Last updated: 2/5/2007 5:41 PM

February 2, 2007

Dear supporters of Mike and Karen Isaacs,

I regret to inform you of the resignation of Mike and Karen Isaacs from missionary service. You are aware of the difficult circumstances that kept them from returning to their assignment in Zambia. They have served with dignity and faithfulness for the past three years. Mike and Karen have labored side-by-side in their ministries as church planters, friends, pastors, and disciplers. They have worked closely with national leaders throughout their missionary tenure. Mike and Karen will be greatly missed by us here in the office and by the people in Zambia and throughout Southern Africa.

The Isaacs have given to us their resignation that is effective as of February 1, 2007. They have begun a period of three months transition back to the US where they will be supported by Global Missions of Church of God Ministries.

During these three months they will be receiving their basic salary, pensions and medical insurance. Because of your faithful and constant support of them and their ministry we will be able to handle this, and we encourage you to transfer your support of the Isaacs to another Church of God missionary family as soon as possible. During this transition they will determine where to live, secure housing and employment. Global Missions has requested that they focus on relocation, thus they will not have an itineration schedule.

We wish them all the very best and will be praying for them as they make this difficult transition back to the US. It is our hopes that some day in the future they will be ready to return to missionary service again.

Please contact Candy Power at (800) 848-2464 ext. 2129 when you are ready to transfer your Living Link support.

Please join us in praying for Mike and Karen, and their three children, Jacob, Garrett, and Hunter.

Sincerely,

Robert Edwards

Global Missions Coordinator

February 1, 2007

Dear prayer partners, living link supporters and partners in ministry,

First, let us say that we enjoyed serving the Church of God in Zambia for the past three years and the special partnership we have had with all of you. We feel that we learned so much and really experienced a special sense of God’s calling to that place, for the time that was appointed for us there. We believe that the ministry which all of you were a part of in Zambia was not a waste and we pray that God will continue to use it for His Glory and to further His Kingdom work.

However, in light of the recent events which took place in Zambia and the past few months of seeking the Lord’s leading, we simply do not, at this time, feel a strong calling to any one place or region of the world in which to continue serving in missions. As we well know from the short time we have spent in ministry, when difficult times ultimately come, “the call” is what held us and sustained us in order to complete the task. With this said, we have offered our resignation, effective February 1, 2007, from our position as Church of God Missionaries, under Church of God Ministries-Global Missions.

This has not been an easy decision to make, but yet we know it is one that we must make at this time. For without the calling in our hearts, we do not feel it wise or faithful to move forward without this imperative sense of the Lord’s guidance and blessing. What we know for sure is that we could not have been surrounded by better partners in ministry than all of you. We also know that without your prayers and partnership the ministry in Southern Africa would not have yielded the blessed fruit which now remains.

We also want to thank the Global Missions staff for their help, guidance and patience during the past few months of searching and healing. They have given a great deal of support to our family during these difficult times in our search for what comes next. We have appreciated their efforts put forth to find another field of service. They have offered us several locations to consider serving; however the “call” is not felt in our hearts.

Last but surely not least, we want to say thank you to our families who worked so hard in this ministry, who walked beside us, who cried with us in the hard times and who celebrated with us in the times of victory. We truly feel that we have been the ones who have been blessed to be your partners in ministry.

May God continue to bless each and every one of you as you serve Him in the Kingdom work ahead. Glory to God!

Serving Him,

Mike & Karen Isaacs

12/6/06

Thank you for your prayers while Mike was traveling to Zambia.  Mike and Mark arrived back in the US on Sunday night.  They were able to complete everything sooner than expected which allowed them to catch an earlier flight.  They have sold everything that was going to be sold and packed up the remaining personal items.  Mike's sister, Barbara, has been visiting with us in VA for the past week and both Barbara and Mark (Mike's brother-in-law) will be traveling back to MN on Thursday.  The boys have really enjoyed having their Aunt Barbara and Uncle Mark here. 

We are still praying about our future and where God is leading us as a family.  We will update you soon.

Thanks for your prayers.

Karen for the Isaacs

11/7/06

Greetings Prayer Partners,

Happy Fall!  It is great to see all the leaves changing colors and to let Jacob see for the first time all the awesome wonders of fall. 

