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.