BCLR 15:30 Campaign

Moving...please note new URL

2009-07-04T01:37:00.001-05:00

If you are subscribed to this blog via RSS feed or email - or whether you have it saved to your "favorites" - please note that the 15:30 blog is moving.

The new URL is http://bclrmissions.blogspot.com

You'll need to update your RSS feed and/or change your "favorites" to continue to follow us.

IFO opportunity for 4th of July

2009-06-29T02:25:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-25T22:51:00.001-05:00

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

2009-06-23T01:45:00.000-05:00

•    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!

2009-06-22T18:48:00.000-05:00

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

2009-06-16T13:06:00.000-05:00

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

2009-06-13T21:32:00.000-05:00

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:

Contact them once a week (just like you would do any friendship you are building). E-mail is great!
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.
Pray for the on a regular bases.
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

2009-06-13T21:31:00.000-05:00

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

2009-06-07T01:39:00.000-05:00

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

2009-06-07T00:35:00.000-05:00

•    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

2009-05-29T08:28:00.000-05:00

•    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

2009-05-26T22:46:00.000-05:00

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

2009-05-08T17:31:00.000-05:00

•    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

2009-05-01T23:14:00.000-05:00

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

2009-04-30T22:46:00.000-05:00

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

2009-04-30T22:42:00.000-05:00

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.

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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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

2009-04-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

•    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

2009-04-13T14:31:00.002-05:00

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

2009-04-07T22:21:00.002-05:00

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

2009-04-02T18:37:00.000-05:00

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

2009-03-26T08:46:00.001-05:00

•    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

2009-03-20T23:24:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-20T23:23:00.001-05:00

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

2009-03-18T19:27:00.000-05:00

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

The commitment is easy, and the rewards are eternal.

Contact them once a week.
Spend two times a month with them, depending on your schedule and theirs.
Pray for the regularly.
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

2009-03-18T01:50:00.000-05:00

•    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

2009-03-18T01:33:00.001-05:00

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

2009-03-16T21:35:00.001-05:00

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

2009-03-09T21:08:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-08T16:36:00.000-05:00

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

2009-03-05T08:40:00.000-06:00

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

2009-03-02T09:49:00.000-06:00

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

2009-03-02T09:42:00.000-06:00

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

2009-02-28T09:13:00.000-06:00

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

2009-02-28T08:20:00.000-06:00

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

2009-02-28T08:19:00.000-06:00

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

2009-02-24T21:03:00.000-06:00

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

2009-02-24T20:59:00.000-06:00

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

2009-02-24T20:56:00.000-06:00

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

2009-02-18T13:20:00.000-06:00

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

Dinesh & Shannon, Update 12/12/08

2008-12-13T07:24:00.002-06:00

My apologies for not writing to you earlier. My exams just got over and had been very busy studying. Thank you for asking about my parents. The incident occurred on the other side of Mumbai so my parents are fine.

We just visited them for a couple of days. They are doing well. We continue to pray for their salvation. Shannon's parents are visiting us presently. We are having a good time with them.

Mack Update, 12/12/08

2008-12-13T07:19:00.000-06:00

We are frequently receiving Email from people asking us about our VISA situation. So here's an update. RSA Home Affairs has now accepted our application and taken our money, but we still don't have the final outcome. It looks hopeful and people assure us we will receive them. If not, we have the name of the supervisor and someone who works for the government who will contact her for us. We have received suggestions from many people in RSA and even from the USA and many assurances of prayer. We should know for sure in about 25 days and, if we don't get it, we have some ways of appealing. If all else fails we could go to Botswana for a short period and then could return for three months and then back to Botswana and then back here and so on. We've been contacted by some missionary friends from Kenya suggesting that they would love to have us come there and they think they could get us VISA's there. I think they were half serious and half kidding, but we are fairly sure that RSA is where God wants us to be. GSM classes and other teaching/preaching/ministry commitments already scheduled for 2009 would seem to indicate that this is where God wants us to minister.

We along with Josh and Marda and Beth and Sybrand are having wonderful opportunities to contact, teach, counsel and assist native Africans. Bible Studies are being established in several of the settlements and townships around Pretoria. We have a black brother who has been trained at Christ's Seminary and at Grace School of Ministry living with us along with another black brother from the DRC. Robert, the well trained black brother, is out almost every day in one of these places visiting people and conducting Bible classes. He's doing a great job and growing in usefulness. It's a joy to see him maturing. Jaungo (from the Congo) is entering Christ's Seminary in January. Someone has provided a scholarship for him. He is so excited. He will continue to live with us when he is not in school. He is reading and studying and listening to CDs and is growing like a healthy plant. He soon won't a neophyte (Greek for young plant). Several black men have made professions of faith and are meeting regularly with Josh to be discipled. Josh and marda have become foster parents to another abandoned child - they now have 7 children (4 biological and 3 foster children) and they would fill the house with more refugees and orphans if we would let them have our part of the house. Incidentally, you might join us in prayer as there is a house for sale right next to our house. If we had the money we would consider buying it (once we're sure about the VISA thing) and move into it which would give Josh and Marda room for more orphans and/or having a black family move in so they could disciple them. I don't know of anyone who is more appropriately aggressive and selfless in the way they reach out and sacrifice for the people in South Africa or anywhere than they are. Their zeal and willingness to reach out is a real challenge to us and others. They use whatever they have to the max in ministering in His Name. Anyway, if the Lord wills we would consider the house next door - that would expand our ability to minister considerably. Part of that willing would be for God to provide enough money to purchase the house. Ephesians 3:20 is still in the Bible and still true.

