July/August 2011 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastors and Praying Friends,

“MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS...” Is. 55:8
You may remember that in our last prayer letter, we asked you to pray for my recovery from Hepatitis A. Most people are better in 4-8 weeks, but I was still very sick at the end of this time period. My lab work came back with levels high enough to worry our doctor about possible liver failure. Knowing that the area in which we serve does not have sufficient medical facilities to deal with what that could mean, he recommended us taking a medical furlough. Whoa! That was not what we had planned (we were planning to take a normal furlough next May), but the Lord obviously had other plans. So in a little over 2 weeks, my wife packed up our house and prepared us all to travel back to the U.S. I thank the Lord for such a incredible, hard-working wife! On July 19, after four flights, we arrived in Carrollton, Ohio.

GOD’S PROVISION
The Lord has met each need in a wonderful way since we’ve been back. Our sending church, the Carrollton Baptist Temple, gave in a very sacrificial way to help with the airfare and to help us get settled. Three days before we left Perú, the renters moved out of my dad’s rental house here in Carrollton. The Lord was preparing a place for us to live before we even arrived! We’re so thankful to those who have given and prayed for us during this time of transition. We’re also thankful that I seem to be on the road to recovery. We were glad to see my blood work come back with the levels half of what they had been before. The doctor predicts a full recovery, but thinks that 100% may still be a few months away.

PLANS
Once I’m better, our plan is to take a normal furlough before returning to Perú. We hope to visit as many of our supporting churches as possible and to also visit some new ones along the way. Lord willing, we will be able to begin traveling after Christmas. If you would like to have us come by your church to present the work, please feel free to contact me by e-mail: rstover22@yahoo.com or on my cell phone: 330-323-3425.

“BUT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD” Jn.11:4
In John 11:4, Jesus shares with his disciples that Lazarus’ sickness was not unto death...“but for the glory of God.” This verse teaches us that no matter what sickness, hardship, or pain we may face, everything is done for His glory. Please pray with us that the Lord would manifest Himself mightily through this whole situation.

Perú:
What a blessing modern technology is to the missionary who has left the ones he loves - whether he’s leaving family and friends in the U.S. or a church and fellow-laborers on a foreign field! We’re so thankful to be able to communicate with those in Perú through the Internet and Skype.

Please keep praying for the Vision Baptist Church in Miraflores. We are looking forward to hearing how God is continuing to work there and to meeting new souls who have come to the Savior while we were away.

Your Servants for the Savior,
Robert, Sara, Josiah, Caleb & Joshua Stover