open up the way before you."(pg 34)  So we go forth each day, knowing that God in His sovereignty has all our ways in His perfect plan.  May you also rest in knowing His Plan is perfect for you too!

Running the Race Together,

Peter and Shelley Duplantis
Advancing the Gospel in Angola, Inc.

 

Field Address:
C.P. 33 Lubango, Angola via Portugal

 

Home Office Address and Donations:
25 Maple St.,  Addison, NY 14801 USA
Acct:  01002

 

Blog: www.duplantisdialog.blogspot.com

Website: www.hopeforangola.org