Seth & Emily Phippen Newsletter (Fall 2022)

Greetings,

Seasons, people, activities, and plans change, but our Lord never changes.

Emily and I are so thankful for your willingness to take a few minutes to catch up on all that is happening in our lives and the work we are involved in with Teen Missions Int’l. We are thankful for our whole team that has come alongside us to make it possible for us to serve the Lord here. Thank you for your willingness to join us on this mission to bring the Word of God to people all over the world. If you know someone who would be interested to hear about what we are doing and to pray for us or to join our financial partnership team please let us know or share this letter with them so they can hear about the exciting things that God is doing around the world.

Phippen Family

Our family is doing great and the kids are growing up every day. James is now 8. Lauren is 6. Emma is almost 4, and Sadie is 1. Where does the time go! In the mornings the kids are busy with school. In the afternoon they play and explore with their friends who live here on the campus of Teen Missions with us. Emily does a great job teaching the kids school. In the afternoon she is in the Teen Missions office overseeing the Finance department, and training Idah, the new finance manager of Teen Missions in Malawi. I have been busy training staff for different leadership rolls within Teen Missions both in Malawi and around the world.

Training and Leadership Development

In our May newsletter we shared about the leadership training and field instruction that we have been doing to raise up leaders in Malawi. In February I shared about the staff that we trained in Malawi who was chosen to go to Tanzania and be the leader for Teen Missions and all the staff and ministries there. His name is David and he has been doing a fantastic job. The staff in Tanzania have really come behind David and they are working together as a strong team. They are already branching out into new locations across Tanzania. In December they will be running multiple youth training programs in addition to the ongoing ministries that they are already doing now. This is really exciting for us to see, but now we get to share with you about the others who God has also raised up and given new positions within the ministry of Teen Missions.

Vice President of Operations

In June, I answered the call and accepted the position in Florida as the Vice President of Operations for Teen Missions International. My role will be to assist the president of Teen Missions to oversee all the operations of the worldwide ministry. Teen Missions has 34 bases of operations on four continents. There are over 300 full-time staff serving with Teen Missions throughout the world. We have shared before about how in Malawi we run different types of ministries like the Matron and Rescue Units, Bible schools, youth training camps and the Sunday School ministries. Now we will not only be working to develop and train leaders in Malawi, but in all the other countries where Teen Missions is working also. Our family will be moving to Florida in December to take on this new role.

Uganda

Over the past few months I have had the opportunity to travel to Uganda. The first time was to assess the ministry operations of Teen Missions and to help provide a path towards success.

After several days we were able to get things in place that would move us in that direction. One of the decisions that was made was to bring in other qualified and trusted staff to help things move in the right direction. I asked Steven Ng’ambi and his family if they would be willing to move to Uganda from Malawi. I have been training Steven in Malawi and three years ago I placed him as the leader over the Bible school in northern Malawi. Steven and his family accepted the position and moved to Uganda a few weeks later. I also asked Jahswel and Cheyenne (staff in Malawi) if they would be willing to move from Malawi to Uganda to help with the training of the staff and students there and to help Steven get things on track. They also accepted and moved to Uganda after only a few days. Emily and I have been working with these wonderful people in Malawi, and we are excited to see how God is using them in different ways even bigger than what we could have imagined!

Northern Malawi

Since Steven moved to Uganda we needed to choose another person to lead the Bible school in northern Malawi. In a difficult time with many decisions to be made God is good and the decision for the next leader was not difficult. Steven has also been training leaders where he was and one person that he had been training since he got to the school was Matthews Uledi. Matthews has been teaching at the school in northern Malawi for many years and under the leadership of Steven he has been trained and made ready for leadership at the school. After more formal training Matthews was given the place as the leader of the Bible school and Teen Missions ministries in northern Malawi.

The whole of Malawi

Since I am moving to Florida we needed to choose someone to take my place as the Country Coordinator in Malawi. This was also an easy task! I have been sharing in many newsletters about Miscious Tsukani. He has been one of my closest friends and coworkers in Malawi. Last year in May I asked him to be the Assistant Coordinator. I told him that I would begin officially training him so that one day he would be the Coordinator of Malawi. I did not expect that to happen so soon. Actually I told him it might not happen for another 20 years! I have continued that training with Miscious so that he will be ready to lead the staff and ministries here effectively and faithfully after I am gone.

Looking Ahead

As we look at the coming months many things are on the horizon for us, as well as lots of change. We are planning to be in Florida sometime in December. We will be packing what we can fit in 50 pound suitcases to take back to Florida. Since we cannot bring furniture, a vehicle or many other things back with us we will be looking for lots of household things to get established in Florida. We will have an Amazon Wish list for partners to help us get some of the things that our family will need. We are also looking for new financial partners to join us in the ministry we are doing around the world. We believe God has done great things through us in Malawi. Now we look forward to the greater impact that we can have throughout the world and you can be part of that. If you would like to send us a monthly or one-time financial gift you can fill out the paper that is attached to this letter and send it back to Teen Missions at the address listed. Right now we are 70% fully supported and we need your help to raise the remainder.

• Prayer points:
• Pray for the staff in Malawi and Uganda to be bold for Christ and to live in obedience to His Word.
• Pray that our family would continue to grow closer together and closer to Christ as we serve Him wherever He calls us.
• Pray for our family, especially our kids as we move away from home (Malawi) and to a strange place (Florida).
• Pray for wisdom in Seth’s new position as Vice President of Operations.
• Pray that God’s will would be done through us and that He would direct our paths and plans.
• Pray for the ministries that Teen Missions does and that people would come to know Christ personally through the staff.

Thank you for following the work that the Lord is doing in Malawi and around the world through us and all those who partner with us. We are grateful to be used as a small part in this life-changing work. Thank you for the big part that you play so that lives will be changed. We could not do this without you. Your partnership makes a difference and it starts with us!
If you are not part of our prayer or giving team and you would like to help us please fill out the section at the bottom of this letter and send it back to Teen Missions. We would love to have you join us. You can make a difference.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Seth & Emily Phippen, along with the rest of our team James, Lauren, Emma, and Sadie

Connect with us:

Email - [email protected]

Text number - 321-241-0230

Address in Florida

284 Heavenly St.

Merritt Island, FL 32953