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IFO opportunity for 4th of July

Looks like we have the opportunity to show hospitality to the 10 new Rwandans that will be here next week.  We’ve been asked if there are families in Little Rock that would be willing to host the 10 NEW Rwandans for the weekend of the 4th of July.  If we can find families, they will arrive in LR on Friday night and return to Fayetteville on Sunday.  This is weekend hospitality, which means families will have the very special opportunity to have a Rwandan (or 2 …or maybe 3) in the home on Friday and Saturday nights and enjoy your families 4th festivities.  There are 3 girls and 7 boys available.  They can go to church with you on Sunday and then they can be taken to UALR after Sunday lunch. 

4th of July Holiday plans for your family….

Remember we have several Rwandans in LR and Conway that would be thrilled to picnic (grill out, eat watermelon, share family traditions) with you or your family.  The LR Rwandans (last years group) live in dorms, so those do not need housing but would also love some TCL. 

I know that we have people in LR that love Africa and others that especially love Rwanda.  Anyone want to bring Africa home for the weekend?

Have questions?  Call LaJuana or email her.  You can get her contact information from the church office or from me (contact me via my profile in the sidebar on the right)

July Special Dates

These are the special dates in the lives of our partners for the month of July.  Feel free to drop them a note via email or send them a card.  If you need contact information, please check the prayer guide, contact the church office or me {Gina}- you can send me an email by clicking the link in my profile (bottom of the right side bar).

July 5 - Katherine C.* (daughter of Mark & Jill)
July 6 - Carol & Wayne Mack's anniversary
July 7 - Jennifer & Kirk P's anniversary
July 14 - Carolyn Hart's birthday
July 15 - Violette Bridgman's birthday
July 15 - Lea P.'s birthday (daughter of Kirk & Jennifer)
July 23 - Paul Bridgman's birthday
July 25 - Jeanne & Roland Walker's anniversary 
July 30 - Caleb P's birthday (son of Kirk & Jennifer, attending school in the US)

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - BiWeekly Prayer Report June 1-14

•    Women’s Monthly Meeting: We thank God that the women’s monthly meeting for June successfully took place on the 6th June. It was attended by approx. 25 women. The topic was ‘living with HIV in the home’. The topic was well received by the women who attended although some requested that next time their husbands should also be invited to such meetings.
•    Regional conference: The regional conference for the reformed Baptist churches in the southern province of Zambia is scheduled for 5-7th July in the town of Livingstone. The main churches involved are Choma Reformed Baptist, Mazabuka Central Baptist Church and Trinity of Livingstone who are hosting. But we intend to invite those brethren who are outside reformed circles with a view to introducing them to the doctrines of the reformation. This time round we will have pastors Kanyense and Kalifungwa handling the topic of the five solas. Pray for the organization aspect, the traveling aspect, the speakers and the ultimate success of this conference.
•    Mrs. Mayaka: She has been one of our regular church attendees but she has not been able to attend church for a number of Sundays now. This is because she is nursing a sick mother who is getting mentally disturbed. Pray for her mother’s recovery and that wisdom will be granted to Mrs. Mayaka to know how best to nurse her mother.
•    Expecting mothers: We have two expecting mothers in church namely Karen and Paxina. Karen is due to deliver in the next two months and Paxina in the next three months. Karen had problems with conceiving on account of having fibroids in the womb. Paxina has conceived on a number of occasions but her pregnancies have always ended in miscarriages. The current one seems to be holding. For both this will be their first child. In view of their history you can understand that they are a little anxious about their respective situations. Join us in praying for these two ladies that they might deliver safely.
•    Chibwe: Chibwe has just come into town. He is young brother to Karen. After attending church and bible study he came to ask for spiritual assistance. He said he knows that he has just been religious from childhood and that his religion has not done him much good. He now wants to know the true way of salvation as he does not want to stray in future. We have started having evangelistic bible studies with him. Pray that he may experience true conversion.
•    Church decorations: Our church sanctuary has received a massive facelift after the ladies arranged for wall to wall curtains to be put in front, covering the wooden boards which were an eyesore! They have also introduced flowers and a carpet for the front. Join us in thanking God for this thoughtfulness and skill on the part of our womenfolk.

Welcome Home, Partners!

We have the joy this summer of face-to-face fellowship with some of our partners:
Mark & Jill Claxton - now through early August
Wayne & Carol Mack - July 6-13
Aaron & Lindsay Hefner - now through the end of 2009

Take the opportunity to extend hospitality to them while they are with us!

IFO - Conversation Club Info

We will also meet with international students each Monday night for six weeks. Come for some or come for all.  I promise you will be blessed! The world is at your doorstep.

Wouldn’t you like to just get your feet wet in cross-cultural ministry?  It is fun, it is easy, and the rewards are eternal. Why not just come see what IFO is all about. 

Here’s the details:  
Dates for Conversation Club:  Monday Nights, June 15 through July 20th
Time:  6:00 PM
Where:  MetroBCM on the UALR campus.  3515 West 32nd Street

Directions:  I630 to Fair Park, exit going south toward the back side of UALR. 
Continue across 12th Street and through residential area until you come upon the back side of UALR.
The dorms will be on the right as you come up to W32nd Street.
Turn right and you will pass Metro on the left.
Turn left on the street between Metro and the Wesley Foundation and then left into the parking lot behind Metro.
Come downstairs.  Call LaJuana's cell if you have a problem.

Our IFO Partner Churches provide the meals for us each week, so come hungry.
The meal is provided for you to have special time around at a table, sharing a meal with internationals. 
We’ve made it easy.  All we need is you!

RSVP Please, all LaJuana asks is that you let her know that you are coming so that there will be plenty of food for you.
You can e-mail LaJuana or give her a call. {contact Gina for email or phone information}

For your information, these are a few of the countries that are expected this semester. 
Iraq, Saudi, China, Turkey, Korea, India, Uzbekistan, Russia, Rwanda, Taiwan, Nepal, Pakistan (to mention a few).
Sound interesting?

IFO - A note from LaJuana

I thought I would you might like to hear a quote that Patrick (from Rwanda) posted today. It’s good and worth sharing!

With all that the Rwandans have faced in their short little lives, this attitude is RICH!

“NO MATTER WHERE WE GO, we cannot escape from the sufferings that are part and parcel of our life. If we cannot avoid these sufferings, then our only choice is to overcome them. And since we have no choice but to overcome them, then we might as well live joyfully and vigorously while doing so”

By the way, I’m re-matching a few of the Rwandan kids that want American families. We also have 50 more coming in August. These kids are DELIGHTFUL, to say the least. Would you and your family take one as Friendship Partner?

The Friendship Partner commitment is not hard but very serious:

1. Contact them once a week (just like you would do any friendship you are building). E-mail is great!
2. Spend at least 2 times a month with them. Whatever your family does, let them tag along. This is hospitality…not entertainment. They just want to be a part of your life. We had them over a couple of weeks ago and did pop corn and pot tarts on the back deck. They sang African songs and danced. It was a rich evening.
3. Pray for the on a regular bases.
4. Attend a 3 hour IFO Cross Cultural training, which will help you minister.

Most internationals do not have cars, so it requires that you sacrifice a little time to go get them. The trip is well worth it!

Roland & Jeanne Walker - Asia

Prayer requests from Roland and Jeanne Walker in Asia:
PRAY as we prepare for training we’ll be doing in July for the staff of...another Christian college.  We can’t offer our normal training packages.  So it is a challenge to re-design things for two different groups of college teachers.  And we’ll have to translate materials....for the group in July. We need to make things very practical, not so theoretical,  for both of these colleges.

We are finding that teachers are hungry for training here.  They are called on to teach, but have little preparation to do so.  Their own education is minimal and materials are limited.  We observed several classes last week.  In a computer applications class, 40 students shared 16 computers.  And this is a well equipped school.

PRAY:  We are meeting people in serious conflicts – conflicts with co-workers and marriage partners.  Churches are splitting.  We want to share the principles of God’s Word so that conflicts can be transformed into opportunities to strengthen relationships and bring glory to God.  To this end, PRAY with us for nationals to translate and teach our Come TOGETHER through Conflict course.

