Summertime in Ensenada!

Ensenada, Mexico!

We are so excited about the Lord’s movement in Baja California.  As you may know, we were a bit surprised when the Lord led our family to move to this small town called Chapultepec, south of Ensenada. We weren’t sure what our life here would be like, or why the Lord even wanted us here, but we knew He said “Go.”

 It’s getting close to a year that we’ve been here and we’re full of joy and gratitude for the Lord showing us His will and for this season of our lives.  As you may know, after much prayer, we were led to plant a church.  Actually, the Lord brought the people, before we realized the church had been planted!  It was incredible to start with just 2 families meeting together and before we knew it, word was spreading of a new, english speaking house church.

Now, BAJA FELLOWSHIP, has about 40 regular attendees….sometimes more. Families, missionaries, interns serving different ministries, and locals have been attending.  We’ve had the privilege of having a separate kids teaching for our kids who are 10 and under, for the last few months as well.

The time has flown by and we are feeling roots go down quickly here. The role the Lord has given us in pastoring a church has produced a deep love and burden for the people we are serving.  We are learning the discipline and joy of serving the Body like never before. Our relationships with the people who consider Baja Fellowship their home church is a new and unique thing for us and we truly feel the love of God for them! 

We are asking that you would pray for us as we help lead them toward Christ Jesus in a deep, convicting and powerful way! We are zealous to share the good news and truth of our King, to those we are shepherding. We would love you to pray for wisdom and understanding for us, and also for the people here.

Baja Fellowship meets every Sunday at 10am for worship, Bible teaching, personal prayer and ministry, then we enjoy a potluck together. The friendships have a chance to grow during that time of ‘breaking bread’ together.  That is a critical time as we believe the Lord is using that fellowship to forge relationships between the different ministries represented here.  We also meet on Thursday evenings for worship and prayer and have had amazing and unexpected personal ministry times. Theo leads prayer at the YWAM prayer room, has been teaching interns at YUGO and YWAM and meets with several different people to pray with and be a brother in their lives.

Throughout our time together, we’ve celebrated many birthdays, dedicated babies to the Lord and recently said goodbye to a close family, The Whitted’s, who the Lord led back the States. We also prayed over and said goodbye to one of our worship leaders, Rachel Villaire, who left the Ensenada YWAM base to serve the base in Geneva, Switzerland! Within the next month we’ll sadly say goodbye to another worship leader, Jacob Kemp, who will be moving back to his home country, England, for worship school. We are VERY excited to have good friends of ours, Henry and Aneliz Bruno and their 3 daughters move down from IHOP_KC to be part of our fellowship and leadership at Baja. They are scheduled to arrive in October.

Melissa has been the kid’s teacher at Baja Fellowship over the last 3 months. Beginning next week, we will be training a local believer, Teresita,  who is attending our church, to help Melissa serve the kids on Sundays. Teresita loves the Lord, has a passion for prayer and is eager to use her gifts to serve the church, especially with the kids!  It’s exciting for us that we even have a role for someone to serve in and get more connected! Besides Sundays, Melissa is working hard with the girls at home.  She’s been learning more and more, the biblical role of wives and mothers and feels strongly the conviction to pursue it with her whole heart.

If you weren’t aware via facebook, Melissa miscarried last month. It was a time of difficulty where the Lord showed us His kindness in a way we’ve never experienced. Fear and sadness were far removed from us, and we were filled with the love and grace of God. I wrote about our experience with it on our blog. www.steinhauerfamily.blogspot.com 

            

Stella turned 5 this week and she’s very excited to begin Kindergarden in the Fall. There are several families, including us, serving the Lord in our immediate area who will be starting a homeschool co-op this year. We are excited for a Christian, structured, homeschool opportunity for the girls here!

Naya is doing great and is learning the basics of preschool. She still loves to pray and enjoys playing with Stella and being Taina’s best friend!

