Buczak Buzz~April 2009

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3

What's the Buzz?

It’s been almost two years since our internship trip to Togo, West Africa. In that two years Ryan finished his flight training, we have moved to Everett, Washington, had a baby girl, and were appointed with ABWE to serve the Lord full time in Togo.

Appointed. March 9-16 we attended missionary candidate training seminar with ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) in Harrisburg, PA. Monday, March 16th we went before the board and were appointed to serve as church-planting missionaries in Togo, West Africa.

We are excited about ministry opportunities available in Togo. In December, the airplane that Ryan worked on during our internship trip flew for the first time in over ten years! To date, there is an airstrip, hangar, and airplane ready and waiting for a missionary pilot. We and two other pilot families are on our way to Togo to put the plane to good use. The ultimate purpose of the plane will be to plant churches in regions that may never otherwise have the privilege of “exalting His name together” with us.

Aviation. Here in Everett, Ryan works full-time as an aircraft mechanic. He got just the job he was looking for gaining experience on small piston aircraft. He will have more than enough maintenance hours required by ABWE by the time we leave for Togo. However, since he received his commercial pilot license last June, he hasn’t had many opportunities to fly. Before we can leave for Togo, he needs to have 100 more hours to reach the 400 hour requirement.

What’s Next? Well, as missionaries it is time to start raising support. We are on what is known as pre-field ministry. In the weeks and months to come we will be preparing literature, scheduling church meetings, and inviting partners to join us in the ministry. Our goal is to spend 2 to 3 years in pre-field ministry, 1½ to 2 years in France for language school, and be in Togo within the next 5 years—all-the-while realizing that it is the Lord who directs our steps.

Would you pray for us as we begin this new chapter in our lives? It is our desire above all that God is glorified in every step we take. Please pray that the Lord would teach us, strengthen us, and use us, not just in pre-field ministry, but in every area of our lives.

Thank your for the investments you have made in us. May our Lord bless you in His ministry.

Prayer Requests and Praises:
· Pray that we would have the organization and discipline to get our pre-field ministry off the ground and running.
· Pray that God would raise up a team dedicated to seeing the lost come to know the Lord in Togo.
· Pray for us as we begin a Bible study in our apartment complex.
· Praise that we were accepted with ABWE as missionaries.
· Praise that we have a beautiful, healthy little girl.

Immediate Needs:
· Prayer card graphic design and funding.
· Tri-fold brochure graphic design and funding.
· Projector for church presentations.
· A dedicated prayer and encouragement team.

If you would like to be added to our letter list via snail mail or email, please let me know. SB

Better go eat

I have some great pictures of Leslie I want to post, but I've been working on our prayer letter so much that I shouldn't actually even be writing this. Baby is asleep and I just realized how hungry I am! Stay tuned for a prayer letter and some great pictures.

Appointed

Well, it's official. Ryan and I were appointed on Monday as prefield missionaries to Togo, West Africa with ABWE. Ryan will serve as a church planting missionary pilot, and I will serve as mommy and probably administrative assistant to the aviation ministry. I also hope to help with other children's ministries in the hospital, etc., but we will see what those are when we get there. I've also mentioned serving the deaf children there, and yes, that is a desire of my heart, but we will have to see how the Lord works that out in the future.
For now, we are prefield missionaries. This weekend Ryan and I will sit down and sort through everything we learned at Candidate Seminar and put together a game plan for this new ministry in our lives. If you'd like to see us in your church, leave us a message or give us a call. We'll begin setting up our meetings as soon as possible.
We're looking forward to building our support team!

The Lion King

Ryan and I went to see Broadway's The Lion King at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle for my birthday. It was SO good! I can't even describe to you how awesome everything was. Almost every character is puppeted by the actor in one way or another. AMAZING! If you ever get a chance to go see it, do it. Though I've heard that this is the last time it will be showing in Seattle.

Leslie stayed home with Grandmary. They did well though Leslie wouldn't take her bottle. It was special to me to come home to her crying (she'd only been crying 10 minutes), pick her up, and all her trials were over. She was loving all over me after she gobbled up her meal. She slept all the way through the night again!

EBC Missions Conference

Our time at Edgewood Bible Church this weekend was so enriching! Of course, it's always nice being home, but this time Ryan felt more at home as well. He enjoyed getting to know the men on a more personal level at the men's breakfast, etc. Sunday night when everyone was packing up to leave, he looked up from a conversation and realized, "Oh, I'm supposed to be doing that too!" This time I felt like I had to drag him out the door instead of the usual other way around.

We did get our first glimpse of what deputation is going to look like with a little one. I'm thinking it will be quite a challenge. Hopefully Leslie will get used to lots and lots of people. Though, it was good for her. Saturday and last night she slept through the whole night very well! It really hasn't been my goal to get her to sleep through the nights, but it was nice to get some extra rest last night.

Thanks again EBC for your commitment to missions. You mean the world to us!