[Beens Prayer Partners] Oct prayer letter

Dear Friends,

 

Just as I'd said – September was a very busy month, but it was a good one and we are so thankful for that! All of our travels went very well and most were without kinks (at least too large of ones)! We're now in Maputo and have gotten linked up with a doctor here. We've made a quick trip into S. Africa for eye doctor appointments for the kids and had some work done on our car. We're sure this month ahead will be equally busy though we're much less sure about the timing of things. Thanks for your partnership and prayers!!!

Praise God with us for the many blessings He has given.

• Praise Him for a wonderful team meeting and that the Maddux's (the family that stayed with us in July) have been approved to return for full-time work in Mozambique – specifically Nampula – yeah – new future teammates!!!!

• October 2^nd – praise God for the blessing He has given us in Asher – who turns 2 years old today!

• Praise Him for the safety in travel that He awarded us during the past month; for the safety Dan had on trips out to the bush, for the safety He afforded Dan in driving down to Maputo, for the safety Robin and the kids had in flying south, and for a safe trip into S. Africa and back.

• Praise God that Dan found himself in a city (Beira) which could handle the car problems he did have on the way down to Maputo and that things were resolved without too much delay (the fact that he was in that city must have been God led – the gas stations on his route were out of gas so he'd had to detour 1.5 hrs. to reach Beira simply to buy gas). Praise God for Gaspar (the Mozambican pastor who traveled with him) who was able to help out quite a bit along the way.

• Praise God that we've found a doctor here in Maputo to assist with delivery when the time comes.

• Praise God that the kids have adjusted well to being here in Maputo and to all the various transitions and travel we have made.

• There's a small “preschool” run on the compound here in Maputo for neighborhood children. Both Karunia and Josiah have enjoyed heading down there for a few hours each day. Praise God for this opportunity they have to make friends and to have some structured activity to occupy their time a bit.

• Praise God for the provision of housing He provided us in S. Africa.

• Praise God that we found an eye doctor in Nelspruit, S. Africa for the kids to see and that Karunia's vision has remained fairly consistent during our time here.

• October 18^th – praise God with us for Karunia and the 7 years (today) that she's been a part of our family!!

• Praise God for our financial and prayer supporters and our forwarding agent, Kelly Spangler.

• Praise God for teammates, specifically in Nampula and here in Maputo, but also our colleagues in other parts of Mozambique.

Pray with us for the following:

• Pray for wisdom on our part as we have many decisions to make over the next few days. We need to decide whether to make a 2 day trip back to S. Africa next week because our teammates are heading there. If we go and I happen to go into labor then we'll be stuck in S. Africa to process passports and such (but we do know a great doctor and midwife there), however if we stay here and I go into labor there isn't anyone really convenient to watch the other kids for us, especially if things occurred at night.

• While in S. Africa we had some work done on the car, however there are still 2 issues that need to be fixed. Parts have been ordered for the one and can be done at whatever point we return to Nelspruit, S. Africa – a 2-3 hr drive (but we have to stay 2-3 days), however the other one requires that we take the car to Johannesburg, S. Africa and will take a week or so of work. All of this is work that can not be done in Mozambique as parts are not available, can not be order to here, and no one is trained to do it. Pray for the best to happen timing wise and for provision of finances to get these things taken care of.

• Please pray for Josiah's vision. He has one eye that is drastically weaker than the other, which requires he sees a specialist (which is only available in S. Africa – currently only a few hours from where we are, but from our house in Nampula it is a 3 day car trip). We're now patching his eye all day every day and the doctor wants to see him again in 4 wks. That appointment shouldn't be a problem since we'll have to be around there for car work eventually. Depending on that visit the doctor wants to see him in another 6 wks which also shouldn't be a huge problem because we were coming south to have a mini-vacation with Dan's parents. The doctor has indicated however that he may need to be closely and frequently monitored beyond these initial 10 wks. Please pray that God would cause Josiah's vision to improve by December so that he doesn't need to be monitored so frequently (1x/6 months could be doable) as it just really isn't feasible or affordable if we have to come south every 4-6 wks. Pray for God's intervention in this scenario.

• Continue to pray that my pregnancy would go well and that delivery would be smooth and without problems or need for “emergency help”. I'm now 38 weeks so our little one could make it's arrival at any point.

• The kids and I have been off from school now for 3 weeks due to our team meeting and all the travel. Pray that we can get started back into a routine within the next few days and that they will adjust again.