Olivia is currently getting over the chicken pox! We’re blessed that it was a mild case and besides 1 or 2 days, she’s been her normal happy self.  She’s a year and a half old and we notice that like the other girls when her age, seems to grow over night! She’s also enjoying being able to play with her big sisters more and more.

The Lord has given us a new vision to raise up a team of people who have a heart for missions and to pray for what the Lord is doing through our family and actually partner with us in the Lord’s purposes. We are becoming more and more confident in the Lord’s provision and ask that you would consider a personal partnership with us. This is kind of how you ‘adopt’ a child who lives in another country, only it would be us. J  

That would include us praying for each other regularly, being in touch on a regular basis via email, phone, facebook and/or skype,  and supporting our family and Baja Fellowship through prayer and finances.

We have a few 1-time/random needs that there is currently no budget for and if you are interested in helping with those, please let us know. Our most consistent need though, is that of monthly income to cover our normal bills.  Over the recent months our support has dropped so we are making about $800/month total. Obviously, that is more than ‘tight’ for a family of 5. The Lord is showing us how to live modestly, with joy, but there are still some consistent needs that need to be covered.

We continue to be covered by and accountable to our sending church in Florida, the Harbour Church, and still raise our support through their missions organization, Light International. If you would like to “adopt”-partner with us please tell us!  We thrive on relationships and truly want that with whoever the Lord sends to support our work for Him!

Contact Info.

Email:  theosteinhauer@gmail.com   /   melissasteinhauer@gmail.com

Magic Jack phone:  (949) 945-5956

Facebook:   Theo n Melissa Steinhauer

Skype:   theo.melissa.steinhauer

Blogs:  www.steinhauerfamily.blogspot.com   /   www.bajafellowship.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:    Theo and Melissa Steinhauer

                             PMB-022 , PO BOX 189003

                             Coronado, CA 92178

To Support us as a tax deductible donation:   www.lightinternational.org 

Click on ‘Sponsor a Light Missionary,’ then on ‘give online.’ You can set up automatic with-drawl as well if you’d like. If you need help or would like more information, you can call Light International at (954) 876-0302.

Theo teaching the interns at YUGO.

Trisha, Melissa, Debbie and Charity after church.

Excuses?

I wonder why we excuse ourselves from following the God's directions for our lives, which are written in the Word so clearly, but we expect our children to follow what we say and be obedient to our directions??! I write this humbly and with the fear of the Lord, because I know how much I fall short… but, it's kinda crazy. And completely hypocritical. I get so bothered when my almost 5 year old disobeys me when she knows the right thing to do...and there are ‘clear as day’ instructions for how I should live and do things, but I, like tons of christian women/people, just don't do it. And then call is ‘grace.’

 We have enough sense to recognize when our children disobey us and not just let it slide and call is 'grace,' don't we? So why do we do that and think we'll be alright?! We won't and things don’t turn out well when we pattern our lives like that. It's sin and we need to repent and change.  For me, I've come across a list of scripture instructions for women who claim to be devoted to God. I'm praying that God would help me and change my mind about my own ways and help me be obedient to his directions. Here they are…probably not all, but a lot.

Biblical Instructions for Women

1 Corinthians 14:34-35:  “Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive just as the law says. If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.”

1 Timothy 2:9-15: “And I want women to be modest in their appearance. {or pray in modest apparel}They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. Women should learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. {teach men or usurp their authority} Let them listen quietly. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. But the women will be saved through childbearing {or will be saved by accepting their role as mothers, or will be saved by the birth of the Child}, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.”

1 Timothy 3: 11 : “In the same way, their wives {or the women deacons} must be respected and must not slander others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do.”

Proverbs 5:18-19: “Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satistfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.”

Proverbs 9:13-18: “The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t even know it. She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city. She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business. “Come in with me” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgement, she says, “Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tasted the best! But little do they know that they dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.”

Proverbs 11:16: “A gracious woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.”

