Raymond and Mary Ebbett

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Prayer Letter/Ministry Update

Home Assignment
January 24, 2013

Dear praying friends,

We arrived back in the States three weeks ago tomorrow and are enjoying our Home Assignment. We are currently traveling in the Mid Atlantic District and ministering in missions conferences in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. We are thrilled to be traveling together this time! It is always a joy to share the exciting things which God is doing in Spain, and even more so as we have the opportunity to minister together. We would appreciate very much your prayers over the next seven weeks. Please pray that:

We will minister in the power of the Holy Spirit
We will remain healthy in the midst of the flu season
We will be a blessing and encouragement to the people and churches we meet

We return "home" to the Atlanta, GA, area on March 18th. See down below in the Prayer Requests/Answers to Prayer section for some additional updated prayer requests for Spain.

THANKS AGAIN!
Thank you so much for both your prayers and for your faithful support of the Great Commission Fund. As you give to the GCF, you are touching the lives of countless others and furthering the work of the Kingdom of God. Without the foundational support provided by the GCF, our work in Spain and Italy, as well as the work of our other Alliance colleagues around the world, would not be possible. Thanks so much for your prayers, support and partnership in the Gospel!

Yours for the "spiritual greening" of Spain,
Raymond and Mary

_____________________________________________

Colmenar Viejo, Madrid
December 20, 2012

Dear praying friends,

As 2012 rapidly draws to a close, we want to thank you for your faithful prayers over this past year, and during the past two months in particular. This fall has been pretty intense but also full of blessing. We have definitely needed and felt your prayers. A few highlights and answers to prayer from November and December include the following:
-- Trips (both of us) to Barcelona and Granada to visit our international workers there
-- Annual national pastors and wives' retreat for Spain
-- Trip to Italy in November (Raymond) with our regional director to visit our local pastors and our new U.S. workers there
-- College of Prayer module/teaching in Madrid with Dr. Fred Hartley for our seminary students
-- The approval of several new families from Canada who should arrive in Spain next summer!
-- A much-needed week of vacation and rest
-- Preparations for our upcoming Home Assignment (January through June, 2013)

Investing in Leaders
Much of our ministry involves working with our national pastors. It is a tremendous privilege to serve alongside these dear brothers and sisters from a variety of different countries. It is exciting to see how God is at work, especially with the next generation of leaders that are being prepared in our new seminary. It is wonderful to see these future pastors and leaders learning to pray. The recent spiritual emphasis week and special teaching on prayer with pastor Fred Hartley was powerful and strategic. Spain and Western Europe in general is not exactly a spiritually responsive corner of the world. Ministry can be tough and the spiritual battle intense. Building a strong prayer foundation in the lives of our future leaders is critical.

Pray for our colleague Kurt Peters as he teaches a course in our seminary next month on spiritual health and well being in ministry. The goal is to see God use this as a launch point for some ongoing prayer groups among our students. Please continue to intercede as well for our pastors and their families in general. The disastrous economic conditions in Spain are putting extra pressure on all our churches and leaders, but at the same time opening up new doors of opportunity! In November our pastoral couples met together for their annual retreat. God met us in a wonderful way!

Upcoming Home Assignment Ministry
We would especially appreciate your prayers as we head back to the States very soon now--on January 5th! We are thrilled to be living once again in the greater Atlanta area where we can reconnect with family, as well as with our friends at the Lilburn Alliance Church. Here are a few specific requests:
-- Grace and strength: we need to finish a number of tasks before we travel back to the U.S.
-- Safe trip to Atlanta on January 5, 2013 (we will be in the States for six months)
-- Fruitful ministry as we both speak in missions conferences in the Mid-Atlanta District (January 19 to March 17). Write us for details.
-- Spiritual vitality, that we might truly minister in the power of the Spirit
-- Spiritual refreshment, recharging our batteries, physical rest, and a great Home Assignment in general
-- Wisdom in balancing responsibilities; Raymond will continue some work (email especially) as field director while in the U.S.

THANKS AGAIN!
Thank you so much for both your prayers and for your faithful support of the Great Commission Fund. As you give to the GCF, you are touching the lives of countless others and furthering the work of the Kingdom of God. Without the foundational support provided by the GCF, our work in Spain and Italy, as well as the work of our other Alliance colleagues around the world, would not be possible. Thanks so much for your prayers, support and partnership in the Gospel!

Yours for the "spiritual greening" of Spain,
Raymond and Mary

_____________________________

Colmenar Viejo, Madrid
October 27, 2012

Dear praying friends,

We never tire of saying "thank you so much for praying!" We have certainly felt your prayer support of late. These past five weeks (since our last update) have continued to be very full, with many blessings and answers to prayer, including:
-- Trip to Granada by Raymond to visit our staff there
-- 10-day trip to the States by Raymond for a regional leadership meeting, plus ministry in a couple of churches
-- Meetings with the national church committee and field leadership team here in Spain
-- Welcoming a new family of international workers to Spain! (Kim Peters and children finally arrived!)
-- Mary's participation in the National Church Ladies' Retreat
-- Our annual pastoral care retreat with fellow international workers was a tremendous blessing
-- Another worker, Linda Strecker, approved to come to Spain with Marketplace Ministries!

