Mack Update, part 2

Not sure if you received our former letter about the need for prayer for our visa. We still don't have it and December 28 is coming and things move very slowly over here. One option is that we may have to fly back to the United States, probably Chicago, as we're told that that is the best RSA consulate to get it. God is up to something - we count this trial with all joy knowing James 1:2 - 5.

Last night we had as is true many Friday evenings 50 people with about 30 blacks at our house - fed them, gave them boxes of food that we had collected and then sang with them, prayed with them and explained Bible verses to them. Most of the blacks are very poor - struggling to get by - we do what we can (or rather Josh and Marda are really facilitating this ministry and walls are being broken down and people are being reached. We now have over 30 blacks that are attending GFC - we now have a Sunday School class for them in which a black man who has become a pastor at our church (he lives with us and we are mentoring him) teaches them in their own language and explains the message that was heard in the previous hour and a half. They understand English after a fashion but need further explanation - so that's what he is doing. He and another young man who has joined us from the USA (he also lives with us) to be discipled are also doing Bible classes in Mamelodi (a huge black settlement) during the week. Josh and Marda are going out to a place called Stinkwater often (in fact they are going again today). There are 60 parentless children there under the age of 6 who have no one to take care of them during the day when their older siblings who are their caretakers are in school. Carol, Beth and Marda are considering starting a preschool for these children to reach them for Christ and to provide Christian upbringing and some education during the day. GSM is going well and plans for the wedding are progressing. Counseling opportunities abound and we are seeing God move in the lives of some people with some serious problems. To God be the glory! What a privilege to be in a place where the ministry is so needed and many people seem to want it and respond to it. We can expect that Satan and his demons who are opposed to Christ and His Gospel will not be happy with Gospel efforts and positive responses to the Gospel and so we are encouraged. Nevertheless, we need a VISA to stay and continue to minister. Please pray.

Sybrand, our almost son-in-law (January 17 is the date) begins his ministry at a church in Pretoria on January 4 - I am preaching his installation sermon next Sunday. They have an outreach ministry to blacks and also a school for training and educating them and reaching them with the Gospel. They see the school as a mission opportunity. Beth will also be helping at GSM - doing some of the things she did in the MABC program at The Master's College. She will also be involved with the same kind of orphan ministries in which she was involved - in fact she will still be involved in the Lambano ministry (it's about 45 minutes away).

Anyway, that's a brief review of what's happening recently, but the main reason for this Email is to ask you to pray.

Thank you for remembering us in prayer and support.

Mack, Urgent Prayer Request - 11/27/08

This is a note asking for your specific prayer help on a rather urgent situation on behalf of our ministry in South Africa.

We have been trying to get our visa renewed and are having some problems. We have prepared all the materials that the Home Affairs Hot Line said we should. We went to the Home Affairs in Pretoria on Wednesday and the line was so long that we decided to come back early on Thursday. We did. We arrived at 6:45 AM, stood in line, presented the application with all the supporting Data and were summarily turned down. At this point we don't know what to do. Our present visa runs out at the end of December. At the end of December if they will not renew our visa we will, I suppose, be in the country illegally and if we don't get it renewed I probably would not be able to, ministry teach at Grace School of Ministry or fulfill other teaching opportunities that I have for 2009. We had no idea that renewing our visa would present a problem. We got the first three year visa back in the USA with no problem. So we thought it would be no problem now and thought we had no reason for concern, !
but apparently we were wrong. At present we are receiving our support from the USA and Grace Missionary International has given us a letter saying that they would provide fully support and that they would make sure we had the money for tickets to return. We also have a letter stating essentially the same thing from Grace School of Ministry here in South Africa. That was for some reason confusing to the men we encountered at Home Affairs and they just flat out said that the people who gave us our first visa were wrong in giving it to us. That was confusing to us in that we are here on a volunteer basis - costs the country here nothing - and we are helping train pastors, doing orphan work and helping the poor.

God has a way through. He can open that no man open and shut doors that no man can shut. The hearts of government officials are in his hand and he can turn them however He chooses. So we wait on Him with Romans 8:28 confidence. But, if you would, please pray for us that God would move whomever to grant us a visa to minister here.

