Going, Going, ........ Gone

Everyone is gone. Spread throughout the world- sharing the Gospel. This is the work that they have been preparing for. They have been working non-stop for two months to be equipped to take these trips. The anticipation of hearing their stories is almost unbearable! I am SO anxious to see them all again-- and they have not even been gone a week :)
Nate and Chris made it safely to Bangladesh. They have limited internet- so we haven't heard too much from them.
The rest of the bunch left Saturday for Comalcalco, Tabasco, MX. (outside of Villahermosa)
I haven't heard from any of them, so I assume that they have yet to find internet.

We walked up to the kitchen yesterday.
No one was there.
So we went into town and had $0.84 fish tacos.
They were delish.

When we got home, no one was here.

Three more weeks and we're leavin' for Oregon!!


"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah"
Psalm 46:10-11

One more Update!

I forgot to mention that ALL of the expenses for the Students' trips came in- and they ALL get to participate! Praise God! One month ago, there were only 2 or 3 who knew for sure that they could go. Thank you for your gracious donations!!! And Thank you Lord for providing for us, and stretching our surplus!!

November?

The sun is shining, and it is 81 degrees outside. Doesn't feel like any November that I have ever experienced. I am LOVING every minute of it. We have been here for 16 weeks! Can you believe it?!
The semester is winding down, and so is the year! In 5 days, we will have an empty Ranch with the exception of our family. We have had close to 100 different people visit us since July.
What-A-Blessing!
I don't think that Google allows enough storage for me to list the ways that the Lord has blessed us since then! This adventure has been over and above anything we could have ever expected- and the year isn't even over yet!
Our Students will be leaving for Villahermosa, Mexico on Saturday. They will be ministering to over 100 Mexican Pastors there. Pray for their safety, health, and obedience. Nate and Chris will leave Thursday for Bangladesh. They will be ministering there for two weeks, and then they go on to Uganda for a visit with the McCourneys for two weeks. They have a LOT of traveling to do this month, and will need your prayers for safety, health, rest, and sensitivity to the Spirit! Also pray for Memorie and the girls, as they are in Oregon, missing Nate, and will no doubt be struggling with worry while he is overseas. Also pray for our Students as they go home. You can't imagine how difficult it will be for them to go back to "normal" life at home.
I am so excited to hear about how these two trips go, and what all happens while they are all gone! But I am overwhelmingly sad that our friends will be leaving here, and some may not return next semester. We don't know who will be staying here in January, but we know that the Lord will send them, and it will be a blessed semester as well!
I am also SO VERY excited to go visit in Oregon at the end of the month!!! We will leave here on November 30th, and be in Oregon for two weeks. The kids are so excited that they could explode. They are going to make a countdown chain today :) They miss their Moog and Gump like no one's business! (they haven't gotten to skype with them at all), and they can't stop talking about all of the people that they are going to stay overnight with ;). I miss RCF like crazy. I underestimated the impact that moving away from my church would have on me. I can't wait to see everyone, to sit in on Phil's teaching (in person- and not just over the net ;), and Dorie better remember to schedule me for the Coffee Shop- cause I am in dire need of some serious Espresso construction AND consumption!
As far as happenings updates:
David shaved Austin's head.

That's right. Bald Austin. Very, ummm, different.

Ryan shaved Asa's head. :-( Boo Hoo..... no more blonde locks. But he loves it- and he is Brothers with Austin ;),

so what else would you expect.
Samson ate his first animal: a Jackrabbit that Nate shot. He loved it. He became carnivorous, and will hopefully start to hunt the rabbits himself (pesky buggers!)

