Mounting Pressure

I can feel the pressure mounting, literally. I went to the doctor today for a check-up to check my blood pressure before the trip. I had to tell him of some stinging, numbing pain in my back and down my arm. This pain has been going on for about a week now. As it turns out, I have degeneration of the disc between the 7th and 8th vertebrae (or between the cervical, and thoracic sections of the back). This means there is less of an opening for my nerves to get through and one is being pinched, causing the irritating pain. It was also discovered that I have arthritis in my cervical (or neck) section as well. Both of these are just signs of getting old. Praise God this happened now and not while we were in Malawi. My doctor has started me on some nerve pain medication, and Lord willing, we will have the dosage figured out before we leave.

The real pressure I feel is from God's word. II Timothy 4:1-2 tells us to be ready always to preach the word. Also implied in verse 3 is that it needs to be sound teaching. But, if one were unclear about the implication there, it is clear in Titus 2:1-2. Even if what Paul tells Titus in verse 1 is just for pastors, what he says in verse 2 I must apply to myself. My body tells me I am an older man. I was also reminded that I am the oldest one of the group. And, according to Malawi statistics, I am older than their average life expectancy. I must be sound in my doctrine and in my faith. We all have a responsibility before God to teach His word to these people without error.

I also want to be sensitive to the Malawians spiritual needs. It will not mean much if what we come prepared to share does not meet the needs of where they are. It is my prayer that each of us will have discernment to see areas where they need to grow in the Lord. May the Lord open our eyes in the brief time there to be able to shift gears if He should show us something they need to hear. If this should occur, we need His grace and mercy to lead us and give us the right message to minister to that need.

We also want our every action, deed and speech to model Christ. And yet we are sinful men saved by grace. Again in Titus 2:7-8, Paul tells us to be a model of good works, to show integrity in our teaching, and have sound talk that can withstand any opponent. We need to demonstrate love toward our brothers and sisters there. That is why we need to be continually looking to Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Without Him, we will fall flat on our faces.

You may be thinking by now I am overwhelmed. I actually am not. It is true that all these things are on my mind. But, they are far from consuming me. In fact, God has given me real peace about this. He has been giving me grace for each day for everything I have needed to get done. Sometimes more, but never less. He has even at times brought extra things that I did not plan, but He has always brought what was needed at the time. He is truly good. It has been exciting to see the Lord bring things in my life to help me to trust Him more. I can't wait to see what He has prepared for us to challenge us to trust Him.

Prayer Requests

Thanks to those of you who have come visit this blog to learn about Malawi and our trip this October. It was really nice to hear from Abby Prescott. She is Norm Wakefield's daughter. She commented on the last post. I would encourage you to look back at previous blogs and view the comments there. Unworthy slave (Charlie Patterson) always adds an interesting perspective as he has been there. He openly shares his heart for world missions and is not afraid to share his fears and concerns.

The time is rapidly approaching. The Lord willing, we will be on our way in just 48 days. I was reading just the other day in Proverbs 16:1-4,9 where it tells us that we make our plans, but it is God who establishes our steps. We have set our sights on going to Malawi, and it looks like that is where God is leading each one of us, but we know from His word that we will only go if that is what He has planned for us.
(Check this out! If you hover your cursor over any of the scriptures in my blog, a window should appear that will display the passage for you.)

There are still so many things that need to happen before we go, and many possible obstacles that could hinder us from going. That is why it is so important for us to pray and put our trust in our great sovereign God to get us ready and to our destination. We covet your prayers for us as well. Please join us in our efforts and share in the blessings from God by being prayer warriors for us. Let me share with you some of the items we could have you pray for us.

As a group we have common needs. All of us still need precious time to prepare spiritually for our time there. The enemy will try to bring things in to distract us from our plans. We all have to get vaccinations and medicine for the trip. There is also pneumonia still travelling around at church and it reminds us of the importance for us to remain healthy. We all still have a ways to go to pay for the trip. God has blessed us, and the boys (young men) are over half way there to reach their goal. We men have almost a 1/3 of our needs met. Pray that God will provide for us out of His abundant goodness and according to His good pleasure.

We also each have individual needs and let me end this with things you can pray for each of us.