Thank you for any prayer assistance you might give us in this matter.

Hefner Update 11/26/08

We got our tickets last week and I should have contacted you guys right away. We will be home the 16th. We just got word yesterday that Mayo refused Lindsay application because she is not presently seeing a doctor that can do the follow-up after they treat her there. Rick Houk has been a big help and I'm waiting on his advice before we proceed further. We are planning to get the medical things taken care of first thing. If the treatment is in LR it will probably take longer than if we get into Mayo so I really cannot say how long we will be in LR before heading to Washington. We are resting in the fact that God is in control of all this.

As far as expenses go, I'm really not sure what to expect. Our insurance through the mission organization will give us some help and from the brief reading I've done it looks like the maximum that we'll pay on our end is $6,000 even if the bills get up into the 6 digits. We have someone buying our vehicle here in Senegal and that should take care of those expenses (we would be selling the vehicle regardless of Lindsay's medical situation). I really do not feel that BCLR needs to help us financially at this point. We would rather see that money go to a missionary with greater needs. If needs do arise that are beyond our financial ability we feel the freedom to communicate those to you. You have been very gracious towards us in this regard.

Thanks to you and the entire church for your prayers for us. We can honestly say that we have felt the Lord upholding us each step of the way, without Him we'd have fallen for sure. This is a testimony to your prayers. We are glad to be serving Him and trust that He will accomplish His work in and through us in His time.

We are in communication with the other churches that support us trying to work out a schedule for our year on furlough. We would like to spend at least 3 months there in LR with BCLR doing whatever it is we can to connect with the folks there during that time. We desire to visit our sending church in Washington State first and we are tentatively planning to be there from Feb - May.

Walker Update 11/21/08

Growing up, our tradition for Thanksgiving was to go around the table and each person said what they were thankful for. It was a good time to reflect on the events of the year and be grateful for all that we had experienced of God’s goodness.

Jeannie and I are so thankful for Psalm 34.8 this year.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh the joys of those who trust in Him."

We have lived it and taught it. It was a key verse in the Come TOGETHER through Conflict course that we had opportunity to teach in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.

This year didn’t turn out as we had planned, but we learned that God had something better in mind. In February, Bangladesh seemed like a diversion, a place to wait until we had a visa to return to Indonesia. Now we see our time there as a great opportunity. We’ve learned a lot, and God has used us to equip Christian leaders to be effective teachers. And that is a core part of Jesus’ Great Commission…“teach them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28.20).

Looking back on 2008, we are thankful that we have seen some ‘fruit’ from our labor. For example, three of our ‘alumni’ have designed and taught seminars for Christian leaders to raise missions awareness and prayer bands.

Martin took our Learning that LASTS (LtL) course three years ago and immediately began teaching others what he’d learned from us. We met up with him again in August, and he told us that LtL is now part of the core curriculum at the teacher training college where he teaches. As we sat under a grass roofed gazebo in the mountains of Papua, he shared his vision of transforming primary education so that children learn to follow Jesus. When Martin asked us to come back and be a part of their ministry, I thought of the impact that dedicated Christian teachers could have in Papua. I’d love to have a part in training them.

While in Papua we had the opportunity to teach alongside Scotty and Heidi for three weeks. They are having a huge impact on the young Papuans in their school. Paul, the director of their program, asked us to come back and help build up their teachers. The news we are getting from Scotty re: their students is so encouraging – Papuans and American young people living together in love, new freedom from bondage, God’s character shining through many. Can’t wait to go back and be a part of it!

And this is exactly what our Wycliffe leaders want us to do! Training teachers in three schools and missionary care will be our roles. PRAY that God will use us to build up leaders, educators and Bible translators to reach the people of Papua, Indonesia.

We are thankful for the direction that God is giving, for the joys of working with Him and the anticipation of living near Heidi and family.

Thankful, too, that in a few days we’ll be back in Arizona for two months – with Emily, Russ, Eric, Rosie and our parents.

Please PRAY for

• our visas for Indonesia.
• funds to build a new campus for Netaiken, Scotty’s school.