I wanted to take a moment to update you on what has been going on with the Isaacs Family and the Isaacs future.

Currently we have been offered several locations for our next assignment with Global Missions.  At this point we are praying about those areas and are praying for God's direction.  Nothing has been decided as of yet. 

Mike will be traveling to Zambia from November 14 - December 8th with his brother-in-law, Mark Brown.  The purpose of this trip is to pack up the house and our personal things to prepare them to be shipped. 

We have talked with some of you personally or emailed some of you but wanted to share that we will not be shipping a container to Zambia and that has been canceled.  Due to the change in plans and our not returning to Zambia for another term, we are not able to collect the things for the container since our traveling around the US is limited.  We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused.   

Also, since Mike will be closing out all of our accounts in Zambia we will also be closing our email account.  Please change our email address to: mkisaacs@netzero.net.  

As for our family:  Mike is doing great after his surgery, however he has been fighting a chronic sinus infection for the last 5 weeks.  He is on his 4th week of antibiotics and had a CT Scan done on his sinuses, which found lots of inflammation and infection on both sides.  I am doing well.  Only had one day where I thought I was getting sick, but as everyone know, "mom's don't and can't get sick, there is no time for that."  Jacob is really enjoying preschool and making new friends.  He had been sick last week with a cough but is finally getting over it.  Garrett and Hunter are healthy, Praise God!!  They had their 4 month check up last week and weighed in at 14 1/2 lbs (Hunter) and 15 lbs (Garrett).  They are laughing, smiling, and talking (nothing understandable of course) all the time.  They are very happy babies.  Not sleeping through the night yet but happy babies. 

We are so thankful for many things.

- For the boys health

- For Jacob's adjustment to school

- For Global Missions working with us and being patient with us as we seek God's direction

- For this time we have had as a family regardless of all the sickness

- For my family allowing us to stay with them while we figure out what comes next and for helping take care of the boys

- For all the encouraging emails and phone calls we have been receiving.  THANK YOU!!!

If you can join with us in prayer over these specific items we would greatly appreciate it:

- Direction from God on where and what is next for our family.  We know God has great plans for our family and we are trying to be patience but that is hard sometimes.

- Good Health for the whole family.  Especially for Mike as he will be traveling with this sinus infection and head congestion if he doesn't start to feel better. 

- Safety for Mike and Mark as they travel.

- Selling of our vehicles and items at the house that won't be shipped.

- Direction on where to ship the container of our personal things.

- Good jobs for the workers that have helped us so much in the past few years (nightguards/dayguards, etc) since they will not be employed by us when Mike returns back to the States in December.

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and for your patience with us.  We appreciate all of you.

May God be with you this Thanksgiving Season and may you remember all the GREAT things God has done.

Karen for the Isaacs Family

mkisaacs@netzero.net

Enjoy the photos of the boys.  The twins are with Hunter on the left and Garrett on the right.   

10/6/06

Greetings Prayer and Ministry Partners,

We are writing to you to share with you some unexpected developments that have recently taken place regarding our  service with the Zambian Church. Some of you may have received a letter from Global Missions concerning this subject, but we know that many of you are not on that mailing list, so we felt it was important to attach a copy of the letter to this email to keep all of you informed.

We know that there will be a number of questions arising from this sudden change of direction, but we too are seeking to find what direction the Lord would have us take now, under these circumstances. During this time of questioning and uncertainty we are asking that you pray with us for direction, clarity of purpose and most of all for the Lord's will to be accomplished. 

Currently Mike is doing well after his surgery just over a week ago and starting to get around fairly well. Karen and the boys are also doing very well with Jacob just turning 4 years old on Monday, the Twins just over three months old now and getting bigger every day. 

Thanks so much to all of you for your prayers and support. We appreciate you all so much!

Blessings

The Isaacs Family

____________________________________

Dear Faithful Friends and Supporters,

Many of you have received word that Mike Isaacs had surgery on Tuesday, the 26^th. The surgery went well and Mike will remain in the hospital 4-5 days before needing some recovery time at home.

Global Missions has requested that Mike and Karen take a three month medical leave from October 1 through December 31, 2006. They will continue to receive support and benefits during this time.