Dan Rupprecht

• Grace for the strength to be able to handle the heavy load at work.
• He would be able to have the time to prepare for his teaching lessons.
• For God to grant the grace to have adequate time with his family and lead them as God wants.
• To be an effective leader and a Godly example to the team.

Charlie Patterson

• Wisdom in knowing what best to share so as to encourage the brethren in their fight to learn and maintain the Word that was once for all delivered to the saints.
• Wisdom in planning for my family's needs and in developing the vision for ministry at home while Josiah & I are away.
• Health: to be well rested and mentally prepared for this trip.
• For God to bless his studies to finish current class and his September class

Josiah Patterson

• As I am preparing for the trip, I would like prayer for My work - that I may be a witness
• My school -- that I can get as much done as possible
• My health -- that I won't have reactions to any immunizations and that I will stay healthy while there.
• My message -- that the Lord will give me a message to share while there if I am asked.
• My heart -- that I will have the right attitude.

Brian Deyarmond

• That work hours and school hours would be worked out so he can continue to earn money for the trip
• For preparations to have words of encouragement
• To finish his testimony and to be prepared to be able to give an answer to the hope he has in God
• For eyes that are open to see what God has prepared has planned for future.

Ric Deyarmond

• That I would be a willing and available slave to accomplish all that He has planned.
• To make the most of my time as I prepare to be able to teach on being trustworthy servants of what Christ have given us, and what it means to worship our great God.
• That I would be able to still devote the time needed to the worship ministry.
• To be focused on my families needs and be the father/husband I need to be while I prepare to go.

The team

After talking about the team in different ways, it is about time I let you in a little more on who we all are. For those of you who may not know who we are this picture will give you a face to go along with the name. I am not going to give a detailed biography of each member here. In fact, I am going to share with you my opinions and observations about them briefly so you can know what they mean to me. I am confident my admiration for these gentlemen will only flourish and grow during and after our trip. Anyway, these gentlemen from left to right are: Charles Patterson, Josiah Patterson, Dan Rupprecht, Brian Deyarmond, and myself.


Dan Rupprecht is an elder at our church. He is a wonderful example of what a lay shepherd is. That is, at Coast we believe God's word tells us that elders, even if they are not on staff or "pastors", have the responsibility to be shepherds and teachers to the body. I can remember that almost immediately after meeting him, he had already begun to encourage me and admonish me in my walk with the Lord. Not that I was doing very well, either. This church, though, is committed to God's word and living it out as it explains pertaining to the body. He has demonstrated through his own commitment to the word and to prayer, that joy and life is found in Christ. Dan is a committed husband, and father of 6 children. They home school their children to raise them in the knowledge of the Lord. Dan also runs the family owned company that designs and makes molds. These molds are then used by other companies to manufacture their products. His integrity and work ethic are an example to me of how to honor God in the workplace. I am indeed honored to call Dan a friend and thank God for how He has used Dan to sharpen me and mold me into the servant of Christ I desire to become one day.

Charles Patterson has always demonstrated a heart to reach people from every people group, tribe and nation. Because of that, he has been a very active member of the missions ministry at our church. He is always consumed with finding out how God is using different people to further His kingdom around the world. I love his passion for world missions. It is this excitement that led him to read about Brasswell and then determine he wanted to establish communication with him. If it was not for this passion to see God's work around the world, we would not be making this trip or working with Brasswell. He is married to Donna, and they also have 6 children. They, like the Rupprechts, home school their children. Charlie's heart for missions has modeled for his children (and for us) what God's heart is for unreached peoples from around the world. I encourage you to read the comments he made on my August 16 post. It will confirm for you his passion for the furthering of God's kingdom around the world.

Josiah Patterson is Charlie's oldest son. He is 16, and will be a junior in high school this year. Their family home schools their children as I stated earlier, and they belong to Aslan Academy. Josiah has learned from his father to have a heart for peoples around the world and he has been pen pals with one of Brasswell's children. This is one of the reasons Josiah expressed a desire to experience firsthand what God is doing in Malawi. He thought it was important enough that he took a job as a host for the Island's restaurant in Irvine to earn as much of the money for his trip as he could. I look forward to see how the Lord will change him through the experiences he is about to go through.

