It was a promising July morning as the crowds gathered to look to the sky with waiting and anticipation. The day brought with it the promise of earth-shattering dreams realized, the fruits of years of research, testing, and work being rewarded, and even a President’s promise actually becoming true. The world was no longer looking up at the sky but rather out to the possibility of “a whole new world” (Disney fans may thank me later). They watched as the elevator ascended to the sky carrying Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin: their champions being sent out for all mankind. It slowed to a halt as these hallowed men reached their entrance point to Apollo 11, their chariot to the heavens. The earth held its breath as the countdown ensued: T-minus 10… 9… 8…

T-minus 2.5 months… (give or take a couple days)

Ok we do realize that our vision trip to Africa my not be quite as momentous of an occasion in the scope of human history, but we are still excited about it and hope that you are as well. We very much appreciate all of the prayer that we have received towards preparations for the trip and also for our lives in general as we feel God’s gracious hand in our lives daily. We also very much appreciate those who have partnered with us financially on this trip as we have considered ourselves so very blessed to benefit from your generosity. It is indeed only two months from when we will be in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, but those two months will be busy.

So here is the two and a half month rundown until we depart for Africa. We currently have about a month left in Bayport, MN where we are both working and trying to enjoy every ounce of non-winter weather we can get from this quickly vanishing Minnesota autumn. Following our departure from Minnesota, we will finally be taking a honeymoon because apparently hanging out with me in school in Spokane back at the end of May just didn’t cut it for the Mrs. (Ok, maybe I am a little bit excited about finally getting a honeymoon as well.) We will then be headed to Virginia for Thanksgiving with family and to see my brother graduate his Marine Corp Reserves Officer Candidate School. We will have a few weeks back home in Delavan following Thanksgiving before we go to Nampa, Idaho to do orientation at MAF headquarters. From there we head to Washington for Christmas and back to Minnesota for my brother’s wedding on January 2nd ! We are then off to Africa.

S

Samuelsons Spoken ForIn Spokane... St. PaulOctober 16, 2015

A decent view in Alaska with my old man (who can still pretty much outhike me any day!)

BSN, RNTo some of you reading the heading above

this paragraph, you may not understand the significance of what appears to be gibberish. However, to my wife, those letters represent what she has worked, studied, and lost many hours of sleep over for the last 16 consecutive months. However, we are now proud to say that Anna officially has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and is a registered nurse (RN) since she has passed her NCLEX test! (In her words, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!”) She will not be looking for a job until we move back to Spokane, but she is really hoping to be able to use her new skills by volunteering in a hospital when we are in Africa.

Vision TripAs we said earlier, we are so incredibly

thankful for all of the prayer and financial support we have received towards our endeavor on this vision trip with MAF to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. We still have not quite reached our goal for having the trip fully funded, but we are only about $1,000 away from that! We would ask again that you prayerfully consider supporting us financially, and if God lays it upon your heart to give to us, there are several options for that to be done. You may do it online at

www.maf.org/samuelson or by phone by calling 1-800-FLYSMAF and asking for donor services. If you are interested in writing a check, it can be made out to MAF with a note included that specifies it is for our vision trip. Those checks may be sent to:

MAFATTN: Recruiting

PO Box 47Nampa, ID 83653

Even more than financial support, we ask for prayer as we prepare ourselves for this trip and as we depart on it. We really are taking this trip very seriously as we feel that this may be the direction that God leads us in the future, and we ask for prayer in that regard. Please pray that God uses this trip to direct us and guide us in the plans that He has for us, and please pray that we respond in obedience to his purposes with our lives. We also ask that you pray for our hearts and our minds to be ready for when God presents opportunities to use us on this trip to further his kingdom. We know it could be very easy to stick to ourselves in our own little bubble, but we want God to push us out of our comfort zone into His far greater plan, which may not be comfortable for us. Pray that God gives us attitudes of humility and servanthood. And finally, please pray for safe travels and for experiences we will cherish for a lifetime. We thank you in advance for how your prayers will go with us.

In Christ,Benjamin and Anna Samuelson

Anna graduating nursing school with her friends!

Hard to beat a summer ball game with friends and first base line seats!