Rob and Amy Ellis Missionaries serving in Tanzania! 50 pages; 26 days
Hello Everybody! Well, we finally got our visa applications in. The good news is that it only cost us half of what we thought it would cost us! The other good news is that we had almost all the paperwork that we needed with us in order to get our applications in. Our application package was made up of almost 50 pages of documentation; birth certificates, marriage certificate, passports, diplomas, ordination certificate, etc. Praise the Lord for the wisdom of my wife because she had pretty much everything that we needed here with us. The one document that we did not have with us my Mom was able to find it in a closet within 5 minutes while I led her to it over the phone! Praise the Lord for that too. Now we are simply waiting for the application to go through and get approved. Please be in prayer during this process for two specific things: 1) That our visas are approved. 2) That our visas are approved before our arrival on the 4th of March. We’ll keep you posted if we get any word back anytime soon.
Thanks for keeping up with us. The countdown is officially at 26 days until our departure for Tanzania!
New Year Update
The Fish Bed
Alabama…we made it! Well, what a whirlwind of activity our last few weeks have been. We finished Pageant. We packed up our stuff and cleaned up the house we had been house-sitting since June. We had Christmas at Rob’s Mom and Dad’s. We neatly (yeah right) put most of our stuff into storage while we are away in Alabama. Now we are getting settled into an efficiency apartment that has been provided to us, and we are exceedingly thankful. Here are some pictures of the apartment. We have decided to affectionately call it “The Fish” instead of home or the apartment. (Get it? The Fish, as in e-fish-ency apartment.) We like to keep things fun…you know…for the kids.
The Fish Table
We will be here in Alabama for about 5 weeks and we are so excited about spending this time with our family, friends, churches, supporters, and anyone else who would like to be a part of this team to reach Tanzania. 5 Weeks may seem like a long time, but this time is going to fly by.
In terms of our plans for leaving, we are on-schedule to depart on the 2nd of March. I guess we should start some sort of countdown…maybe Facebook is the venue for that. We still need our visas, so pray for that process please.
The Fish TV and Pullout Couch
In terms of financial support, we currently get 70% of what we need each month. We are confident that God will provide us 100% of what we need each month. We are praying that we will be at 100% of the recommended support before we leave for Tanzania. If you want to be a part of the team, please contact us. Please pray for more financial partners. Please pray for our spiritual growth these weeks as we learn to deal with so many changes. Please pray for our kids to enjoy this time in Alabama and begin to understand/accept all the changes we must go through. Oh, and please pray that we will have a place to stay in Fort Lauderdale between 8 Feb and 2 March.
The Fish Recliner
While we are in Fort Lauderdale in Feb, we are planning a yard sale so start saving your pennies now and plan on coming out to take advantage of some great ‘going away’ deals.
Tags: Alabama, Family, friends, prayer, supporters, Tanzania
WE HAVE TICKETS!!! (and luggage…)
Here we are with some of our luggage (Amy and I have silver and black). We all got to pick out the color we wanted and it was lots of fun!
Hi Everybody! We have our tickets to Tanzania! After working for weeks with a travel agency that specializes in missionary travel, we have purchased our tickets. As it turns out, the five of us can each have two checked bags (up to 50 lbs) and a carry on. They also allow a stroller and car seats. We have the option to go online and add extra weight allowances to all of our bags for a fee, which we are considering, but the total for the tickets was just $3,607! We were so excited to hear that the tickets were a little cheaper, the baggage allowance was more than expected, and we can do several things online before we actually depart. We can also pick our seating online now that our tickets are issued!
We knew that we did not want to put several large charges like tickets and luggage on our credit card without knowing for sure if we’d be able to pay it off. Our God has done an incredible thing in providing us with funds to purchase the tickets and get some luggage. That means that we can pay off the credit card bill in full—no wasted $$ in fees! Now we are in the process of raising funds for all of our set-up costs; housing, possibly some furniture, maybe a vehicle, some culturally appropriate clothing, telephone and communication equipment, and we don’t even know what else. But the Lord knows! We’re just so excited that things are moving so well in the direction of Tanzania!
We want all of you to know that God is so good. It could have been a much more difficult process, but the Lord decided to make it easy and bless us. We know that there will be lots of challenges ahead, but it is the memory of these special times and the steadfast lovingkindness of our God that will sustain us in those hard times. Psalm 77:11 says, “I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.” And another cool thing is seeing the Lord use so many of you to make this team what it is. Amy and I get such a special privilege seeing God use so many of you, and knowing that we are just one part of such a larger body! We all have to work together! We love you all and can’t wait to share more news next time…we may have some news on our visas…please pray for that process!
Tags: baggage, blessing, fees, funds, God, luggage, partnerships, prayer, remember, set-up costs, Tanzania, team, tickets, visa application
Travel Costs
Now for the fun part!!! We want everyone to know how exceptionally, exceedingly, abundantly, awe-inspiring our God is! The Pastor challenged the church to raise the funds to cover the cost of our tickets. Putting it into perspective, we are expecting the tickets, taxes, baggage fees, etc, to push the cost over $4,000. Some of the funds had already started trickling in, we had about $1,000 before Sunday, Nov. 14th. But Oh the expanse of the wisdom and love of our God! The congregation gave more than enough to cover the cost of our travel! How can we do anything but praise the Lord!