It is with disappointment that we have received a letter from the Zambian Executive Committee withdrawing their invitation to have Mike and Karen return for another term of service. Global Missions is continuing to have dialogue with the Executive Committee. Mike and Karen have served well in Zambia and helped stabilize the work of the church there.

We will keep you fully informed as we move along this journey. It is our desire to continue to partner with them in ministry.

As we continue to work with Mike and Karen they are praying for God’s direction and wisdom as they look at another assignment. Please be in prayer with us as we seek God’s plan for their next assignment.

Partnering with you in Missions,

Bob Edwards

Global Missions Coordinator

9/29/06

Dear Prayer Warriors,

God answers prayers.  After leaving the hospital yesterday (Thursday) Mike was still only allowed to have 400 ml of liquid every 8 hours.  Last night I called him and he said the doctor had told him he was now free to eat whatever he wanted with no restrictions.  This morning (Friday) I went there to find that he was being discharged.  They took him off all his pain meds (ones being administered via IV) this morning.  He has passed all the tests they had for him with flying colors and they sent him home today.  We are happy to have him back with the family.  The nurse said he was not to lift more than 10 lbs for a while but made an exception of carrying the twins (one at a time). 

Thank you for all your prayers.  Mike is home sooner than we ever imagined and doing very well on his pain.  Thank you.  Praise Be to GOD!

Karen

9/26/06

Thank you for your prayers and many encouraging emails.  Mike went into surgery at 10:30 this morning and at 1:45 the doctor came out to tell me that everything had gone well.  Mike is very tired and has some pain.  He was on two different types of pain meds when I left the hospital and they were ordering a third kind for him to take.  He had a laparoscopic Sigmoid Colonoscopy.  I was so happy to hear everything was good that I forgot to ask how much of the colon had to come out. 

Please continue to pray for Mike as he recovers and rest.  Pray that his pain is minimal and that he will be able to start moving around like the doctor wants him to do.

Thanks for the prayers.

Karen

9/21/06

Greetings from Virginia,

First let me say sorry for the delay in sending out an update.  We have been on the road since the first of August where we traveled to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Indiana.  We were back in Virginia for about 5 days and then hit the road again to Florida where we spoke at a church and also did the family vacation thing at Disney World and Sea World.  Jacob loved meeting all his friends (Disney characters) at Disney World and the twins did a great job being pushed around in the heat all day.  Garrett and Hunter have officially been in 14 states out of the 50 at only 2 months old.  They are well traveled babies.

Monday this week Jacob started preschool.  This will help give him a little more of a routine and more chances to be with kids his age instead of ol' mom and dad. 

I am going to keep this short but wanted to ask for your prayer for Mike.  In those 5 days back in Virginia Mike had a meeting with a surgeon and it was determined that he should have surgery to prevent more onsets of Diverticulitis.  So . . . September 26th (Tuesday) Mike will have surgery at 10:15.  They will remove about 8-12 inches of his colon and he will be in the hospital for about 3-5 days.  Please pray for him as he undergoes this surgery and for the surgeons hands to be guided by God's Great Healing Hands.  The surgery will last several hours and so I will try and send out an update after I return to the house once he gets into this room. 

Thanks for your prayers during this time. 

Karen for the Isaacs

7/23/06

Greetings Prayer Warriors.

Yesterday we sent out an email about our National Pastor (Lazarous Phiri) who has been ill and in the hospital.  Today we received an email from his sister (Mailesi Ndao) regarding his progress and the death of his 3 year old son (Blessed).  This is what was sent:

"Lazarous is doing much better, he is now able to walk, talk and eat light foods. His memory is coming back, but we have lost Blessed.I'm told he was given medications for worms and he had a compaction of them, he developed diarrhea and was very weak as the boy was sickly and died last night. We ask for your Prayers for Lazarous wife as she deals with her sons death, and also she is not able to share this burden with her husband as the Doctors think not to tell him as they don't know how he will take the news."

Please pray for this family.  Blessed was a good friend of Jacob's and I know when Jacob goes back to Zambia he will miss his friend.  They were one month apart in age.

Thanks so much for your prayers.

Karen

7/21/06

Warm greetings from Northern VA.

