Dear Prayer Partners,

Thank you for continuing to pray with us as we walk and serve with Jesus in Central/East Africa. We are thankful for your partnership over all these years.

Brad has now been living in Rwanda for 20 years, and in June, Chelsea will have been here for 17 years. We praise God for the many ways that He has helped and empowered us to be a part of what He is doing!

Much has happened since we last wrote.

Thank you for praying for the trip to Burundi and South Sudan in December. The trip was great. It is exciting to see how God is leading Burundi Friends in preparing a plan to send missionaries to unreached people in Tanzania, and Rwanda Friends preparing to send missionaries to South Sudan in May.

In January, our EFC-Rwanda Friends hosted a team from EFM who led a 5-day Small Business Development training that we believe will be an important part of how God wants to give Rwanda Friends new ways to do His mission here in Rwanda and beyond. Mission through businesses is exciting and will open many opportunities for ministry in the communities.

On January 29–30, the Administrative Council of EFC-Rwanda met to discern the Lord’s plan for who the next executive leaders of EFC-Rwanda are to be. We believe that the Lord helped the group make wise decisions.

On February 14–16, we will have some important D4D meetings with David Thomas, one of our D4D coaches.

On February 17–18, there will be an important Pastors’ retreat. On February 19–20, there will be Yearly Meeting sessions to fill several other leadership roles for the coming years. Please pray for God’s blessing and help in those days of discernment and decision.

Please also pray for a retreat that Brad will attend in Kenya from February 19–24 with others working in Disciple-making movements. Pray for good connections with God and others who are doing similar work. Please pray for Brad to have special times that are renewing and refreshing with the Lord. Also, please pray for Chelsea and the kids, who will be home in Musanze.

We continue to be so thankful for the ways the Lord helps us stay healthy in general, and the ways He heals us when we do get sick. We are still praying for Brad’s stomach issues that interfere with his sleep. Our kindergartner, 4th grader, and 7th grader continue to show diligence and kindness at school, and we also all enjoy the school events that help us feel like a community. We are thankful to have rhythms of hosting special visitors and everyday home life—normal days and exciting days, work and rest. We pray the Lord blesses you with these things as well!

Brad, Chelsea, Sarai, Gideon, and Ian

The post Brad & Chelsea Carpenter | February Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Dear Prayer Partners,

Many things have happened since we last wrote. We are so thankful for your prayers and partnership in the whole-life discipleship movement here in East Africa!

From Saturday, December 13, until Sunday the 21st, Brad will be on a trip to Burundi and then South Sudan. Time in both countries will be focused on starting new mission work and partnership with our African friends. Please pray for wisdom and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and to each other, as we (EFM) work with EFC-Rwanda and EFC-Burundi. We are praying for God to lead us into the best ways of partnering together for more effective mission to the nations. Please pray for health, safety, and blessing over those who are travelling and for their families at home.

We are thankful that we are all fairly healthy after being sick recently. We are also really thankful that Brad’s parents are with us until the beginning of January! We look forward to spending this Christmas season with them and some friends in Musanze.

Most of all, we pray that all would hear about the hope that God offers through Jesus. May He be glorified all throughout the world!

Thank you!
Brad & Chelsea
Sarai, Gideon, and Ian

The post Brad & Chelsea Carpenter | December Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Dear Friends and Family,

As most of you know, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Rwanda, Tanzania, and Burundi for a two-month summer internship with EFM, for more training and experience. I was part of a small team of others my age who are also exploring and preparing to serve as career missionaries in the future. EFM missionaries, Brad and Chelsea Carpenter, were my supervisors and mentors.

This internship took place in June and July 2025 and included:

• 1 Week: The EFM Future Missionary Retreat in Colorado. (Last week of May)
• 5 Weeks: Time in Rwanda including:
  • Culture bonding and language learning
  • Home stays with Rwandan families
  • Exposure/training in whole-life discipleship and its success in EFC-Rwanda
  • Learning about the lifestyle of the missionary family on the field
• 10 Days: Immersion into the dorms and student experience at the East Africa School of Missions in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. (EFM calls it the missions training “boot camp.”)
• 2 Weeks: Time in Burundi; joining a student short-term missions team coming from Mid America Yearly Meeting
  • Engaging with the church at Burundi youth camp and other opportunities
  • Learning about the Burundi Friends Church history and the great example of their multiplication movement.
• For more information click aquí.

The most valuable part of this internship, for me, was to be able to see one example of what it looks like to be missionaries on the field. I had read many books about being a missionary, but being part of the Carpenters’ daily life gave me more confidence in being able to live as a missionary myself.

