2 Weeks Away!

As we spend the last several weeks with our extended families, we thank the Lord for the wonderful support system He has placed around us. We feel so blessed to have parents who love the Lord, and who value the power of prayer as we follow God's calling for our family.  God has provided the opportunity for us to see and spend time with most of our family on both sides, and we thank Him for what He has done and will continue to do through this time!

New Roots Photography 

The Lord has also given us some great opportunities this past month to share our calling to Portugal.  We spent some time at Caryne's parent's home in New York, where we were blessed to update the wonderful supporting church family of Calvary Bible.  I also had the privilege of meeting up with Pastor Figueira and spending two days in Fall River, MA. Fall River is a city with the largest Portuguese American population in the United States.  Pastor Figueira had come to the States to conduct leadership workshops, and to share about the overall ministry in Portugal.  What a blessing it was to fellowship with local Portuguese pastors and leaders!  Most recently, I had a special time speaking at Calvary Bible Church in Derry, NH.  Calvary holds an important place in my heart, as my grandparents served there, and my parents were sent out from the church as they headed to Portugal as missionaries.  I was welcomed warmly, and I thank the Lord for the blessings that came from that visit!

Our last 2 weeks will be spent first with Caryne's side of the family in the Philadelphia, PA area, and finally back with my family in Connecticut. Before we fly to Portugal we will, Lord willing, share at North Haven Bible, a special supporting church of our family.  We are so thankful for the churches and individuals the Lord has brought alongside us as we head overseas!  

We are at around 90% of our monthly support goal!  Will you prayerfully consider helping us reach 100%?  Through the support and love from so many of you, the Lord has awesomely confirmed His calling for our family.  We are so anxious and excited to enter into our new life in Portugal!  Thank you so much for your prayer and support!

Leaving Lynchburg

On April 30, at around 2pm, we left Lynchburg, VA for good.  Leaving the town that Caryne and I have lived in all eight years of our marriage was not easy, but we are excited as we follow God's calling for our family. We were blessed and humbled as good friends and church family have poured out their love and support to us as we go.


Before leaving Lynchburg we had the awesome privilege of traveling to Kodiak, Alaska to share our calling to Portugal.  What a special time we had!  I woke up everyday to the spectacular beauty of God's creation. We were welcomed warmly by the Kodiak Bible Chapel congregation, and we cherished our time with Caryne's sister and her family.  We are so thankful to the Lord for bringing that wonderful church alongside us as we head to Portugal!

The next 5 weeks will be spent with family and friends in PA, NY, MA, DC, and CT.  We are so blessed to be able to spend time with loved ones before we leave.  We so clearly see the Lord's hand as He lays out His plan for us, and we rejoice in the knowledge that He goes before us.  We thank each one of you for confirming His will for our family through your love, prayer, and giving.  

Praise the Lord the necessary visa has been approved!  The plane tickets are purchased, and we fly to Porto, Portugal June 14.  The Lord has provided us with an apartment in a great location, and we can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for the future!

We are at about 80% of our monthly support goal.  If you would like to join us in monthly support, the information you need is in the upper right hand corner of this page.  

Consider liking our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/passionforportugal, so that we can keep you updated as we move overseas.

Departure to Portugal - June 14!

We have reached a number of milestone's in the past few weeks! Our visa application was sent to the proper authorities. Now we are in prayer that we will be approved for those visas in a timely fashion.  In addition, at the end of March I finished up my employment with Ecolab, a company I have worked with for nearly four years. The Lord has blessed as we have made these steps of faith.  We have been so encouraged by so many of you. Thank you for your prayer, thoughtfulness, and support!

The Lord continues to open up doors for me to share my faith, and to gain experience for the work He has in store for us in Portugal.  I recently was given the opportunity to enter into a local elementary school and share the story of the resurrection of Jesus.  Praise the Lord several children made decisions to accept Him as their Savior!  I was able to do this as a part of an after-school program called the Good News Club, which is put together by Child Evangelism Fellowship.  What a powerful ministry!

We would appreciate your continued prayers, as we face a very eventful next few months!  The month of April is dedicated to the selling and packing of our belongings.  We will also be saying goodbye to our pets, as the Lord has provided new homes for them. Also, we have recently been given the awesome privilege of traveling to Kodiak, Alaska, to speak at Kodiak Bible Chapel.  We have been overwhelmed with the journey the Lord has us on!  Please pray for safety as we travel the weekend of April 22.

