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.