My next steps will include the Ecuador  Luke 10 Prayer Trip happening in October, and a year-long internship in Ecuador, as soon as the funds, visa, and other logistics allow.

I want to thank you guys for supporting me so well. I have been so blessed by all of your prayer. I know that so many people were praying for me when I broke my leg and now are praying for my discernment process as well as my upcoming steps, and I am so grateful. Prayer will continue to be so necessary!

I also want to thank you for your generous financial support. I had everything I needed for my internship. God is so good!

Thank you,
Grace Anderson

Please consider supporting my prayer trip and internship in Ecuador. I will need monthly recurring financial partners to get me through the one-year internship. You can partner with me by:

• Online: Visit the Field Intern donation page by clicking the button below. Once there, scroll down to find my name and select your gift amount. You’ll have the opportunity to indicate whether you are giving monthly or as a one-time gift.
• Credit Card: This may be given online (as stated above) or by calling the EFM office (303) 421-8100 to give your information to a live person.
• Automatic Bank Transfer: Download the form aquí and email it to Debby McElroy (EFM Bookkeeper) at debby@friendsmission.com. Please note that ACH payments are processed on the 10th or 25th of the month.
• Check: Mail a check to EFM, P.O. Box 771139, Wichita, KS 67277. Please mark your check “Erik Nilsen Field Internship Support” and note if you will be giving on a recurring basis (monthly, quarterly, etc.). Pay to the order of “EFM.”

The post Grace Anderson | September 2025 Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Thank you for walking with us through prayer in these days! We (Chelsea and Brad) had a good trip to Nairobi, Kenya, and met with good doctors there who did several procedures and are running tests to determine the cause of Brad’s stomach issues. We are still waiting for some of the results, but we are thankful that several conditions have been ruled out already.  While we are waiting, Brad is still not feeling well but is able to do some things.

Thank you for praying for our kids and Chelsea’s parents as we were gone. The Lord blessed their time, and it went well. We are thankful we get to spend time with them for the rest of their visit. (Photo on the left: Waiting in a doctor’s office in Nairobi)

Thank you for praying for the ministries that we are a part of here in Central/East Africa. The Lord is blessing the different discipleship groups in Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo.

Thank you for praying with us for our Rwandan Friends as they prepare to send Pastor Nicodeme and Annonciata to South Sudan as the first missionaries sent by Evangelical Friends in of Rwanda. They plan to send them this year.

Brad & Chelsea

Brad getting checked in for his procedure	Chelsea’s mom (Karen) playing a game with the boys
Ian on his birthday morning – he turned 5 on March 16!	All of us enjoying a family dinner

The post Carpenter Family- Update on Kenya Medical Trip first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Last Friday, January 31, Brad traveled to Burundi to meet with Burundi church leaders and Matt Macy, Jesse Penna, Cassi Coleman, and Grace Anderson. We will be meeting with Burundi Friends leaders to prayerfully discuss the next steps towards going on mission with God to the nations. We will also be planning a summer youth/young adult trip with EFC-MAYM called Saltshaker. Also, on Sunday they were with our Burundi Friends as the role of Legal Representative is handed over to a new leader.

– Please pray for these events and for these conversations. May God lead us into his plans.

On Tuesday, February 4, the Americans and I will travel to Rwanda and meet for a few days with Rwandan Friends leaders about their plans to send missionaries to South Sudan this year. We will also have conversations about strategy and how to best support missionaries in preparation and while they are on the mission field. We will have a man named Samwel Kengela with us from Tanzania who leads a missionary training school in Dar es Salaam. He will be sharing his insights from his years as a missionary and now as a mentor to missionaries.

– Please pray for these conversations and that God would lead each one towards his will.
– Please pray for Chelsea, Sarai, Gideon, and Ian as they are in Musanze on these days.

May his Kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Brad & Chelsea Carpenter

The post The Carpenter Family | Missions Conversations first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The post The Carpenter Family is Coming on Deputation! first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Thank you for praying with us as Brad was with Matt Macy and Burundi and Rwanda Friends leaders. We had wonderful meetings talking with them about the next steps towards our Evangelical Friends in Africa sending their own missionaries. It was exciting to dream together about what God is going to do as we partner together for the Kingdom.

Monday, March 4 through Friday, March 8, Pastors Augustin, Gerard, Tertullien, and Brad will meet with key leaders from Burundi and Congo that we are mentoring in Discipling for Development. Please pray with us for:

• Safety in travel and while we are together.
• Wisdom as we mentor and coach our friends toward having what they need to help each Burundi D for D leader to successfully move their groups through the Mobilization phase of the D for D process and into the Empowerment Phase.
• Our families back home, for safety and blessing on each of them.

