September 2008 Prayer Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

Since we now have a little extra time because of our delayed departure to Rwanda, today we are leaving on a trip to Northern California to visit a supporting church and some friends. Please be praying for a safe trip. Also, Mark is taking 2 construction classes at a community college that will help him with his work in Rwanda. He is one of the “Old Guys” that Stephanie says you sometimes see in college classes.

Emily’s homeschooling / on-line classes are going well (and we think she is actually enjoying it). She enjoys the commute (bedroom to computer) and the flexibility. Doing schoolwork on the front porch in a lawn chair definitely beats pushing through crowded halls and sitting in uncomfortable school desks! Emily has “met” another girl in the same grade in her online class who is headed to her school in Kenya , Rift Valley Academy! Her family is also delayed due to low support. It will be fun when they actually get to meet in person.

We are thankful that our monthly support is now at 100%! Our Outgoing account is at 53% (still needing about $8,500) and our Car project account is at 17% (still needing about $15,000). Please continue to be in prayer about God’s provision of additional funds for both of those accounts so that we can leave without any more delay.

Several people have asked what is happening with the construction project of the Rwanda Faculty of Evangelical Theology (FATER) because we are not there. The simple answer is nothing; as soon as we arrive it will begin. Also, please be in prayer for the principal of FATER, our colleague and friend, Keith Ferdinando and his wife Margaret. They have suddenly had to go home to the UK for medical reasons. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and for a quick recovery for Keith.

We have a new tentative departure date of Tuesday, October 28. Please pray that all support will be collected in God’s timing.

Donations can be made online at: https://www.aimint.org/usa/online_giving.html

Thank you again for your prayers for our family.

In Christ,
Mark and Lisa Sudman
310-715-6366

P.S. If you received AIM’s “Heartbeat Africa” magazine this month, check out page 9! The FATER construction project is highlighted in a short article.

August 2008 #2 Prayer Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

Today is the day we had hoped to leave for Africa. While we are sad about all the extra difficulties this brings, we are confident that our move will take place in God’s timing. So instead of moving to Africa today, we are moving out of our rented house in Lakewood. Earlier this month we asked you to pray about temporary housing. We are praising God that we can move into Lisa’s mom’s old house until it sells.

So, don’t use our old address or phone number anymore. Our new temporary address is:
Mark, Lisa & Emily Sudman
17701 Avalon Blvd. #278
Carson, CA 90746
310-715-6366

Emily will begin homeschooling and taking on-line classes starting next week to help her be ready to enter Rift Valley Academy whenever we get there. This is a new experience for all of us! Pray for a smooth transition to this new type of schooling and for diligence for Emily.

Earlier this month we also asked you to be praying about an additional $500 in monthly support that was needed. We are praising God that we are a bit closer to being able to leave because that need has been met. Please continue to be in prayer about God’s provision of additional Outgoing and Car Project funds (about $28,000 still needed for both) that we need before we can leave.

Again, we have been asked several times how donations can be made to our support. It can be done online at: https://www.aimint.org/usa/online_giving.html

Or by mailing a check to:
Africa Inland Mission
P.O. Box 178
Pearl River, NY 10965

All checks should be made out to “AIM” with a note indicating that it is for the Sudman Outgoing or Car Project, or for monthly support (for those sending in monthly support, you will then receive instructions on how to continue).

Thank you again for your prayers for our family.

In Christ,
Mark and Lisa Sudman
310-715-6366

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12: 6 & 7

P.S. This week Emily (and the rest of us too) said goodbye to a good friend. She met this friend during our first Christmas after we returned from Africa in 2002. This friend was always happy to see her (and all of us), always willing to play, go for a walk, and even cuddle up once in a while. Her name was Asali. When we left Africa we had a dog that we left with friends to take care of her. Now that we are leaving the US and returning to Africa, we have found friends to take care of Asali. She is in a good home and will be well loved.

Finding a good home for Asali was one of the many concerns we had in leaving the US. While the concerns for our family (our mothers, 2 daughters and grandkids and other family) that we are leaving behind is greater, we can once again see that God is also concerned about the small details in our life. If God can take care of the sparrows (and dogs), He will take care of all the things in our lives.

August 2008 Prayer Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

From the start we knew our return to Africa would be a journey of faith. Once again we see God’s faithfulness in the birth of Abbey Lynne and God’s provision of a caring independent living (with some assistance) home for Lisa’s mom to move into.

We also are now seeing how our departure date of August 28 was too ambitious and that God has made it clear to us we need to delay our departure for a time because of lack of financial support. This will allow us to spend a bit more time with Abbey Lynne (and Christopher, Rebekah and Joe) and to help Lisa’s mom get her house ready to sell.