!!!FELIZ CUMPLIANOS!! to our niece Katherine!!! She turned 5 yesterday!! We are sorry we had to miss your Peter Pan Party, Katie- but we will see you in 28 days!!!
Well.... new pics are up, and I am off to read in the sun :-D

http://picasaweb.google.com/home

Bendiciones! ><> Shae

New Friends, and a New View

SO much to catch up on!!!
Phil and Susie were her on Tuesday the 12th, through Saturday the 16th. SO awesome to get to show them what has been going on here! Susie hadn’t been here in years. In fact-- there are twice as many buildings here now as there were the last time she was here :-)
Phil taught the students Wednesday- Friday, so Mem and I got to visit a lot with Susie. It is SUCH an encouragement to have people here from home! You guys have no idea how much it blesses us! More than anything, we want you all to feel like this is YOUR base, and you are all welcome here anytime, and we hope that you all come- at some point- to see first-hand what goes on here.
We took Phil and Susie back up to San Diego to get their car on Saturday. They had left their car at the home of an old friend of mine (and theirs), Ira! It was SO awesome to see her, and meet her husband and her boys, and see her incredibly cute pregnant belly (a little girl this time!) and her amazing home! We hope to be able to visit with JK and Ira again soon! Plus- they sent us home with a baby banana tree!!! And a dragon fruit plant!! SO awesome! After visiting with the Shea’s ;) for a while, we got to go spend a gift we were given: TICKETS TO SEA WORLD! We had a blast- and the kids were stoked, and we enjoyed just being off base for a while. Thank you SO much!!! (You know who you are ;-D)
Whew! That was a full week in itself-- but little did we know at the time, what was to come!
We hurried to get the base together for the next wave of guests who arrived on Tuesday night (the 19th). Mem, the students, and I got together beds and accommodations for 40 people, while the guys left for the States early Tuesday to run errands, then meet up with the three groups of people coming from different directions so they could guide everyone in. ~ might I add, that it rained so hard, from 6:00am to sometime Wednesday morning, that we had a river running through our ranch, a lake out front, and a moat around the triplex!! It wiped out our driveway, and flooded our 5th wheel. We couldn’t dry any laundry, so we made do with what we had clean. Plus, the students had slept in tents on Monday night, to make room for guests, and their blankets got soaked, and so we had to run them through the ONE dryer that we have here so that they would have dry bedding. THEN we had to move some sleeping plans around, so we could fit all the kids back indoors so they would be dry. It all worked out- piece’a cake, and there was plenty of room :).
Ryan met up with the RCF van and brought it over, then Nate and Danny met up with both, the group from Phoenix, and the group who flew in. The RCF team came in--in the POURING rain-- at 5:30, and Nate and Danny came through later, guiding the other vans. They had car trouble in Tecate, and it took them a few extra hours to get here, but by midnight, we had 46 people on base! My idea of fun!
I could go on for hours and pages about everything that happened this week. It was amazing, and eye-opening. We experienced a taste of WHY it is that we are here, and it was an answer to prayers for many of us. We heard the testimony of a man from a country in Africa. Most of us have never even heard of this little country, but there are 3 million people there who are going to hell. The citizens are required to practice Islam, and they are a nearly 100% Muslim Nation. There is a new underground church of over 1,200 Christians spread around the nation. It is highly illegal, and not at all accepted for the Christians to profess their faith, own a bible, or speak of Jesus. They worship in secret, they pray in secret, and some of the leaders live in secret. Our Friend lives in secret. His family is often in hiding. His dear friend, and mentor, who was the first known Christian in this country, was brutally beaten to death this year. Our friend was thrown in prison, and beaten too. His back was fractured, and he believes that Jesus himself , or an angel of God stepped into that prison and took the beating for him- otherwise he would be dead. Still- he spends all of his energy seeking to save the souls of his lost countrymen.