Proverbs 12:4: “A worthy wife is a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful woman is like cancer in his bones.”

Proverbs 14:1: “A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.”

Proverbs 18:22: “The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord.”

Proverbs 19:13-14: “A foolish child is a calamity to a father; a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping.”

Proverbs 21:9 & 19: “It’s better to live alone in a corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.” “It’s better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife.”

Proverbs 23:27-28: “A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well. She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful.”

Proverbs 24:3-4: “A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.”

Proverbs 27:15-16: “A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day. Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands.”

Proverbs 30:20: “An adulterous woman consumes as man, then wipes her mouth and says, ‘what’s wrong with that?’ “

Proverbs 31:10-31: “Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious thatn rubies. Her husband can trust her and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good and not harm, all the days of her life. She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchants ship bringing her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the days work for her servant girls. She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night. Her hans are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes. She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders. She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her. ‘There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all.’ Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.”

1 Corinthians 7:3-6: “The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s sexual needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband give authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command.”

1 Corinthians 7:39-40: “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes but only if he loves the Lord. But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.”

1 Corinthians 11:3-15: “But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. A man dishonors his head {or Christ} if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. But a woman dishonors her head {or her husband} if she prays or prophesies without covering her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.{or should have long hair}. A man should not wear anything on his head when worshipping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. A woman reflects man’s glory. For the first man did not come from woman, but the first woman came from man. And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. For this reason, and because angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority. But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God.  Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair? And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.”

Ephesians 5:22-24, 33: “For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.” “So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

Colossians 3:18: “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.”

1 Timothy 5:5, 9-16: “Now a true widow, a woman who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. She prays night and day, asking God for his help. But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while she lives.” “A widow who is put on the list for support must be a woman who is at least 60 years old and was faithful to her husband. {or was the wife of one husband}. She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers and her served other believers humbly? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good? The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry. Then they would be quilty of breaking their previous pledge. And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t. SO I advise these younger widows to marry again, have children and take care of their own homes. Then the enemy will not be able to say anything against them. For I am afraid that some of them have already gone astray and now follow Satan. If a woman who is a believer has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone.”

Titus 2:3-5: “Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes{or care for their home}, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the Word of God.”

1 Peter 3:1-6: “In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband Abraham, and called him master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.”

I encourage you to take some time to study these and ask the Lord how you might change some things in your life as well! Let's be zealous to not only live in the freedom of Christ, but to love God, by obeying his commands. {1 John 5:3} "This is love for God; to obey his commands." 

A Cup of Water

Last night as we were getting set to start our prayer meeting, we noticed some people standing outside our gate. I went out to meet them, thinking it was new people who wanted to come pray with us. It was 3 sisters, age 17, 18 and 19. They came to ask for food. They were hungry. So , I brought them inside. It was amazing to see why my husband felt like making a bit of extra rice while making dinner and why a friend who came to prayer decided to bring tamales just b/c she had them leftover and thought someone there would like them. God saw those sisters...and their need... and had us prepared for them. It was an honor to serve them food and drink. And even more amazing to offer them the incredible joy, peace, love, and security that comes with giving your life to Jesus. I cried as I imagined my own 3 daughters roaming the streets, hungry, but the Word says in Psalms 37:25 "Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread."  Also, Matthew 25:45 says "And he will answer, 'I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.''  It's a sobering thought.

I also thought how interesting and perfectly planned out that these 3 sisters would show up to a home with 3 daughters. I don't believe in coincidence. It was crazy to introduce them to our 3 daughters and see such a vast difference, but similar in so many ways, too. I realized that God doesn't have favorites, but when we are willing and wanting Him, he says, "But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands." Exodus 20:6.