• For Dan and Shawn as they continue to plan classes for local ministers/leaders to be taught at the center in town beginning in January.

• Dan and a national friend have been discussing 3 different locations (Mossuril, Mogincual, and Ilha de Moçambique) along the coast which are heavily Muslim and have little or no church presence. Dan would like to see one of these places become his 2^nd discipleship point. Currently he is simply praying for each area to see how God leads him – please join him in his prayers.

• When we are ready to return to Nampula (after the baby's arrival and car work, etc is completed) Dan will need to drive north again. Please begin praying for someone to travel with him on his return trip and for traveling mercies and safety as he goes.

Thanks so much and blessings on each of you!!!

Robin and Dan, Karunia, Josiah, and Asher

Dan & Robin Been
Missionaries to Mozambique, Africa
Our Web Page:  http://www.mozambiquemessages.com

[Beens Prayer Partners] We've all arrived

Dear friends,

 

Thanks for your prayers during all our travels.  We've all arrived safe and sound.

 

The MAF flight for the kids and I went fairly well.  The 1st 30 minutes was rather awful - my back was hurting and everyone was complaining about being squished, etc., however things straightened out and after that it went fairly well.  Truth be told I don't know that I'd choose to fly in such a small plane with all the kids again, but we could do it if necessary (which is what mandated this trip also).

 

As for Dan - Friday turned out even more difficult for him.  After calling me with car troubles, he also got pulled over by the police in Beira.  Apparently we hadn't paid a tax on the car when we purchased it and we didn't realize that.  Anyway the police impounded the car and took the keys and Dan's license.  They told him he could get the car back once he'd shown proof of paying the tax and paying a fine and impounding fee.  That proved slightly difficult initially as the tax office told him since we lived in Nampula it had to be paid there.  Praise the Lord however - 3 people really started bending backwards and got things moving so that he got the tax paid and got the car back on Friday late afternoon.  The mechanic met him first thing Saturday morning to look at the car.  He took out a couple electrical connections and then put them back in so the car would reset itself.  That seemed to take care of things. Dan drove it around Beira a bit to make sure but all seemed well so he and Gaspar were able to get back on the road that day so they arrived in Maputo late Sunday afternoon after driving around 35 hours!  PTL!!!!!!!  Oh, other blessing - the warranty given to us on the car didn't run out until just before Dan entered Maputo so the servicing in Beira was free!!!!!  We want to get the car checked out while here (or if we make it into S. Africa) to be sure it's okay before Dan uses it to head back up north, but things seem to be working just fine.

 

Another blessing - we discovered that friends we'd met in Nampula but who live in yet another city of Mozambique were also staying at the same guest house with Robin and the kids.  They have a daughter who Karunia loves to play with so the kids had quite a bit of fun late Saturday evening, Sunday and then some today.

 

Our friends are in Maputo looking to buy a car and having a hard time.  Dan is going to drive Ronald (the husband) around tomorrow morning some and then we have an appointment with one doctor tomorrow (Tues) evening at 5 and will also go by the other possible hospital to talk with them and try to interview the doctor. 

Thanks for your prayers - we'll keep you updated.

 

Robin

 

Dan & Robin Been
Missionaries to Mozambique, Africa
Our Web Page:  http://www.mozambiquemessages.com

[Beens Prayer Partners] Dan and travel

Dear friends,

 

Well Dan made it off yesterday morning as planned and only about 30 minutes behind what he wanted.  He and Gaspar had good travel and arrived at the river just in time to catch the last ferry for the day, thus allowing them to continue for a bit longer.  All in all he drove around 15 hrs.

 

This morning however he's had to make a large detour to get gasoline.  He went to one location near the guest house where they stayed last night but there was no gasoline so he had to keep going (out of the way) to Beira (a large town on the coast).  All in all it makes for 3 hrs out of the way.  Anyway the car was also having some problems - hesitations in accelerating, etc. so he decide it'd be wise to have it looked at in Beira.  The mechanic says that they've been working on another car like ours for 4 days.  It's a computer issue of some sort.  Dan asked about continuing on to Maputo and the mechanic said he could try - it might make it or he could get a ways down the road for the car to simply stop (which is what will ultimately happen).  He's staying put.  The details I know at this point are that the mechanic will get to it this afternoon and tomorrow as well. 