We also met a man named Billy Graham Paulose-- the son of Moses Paulose, whom some of you know. He has a thriving ministry in India. He himself has been beaten, stoned, and had human feces thrown on him for the sake of the Gospel. He is an energetic evangelist, who is amazingly joyful and hilarious! Even though he lives in an area of extreme poverty, immorality, and Hinduism. He sees his friends beaten, burned and murdered for their faith. Yet he is daily seeking to further the Gospel in India!
We saw the deep faith, and love for our God in the lives of our Romanian brothers too! The Romanian church (which is, btw, ALL over the world- including the US!) is full of passionate believers. These 12 guys came from Arizona, and Texas, and Oregon to see what this MBS school is all about. They are all involved in the furthering of the Kingdom in Europe, Asia, and Africa. They were so excited to see that we are training up people to go out and bring the Gospel to these places. They have seen the need first-hand!
~Also, if you ever meet a Romanian: expect to be invited to stay the night, to be fed, and to be sent away with food!!! These guys know hospitality!! And their wives and Mamas can BAKE!! I’m telling’ you!~
The sun came out for the rest of the conference, and it has been fairly warm this weekend. We didn’t exactly get to greet them with warm Mexican sunshine- but that’s OK ;-)
our foreign almost froze to death I think, considering that they are from the Sahara desert, and India, but they survived. And this is my PSA for you to ALL go to listen to them speak while they are in Roseburg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is not a suggestion-- it is a COMMAND!! Your life will be changed!! I mean it!!
Our friend from Africa will be at RCF on Wednesday night. GO!!!!!
You will have a new perspective of missions-- I promise!!
The Lord opened my eyes to the magnitude of the MBS training going on here, and it’s importance. This place is making a difference, and God is using us to help do it! This is just the beginning of the HUGE things that are going to go on concerning our ranch. This is a BIG deal guys!! GET INVOLVED!! However God is calling you!! We have the system set up here to reach millions with the Word of God! If you have any questions, or are still confused about what exactly is going on here-- email me! If you are interested in spending some time here-- Email me!! If you are interested in the school--Email me-- If you want to support a missionary--email me!! If you want to know what you can do -- EMAIL ME!! And go Wednesday night to RCF and listen to Our Friend speak. Thank you for reading my ramblings! And thank you for waiting two weeks for an update! And THANK YOU for your prayers always!! Pray for Our Friends as they are in the States. Pray for their families as they are back home! And pray for the church in Africa, as they are ALWAYS in danger, and there is persecution going on daily!!!
Praise God that we had an awesome week and everything went well. Praise God that everyone made it home safely. And praise God that our students are all fired up!! Pray for them as they will all leave in two- three weeks to go to Tabasco, Mexico (where over 100 Mexican pastors are expected to come for training!!), or Bangladesh (East of India-- almost 90% Islamic!!).

