The Scoop

We have had a fantastic month visiting churches in Milwaukee, Onalaska, Plymouth, Eagle River, Tomah among others. God is moving in our church family and we have been able to bear witness to great things. This is what we have on the calendar so far for April:

• Lemont, IL
• Kenosha, WI
• Centuria, WI
• Shawano, WI
• Brookfield, WI
• Appleton, WI (District Council)
• Eau Claire, WI
• North Dakota (Dickinson & Kulm)
• Minnesota (Eagan, Apple Valley, St. Paul, Mpls)

Prayer Points

• Vehicle - please pray with us that we will be able to find a car/minivan to borrow for the next several months as we finish up itineration. We are currently using a leased vehicle which we will soon have to relinquish.

News

Thank you for your big hearts that give and pray faithfully. Because of you, we have 50% of the required pledges! You are the reason that we are able to follow the Great Commission.

Happy Birthday, Grayson!
We celebrated Grayson's first birthday (April 1) with joy and thankfulness for the blessing God has given us. It is exciting to think that we will be celebrating his 2nd birthday in Scotland!

New Prayer Cards

Here's a peek at our new prayer cards hot off the press, thanks to Missions Linked. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer. We love you!

The River

Over the past months that we have been visiting churches to share our hearts for Scotland, there have been some very precious times that God has used people to speak into our lives.

A couple weeks ago a woman shared a vision that she received for us. She saw ancient ruins as dry as bones, and the remnants of an ancient building without a top.

Running through the middle of the ruins was a very wide river that was white not from rapids, but from the speed that it was bringing life into the dry land.


She went on to tell us that this is how God is going to pour out his Spirit through our ministry in Scotland. You can imagine our thrill and amazement to hear such a vision, confirming God's outpouring on its way!

The Nitty Gritty...23%

We are more than half way through the time allowed for itineration and we have 23% of the necessary pledges. Doing the math you can see that we need a big boost of pledges from friends, small groups and churches.

If you are waiting for a rainy day to start your pledge, I hear that there is a thunderstorm headed our way. :)

In order to leave for the field, we need 100% of active (currently giving) pledges.

You might think that your contribution of $5 or $10 a month is small, but...if everyone reading these words did that, we would be at 100% in an instant!

If you want to invest in the Kingdom through this ministry, please click here to complete a commitment form. Or you could give us a call, send an email or send a carrier pigeon and we'll walk you through the easy process. We would LOVE to hear from you!

~ Tod & Andrea

Commissioning Adventure

We took our first family road trip when we packed up and headed to Missouri for 3 weeks of Missionary Training followed by our Missionary Commissioning Service.

There we were able to be with other new and veteran missionaries from all over the world. We felt like college kids again staying in the dorms and learning our way around the campus of Central Bible College, who graciously hosted all 800 of us!

The last night of our trip was especially memorable as we were officially commissioned by Assemblies of God World Missions, along with 99 more new missionaries who are going to serve in 46 different countries.

During our commissioning prayer, Grayson began to cry and I had to think fast...which someone happened to capture on film. :)


We feel tremendously blessed to have been called and commissioned. We thank God for you who are investing in the Kingdom through your prayers and giving in order to serve the nation of Scotland for Christ!

Your missionaries to Scotland,
Tod & Andrea

FAQs

Q. Have you been to Scotland?
A. Yes, we were married in Stranraer in 2000.

Q. Are you taking your baby with you? (Yes, we
really have been asked this question...twice!)
A. We'll see. Just kidding, I'm sure you know the
answer to that one. :)

2%

2%

When you see 2%, you might think about milk. We're fans of skim ourselves, but many prefer the blue-capped, reduced fat variety. When we see 2%, we think of something else.

Ready for this one? Only 2% of the nation of Scotland are believers. Two percent. As I write I'm sitting at my kitchen table in disbelief even though I've heard the fact many times.

98% of an entire country has never heard the Gospel of Christ. And we're not talking about the hidden jungles, but a developed and wealthy nation.

We want to give our lives to make a difference in this country.

The Challenge
We hope you will consider "The $10 Challenge." Consider partnering with this ministry at $10/month. Your support is like pumping gas in our "Get-to-the-Mission-Field-Machine" and every dollar gets us that much closer.

We also hope you'll pray for us when you grab the gallon of milk...cow, goat, rice or soy...out of your fridge. Click here to give today. God bless you as you give in faith.

Yours for the universities of Scotland,
Tod & Andrea

p.s. While bathing Grayson in hammock attachment for newborns (which, unknown to us he had exceeded the weight limit and thus his limbs were hanging over the sides), Tod instructed, "Please keep your hands and feet inside the boat at all times!" :)

The Tiniest Chapin

Grayson Ilias Chapin was welcomed into the world on April 1, 2008 and we could not be happier!

He tells us that he is looking forward to moving to Scotland and catching the accent. For right now, we'll have to pick up his slack because he refuses to carry his own luggage. :)

We are looking forward to visiting churches with our little one in tow, and we cannot wait for you to meet him!

Snapshot ~ University of Aberdeen

Of the 200,000 residents in the city of Aberdeen, 60,000 of them are university students. You can imagine our opportunity for ministry living in a town where 1 out of every 3 people you meet on the street is a student.

There are three main universities in Aberdeen, with the University of Aberdeen being the most well known. This internationally distinguished school was founded in 1495 and for more than 500 years has been educating young people in life sciences, physical sciences, arts, social sciences, medicine and law at graduate and post-graduate levels.

Today's students
are tomorrow's leaders.

We have the chance to change a nation by reconciling students to Christ, preparing his followers for service to the church and to the world.

Thankful

Dear Friends,

We have so much to be thankful for. After carrying a burden on our hearts for more than seven years to serve in missions ministry, I wish we could explain the joy of God saying,

"It's time."

There are young people in Scotland - right now as you read this - trying to get through life without Jesus. Can you imagine (or remember?) what a dark and lonely road that is?

He has called us to connect with His people there - to help change the destiny of a nation. To radiate Christ in Scotland. Will this ministry be part of your story too? Consider partnering with us.

To partner with this ministry:

• Commitment Form (Online pledge form that lets the AG know you plan to give monthly to this ministry)
• Automatic Authorization form (For those who don't want to send checks every month, print and mail/fax this form. Your contribution can be automatically taken out of your checking account. Be sure to complete a Commitment Form above as well.)
• To join our Prayer Team, please email us. Check out our Prayer Team calendar to see who is praying for us today!

Blessings to you,

Tod & Andrea