We just wanted to take this moment and say thank you for all of your prayers, encouragement and congratulations during the pregnancy, delivery and welcoming home of our two new sons.  Garrett and Hunter are doing very well, doing the normal baby things (eat, sleep and you know the rest).  We are trying our best to get them on the same schedule for feeding and for awake time, but it seems that one prefers the late AM and the other prefers the afternoon, so this creates for sleepy parents and a sleepy Granny.  They are each getting their own personalities, yet so many things we chalk up to "twin things."  They grunt and make certain noises back and forth and we are convinced that they are twin talking to each other.  Jacob is enjoying his role as a big brother (even learning how to change diapers and hold the bottle) but he is still trying to figure out that they are quiet a bit smaller and more fragile than him.  Last weekend Jacob enjoyed being at Bush Gardens with his grandparents and extended family from Maryland.  Even though we as parents could not go, it was a good time for him to get his much needed attention and be out of the house for a while.  Jacob absolutely loved his time at Bush Gardens as he had never seen or experienced such things before.  It is hard to believe that the twins are already more than 3 weeks old and will soon be coming up on their one month birthday.  WOW!! Time flies when you don't sleep for a lot of the night hours :).

It has been a real blessing to be at my parents house with mom helping out with feeding, changing and the late night shifts, allowing Mike and I to get a little more sleep when possible.  Sometimes it takes all three of us at night to take care of the twins and at least two people are up every 3 hours during the night.  My father and brother have also been helping when they can during the day, which also makes it so Mike and I can spend time with Jacob or just rest.  We are so thankful for all the families help and especially mom as she has gone way beyond the call of her Granny duties. 

Now that we know that the boys are here and are healthy, we have started scheduling our travel plans for the upcoming months. Here is the information for the first major trip.

August 6th - we will be in Racine, WI after which, we will travel on to Minnesota for the states Family Camp starting on the 9th where we are the mission speakers.  Mike will then leave on the 13th to head  back to Anderson for personnel meetings, during which time I will stay in MN with Mike's family and the three boys.  Mike will then come back to MN and pick us up and then head back to VA via Anderson in order to drop some items off that will be going in the container to Zambia.

We do plan to be in the OK/KS/MO area for the month of October.  Mike may be doing a majority of this trip by himself but we are trying to find a way that the boys and I can meet up with him towards the end of the month so that our extended family in Oklahoma can see Jacob and the twins. 

If your church is a Living Link and has not scheduled a time for us to come to share and this is something that you are interested in, please let Debbie Taylor know right away so we can find a time in our schedule.  Debbie can be contacted at DTaylor@chog.org. 

We have received word from Zambia and things are going well there. 

The Pastor's Training program's first term of three classes is coming to an end and from the sounds of it the students are doing a great job.  A workcamp from Canada will be arriving shortly to start work on the wall fence for the land in Lusaka across from the current compound then right  after the workcamp leaves, two trainers from Canada will stay for two weeks of intensive training with the Zambian leaders (similar to what has taken place in the past).  Please keep the leaders (especially Mailesi Ndao and Oscar Ndao) and Tammie Tregellas (missionary) in your prayers as they are all very busy preparing for these important events. We have received word that the National Pastor (Lazarous Phiri) was deathly ill in the hospital, but is now doing a little better. We would ask that you lift him, his family and the church he pastors up in prayer, so he may once again shepherd the flock under his care.  

Please continue to pray for our family as we adjust to being a family of five and as we try to get some rest especially during the times of traveling. 

Please pray for Mike as he continues to have procedures done to determine the best actions to take for his diverticulitus and his stomach problems that he has had periodically.  We feel that it is a good thing to be back in the US to figure all this out before these problems escalade into something serious and before we return to Zambia. 

Thank for your prayers for me during the delivery.  I am doing very well and have now lost over 45 lbs since the delivery.  I have told people this was the best diet ever, well maybe not. 

I have attached a photo (not a great one, but current) of the new Isaacs Family [see picture on main web page].  Karen is holding Garrett and Mike is holding Hunter and of course Jacob is in the middle.

Thank you again for all your prayers.  Not just for our family but also for the ministries in Southern Africa.  You are just as much a part of the ministry as we are and we thank all of you for joining us in this ministry.

