Timothy & Christi Chaffee Newsletter (Spring 2025)

Greetings Family and Friends! 

As always, things have been bustling along, so let’s dive in together and swim through these last months.

Personal Involvement 

Teen Missions headquarters has been in a great buzz getting ready for and hosting our Tough Gator 5K Mud Run and preparing for Boot Camp. We hold the Mud Run to fund projects overseas and this year we had 631 participants! I personally had the privilege of working as a judge for one of the 33 obstacles, the Slough. The Slough is a water-filled ditch that they swing over on ropes and try to not get drenched by falling in the water below and it’s a blast watching the enthusiasm of some of the competitors! 

During the Lord’s Boot Camp this year, I am scheduled to serve at the Security Tent and help with the Keep It Clean class to teach the teens how to personally hand wash their laundry with a bucket—useful for certain teams that go overseas—and maintain hygiene in a camp environment. I’m also on schedule to be on front camera during evening rallies so loved ones watching online have the chance to see their kiddo.

As Rebekah is getting older, she enjoys the opportunity to do physical work and has also been involved with Teen Missions on occasions. This year she has already worked with a team of others to set up some of the obstacles for the Mud Run. She got to participate in Big Top Day, which is the day Teen Missions sets up their big tent that is used for rallies and some of the classes during Boot Camp. In addition to those, she participated in the practice Mud Run to give her input on the course and on the day of the actual run she assisted at a water station for the individuals wanting to quench their thirst throughout the course.

Teen Testimony

One of the youth from the Brazil team this past summer shared, “June 14th we got to visit a church to do our performance. While there, the whole city had a power outage. We were told that the power outage could last an hour all the way up to a few days! We prayed, knowing that when the enemy attacks hard the glory of the Lord will shine forth the brightest. Through many false alarms, the Lord prevailed! We were able to do our performance and commune with the amazing people of Belem! It was a great turnout. Praise the Lord!”

Uganda Overview

We have decided to explore a glimpse of Teen Missions in Uganda for this ministry update. Teen Missions Uganda was founded in 1992. Yearly, there are at least two Boot Camps, as well as two Bible, Missionary, & Work (BMW) Training Bible Schools. Teen Missions Uganda hosts 22 Sunday schools throughout the country. Like many other countries, they run a retreat center, too. There is also at least one Matron Unit for young girls who live too far away from school to go home each night. On the main base, the staff and students are involved in agricultural projects such as gardening and raising livestock. Uganda’s newest base, which started in 2010, includes one of three Rescue Units in the country and a Boot Camp, making it possible to reach youth in northern Uganda, including the Sudanese and Congolese who also live there.

Uganda is a landlocked sub-Saharan African country with a population of around 48.5 million people. It is comparable in size to Oregon. Sadly, poverty and AIDS are two glaring realities that Ugandans face on a regular basis. Indigenous beliefs, Protestantism and Islam are all major religions in Uganda.

Family

Oliver has become quite the chatterbox! He’ll often say, “Help me!” when making requests and it is so cute it makes me want to pop! He is definitely a “daddy’s boy” and could nearly always be found near me if given the chance.

Allister is one of our “take charge” children. He likes to attempt to “help” in telling his siblings, including the older ones, what they should and shouldn’t be doing. Allister will also charge valiantly shouting at the imaginary enemies in our backyard with his foam sword ready for battle.

Brielle is our petite, yet feisty child. She recently began to take an interest in archery, but she also is competitive. She enjoys exercising, in part, to become “Buff like daddy” and tries to wrestle me to the ground.

David enjoys staging play scenes in his room and seems to be picking up an interest in theater. He also loves to share new jokes with us and has become quite talented in the creativity he exhibits.

In addition to Rebekah’s involvement in ministry at Teen Missions, she enjoys running and has interestingly taken a liking to mowing lawns with a push mower. She has even been hired to mow the lawn for one of our neighbors down the street. Rebekah has also officially reached the age where oftentimes she prefers to be around her friends nearly any chance she gets.

Lately, Christi has gone into the nesting mode of pregnancy when she has the energy, where she feels a great sense of urgency to get things ready before our sweet, active baby girl arrives in July.

The armor presentation I did in March at RLCA went very well. Hundreds of kids got to see the presentation and I had armor guards helping me at my table. Unfortunately, there was no catapult this year, but we are hoping to expand the armor presentation ministry later on this year. 

We’re thankful for each of you who’ve supported our growing family throughout the years!

Praise and Prayer Requests

• Praise as we found a medication for David which combats the difficulty of falling asleep, side effects of another medication he’s taking. We’ve also noticed with increased physical activity he seems to sleep better.
• Pray as we are looking to share the life-changing ministry of Teen Missions and increase our financial support base in Florida as there have been times our support has dwindled and it would be helpful for us to increase our monthly support. Since our daughter will be so young during our regular deputation/support-raising time, we intend to stay in Florida this year and would love to schedule a time to meet with you or a group you’re part of to share more on the ministry. We’re looking to schedule times August 11th - 29th. If you’re interested, please reach out and hopefully I’ll get to share with you! 
• Pray for me as I was recently diagnosed with asthma. I’ve received some treatments which have helped, but there are still precautions I’ve been advised to take to avoid flare-ups.
• Pray for our van situation! We’ve had issues with both our vans that we’re working to have repaired, but prayer would be appreciated that the repairs will allow both our vans to function smoothly for years to come.
• Pray for continued health throughout Christi’s pregnancy, Lord-willing! She’s struggled with an infection which seems to be lingering, even with antibiotics, but overall things seem to be going well.
• Pray Allister’s blood glucose continues to trend in a healthier range.
• Pray for my vertigo to continue decreasing, Lord willing!
• Pray for Christi and me to have wisdom in the choices we make for our family. 
• Pray for Christi and me to continue adjusting our schedules with all we’re involved with.
• Pray for Christi as she homeschools Rebekah, David, and Brielle this year.
• Pray for our children to be thirsty to learn and accomplish their tasks with an eager enthusiasm.
• Pray for our kids to be supportive in the way they behave towards others.
• Pray for David to practice calming methods he learned during behavioral therapy—particularly when he encounters demanding circumstances.
• Pray for God’s peace in our lives.
• Pray for our protection in all things.

In Christ,

The Chaffee Clan
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