Tis The Season of Questions

Tis The Season of Questions Newsletter

OCTOBER travels

Brian had an exciting trip into the mountains Thursday with 2 other missionaries, 2 pastors and a Community Health worker.  The purpose of the trip was to set the stage for a 3 day medical clinic to be held in 3 villages north of Davao City.  Jeffery Smith with Well of Life Ministries coordinated the trip.  We got there and back all in one day despite being delayed for 4 hours at the edge of a river that we had to cross.  We made some new friends and Jeffery was able to re-connect with folks he hadn't seen since February.

SEPT

August - September!

- 5 weeks down!
- Language Learning in full swing.
- School is a heavy load for the 3 children
- Nate officially becomes a United States Marine on September 14!
- Patty will have the privilege of traveling there to witness it first hand!
- Working at keeping our head and heart engaged and still find time to relax and enjoy!
- Adjust to the intense heat!  Most days it's above 90 degrees and HUMID!
- Assimilating as much info and new experiences as we can! It's exhausting!

July Update - Shiels arrival in Davao

Dinner w/ our new Co-workers

The Shiels

Sandy, Des, Ged & Mike Miguel

We've Landed!  not settled .. but landed!

We've arrived in Davao, Mindanao!  We feel pretty good after 40 hours of travel, inspite of loosing 12 hours!  We were welcomed by one of the SIL staff who works at Faith Academy.  When I asked how he knew we were arriving, he just said that this community is a family and it's just what he does to welcome newcomers!  Sandy Eckleberry (our co-worker with WorldVenture) also came to help us get over to the SIL Guest House and settle in complete with Welcome bag!  The kids did great the whole journey, finally falling asleep on the last plane ride!  We couldn't wake up Caleb and Matt so had to wait until the plane was nearly empty before we could get off and enter the terminal.  We sailed right thru Customs and Immigration, no questions asked in spite of our 12 checked bags!

The last few days have been busy looking at possible rental houses and we are happy to report that the Lord has directed us to a very nice 3 bedroom home, about a 10 minute walk from Faith Academy. It was highly recommended by the Academy's principal and family who just moved out 2 weeks ago.  Today we spent about 4 hours shopping for beds and table and chairs!  That was just to compare prices!  We have some items stored in one of the Baptist churches close by that we previously purchased from retiring missionaries.  So hoping that Monday or Tuesday we'll be able to get a moving van to transport our stuff.

Please pray that the 5 boxes we shipped from New Hope will arrive soon!  There are many items in those boxes that will help make this house into our home.

Thank you to all who have joined our support team, both financially and in prayer!  It is a privilege to partner with you in this new ministry!

God bless,
We'll be in touch again soon,
Brian

June update

We want to thank everyone who has been praying for us.  More financial partners have joined our team since our last update so currently we are at 95% of our monthly support and 92% of our one time expenses.  This means will still need to raise $286/monthly and need $3,500 to cover our house set-up expenses.

We have our tickets!  We leave Philly July 17th, will spend 4 days with Brian's family in Manitoba, and then fly to Manila out of Minneapolis on the 23rd.  We'll only have a week before classes begin at Faith Academy for Heather, Caleb and Matt.  Pray that we'll find housing quickly and get settled so that the kids will have a good start to their school year.

We are hoping to be all finished with our packing in the next 3 weeks so that the week before we leave we can focus on spending time with friends and family.

Nate has joined the US Marine Corps and arrived at Paris Island monday night for Basic training.  We don't expect to hear anything from him for the next week or so. Pray for him as it will be really tough.  Heather will be serving with Child Evangelism Fellowship for a week holding backyard Bible Clubs in our area.  She has 2 days of training, Thursday and Friday this week, and then will be gone everyday for the next week.  Pray for stamina and ability to communicate God's Word effectively with children from many different backgrounds.

If you don't get our updates and would like to, email Brian at brian6shiel@gmail.com.

Congrats Nate!  

Our 1st NHS GRADUATE!  

"The Eagle has landed!"

We have a date!  

July 17.. fly to Minneapolis
Drive to Carmen, Manitoba
July 22 drive back to Minneapolis
July 23 fly to Manila.


Thanks for praying.. 
Thanks for encouraging!

SUPPORT UPDATE

What an incredible God we serve!


We are getting so close to arriving at Hope Mountain!
 -   90% outgoing support, still need $5,000.
-  84% monthly support, that does not include the expenses for the childrens' education!  Financing the children's education will allow Patty to get more involved in the ministry at Hope Mountain.


To get the most benefit we should both be in language school for the first 3 months, speaking the local dialect will give us more open doors to meet the needs of the local people.