Amy and I agree that the coolest part was seeing how MANY people decided to be a part of this ministry by giving. We actually don’t know how many people because of all the different ways that the funds came in, but it is probably around 300 or 400 people. It really encouraged us to see that many people catching the vision of reaching people in Tanzania, wanting to be a part, and responding to God’s leading. Another wonderful blessing we received was being able to read the sweet notes of encouragement and support written on numerous envelopes. We were touched very deeply when we opened two envelopes that simply held pocket change. Probably a young child who saw a need and wanted to give what they could. I pray that someday our children will be that responsive to the needs of others. And we pray for the Lord to bless all those that gave in order to get us to Tanzania.
So, what’s next on the agenda??? We get to pick up the phone and purchase our AIRLINE TICKETS!!! WOOHOO!!!
Our Ordination and Commissioning
Amy and I during the ordination and commissioning
I was not expecting to get 'emotional'...
Hello brothers, sisters, friends, co-laborers! Well, last Sunday was a very special day. Amy and I went to church early on Sunday in order to meet with the Pastors and Deacons; they got to hear all about our desire to reach Tanzania and they prayed over us. This was the first in a series of prayers where Amy and I really felt ‘enveloped’ by the Spirit of God. After our meeting, Amy went to rehearse for her special song that she sang during the service while I set up our ‘missionary’ table in the parlor since they held a reception for us after the service.
During the church service, the pastor brought us up on stage and told the congregation all about us, about New Tribes Mission, and about Tanzania. He also mentioned that we were raising funds for our plane tickets and challenged the congregation to give in order to cover those costs. Then they prayed for us again, and it was very, very mighty! I know that the Lord will bring to mind those special prayers in the years ahead.
Then, Amy sang her song “Let My Life Light Up” and it was really fantastic. The cool thing was most of our family didn’t know she would be singing so they were surprised and a lot of the congregation didn’t know what a spectacular voice the Lord has given her. So, if you want to see the ordination follow the link below. Our part is about 18 minutes into the service so slide the video time bar to 18 minutes and enjoy!
For the rest of the story (how did the church respond to the pastor’s challenge)…you’ll have to wait until our next blog (which will not be far behind!).
Tags: link, ordination, prayer, Spirit, Tanzania
We’re Ready For the Next Step!
Hi Everybody!
Here are Amy, Shelbyanne, Emily, Rob, & Donovan!
It’s been a while since we updated you, but we have some great news! Lately we have been investigating flight itineraries to get us from Florida to Tanzania. We found a really fantastic itinerary and we are hoping to purchase tickets soon. Here are some of the great things about these tickets: For starters, the total is just under $4,000 for all 5 of us! We have two direct flights, only one layover! We arrive in Tanzania in the morning, instead of the middle of the night! And best of all…we’ll be in Tanzania!!!
Honestly, we are so very excited and we are anxiously awaiting for God to provide the funds to purchase these tickets. What an exciting time and an adventure. Seeing God moving us closer and closer has been such a blessing. It also has been a huge blessing to partner with y’all in reaching Tanzania. We are learning that the Lord does not need us, but allows us to work with Him. Well, we couldn’t do it by ourselves, so thanks to all of you for your part in this partnership. We need your multi-faceted support to get us there and running. Please pray that the funds are provided soon so we can purchase these tickets!
Would you consider partnering with us to reach Tanzania? Go to http://blogs.ntm.org/rob-ellis/give/.
NTM has set up a special account specifically for our travel and start-up costs. If you would like to give for these areas specifically, please designate any funds that you contribute accordingly. If you are ready to partner with us and support us on a monthly basis, you don’t need to designate those funds in any way.
Thanks again and we look forward to bringing you more updates very shortly. Maybe next blog will be about all the shots we have to have to go to Tanzania! Youch!
The only thing that remains the same is…”Change”!
WE DID IT! Our training is complete, although we will never stop being learners. We have graduated from the Missionary Training Center and transitioned into the next phase of our ministry, partnership development. We have been students for the past 3 & 1/2 years, so to not have to go to any classes or do any “homework” has been an adjustment.
We have moved from Missouri to Alabama to visit with family, friends, and supporters. We will head to Florida in May, changing houses several times while we are there. Shelbyanne will start kindergarten in August of this year. I can’t believe how much she has grown. She was one year old when we started our training at the New Tribes Bible Institute in Jackson, MI, and now she is 4 & 1/2. Time definitely flies by when you are having fun and staying busy. Then in the early months of 2011 we hope to begin our ministry in Tanzania. We are not sure what that will look like as of yet, but we are excited to be heading in that direction and doing our part to expand the reach of the Gospel in Africa.
Please contact us if you would like to hear more about what God is doing in our lives and ministry.
Blessings in Serving Jesus,
Amy for the Ellis Family
…Joining the Job Fair
The local high school has a job fair each year for the graduating seniors. NTM’s Missionary Training Center was invited this year to set up a booth along with other local businesses, Government organizations, and more. We were asked to set up and man the booth for the evening.
We had several students who stopped by because they were either friends with teens from the New Tribes campus or they were just being polite. However, the most interesting response we got were from a few of the…
…PARENTS. There were a couple of moms that we connected with. They commented that their children would soon be out of the home and they were looking for something they could do. We were thankful for them taking a few minutes to talk with us.
No matter where we are in life, it is never too late to learn more about God through reading and studying the Bible. It is also never too late to share the good news of the Gospel of grace with those who have never heard.
We Found a Church!
Shelbyanne is excited about our new church.
Praise the Lord!
After a couple of months going to different churches to see where we would fit in best we have found our niche. We have gone to Community Baptist Church in Lebanon, MO. The people there are so warm and friendly. We are looking forward to getting involved in some of the ministries there when we return from visiting with family and friends over the Christmas and New Years Holiday.
Blessings,
Amy
