Our Sending Church

This week I, Jeyson, made it to New Jersey in time to join Stephanie's family for Thanksgiving. Of course Stephanie I are really excited to see each other again after almost 5 months apart. After over two years in different countries it seems too good to be true to finally be together for good! It is so nice to talk face to face instead of over scratchy phone lines and to actually be with each other instead of only seeing pictures. It took 24 hours of travel on 5 different flights to make it from Goiania to Newark....it was really exhausting and I was glad to finally arrive Saturday evening.

Some exciting new news is that Stephanie's church approved to officially support us and be our sending church. The church's name is Calvary Bible Church and it is located in Whitehouse Station, NJ. Stephanie grew up in the church and has been communicating with them for several years about our direction into missions, so it is such an encouragement to have them officially standing behind us. Also on Sunday we took a trip to south Jersey where we had the chance to share about our ministry at a church. I had actually met the pastor of the church in Brazil and he happened to live close to Stephanie's house in the States so we kept in touch and met him and his church again yesterday. We have a few other churches lined up to speak at in the next few weeks as well, which we are looking forward to.

Everyone has been asking about wedding plans and it is so fun to see things really coming together. Yesterday we went to pick out a tuxedo and we are planning the ceremony, it is starting to feel like it is really going to happen...only about four weeks now!

The Big Day

After several months of intense flight training today the big day finally arrived...the day for Jeyson's check-ride. A check-ride is when a government worker rides in the plane with a pilot and evaluates if they can get their private pilot's license. In Brazil there is only one weekend a month that you can take the check-ride and since Jeyson is leaving next week to go to the States, this weekend was the only opportunity he had to take the test until we return to Brazil in the Spring.
Jeyson has been working with other missionaries since June to complete everything necessary before the could do his check-ride. However there was so much to do that it took up until the last days to know whether he would be ready to take the test. A week ago we looked at the weather forecast and saw rain predicted for every day and it started to look hopeless! But thanks for praying because God brought weather good enough to get everything done...and Jeyson passed the test! We are so excited that Jeyson is now a private pilot as of today!! This is a huge achievement which brings us closer to our goal of Jeyson being a missionary pilot. The next step is for him to get his commercial pilot's license.....but first we have a wedding on the horizon!

How is everything?

"How is everything?" This is by far the most frequently asked question of us these days, yet somehow it is the most difficult to answer. There is so much going on right now it's hard to even know where to start. I (Stephanie) never would have imagined I would graduate college, get married, move to Brazil, and begin as a full time missionary....all in one year!! Jeyson of course is going through so many changes too with getting married and beginning to fly.

We are so excited that in just one month we will finally be in the same country permanently. After several years of long distance and countless good byes in airports we can't wait to say "hello" in the airport and finally belong in the same place together from now on! Jeyson will arrive November 17th but he has so much to do between now and then. As you may know the mission's goal (and ours as well) is for Jeyson to have his private pilot's license by the time he arrives in NJ. This has meant a very intense time of training this fall which will finally come to a head in just a few weeks with a check-ride. This means that Jeyson will fly a government worker who will be evaluating and testing him as he flies. This is especially important because there is only one date that will work for him to try this fall. Please pray for Jeyson as he prepares.

Also recently Jeyson went with Asas de Socorro on an evangelistic trip to Brasilia, the capital. They worked in a very poor area. Overall people were receptive to the Gospel as the groups visited and shared with them. Sometimes it still is surprising to see how Brazilians are so incredibly open. At almost every home people open their door, invite you to chat on the couch, offer coffee, and take a half an hour to talk, even if they were in the middle of preparing a meal. It is clear God works to prepare hearts!

And what's happening on the home front in NJ while Jeyson is in Brazil? Lots! I (Stephanie) am working a temporary job which is keeping me busy, I have gotten plugged in again with my home church, I am working on support raising, and of course making my family a little crazy as we work out the details of the wedding! While raising support has been very stretching, I really have found it to be a very joyful process. It has been so encouraging to see several years of preparation now coming to fruition and to see as God is slowly providing the support we need. Another neat part of support raising has been the opportunities to share our story and direction in various places - from a missions fair and children's classes to missions committee meetings and ladies Bible studies. I seem to have done it all this month with more on the horizon! I have especially enjoyed hearing the stories that many of you have told after I was able to share.

While support raising has been an exciting process, there are also sad moments too in this preparation process. The other night I was spending some time with my family and looked around at the people who mean so much to me. I thought also about even the places, mannerisms, jokes, and language I feel so comfortable with and began to feel so emotional. I thought, Lord willing, in a few months I will be getting on a plane with my new husband and saying good bye to everything I know and beginning a whole new life! Sometimes this can be a difficult thought. Please pray for my emotional preparation as we work on the physical preparation to move.

On a lighter note, in the meantime we are looking forward to spending more time with you while we are here in the States. For those of you who are in the NJ area we would love to get together. Please let us know if you are interested!

In His Grip,

Jeyson & Stephanie

Some ways you can pray for us:

- Jeyson's check-ride, enabling him to get his private pilot's license

- Open doors for Stephanie to share with coworkers while working her temporary job

- Emotional preparation for Stephanie to move to Brazil

- Opportunities for raising support

Our First Entry

This week we have finally made a big step into the 21st century - entering the world of blogging. It has always been difficult to try to incorporate pictures and make our news easy to read, so hopefully this will solve the problem in the future. For those of you who are not currently receiving snail mail and that is easier for you, please just let us know and we would be happy to add you to our snail mail list.

Also, another exciting new way we are going to communicate is through our website. If you haven't already seen it, go to: http://www.jeysonstephanie.com/. It is still very new and there will likely be changes in the coming days, but it is just to give the idea for now. Our website is a good place to go if you want an overview of who we are and the ministry that we are headed into.

Please continue to pray for us as we have so much going on right now. Jeyson is in Brazil working hard with our mission to get his private pilot's license by November, and Stephanie is in New Jersey raising support, working a temporary job, and planning our wedding. We are on the homestretch until we get married (less than 100 days left now!) and Lord willing leave for Brazil a few months after....it's an busy time!

Also, if you are in the New Jersey area we would love to get together with you in the coming months. Please call or email us to let us know. (JeysonStephanie@yahoo.com)

Thanks for visiting our blog...More to come soon!