We just learned that the American students may have to leave Indonesia ASAP since their visas were not renewed. They have a plan B, which must be better than plan A, because God's ways are perfect. PRAY for their faith and good attitudes for this change of plans. God could work a miracle to make plan A go as planned -- they were going to start a week-long trek through a number of Dani villages, the highlight of the semester that they have been training for.

We are thankful for you who encourage us and make it possible for us to be here in Asia through your gifts and prayers.

Mack Update 11/26/08

In several places in Scripture the Apostle Paul acknowledged his gratitude for and need of the prayers of God's people in his life and ministry (cf. Philippians 1:18b - 19; 2 Thessalonians 3-1; I Thessalonians 5:25; Ephesians 6:19; Colossians 4:2 - 4). And so following his example, Carol and I do the same to everyone who has prayed and/or will pray for us and for the ministries in which we are involved.

First, through your prayers you have helped us complete the following ministries in the past two months.

October 6 -11 - Module 1 of Grace School of Ministry where Introduction to Biblical Counseling was taught and a Discipleship Lab was conducted with 60 eager students from 8 different countries in Africa and Europe.
October 17 - 19 - Marriage and family seminar was conducted at Jeffrey's Bay Bible Church in Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa. Carol also did a one day women's seminar for the ladies.
November 6-11 - Module 2 of Grace School of Ministry where Methods of Biblical Change and a course on How To Properly Interpret Scripture were taught to the same students with two others joining us from South Africa and Nigeria.
November 16 - Preached at Hillcrest Baptist Church in the Durban area of South Africa.
A new book called It's Not Fair was published and made available from P & R Publishers.
A booklet called God's Plan for Parent Child Relations After Marriage that will be published by P & R Publishers is almost completed.
Carol has faithfully taught women's Bible classes and done much discipling with women.
Carol and I have had the privilege of counseling numerous people who were struggling with various issues in their lives.

Second, we request your involvement through prayer in the following service opportunities during the rest of 2008 through the end of July of 2009.
December 7, 2008 - Lynwood Baptist Church in Pretoria, RSA
December 14, 2008 - Grace Fellowship Church in Pretoria, RSA
December 21, 2008 - Grace Fellowship Church in Pretoria, RSA
December 28, 2008 - Grace Fellowship Church in Pretoria, RSA
January 4, 2008 - Grace Fellowship Church in Pretoria, RSA
January 11, 2008 - Jeffrey's Bay Bible Church in Jeffrey's Bay, RSA
February 2 - 7 - Grace School of Ministry all day biblical counseling classes - Module 3 - Theological Basis of Biblical Counseling and Counseling from the Book of Job
March 2 - 8 - Grace School of Ministry all day biblical counseling classes - Module 4 - Christian Life Issues in Counseling and Counseling from the book of Proverbs.
March 20 - 22 - Seminar at Grace Fellowship Church in Sassolburg, RSA
April 24 - 26 - Seminar in Zambia
May 25 - 27 - Seminar in Johannesburg, RSA
May 28 - 31 - Seminar in Polokwane, RSA
June 1 - 3 - Seminar in Capetown, RSA
June 9 - 12 - Seminar in Mozambique
June 21 - teach at Grace Fellowship Church in Hazleton, PA
June 26 - 28 - teach at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio
June 29 - July 2 - Believer's Chapel in San Antonio, TX
July 3 - 5 - Calvary Bible Church in Fort Worth, TX
July 6 - 12 - Bible Church of Little Rock in Arkansas
July 13 - 19 - Providence Church in Duluth, Georgia
With the editing help of Deborah Howard I am writing a new book which may be entitled Your Best Impact for Christ Now and Later.
We are in discussion with a retired Christian business man about better ways of providing and distributing good resources for strengthening the individual lives of Christians and the counseling ministries of Christians here in South Africa.
Some Christians (pastors and individual believers) have discussed with us the possibility of using modern media to conduct classes in other areas without me actually and physically being on site where the classes are conducted. This would be done by what I believe is called virtual media meaning that the students may be able to see and hear me and me being able to see and even hear them. There are some men with the expertise to develop this kind of arrangement who want to use their skills to serve Christ in this way. This will require some finances to secure the equipment that is needed for this to become a reality. Please pray for an awareness of God's will as we proceed. If this arrangement could be used for His glory and the good of His people we want to be involved. If it's of God we know He will provide and if it's not we don't want to be involved anyway.