Bridgman Prayer Update for June 2009

Praise:

1) For a retired Japanese missionary who has been accepted to pastor Sanyo Grace Church from this summer when we go on home assignment
2) For Jeffrey and Kevin who continue to walk with the Lord and seeking His guidance
3) For you our supporters who continue to give towards the ministry here even in the midst of this economy
4) For increased attendance in May
5) For the preliminary accetance of getting a loan from the bank for our church building
6) For all the ladies who were able to study the Bible with Violette

Prayer:

1) That the Sanyo Grace Church congregation will be able to pay for the building that has been approved
2) That Mr. Taniguchi would really seek the Lord (he attends worship service about once a month)
3) That Mr. Hamada would be well enough again to come to church.
4) That the Japanese wives of three foreign men who come to prayer meeting would accept Christ.
5) That Mr. Fukunaga who attended church for the first time would continue to come
6) That Sanyo Grace Church would continue to grow in numbers and in spiritual maturity.
7) That our home assignment plans will work out for the best (getting back into the US culture and visiting our supporters)

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - BiWeekly Prayer Report for 5/18-31

•    Sepiso Sitali: Sepiso has concluded her work in our midst. She was able to talk to a number of children and youths. She has shared the gospel with a number of them. Pray that the Lord will bless Sepiso’s efforts and that the Sunday school and the Youth Ministry will be able to pick up and continue from where she has ended. Pray for genuine conversions amongst the children and youths she has spoken to.
•    Mr. and Mrs. Chulu: We went back to check on this couple seeing they had not shown up at church the past two Sundays. They claimed that they were not feeling too well hence the absence. We enquired as to what they had done with the gospel message we had shared with them. They both claimed they had repented and received Christ as Saviour. But upon asking whether they were sure they had become Christians, the wife said she wanted to join the baptism class and to get baptized. She felt this would guarantee her salvation. Took the opportunity to explain to them the place and meaning of Christian baptism. They have since resumed coming to church. Gave them a new bible. Pray that this couple will experience true salvation. We will soon start taking them through the parable of the sower. Pray that the Lord will grant us wisdom as we continue ministering to this couple. 
•    Women’s Monthly Meeting: The monthly meeting for June is scheduled for Saturday the 6th. The topic that will be presented is ‘Living with HIV in the home’. Do join us in praying for the success of this meeting. Pray that the many women who have been invited will come for the meeting. Pray that those who are living with HIV or those who are living in fear of HIV will find solace in Christ as Saviour. The topic will be handled by Mrs. Mbofwana, she is a nurse and she attends another Baptist church. Pray that the Lord will grant her grace to minister to her fellow women.
•    Marrieds’ Ministry: The next bi-monthly meeting for marrieds’ is scheduled for June 27th. Since the meetings have an evangelistic slant, we plan to invite a number of none Christian couples for the meeting. Pray that the Lord will lead us to couples to invite and that those invited will respond positively. Pray for wisdom as we are still looking for a suitable speaker.
•    Pastor’s health: In 2006 I was diagnosed to be diabetic and was put on medication for a while. In early 2007 I went off the medication and I have been managing the condition using diet and exercise. But a couple of weeks ago my sugar levels started shooting up and it has become necessary to once again go on medication. Unfortunately the medication has negative side effects on me. Do join me in praying that once again it might become possible to go off the medication.

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - BiWeekly Prayer Report for 5/4-17

•    Sepiso Sitali: Sepiso is a second year student in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Zambia. She has come to do some missionary work with us whilst she is on 3 weeks break. Her fiancé Elijah has intentions of going into full time ministry. Her coming has been arranged by the Mission’s wing of Kabwata Baptist Church who have started encouraging students to take such opportunities to familiarise themselves with the mission field. We have assigned Sepiso to follow up, and minister person to person to the children and the girls who have been attending Sunday school, youth meetings and Sunday services. Pray that the Lord will bless her efforts in our midst.
•    Mwila: One of the children Sepiso has talked to is a 10 year old boy by the name of Mwila. Mwila has been very consistent at attending Sunday school, youth meetings and church. Both his parents do not attend any church. Asked how he ended up at CBC he said he read the billboard and decided to start coming. Asked if he was a Christian, he said he became a Christian when at one of the morning services he was convicted when he heard the pastor talk about the need to repent. He said he went home and confessed his sins and asked God to make him his son. Asked what has changed since in his life, he said he now prays and reads his bible and finds himself controlling his temper when he is provoked and tempted to fight. Do pray for Mwila; all indications seem to point to the fact that he has indeed become a Christian. Pray that this testimony will be an encouragement to the teachers who labour amongst the children and youths.
•    Mr. and Mrs. Chulu: We concluded presenting the gospel message to this couple. For some reason the husband seems to have been upset about something. They have not shown up at church the past two Sundays. We intend to go back and, if they permit us, start taking them through another evangelistic topic. Do pray that this door will not be closed permanently.
•    Women’s Monthly Meeting: This meeting successfully took place on the 9th May and was attended by about 32 women. We thank God that a number of women who were invited came. The pastor spoke on the topic of handling interpersonal conflict. The question and answer session clearly showed that many were experiencing conflict especially in their marriages and courtship. We took the opportunity to point them to Christ. Pray that the non converted women who attended will seek the Lord for salvation. A few indicated that they needed counseling. Pray for these follow ups.
•    Sunday services: We have come to verse 43 of Acts 2 and we are now studying the subject of apostles and miracles. Because of the influence of the charismatics, there is a lot of confusion surrounding this area and we are seeking with the Lord’s help to clear the confusion from the people’s minds. Pray that the Lord will grant us the grace and wisdom to do so.

June Special Dates

These are the special dates in the lives of our partners for the month of June.  Feel free to drop them a note via email or send them a card.  If you need contact information, please check the prayer guide, contact the church office or me {Gina}- you can send me an email by clicking the link in my profile (bottom of the right side bar).

June 6 - Roland Walker's birthday
June 6 - Nkandu T.'s birthda * (cousin of the Bandas who lives with them)
June 7 - Wayne Mack
June 17 - Ann Curles
June 18 - Debbie & Mike Johnson's anniversary
June 20 - Joshua P.* (Kirk & Jennifer's son)
June 23 - Jennifer P.

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - BiWeekly Prayer Report for 4/19 - 5/3/09

•    Mr. and Mrs. Chulu: We are continuing to share the gospel with this couple. They continue to show keen interest and also to attend church. Pray that the hearts of both husband and wife will be opened so that they come to faith in Christ.
•    Ladies Meeting: The monthly meeting is scheduled for this Saturday the 9th of May. The women are busy making invitations. The pastor will be preaching and we intend it to be counseling/ evangelistic in nature. Like we shared last time this forum has struggled to get back to its feet this year. Join us in praying that this Saturday’s meeting will be a success and will mark the revival of these meetings. Do pray specifically for converts.
•    Sunday services: The attendance to our Sunday morning services has steadily increased over the past few months to the effect that we are running out of sitting space. We are still anxiously waiting for the 10 pews pledged by Kabwata Baptist Church to be delivered. Both the number of children and adults is going up. Join us in praying for quick delivery of the pews and for wisdom to minister to the increasing varying needs of the congregation.
•    New members/ baptism class: This class has known more consistence in attendance over the past few weeks. We are now studying the subject of Christian growth having looked at the topics of becoming a Christian and assurance of salvation. Pray that those who are not genuinely converted will be converted and that those who are Christians will grow and be equipped for membership.
•    Mr. Stan Mateke: He is new in town and has come to work for World Vision. Prior to this he was working in Botswana. His family has not yet joined him. Many years ago he used to attend church at Lusaka Baptist Church when he was a student at University of Zambia. The wife goes to a Pentecostal church and he seems not decided as to where they will be congregating as a family in Mazabuka. Pray that he might know the Lord’s leading and make wise decisions in this respect.
•     Mrs. Semba: She and her husband are CMML. She has attended our monthly women’s meetings and our couples meetings. She has now started attending our morning services. She had earlier sent her children to start attending our Sunday school. Pray that she will find a spiritual home in our midst and that the Lord will grant us grace to minister to her needs.

Bridgman Prayer Update - May 2009

Praise:

1) For a retired Japanese missionary  who has agreed to pastor Sanyo Grace Church from this summer when we go on home assignment
2) For Jeffrey and Kevin who continue to walk with the Lord and seeking His guidance
3) For you our supporters who continue to give towards the ministry here even in the midst of this economy
4) For good attendance in April
5) For the nine kids that came to our Easter party and the couple who came for the first time to church on Easter
6) For another group of ladies who have started  to take Violette's English Bible Course

Prayer:

1) That the Sanyo Grace Church congregation will be able arrange good financing for the new building that we are planning
2) That Mr. Taniguchi would really seek the Lord (he attends worship service about once a month)
3) That Mr. Hamada would be well enough again to come to church and English class.
4) That the Japanese wives of three foreign men who come to prayer meeting would accept Christ.
5) That someone would be found to continue the English part of the ministry here during our home assignment from July 2009 to 2010.
6) That Sanyo Grace Church would continue to grow in numbers and in spiritual maturity.
7) That our home assignment plans will work out for the best (getting back into the US culture and visiting our supporters)

Special Dates for May

These are the special dates in the lives of our partners for the month of May.  Feel free to drop them a note via email or send them a card.  If you need contact information, please check the prayer guide, contact the church office or me {Gina}- you can send me an email by clicking the link in my profile (bottom of the right side bar). 