Karen, Mike, Jacob, Garrett, and Hunter

6/27/06

Hi Friends and Family,

Just wanted to let you all have a first glimpse of our new editions. We are so proud of Garrett and Hunter and as you can see their big brother is already helping out. The twins are doing well, eating and all those other important body functions, that us dads love so much. Karen had a long day with so many hospital staff doing all those things that they do and with twins it means twice as much fun. We are praying that she will be able to get a little bit of sleep this evening, with Grandma taking the night shift tonight.

I want to say a big special thank you to all of you for keeping us in your prayers during the pregnancy and the delivery of these precious new gifts from God.

We are expecting Karen to be released on Thursday from the hospital and then will come the challenge of making schedules and working out all the details.

We truly feel doubly blessed by the Lord and are so grateful to all of you for walking beside us through this special adventure.

Blessings Always,

Mike

Garrett/Jacob/Hunter

6/27/06

At about 12:20 am on Tuesday 6/27 Karen delivered two boys at Fairfax Hospital in VA.:

Garrett Michael was 6.6 lbs and 19"

Hunter Allan was 6.2 lbs and 20"

All are doing great!

For the Isaacs

Larry LaBruyere (Grand Pa)

6/21/06

“The Waiting Game”

Greetings from Virginia,

I know that it has been a while since I last wrote and I apologize.  I will try and catch you up on what has been happening.  Basically a lot of what the "subject" heading says. 

Mike has adjusted back quiet well.  Jacob has really enjoyed having his daddy back.  Jacob constantly asks dad questions about Zambia and his friends and toys.  Since Mike's return we have been staying local in the Northern Virginia area.  We have spoken at a couple of churches and shared with a few groups in the area. 

Mike and Jacob were scheduled to go to Minnesota for our nieces wedding on June 10th, however that did not happen.  With the babies due date nearing, Mike thought it was best to not be too far away.  Mike also spent Father's Day Sunday (afternoon and evening) in the hospital emergency room with what we found out to be a case of diverticulitus (he's had this before).  After being put on some antibiotics and other meds he is feeling close to 100% better now.  He was to preach at a local church on that Sunday morning but instead, was home sick so I filled in for him telling him it was his Father's Day gift from me.  SMILE!!!  I am just glad he is feeling better and things were not more serious than they were.  Now Mike will have several more doctors appointments in the next couple of weeks to figure out how to best deal with these attacks.   

I am doing as well as can be expected.  I am now 35 weeks along and getting bigger and bigger.  Two weeks ago the sonogram showed the babies being approximately 6 lbs a piece (this may be is a slightly high estimate but the best they can do).  I am scheduled for a C-section on the 13th of July but we are hoping to move it to the 7th of July, if I don't go into labor prior to those dates.  The doctors thinks I will probably not make it to the 13th of July and possibly not even to the 7th of July.  No matter when I go into labor I will have a c-section immediately because one of the babies is still breech and there is not enough room in there for him to turn around.  We are ready for these boys to be here.  I have been having a lot of contractions but nothing consistent, so I spend my days sitting on the couch keeping my feet propped up (they are swelling).  

Because Mike did not got to Minnesota, we have not gotten the trailer yet for the collection of the container items.  For those who are waiting, please give us a little bit more time and Mike plans on collecting the trailer in early August when he goes to Minnesota for their Family Camp with the Church of God.  If you have any questions please feel free to email us or call us and we will try and make arrangements for collection for when we will be in that area. 

Also, if you would like to know when we will be in your area for speaking engagements please contact us or Debbie Taylor ( DTaylor@chog.org) at the Global Missions Office and we can try and arrange for a time to share with you.  Even without the babies being born yet we are starting to set up dates and times to share at churches.   Depending on the times and the babies, it may be Mike only or it may be the whole family traveling.  Those decisions will be determined later.

We have heard from Tammie in Zambia and she has said that the Pastor's Training program has gone very well thus far.  The leaders are soaking up all the material and were not ready for the month of classes to end.  Also, the church is getting closer to purchasing the land across the road and a work camp from Canada is coming in July to help start the wall around it.  The Day Care has been doing great with about 58 students (60 is max.) and they are talking about having to start a new classroom.  Mike talked with Mailesi (Church Representative for Zambia) on the phone yesterday and it seems everything is going very well. 

Some prayer requests:

- Safe delivery for these two little boys and good health for them.

