The saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," or as in our case, "A journey of 9,000 miles begins at JFK (New York)." We are thankful for the safety in arriving at this starting point of our journey. We will be posting updates during our trip and hope you will be able to keep up with our adventures. Thank you in advance for your prayers on our behalf.
August 18, 2017
Dear Supporters and Friends,
This month marks the first steps in our family’s journey to the Philippines. Over the coming months our schedule is filled with a visit to the Philippines followed by visits to churches as we present our ministry and raise support for the work God has called us to. We are excited to partner with Pacific Rim Missions International (https://www.pacificrimmissions.org/) to launch Haven of Grace Seminary just south of Bacolod on the island of Negros in the Philippines. Our vision is to see a thriving, biblically-sound seminary established at Haven of Grace that will have an impact for the Gospel of Jesus Christ not only in the Philippines, but all throughout Southeast Asia.
This month we have already had the opportunity to present our ministry at Lighthouse Baptist Church (Newark, DE). In just a couple of weeks Lighthouse will vote to officially become our sending church. Of course, this is the ministry I had the privilege of serving at for 7 years as an assistant pastor. It was a joy to reconnect with so many folks at Lighthouse who are so dear to us, as well as to get acquainted with many new friends who have joined in the years since we left. During our time at Lighthouse, I (Tim) had the opportunity to present our ministry to the congregation and preach in the Sunday evening service on August 6. It was an added blessing to connect with three Filipino believers who are a part of the church. On Wednesday we joined in LBC’s mid-week “Refresh” service and it was a joy to worship together among a body of believers that feels like family to us. During this service I shared a challenge from 1 Thessalonians considering how the Gospel “thundered out” from the church at Thessalonica.
For Sunday, August 13 we initially planned to join my parents at their church (Bensalem Baptist Church), but I received a text on Saturday morning from Pastor Witmer (Lighthouse’s pastor) asking if I might fill in for him on Sunday morning since he had come down with the flu. So, it was an unexpected blessing to be with the believers at Lighthouse once more and open the Word of God to them.
As I write this update we are now just 5 days away from the start of our 3-week trip to the Philippines. During this trip our hope is to get the family acclimated to a new culture, unique foods, and a different climate. We would appreciate your prayers for us that we might have a safe trip, stay healthy, and enjoy our time with the believers in the Philippines. I would also appreciate your prayers for me as I will be preaching and teaching throughout our time there as well.
Once we return home from our trip we will be visiting churches to raise monthly support. It is hard to know how long this process will take, but we are praying that the Lord will allow the support to come in quickly so we can make it to the field as soon as possible. But even in this request we say, “May God’s will be done.” If you would like to support us, please stop by our website (valiantes.com) to find out how you can help. Also, if you would like to be added to our email list to receive our monthly updates via email, contact us through our website or send an email to tim.valiante@gmail.com.
Once more, we thank you for the love and support you have offered to our family during this time of transition.
Serving Christ,
The Valiantes
Prayer Requests:
For a safe and fruitful trip to the Philippines
For our house to sell (if that is God’s will)
For our schedule to fill with meetings for the fall
For God to supply our financial needs (for the upcoming trip and monthly support)
Praises:
For great meetings at Lighthouse Baptist Church
As our family prepares to head out to the Philippines next Wednesday for a three-week survey trip, I hope you will take time to visit a new page (“Support“) we’ve added to our website. We are stepping out in faith, a bit apprehensive, but very excited to see how the Lord will provide for all of our needs. I do not have all of the answers to the dozens of “how’s” that pop into my mind about how this will all work out financially, but I am confident that God will take care of our family. If you would like to have a part in giving to support the work we have been called to, please check out our new page titled, “Support” (Click Here) to find out how you can partner with us!
We are excited to release our “Prayer Card.” First we extend our many thanks to Katie Kollmeyer for her graphic design work to create a finished product better than we could have ever imagined. You can check out her photography page online at: http://katiekollmeyerphotography.blogspot.com/ or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/katiekollmeyerphotography/
While Sarah and I worked with Katie to create this prayer card I often asked myself, what is the purpose of a prayer card? Of course, the first word that naturally comes to mind is “prayer.” I hope our prayer cards will remind people to pray for us and the ministry God has called us to. I hope you will look at the sweet faces of our children and remember to pray that they will thrive in the Philippines. I hope you will see the faces of a couple that need your prayer as they experience the greatest changes their lives have ever known, and that during the change they will remember to love and serve one another.
But in thinking about this prayer card, I came to realize that my hopes for it go well beyond prayer. This is not to minimalism the importance of prayer, but I think we all recognize that prayer is often not an end to itself. Prayer is also a powerful motivator to action. We pray about things important to us (and things important to God). As we pray, our burdens often grow deeper and in turn our desire to effect change in that particular matter grows deeper as well. So, as you use this prayer card I hope it will ultimately turn into an “Action Card.” I hope it will be a reminder for you to touch base with us, support us, or encourage us. We are very thankful for the many family and friends who have reached out to us already as we begin our journey, and we look forward to the encouragement we will receive in the coming months and years as we continue along the path God has laid out for us. And I have a hunch that this “Prayer & Action Card” will have a big part to play in God’s encouragement to us along the way.
The month of August marks the “launch” of countless new endeavors for the Valiantes. We are officially beginning the process of raising support to enable us to help with the launch of Haven of Grace Seminary on the island of Negros in the Philippines.
With the start of deputation, we are also “launching” our new website. I hope this website will be a helpful resource to keep you up to date on what is happening in our lives. We are excited to see all that the Lord has in store for us, and trust that He will continue to guide us in the future, even as He has faithfully guided us in the past.
Please take a moment to browse through our site. In the coming weeks we hope to add more pages with additional information about our ministry in the Philippines.
valiantes.com 