BILD International Summit/What Lies Ahead

What an amazing week!  Pastor Antonio Figueira and I headed to Ames, Iowa Sunday, October 31.  We spent five days studying and discussing the way of Christ and His Apostles with people in ministry from all over the world.  I met wonderful people from places like Senegal, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Togo, India, Nigeria, Haiti, the list goes on.  At this summit I learned about the curriculum that Pastor Antonio uses to train leaders right in his own church, instead of sending them away to be trained.  The curriculum is directly from the first century church at Antioch.  This is the curriculum that I will be trained under, and it is also the program that the youth of the church is taught, something that I will be directly involved in.  All over the world pastors are using this tool to train and send leaders to advance the Gospel and plant new churches.  If you would like to know more about BILD International, I invite you to visit their website -  http://bild.org. 

Praise the Lord I did well in the final two days of my TEFL course, and I am now certified!  I had a great time teaching a lesson and wrapping up the certification.  Now the Lord has blessed with a great tool to reach out to the Portuguese community and to gain part-time employment in the country.  Please be in prayer as I begin to make contact with schools in northern Portugal for potential employment.  As you know, Caryne and I will be headed to Portugal the end of January 2011 for a week, and I will Lord-willing be meeting with several schools during that time.

The summit in Iowa energized me greatly, and I am anxious to move forward!  Please pray for patience on my part, as the Lord's timing is perfect. 

As stated in a previous post, our timetable to move to Portugal is September of 2011.  We truly thank God for the team of prayer warriors that He has brought along side us.  If the Lord is leading you to join us with financial support, now is the time to begin!  Will you prayerfully consider supporting us monthly for $10, $20, $50, or whatever amount you are led to give?  If you enjoy giving to specific projects, we are still in need of about $500 for our trip to Portugal in January 2011.

BILD International is the organization that provides tax receipts, so please send your gifts to the following address:

Make the check out to BILD International, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

Please write "Darling Family" on the memo line of your check.

We have no idea what the future holds, but we do know that the Lord is good and He holds us in His hands.  Thank you so much for letting us share this journey with you!

An Update

Lots of great things going on!  This coming weekend will be the final two days of the TEFL course that I have been taking.  The course has been very informative and well worth the while.  I will be teaching a lesson this weekend as part of my practicum/final exam, so you can pray that I finish well!

The baby is beginning to kick inside Caryne's belly, a wonderful reminder/reality check that a new addition to the family is coming!

Pastor Antonio will be traveling to the US next week to eventually meet up with me to head to the BILD Summit in Iowa.  Please be in prayer for him, as he will embark on a whirlwind journey to meet with great friends and ministry partners in PA, NJ, VA, DC, IA, and MN.  I am truly looking forward to our time in Iowa to meet with folks from all over the world and to beginning learning the discipleship curriculum that people at BILD have written.  Please pray for travel safety and for our time there to be fruitful.

Finally, Caryne and I have decided to take a week-long trip to northern Portugal in January of 2011.  We feel the Lord has led us to go there and spend time with Pastor Antonio and his family, as well as with the church family.  This will give Caryne an opportunity to get to know the area, look for possible places to live, spend time with Pastor Antonio's wife Ana, and participate in small groups and church services.  We will also Lord-willing be setting up meetings that week with schools in the area to discuss possible employment in teaching English.  We will be leaving our two precious girls behind with my parents in Connecticut.  This will be the first time we have done something like that, so please pray that the Lord will grant us strength to handle it!

The Lord has already provided $1200 for this trip.  At this point we need about $500 more to cover the rest of the expenses for the journey.  Would you prayerfully consider being part of the financial team to help reach the $500 goal?  The information for sending finances is below.  We thank you so much for being a part of this ministry and for all your prayers! 

Talk to you soon!

Make a check out to:  BILD International

Send to: BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames IA 50014-8417

Please write "Jeff Darling" in the memo line of the check









 

Soccer Ministry/Upcoming Events

Its been a while!  Just wanted to update you on a few things.  Last Sunday the 11th we had our youth soccer ministry kickoff at out church.  We had 26 kids sign up, which is a great start, and we praise the Lord for that!  It is a true blessing to be given a responsibility like that at our local church, and we look forward to seeing what the Lord will do though that ministry.