May 8 - Dinesh & Shannon's 5th wedding anniversary
May 11 - Jill Claxton's birthday
May 20 - Pam Kinch's birthday
May 21 - Wayne Curles' birthday
May 27 - Mark Claxton's birthday

Mack Update - April 2009 - South Africa

Because many of you have indicated that you pray for us as we seek to reach people for Christ and build up Christians in Christ I want to send you a brief report of one of our recent ministry opportunities. On Tuesday of this week Carol and I returned from a two-week period of ministry in Zambia. We flew into Lusaka on Wednesday and were met at the airport by our dear friend Pastor Ronald Kalifungwa of the Lusaka Baptist Church. Ronald, one of our former students at Grace School of Ministry, along with several other pastors from another area of Zambia, had invited us to come to their country to conduct marriage seminars and preach in a couple churches.

Our ministry in Zambia actually began on Thursday evening when we had the privilege of preaching at the Lusaka Baptist mid week service and then on Friday evening we started to teach a marriage conference that went all day Saturday and finished in Lusaka on Sunday evening. The meetings had been well promoted and were all well attended by Lusaka Baptist Church members and also by many people and pastors from other churches in the area. We soon discovered that God has used the ministries and pastors of Lusaka Baptist Church to raise up numerous solid churches and pastors in other parts of the city and in more distant regions of Zambia.

From Lusaka we took an hour-l ong flight to Livingston where Elder Joseph who joins with Pastor Michael in overseeing the ministry of the Trinity Baptist Church met us. We soon met Pastor Michael who became our guide for a tour of the spectacular Victoria Falls (deeper and wider than Niagara Falls) and a local game park. On Wednesday evening we conducted a mini marriage conference at the church, which was attended by church members and people from another church in Livingston. Though Trinity Baptist is about an hour’s flight away from Lusaka we soon learned that it was one of the many churches that have a vital connection with the Lusaka churches and draw some of their support from the mission minded people there...Since they can’t borrow money, they build as they have the money for materials and labor. Right now they are at a stand still as they wait for money to pay for the rest of the project.

Having completed our ministry at Trinity Baptist we flew back to Lusaka where we spenta night with our hosts Meshack and Esther Daka and then on Friday we boarded a plane and flew to the copper belt area of Zambia to do a marriage conference for the churches in that region. The conference, sponsored by the Reformed Baptist churches and pastors, was held at a YMCA hotel in Kitwe. As was true of the Lusaka conference, this seminar was well promoted and prayed for and attended by the Christians in the copperbelt section of the country. I was told that there were pastors and people from more than fifteen churches that attended the meetings. On Sunday we were scheduled to speak in the morning and evening at Fairview Reformed Baptist Church, a church that was located about an hour’s drive from Kitwe where the main conference was held.

Well, that’s a brief review of our Zambia journey – wish you could have been with us – you would have enjoyed seeing the country (especially Victoria Falls), meeting the people and the adventure of swerving all over the road to miss the pot holes. We were told that we shouldn’t travel with someone who drove straight because if we did we’d end up in a huge pot hole and go nowhere. We enjoyed swerving and got our Zambian PHD = Pot Hole Dodger degree. Incidentally, we think we also escaped getting malaria in that the malaria mosquitoes pretty much left us alone! Thanks for praying.

Our Zambia trip was a busy and tremendously productive time. I close this epistle by giving you a few more highlights of our time in Zambia coupled with our limited and very subjective assessment of the state of the church in that country.

1. One of the primary highlights was the singing of the people in the services. We don’t know if we’ve ever heard people sing as well as these people did. Carol said that hearing the people sing would have made the whole trip worthwhile for us even if nothing else worthwhile had happened. When these people sing they sing from the depths of their bodies and souls. It was great – thrilling and uplifting – a foretaste of heaven!
2. Another highlight was the fact that while we were in Zambia, as Carol said, we did not feel very white. By that she meant that the people treated us as though we were one of them, which, of course we were. What she meant was that though we saw few white people the whole time we were there everyone treated us and accepted us as friends and more than that as kin. And to be kin in Zambia really means something. We were impressed with the devotion to family we saw in this country, at least among Christians. And, for us, there just didn’t seem to be the color or racial barriers that exist elsewhere.
3. A third factor that encouraged us while in Zambia was the fact that our GSM students were evidently doing a wonderful work in their churches. We got feedback from some of the people that the counseling and preaching of their pastors seemed to be more practical and relevant in recent days. One lady made a special point of coming to see us so that she could thank us for=2 0help she and her husband were getting from the counsel of their pastor. At least seven pastors or elders told me that they knew that they needed help in being better counselors and that they were going to make application for Grace School of Ministry. One of the pastors told me that the change he saw in the ministry of one of our students was what prompted him to want to enroll in the same course.
4. We were impressed by the theological and biblical soundness and competency of the pastors and elders. They are readers and students who have read and studied many of the right books as well as the right book (the Bible). In my limited judgment and exposure, God has blessed Zambia with some of the best preachers and preaching in all of Africa and beyond. SDG. Please pray that the Lord would cause them to continue to be humble and faithful to Him and His Word and thus be a light, not only to Zambia, but also to the rest of Africa and to the world.
5. The fact that some of the churches have bookstores that are stocked with solid, meaty, quality literature indicates that the people buy and read quality literature. When we put out samples of some of our books, the people were crowding around the table to look at them and then many of them would ask about the procedure for acquiring them. When we visited some of the homes, we noticed that the bookshelves contained books by writers that produced biblically sound material.
6. In my judgment, my preaching (delivery, not content) was somewhat deficient (all my fault), but the people were extremely attentive and responsive. God is gracious and, in spite of my deficiencies, we received much positive feedback about how the people were helped, convicted, encouraged and challenged. We had Q & A sessions at both major conferences where people asked more questions about applying the material than we could possible have time to answer in the amount of time we had. In addition to these public Q and A times, many people asked me good questions in private conversations indicating that they are a thinking people. By and large, many (perhaps most) of the Zambians have had a quality education in their schools and universities and also in their churches. In my opinion, there are more Biblically and theologically sound churches in certain areas of this country than are found in many other areas of the world that are similar in size. And they are planting other churches. Ther e are the usual cults and unbalanced and unbiblical groups operating in Zambia and leading people astray, but God has done and is doing something powerful and incredibly Christ honoring in Zambia. My prayer is that it would continue and increase and that our Lord would be pleased to do the same thing in South Africa and beyond.
7. Many of the Zambian Christians are concerned about growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and His Word. They want to be thoroughly biblical and also very practical and relevant in their ministries and they know that for that to occur they must study to show themselves approved unto God, workmen who do not need to be ashamed because they are properly handling the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Because of this concern, as I previously mentioned, some of them have already taken our two year modular course in biblical studies at Grace School of Ministry and others have assured me they will be applying for admission in the near future. (To complete this course they must travel to South Africa eight times in two years and do much reading and studying that can immediately benefit their ministries at home. The cost of the sixteen courses over the course of two years is about $300.The cost of books a nd transportation to and from Pretoria is more than the actual cost of the courses. We try to raise some scholarship money to assist them with the total cost of the program. Please pray for us and, if you can, help us in this endeavor. Sorry for the commercial, but since I was discussing Grace School of Ministry, I thought it was appropriate to provide this information.) And now back to the main point I was making about the concern that Zambian Christians have for increasing their ministerial knowledge and effectiveness. This concern has caused a group of men in the copperbelt region to meet regularly in Ndola to sharpen one another in ministerial knowledge and skill. And to further the implementation of this concern, Bruce Button, who has been involved in pastoral training in South Africa will be moving to Lusaka to head up a pastoral training school training school called Sovereign Grace Theological School.

And now as I really close, Carol and want to express our gratitude to you for reading this epistle and also for praying for us, for Grace School of Ministry and for the pastors and churches of South Africa, Zambia and other parts of Africa.

