Special Update

Greetings to you in Jesus' name. In this month's update we want to share some special needs that we have as a family. Though it is not always easy to share our needs in such an open manner, we trust that we will be able to communicate our heart effectively and that the Lord will give you wisdom in how to pray for us during these days.

As you know three and a half years ago we took a great step of faith as a family to move to South Africa in order to serve the Lord in the calling we have upon our lives. We have seen over and over again throughout these years how this step was and still is in the perfect will of God for our lives. In addition to leaving our home in the United States and the blessings of being close to family and friends, we also stepped into the unknown of totally trusting the Lord to provide for us financially through His body. As you know, during the years prior to our moving to South Africa, Cliff always worked to provide for our family and we trusted the Lord to bring in the necessary provision for the work of the ministry as he traveled back and forth to Africa in order to strengthen and encourage the body of Christ. We knew that when we moved to South Africa Cliff would not be able to work as he had in the past due to our immigration status here and that we were entering a new season of faith as a family and with our ministry. As a result, upon our initial move to South Africa we solicited from many of you to prayerfully consider becoming financial partners with us in this work and some of you responded positively. For those of you who have given regularly and faithfully we are very grateful. It has been totally through the financial gifts of individuals that we have been able to live here and conduct our continued outreach to this great continent. Up to this time we have never received financial support from any churches or organizations for our work here in Africa.

We have tried to make it a point to not continually talk about money over the years because we know that this type of communication can be misunderstood in various ways. We also know that the Lord knows our needs and He is able to communicate to the hearts of people when it is time to release provision for us. We have felt from time to time to share specific needs so that you can pray for us and be involved as the Lord leads. We pray diligently before communicating with you concerning our financial needs as we want to walk in the Spirit and communicate in the way the Lord would want us to and not just in ways that seem right to us according to what we see in the natural.

We feel that the Lord has directed us to share openly with you regarding our financial needs at this time. We find ourselves at a challenging time presently in our general needs and we want to simply share those details with you openly so you can pray for us during this time. For the last three years we have lived and operated our ministry here on an average of $2,200 a month! We believe that this is quite a miracle considering all we have been able to do for the Lord during this time. Cliff has been able to minister in twelve different african nations and we have been involved in numerous ministry efforts in our own town here in South Africa. This amount has been provided on average by about 15-18 people monthly while we communicate regularly with over 200 people. We know that God always does a lot with little, but we also believe that there may be more of you who would want to consider becoming part of those who regularly support our work here in Africa. We have seen a definite trend over these three years that giving to our ministry always decreases during the summer months. In the last three months we have seen a considerable fall in our support. In the month of June our ministry only received $800 in general gifts. In July, we have currently received $1,000. This drop in giving presents a practical challenge for us to live here and makes the ministry efforts very difficult for us. We have received a few designated gifts that will be funding a trip to the middle east to teach and train pastors there in August, for which we are very grateful. The work for the Kingdom is our first priority financially and we are willing to make sacrifices for the work to continue, but the practical needs of our family, including the increase in therapy costs for our son, require money also.

We realize that there is a fine line in communicating with you concerning our financial needs. We know that God is able to provide for all our needs in abundance. We also believe that those who love and care most about us should know what we face in regards to our practical needs. We do not enjoy the benefit of some missionaries who have a large mission organization backing them financially with comfortable salaries and benefit packages. We do not in any way judge those who do enjoy such benefits, we simply know that it is not where God has called us to walk. So we are completely dependent upon the body as each of you gives as the Holy Spirit leads.

We are asking that you please pray with us during this time. We would like to ask you to seriously consider partnering with us for an extended time in our efforts here in Africa and the rest of the world. It does not take a large commitment from any one individual. It simply takes a consistent amount from each of you as the Lord directs. You may be able to only give a small amount monthly while others can give much more. What matters most is that each obeys the Lord and also remembers to be consistent in their commitment to do so. If you desire any more details regarding our specific needs and requirements as a family we would gladly provide them for you. Please do not hesitate to ask.

We love and appreciate you and know that God will direct you.

In His strong hand,

Cliff & Stephanie Canipe