The Word also says "The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent." in 2 Peter 3:9  So, how amazing is that?? He is patiently waiting for all who would repent {which is just to genuinely say you're sorry for all the nasty junk/disobedience to Him} and start following His instructions and live a long and happy life! {How hard is it to see how wonderful and good that is?!}

So needless to say, after we prayed for them and shared who Jesus is and offered them His salvation, they left and the rest of our prayer meeting was with a heavy heart. We prayed for them more and for other things too. I went to bed with them on my mind and woke up to them on my mind. We told them they can come back to our house anytime they need help or would like to give their lives to Jesus. Please pray for them...their names are Adriana, Gabriella and Surje.

And if you are reading this and haven't given your life to the Creator of everything... know that it's the absolutely best thing you could ever do for yourself, your children and your children's children. What we do in life, passes along down through our line of descendants. Give yourself and your children, GOD!

Peace

It's been a very unusual Mother's Day for me... I mourn the fact that death and sickness happen in this life...which no one can escape, and that we're walking through a personal example of that...But by God's grace and mercy, I've been able to separate that, from the fact that our 4th baby is with the Creator of heaven and earth right now...and only for a while we'll be apart, but one day we'll be together again. What else in this life can give a person peace of mind and hope like that?? If you truly believe, then there is peace! God is so gracious and kind to walk through difficulty with us! 
I hope it doesn't seem like I'm being insensitive to it all...we've cried ALOT. Obviously, we wish we could have had that baby. But God has been so kind to show us His perspective on it and that's where the peace comes in. John 8:32 "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." So even today...Mother's Day...I'm free from sadness or depression. I have peace and joy over the goodness of my King! 

Mother's Day 2012

This is an abnormal and exciting Mother's Day for me this year. I have no choice for it to be abnormal, but I am choosing for it to be exciting. For 5 years now, I've been blessed by being on the receiving end of Mother's Day, and what an honor it has been. This year we celebrate it with a twist.

I am almost 10 weeks pregnant as I write this. I usually show early and I already have a belly. My girls have been really excited for another baby brother or sister and so have Theo and I. We fully believe what the Bible says about children...that they are a blessing, an inheritance from Him, and a reward. We are happy and excited over every pregnancy and it is never a curse or punishment, as some may believe. In His kindness, He blesses with a child.

A few weeks ago, I got some strong cramps and was not feeling good. I went to the doctor and he told me that my baby had stopped growing and had no heartbeat. I was advised to go right away for a D & C.  I was brokenhearted. I also can't tell if I fell into denial of it all, or if I rose up with faith and hope that the doctor was wrong and my baby was fine....that he misread the ultrasound. I went home, spoke with Theo and we prayed. We decided to wait and not have the D & C that day as the doctor was recommending. As I waited and prayed, my body felt pretty ok. I felt pregnant. Nothing abnormal was happening, and I found a website dedicated to misdiagnosed miscarriages. Most of the stories were exactly like mine and their babies were perfectly healthy, which made my denial/hope that the dr was wrong even stronger!

We became convinced that our baby was healthy and because of my tilted uterus and the abdominal ultrasound that they used {rather than the trans-vaginal ultrasound which is what they usually use in first trimester pregnancy} that he just missed it. He was surely wrong.

We decided to wait another week or 2 to let the baby get bigger before we went to a new doctor to 'confirm' that our baby was actually nice and strong. It's interesting timing, all of this, because it's Mother's Day weekend. This week was Mother's Day here in Mexico, and tomorrow is Mother's Day in the states. Finally, we decided enough time had passed to get checked out and we made an appointment for Friday {yesterday}.

My mind was going crazy thinking that the doctor was either wrong or right. I was praying often asking the Lord to show me what was happening. Meantime thinking how my friends must think I was loosing my mind to not just believe the doctor. But I knew God wanted to do something good for my soul.

