The Underwood Family

Missionaries to Argentina

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November 2017 Underwood Family Prayer Letter

November has been a very exciting and fruitful month here in South Africa! We have been running on all eight cylinders all month long and there’s no slowing down in sight!

So far this month, we’ve had a Missions Emphasis Sunday, a Youth led Thursday evening midweek service, and a special Thanksgiving Sunday and meal after! All of these services have been super special and I am blown away at how the folks at Soweto Baptist Church have been serving one another!

During our Missions Sunday, we prayed for the countries of China, India, and Argentina. We prayed for the Tolson’s, and Johnson’s in China, the Roberts and Elrod’s in India, and the Henry’s and King’s in Argentina! It was exciting to see our folks lifting up these folks in a special time of prayer!

During our Youth led service, Likhaya, Athule, and Apiwe each brought a 10 minute message that was very powerful. They spent several hours and days preparing and working to bring solid bible messages. Sibusiso (Skere) led our song service as well and did a fantastic job!

We had 82 people in attendance for our special Thanksgiving service last Sunday! Somehow, we fed almost 100 🙂 I think a few might have slipped in after the service… but we had a blast! One thing that really stuck out to me was how our leaders served everyone else first, including children. They ran out of food before they were able to get a plate, yet they were just thrilled to serve. It really was a show of Philippians 2:3! We made sure they had something to eat afterwards!

Tonight, we will be having a candle light Lord’s Supper service together! I am greatly looking forward to being with the folks as we remember the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf and display that sacrifice as we worship by taking part in the Lord’s Supper!

Some prayer requests to remember:

  1. Camp is just 3 weeks away! There are still several teens that need to be sponsored, so if you would like to help sponsor a teen, you still have time! Just designate any gift to:
    Vision Baptist Missions
    Attn: Stephen Underwood/Camp
    P.O. Box 442
    Alpharetta, GA 30009

  2. Continue praying for Soweto Baptist Church and the Hall family as they are Stateside for a short furlough! We miss them greatly and are looking forward to their return!

  3. Continue praying for Ashlee and me as we continue learning and practicing Xhosa! We are still a long way from where we desire or even need to be in order to be effective at ministering in this country!

Thank you all for your continued love, prayers, and support for our family! We are eternally grateful!

Your Missionaries to South Africa,

Stephen, Ashlee, Peyton, Eli, and Neyland
The Underwood Family
Acts 20:24
southafricamissions.com

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October 2017 Prayer Letter

  

I cannot believe we are in the last quarter of the year already! 2017 is flying by and there doesn’t seem to be any slowing down any time soon! All I can say is, God sure has been good to us this year!

September was a great month of preaching, teaching, and events at Soweto Baptist Church! We celebrated with our people there for the 2nd Heritage Day since our family arrived on the field fourteen months ago. God blessed with a wonderful service and a sweet spirit among the folks that attended.

The last two days, I was privileged to take some of the young guys from Soweto to Kwadwesi Extension, where Pastor Sipho Bonga has started a second church, for a two day Kid’s Crusade! We had a wonderful time and witnessed several children make professions of faith! This was not only a great opportunity to reach this area, but it was invaluable training time for our guys from Soweto!

Tomorrow, Missionary Kevin Hall will be starting missions conference at Grace Baptist Church. We are looking forward to a combined service with our folks from Soweto attending for our mid week service. I will also have the opportunity to preach Friday evening to bring a challenge of missions.

I would like to ask you to pray with us for the following:

  • The decisions made during the Kid’s Crusade and that Pastor Sipho will be able to follow up with them and reach their families as well!
  • Pray for Soweto Baptist Church as we continue to preach, teach, and invest in these awesome folks while Jeremy and Bekah Hall are on furlough. (We sure miss them!)
  • Please pray for Camp Rhino 2017! We will be hosting the 3rd annual summer camp December 11-15th in Jeffrey’s Bay! We are expecting another great year with over 100 teens attending. Each person is charged R300 (roughly $25) for the week. This does not come close to covering the actual cost, so if you would like to sponsor a teen for the week, or would like to help with the overall cost, please let me know!

We are grateful to have received many emails of encouragement and love from many of you over the last several weeks! I wanted to tell you that it means the world to us to know that you all pray for us and think of us even though we are half way across the world! You are truly a blessing to our family!

As always, thank you for your continued love, prayers, and support for our family! We are eternally grateful for your investment in us that we may be able to invest in souls!

Your Missionaries to South Africa,

Stephen, Ashlee, Peyton, Eli, and Neyland
The Underwood Family
Acts 20:24
southafricamissions.com

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September 2017 Prayer Letter

The pressure is on! For three Sunday’s now, I have been preaching in Xhosa! Two Sunday’s ago, I was privileged to lead the Lord’s Supper in Xhosa and much to my surprise, everyone took it like they were supposed to!

The calendar is full of events to help keep everyone busy in Jeremy and Bekah’s absence while they are Stateside for furlough! Each Friday, we continue to have youth meetings. On Sunday, we have a morning service, then an afternoon bible study.

Ashlee is leading the children’s church on Sunday morning and teaching the ladies bible study in the afternoon! This is certainly a time of spiritual stretching, and language practice for us; but we are grateful for the opportunity!

Thulasizwe is growing! He has proven to be hungry to learn and faithful to anything we do in the location! I am excited to see the direction his life goes in the next few years! I believe God will use him in a mighty way.

A few things to pray about with us are:

  1. Camp coming up December 11-15! Hard to believe that is just around the corner! While we charge R300 (roughly $25) for each teen to attend camp, we provide several work days for them to raise the money to go. Ultimately, this is an expense our team shares so that we have an opportunity to invest in these young people. Please pray with us that God will meet the financial needs of our annual teen camp!
  2. Soweto Baptist Church! With Jeremy and Bekah Hall in the States, Ashlee and I are holding down the fort so to speak. Please pray with me for wisdom and the ability to lead during this time. I am honored to have this opportunity!
  3. Pray for souls! While we are continuing to invite folks from Missionvale, where we plan to start a church, we are continuing to reach out in Soweto and invite folks in the area to attend church! My prayer is that many of the folks we invited will come, hear the gospel, and trust Christ as their Savior!

I want to thank you all for your continued love, prayers, and support of our family! You all are truly an encouragement and blessing to our ministry! I pray that there will be much fruit added to your account!

Your Missionaries to South Africa,

Stephen, Ashlee, Peyton, Eli, and Neyland
The Underwood Family
Acts 20:24
southafricamissions.com