Lots of new pictures up: http://picasaweb.google.com/steffensenfaminmexico/ConferenceWeek#

Until next week!!
><> Shae

When I was in high school, my teachers were frustrated with me. Their job was to prepare me for "life". To encourage me to plan for my future. College mainly.
But I just wanted to be a mom. A wife. A homemaker. After all, I was already engaged when I was 17.
Turns out- I'm not really very good at it.
I am much better at capturing nostalgia in a photograph than teaching a 4 year old why he should obey me.
I can make a killer cup of Java. But I fail everyday at teaching my 8 year old why she should be respectful.
I can turn a piece of fabric into any of a thousand different functional little articles. But at the end of the day,
I am pretty sure I have not done a single thing to properly train up my children.
That is where God's grace comforts me. He just paves the way for us, and asks us to be obedient in the way we go, IN FAITH!
I know that He called me to this job. HE will equip me. I WILL see fruit of my labor! I have seen it for the past 8 years..... It just doesn't show up overnight. I know that.
If I stop and think about His parenting is going.... then my picture isn't so very different!
What a bunch of disobedient, disrespectful, unfaithful kids He has!! And He is perfect at it!
God uses earthly pictures to represent spiritual truths..... and this one is a biggie!
Just like marriage-- our parenting is a picture of our relationship with Him. He lovingly corrects, and redirects- until one day, after much disobedience, He has to outright discipline! I don't know about you, but in my life, He has had to do some serious disciplining at times!
Again,
and again
and again
and again..........
Jude 1:21 "keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."
Thank the Lord that we have HIS mercies!!
1Cr 10:31 " Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Col 3:17 " And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. "
Col 3:23 "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,"
Psa 127:3-4 " Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We had a big week on the Ranch! We had RAIN!!!
On Wednesday, we had a minor malfunction with our pump at the well. A valve broke and so the well water was being pumped into the creek bed instead
of the pila for who-knows-how-long. We only found this out when we had used all of the water that was in the pila already :) So Ryan did what he does
and got it fixed. We turned the pump back on at 10:00pm Wednesday night.
From 2:00am Thursday morning, until the next morning, we had constant rolling thunder, intermittent lightning, and off and on pouring rain.
It was QUITE a show! The kids were loving it! It was 80 degrees out and pouring fat drops of warm rain. AND THEN-
The loudest clap of thunder with simultaneous lightning right in front of my face! The bolt hit a transformer on a power pole
at the edge of our neighbors property- maybe 200 yards from my porch! So we- of course- lost power :)
So we had had a good 9 hours of water pumping into the well, and figured that the power guys would most likely be DAYS before they got all the way out here
to fix it. So we went on water conservation mode (5 minutes showers, no laundry washing, if its yellow..... you get the idea).
We went to the market and got ice for all of the refrigerators, and some groceries. We saw a group of guys on the road pointing flashlights at various power lines, and
Luis was able to tell them where it had hit, and by the time Mem and I got back with the groceries, our half of the
compound had the power back on! After only 5 hours! And a few hours later, the power on the east end came back on too.
So we had ourselves a little scare, but the Lord had mercy on us :). We were beginning to think we might actually learn what "roughing it" actually means ;)
We buy our drinking water, so we would have been fine in that department, but we would have ran out of washing water, and gone without lights, fans, a phone, or internet for a while.
Praise the Lord we have had fairly mild weather the rest of the week :)

Nate left for Acapulco for a week on Sunday, so the past few days have been work days for the students. They are helping get the base ready for the next couple weeks
full of guests, and for this weekend when Pastor phil and Susie get here :-D YAY! SO excited to see them! They are also helping Ryan get our front yards ready to plant
some grass! I can't wait to have grass! A little piece of home, and a barrier for the massive amounts of dust and dirt that get tracked into ours houses!

Taiah, Asa and I have been plugging away at school. Asa is very interested in school this year- which I didn't think would be the case until he was much older. He is learning
the rest of his letters and numbers by sight, and sound. Taiah is doing her work most days without a huge fight ;) We are going to start our study on Uganda soon, and
she is very excited about that. She has also been learning Spanish- and she seems to be picking it up quickly, and teaching it to Asa.

If you didn't get a chance to see the video Nate put together, her is the link to it on YouTube...check it out! (and see if you can find me and Mem in it ;). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P4UCY4opOk

Also, NEW photos up! http://picasaweb.google.com/steffensenfaminmexico/FunInMX?feat=directlink

Hasta a Lunes! ><> Shae

Just a little tid bit

I wanted to add to my post a little, something the Lord has been putting on my heart.

We have 7 young adults here. They have left their "lives" at home, and come here for three months to study Missions. For most (if not ALL) of them, this means that their reserve is dwindeling. A couple of these students are here on sponserships from gracious donors. Others have worked to pay their way here. Either way, they are all only here for this semester. They have to go home to work in between semesters to hopefully make enough to pay for the next one. The whole program is 3 semesters long.
Also, we have a big Missions conference going on here in October. A huge oportunity for men and women to come from all over the globe to learn from Missionaries from all over the globe.

That being said-- If you have prayerfully considered sponsering a missionary-- now is the time to get started :) These men and women are already trying to gain the knowledge and experience to be sent out! They need support now too!
The tuition for MBS is $500 per month, which covers all living expenses. Plus they will serve on a Mission trip to apply what they have learned at the end of each semester, which will be in addition to tuition.