- Doctors to have wisdom as Mike meets with them to find out how to best deal with the diverticulitus

- Jacob as he adjusts to new brothers

- The ministries in Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi and the leaders leading them

- Tammie Tregellas as she continues with the Pastor's training program and is currently the only missionary in Zambia with the Church of God

- Funds to come in for the final purchasing price of the land in Lusaka ($5000) as the time is nearing to make that final payment (exchange rate keeps dropping which keeps increasing the price)

Thanks for your continued prayers and your partnership in the ministry in Southern Africa. 

I am hoping that we will be emailing you soon with the news of the new arrivals (sooner than later is better for me :) but I'm just the mom carrying them).  Soon the waiting game will be over with. 

Thanks so much.  May God's blessings be on you.

Karen for the Isaacs

5/3/06

Just wanted to let everyone know that Mike arrived safely to the US late last night.  Jacob talked all the way to the airport, while waiting at the airport and all the way home.  Needless to say Jacob was VERY happy to see daddy coming out of the International Arrival doors.  He was very excited the whole night.  It is wonderful to have the family back together again.  Mike is tired and will take some time to adjust to the time difference and culture shock but is happy to be back in the US.

Thanks for all your prayers.

The WHOLE Isaacs Family

5/1/06

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Just wanted to let you know that Mike will be boarding a plane in a few hours to start his flight back to the State.  He should arrive in Washington Dulles Airport around 10:35 PM tomorrow (Tuesday) night.  We are all looking forward to having him back with us.  We have been apart for 10 weeks now and we are all ready to be together again.

Also, wanted to let everyone know that both Mike and I have cell phones.  Here are our cell numbers in case you need to get in touch with either of us:

Mike's - 703-244-2590

Karen's - 703-217-6943

If for some reason neither of those works you can still use my parent's number at 703-255-3991

Once Mike gets settled and adjusted back to the US we will send out another updates about our travel plans.  I was able to share at the WCG (Women of the Church of God) Spring Convention for the CDP (Chesapeake, Delaware, Potomac area) district on Saturday and had a really enjoyable time with the ladies (and a few men showed up too).  

Thanks for your prayers especially as Mike travels. 

If you would also please remember Tammie Tregellas back in Zambia as she starts her first Pastor's Training Program class tomorrow morning with the leaders of Zambia. 

Thanks for everything!

Have a great week in the Lord!!

Karen, Jacob, Baby A, Baby B, and soon-to-arrive Mike :-) 

3/17/06

Greetings from Northern Virginia,

I think I have gotten all my email addresses sorted out now so I am praying this works.  Computers are useful but can also be very frustrating too.

On Monday my mom, Jacob and I arrived back from our 10 day trip to Anderson, IN and to St. Elmo, IL.  We had a great time of fellowship with the two churches we were with and of course I had lots of meetings and things to catch up on while in Anderson.  Praise the Lord we have arrived back safely. 

Tuesday I had my first ultrasound since in the USA and we found out that Jacob will be having two little  . . . BROTHERS!!!!!  I will definitely be out numbered now with my husband and three sons.  WOW!!!  I also found out that the doctor will not let me go past week 38 so BY July 8th we will be one big happy family of five.  Mike is very excited about two more boys as we all are.  We praise God for yet another miracle x 2.

Mike has successfully made it to Tete, Mozambique and today will be traveling to Beira, Mozambique.  The length of the trip is based solely on finding and reserving accommodations for the trainings to be held in May 2007.  Pray for him during this time of searching and traveling.

Jacob is enjoying being with his grandparents and uncle.  In Anderson he was able to see his other Uncle and Aunt who had traveled down from Minnesota to visit.  He keeps commenting on how he wants to visit Uncle Mark at his home in MN.  He is really starting to connect with his extended family, which is a huge answer to prayer after not seeing them for so long.

I have finally adjusted to living back in the US.  The first time to the store only took me 10 minutes to pick out cheese.  Not use to so many choices. 