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for 4/6 through 4/19/2009

•    Couples: Nine marrieds traveled to Lusaka on 18th April to attend the marrieds’ seminar at Lusaka Baptist Church which was taken by Dr Wayne Mack. The material presented was highly appreciated by those who attended. Pray that the marriages of those who attended the seminar will be strengthened and become more God honoring.
•    Mr. and Mrs. Chulu: We have commenced having weekly evangelistic meetings with this couple. Last week we looked at the fall of man and its consequences on our lives. They seem to be eager to learn. The following Sunday, both the wife and the husband came to church. Do pray for a genuine conviction of sin in their lives and that the Lord will graciously save them. Having kept away from church for so many years, pray that they will feel at home in our midst so that they can benefit from the ministry of the word to them. 
•    Wedding: Abel and Inonge got married at a colorful wedding at Kabwata Baptist Church on Saturday the 11th April. Abel is already settled in our midst having moved into town some months ago. His wife Inonge is a pharmacist who at the time of the wedding was still working for the government in Lusaka. She will need to find alternative employment in Mazabuka. Pray for her search for employment so that in His time the Lord will open the right door. Pray for this new couple as they seek to serve the Lord in our midst so that they can know God’s guidance as to how exactly they should serve Him. Pray for their new marriage so that they continue to build on the Rock.
•    Series on the church: We have continued with the Acts 2 series on the subject of the church and church membership. For the past 5 Sundays we have looked at how and why the 3000 new converts devoted themselves to prayer. Our hearts have been warmed as we considered the various aspects of prayer namely; praise and adoration, thanksgiving, confession, supplication and intercession. Pray for us that the Lord will teach us to pray!
•    Ladies meeting: The ladies meeting has struggled to successfully take off this year. The last attempt saw only a handful of women in attendance. An attempt will be made early next month on the 9th May to revive the monthly meetings. Last year these meetings were used of the Lord to minister the gospel to a number of women in town. Do pray that the meetings will successfully be revived and that once again they will become a forum for gospel preaching in addition to meeting other teaching needs of the womenfolk.
•    Shenny: After showing up at church for a couple of Sundays, he has been overtaken by busy work schedules. The planned follow up meeting with him has also been affected by the same. Pray for him that his work schedule will be such that he will be free on Sundays. Pray also for an opportunity to be found for us to sit and discuss spiritual issues with him.

Hefner Update - April 2009 - On Furlough

Hefners on Home Assignment
It’s hard to believe that the first official day of spring is just around the corner. Each day seems to pass at a comfortable, relaxing pace. But when we take a look at the calendar and see how much time has gone by since we arrived in the States (mid-December), it’s shocking! We are currently in Snohomish, Washington, spending time with Lindsay’s family and our sending church family, Emmanuel Baptist Church. The church provided us with a very comfortable place of our own and we are enjoying having people in our home and getting to know them better.

Lindsay, Elijah, and Lenaya are in the full swing of school, learning about everything from the capital cities of the US to the ministry of missionary Gladys Alyward in China (a great story!). It’s been fun to have the opportunity to take “field trips” to places like the Pacific Science Center, and to spend an afternoon at the Soup Kitchen (serving meals to the homeless). Elijah and Lenaya also experienced their first “snow day”, when we were blessed with two inches of snow in March. Of course, we had to cancel school due to the bad roads.☺ The kids were THRILLED! Building a snowman, making snow angels, sliding on iced-over puddles…it was quite the day! Besides speaking in a couple of churches and sharing about our ministry in some local Christian schools, Aaron is also co-teaching a married’s Sunday school class at our church. One of our main desires for our time on home assignment is to reconnect with our families and strengthen our relationships with friends, and those who support our ministry. We don’t want our time here to come to an end and regret that we didn’t spend more time with people. Please feel free to stop by, or get in touch with us! We would love to see you!

Future Plans
We will be in Washington State until early June. At that time we will head back to Little Rock, Arkansas and will spend most of the remainder of our furlough there. We will have a few trips “sprinkled” in there, though – Houston, Texas and Charleston, West Virginia. We’re looking forward to seeing “y’all” ☺

Home…where’s that?
When we lived in [Africa], home was our cement-block house on the outskirts of the village. When we stayed in the capital city...from time to time, home was the mission guest house, surrounded by a tall cement wall. When we arrived in the States this past December, for six weeks home became Grandma and Grandpa Hefner’s house. And now, here in Washington, home is our church’s mission house. When we move again in a few months, home will be in another location. This can be confusing to a 5- and 7-year old child. We’ve been asked more than once, “Dad/Mom, where is our home?” Rather than cause us to think, “Oh, poor things, they don’t even know where home is”, these questions have been wonderful opportunities to teach Elijah and Lenaya that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20), and to “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:2) Our everchanging home location has been a good reminder to us as well, to hold loosely the things of
this short life, and to keep eternities values in view.

Prayer and Praise:

• Due to the fact that Lindsay’s health is greatly improved and every test that she has undergone these past couple of months revealed nothing, we have decided to not pursue further medical testing. We are still unsure of the cause of her prolonged illness in Senegal but are resting in the fact that the Lord does. He was faithful to strengthen and sustain Lindsay these past 2 ½ years, and we know that He will do the same in the future, should her symptoms arise again, when we return to [Africa]. We are SO thankful for the good health and energy that she has right now!
• Please pray for our co-worker. She has a very full schedule in this upcoming month preceding her own home assignment. Pray that she would rest in the Lord’s goodness and strength.
• Remember the man who placed his faith in Christ right before we left...and came to the States? Well, our co-worker has reported that he is still holding onto Christ, is reading further Bible lessons and Scripture portions, and continues to ask questions about what he is reading. This is exciting! If you choose to pray for only one request in this newsletter, let it be this one! {He} needs your prayers. Pray that the Lord would strengthen his spirit to withstand the persecution from others in the village. Pray that he would remain steadfast in his new faith in Christ. Pray that the Spirit of God would be teaching him and giving him understanding as he reads Bible lessons. And also pray that he would be a bold witness for Christ.
  

Walker Update - Asia - April 7, 2009

Please PRAY today for the last morning of Come TOGETHER through Conflict in [Asia].  (Monday, Tue, half-day Wed).  This is the first time the team is teaching without Jean and I.  Praise God with us for the way he is launching this training team - Kathryn, Nick, John.


We are glad that Learning that LASTS ended so well on Friday.  It was a very creative, very fun group.  and we learned and benefited lots, too. One of the participants gave us major help in re-designing the TOGETHER banner/visual aid.  We learned to take better fotos, design better PowerPoint slides, etc.  Our participants were media people.

Yes, we are tired and I am still a bit manic.  PRAY for our recovery, refreshment and renewal.  And the three days of meetings we are in - human and leadership development group.  (This does not mean to imply that leaders are not human.)

Soak up God's love at this time we remember his greatest demonstration of it.

Bridgman - April 2009 Prayer Update

Praise:

1) For a retired Japanese missionary  who has agreed to pastor Sanyo Grace Church from this summer when we go on home assignment
2) For Jeffrey and Kevin who continue to walk with the Lord and seeking His guidance
3) For you our supporters who continue to give towards the ministry here even in the midst of this economy
4) For good attendance in March
5) For one more chance to witness to our neighborhood kids with an Easter party on April 3rd
6) For another group of ladies who want to take Violette's English Bible Course

Prayer:

1) That the Sanyo Grace Church congregation will be able arrange good financing for the new building that we are planning
2) That Mr. Taniguchi would really seek the Lord (he attends worship service about once a month)
3) That Mr. Hamada would be well enough again to come to church and English class.
4) That the Japanese wives of three foreign men who come to prayer meeting would accept Christ.
5) That someone would be found to continue the English part of the ministry here during our home assignment from July 2009 to 2010.
6) That Sanyo Grace Church would continue to grow in numbers and in spiritual maturity.
7) That our home assignment plans will work out for the best (getting back into the US culture and visiting our supporters)

Thanks for praying.

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - BiWeekly Prayer Report - 3/9 through 3/22/2009

•    Obituary:   Gift, a 12 year old Grade 7 pupil who has been a regular Sunday school, youth fellowship and morning service attendee passed away in his sleep on Wednesday afternoon. The amazing thing is that he was playing football and we were talking to him on Sunday afternoon and everything seemed alright. He has suffered from some ailment since childhood. Although we do not know his spiritual status, his Sunday school and youth fellowship teachers testify that he was a keen student who was very knowledgeable about the bible. The parents have never been to church. Do pray that the passing away of Gift will challenge both the young people and the older ones to make things right with God. Pray that as we participate in his funeral by way of assisting the parents, doors will be opened for gospel ministry to them.
•    School leavers:   The meeting for school leavers took place on the 12th of March and was attended by 25 school leavers. A number of these were new attendees. We took time to sell the concept of meetings for school leavers to them. Showed them that they were better off attending and gaining knowledge in various areas of life instead of just doing nothing at home or getting up to mischief. We proposed that a committee be formed to spearhead and organise these meetings. This was agreeable and will be done at the next meeting. Continue praying for these meetings that the Lord will give us wisdom to know how best to use them evangelistically. 
•    New members’ class:  This class is now in full session and we are looking at how a person becomes a Christian. It is heartening to hear the lively debates and through these discussions, the spiritual states of some attendees are becoming clearer. Pray for the conversion of those who for some time have believed they were Christians. Pray that through these studies their spiritual eyes will be opened.
•    Shenny:   He is a young man who is a graduate of the school of journalism. He has recently moved into town from the neighboring town of Kafue. He was brought to our attention by pastor Sunkuntu from our sister church in Kafue. He came to church and we are in the process of following him up. He is of a catholic background. Pray for his salvation.