Tuesday early morning, I had a dream. In my dream, my friend Evelyn was in front of me, and was helping me deliver my baby. I had a beautiful baby girl. She looked exactly like her sisters....a little tan with white/blonde peach fuzz! And she was asleep....just a precious baby. I gave her to my friend Evelyn to hold. Then, there was a funky twist. I thought I was having another baby...but it was a baby bird! I held the baby bird in my hand and she quickly grew bright blue feathers all around. Then she grew a little bigger and her feathers were longer and even more beautiful. Then, she flew off my hand and onto Theo's shoulder. And my dream ended.

I was excited because I knew the dream was from God, but I was trying to understand it. I hadn't spoken with that friend Evelyn in a long time and was wondering why she was in the dream...and what the little blue bird represented. Finally, we decided to look up the meaning of the name Evelyn, and it means LIFE.
We were excited and even more sure that our baby was alive and now thinking it was another girl! YAY!

So yesterday as we went into the doctor's office, my stomach was in knots. I was fine the entire day until it was time to go, then it hit me like a ton of bricks and I had major anxiety! Theo was with me and he prayed over me and was making me laugh to help me be calm. As the ultrasound began, my eyes were searching the screen....looking for what I was sure I would see. I've looked at an ultrasound screen many times, so I knew what I was looking for. We saw the baby sac and the doctor showed us the placenta. He also showed us the baby. Baby was very small and not up to size to my gestational time...the sac and placenta were, but not the baby, and there was no heart beat.

I was surprised that my first emotion wasn't saddness, but anger.  I was just mad, because I had believed that baby was doing well! The doctor explained to me how the baby's chromosomes are supposed to line up and connect and if they don't align and connect properly, it results in down syndrome or many other issues. Usually, the body will stop the development naturally and you'll miscarry, or sometimes the pregnancy will continue and you'll have the baby. Immediately, the thought came to my mind, that it wasn't just my body but God, who stopped the progression of this pregnancy.

On the car ride home, I began remembering how over the last few weeks I had come across several stories of mother's with children with special needs. Many women who were brave and loving and even when they learned of their sick baby during pregnancy, they were courageous and didn't abort their baby. I was so proud of those women and have always known that we would never abort a baby either. But I was also thinking of how tough it would be to have a special needs baby...especially for me, already having 3 very young kids. My thought was, well the Lord gives the grace to those who need it, and it is sufficient for whatever situation He allows.

I remembered looking back after leaving the ultrasound room and seeing the doctor and his nurse looking at and discussing my scan. I heard him say something about the shape of the baby sac too. I wondered if he could tell that things weren't forming right, besides just the baby being small.

Then I realized that I shouldn't be mad at God for allowing this to happen, because I know that in this life, sickness and death happen.  But instead I should be thankful that though we live in a fallen and death filled world, He had mercy on us. He knew that we would never abort, but welcome our baby no matter how hard and tiring the situation might be. And in His sovereignty He chose to take this baby to care for it Himself.

Just as in my dream, our baby was alive and was with the Father! {She} was also beautiful and healthy now, where if she would've been born to us, she may have been sick and weak. With a corrected perspective of the situation, my heart came alive again. I realized God's kindness and goodness. I recognized that His will is sometimes to give the blessing of a baby {whether fully healthy, or with difficulties}, and sometimes His will is to take those precious babies to care for Himself. Either way, God is good and we're right to declare so.

When I asked God to speak to me through His Word about this, I came to Psalm 96: 4-6
"Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary."


What my baby and millions of babies are experiencing this very moment, is absolutely amazing! They are currently with the living God and are experiencing honor, majesty, strength and beauty! Not to mention they're full of health and happiness! Can we not see how awesome God is?! Talk about truly taking care of His children! What a great Father we have!

After the doctor's appointment, I started thinking of Job {from the Bible}, and how God and Satan were testing him. How difficult his life became because although we have freedom of choice, God trusted and tested that Job would never choose to curse Him for all the difficulty. Satan obviously wanted Job to curse God for it all. But Job never did. He blessed and praised God and continued to declare that God is good! I became so encouraged by Job's example! He knew that no matter what, God remains good to those who love him! And I definitely love him. So I began to say out loud, 'God, you are good!' And it was so right.