Love,
Brad & Chelsea
Sarai, Gideon, and Ian

The post Join the Carpenters in Prayer This Week! first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The Carpenter Family | Serving in Rwanda

Brad and the D for D (Discipling for Development) team recently attended a celebration where they heard several testimonies of transformation and praised God for what he is doing in and through the people participating in D for D.  At this celebration, a woman stood up – we’ll call her Alice. Alice is a leader in the local government who works with women, and she is not a member of the Friends Church. But, along with other community members and church members, she was invited and welcomed into the D for D group to learn and grow together. She shared powerfully about the different things she has learned about whole-life transformation in Christ! She was casting vision for continuing to pass on what she’s learned to the women that she leads, and to the whole community!

Left: “Alice” giving her testimony. Center: We always love visits from David Thomas Right: The D for D celebration Brad attended.

In some ways, it feels like we’re finally moving toward our dream of seeing whole communities, not just church members, being transformed in their relationships with God, self, others, and the environment – of seeing God’s Kingdom coming! We look forward to our continued walk alongside these discipleship groups in Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo as they disciple those in their churches and those outside. And we’re excited to keep seeing that happen in South Sudan, Tanzania, and wherever else God would lead us.

May God help each of us look outside our home, church, and comfort zone to love, serve, and disciple.  May we be inspired by Alice and her testimony!

Brad & Chelsea

Sarai, Gideon, and Ian

Left: Sarai with friends at school. Center: A young friend who just started preschool. We were excited to meet him on the road after his school day.  Right: Talking with Pastor Gerard in our yard.

Download the full prayer letter aquí…

The post March 2024 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

We hope and pray you are doing well so far in 2024! Our family had some special times together in December, but we were also thankful to get back into some more normal work and personal rhythms in January. Unfortunately, three special families are leaving the country these days, so saying those goodbyes is not easy. However, God has been and will be faithful to provide friends during each season here in Rwanda. Our kids are still doing well in school. We are so thankful that they are learning well, growing in character and maturity, and enjoying their friends and teachers who come from many different countries.

On Friday (February 2) Brad will be traveling with Matt Macy to Burundi to continue conversations with our Evangelical Friends Church Leaders in Burundi. On January 7-9, we will be meeting with Evangelical Friends Leaders in Rwanda. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to guide each part of those discussions, and that the Lord of the Harvest would push through various fears, areas of confusion or misunderstanding, and lead us to his way for EFM to partner with EFC-Africa churches as they send their own missionaries and we go with them.

You can see Ian in this snapshot of the group we worship with in English sometimes. It’s a small group, and we really appreciate the support we offer each other!

Sarai and Ian enjoying some time with a friendly baby after worshipping at Kagarama Friends Church in Kigali.

Please also pray:

1. There are some disagreements and issues in this area of Africa that cause closed borders and make it more difficult to travel, so please pray for peace and for those situations to be resolved well.
2. For Chelsea and the kids while Brad is gone

Coming up:
March 2024 – We will welcome a team from Paonia, Colorado!
Summer 2024 – We will spend three months in the U.S. More details to come!

Chelsea took the kids on a hike in our neighborhood while Brad spent some concentrated time on school work.

Brad and Chelsea on Christmas Eve at our small candlelight service at our house.

Thank you so much for being on our team – on God’s team – here in Central Africa! May he bless you abundantly today,

Love,
Brad & Chelsea
Sarai, Gideon, and Ian

The post The Carpenter Family January 2024 Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

I’m in Musanze, Rwanda with my Discipling for Development team. We have two days of coaching together this Wednesday and Thursday in this first week of January. I made a short video to introduce them and invite you to pray with us for these special days of coaching.

• Pray I will listen well to Holy Spirit and to what Brad, Augustin, Gerard and Tertullien have to say.
• Pray I will have the wisdom and insight needed to respond with excellent coaching questions to the priority issues my team chooses.
• Pray that our being together will be a synergistic boost of encouragement and Holy Spirit insight for future direction.
• Pray that I will hear what Holy Spirit wants to say! Growing in my sensitivity to Holy Spirit and to quickly obey is my priority.
• Pray that my Kinyarwanda language ability will rise back up to a strong level quickly!
• I preach on Sunday, pray I’ll discern and put together the message Holy Spirit wants me to bring.

Thank you so much for supporting me in prayer! Your prayers make a difference!

May you be blessed in every way in this new year!

David Thomas
Planting whole-life, disciple-making movements
303-717-4519

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.” Psalm 67:1-2

The post David Thomas January 2024 Prayer Assignment first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.