Brian Deyarmond is my oldest child and I have been so blessed to have been entrusted with him as my son. Brian has just turned 17. He is now a senior as they started school today. We also home school our children. Brian has a sister, and 2 brothers. I am amazed and grateful to God for placing in Brian a heart that sees Jesus as the only source of satisfaction for life. Some of his favorite stories have been about missionaries that have left everything they have known and committed themselves to living with people that have never ever heard the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ so they might be a witness to the love of God. Even so, I was shocked when he told me that he wanted to see if he could be allowed to go to Malawi and experience what God is doing on the other side of the world. He also took a part time job, and is working at Dan's shop to earn as much of the costs of the trip as he can before we go. I am not sure he really comprehends how much God is going to change him on this trip. But he is excited and willing to be used by God however He sees fit.

I am out of time. My information is not all that exciting. I am just happy to be able to go with these fellow servants for Christ. I hope that I might be worthy of their companionship and that God may use this jar of clay as He sees fit in the days to come.

The excitement builds

The days are just flying by and the excitement and anticipation is mounting. We are just 53 days from leaving LAX for Malawi. It is happening too fast. There are too many things that still need to get done, and each day that goes by without doing anything toward the trip means less time to get it done. We have lessons to prepare, verses to memorize, vaccinations and medicines to get for things like hepatitis and malaria. We still need to come up with a list of essential things to bring. We need to get study materials to give to the seminary students to aid their studies, and try to stuff them in our luggage.

Thankfully, Christian Bettenhausen has been such a great servant to us as unto the Lord! If it weren't for him, I do not know if we would be making this trip. He has been personally involved in every aspect of the travel arrangements. These include the plane tickets, our accommodations when we are not with Brasswell, and even our van rental. Thank you so much, Christian. You may not be going, but the Lord will remember on that day your servant love for your brothers.

I was very encouraged by a message I received from Brasswell early this morning. I had recently contacted him by e-mail and this was his first response to me. I am so excited to meet this man who desires to have God use him to reach his people. Let me leave you today with the note he sent me.


Dear brother Ric,

It's a privilege to be part of the team God uses to spread the Good news of our Saviour Jesus. For me I did not dream about becoming the person God will use for his own purposes. I was busy shepherding my Father"s cattle where He picked me. Your coming to Malawi will be a great blessing to the body of Christ. The Church in Mzuzu & Rumphi is too excited for your visit. Come and see for yourself. Malawians are peace loving people. If the days were to be pulled we would have pulled them to come near. In Mzuzu you will be accommodated in our home. Are you ready to eat Malawian foods such as Nsima? [made from corn]. I hope you are. I am so happy to meet you face to face in Jo-burg South Africa.

Greet your entire family & the Body of Christ there.

Brasswell Nkhonjera

CCC Missions

55 short days and we will leave for Malawi. Let me spend some time and get everyone up to speed about who we are and what we are about. Many of you know us already, but there are some friends and family that may be unfamiliar with our church and this small country in Africa we plan to go to and minister. So, let me introduce everyone to the church we are a part of, the country of Malawi, how we came into a relationship with this place, who is going, and why we are going there now.

My family started going to Coast Community Church in August of 2003. Coast Community (Coast for short) has been a wonderful church home for us. Coast is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. We are reformed in our theology, which means we adhere to the doctrines of grace. We currently meet at Thomas Paine Elementary in Garden Grove, CA. Earl Miles is our Pastor. He is a dedicated Shepard of the flock that our Lord has entrusted to him. We all at Coast feel blessed that God has given to us a man who models for us how to look to Jesus for life. He is dedicated to the word of God as the revelation of God to us that leads to eternal life. It is his desire for us to see our Lord Jesus Christ as our hope for joy and satisfaction. If you want to get to know more about our church, you can visit their website at http://www.coastcommunitychurch.com/ .

The missions team at our church became interested in Malawi several years ago when a member of our missions team read an article about a Baptist Malawian pastor that has a heart to reach the northern part of his country into a real faith in Christ. He started communication with this pastor and their relationship grew. As he and the missions team got to know him, they decided that he was definitely someone they wanted to support as he endeavors to add to the kingdom of God. The missions team member is a dear brother of mine in the Lord, Charles Patterson. The African pastor that found Charlie's heart is Braswell Nkhonjera.

