News from the Friedrichs - November
In God we trust!
We are back in the loop!

2013 year has been a year full of activity and life changing events; a move from one continent to another, a death in the family, settling down into USA life, children starting school, doing mission work remotely, traveling internationally, and immigration.

Despite all these changes Brent and I still continue on with our missionary duties. Every day we try to improve our newly found methods for getting things done, trying hard to be efficient and effective and we go forward into next year.

Eugenie + ministry changes

My ministry in Community Health Evangelism is on hold for a while, while I sort out my status in the USA. Even though I am not in Nigeria I have been able to continue with my ministry of making video "Ministry Presentations". In fact I have been keeping quite busy. The fast internet connection and various tools such as Drop Box, Skype and E-mail have made this possible. I have been able to make many presentations for missionaries in Nigeria, Florida, Ohio, California etc. I'm finding working remotely is not a really disadvantage just a different process of getting a project done. I'm sure I'll get better and  at it as time goes on.  


Jos,  April + May 

Brent and I traveled to Nigeria without Micah and Zander in March. We spent 2 months in Jos selling and packing up our belongings and vacated our rented house on Bachit Close at the end of May. It was an intense 2 months of doing our mission work while at the same time emptying out the house of stuff. By end of May we were sort of camping under a roof and the last two weeks we stayed at a friend's house so that we could sell the bed, fridge and cook stove.

Brent's office in Jos, Nigeria (November)
Brent traveled to Nigeria at the beginning of November to take care of office work that can't be done over the internet and to spend time strengthening relationships with our mission partners. It was a busy 3.5 weeks which included getting over jet lag, auditing the accounts, balancing the books, meetings and trying to find out how we can cheaply ship the last few boxes of our belongings to the USA. Above is a snapshot of Brent's office in Jos with our remaining stuff.
 
Brent & working as a "remote missionary"
Brent is still working full time doing mission work even though we are here in Charter Oak. We are still looking for someone qualified and trustworthy enough to fill in for Brent in Jos. It isn't easy to find another missionary or even a Nigerian person due to problems in Jos both with security and the political instability. Until such time Brent is still 100%responsible for many, many missionaries' passports and project money transfers. Basically the only difference in his ministry now is where his office is situated!

The internet and modern technology are a great help to both Brent and I as we continue doing mission work remotely.

 
A death in the family - Eugenie's father died. 

 

In July my father died after losing his battle with cancer. I had hoped to be with him before he died, however I arrived in Cape Town South Africa (where I grew up and my parents and many of my family members still live) 3 days later which was disappointing for me.

I was however blessed to be able to travel and to take part in his memorial service preparation, be with my family and help my mother deal with his estate. My travel expenses were covered by my late father's estate, which was a huge help.

 

Micah and Zander are now both attending preschool in Charter Oak. Micah goes 3 times a week; Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays - while Zander goes Mondays and Thursdays.

Both boys are enjoying school, have made friends and are learning quickly. Micah recently turned 5 and can already write sentences that I dictate to him. Micah also loves to draw and is constantly asking for scrap paper to draw his aliens, monsters, maps and shopping lists on. Zander loves books and is longing to read - he makes up his own version of a story while looking at pictures. Last week we made Batman outfits as one of our afternoon activities - simple paper masks with pointy ears and cut up daddy's old T-shirts for capes, they were easy and fun to make, a quick and cheap fix - and they loved them

LCMC Convention - Dearborn, MI

Brent and I travelled to Dearborn, MI at the beginning of October to attend the Annual LCMC Convention. Last year we attended it in Denver. This year we again set up a display table to create awareness for Global Lutheran Outreach, mission work in general and also to tell people our stories and experiences as fielded missionaries. We really enjoy attending these events because we meet great people are able to network and develop new contacts.


Finances

We are certainly struggling financially and are grateful to all and everyone who are supporting us at this time. Our support network has declined over the last year and so have our funds.

We have lowered our financial overheads enormously since moving out of our house in Jos, are now living temporarily in the basement of Brent's parents' house.

Because Brent's missionary duties and continued mission service takes most his time and the 6-7 hour time shift it makes it difficult for him to get a day job which would help us make ends meet. I am unable to work because I don't have a Green Card yet. My immigration processes into the USA is currently in progress, and we are therefore still dependent on donations to keep our ministry going.

 
Prayer Requests

We ask that you pray for Brent's time spent in Nigeria, that it  will have a positive effect on relations and office efficiency. 

We ask that you pray for Eugenie as she integrates into the american way of life and changed family routines.

We ask that you pray for Eugenie's immigration process, that it may go smoothly without complications.

We ask that you pray for Micah and Zander as they mature, that God protect them from all the influences they come into contact with on a daily basis.

We ask that you pray for us as a family, that we stay strong while going through the transition from life in Nigeria to USA

We ask that you pray for us and our financial situation. We need funding to continue our ministry, and we also need work in order to support our family.
How To Give

Please, go to:

www.GlobalLutheranOutreach.com/Friedrichs 

and click on the "GIVE" button, or mail a check to: 

Global Lutheran Outreach, 

6709 Ficus Drive, 

Miramar, Florida 33023 

 

put "Friedrichs" on the memo line of the check.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:3