The month of May will be filled with time spent with both sides of the family.  The Lord has wonderfully seen fit for us to be able to see all of our extended family on various days during the month.  We will split our time between Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut.  We also look forward to sharing our ministry to Portugal at Calvary Bible Church in Derry, NH May 27th.

Finally, in the beginning of June we will travel to the Washington, DC area to attend the wedding of a wonderful Brazilian friend from Portugal.  We will then, Lord willing, fly to Porto, Portugal out of Newark, New Jersey on June 14th.

It is such a privilege to be a small part of the work of God's kingdom.  Thank you for coming alongside of us in our love for Portugal!

*If you would like to join us in financial support, the information you need is on the upper right side of this page.  Please also consider "liking" our Facebook page (link on the right).

Jeff Darling the Preacher?! Believe it!

Growing up a missionary kid, I made it very clear to the Lord I would not be following in my father's footsteps.  I would not be a public speaker, I would certainly not raise support!  Well, as most of us know, telling God what we are not going to do is not a smart idea!

The Lord presented the opportunity to preach recently at a church in Roanoke, VA. Through prayer and counsel, I have come to the understanding that if the Lord asks us to do something, we better do it!  I pray that we will always be ready to listen and follow the Lord's will for our life.  The Lord blessed us with a great time of fellowship.  For those wondering, yes, I did make it through the sermon!

Packing and selling is in full swing at the Darling household!  We will moving out of our home the end of April.  The month of March is my last month working for Ecolab, a company I have been with for almost 4 years.  We are stepping out in faith, as we believe the Lord is asking us to do.  We will then travel to the northeast, to spend time with our families, and continue preparing for our departure to Portugal.

Lord willing we will be flying to Porto, Portugal, June 14.  We pushed the date back several weeks as many events important to our family are happening in May and the beginning of June.  So far the visa process is going well.  Please be in prayer as we make these big leaps of faith, believing that the Lord will sustain us as we seek to follow His will.

We have felt very blessed as so many of you are in continual prayer and support of our family!  We are currently at 70% of our monthly support goal of $2,000. Will you help us reach 100% of that goal before we depart?  We are also beginning to incur expenses related to visas, travel, and shipping costs to Portugal.  Will you consider a one-time gift toward these expenses?  This information you need is located at the top, right of this page.

Also, please consider following our blog by email, as well as "liking" our Facebook page.  As we begin to travel more, these are the best ways to stay updated.  You can sign up for both on the upper right hand side of this page.  


Thank you all for your love and support!

Recapping Our Trip to New York, Future Travel

We have returned from our recent trip to New York, and we are invigorated by the blessings the Lord has brought our way!  His provision is so evident as He prepares awesome opportunities, and by how He keeps us safe as we travel and share God's calling for our family.

We once again were blessed as we shared more detail and updated friends and family at Calvary Bible Church in Wevertown, NY.  Praise the Lord a few more families joined in monthly support!  We were so encouraged by the time of fellowship with the church family!  For the first time, Anadia and Cora shared some Portuguese they have learned in front of the congregation.  They were so beautiful and brave! 

The following day I had the privilege of meeting with missions committee members of a dear church in Syracuse, NY.  It was a joy for me as I shared with them God's calling for our family to serve in Portugal.  It was a tremendous blessing as I was able to fellowship with men and women there who are very special to our family!

The next Sunday we were graciously given the opportunity to share at Thurman Baptist, a church just a few miles from Wevertown.  Caryne and I shared our call to Portugal during the Sunday school hour, and we were also able address the congregation during the morning service.  The Lord truly blessed our time there.  We felt very welcomed, and we enjoyed the fellowship with the church body.  We look forward to spending time with that church in the future!

Praise the Lord He has brought us safely back to Virginia.  We will now embark on preparing for our move to Portugal in May.  We would appreciate your prayers as we tackle all that goes in to such a big change!

We also are looking forward to several more speaking opportunities in the next number of weeks.  Lord willing we will share at churches in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire between now and the end of April.  Please pray for safety in travel, and that our time with these churches will be fruitful.