And so in closing this new/prayer letter, we again want to extend our gratitude to all of you who have been part of our ministry through your prayers and interest. And also, we want you to know that we will deeply appreciate your continuing prayers and interest as we press on in our feeble attempts to glorify God in our lives and ministries.

Sola Dei Gloria

Dinesh & Shannon Update 11/26/08

Greetings from India. We are working on an update but wanted to take a moment to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! As we celebrate with other seminary families on Monday (because of school schedule), we join you in thanking God for so many blessings He gives:

The gift of knowing Him and being assured of salvation. This is especially precious as we meet many who still don’t even know His name.

The comfort and security of knowing there are no accidents in life but that God is sovereign over every detail and working it all together for His glory and our maturity.

Our home which is cool, roomy and lacking most of the unwanted guests (i.e. critters) which frequented our house in Madhipura. We’re thankful for good (and wanted!) friends here to share our home with.

The joy of marriage and of our children who are healthy, growing and who make us laugh and remind us daily just how dependent on the Lord we must be

You, our family and friends, who shower so much love on us by your gifts, prayers, emails and support. Thank you for making it possible for us to be here both in seminary studies and to share Christ in this wonderful country.

Blessings!

Kinch Update 11/25/08

Things are going well here.  Gonzalo, Carmeyla and their little 8 month old Nicolas, finally leave us for Mitu and their village of San Luis, this coming Sunday.  It has been a real blessing to have had them here since February.  We are tired and will be ready for a break.  Pam is doing a final edit of nasalization and fine grammar points with Gonzalo on Acts.  They just finished rechecking through Acts 26 tonight.  They have 2 more chapters to go, before Gonzalo leaves us. Seems we have been dealing with grammar issues on this book for a very long time, but we can now see how the Lord chose to use this book in Gonzalo's life this year, while he and Carmeyla have been living with us for all these months.  They have really grown stonger in the Lord, and they have been learning to lean on the Lord this year.  It has been wonderful to see the growth and maturing process at work in Gonzalo and Carmeyla's lives.  They are a neat couple, and we are so blessed to have both of them helping with the translation process -- Gonzalo now doing some heavy lilfting on the translation end, and Carmeyla, a whiz on the computer, doing data entry, rough edit changes, and lots and lots of keyboarding!  Years ago we NEVER could have guessed that Yuruti would be helping us with pretty fine-tuned computer skills!

Gonzalo wanted to print up a new draft of the Yuruti chorus book so that they could have something more substancial to use in worship in the villages.  We just got 45 copies printed up and through bindry today.  Gonzalo and Carmeyla are happy!  We are sending packages of 10 to each of the 4 villages of San Marcos, Consuelo, Puerto Loma and San Luis.  Folks from the villages who chose to come for worship with the believers, will have to share the copies, but it will give all of us chance to test it and see how it works.  The Yuruti wanted to have Yuruti and Spanish choruses mixed in the chorus book.  That way, we ended up with about 100 choruses they can now sing together.  We trust that the Lord will use this new chorus book to encourage worship in each of these villages.

We plan to head to the US around Dec 9th, and be in the US for about 2-3 months.  Will see how our plans shape up, but we do need to make some church contacts while we are in the States.  Do you know what plans might be in the works for Missions Conference in 2009 at the Bible Church?  Just wondering as would like to see if in some of our travels we would be able to drop in and see you all, if you are still in Little Rock.  We continue to pray for you both, as you keep looking for His next steps for you.  We want to keep in touch, wherever the Lord leads you.  