Our next steps of faith will be for God’s provision of:
· temporary housing at the end of August when we move out of our rented house
· additional Outgoing and Car Project funds (about $28,000 still needed for both)
· additional monthly support (about $500 per month still needed)

This delay means that Emily will have to change schools in the middle of the school year and a delay in the start of the Theological College construction project that Mark will be overseeing. So please pray for God’s speedy provision of the support we need. Also pray that we make a wise decision for Emily’s education while we wait to leave.

We have been asked several times how donations can be made to our support. It can be done online at: https://www.aimint.org/usa/online_giving.html

Or by mailing a check to:
Africa Inland Mission
P.O. Box 178
Pearl River, NY 10965

All checks should be made out to “AIM” with a note indicating that it is for the Sudman Outgoing, or Car project, or for monthly support (for those sending in monthly support, you will then receive instructions on how to continue).

Thank you again for your prayers for our family.

In Christ,
Mark and Lisa Sudman
562-857-9886

Emily's July 2008 Jamaica Letter

Dear Family & Friends,

Thank you so much for supporting me and my team in Jamaica. We had a lot of fun sharing God’s word with the Jamaicans. We had a group of interns from the Jamaica Youth for Christ who helped us with puppets, played in the band (because my team was so small we didn’t have a band) and helped us figure out how everything worked. In Jamaica, we put on shows for students in schools, orphanages and for disabled children. The children really loved the attention they got from us. It was hard leaving sometimes because it felt like you were betraying the children. We put on puppet shows, acted out silent dramas and the band played songs. While we were there every student on our team shared his/her testimony. Giving my testimony in front of all those people was hard but God helped me and I made it through! At night we put on a show in a church yard for the surrounding neighborhood. These shows were mainly for the adults in the audience but we still did puppet shows for the children, which they loved. It was cool to see the openness of the Jamaicans. If you asked they would boldly say "Yes, I am a Christian" or "No, I am not". After the shows we would go around and talk to people and help them figure out the meaning of the dramas, puppets, and music.

During this time God taught me to be flexible. We would be told we were going to go to this place at this time and we’re going to do this. Then five minutes later it was “We’re going to go there and do that and at that time.” I had to learn to say “Ok, cool, let’s do it". I also learned to be more open with people and talk to total strangers (I had learned the lesson “Don’t talk to strangers” too well).

I also learned to trust God and know everything’s in His control. On the way back our 1:00 p.m. flight from Jamaica to Florida was delayed until 3:00 p.m. Because of that, we would miss our connecting flight. So instead they got us on later flight out of Florida. We went and got lunch and had a debriefing. As we were doing some last minute shopping, we discovered that the plane out of Jamaica was delayed again until 6:00 p.m. If all went well, we could get on our new connecting flight out of Florida. We didn’t make it. So we spent the night in Florida in a hotel that the airline paid for because we had travel insurance. The next morning half of our group left at 6:00 a.m. (I wasn’t on that flight (YES!!!)). My group left Florida at 10:00 a.m. but we had another stopover in Dallas before going on to California. At LAX my parents were there waiting for us. God took care of everything and even gave Amy, the secretary who bought the tickets, the foresight to buy the travel insurance.

Besides the adventure in Florida, the trip to Jamaica ran smoothly and everyone had a great time. God taught us all lots of very important lessons that I know I will never forget. Thank you for making the whole trip possible.

God’s Little Missionary,
Emily Sudman

July 2008 Prayer Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

In our last 2 prayer letters we told you about our needing to trust God to take care of our family and finances in order for us to return to Africa so Mark can oversee the construction of the Rwanda Faculty of Evangelical Theology (FATER). God has been answering our prayers and we are confident that He will continue to do so.

We need to ask you to continue to pray along with us for God’s provision of the funds we need in order to return to Africa. In just one month we have raised about 25% of additional monthly support, 17% for our “Outgoing” expenses and 5% of our vehicle project. But there is still a lot that remains, and only 7 weeks until we depart!

Please let us know if you would like to help with these needs, or click on this link if you would like to donate on line. https://www.aimint.org/usa/online_giving.html

Mark had a great two week trip to Rwanda in early June and has returned with lots of photos and a full description of the construction project. In fact, we would love to show you our PowerPoint and tell you all about our new ministry. If you, your church or your small group, would like to see it, let us know.

Be sure to look at an AIM website for The Rwanda Evangelical School of Theology to see some interesting info about the college and several videos by one of our future co-workers that you will find interesting. http://www.aimint.org/eu/projects/the_rwanda_faculty_of_evangelical_theology.html Also, be sure to visit: http://www.sudmansafari.blogspot.com/ .

We are thankful that Emily and the others from our church’s High School group had a great mission trip to Jamaica. Emily will give you a report soon.

In the service of Jesus Christ,


Mark and Lisa Sudman

Serving with Africa Inland Mission
P.O. Box 178 Pearl River, NY 10965
Home Phone: (562) 857-9886
e-mail: mark-lisa.sudman@aimint.net