The

"Long" Awaited Update

I am sorry for not updating this blog sooner. To say we have been busy would be an understatement. Since my last post in late July we have mostly been on the road (and in the air). Our training schedule has been very busy and will continue to be that way for as far out as we can see. It sometimes means that we travel together while other times we travel separately. Although we prefer to travel together we are trying to be good stewards of our resources and time in a way that would accomplish everything that we believe God is calling us to do.

  Community Health Evangelism is expanding across Africa faster then we could have possibly hoped for. Through CHE, pastors are coming to realize that their calling goes far beyond their Sunday morning sermons. They are learning about how the Jesus has called us all to address a person's spiritual, physical, emotional and social needs. They have been trained to address the spiritual needs of their people but never had the tools to address their physical, emotional and social needs. They are seeing CHE as the tool to meet those needs and as the keys to opening the doors for sharing the gospel in their communities. As one man said "We are so glad that you have come to teach us that we are fully capable of solving our own problems and God has already provided the resources that we need to do so.  Why weren't we taught this in Bible school?" They are also asking for their wives to be trained in addressing the many issues that face women in African culture. Together these Pastor's and their wives are looking forward to ministering as a team in their communities. This is a whole new paradigm shift for Africa and we are very excited to be a part of what God is and will be doing through these leaders.

 What have we been up to?

     Since our last update, I have been to Uganda many times over the past three months where I have been meeting with the Evangelical Free Church of South Sudan leaders to help develop their organizational structure and develop their next five year goals. They are a great group of leaders and I am very encouraged by their maturity and motivation.

  August:

 I facilitated a Community Health Evangelism Vision Seminar for 20 pastors in Bujumbura Burundi. Some of the participants came from as far away as Congo. They have asked for me to come back and give them the full CHE training so that they can expand the ministries in their areas. They have also asked for Holly to come and train their wives in CHE and the Womens Cycle of Life training.

 I facilitated two Community Health Evangelism Vision Seminars for Congolese Pastors in Nyrugusu Refugee camp and in Kigoma Town Tanzania. Although this is just an introduction to CHE, these Pastors and church leaders have already begun training other church leaders and Congolese refugees in what they have learned. They are ready for me to come back and give them the full CHE Training and for Holly to come and train their wives.

September:

Training Tanzanian Missionaries

  I continued the Bi-Vocational Pastors training with the Tanzanian pastors many of which have already put what they have learned into practice and begun small businesses to support their families and their ministries. A good example of their business creativity  is that one of the pastors began a ice making business. He purchased a freezer and went to all of the restaurants in his community to offer his service and create a business route. He now supplies ice to many of those restaurants and shops that want to sell cold sodas. He saw the need, did a market analysis and began his business. Some of the others have done similar small businesses. These are sharp guys.

   Holly spent a week in Chad training women on Womens Cycle of life. The training was very well received and Holly was very encouraged by their participation in the training.

October:

  We took a couple of weeks of vacation time to relax as a family with Holly's parents. No internet and no email! Just family! It was a much needed, very relaxing and restful time.

  Upon our return home we trained a group of Tanzanian missionaries, who are working with the Maasai in how to implement the Community Health Evangelism strategy into their ministries. This was an amazing time with amazing people. Our overall goal is to have National's reaching out to National's. These guys are doing just that! PTL

Shelter Cove Team after landing in Nimule

  Immediately following that training, Holly and I boarded  our flight to Entebbe Uganda where we prepared to receive a team of 6 peole from Shelter Cove Community Church in Modesto Ca. After completing the two day process of getting our visas for South Sudan we all boarded a small airplane "Cessna Caravan" and headed off to Nimule South Sudan where the team facilitated four different trainings for 20 Sudanese pastors and their wives. Three of the team members conducted an in-depth analytical approach to studying the bible and effective sermon preparation. These pastors have never had this kind of training and were very blessed by Garth, Scott and Walters training. Holly Joy and Lori  conducted a training on the Womens Cycle of Life for the pastors wives. This is the first time in the history of the EFCSS that Pastors and their wives have been brought together for this type of conference. One of the women told me, every day, "This has never happened before, I love this". Myself and Mike conducted and introduction to Community Health Evangelism and What is a Bi-vocational Pastor. These Pastors and their wives had a very full five days.

November:

Vision Seminar in Mundri South Sudan

  As soon as the Shelter Cove team left for the states I met up with another team from an organization called NeverThirst and headed back to South Sudan where together we introduced the CHE strategy to the  community of Mundri. This training was very well received and I was asked to stay and complete all the trainings so that they could begin a CHE program now! One of the people in the training was a Member of Parliament government official. He was so impressed with the CHE strategy and teaching style that he wants to implement CHW at a government level. He sees it as a very effective and new way to approach the communities about their Spiritual, Physical, Social and Emotional health. This is a great opportunity for the Gospel to be shared to a huge number of people.

