Brussels Ministry

OUR LAST WEEK:
This time next week we'll be in Brussels. We're tired, but excited. Who wouldn't be? We're holding front row tickets to a brand new work of God!

JUST SWIM:
I woke up this morning with a thought - what if God wants to completely surprise us in Brussels with an early and incredible response? I had the picture of body surfing in Virginia Beach and taking a wave that looked small but turned out to have incredible power. What would I do? Not stop and organize or analyze it - just swim! Pray that God will help us swim at his pace.

DEPARTURE:
We are now leaving Norfolk on Tuesday morning, August 3. We would love to welcome anyone at the airport who wants to pray with us from 9:00-9:30. We'll be flying through Atlanta and New York before arriving in Brussels Wednesday morning.

WORSHIP AND WAFFLES:
If you're in the area, we'd love to see you at our farewell worship event on Sunday evening, August 1 at Taberncle Church of Norfolk, 7000 Granby St., from 6:30-8:00.

MASTERS DEGREES:
Shannon and I are now both finished with our Regent University degrees. Shannon has an MA in Education and I have an MA in Organizational Leadership. I still have two classes left on my MA in Theology from Columbia Int'l Univ, but can do them by extension in Brussels. I expect to be done by Christmas. Thanks for praying!

HELP:
We still need some, listed as follows: cleaning our house on Saturday morning (contact jclose7@hotmail.com); leftover details (little things we'll run out of time for); problems we can't solve (who knows, but we may need someone to turn to!).

BRUSSELS TEAM:
We had a great last evening with our Hampton Roads teammates tonight, all of whom are aiming for arriving in January or February. Steve and Mary Elizabeth Severs, teammates from California, are moving to Brussels next week.

SUPPORT:
We have been blessed with a few unexpected opportunities to see our faith stretched. Pray that we make the daily choice to trust God and no other.

THANK YOU:
We know you're not just sitting at home cheering us on - you're invested in this vision. Here we go team: let's plant a church planting church in the capitol of Europe that will impact the continent for the glory of God!

Swimmingly,
Carlton and family
www.dealministry.com

Brussels 2!

PLEASE NOTE:
If you are in the Hampton Roads area, it would really mean a
lot to us if you were able to come to "Worship and Waffles" - our send-off event
at Tab Church, Sunday night, August 1 from 6:30-8:00.

TRUSTING THE TEACHER: As I write this penultimate email before Brussels, I
have scattered on the desk in front of me books I'm using in my last Regent
University assignment. Titles include "The Wisdom of Teams," "Planting New
Churches in a Postmodern Age," and "Values-Driven Leadership." It makes me think
how good God is to prepare us for the things he calls us to do. Shannon and I
feel like we have learned so much during these two years in the U.S. Now
comes the time when we need to trust that we are ready - and yet know that He will
continue to teach.

ANSWERS TO PRAYER: We have all prayed together about some specific requests,
and I want to let you know how we see God answering:
1. Support: Yes! God's provision through you is meeting our monthly and
outgoing needs!
2. Permits/letter of invitation: Yes - and wait! We have received
tentative approval from one organization that they will officially invite us to
Belgium. However, they cannot do this until September, so we will move to Brussels
as tourists, a status that is valid for three months. Continue to pray as we
meet with people on the ground and seek strategic partnerships for short-term
needs and long-term possibilities.
3. Kids' education: Yes - and wait! Our kids have been accepted to St.
Johns, but we are not able to enroll them at present. We believe that home
school is the best option for many reasons for our "tourist" months, and we will
decide later what to do next.
4. Honda: Yes! Sold without even putting out a "for sale" sign! 5. Help: Yes! David, John, Verna, and Kristen with packing; Brad and Molly
with support; Elisabeth with our mailing list; the Crabtree's with our team
launch; and more!

LAST DAYS IN NORFOLK: We'll be at Peninsula Community Chapel this Saturday
night and Sunday morning (7/24, 25) and at Williamsburg Community Chapel Sunday
night. We'll be at Tab Sunday morning and evening on August 1.

FIRST DAYS IN BRUSSELS: We're planning to leave Norfolk on Monday, August 2.
We will arrive in Brussels the next morning, and will move into short-term
housing that our friend Daniel has arranged. On August 7 we will travel to the
Netherlands for a week-long Christian Associates staff conference (275
attending). There we will be officially welcomed to Europe as church planting team
leaders.

THANK YOU: You're an incredible blessing in our lives. We can't tell you
how excited we are to be in partnership with you. Yet we know that it's not
about us and it's not even about Brussels. We're learning that it's all about
God - His glory, His name, His fame.

Believing God,
Carlton and family
www.dealministry.com

Brussels 4!

4 weeks to go before we move to Brussels! We're safely home from out of town
trips and experienced gifts of God's grace all along the way. Now we're
packing, finishing school assignments, and making final arrangements. Our
departure date is August 2.

God has demonstrated his goodness to us over and over again through you and
we want to say thanks. Your friendship with us means so much, as do your
expressions of love and support. I really believe that we are a team through which
God will make his fame known in new and exciting ways.

This is an important week for us because we will have our whole Brussels team
in town, as well as leaders from Christian Associates, for a "Team Launch."
Please pray Monday and Tuesday for our meetings, relationships, love for God
and each other, clarity of vision, decisions about team roles, etc.

Upcoming events to which Hampton Roads residents are invited:
- Saturday, July 10: Brussels breakfast, 9am, Valley Food Service in Norfolk
- Sunday, July 11: Brussels-focused worship services at Tab Church
- Sunday, August 1: Sunday evening Deal send-off - including worship,
prayer, and waffles - at Tab Church, time TBA

Some answers to prayer:
- We believe God is leading us towards home school for our kids for our first
few months in Europe. This will be new for us, but we can all see advantages.
- We're almost finished raising monthly support! Grace Bible Church decided
to start supporting us and Va Beach Community Chapel increased their support!
- Our Advocacy Group at Tab is fantastic! They designed our website, planned
the breakfast, helped with flights and cars and more!

Some prayer needs:
- Keep praying for the letter of invitation. We have everything else we need
to make permit applications and we want to receive this letter before we
leave the U.S.
- We are still raising outgoing support. We are praying this month for a
total income of $16,600! It's exciting to trust God for that which is beyond us.
- Pray for joy and peace in our home as tasks mount and deadlines near.

General info
- We're selling a 93 Honda (high highway mileage, but excellent condition)
for as close to $4,000 as we can get. If interested, let me know.

Again, let me express my gratitude to you. You are receiving this email
because our paths have crossed and our hearts have met on matters of God's
Kingdom. Whatever joy we know in our relationship in his name is overshadowed by His
joy that we've connected. That's exciting!

By faith,
Carlton
Dealministry.com