Timothy & Christi Chaffee Newsletter (Spring 2021)
Hello from our bustling family! Excitement is in the air and we could hardly wait to share!
Brielle adores singing a wide selection of songs ranging from ones she has learned from church to CD’s Christi has had since she was a teenager. She enjoys putting on dancing and trick shows for others and prefers to play with Rebekah instead of by herself. Brielle desires to be just like her big sister.
David does not tire of building with Lego. He once created his own game from Lego and even created directions to go along with it! David embraces storytelling when he could excitedly share an adventure he thought of—often including seeking treasure—to other people. Soaking up outside time is an active pursuit of his also.
Rebekah’s cooking interests have grown and she looks forward to cooking eggs nearly every morning for breakfast! She even successfully cooks eggs sunny side up and becomes excited at the opportunity to shred cheese and carrots. Above most, if not everything else, Rebekah savors carrying out epic battles with foam swords and defending our wooden castle against David, Brielle, and I.
Christi was thrilled to find out toward the end of March that we’re anticipating the arrival of another sweet child in November! In the past week, Christi has fallen asleep before I have a few times—which is nearly unheard of when exhaustion and nausea aren’t laid on the table, but we’re hoping to see a decrease in these symptoms as we ease out of the first trimester.
Recently, I received a considerable amount of money with a note that told me to complete my suit of armor. I have spent time refreshing my memory on the details of the century my armor is based on and God had opened the door for the armor suit to be used in a medieval-themed Vacation Bible School where 12 youth gave their lives to Christ and 12 others rededicated their lives to Him. I also got to help with another Vacation Bible School announcement which involved wearing the armor and the armor will be a display in that Vacation Bible School. Following the last Vacation Bible School, I will get to play an active role in an Armor of God presentation that Teen Missions will be having at Boot Camp this year!
Personal Involvement
Demolition of the old print shop has continued and construction for the new Bible, Missionary, and Work Student Center has begun in other areas of the building. I’ve also been taught to drive stick shift, which allows me to operate more equipment including the tractor, which I have used to haul away brush, concrete, and rock. The Big Top was also resurfaced with asphalt, which I got to assist with and once the asphalt dried, the Big Top went up. I used the tractor to transport chairs and tables across Teen Missions property so they could be available for the Mud Run and evening rallies during the Lord’s Boot Camp. Lastly, during the Mud Run, I was responsible for overseeing the maze runner obstacle, including stopping people from taking shortcuts!
Bible Student Testimony
One of the ladies from Indonesia expounds how God is moving in her life through a Bible, Missionary, and Work School (BMW). “I chose Teen Missions Bible school because I felt called. I don’t know why, but when I joined BMW, I knew that God had a big plan for me. I want to reach souls in unreached places and so I am studying here. At first, I couldn’t cook. I couldn’t work and I didn’t know anything, but after I joined, I had to be disciplined with my time. I had to work in the garden and in the fish pool. Even the way I dressed and talked had to change. I learned things here that I hadn’t learned at home. My goal after finishing BMW is to look for souls that haven’t heard about God yet and I will start with my family and then with the people around me unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”
Overseas Testimony
Nomena, staff with Teen Missions in Madagascar, shared with us, “When I got here, I asked God, ‘What should I do to help my husband to run the ministry together?’” Nomena Rakotomalala and her husband, Liva, run the Teen Missions Base in Mahajanga, Madagascar. Nomena felt led by God to begin another type of discipling program within the ministry. “So God gave me the vision to open the school. There were many kids around us that didn’t go to school yet. We started the school in 2005 on the other side of the land of Teen Missions here in Mahajanga. So we started with 20 students in one class and then, year after year, we added more and more classes and now we are up to 12th grade and we have about 1,400 children attending the Nirina School now.” The Nirina School has enabled children to receive an education and to hear the Gospel message. Teachers are discipled through Bible studies each week. “I come from a poor family and I couldn’t afford my studies at all, but I was pushed by my uncle and my aunt. I couldn’t have continued my studies without that help. I want to duplicate that with children. I really understand how they feel when the parents don’t have money to send them to school and that’s the reason why I want to help children to be able to get educated. God worked in my life to open the school so that the whole community, the children have the opportunity to come to school. I give the glory to God alone.”
We appreciate every one of you who faithfully support our family! You have been a blessing to us and we are grateful you’ve chosen to partner with us as we win souls to a glorious eternity!
Praise and Prayer Requests
Praise as David accepted Jesus as his Savior!
Praise as we found out Christi is pregnant. Pray for her and the baby to be healthy.
Praise as David began in-home behavioral therapy on March 11th. Pray he’ll continue to be cooperative and put into practice the things he learns. Pray we’ll shine God’s light to his therapist who may not be a Christian.
Praise and pray for increased support of our family! We’re aiming to raise an additional minimum of $33 in monthly support by October.
Pray for Christi and I to have wisdom with important decisions we have to make.
Pray for Christi and I to balance and prioritize everything we are involved with.
Pray for Christi as she is home-schooling Rebekah and David.
Pray for Rebekah, David and Brielle to have increasing desires to learn.
Pray for God’s peace in every area of our lives.
Pray for our health and safety in all we do.
In Christ’s Love,
The Chaffee Clan