Meanwhile our daughter and son-in-law to be (January 17) have begun their ministry at a church 10 minutes from us. I preached his installation sermon this past Sunday. The church has a Christian school with 90 children (mostly black children) and Beth is already meeting with the staff and sharing her expertise with them. It is a very well integrated church with godly and knowledgeable black and white Christians serving key roles. Beth will also help us at Grace School of Ministry doing some of the same things she did when she worked with me as Director of the Summer Biblical Counseling Institute at The Master's College. She and Carol and Marda will probably be starting a preschool program for homeless children in a place called Stinkwater where there are 60 parentless pre school children who are left to themselves throughout the day when their older siblings are at school. Hopefully, this will care for these little children, but also open doors for impacting Stinkwater with the Gospel.

Appreciate your prayers. Thanks for your support and encouragement.

Have a blessed Christmas celebrating the One for whom we live and minister; the One who makes life worth living.

Blessings. SDG.

Howell, South Africa Trip On!

2008-12-10T15:05:00.000-06:00

Greetings Friends,

This is a just a quick note inviting you to rejoice as the Lord has provided the funds necessary to travel to South Africa! Thank you for your prayers and encouragements!

Ministry opportunities in South Africa are developing and several are already calendared. Pray for wisdom in order to maximize my time there with so many beloved South African brethren and churches.

I’ll keep you posted but wanted you to know that God has answered your prayers on behalf of this ministry!

IFO Christmas Party Update

2008-12-10T15:04:00.001-06:00

I want to thank all of worked so hard to provide the international students with a wonderful Christmas event. I love this ministry for many reasons but one reason is the opportunity to serve with you. I am so honored! For all who either decorated, cooked, baked, provided Christmas goodies, provided gifts, provided transportation, served, and prayed; I pray that God will multiply your gifts according to Matt 6:33.

We will soon be posting pictures on the IFO website. Give us a week or so and then take a look at www.IFOarkansas.org .

Now I ask that you pray with me that God will cause the internationals to seek Him. That by the power of His mighty Spirit they will hunger for the Truth of His word. That the Lord would draw them, tear down strongholds and lies, and open their hearts that they might know Him. Pray that He will bless the words of Steve Bowyer (Grace Church Pastor) and the love of His people shown to each international in every act of serve.

For you I pray that no matter where right now in you journey in this life, that He would grant the desires of your heart for you and yours. Remember, God is with us and He will help us. What a great God we serve. Truly, there is no other!

Serving them for Him – with you,
LaJuana
Note: In this picture is Richard (my husband/Santa’s hat), Haidar (from Iraq), intls playing Rudolph and elves.

Howell Update 12/9/08

2008-12-09T23:15:00.000-06:00

Greetings Everyone,

I am so grateful for the prayers and encouragements of those who are a part of the MissionCrossRoads Team! Thank you!

The primary travel component of the January trip to South Africa is nearly funded and wisdom is needed to know whether or not to buy tickets--its that close! So please do pray.

Several venues for ministry are being arranged as I have heard from former students who are now colleagues in ministry along the Cape, in Durban, and Johannesburg. I am very excited to see them and to Lord willing, be an encouragement to them in their ministry.

Those desiring to fellowship in this ministry financially may do so by sending support to:

Biblical Ministries Worldwide
Patrick Howell - #4141
1595 Herrington Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043-5616

I will keep you posted and thanks once again for your prayers!

Hart Update 12/9/09 - Christmas Letter

2008-12-09T23:14:00.000-06:00

DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS,

At this Christmas season we wish you a blessed Christmas and a prosperous new year. We, indeed, need to seek God’s face for our nation and our personal lives in these uncertain economic times. In several places in the Bible the subject of prospering is tied to the study and meditation of the law of the Lord so it is good to remember that one of the names for Jesus in the Christmas story is Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

I (Bud) have found that the Lord is with us even in difficult times this year.. Let me summarize the lesson I learned in 2008. It started unexpectantly when I went shopping for Carolyn’s birthday present back in July. As I walked into the store there was a sign at the entrance saying “Free Screening for Diabetes.” Good idea, I was not in a hurry so I sat down at a little table, the man pricked my finger and read 271. He said that it was high and suggested I go to see my doctor.