I also began recognizing that so many others have gone through this situation, and worse! I recognized how He's blessed me with a wonderful husband and 3 healthy daughters. I recognized how He's blessed us with a good life. I have so much to be thankful for, that I sadness can't stay for very long! Thank you Jesus!

We pulled up to our friend's house after our appointment to pick up our 3 treasures, Stella, Naya and Olivia. I was still a little weepy from the roller coaster of emotions, so Theo went in alone to get the girls. I stayed in the car and looked over at the house next door. It was bright and yellow and for the first time, I noticed that in front of the entry way they had a single blue bird sitting on a hanging perch. I couldn't help but smile see that God was reminding me again of my beautiful and healthy baby that was with Him.

Tomorrow I get to celebrate Mother's Day, and think of all 4 babies He's given me. The kindness of God to bless us 4 times with such gifts is amazing and I'm so thankful. I may be more thankful than any other Mother's Day yet. And, whats more than all of that, I realize that without Jesus I would not have access to relationship with the Father, the Creator who is the giver of Life. In a matter of about 10 weeks, He has given and taken away...  He is good and we are happy.

My hope is that for those who know God, to remember His goodness to you. Recognize Him, and His mercy over your life. Be thankful, praise Him and know that He is always good.

For those who don't yet know God. Pray and ask to know Him. Only in this way could you ever have peace, joy and true life. Only by knowing Jesus, can you be sure of anything. Only by having the spirit of the Messiah living within you can you have HOPE and HAPPINESS no matter what circumstances life brings. You may be shaken, but you will not fall. Life without Jesus can only offer us death. Jesus loves us and wishes that none would die due to rejecting Him. So choose Him, and LIVE!

I have felt the struggle of my flesh pulling and wanting me to feel sorrowful, sad and depressed. But by the grace and mercy of God, I've also felt Him reminding me of His goodness, the Hope he has given me, and the Joy I can and do have. What a miracle. What a tender and loving God I serve. He has compassion on His children and takes such good care of us.

I have been willing to hear Him and accept what He is doing in my life and give Him glory the whole way through. And now I'm blessed to know Him in a new way. I'm personally experiencing His compassion and love like I never have before. He has pulled me out of a muddy pit that wanted to swallow me up and put me in a dark place mentally and emotionally. He has placed me on solid ground where there is LIGHT and LIFE, and my heart and mind are alive and at peace.

Thank you sweet Jesus for your way of tenderness and Love. Thank you for being the best Physician, Friend, and the Lover of my soul. I see how you love me. Thank you for the cross of Salvation, and thank you for today. You are good.

*We have explained to the girls that the baby is now with the Father in heaven. Stella was sad for a moment than got so excited that she'll get to see {her} one day and she's happy and healthy now!

Thank you so much to our friends who have prayed for us...we believe that your prayers for us have helped us get that corrected perspective of the situation!

Love and Blessings to you all...

Theo, Melissa, Stella, Naya, Olivia and happy baby in heaven!

"Then when our bodies have been transformed to bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: 

'Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?'

For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin it's power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless."

1 Corinthians 15:54-58

Steinhauer Family Missions Letter- May 2012

Steinhauer Family Missions letter

May 2012

Friends and family, we pray this finds you well! We’re already to the month of May!  This year {as usual} is passing so quickly! We’ll fill you in on what’s happened in our little world since our last missions letter, in February.

PERSONAL NEWS:  Our hearts are alive in Christ! By His grace and kindness, the Lord has been continuing to move us, speak to us and draw us near to Himself. The last few months have been filled with deeper revelation of the love of God for us personally and for the Body at large.  This has been creating an incredible love in our own hearts for the Body of Christ. What a precious gift we have been given, in each other! His Word has also been faithful to bring conviction to live a more wholehearted and truly devoted life in honor of our King.