Dinesh & Shannon - Update, March 2009 - Asia

I have just finished my first year at the Seminary. Two to go, and I know they will pass quickly as this one has. As I reflect upon what I have learned, three things stand out from this year. First, preaching in a manner that is worthy of God and His Word requires HARD work. Second, as we finished Basic Greek, I am now beginning to understand the importance of studying the original languages. Reading the NT in English is wonderful, but learning to read it in Greek is like seeing a veil over the text being lifted. There’s a richness underneath that you didn’t see before. Third, the more time I spend in God’s Word I find one recurring theme-my deficiency in every area when compared with the standards God requires of me. That is to say, there is need of much growth as a husband, father, son, brother, classmate, doctor, missionary and a servant. I pray God may grant growth not only in knowledge but also in godliness during these years of training.

In all the busyness of the last year, one of the things I’m thankful for is the emphasis the seminary places upon family. It’s really fun watching [our children] growing at such a rapid rate these days. I really cherish the time we spend together as a family. We also continue to be very thankful for a church where we enjoy good feeding from God’s Word and rich fellowship with friends.

As for future plans, we continue to pray and seek guidance for ministry after seminary. Beginning in May, we will be visiting several places in [the north] over the next couple of years exploring prospects for future ministry. As we plan to return to a rural area, the desire for teammates is again a priority. Please pray for God’s provision and that we might know His will in these things.

· Dinesh would like to have some surgical experience during his break and is currently looking for a job.

· Our future placement and teammates.

· Our personal walks with the Lord—guarding our quiet time, growing in our prayer life. Cultivating hearts of worship.

Walkers - Update - Asia

Just learned that our visa has been granted.  Praise Him with us.!!

And housing for our first 4 months has been arranged  - two friends going away will let us use their houses.

Also, we finished our last Come TOGETHER through Conflict course yesterday.  It went very well, co-taught by the three people who will go on teaching it after we leave next week.  We are confident that they will do well.  Remember John, Nick and Kathryn to the Father.

We have 4 days left...before we go to [city].  We need to complete revisions to the course and rest up.  We have been busy weekends and 12 hour days for most of our time here.

Thx for tracking with us.

International Friendship Partners - March Update

We have several international students from different countries that need an American Friendship Partner.

The commitment is easy, and the rewards are eternal.

1. Contact them once a week.
2. Spend two times a month with them, depending on your schedule and theirs.
3. Pray for the regularly.
4. Attend a 3 hour IFO cross-cultural training.

For more information:  Contact me, LaJuana, by phone or e-mail.  {contact Gina or the church office for phone or email information} 

IFO CALENDAR OF EVENTS for SPRING & SUMMER 2009

April 10 –12th --- Easter Weekend
Don’t forget your intl friends as you remember the cross of Christ.

April 11th --- Global Women’s High Tea “for girls only”. 
Redeemer Community Church is sponsoring this event and has invited us to join them.

April 25th --- Petit Jean Mountain Spring Picnic and Hike

June 8th – Conversation Club Summer Session begins
& continues each Monday night until July 13th

June 13th --- Buffalo River Canoe Trip

July 11th --- Lake Ouachita Trip

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - BiWeekly Prayer Report - 2/23 through 3/8/2009

•    Sunday services: We have continued with our studies on the church drawn from Acts 2. We are currently looking at how the 3000 converts devoted themselves to the fellowship. We have seen that a life lived out in a church fellowship with other believers is God’s will for everyone who becomes his child. This fellowship is not to be superficial but deep and real. Through fellowship we function as the social beings that God created us to be. Through fellowship many of our various spiritual and social needs are met. Do pray with us that those who are coming to faith in Christ, and those who already profess faith will devote themselves to the fellowship in a similar manner that the early believers did.
•    Young Peoples: This has been divided into two classes, boys and girls. The two classes first have a time of games together before separating into their respective classes. The boys’ class has been hit by the going out of town for school by at least 5 boys. Pray for the establishment of these two classes. Pray for more teachers. Pray for an effective person to person following up of the young people. 
•    Chipo: She has come less frequently for the counseling sessions we have been having with her. At the last session she claimed to have cut links with the married man she has been seeing. But the situation in reality seems to tell a different story. She is definitely struggling. Continue praying for her.
•    Esther: She is a zealous young lady who has come to work in the town of Mazabuka for some months. She is already involved with the young people and we thank God for the work she is doing. Pray for her work situation that she will quickly settle down.
•    Mrs. Chapa: She and her husband belong to the brethren church. Their church is spiritually dead. Out of three church elders, one is a drunkard, the other an adulterer and the third a wife beater!  For a long time she has desired to leave her church to come and join us. But her husband has resisted as he fears they might be excommunicated from their church and he seems to value the traditional ties with his denomination. But the past two Sundays she has been attending our church services. It seems she has just become fed up with their church situation. Do pray for this couple so that they will reach an amicable resolution to their church problems. Pray for the husband that he might value his spiritual health and that of his family above mere traditional church attachment. Mrs. Chapa has also been very instrumental in talking to some of her church mates about their spiritual states and inviting them to our various meetings.
•    Mr. and Mrs. Semba: They attended our last couples meeting. They congregate with the brethren church (same as the Chapas) but they do not seem to be happy with the quality of fellowship at their church. For the past two Sundays they have been sending their children and dependants (4 in total) to come and congregate with us. Pray for wisdom as they make decisions that affect their spiritual lives.
•    Biblical Counseling Course: I was in Pretoria the past week attending the biblical counseling course which is run by the Grace School of Ministry. The journey through Pilgrim’s Progress by Dr Wayne Mack was an excellent feast for the soul! It helped us to see the Christian life in a nut shell and brought to life John Bunyan’s classic book. Joel James’ treatment of the book of Proverbs was also an icing on the cake which gave us invaluable insights into the book of Proverbs. Pray that the vital counseling tools we are receiving will be put to good use in helping multitudes who need counseling.

Walkers - Update March 2009 - Asia

Note: photos are being used with permission. Locations have been edited for privacy and safety. ~ Gina

Come Together thru Conflict went very well last week in Asia. The group were the leaders here and gave us some good ideas to improve CTC.

Now we are...where the big earthquake was last May. There are cracks in the walls as reminders of Father's grace. Very little loss in this city of 10 million. It was areas near here with tens of thousands died.

After CTC ended on Friday, we went to a cool restaurant to celebrate. The young ladies with Jean in the previous foto welcomed us.

Then we enjoyed 'hot pot' with friends. They have a pot boiling in the middle of the table into which they put meat and veg. One side of the pot is spicy...and the other is more tame. Wish you could have enjoyed this with us.

The parks here have cool exercise equipment and are full of people each morning. A taichi group was next to an aerobics dance group, each with their recorded music playing. How they could keep the two separate in their minds in amazing. I guess this country has so many people (1.2 billion) that they have to have the ability to tune each other out.

We are doing lots of walking between great restaurants to keep in shape and be ready for the next meal. Food is great (not like you get in...restaurants in the US), food is an important part of social life here, and the price is quite low.

Hot fries for sale on the streets.... And I mean hot as in spicy. I could only eat a portion of them before I burned out.

We are staying in a huge apt complex (11-17 story buildings).... I'm thankful we look down on a nice park in the center of it all. Restful, but cold here. No central heating in the apartment, but a couple of good space heaters.

I'm thankful they cancelled CTC for this week. Not too many people could come all week. So this gives our team (3 friends here learning to teach CTC after we leave) time to prepare for the following week. We'll be making some improvements to CTC, too, to better fit the [cultural] context.

Thx for remembering us to Father.

We flew an hour...and are out of the big city and into a beautiful small town surrounded by mountains. The sun was out today, which we haven't really seen during our week in...a city of 10 million also surrounded by mountains. But I never saw them cuz the clouds cover them most of the time.

Please remember our team as we teach Come Together through Conflict Mon-Wed. Working with our team of three teachers-in-training is a challenge, with different personalities, strong opinions, [different] cultures....

We define conflict as Differences that Frustrate. I hope that we can learn to accept, even celebrate the differences, but that is not easy.

It has been a long day, now 6.45; we are letting the 3 newbies set up the room, which has taken hours.... Hope to get some rest soon after 12 hr days last week. May Sunday be a day of rest and restoration.