 

Please pray they'd get things resolved quickly and that Dan could get back on the road either tomorrow afternoon or at least on Sunday rather than having to stay in Beira until Monday or so.  >From Beira to Maputo is about a 17 hr trip minimum so I doubt they'll cover that in 1 day whenever they do get off.  Thanks so much.

 

Blessings,

Robin

 

PS - we do have some warranty on the car - pray this issue is covered under that as well!!!

Dan & Robin Been
Missionaries to Mozambique, Africa
Our Web Page:  http://www.mozambiquemessages.com

[Beens Prayer Partners] update

Dear friends,

 

I just wanted to give you a brief update on things.

 

Dan's trips on Sunday the 4th, Tues the 6th, and Friday the 9th all went very well and he returned excited over how things had progressed.  He has now established another discipleship point in Natia where he will travel to 1x/month beginning in January.  This is not one of 3 Muslim areas on the coast that we'd written about but another place that really wants him to come.  He's looking forward beginning that.  As for the 3 specific areas we asked you to pray about - keep praying!  Setting up Natia as a discipleship point does not alter his desire to work in one of those other three locations.

 

Our team retreat on the 11-14th was very nice.  We had a great time of fellowship with all our teammates, the kids did wonderful with the babysitters and in sleeping during the night and we managed to tackle all policy issues and other decisions with a unified spirit.  Praise the Lord for this blessing!

 

Our dates for traveling to Maputo have changed just a bit so I want to give those to you.  Dan will be leaving to head south with Gaspar on Thursday, Sept 15th at 5am (perhaps he'll already be on the road when many of you receive this).  The trip will take him anywhere from 3-4 full days so please be in prayer for them to be safe and make good time.  Praise God with us for Gaspar being available to ride down with Dan  - it's not a trip he'd have made by himself.

 

The kids and I will be heading down to Maputo on Saturday, Sept. 17th.  We'll be flying down on an MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) plane as I couldn't get the needed doctor's note to fly down on the national airline.  This has actually worked out very well - teammates returning from furlough will use the return leg of the MAF plane so we were able to split the cost to keep it from being so expensive.  Our final cost isn't much more than it would have been on the national carrier.  We will be flying in a much smaller plane (so the flight will take longer and it doesn't have a bathroom or room to walk around) so please pray the kids do well!! 

 

Ideally Dan should arrive in Maputo later that same evening so I shouldn't have to sit by myself too long in Maputo with the kids.  If he's behind schedule a bit he should still arrive sometime the next day. 

 

Continue to pray for our adjustment to things down there and for all the doctor's appointments, etc that need to take place. 

 

We will still have e-mail capabilities and will keep you informed of things.

 

Thanks for your partnership!

 

Robin and Dan

 

Dan & Robin Been
Missionaries to Mozambique, Africa
Our Web Page:  http://www.mozambiquemessages.com

[Beens Prayer Partners] Sept. prayer letter

Dear Friends, 3 September 05

Thank you so much for your partnership and prayers. September promises to be a busy month but we pray all will go smoothly and that we can be a blessing to those around us during this time. Several of September's events are rather date related. I've listed the actual dates so you can especially pray for those things while they are going on, however praise God that we can come to Him at any time with any request and he hears us!

Pray with us for the following:

• September 6th – Dan and our teammate Shawn will be heading out to meet with the 3 churches in their “outside Nampula” discipleship point. Pray for safety in travel and that all would go well. They traveled out there once last month but due to extenuating circumstances didn't get started in their regular program and thus this will be like a first meeting. They desire to really ask some questions and get a feel of the base knowledge and beliefs these men have regarding Creation, the book of Genesis and the work of God as it relates to those things. Pray they would be sensitive to answers, that the men would respond honestly and that they would then have wisdom as they refine what all needs to be taught.
  
  
• September 9th – Dan will be traveling with Jorge, a national friend, to visit a church he'd (Jorge) started a while back. Pray for safety in travel and that Dan would be a blessing to this new church. Pray that teaching would go well and that the fellowship time would be a blessing to all.
  
  
• September 11-14th – we will be attending the GNFA annual team meeting. This is a time not only for fellowship, but also for yearly goals from each of the teams and families to be presented for approval and for any discussion of mission policy to take place. Please pray for unity in any discussions of mission policy, for sweet fellowship, and that God would be honored in all that takes place. Also, please pray for safety in travel; some of us will be driving while others are having to fly up.
  