FAMILY NEWS:  Our clan is growing!! As we write this, Melissa is about 8 weeks pregnant with baby #4! We are all excited and feeling very blessed. Stella and Naya are especially excited for a new brother or sister and talk about it nonstop! All 3 girls are doing great and growing fast. Stella and Naya enjoy learning and still love to play dress up and princesses. We hear they’ll never really grow out of that. J Olivia is 18 months old and is communicating more now through sign language and beginning to say a bunch of new words- mainly in Spanish. Stella is learning to read and write and enjoys writing letters to anyone that’s on her mind. She also LOVES Jesus and likes to learn all about Him. Naya seems to be our little prayer warrior. She is usually the one who begs to pray first during our family prayer times, and any time someone gets hurt, she is ready and willing to pray for them. We’re finding too that all 3 girls are very affectionate and love their cuddle times! Theo has also been doing spontaneous French lessons with the girls, so hopefully soon we’ll hear that more in their vocabulary. 

Psalm 127:3  “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”

MINISTRY:  As you may know by now, Baja Fellowship is our primary role here in regards to ministry. We are going on 9 months of an awesome home church community and we are blessed and humbled at what the Lord has done. The testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness and kindness to us and to the people that consider Baja Fellowship their church is overwhelming. We have an average of 40 people who attend regularly, including a kid’s ministry class for the kids 10 and younger. We’re experiencing hearts being convicted, encouraged and being drawn closer to Jesus each week. We’re having open confession and repentance, times of personal ministry and prayer, and communion. The stirring of the Holy Spirit in our midst through the teaching, worship and fellowship is powerful and we’re happy to call each other family! We are also holding a weekly prayer meeting on Thursday nights at our house for those who can’t attend on Sundays due to work or conflicting schedules.

Theo has also been teaching the interns at a local ministry called YUGO. He’s blessed to share his knowledge of Jesus, and exhorting and encouraging the young people to keep their eyes on the Prize. Theo has also been ministering to a neighbor, Richard who is a tender, kind and lonely man. He is very open to hearing about Jesus and we’re excited to give him a fresh and biblical perspective on Christianity!

Melissa is still attending her weekly women’s bible study, now focusing on the book of Ruth. She is so grateful to have the opportunity and blessing of joining with other women to learn more of the Word and draw closer to God and these sisters.

We are also very excited about the Prayer Watch {prayer room} that is up and running every Monday, Weds, and Friday mornings at our local YWAM Ensenada base! Theo has been asked to prayer lead and it is so refreshing to go as a family and worship God and pray as a community.

We are honored that the Lord has us here during this time and has been bringing more visitors than we ever had while living in the states. It’s been awesome to have guests from all over, make their way to our home and church!

We are now at a time where we feel that with a growing family and some added ministry expenses, that it’s time to ask you all, the Body, to consider a monthly partnership with us financially if you haven’t already. We are in need of a slightly increased income to meet our needs and expenses. The Lord uses the Body to support and encourage missionaries and pastors all around the world working for His purposes, and we find ourselves in that exact position too. By His grace, we obeyed His leadership in bringing us to Ensenada and are sure and joyful that we are in His will. Please let us know if you’d like to partner with us on a monthly basis or any sort of time/increment giving.  

The Lord has been faithful to use those who believe in His purposes and who believe in our family to help carry us along for years. We are so thankful and motivated to continue pursuing whatever He has planned for us, bringing Him glory along the way!

Some of our current and near future needs are as follows…

*Stella and Naya will be attending a small homeschool co-op this year! We are all very excited that they will have a more focused and structured setting for school that we all can be part of! We will need to pay for the curriculum that is chosen for both girls.

*We need to set aside the money for the dr. appointments and delivery of baby #4! We’ve already had to tap into our regular monthly income for several extra appointments and know that we don’t have any extra money to budget for that at this time. Baby is due in December!