Thank you to so many who have given of their resources in this challenging economy!
God truly moves hearts beyond our understanding!
This is His work, HE WILL PROVIDE! Jehovah Jireh!

Check out our3 handsome sons the day of Nate's Senior Prom!

We're getting close!  Watch for the end of APRIL Update!

We have an EAGLE in the house!

photos

Atlantic in April! Brrrrrr

My 3 sons!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3t6lNkLOCk

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rltM6hVAihQ

JUST KEEP PEDALING!

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith…"  Heb 12:2

"KEEP PEDALING!  I can see it!

KEEP GOING!     It’s just ahead!”

 That’s what Nate and I kept saying last week on the bike ride to see the Barnegat Lighthouse. “It’s gotta be close!”   Last week our family was blessed to get away for a few days to the Jersey Shore at a friend’s home.  We had three gorgeous days, just the six of us. It was a very special time before the wave of change that is about to crash our shores!

We are planning to arrive at HOPE MOUNTAIN by mid JULY, 2012.

WHERE are we today?

Ø  72% support commitments

Ø  66% one-time set-up needs

Ø  Children are enrolled in Faith Academy. Classes start AUG 1.

Ø  Still working fulltime while discovering our team partners

Ø  Living life with 4 active children
- Nate graduates June 13 and ships out to Marine Boot Camp June 18.

WHAT IS STILL NEEDED to send us on our way?

• Committed PRAYER partners
• $1320/month basic living expenses (any amount is helpful!)
• $10,000 start up costs  (furniture, transportation, household, etc)
•  $675/month education costs for Heather, Caleb and Matthew
•   HOUSING for the family near Faith Academy

 MAY 1^st is the deadline date WORLDVENTURE needs to have all commitments recorded in order for us to proceed with departure plans.  Thanks to each of you who have prayed, encouraged, and given so faithfully this last year.  We are trusting God to move these barriers so we can finish the final leg of this journey.

We are SOOOO close!  Yet still waiting on God to bring in the last few monthly commitments so that we can move forward with the paperwork, purchasing of tickets, securing housing, and saying goodbyes.  

Would you consider joining us on this 3 year marathon!
Gifts can be given on line at   www.WORLDVENTURE.com acct #731

or call/write:

 WorldVenture     1501 Mineral Ave,      Littleton, CO     80120-5612   

1-800-487-4224

We thank God for each of you and for each step of this journey!  
Brian & Patty   Nate, Heather, Caleb & Matthew

MARCH MADNESS!

Wow.. It's really March!
We're marching forward, step by step.
A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who helped make the benefit night a success.
It was fun and informative.  We hope those that came were encouraged by being there.
We'll update in a couple of days with some facts and numbers!

February Update!

"We love because He first loved us."  I John 4:19
Happy Valentines Day to Everyone!  
We've had a busy month since we last wrote. 
- Heather turned 16
- We had two wrestlers in house!
- Nate is getting closer each day to finishing his Eagle Scout Requirements!
- Family weekend away
- Hosted one "dessert night" where we shared the ministry vision in a home.
- Shared the ministry w/ at 2 local churches 
- Prepared for the "FAMILY BENEFIT NIGHT" on Feb 25. DON'T MISS IT!


We're encouraged that the monthly support commitments are at about 40%.
Thanks to everyone's encouragement along the way!  
We wouldn't be where we are without it!


Patty for all of us!
for our World Venture profile and donor information visit:


WorldVenture link

Brian and Patty's Profile

get some history on the Shiels

SAVE THE DATE - FEB 25 7-10 pm

Mark your calendar for this special Family fun night!
http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a6b324d7a557a4d544d3d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link

January update

Happy New Year to all our family and friends!  The week of Christmas found me up in Carmen, Manitoba visiting my parents and sister and her family.  It was great to spend some time with them all and get caught up on all the activities north of the boarder.

Patty and I are continuing to get the word out about the ministry opportunity at Hope Mountain!  We are speaking in churches and connecting with friends and family who are interested in partnering with us.  Currently we are at 40% of our monthly goal and have received 50% of our one-time set-up costs.  So we still have a ways to go!  But we are encouraged by so many that want to get involved and join us in this new venture!

We have a Family Night Benefit event planned  on Feb 25^th at First Baptist Church in Doylestown, PA.  We’ll have a Coffee House in the Fellowship Hall with live music and great eats!  At the same time we’ll have activities for kids of all ages in their gym.

We are also planning a used book sale/exchange at the event so come prepared to pick up some new reading material.

Please contact us if you are interested in learning more.

Brian and Patty Shiel