Jacob is adjusting well too.  He is still not use to the cold weather and gets excited when it is "warmer".  He experienced McDonalds for the first time while in Anderson and they even had the indoor playland.  He now thinks all McDonalds have playlands and wants to eat there all the time.  He calls it "Old McDonalds" 

While I was in Anderson one of the meetings I had was concerning our budget.  In Zambia the exchange rate dropped 33% in a matter of two - three months.  This means our dollars from the US are now worth 33% less than what they were and the prices in Zambia are increasing.  This happened in October of last year.  The rate continues to drop now but at a much slower rate.   Because of this drop in the rate our budget has had to be increased significantly.  We are currently needing to increase our Living Link support.  If this is something you would like more information about please let me know and I can get you the information you need or you can contact cpower@chog.org.  Any additional pledges and funds can be sent to Project #42.10053 to the address below.  If we cannot get to over 100% funding before the time of our return in Feb. 2007 than our return will have to be delayed.  I have stopped traveling due to the pregnancy but when Mike arrives he will be visiting many churches and campmeetings so please feel free to stop him and ask more about this financial need. 

Mike arrives May 2 in the evening into Washington DC.  In early June he is making a trip to MN  for our niece's wedding and to get the trailer so that he can start collecting things for the container.  Our plan is to store stuff in Anderson (more centrally located) and ship the container from there.  We are still trying to locate a shed/barn to safely store the goods while in Anderson and when that place is determined we will let you know in case you are in the Anderson area.

One correction from the last time we emailed about the container was about the project number on which to send funds to help send the container.  Please don't use the first number mentioned.  For all funds sent for the shipping of the container please send them with this information: Project #42.40561 with a memo of Container.  Checks for both these financial needs can be made out to "Church of God Ministries" and mailed to PO BOX 2420 Anderson, IN 46018.

Thank you so much for partnering with us.  As we complete our first term (with Mike still finishing things up) we are so thankful for all the new partners that have joined the ministry to help in Southern Africa along with the long time partners.  Thanks for being missionaries with us to Southern Africa.

We look forward to seeing many people while Stateside.

While in the States I can be contacted by this email or by phone at 703-255-3991 or at 506 Meadow Lane, Vienna, VA 22180.  I am staying with my parents: Larry and Connie LaBruyere.

Mike can still be contacted at mkisaacs@netzero.net while he is Africa Side. 

Thanks again for your prayers and love,

Karen for the family.

3/7/06

Greetings Prayer Partners,

Yes we have been covering the miles going to the US or kilometers here in Zambia. As some of you may already know, Karen and Jacob left for the States on the February the 18th arriving in the Washington D.C area on the 19th. Karen said that Jacob did very well on the big, big, big plane (as Jacob says) and both were glad to see Karen's parents and brother. Karen and Jacob will be at home in VA for a few months until I arrive the first part of May. They will also be travailing to Indiana and Illinois to visit several churches early in March. We want to thank all of you for your prayers during their travels back to the States.

I have also been covering the kilometers here in Zambia. In the past two weeks we (Rev.Tregellas, Mailesi Ndao and myself) have been in 5 of the 8 Provinces of Zambia and have covered over 5000 kilometers. The main purpose of this trip was to select pastors for the new pastors training program being developed by Rev. Tregellas. It was a blessing to see many believers during our travels, but we often found that the time spent with each of them in each location was to short. Because it is the rainy season here in Zambia  right now, we encountered some challenging roads, but the Lord went before us and we are excited about the pastors that will soon be coming to Lusaka for training.

In the next week we will be making a trip to Mozambique (staying about two weeks there), where we will be traveling to the port city of Beirea (on the Indian Ocean). One of the major objectives for this trip is to find a location for trainings that will be conducted there in May of 2007.  Yes that seems like a long way off, but with our leave from the field until February of 2007, this will be the only time to effectively locate a place to hold these trainings.

Prayer Needs:

Safety during the continued travels in Southern Africa.

Karen and Jacob as they travel in the States.

Health for Karen during the pregnancy.

Special concerns from the field. 

Well I know this is a shorter update than normal, but with Karen back home now, it seems that my life here is going faster than ever. In  fact I spent the last two days trying to accomplish the simple task of paying the bills, which usually only takes Karen a few hours. Pray for me :)  Karen will, in the next few days, be giving you some more updates from her side especially after she receives all of your email addresses from this side, which did not make it onto the zip disk she carried home, oops.

Once again we want to thank all of you for your prayers, encouragement and support of the work here in Zambia and Southern Africa!  We are blessed and honored to be partnering with all of you, as we continue to tell others about the wondrous Love of Jesus!!

Blessings Always,

Mike Isaacs