Advances in Italy
Good things are happening in Italy. This past weekend a new church plant was started in the city of Genoa, with some 30 people present. Some are Italians and others are Latin American immigrants. This is a joint effort between our existing church in Ancona and an Ecuadorian pastor here in Madrid, whose wife has an amazing number of family members and contacts in Genoa! Our churches in Spain have adopted Italy as a missions project and are sending short term teams to various cities in Italy on a recurring basis. Pray also for Doug and Naomi Ord, Alliance international workers from the U.S. who have been assigned to Italy after serving 32 years in Colombia. Last month we asked you to pray for their visas to be approved soon and they were. In fact, the Ords arrived in Italy today! (Administratively, the Ords will be part of the Spain field.)

Upcoming Events/Updated Items for Prayer
The Fall is always a busy time for us and we would appreciate your prayer support for health and strength, and for several special events and travels over the next two months in particular. Raymond has been a bit tired recently and we have a full schedule between now and January 5, when we are scheduled to return to the States for a six-month Home Assignment. We certainly count on and need your prayers. Here are some key updated requests:
-- Oct. 29-31 -- Visit to Madrid by a vision team, along with our former and current regional directors
-- Oct. 30-Nov 3-- Next Class of INFORMA seminary in Madrid, to be taught by Dr. John Healey, from Canada
-- Nov 4-7 -- Trip (both of us) to Barcelona to visit our international workers there
-- Nov 15 -- "Peacemaker" seminar in Madrid area with Rev. Tim Owen from the U.S. National Office
-- Nov 16-18 -- Annual national pastors and wives' retreat for Spain, with Rev. Tim Owen
-- Nov 23-29 -- Trip to Italy (Raymond) with our regional director to visit our local pastors and the Ords
-- Nov 29-Dec 1 -- College of Prayer module/teaching in Madrid with Dr. Fred Hartley for our INFORMA seminary students


THANKS AGAIN!
Thank you so much for both your prayers and for your faithful support of the Great Commission Fund. As you give to the GCF, you are touching the lives of countless others and furthering the work of the Kingdom of God. Without the foundational support provided by the GCF, our work in Spain and Italy, as well as the work of our other Alliance colleagues around the world, would not be possible. Thanks so much for your prayers, support and partnership in the Gospel!

Yours for the "spiritual greening" of Spain,
Raymond and Mary

__________________________

Colmenar Viejo, Madrid
September 20, 2012

Dear praying friends,

These past two months have been very full, with farewells for families heading on Home Assignment, with welcomes for new arrivals, plus quite a number of visitors in general -- from a variety of countries and continents! It has been a great, but at times rather intense, summer. Thank you so much for praying! As we take a deep breath and look ahead to the fall, here are several ways you can continue to partner with us in prayer.

"Wonderful" Paperwork!
We praise God for new workers headed our way, although this also entails the hassles of red tape and required paperwork for visas and residency cards. So it is a "wonderful" problem to have, so to speak. Our new workers headed both to Spain and to Italy have had their share of challenges in getting visas. Praise God that the visas for the Peters family from Canada have finally been approved. Kurt has already arrived and his wife, Kim, and their children should arrive in less than two weeks. Please continue to pray for the Peters in this time of transition, as well as for Steve and Claudia Irvin, and for the papers needed for their visas. We hope to see the Irvins arrive in Spain later this fall.

Advances in Italy
Good things are happening in Italy. Our pastors and leaders met again in September and are planning a new project for the city of Genoa. Two years ago most of these Alliance workers did not even know the others were in Italy! Now they are beginning to work together in a growing spirit of unity and enthusiasm, in spite of enormous challenges. Pray especially for Doug and Naomi Ord, Alliance international workers from the U.S. who have been assigned to Italy after serving 32 years in Colombia. They should arrive by mid to late October. Pray their visas will be approved soon. (Administratively, the Ords will be part of the Spain field.)

Upcoming Events and Travels
The Fall is always a busy time for us and we would appreciate your prayer backing for health and strength, and for several special events and travels over the next four weeks in particular. We also have quite a few visitors headed our way during the month of October.
-- Sept 25-27 Raymond visits our workers in Granada
-- Sept 28-Oct 8 Raymond travels to Seattle, WA for a leadership conference for our region, plus to minister in a couple of churches
-- Oct. 16-18 Our annual field Pastoral Care Retreat with Bob and Joan Galasso

THANKS AGAIN!

Thank you for your faithful support of the Great Commission Fund. As you give to the GCF, you are touching the lives of countless others and furthering the work of the Kingdom of God. Without the foundational support provided by the GCF, our work in Spain and Italy, as well as the work of our other Alliance colleagues around the world, would not be possible. Thanks so much for your prayers, support and partnership in the Gospel!

Yours for the "spiritual greening" of Spain,
Raymond and Mary

__________________________

Prayer Requests/Answers to Prayer

Tim Westergren is serving as the Assistant Field Director in Raymond's absence. Pray for him as he cares for a variety of details, in addition to his "regular" church planting responsibilities.

Steve and Claudia Irvin arrived in Spain on January 16th. Please pray for them as they find housing, purchase a car and make this transition to ministry in Spain.

Pray for Linda Strecker as she submits her visa application later this month. She will be ministering in the Cinderella's House project in Granada as a Marketplace Ministries worker. She plans to arrive in Spain in early February.

Three additional couples have been appointed to Spain from Canada. Praise the Lord! Pray for them as they apply for visas and plan to arrive during the summer months.

Additional prayer points for Spain:
Each month you can also find additional updated prayer needs on our Spain field website. (see link above, at right: "visit website")

Spain

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