Praying for our Basque Team & their friends

NOTE:  Derek & Mandy E. are with the IMB in the Basque Region.  Please include these specific participants in the evangelism weekend in which the Keller Team will be leading.

Dear Keller team,

I wanted to let you know we are excited to meet you all soon and we are praying for you!

The members we have signed up for our weekend are listed below, so you can pray for them:

1. Alan and Vanna, a couple of recent university students.  Alan is doing his internship with a technology company and Vanna is working at a technological company.  Don´t know much but they both have good English.  He has jsut recently started coming to a group.

2. Rachel - a young lady who studied computers and works nearby.  She actually called for our second weekend a year ago, but it was full!  So she is coming to this one.  young, friendly, with a bit lower level.  she is also coming to an english group weekly.

3. Anthony - a middle aged man with a university aged son and a teen age daughter.  He is very talkative, has a decent level of English and is really easy to be with because he likes to talk!  I meet with him about 2 times a month.  He doesn´t need to learn English but works hard to do so!

4. Uri - He is a long time friend of ours.  He was actually my language partenr in 2004!  Since I returned in 06, he was studying away, so I practied languages with his father.  This family has always been SO nice to us, and uri is going thru a hard time right now.  He recently graduated but cannot find a job in aeronautical engineering.  So, we invited him to the weekend for free, because he is concentrating on improving his English as he works on a master´s degree.  His family, like I said, has always invited us over for meals and treated us so kindly.  We wanted to bless them, know Uri better, and be intentional in showing him Christ´s love.  So he too is coming.

5. Annie - She is a believer who goes to a local church here.  she may even bring a friend from church.  she is sweet, smart and so capable!  We always thank God for her and her family, as they are followers of Jesus.  She came to our weekend a year ago, and she understands our hope to offer neutral services as a means to show Christ to people in very natural ways.  You guys will really enjoy talking to her!

We are so thankful to God for this weekend.  It was actually really hard to fill up, so God has truly worked a miracle.  The weekend is a holiday weekend, so everyone it seemed, had plans.  We had put out about 1,000 fliers for advertisement, and up until just two weeks ago, we only had one person signed up.  I was really beginning to be discouraged.  We are thankful for this number because it helps cover the cost of the room and board (though the food budget will go a bit over - so we especially appreciate you guys giving the extra funds for administrative costs!).  but the number is also great because we can have lots of different types of interactions, and we can touch that many more people.

Also, another praise:  When I called to confirm our plans with the caserio [country house, or bed-and-breakfast], she responded surprised that she had not understood what I wanted.  The result was she had NO ROOMS AVAILABLE!!!!  I panicked, but God quickly led us to another place the very same hour, which is smaller, but the number of attendants is perfect for this new place.  

We are so excited about the weekend and being together with you guys!  Please let us know if we can pray for you in a specific way.  Please pray we´ll have strength to make it!  We are tired because of this other team, but so thankful that God has given us Christian family to come and work alongside us.

We thank God for you each, every time we think of you,

Derek