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We hope you have a blessed and happy 2020! It’s amazing to think that in just a few short weeks we will be in Brazil for which we have been laboring and praying for so long. We had a wonderful Christmas season enjoying time with family and friends. December was quiet with only 2 meetings. However, we had the opportunity to be with family and friends in our home church and in Jamie’s church she grew up in.
I had the opportunity to preach at our home church for our watch night service. I had about 5 minutes, but the Lord really impressed on my heart to preach from II Chronicles 20. Here we find King Jehoshaphat during a time when it seems that the kingdom of Judah is turning back to God. Life is going well and suddenly, he’s confronted with a crisis of epic proportions. The army of Ammon has gathered together against Judah to destroy it. Jehoshaphat doesn’t know what to do. But he immediately consults God in prayer and makes this statement: “Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.” In many ways I can relate with Jehoshaphat. Deputation, while it has its challenges, also is something we ‘know’. God blessed us so much. Way beyond what we deserve. But in short order, we’ll be taking another step into the relative unknown. We know others have gone before us. We know we’re in His will. But humanly speaking, it’s a little scary and certainly an unknown. My prayer the last few weeks has been, “Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You!” I may not know what to do, but He knows what will happen, why it’s going to happen, and what He’s going to do to be honored and glorified.
We had several churches in December that began supporting us. We are so thankful for how the Lord has continued to meet our physical and spiritual needs through you all. We have one meeting remaining in February the week we leave. We are thrilled that the road of traveling has been completed. Some have asked how they could help with our move and its logistics. We have been in contact with the airline to ensure that they will accept the nearly 30 (maybe more?) suitcases and totes that we are projecting to take with us. We still have a few items to pack, but we are about 80% of the way there! There will be customs fees, extra baggage charges, and rental of a vehicle to transport all of our things to Taubaté. We’re thankful that we’ve been able to save a substantial amount toward our set up costs, but if you’d be interested in helping please feel free to reach out to us.
Thank you again for your prayer on our behalf and most certainly your partnership with us financially for the Gospel. Every day that we get closer to arriving in Brazil our desire to be there grows greater and greater!
Keith, Jamie, Elaina, and Clayton Putnam | Philippians 2:16
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