We just witnessed another Yuruti couple being baptized about 3 wks ago.  What a blessing!  They are coming to know the Lord, one at a time.  Please be praying for Wilmer and Fanny, as this was their last year of Bible School, and Wilmer realizes that his "famous" temper needs to be really softened by the Lord.  As a couple they have really grown a lot this year.  They are from the village of San Marcos, on the south side of the Mitu mountains ... a very difficult and traditional village.  Gonzalo and Carmeyla will be planning to find times to travel to that village and encourage them.  These next 3 months will be important ones for all of the believers, as they attempt to reach out to each other, to encourage each other, and to do planning for outreach and ministry to their respective villages, and to the rest of the tribe.  There is a lot of opposition to the entrance of the Gospel, but the believers have been doing a lot of talking and praying about how to reach their ethnic group with the Gospel.  The men will also begin working on helping us get a rough edit of Titus, Philemon and 1-2 Timothy, while continuing to do rough edit work on Matthew during these months we are apart.  They will also be doing their yearly planting of crops, so that they can have food for the rest of the year.  It is going to be a busy time for them ... and for us.  These will be our next books to tackle after the first of the year.  the first draft is pretty rough, and needs a lot of work ... and the men need the message of these books.

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka

Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for the period 3rd to 16th Nov 2008
No. 47

• Women’s meeting: The monthly women’s meeting for November took place on Saturday the 15th. About 35 women attended. The women had a visiting speaker from Kabwata Baptist Church, Mrs. Mwamba, speaking on ‘Financial management in the home’. Most women struggle in this area resulting in bad habits like accumulating debts and indiscriminate borrowing from their neighbours. Mrs. Mwamba showed that all the resources we have are from God and we are therefore under obligation to manage them prudently. She showed how one can make a simple budget before spending their money. The topic was greatly appreciated. Do pray with us that much good will come out of this presentation.

• Chipo: She has been to a couple of the ladies meeting and after the October one she indicated that she would like to receive some counseling. She has finally come forward to share her situation. A young lady of 26, she’s involved with a married man and has a child by him. The man’s marriage is on the rocks and she wonders what she should do if he asks her to marry him. Spiritually, she claims she professed faith in Christ some six years ago and that she has been derailed in her spiritual life by the scandals she finds herself in. She would like us to assist her to come out of this mess. We pointed out to her that what we offer is biblical counseling and she should be prepared to obey what God says in order to come out of her difficulties. She was agreeable and promised to make herself available regularly for counseling sessions. Pray for Chipo as she seems very deeply involved emotionally with the married man. Pray that if she is indeed a child of God, she will experience increasing spiritual strength and resolve which will enable her to say no to all that which is sinful. Pray for us that grace and wisdom will be granted to us to know how to assist her.

• Maureen: She is one of those who over the past couple of years has shown much spiritual promise as we have been seeking to assist her after her marriage broke down. She is one of the people we have had on the list of potential baptism candidates. But of late, after her husband came back and took her back into his home she has disappeared from church and seems to be actively avoiding us. This is a great disappointment to us coming after she had shown so much promise. Do pray for Maureen that the things of God she has learnt in the period she has been in our midst will be used of the Lord to convict her and to show her the right way. Pray for us that we may deal patiently with her.

• Gift: He is a young man who has been consistent in attending church services over the past few weeks. We started interviewing him with regards to his salvation. He has a Seventh Day Adventist background and he seemed rather muddled up in his understanding of salvation. He is newly wed and his wife is SDA. We agreed to commence evangelistic studies in his home to be attended by his wife as well. But before we could commence, he just got a promotion at work and has been transferred to the town of Mongu in the western province of Zambia. We therefore plan to hand him over to the brethren in Mongu so that they continue following him up. Pray that this works out and that Gift and his wife will have an opportunity to fully grasp the gospel message.

From the Bridgmans

Please see that this message is communicated to everyone at BCLR.

Thanks for the generous Christmas gift!!

http://church.jp/Sanyo_Meg

Solis Update - 11/18/08

Dear Christian Friends,

Greetings from Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico!  This year has been reasonable for us; it seems to have gone by very quickly! Currently we have 8 Bible studies or services a week.  Jose continues his radio programs in TX and here in Jerez.  Proverbs 16:3 encourages us:  Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

We enjoyed having Mom and Dad with us here in Jerez for January and February.  They are a great help and encouragement.  In January we resumed pastoral duties in La Ermita after a church split there.

In May we were able to renew without problem my FM 3 Mexican immigration document.  In July we enjoyed having youth from BCLR to help us with VBS.  This year we had it in 4 locations instead of 3; we had several professions of faith.  We were also privileged having Dr. Coye  with us that week..  He gave Jose and me both physicals and has continued to help Jose in regulating his medications for diabetes and high blood pressure.  Jose takes 9 pills each morning!