*Home church expenses. Every Sunday after church, we have a potluck. Everyone brings their portion of food, but we supply the plates, cups, napkins, utensils, coffee, sugar and creamer. We’re blessed to have a Costco not far from our house to buy in bulk, and besides the occasional donation, those expenses are on us.  We also need kids activity supplies such as paper, pencils, crayons, etc, for kids ministry.

If you would like to give toward any of our specific needs or to partner with us monthly, please let us know! We’d love to get you on our weekly prayer list of supporters and partners.

THANK YOU to all of our friends who have been supporting and loving us through the years. We feel that genuine partnership with you and hope to see you all face to face sooner than later.

PLEASE NOTE! We have a NEW {personal} MAILING ADDRESS!  We will now be able to receive mail here in Mexico twice a week! 

Robert and Melissa Steinhauer

PMB 022

PO Box 189003

Coronado, CA 92178-9003

Please let us know if you have a package to send. We can accept them, but at a different address which we can give you. THANK YOU!

Our US magic jack phone line is (949) 945-5956.

theosteinhauer@gmail.com

melissasteinhauer@gmail.com

To support us financially with a tax deduction, you can go to www.lightinternational.org

Click on ‘Sponsor a Light Missionary,’ and click ‘give online.’ You can set up automatic with-drawl as well if you’d like. If you need help or would like more information, you can call Light International at (954) 876-0302. 

Life

We've discovered something amazing over the last few years. A person's willingness to say yes to the Lord's guidance for their lives, and actually obey and follow His lead is one of the most powerful and blessed lifestyle changes one can make. To take the time not just to think intellectually about the course of life, but to actually bring it before the throne of God and ask him for his leadership is an incredibly wise and incredibly controversial thing. Even in the family of believers, it sounds like such wisdom to pursue the things that are in your heart and to use all your gifts and in terms of worldly wisdom, that is true! But as we pursue life in Christ, He instructs us to lay down our lives, for his sake. That includes every part of our lives...our gifts, dreams, finances, possessions, family, feelings,and even our bodies...it's everything. Now, in pursuit of his will, He may very well use those things for His glory and purposes on His timing and in His way. {If you're willing to go there.} But even with all the things we assume fall under 'wise living'- we are truly wise to 'check in' so to speak with the Lord himself to know if it's truly wisdom from Him, or it's some worldly wisdom we've acquired from this life.

The Word tells us that if we ask him to show us the best path for our lives, he will show us. If we need wisdom from Him, he will give it freely!  It also says that in Christ all things are permissable but not all things are beneficial. If you're in the vein of wanting the absolute best for yourself and your family, and you want to pursue the things are actually beneficial for your lives, then ask Him and be willing to follow his lead! Many times that will take you in directions you never may have imagined were on your route of life. A big example of that in our lives is that fact that I'm writing this letter from our home in Ensenada, Mexico. We are filled with joy and peace being here, but it was never one of those places we had these strong feelings for and we certainly didn't imagine ourselves living here. But God is good and we are so honored to serve Him here right now!

The Lord's will and plan for our lives is awesome and an absolute adventure! To live your life in full abandonment to his leading will produce real trust in him, faith to believe in his faithfulness to us, and things like joy, peace and comfort where otherwise it's not actually needed that much, because we may be so comfortable in our own leadership. We may believe that we really trust God with our lives, but are you ever in a position to actually have to trust him? Are you in a place in life where you rely on his guidance and leadership? If not, ask him for that! He longs to lead you down a life of glorifying Him, and producing everlasting fruit in your own life! And nothing else can bring such satisfaction  and fulfilling feelings that come with knowing that you're actually walking hand in hand with your Creator. It's awesome! Go for it.

I write this with a quickly growing love for the Body of Christ at large and of course for the specific believers that God has brought into my life. I'm so blessed to run the race of life with you all.
Lots of Love,
Melissa