Malawi is a country in the eastern part of Africa. It is surrounded on the east, south, and west by Mozambique. To the north is Tanzania, and Zambia borders the northwest. Lake Malawi makes up about 20% of the country's mass. Malawi has a population of approximately 13 million. Modern statistics say the country is 80% Christian, but that is very misleading just as it is in America. Most people are "Christian" by affiliation only. Islam is also making a real push here also. Reality is this country is among the poorest nations of the world, With 80% of the people living in rural areas. Most of these people make their living in farming by planting crops that will feed their families. Official estimates say more than 14% of the population has HIV, but unofficial estimates based on hospital admissions estimate it at closer to 30%. There are close to 3/4 of a million orphans in this country, mostly because of the Aids epidemic. The Child mortality rate is over 1 out of 10. The life expectancy of men in Malawi is 43 years and for women is 42 years. For more information on Malawi go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malawi .

Braswell Nkhonjera is local pastor who has made a tremendous impact on reaching his country for Christ. His focus has remained for the most part on the northern portion of the Malawi, as he lives in the town of Rumphi. He has never been content to just his hometown, but has travelled throughout the north of Malawi where he has planted several churches, and has raised up and mentored several pastors. He currently has 5 pastors that attend seminary classes in the capital city of Lilongwe. Along with those, there are 2 other men that Coast is supporting to go to Christ Seminary in Polokwani, South Africa. They travel back and forth to school where they stay for 2 months of study and then return home for a month to be with their families. To find out more about this Masters Seminary go to http://www.tmainternational.org/site/default.asp?sec_id=13 .

So, several years ago, we on the missions team at Coast had a desire to go to Malawi to visit Brasswell so we could meet him and see firsthand what was going on there and how we could better help him and his heart to further the gospel of Christ. Well, 2 years ago, Christian Bettenhausen, Charles Patterson, and our pastor, Earl Miles got the chance to go and visit the exciting work of the Lord in the "warm heart of Africa". They each got the chance to teach the word, encouraging the believers there and were encouraged by them also. They also caught a vision Brasswell has to create a training center in Betere, which is by his home in Rumphi. They have now begun the classroom block construction and it should be well underway by the time we get there.

The missions team thought it would be good for us to go back again this year to continue to minister to the believers in northern Malawi and to show them our support of the furthering of the kingdom of God there. Charlie is returning and is the veteran of the team. We also have Dan Rupprecht, who is an elder in our body. He is representing the leadership of the body of Coast. I am also going as a representative of the missions team, and also as worship leader. We also wanted to see what other interest there might be amongst the body and we asked the body what interest there was. While many were interested, various conflicts kept many from being able to go with us.

There were 2 young men that displayed an interest and were also not swayed when they were told they would have to be responsible for the cost of the entire trip. These guys are Charlie's oldest son, Josiah, who is 16, and my oldest son, Brian. These 2 have each taken jobs to earn as much of the cost as they can. It has been so exciting to see 2 young men such as these show such interest in world missions and to reach people from every nation. Their lives will never be the same after they see God as work in another part of the world.

Well, that is all I can do for now. If you are still reading then maybe you have caught the vision and heart for Malawi. I hope and pray that this may attract some of you to join us in the work of Malawi. We can use all the prayer support we can get. Please join us by praying for us. We still have much work ahead of us as we prepare to go.

Here we go!!!

Hello!!! Even a guy like me can do this. I have now really entered the digital realm.

I started this because in 58 days, 5 members from my church will be leaving on a missions trip to Malawi, Africa. One of our elders will be going, as will one of the members of the missions team. He will be taking his oldest son with him. I will also be going and taking my 17 year old with me as well. I wanted to let people in on what is going on to prepare to go serve our brothers and sisters in Christ on the other side of the world.

This first post is to just get things started. I really did not think it would be this easy to start this thing, but also realize it will take a little bit of work to get all the information out there for everyone to be informed.

So, this blog for the next 2 months will focus almost exclusively on the team and our preparations, setbacks, and plans for the trip. I want everyone to know the team members, how the preparations are going, what needs we have, and how you might be able to pray for us.

Please bear with me as I try to make this site presentable. I am excited to see what God does to us and through us as we seek to serve our Master.