   When the Shelter Cove team left Holly headed off to the US to speak at the Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville Kentucky and to meet with coworkers to discuss a new program that we will be starting in Congo this March. She will be returning tonight. Yay!



As I said, We have not been letting any grass grow under our feet. God is truly blessing our efforts and many Godly leaders are ready to begin reaching out to their communities in ways that they never imagined.  God is so good!

   We are blessed to be here in a time when ministry is changing for those who we are working with; Pastors are wanting their wives to work alongside them, Bi-vocational pastoring is becoming a reality for many pastors who were living at a poverty level below those in their congregation, Pastors are getting the training that they need to effectively preach the gospel, Communities are seeing the need for taking ownership of their own problems and not waiting for someone else to come solve their problems for them... the list goes on!

Thank you for your prayers and for partnering with us. Many of you give sacrificially every month so that we can be here and we appreciate your commitment to our ministry. Its only because of your prayers and support that we can be here.

Brief Home assignment    January 2nd - Febuary 6th 2013

   We are scheduled to come home for our Home Assignment (furlough) this summer but because of Devin's year round school schedule we have determined that it would not be wise to take him out of school for the summer. Because of this we have been given permission to come home in January and try to accomplish as much as we can in this short period of time. Below is our schedule and prayer requests for the things that we will need to accomplish while there.

CHE Conference!
  Initially we will be attending the Global CHE Network Conference in the Phoenix area. Holly will be Speaking about the Womens Cycle of Life program and I will be attending in place of our Africa leader Kevin Kompelien. My official title will be "ReachGlobal Africa Representative."  Sounds impressive doesn't it?

 Looking for help!
  Because of the rapid growth of our Community Health Evangelism ministry we are looking for one or two couples who might consider joining our team here in Africa. Please pray that God will connect us with the people that he has been preparing for this ministry.

Raising Support!
  Along with ministry growth comes cost. God has blessed us with all of our needs and we trust that He will continue to do so. We also believe that we need to be transparent with you as to what those needs are. Our expenses each month are exceeding our income. We are required to raise all of our training costs and everything that is associated with those trainings. This is a good need to have because it means that our ministry is growing. While in the US we will need to raise our support level so that we can continue ministering in the areas where God has called us. Please pray that God will provide through His people $800 per month to bring us back into the black and to maintain the growth of our ministry. $800 seems like a difficult task to complete in such a short amount of time  but we know that it's really nothing in Gods economy!

Other Needs:

Vehicle Maintenance!
  Our vehicle is 21yrs old and in need of repair. One of our workers says that I spend more time doing repairs than I spend driving it. I think he might be right!  Unfortunately, the parts are getting harder to find and getting more expensive.  We aren't looking for a new vehicle but to maintain the one that we have. At this point the transmission is in need of replacement, the AC needs replacement parts and the diesel injector pump needs to be replaced.

Devin's Schooling!
  At the end of Devin's 10th grade year of High School we had to make a very difficult decision to send Devin (at his request) to Rift Valley Academy in Kenya. The schools here in Tanzania operate on the British system and for someone that has spent their life in the western school system it can prove to be a challenging transition to the British system. Devin tried very hard, for two years, to adjust and just could not do it. His grades were failing as well as his self esteem. After much prayer and many tears, in August we  took Devin to begin his first year at RVA. Since August he has maintained an A,B average and loves the boarding school life. This was an expense that we never expected, or planned for, when we came to the field. The cost per year for school and boarding at Rift Valley Academy is $6000. The cost for Devin to attend  HOPAC (Haven of Peace Academy) here in Dar es Salaam was $2000 per year. We need to raise an additional $4000.00 for Devins Senior year.


Thank you for your prayers in the above areas.

Travel schedule 

Jan 2-6 Seattle
Jan 8-11 Phoenix
Jan 11- 28 San Jose/Modesto
Jan 28- Feb 3 Indiana
Feb 3-6  open (Possible East Coast)
All dates are subject to change according to requests (this is just a rough draft)

We would love to meet with you for coffee and share, in person, what God is doing through our ministry. Please e-mail us to schedule a date and time. Tony.Freitas@ efca.org

If you would like to become a part of our support team then you can send your tax free donation to:

EFCA Donor Services 901 East 78th Street Minneapolis, MN 55420-1300  Note on the memo line Freitas #1647

                                             OR

YOU CAN GIVE ONLINE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW...... (at the bottom of the blog page)