Timothy & Christy Chaffee Newsletter (Fall 2022)

Howdy Family and Friends! 

We hope you all had a blessed summer. We have heaps to share so hold tight to your bootstraps as we recount this amazing summer we had the pleasure to be a part of. 

Personal Involvement

In preparation for the summer teams arriving, I was responsible for clearing trees from pathways to and from tent sites (where the teams slept) and eating sites. Once boot camp and summer began, I also gained further application in plumbing and wore many hats, or should I say helmets? During Bible hour, I armored up as Sir William teaching youth to charge full speed ahead in searching God’s Word during Bible sword drills and shortly before the youth journeyed home, I got to wield my armor as I taught “Don’t Leave Your Armor on the Field”. My other alias and student of Scripture Sam - displayed the “object” lesson of the day to the preteens a few mornings throughout Boot Camp. 

This summer was a first as I got to instruct a digging class for the preteens, and I also got to assist another summer in overseeing special blessings (sb’s) for youth that benefit from a bit extra training by spending free time on a service project ranging from digging ditches to whatever other work project needs fulfilled at that time. 

Among the multiplicity of roles I had this summer, one that I was most thankful to be part of was counseling a young man named Ethan who suffered from anger and other issues. Due to similarities in our youth, God graciously allowed me to relate to him in a way many others would not be able to, and Ethan dedicated himself to live for Christ. According to Ethan’s team leaders, he was a great team member. We are trusting the Lord to continue ministering in and through Ethan and are excited for the special ways God will advance His kingdom through him. Please check out some of Ethan’s testimony below!

Teen Testimony

Ethan, from the Honduras team, revealed, “I grew up in foster care my whole life. I’ve been adopted twice, and I’ve been struggling with weed addictions, anger issues, and suicidal thoughts since I’ve been in foster care. I got adopted last year. Since I’ve been at boot camp, I got saved on June 15th. I was craving weed, had problems with my anger issues and after I got saved, I didn’t have any craving for weed.”

Malawi Overview

We have determined to take a detailed glimpse at Teen Missions Malawi for this letter. Teen Missions in Malawi is located on 160 acres on the beautiful shores of Lake Malawi. The first boot camp was run in Malawi in 1988. Our bases are home to four annual boot camps and three Bible, Missionary & Work (BMW) Training Centers. The base also hosts retreats to bring in extra income for its ministries. One of the most important ministries in Malawi is the ministry to the AIDS orphans. There are ten rescue units in Malawi and two matrons units that provide a safe place to stay for young girls who are attending school. The TMI (Teen Missions Int’l) staff also run a Sunday school circuit, teaching Sunday schools at several rescue units and villages in the Dedza Region of the country. There are 89 Sunday schools throughout the country. Of the more than 20 million citizens, approximately 1,000,000 are living with HIV/AIDS and life expectancy is around 65 years. There are estimated to be at least 770,000 AIDS orphans. Around 52% of the population survives on less than $0.32 a day. Chichewa is the national language in Malawi. Though Christianity is widespread in Malawi, there are many who practice witchcraft or other tribal beliefs. There is also a large population of Muslims.

Family

Allister is already 10 months old and loves to crawl and pull himself to standing. He has begun walking along surfaces within the past week and will sometimes brave letting go, though he hasn’t taken any unassisted steps yet. One of his favorite things to play is toss a ball to people and have them roll it back to him so he could throw it back again. Allister also has a voracious appetite and has enjoyed being introduced to some food other than baby purees—particularly macaroni and cheese, sweet potato hash browns, blackberries, and raspberries.

Brielle is still our nature-loving girl and enjoys beetles and butterflies, especially when she spies them flying in our yard outside. She has also continued gracing us with her beautiful singing. One thing some people may not know about Brielle is if macaroni and cheese, applesauce, cheese, milk, and yogurt were the only things she could consume for the rest of her life, she would likely be pretty content with that.

 David has been particularly interested in science lately and aspires to be a scientist as he becomes an adult someday. He also loves reading informational display signs whenever we go somewhere special that has some—just like his mother. He could also be found playing with his dragon toys (three Lego dragons and two Beanie Boo stuffed dragons) and Rebekah and him love to plan special events.

 In addition to planning special events, Rebekah is enamored by animals and her future goal in life is to be a veterinarian. Her favorite animals are horses, and we are hoping to get her involved in feeding horses at a nearby ranch soon and eventually allow her to work up to other responsibilities with the horses as she gets older. Rebekah also loves playing mother to her very realistic-looking doll, Jacob, and being a great help with her younger brother, Allister, by feeding him some baby food sometimes and playing with him while Christi takes turns homeschooling David and Brielle.

Christi remains particularly active with juggling homeschooling three of our four kiddos and has attempted to pick up reading and coloring again in her down time on Sundays and I have begun battling with some foam swords I own and am hoping to expand to an immense regiment to carry out fun escapades within the near future.

We would like to thank each of you who have invested in our family in any way. We have been incredibly blessed, and we pray you have too as we journey through our lives together for His glory.

Praise and Prayer Requests

Praise as our family has reached full monthly financial support through our dedicated ongoing monthly support partners!

Praise as we’ve had some positive breakthroughs with David behaviorally and emotionally, but please continue to pray he will implement the tools he’s been given through behavioral therapy—especially when he finds himself in unpreferred situations or when he needs to complete unpreferred activities, such as school and his chores. Pray we’ll shine God’s light to his therapist who is not a Christian.

Pray for me as I experience fluctuating foot pain and as I broke my toe. I’m grateful that it was not my big toe, but it still causes me a lot of pain.

Pray for Christi as she is homeschooling Rebekah, David, and Brielle this school year.

Pray for our children to have increasing desires to learn.

Pray for Christi and me to balance and prioritize everything we are involved with.

Pray for Christi and me to have wisdom with important decisions we have to make.

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 Family