Mack Update - March 2009 - South Africa

Dear Partners in Christ,

For your encouragement I want to share some thoughts from a passage of Scripture and also portions of two letters we recently received from two of our GSM students. We are unworthy and extremely inadequate servants and we are truly humbled, astonished and grateful that we along with you have a small part in serving Him and His people. Please join with us in giving God the glory for what is shared in this newsletter and be encouraged to know that God is hearing your prayers and using your sacrificial support for the benefit of His people.

Encouraging thoughts from a passage of Scripture:
 
In the past few days I've been thinking about and blessed by I Peter 1:13 - Therefore, gird your minds for action; be sober in spirit; fix hope on the grace of God brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. What a great thought - our hope is not for the best life in this world. Our best hope is for the provisions of the grace of God, which will be ours when Jesus comes back. May God help us to set our minds on things above and not on the things of this world. I need that reminder constantly. Peter is writing to people who are suffering and aliens and encourages them to realize they have reason to be joyful in the midst of suffering because of the hope of the future grace of God to them in Christ Jesus when He returns. For us, the worst we'll ever have is now and the best is yet to come. We finished our last GSM course by going to heaven with the help of chapter 17 in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and what a wonderful prospect we saw lies before us.

Encouraging words from a GSM student who pastors in Zambia:

I am continually indebted to your church for the opportunity you have granted me to pursue the biblical counseling course. It is difficult to put in words the value I am drawing from this course. The first value is my own personal sanctification. A number of areas in my life are being changed. I am sure my wife is enjoying these benefits as she sees me become a better husband!

People here in Zambia will benefit from the counseling courses through the regular counseling that I carry on as a pastor. My counselees will stand to benefit profoundly from these courses.

But there are also other ways in which what I am learning from the counseling courses will assist thousands of people.

People in Africa will benefit from the counseling courses as they listen to the counseling related radio programs, which we feature. Currently we are running programs on a local community radio that reaches the town and its surroundings, a total population of more than 250 000 people. Then more recently I have been invited to do counseling programs on a Christian broadcast that covers East, Central and Southern Africa.

People will benefit from the counseling courses in that the Lord has also granted us a writing ministry. We have so far produced 7 booklets covering relationship related topics targeting young people. Providentially, these booklets have been adopted and approved by our ministry of education to be used in all schools in the country. God willing we intend to grow this list of titles.

We are therefore delighted that through Wayne's counseling course, the quality of the counseling material that we offer people at personal level, through radio broadcasts and through writing literature is all becoming better and better.

So be greatly encouraged dear brethren. Your efforts are not in vain and they will be greatly rewarded by the Lord Himself. 1 Corinth 15.58.


Encouraging words from a GSM student who ministers in South Africa:

Just a short note to thank you for the 4 weeks in which you taught us
diligently about God and about His Word.  The more I realize how big my sins are, the greater God's grace become.  Each of these weeks, I was mainly confronted with my sins.  What a frightful journey!  I feel terribly privileged to be able to sit at your feet and learn from you.  Thank you so much.  May God grant you health to carry on for many more years.  I am not exaggerating if I say that this course, was the most life changing
experience, so far in my life.
Know that we appreciate and love you very much.

Some requests for prayer:

Family Camp ministry in Sassolburg in March;

Conference ministry for two weeks in Zambia in April;

Shepherd's conferences in Johannesburg, Polokwane and Capetown (Son Josh, Joel James, Andy Snider, Carol Hargrove and I will be the main speakers at these conferences that are usually attended by about 500 pastors and other church leaders during the last week of May and the first week in June;

Pastor's conference in Mozambique during the second week in June.

Finances for personal support and also for the discipleship and orphan ministry carried on among the thousands of spiritually and physically needy people. Our church under the leadership of Josh is ministering to literally hundreds of these spiritually and physically needy people in Sunnyside, Stinkwater and Mapheus (formerly Mamelodi). One black brother who had done the two year program at Grace School of Ministry and the seminary program at Christ's Seminary is visiting and conducting Fundamentals of the Faith classes every week in Mapheus and also conducting a native language class for the 30 or more black people who are now attending our church. Some of these have only recently come to Christ. Many of the young adults in our church have become very actively involved in doing Bible classes for more than a hundred children at Stinkwater. Many of the people in the church also regularly provide food packages for people who lack physical provision.

Well, enough of that for this newsletter. Thanks again to everyone who supports us and prays for us. As Paul said to the Corinthians church so we say to you: “you also joining in helping us through your prayers so that thanks may be given by many persons … for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:11).

Blessings to all of you and SDG.

Wayne and Carol Mack from South Africa
Romans 14:7, 8

Walker Requests - March 9, 2009

Hi,

Before we begin a busy day, I want to ask your Jean to intercede for us this week.  We are faced with a very challenging task over the next 2 weeks.

1) To build capacity in a 3 person team (John, Nick, Kathryn) so they can teach CTC (Come Together through Conflict) after we leave.  They have 150 people to teach.  At 10-15 people per session, they will be teaching CTC 10-15 times.  So our investment in JNK is significant.  We don't yet know what their abilities are, and that adds to the complexity of our task.   They will help teach CTC next week.  So they need to prepare themselves this week.

2) In order to leave the team with a version of CTC that better fits the needs of our colleagues working together in this country we need to modify CTC this week .  This must be done this week in order for us all to teach CTC next week in other city.  We want to involve JNK as much as possible in the CTC re-design process, but that will take much longer to do than if Jean and I did it ourselves.  So there is a tension here and room for conflict this week.  I am thankful for this challenge, even though it means added stress and longer hours  for Jean and I.  We have already experienced the difficulty of making decisions as a team this week.  So we have the opportunity to practice the principles we teach in the conflicts that will inevitably occur this week and next.

We recognize our dependence of our Father in order to accomplish these tasks.  "Without me you can do nothing" (John 15.5) 

We so appreciate your partnership.

Blessings,

Roland (and for Jean)

Missionary dates in March

In an effort to further encourage our mission partners, I thought it might be nice to list their birthdays/anniversaries on the blog at the beginning of each month so you could send them an email or card/note around their special day.  Consult the missions prayer guide or contact me (link to my email is in my Blogger profile) or the church office for email or postal mail addresses. ~  Gina

March 15 (next Sunday)  - Bud Hart's birthday
March 30 - Carra C.'s birthday (daughter of Mark & Jill - attending college in the US)

Walker prayer requests - Asia - March 2009

Note: Information from the Walkers is edited as they've requested - specific location information has been removed.   ~Gina

Here are some things to talk to Father about.

• We are in [Asia] finishing up our first (of three) Come Together through Conflict courses.   It is going quite well.
• Tomorrow is our final day -- [pray] that the administrators taking the course will apply the Scriptures to their own lives and be able to help their people handle their conflicts in ways that bring glory to God.
• we fly to [a city in Asia] on Sat. and make revisions on the course over the weekend.
• for the 3 colleagues here who are learning to teach this course.  They are each teaching part of the course in [this city]; then again in another city the following week.  the goal is to enable them to go on teaching the course a number of other times.
  

If you write back, please don't use religious terminology.
Roland

Bridgman Update - Japan - March 2009

Praise:

 

1) For a retired Japanese missionary  who has agreed to pastor Sanyo Grace Church from this summer when we go on home assignment

2) For Jeffrey and Kevin who continue to walk with the Lord and seeking His guidance

3) For you our supporters who continue to give towards the ministry here even in the midst of this economy

4) For a significant increase in the average attendance in February

5) For 2 members who have returned to more active involvement in the church

6) Two Japanese women accepted Christ through American friend here who used Violette's English Bible course 

 

Prayer:

 

1) That the Sanyo Grace Church congregation will be able arrange good financing for the new building that we are planning

2) That Mr. Taniguchi would really seek the Lord (he attends worship service about once a month)

3) That Mr. Hamada would be well enough again to come to church and English class.

4) That the Japanese wives of three foreign men who come to prayer meeting would accept Christ.

5) That someone would be found to continue the English part of the ministry here during our home assignment from July 2009 to 2010.

6) That Sanyo Grace Church would continue to grow in numbers and in spiritual maturity.

 

Thanks for praying.

Walker Update - Asia - March 2009

Note: The Walkers are allowing their prayer letter to be posted to our blog with specific locations edited.  Where this has happened, you'll see [Asia].   Gina

Dear Friends,

I was on my way to buy a roasted chicken for supper when I saw this poor woman sitting on the sidewalk with her baby.  The baby’s head was way too big, like one of those heart-shaped foil party balloons.  One more beggar in [Asia] for whom I felt pity, but what could I do to help in a significant way?  The woman and her baby were gone when I came back with my chicken, but the image in my mind remains.  Our time in Bangladesh, along with reading Scriptures about helping the poor, have been re-shaping my thinking.