In August I was able to spend a couple weeks in IL with the family.   Jose stayed in Mexico leading the churches.  Actually he was very ill the end of August and the beginning of September.

We are preparing for a wedding on Sunday and then Lord willing  we plan to spend a few days with our kids in Dallas for Thanksgiving.  We also have some business to attend to in Pharr.

Jose and I want to thank all our friends and supporters for their faithfulness.  We desire for each of you a bountiful Thanksgiving and a blessed Christmas!

Our e mail is solisjj(at)hotmail(dot)com  Thank you.

Encouragement regarding Missions

Roland Walker thought we would be encouraged by the following thoughts from John Piper:

Bad Times Are Good for Missions
October 26, 2008  |  By: John Piper

I believe the Lord brought this word to mind in one of our prayer meetings on Friday:
                             The worst of all times is the best of all times for missions.

We were praying over Lamentations 3. Those were the worst of times for Israel. But in that moment they were given the best of promises,
                          The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (3:22-23)

Today marks the close of Missions Focus at Bethlehem. So we were praying for missions. That is when this word came: The worst of all times is the best of all times for missions.

Such words do not have intrinsic authority the way Scripture does. They must be tested. Here is the truth I hear in those words.


1.  During an economic downturn we are more dependent on God. That is the most fertile soil for creating missionaries.

2.  During an economic downturn unreached people around the world do not expect you to come, but to look out for yourself. So they may more likely see your risk as love rather than exploitation.

3.  During an economic downturn those who need Christ around the world may be less secure in earthly things and more ready to hear about eternal life.

4.  During an economic downturn people at home may be wakened to the brevity of life and the fragility of material things, and so may become more generous not less. And when they give under these circumstances, it will make Christ look all the more like the all-satisfying Treasure that he is.

And so it may well prove to be that the worst of all times is the best of all times for missions. 

Howell update

As some of you may know, the funding for my current position at The Expositors Seminary expires at the end of 2009. It is very gratifying to see The Expositors Seminary up and running and I am so very thankful for the opportunity to teach and serve here. I particularly love the classroom experience and count it a great privilege and joy to teach our students.

This ministry opportunity was very unique in that it was funded by sources outside of both The Expositors Seminary and The Bible Church of Little Rock. So, the possibility of this position not continuing in perpetuity was known from the beginning.

Thus, in light of our funding limitations I must begin to search for and review new opportunities for ministry. I am thankful to those who made this opportunity to serve at The Bible Church of Little Rock and The Expositors Seminary a reality. Both of these ministries and the people involved in them are very dear to our hearts. I am also grateful that we know this part of the future well in advance so that we may begin our search at the earliest possible time.

As I search for a new position, I prefer that of a senior pastor/pastor-teacher position, or other teaching related ministry. I am open to other opportunities, but I have been counseled by some respected and appreciated brethren to return to the pulpit and agreeing with them, that will be my priority. Another desire would be to be based in the USA and travel regularly overseas for the purpose of teaching national pastors and church leaders. I might also consider a church plant if all the basic and foundational elements were to align Biblically and philosophically.

For those of you who know us well, you know that our adventure in ministry has been a very interesting one indeed. Missionary training, pastoral ministry, teaching at two seminary’s and in nearly 30 countries. As we look back over nearly 30 years of ministry, we are very, very, blessed to see individual’s, church’s, pastor’s and leaders to whom God has granted us the great privilege to serve and in some way strengthen them for kingdom service. It is undoubtedly true that we have learned much more than we have taught and been graced with many wonderful brethren and friends around the USA and the world. As much as we have enjoyed the pilgrimage, it is our hope that this upcoming move will be our last!

Your prayers are very much appreciated and any suggestions are very welcome! Thanks!

It is a privilege to serve the leaders and students of TES and the BCLR family and I look forward to doing so over the next year.