You can contact Roseburg Christian Fellowship at 541-672-7222, or by mail @
1376 Walnut, Roseburg, OR 97470
Or you can contact us at 541-767-8068, or by mail @
PMB# 617
2220 Otay Lakes Rd. #502
Chula Vista, CA
91915

Please mention whether you are wanting to sponsor a student of the MBS training @ Rancho Tres Cruces, or someone wanting to travel here on October 17th for the Y4K conference.
Thanks for keeping us in prayer!

Harvest Moon

The moon was already full again.
I remember laying in bed, just a few days after we came here, looking out the window at the full moon. It was HUGE, and shone so bright over the crosses, that I could see forever all around the valley. And I felt very alone.
I remember feeling like I was in a boat, with a raging sea outside. I had this uneasy anxiety about being in the country, alone, where there are coyotes, and strange bugs, and banditos, and dirty police. We are 30 minutes from a hospital, and don't even speak the language- if we were to have to go there. We are 3 hours from my home country, and a two day journey from my family- and everything I have ever known.
I lay there thinking about my children. How there are so many ways that they could be harmed.

I can honestly say that that is the only time I have had fear and doubt like that here. I asked God to comfort me. I plead for Him to give me peace. I asked Him to protect my family. And this is what He said:
"but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice." 2 Kings 17:36
God made me slep that night, and I woke up feeling at home here. It has now been two months since that day.
I can't really say that I feel "homesick" very often. I love it here! And it feels normal to me.
I can, however, say that I feel like I am missing out. Big Time.
I missed my baby brother becoming an adult.
I missed my baby sister's twentieth birthday.
I missed the county fair with my mom.
I missed camping with my family.
I miss RCF EVERY week.
I miss my coffee shop.
I feel like life is going on without us.
That is how I feel right now.

------------------------------------------------------
On to the happenings at the Base:
It has been over 100 degrees for 3 days now.
We have mild weather for a few weeks, then we make up for it :)
Rumor has it, that it will be very hot for a while. I love Mexico :)


Andy Taylor- pastor of a small church in Bridge, OR- came to teach the MBS for a week.
He arrived here on Monday night. And so did my Dad and Step-Mom. And so did Samson- our new Belgian Malinois Puppy.
All of that made for a fun week. From showing my parents our home here, and what we do from day to day- to trying to train our puppy to stay out of the house, and not to whine at night- to sitting on the beach and listening to our students practice defending their faith to eachother.
I think that when people come down to visit (especially people who have been on mission trips before), they get a different perspective of the mission field. It isn't all hustle and bustle like it is when you are part of a team, visiting for a couple weeks, with a full schedule of events and work projects. We live here. It is normal day to day life most of the time. We have weeks where we are crazy busy (mostly just when we have Mission Teams here :).... but most of the time, we are just plugging along. Praying for the work that God is doing in the hearts and minds of our students. Keeping the place running.
In fact- Mem and I were just talking about how it is weird to think that we are dubbed Missionaries. We just live here. We all have jobs similar to the ones we had back home. But if I stop to look at the long run-- we are Missionaries. We are furthering the Gospel! Our little ranch here will nurture and equip men and women who will in turn bring the Gospel to Nations. To people who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ! The information being learned here is vital in the furthering of the Gospel. We keep this base running, in order to keep the vision moving. Our students will go out (some to Southern Mexico, some to Bangledesh, and eventually Africa, Asia, Russia, Romania, India......) bringing the information that they have learned here- and equip Pastors all over the world to nurture their flocks.
So-- we are a part of the process. Just as YOU are a part of the process!! WE would not be here, if it weren't for you!

I Cor. 12:4-27
"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
For in fact the body is not one member but many.
If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?
If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?
But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.
And if they were all one member, where would the body be?
But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.
And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.
And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty,
but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it,
that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."

See!! We are all a part of it!

Well I am sorry that you had to wait an extra week for my update :-)
Hopefully you all missed me ;)

It will be OCTOBER when you hear from me again! Wow! Where did time go?!

until then--
Bendiciones!

><> Shae
PS. I will have new photos up in a few!