Coming back to the USA, seeing money flow like water for all kinds of non-essentials that are huge luxuries for the rest of the world, has been upsetting.  And so are the stats on how many people die of starvation in the world each day.  I find myself questioning the way I spend money.  And how I spend my life.

Jean and I have been asking ourselves, “Who are the poor that God has put in our path?  And what can we do to help them?” 

The young people of [Asia] immediately come to mind.  They are suffering a ‘poverty of education’.  Young lives with wasted opportunities because of the lack of dedicated, well-trained teachers.  What do Jean and I have to give?  We know Jesus and have His Word to share. God has given us good educations and the heart and abilities to train teachers.  Two colleges which train teachers have asked us to help their staff, and we have decided to respond.

Once again we are waiting for visas for [a specific country in Asia].  In the meantime,  God has put together a challenging schedule for teaching in two other countries in Asia through May 1.  Looking at how the pieces fit together, there is a theme:  promoting healthy relationships.  We want to be a part of the answer to Jesus’ prayer that we might ‘be one’ (John 17.21-23).

In one country, unresolved conflicts have taken their toll.  The Enemy must be smiling as he watches  people leave the field because they can’t get along with their teammates.  How can 160 believers from 18 countries work together in harmony?  We’ll be teaching Come TOGETHER through Conflict (CTC) in three locations in March, as well as training some of our colleagues there to go on teaching CTC after we leave. 

The principles of CTC are really quite simple:  Repent. Forgive. Love each other deeply.  Ah… but how to actually carry these out?  We don’t have the ability in ourselves.  But with God, all things are possible. 

That is good news because I feel inadequate  for the task.  Why is God calling me into this relationship- mending role?  I often get into conflicts and struggle to build strong relationships.  God delights in using weak people to do mighty things.

So PRAY that

• Jean and I depend on God for everything
• those we teach will experience God’s love in new ways and respond to His Word
• we can live out the following verses as our  theme for this year:  

“We tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That's why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ's mighty power that works within me” (Colossians 1.28-29).

We thank God for you,
Roland (for Jeannie, too)

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka

Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for the period 9th to 22nd February 2009
No. 54

•    Baptism and new members’ Class: This has now commenced. The first one was attended by 11 people. A few more are expected to join in as the class progresses. The objective is to prepare the attendees for baptism and church membership. A number who will be attending are still spiritually undefined and we intend to use this opportunity to have personal interviews with them and more accurately explain the gospel message to them. Do pray with us that those who are Christians will be prepared for membership and those who are not will discover their true spiritual status and come to Christ for salvation.
•    Thursday Bible Study: This is another new meeting which has now commenced. We had the first meeting on 19th February and it was attended by 7 people. The first topic we are looking at is the parable of the sower. The objective is to assist those who are just professing faith and those who are coming into church from various spiritual backgrounds to examine themselves with regards to the genuineness of their profession of faith. We would like this class to consolidate the new members’ class. We would also like it to be a forum to which we can invite those people we are counseling but who do not attend our church. Being a mid week meeting, a number of people might face difficulties with attending; so join us in praying for the establishment of this bible study and that it will be used of the Lord to bless many in our land.
•    Couples Meeting: Our second meeting for marrieds (first in the New Year) was held on 14th February and was attended by 7 full couples and 2 married ladies. We were looking at the subject of preparing for retirement. We tried to show from the scriptures that God is continually providing for our needs during our days of formal employment but He expects us to manage these provisions well so that we at the same time prepare for the future. We used the story of Joseph in Egypt. God revealed there would be 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. When put in charge Joseph used the 7 years of plenty to adequately prepare for the 7 years of famine. This is the type of wisdom we need to employ in our family lives. Our next meeting is scheduled for 18th April. Do pray for these meetings especially as we seek to use them as a forum for evangelism as well as for biblical counseling in our town.
•    Monet: He is a young man who has been in our midst for a while now. He has just passed his Grade 9 exams to go into Grade 10. Since he has been having problems with support issues from his relatives in town, his family has decided that he goes to continue pursuing his school in the town of Chirundu. He is a Christian and was settling well in our midst. Pray for him that he might settle well in the town of Chirundu and that he might find meaningful fellowship there.
•    School leavers Meetings: We last held meetings for school leavers sometime last year. They were disrupted after the death and funeral of our late president. There after it became difficult to gather the school leavers. But since another stream of school leavers has been added to the previous one, we would like to revive these meetings. We are planning to hold one on the afternoon of 12th March which is Youth day and a holiday in Zambia. Pray with us that everything goes well and for the establishment and continuity of this ministry.

Walker Update - Asia

We arrived in Asia this morning and have been working all day to be ready for the CTC (Come Together through Conflict) course we'll be teaching 3 times, beginning Monday.

Please pray for the participants, that they will be ready to apply God's Word.  Let's pray that God's Spirit will encourage, convict and empower us.

Pray for Jean and I.  We need strength for these weeks.  We'll teach Mon-Fri 1/2 days; then on Saturday fly to another city.  Then again the next week.

Pray for those we train to teach CTC after we leave, that they can catch on quickly and that we can give them the attention they need.

Thanks for standing with us in this.
Roland

Update from the Macks - South Africa

Received this update early this morning from Dr. Mack:

Have just had smash + grab protection put on our car. Also purchased pepper spray for Carol. But what a joy to serve Him. Had more than 50 young spiritually hungry adults in our home again last night. GSM classes this week with over 60 students - we'll be doing 44 hours of Christian Life Issues where we discuss theology and apply it to life and counseling/ministry.

About Smash & Grab Incident - Macks

Here are a couple of updates from Dr. Mack regarding a recent incident they were involved in:

Dear Loved Ones in Christ,

To our wonderful God of grace and mercy we give thanks for His kind providence in protecting us from serious harm in the recent instances of mugging and theft and smash and grab incidents we recently experienced. It was and is of great comfort to know that He is always alert on our behalf. Though our situation is not nearly as precarious as was the situation of John Paton when he went to the New Hebrides Island as a missionary we still find encouragement in the words he wrote when he was facing an attack by a large group of headhunting neighbors, "I knew not, for one brief hour, when or how the attack might be made; and yet, with my trembling hand clasped in the Hand once nailed on Calvary, and now swaying the scepter of the Universe, calmness and peace and resignation abode in my soul.... My God had placed me there, and would protect me till my allotted task was finished. Looking up in unceasing prayer to our dear Lord Jesus, I left all in His hands, and felt immortal till my work was done" (Autobiography of John Paton [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, reprinted 1965,94], p. 117).

To God be the glory that by His grace we can leave all in His hands and trust Him implicitly. "For of Him and to Him and through Him are all things. To whom be the glory forever"( Romans 11:36). Thanks again for your interest and prayers.

For His sake,
Wayne and Carol


Dear Loved Ones in Christ,

We have received so many notes of encouragement (via Email) that we wanted to send a note to our beloved friends who have supported us and shown an interest in our ministry. We give thanks to them and especially to our wonderful God of grace and mercy for His kind providence in protecting us from serious harm in the recent instances of mugging and theft and smash and grab incidents we recently experienced. We had to replace the window and it prompted us to have smash and grab protection put on all our car windows. Should have done it previously, but.... (Incidentally, one African pastor told us that these incidents now qualify us for really being considered African in that we have now experienced what many Africans have experienced.) Anyway as we experience a little bit of what many Africans have experienced it was and is of great comfort to know that He is always alert on our behalf. Though our situation is not nearly as precarious as was the situation of John Paton when he went to the New Hebrides Island as a missionary we still find encouragement in the words he wrote when he was facing an attack by a large group of headhunting neighbors, "I knew not, for one brief hour, when or how the attack might be made; and yet, with my trembling hand clasped in the Hand once nailed on Calvary, and now swaying the scepter of the Universe, calmness and peace and resignation abode in my soul.... My God had placed me there, and would protect me till my allotted task was finished. Looking up in unceasing prayer to our dear Lord Jesus, I left all in His hands, and felt immortal till my work was done" (Autobiography of John Paton [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, reprinted 1965,94], p. 117).

To God be the glory that by His grace we can do just that – leave all in His hands. "For of Him and to Him and through Him are all things. To whom be the glory forever"( Romans 11:36). Thanks again for your interest and prayers.