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - 11/6/08

CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH OF MAZABUKA
Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for the period 6th Oct to 2nd Nov 2008

• Women’s meeting: The monthly women’s meeting for October took place on Saturday the 18th. About 25 women attended. The pastor preached on the theme, ‘Daughters of God’ from 2 Corinthians 6.17-18. He showed why every woman should desire to be a daughter of God. There are many benefits both in this life and in the life to come that accrue to the daughters of God. He also showed the requirements of God for one to become a daughter of God and the folly of trusting in man. Many women trust in man for their well being. And many desire the benefits without submitting to God’s conditions. Two women, Chipo and Gertrude indicated that they would want to be assisted with counseling and helped to find Christ. Pray for all who heard the word and particularly for Chipo and Gertrude so that they make themselves available for counseling and that their individual problems will be addressed.

• School leavers meeting: An attempt was made to recommence the meetings for school leavers after they were disrupted by the funeral of the republican president. But only a handful turned up. We intend to try again this month. Do pray that wisdom will be granted to us to know how we can best catch and sustain the interest of these school leavers.

• Regional conference: The first regional conference for the reformed Baptist churches in southern province took place on Independence Day 24th October at Choma Reformed Baptist Church in Choma. Approximately 80 people were in attendance. 15 came from our church. Pastor Conrad Mbewe preached on the theme, ‘An overview of the doctrines of grace’. The objective of these conferences is to spread the work of reformation by inviting many from non reformed circles to attend. The second one is planned for 1st May 2009 in Livingstone. This one might be more than one day and will therefore require more resources. Do pray for the success and organization of these conferences and that the Lord will use them to the glory of his name.

• Presidential elections: The town was a hive of activity prior to the presidential elections that took place on 30th October. Thank God that the voting process went on peacefully and that although the losing parties were aggrieved, the situation did not degenerate into anything nasty. Pray that the country might quickly pick up from where the late president left off and quickly make progress.

• Baptism and membership: We are planning to conduct our first baptism service early next year and this will also mark the start of our church membership. Before then we need to identify the potential candidates and take them through baptism classes. Pray that grace and wisdom will be given to us so that we do not end up baptizing anyone who will turn out to be a ‘Simon the magician’!

Bridgman Update - November 2008

Thanks so much for praying for Sanyo Grace Church!

Praise God for:

• Unanimous approval for purchasing land for our new building at the church business meeting at the mother church last Sunday
• We have enough funds in hand to purchase the land (price was less than expected)
• The location couldn't be better on a major street with a good view
• This was truly a miracle brought on by God answering the prayers of His people. He gets the glory.

Prayer for:

• Developing a plan for a building that we hope to get started the beginning of 2009 and finished before summer comes
• We still need someone to fill in for us while we are on home assignment from July 2009 through summer of 2010. We need missionaries or nationals who would be able to preach in Japanese.
• Pray for many souls to be saved (especially young people, and starting a Sunday school for kids)
• Pray for our Christmas meetings

Thanks for praying. Please continue to remember the continuing requests from previous mailings.

Claxton Update 11/3/08

The Claxtons have posted photos along with updates on their ministry in Ukraine on their blog:  http://claxtonfamily.blogspot.com.

Walker Update - 10/30/08

It's nearly midnight .  tomorrow's our last day of Come TOGETHER through Conflict here in Davao, Philippines. Why am I not sleeping?  Was it something int he fajitas I ate tonight.  I do have trouble sleeping, but I'm praising God that I have gotten good sleep this week of teaching.

CTC has gone well.  what a blessing to work with such great people:

Pastor H is doing a great job of pastoring a number of churches using the Scriptures translated into his language.  His wife has already taught some of her friends from the course materials I sent her before we met in Davao this week.

Pastor James and his wife want to teach this course in their church.  PRAY that we can find a way to help them do it.  Jean is typing up teacher notes that should make it easier for others to teach what they are learning this week.

We are praising God for this opportunity to serve thru teaching CTC.  PRAY for future opportunities to teach it.  We just heard from one of our leaders in Wycliffe that we may have an opportunity in Indonesia early in 2009.

tomorrow we step out of the classroom and into plane bound for Jakarta.  After a one night stay, we go on to Dhaka, Bangladesh. We'll be coaching three your ladies who are learning to teach Learning that LASTS on their own.  We are there to coach and cheer them on.

We plan on returning to the USA in time for Tgiving.