  
• ~Sept 17-19th – Dan will leaving to make the 3-4 day drive down to Maputo in our truck. Please pray he can find a national friend to accompany him so that he's not making the long drive by himself. Pray for safety in travel, for good travel time, and that the truck would not have any problems!
  
  
• ~Sept 20 – The kids and I will be flying down to Maputo to meet Dan and settle in there until after the baby is born. Pray that the kids would do well and for safety in our travel.
  
  
• Please pray for the kids, but especially Karunia, that they would transition well to being in Maputo for a bit of time and not feel too unsettled. Pray they (she) would not have sleep issues during the night and that they would find friends to play with during the day.
  
  
• Though we feel confident staying in Maputo to have the baby, we do need to decide exactly which doctor/hospital to use so we'll be setting up appointments with people around the 22-23 to help decide that. Pray for wisdom on our part to know exactly who and where to choose.
  
  
• After meeting with doctors (for the birth) in Maputo we will head to S. Africa for a few days to get other doctor/dentist appointments out of the way. Pray we will get all this (general checkups for all kids, eye appointments for both Karunia and Josiah, dentist appointments for Dan, Robin and Karunia at least, and perhaps a chiropractic appointment for Karunia) in a timely manner.
  
  
• Continue to pray that my pregnancy would go well and that delivery would be smooth and without problems or need for “emergency help.”
  
  
• For Dan and Shawn as they continue to plan classes for local ministers/leaders to be taught at the center in town beginning in January.
  
  
• Dan and a national friend have been discussing 3 different locations (Mossuril, Mogincual, and Ilha de Moçambique) along the coast which are heavily Muslim and have little or no church presence. Dan would like to see one of these places become his 2nd discipleship point. Currently he is simply praying for each area to see how God leads him – please join him in his prayers.
  
  
• That during our waiting for the baby's arrival in Maputo we can be a real blessing to our teammates there and also perhaps a help to the school and ministry they have.
  
  
• Jafar, our Muslim guard, has had several tragedies hit his family this month. His newborn son died 6 days after birth, his wife continued to have medical problems for several weeks, and then his aunt and uncle's house burned to the ground. Dan has talked with him or prayed for him (in his presence) through each of these events. Pray that each of these tragedies would be used for God's glory and that Jafar and his family might come to know the Lord during this time.

Praise God with us for the many blessings He has given.

• Schooling with Josiah and Karunia is going fairly well. Josiah can be a bit antsy, however he does enjoy some aspects of it and has proven to be the one who asks after it if for some reason we're late getting started or miss a day! I'm sure it will be a bit longer to completely settle in (if that happens) but I'm pleased with how things are going.
  
  
• Dan's first trip to his “outside Nampula” discipleship point didn't go as planned; he and Shawn left late due to visitors showing up and then they got lost so when they arrived the group from one church had already left and the 3rd church group hadn't showed up at all. HOWEVER, both Dan and Shawn were really able to step in and be a huge blessing to the community of the 1st church group. They arrived to find out that one leader's family member had passed away and the funeral was that day. The deceased wasn't a believer and so his family (who are Christians) had simply planned on placing his body in the ground with nothing said. Dan and Shawn each encouraged them to use this time to witness for Christ and both ended up speaking at the funeral. They both returned greatly encouraged at how the day had progressed and the family and community at large was genuinely grateful for their teaching and assistance!
  
  
• We have finally seemed to kick the various bugs that were making everyone so sick. Praise the Lord for our health!
  
  
• One national friend has approached Dan seeking to study more on Grace. Schedules have kept them from actually meeting yet, however we praise the Lord for Jorge's desire to learn more and for this mentoring opportunity.
  
  
• Our colleagues currently have visitors, however today the 2 men came down and began doing some various electrical work for us that we wanted done. We praise the Lord for the blessing Larry and JW have been to us in this area!
  
  
• 4 of our GNFA teammates have recently received approval to return to their area of ministry after having been exiled from there for a period of close to one year. During August they've moved back to Cabo Delgado and have been settling in and preparing to being their ministry once again.
  
  
• Dan has been able to have some more consistent time of study and presence at the training center in town.

Blessings on each of you.

Robin and Dan, Karunia, Josiah, and Asher

Dan & Robin Been
Missionaries to Mozambique, Africa
Our Web Page: http://www.mozambiquemessages.com