For His sake,
Wayne and Carol

Mack Update - February - South Africa

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I want to begin this praise and prayer letter by doing something different than I have done in any of my previous letters. I want to begin by reminding you of some truths written by the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:1 – 4. I mention these verses because the truths found in them explain what drives us in our ministry for Christ in South Africa and also they will provide for you some information about how to pray for us as we minister in South Africa. I also begin this newsletter this way because I hope the contents of these verses will be a challenge to you as you live your life in this world. Paul writes, “Since you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

I see in these verses some challenging, heart searching commands with far reaching implications for the way we live and minister: keep seeking the things above, set your minds on things above, don’t set your minds on the things that are on earth. I also see in these verses some challenging declarations which explain why we should and can obey the commands: you have been raised up with Christ, Christ is seated at the right hand of God, you have died, your life is hidden with Christ in God, Christ is our life, Christ will be revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory.  In other words, we can and should obey the imperatives (the commands) because of the indicatives (what has happened to Christ and us, what will happen to Christ and us). How can we do anything but obey the commands of verse 2 because of the truths what has happened to Christ and us and will happen to Christ and us as described in verses 1, 3 and 4.

I have spent some time meditating on the meaning and relevance of the imperatives and the indicatives in these verses and I encourage you to do the same and while you do that we would also pray for us that we would really obey the commands of these verses. Ask yourself: What does it mean to seek those things which are above or to set your mind on those things? Can you honestly say that you are doing that? Is there evidence in your life that you are continuously doing those things? 

Then having done that with the imperatives, do the same with the indicatives. Ask yourself: what does it mean to be raised with Christ? What difference should that fact make in your life? Does your life reflect the fact that you have been raised with Christ? How does your life manifest this fact? What does the fact that Christ is seated at the right hand of God mean? What difference should the fact that Christ is seated at the right hand of God make in your life? Does your life really reflect the fact that you are identified with Christ who has been raised and is now seated at the right hand of God? How does your life manifest this fact? Go on to ask similar questions about the other declarations found in these verses. And as you apply the truths in these verses to yourself by asking these questions, we urge you to pray for us that we would be constantly encouraged by the glorious truths found in these verses to: “keep seeking the things above” and keep setting our minds “on things above” in our lives and ministries in South Africa. That would certainly be one of the main prayer requests we would pass on to you.

Now a few specific praise items from recent days

• God has moved the authorities in South Africa to grant us a three-year extension of our visa for ministering here in South Africa;
• Our daughter Beth was married to Pastor Sybrand DeSwardt on January 17 and serves with him in the ministry of and through the Lynwood Baptist Church in Pretoria;
• We were able to preach a series of what amounted to 15 sermons Grace Fellowship Church with the title of Making the Maximum Impact for Christ based on an exposition of I Corinthians 13: 1 – 7;
• We had the privilege of joining with our son Joshua in preaching at Jeffrey’s Bay Bible Church;
• We enjoyed spending a few days of holiday with Josh and his family at Jeffrey’s Bay on the Indian Ocean in a house provided by some friends of ours;
• Our class sessions at Grace School of Ministry went well with almost 60 students from many countries in Africa and even some from Europe;
• We have completed a 50-page booklet called God’s Plan For In Law Relations, which will be published by P & R Publishers;
• We have begun with the help of Deborah Howard to write a new book which will turn my series on Making An Impact for Christ into print form (P & R has already indicated they will publish it;
• Carol and I have been experiencing good health (and that’s a real praise for two people who are as active as we are at more than 73 years of age);
• Carol has had many opportunities to counsel and teach women (she is presently doing two Bible classes with two different groups of women);
• For  our faithful financial and prayer supporters: for the most part, the churches and people who support us with finances and prayer  and occasional Emails have continued (and we even picked up two new supporters in the last few months to replace those who have dropped off);
• For the many opportunities to counsel pastors and other people;
• For ministry opportunities (preaching and teaching) that come to us from many places;
• For what God is doing at Grace Fellowship Church - many new members, salvation of people through the personal efforts of pastors and people, several people were recently baptized, native language class has been developed to discuss the sermons with people  who attend but whose first language is not English; Leadership Class with many men faithfully attending; many Bible Classes; numerous black people are attending the services which is a relatively new thing for the church; evangelistic outreach and Bible studies to black settlements in Stinkwater and Mamelodi and Sunnyside; regular food and clothing ministry for refugees and poverty stricken people with food and clothing being donated and distributed by people in the church; many young adults becoming involved and excited about spiritual things and volunteering for various ministries;
• For two men (Philip Krugel and Dries Visser) who have volunteered to supervise and promote the distribution of ministry resources I have developed (they have some good ideas about how to do this and have already registered the web site for www.mackministries.org.za);For Charles Busby who continues to supervise and distribute ministry resources I have developed  in the USA through www.mackministries.org;
• For the faithful support and assistance of GMI and the people there who handle the administrative  detail work concerning our finances and medical insurance.

Prayer Requests for near future:

• God’s sustained blessing and direction on the items previously mentioned under the praise section;
• For finances of the church and the people as people here have been affected by the economic down turn that the rest of the world is experiencing;
• Strategic planning meetings of elders as we consider and plan about our ministry in Africa – for wisdom, what we should do and not do, what we should do better and how to do it, for continued unity and harmony, for developing additional elders, etc. for shepherding responsibilities as the church grows, for developing skilled disciplers and counselor;
• For the salvation of people in South Africa and the establishment of solid Biblical churches
• Regular counseling, preaching and teaching opportunities;
• Impact of Grace School of Ministry on pastors/elders from many parts of Africa and even other countries – through the teaching and fellowship of Grace School of Ministry and our Shepherd’s conferences God can impact 100’s of churches and thousands of people;
• For the development and impact of our resource ministry on pastors, churches and people through solid, practical, Biblical literature, CD's and DVD’s;
• Preaching at Family camp in Sassolburg and other places in near future;
• Preparation and fulfilling the details for a ministry to Zambian churches in April;
• Continued health and strength to fulfill various ministries (mosquitoes love me and we will be ministering in two malaria mosquito countries in the near future);
• Preparation of various kinds (preaching, administration, promotion, etc.) and enrollment for our three Shepherd’s conferences;
• For protection and safety and boldness of God’s people in a land where there is much crime and unrest.

If after all that you are still reading, thanks so much for your perseverance and interest. Now please pray and praise and reflect on Colossians 3:1 -4.

Mack Update from January - South Africa

This is the Mack's January newsletter...
Plans seem to be moving forward for the transmitting of classes to other parts of Africa by way of electronic media. There are some men in South Africa who see the importance of this and are working on making it a reality. This would broaden our outreach considerably without me leaving Pretoria. In addition to the regular teaching at GSM we will be ministering at a family camp in March and then for a couple of weeks in Zambia in April and then at three Shepherd's conferences in May and then at a pastor's conference in Mozambique in June. We have been asked to come to Tanzania to teach pastors there - 47 of them signed a petition asking me to come and I was also asked to come to Maritius and to Japan to do some teaching. Opportunities are many, but trainers are few and my schedule is full. So there are many invitations I just have to refuse. It's not that I am that exceptional; it's just that there are so few here who have the training or experience that God has given me. Please pray for skilled, well-trained, experienced, capable and zealous help - at my next birthday I will be 74. This kind of help is critical in that right now I carry the lion's share of the teaching at GSM.

Please pray for funds to provide scholarships for students who come from a distance to GSM (books and transportation and food must be provided) and also for the funds to pay for the equipment that will be needed to transmit our courses to other parts of Africa and also for the funds that will make it possible for us to send teaching DVD's and other materials to pastors and ministries who are requesting this material in other parts of Africa and even overseas. Also please pray for Beth at this time. As of January 17 she is now a married woman. She married one of our GSM students who as a pastor is paid a minimal salary as are many other African pastors. The plans are that she will continue in much the same ministry and also add helping her husband in his ministry and us at GSM with her expertise gained while working in our TMC program. Her husband now pastors a church 10 minutes from us. Her help at GSM will be a great asset to us in dealing with students and in the promotion and administrative aspects.

Thanks for your interest and prayers and support. Our God is able (Ephesians 3:20; Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26). So we are confidently hopeful.

BCLR Missions Conference Schedule

Missions Conference
February 27 - March 1
Guest Speaker: Carlos Montoya
Siguatepeque, Honduras
 

Friday night
Chili Fundraiser Dinner at 5:15 p.m.
Worship Service with Special Children’s Program at 7:00 p.m.
 

Saturday Morning at 9:00 a.m.
Men’s Breakfast with Carlos Montoya
and missionary partners
 

Saturday Noon
Ladies’ Luncheon with BCLR Missionaries
Special Guest: Carlos Montoya
 

Sunday
Combined Equipping Hour
AM and PM Worship Services
 

BCLR Missionary Updates from:

Aaron & Lindsay Hefner

Herb & Ruth Lyon
Kirk & Jennifer P.

Rodney & Pam Kinch