The next couple of months are going to be crazy!  Here is the rundown: 

September 18-25: Family vacation at Ocean City, NJ
October 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24: TEFL Certification course in Chapel Hill, NC (Jeff)
October 31-November 6: BILD International Summit in Ames, IA (Jeff)

We are blessed to be involved in these ministry opportunities, and we covet your prayers for strength and safety in these upcoming months.

Last but not least, we recently learned that there will be a new addition to the family!  Baby number three is due March 30!  We praise the Lord for awesome blessings!




 

Great things are happening! The Lord has brought in the finances necessary for both the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course and the plane ticket to Iowa, the two initial projects explained in past postings.

I will be taking the TEFL course October 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24 (changed from September) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be able to stay with my cousin and his wife and children in Durham while I take the course, which is certainly an extra blessing! I will then head to Iowa October 31-November 6 for the BILD International Summit.

Please pray that the Lord will grant my family and myself strength during the upcoming times of travel and study.

We are so excited that the Lord has opened these doors for us to move forward. We can't wait to share with you the next steps in this journey!

We covet your prayers!

Update of Praises

Praise the Lord for answers to prayer! I will indeed be heading to Iowa for the BILD International summit in November, as a good friend has graciously given the funds for the needed plane fare. We are also well on our way to be able to take the TEFL certification course in September. To date, $500 has been given, and we need $600 more to be able to pay for the course in full. Would you prayerfully consider giving to that project to reach the total of $1095? If you would like to give, please send a check to the below address and make sure to include "Jeff Darling - TEFL Course" on the memo line:

BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, Iowa 50014-8417

On another note, please continue to pray for Caryne's mom. Praise the Lord she is on the last leg of her chemotherapy treatments, and she seems to be recovering well. Please pray for renewed strength and health.

Thank you so much for your support!

Local Church Youth Soccer League

I wanted to update you on something I mentioned a while ago. My pastor at our local church here in Lynchburg, VA has asked me to head up the launching of a youth soccer league at our church. The Lord has blessed the church with some land right next to the sanctuary that is perfect for sports outreach. He has also blessed the congregation with tons of kids, and they just keep coming! We envision this league as an opportunity for parents to come together for a great time of ministry. We also have a larger vision of reaching out to the local community to bring their children to play. The league will be volunteer-driven, which means the parents will be coaching, setting up cookouts, refereeing, and anything else that comes along. We trust the Lord will use this league to stir up conversations about what He is doing in our lives! We will start with two divisions. A three and four year-old division, and a five and six year-old division. If the Lord sees fit to grow the ministry, then we will add more age groups. We start registration this Sunday. We are looking forward to watching the Lord work! Please pray that the Lord will use me to further His kingdom through this ministry!

We continue to pray the Lord will provide for me to take the TEFL in September, as well as for a plane ticket to Iowa for the BILD Summit in November. Please pray the Lord would make clear His will regarding those events. Thank you for your continued support!

TEFL Certification/Target Date

The time spent with Pastor Antonio Figueira has truly created such an eagerness to move forward! There are two steps within reach that need to be completed as part of the process of going to Portugal. They are explained below:

First, I have found the specific TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification course that will open the doors to work in Portugal. The course is Oxford Seminars and is offered at the University of Virginia, which is about one hour from our home. It is taught over three weekends, starting this coming September 11. The cost of this course is more than what I listed in a previous post, $1095. This price includes all course materials, TEFL teaching resources, full access to the English Language Schools directory, and six months free teacher placement service. We are praying that the Lord will provide the funds to take this course in the form of sponsors who would like to invest in this ministry with a one time gift. Would you prayerfully consider becoming a sponsor? If so, please send a check to the BILD International address (located in the April 3 post), and please include "Jeff Darling, TEFL Certification" in the memo line of your check.

Second, BILD International is holding their annual summit in Ames, Iowa, November 1-5. The purpose of this summit is to learn the curriculum and discipleship program used to train up leaders within the local church. I will also have the opportunity to interact with church leaders from all over the world who are already implementing this curriculum in their churches. Pastor Antonio wants me to attend this summit as a part of my preparation in joining his church. All I need to do is purchase the plane ticket to Iowa, as BILD takes care of all the rest. The cost of a ticket to Des Moines, Iowa is between $300-$350 round trip. Would you consider sponsoring me for this trip? Please include "Jeff Darling, plane ticket" in the memo line of your check.

We have set a target date to be in Portugal: August/September 2011. We can't wait to see how the Lord will accomplish his plan for us, as it is truly only Him who will accomplish these things. Thank you so much for joining with us!