We are currently at 70% of our monthly goal of $2,000 a month!  Would you consider helping us reach 100% by joining us in monthly support?  The information on how to support is below.  Thank you all for your love and prayer!

If you would like to support us monthly or with a one-time gift: 

Please write check out to BILD International, include "Darling Family" in the memo line, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

*Please indicate with a note if gift is either monthly or one-time 

Portugal: A Country in Need of the Truth of the Gospel!

We as a family have a deep burden for the people of Portugal.  Currently, the evangelical population in the country stands between .08% and 3% of the population.  A predominately Catholic nation, recent polls show only around 19% of Catholics attend mass on a regular basis.  There is an increasing number of Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons entering the country, raising the fear of false doctrine becoming entrenched within the population.  Portugal has also recently legalized abortion during the first ten weeks of pregnancy, and approved a new law authorizing gay marriage.

    We are asking the Lord for abundant opportunities to share the Gospel, and to enable us to establish strong churches in a land that desperately needs the truth of Jesus Christ!  Will you partner with us as we reach out to the Portuguese people?

    We hope that each one of you had a wonderful time during the Christmas season.  We had the privilege of spending that time in Connecticut with my parents and my sister and her family.  We were also blessed to be able to thank and update great friends at North Haven Bible Church.  The support of that church and of all of you has served as a tremendous confirmation of God's calling of our family to serve in Portugal.

   

 We would appreciate your prayers as we head back up to the northeast  on January 27.  Lord-willing we will be sharing our plans for Portugal to three churches in New York, including dear supporters at Caryne's father's church in the Adirondacks.  Please pray for safety as we travel, and that our time there would be fruitful.

Praise the Lord we are heading toward our departure date in May!  We covet your prayers as we work through the final paperwork involved with the necessary work visas.  We know the Lord has those and all details in His hands, so the prayer would be that we rest in the knowledge of His perfect will. 

     We are currently asking the Lord to provide between $8-$10,000 for traveling and start-up costs for our initial move to Portugal.  This amount would be for items such as visas, plane tickets, apartment rent and deposit, furniture, appliances, etc.  Would you prayerfully consider giving toward this need?  We are also at around 60% of our monthly support goal of $2,000.  Would you consider partnering with our family on a monthly basis?  The information needed is below.

    Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your prayer, love, and support.  We feel so blessed to be sharing the Lord's calling on our family with each and everyone of you!

If you would like to receive our newsletter, please email your address to lawrence33180@yahoo.com. 

If you would like to support us monthly or with a one-time gift: 

Please write check out to BILD International, include "Darling Family" in the memo line, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

*Please indicate with a note if gift is either monthly or one-time 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  We are so thankful for each and every one of you!  We have been so blessed through your interest in our family and in what the Lord is doing in Portugal.

We, like most families, absolutely love this time of year!  The girls enjoyed going out and cutting our own tree, and the excitement continues to build as we will be joining family in Connecticut for Christmas and New Years.  The anticipation in our house is also growing as we get closer to our move overseas.

While in Connecticut we will have the privilege of spending some time with dear supporters at North Haven Bible Church. They have been an awesome encouragement to us, and we look forward to seeing them.  At the end of January, Lord-willing, we will travel back north to New York and visit Caryne's father's church in Wevertown, as well as present our ministry to a church in Syracuse.  Please keep us in your prayers as we travel up and down the east coast.

Things are progressing well towards our planned departure in May 2012.  Please be in prayer as we wait on one final piece of paperwork before we can officially apply for work visas.  Once that happens, it is just a matter of praying and trusting that the visas will be approved and delivered in a timely manner.  All in God's timing!

We continue to ask the Lord to provide between $8-$10,000 for start-up costs once we arrive in Portugal.  This amount will be for things like apartment deposit, furniture, appliances, etc.  Will you prayerfully consider a one-time gift towards this need?  If you would like to give monthly, we are currently at 60% of our goal of $2,000 a month.  The information you need is below.

Thank you again for your support and prayer.  It is really a tremendous joy as we praise the Lord for bringing all of you alongside us in our love for Portugal.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

If you would like to receive our newsletter, please email your address to lawrence33180@yahoo.com. 

If you would like to support us monthly or with a one-time gift: 

Please write check out to BILD International, include "Darling Family" in the memo line, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

*Please indicate with a note if gift is either monthly or one-time