Next picture – I ended up in the emergency room three days later where I was told I was diabetic and that my liver enzymes were high. Subsequent appointments were made so that July was a series of being “pricked and poked, scanned and scoped.” Bottom line was that there was a mass in the pancreas that needed to be analyized and taken care of.
Surgery took place in August and the surgeon performed what is called the Whipple procedure which is quite extensive involving the stomach, the duodenum, the pancreas and various ducts running into the small intestine. A tumor in the pancreas was removed and the other areas around it were all negative. It was a rough time recovering in the hospital but I’m home and taking chemotherapy 3 times a month for ? months. The biggest visible change is the weight I lost since I am now back at my playing weight when I was at Wheaton running the soccer field.

Now all of this is to say that God was very real during those days when the road was rough and full of potholes. He has promised His presence (Immanuel) during all our days and in all circumstances but never did He say that all would be smooth and trouble free. He is the rock, the solid ground, and the One you can depend on when hurting or frustrated. He has said that “My grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Truly I found this to be true and it remains so today.

So, who knows what 2009 will bring?? God is sufficient for whatever we face and He is to be loved and honored. Let us be like those wise men of old who bowed down and worshipped the Lord Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings. May you know His presence in your lives this year.

In His Grace,
Bud and Carolyn

Bridgman Update - 12/3/08

2008-12-04T08:11:00.000-06:00

Thanks for praying all year! May this Christmas bring great blessing!

Praise God for

The wonderful piece of land that God has provided for Sanyo Grace Church
How He has blessed both of our son with good relationships
Very good church attendance during November
5 of the 6 ladies taking Violette's English Bible course have finished, and one has a few lessons to go (pray for a spiritual harvest)
Two believers who have decided to officially join our church

Pray that

Our financial support will increase to reflect the loss in the value of the US dollar
For our outreach to kids in our neighborhood this Christmas (date not set yet, but probably on the 23rd)
For wisdom and unity of our believers as we plan the new church building
For a city wide Christmas evangelistic event on Dec. 14th
For Paul to finish off well as chairman of the neighborhood committee
For the right people to replace us during our one year home assignment in the USA (July 2009 to July 2010)

http://church.jp/Sanyo_Meg

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - Update 12/3/08

2008-12-04T08:08:00.000-06:00

Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for the period 17th to 30th Nov 2008

Book launch: We give thanks to God that we were finally able to launch a total of seven booklets as supplementary readers for secondary schools. This is a project we have been working on close to five years now. The objective is to get into our schools using literature which addresses various topics that affect the youths. This first series is on male female relationships and the set of booklets has been approved by the ministry of education for use in schools. The launch took place on the evening of 28th November with the blessing of the Minister of Education who was supposed to attend had he not been out of the country at the time. Those who attended included representatives from schools; the media; and members of both reformed and non reformed circles. Our prayer is that this project will encourage more reformed brethren to write and thus provide resources for our institutions of learning as well as for non reformed readers. Pray that the Lord will bless this project to the benefit of many and the extension of His kingdom. Pray for our writing ministry that wisdom might be granted to us to know how to proceed.

Membership and baptism drive: We had planned to have our very first baptism service on New Year’s Day but we have now postponed it to a later day. This is to give us more time to scrutinize and teach the potential candidates. Some who had shown much promise have of late given us cause to doubt their profession of faith. Pray that the Lord might lead us to his true sheep. Pray for us as we seek with the coming baptism to constitute our first membership. Pray that the Lord establishes his work in the town of Mazabuka.

Home bible study: The Thursday bible study at the home of Mrs. Musonda has continued and we are now looking at the Lord’s Supper. Mrs. Musonda continues to show a lot of interest but we are still not persuaded that she is converted yet. Do pray for her spiritual well being that she might experience genuine conviction of sin and repentance.

Kennedy: This is the young man the church is sponsoring at a secondary school in the town of Monze. Recently there was a riot by some pupils at his school. This happened in the night and he and some other boys ran into the bush to get away from the rioting pupils. They came back at sunrise but were implicated as having been amongst the trouble makers. About 45 were locked up at the Police station and were later chased from school pending suspension. Pray for Kennedy so that justice might prevail in this matter and that his school should not be disrupted.

Chipo: We have continued counseling sessions with her and she testified that she is already seeing light at the end of the tunnel and she feels energized to go and end the illicit relationship she has been entertaining with a married man. Pray for her as she will need much grace to turn away from a relationship which has been going on for a number of years.

Mr. and Mrs. Kalonga: This couple recently started attending church having come from Lusaka. The husband has a Catholic background and the wife a Pentecostal one. They got married outside church and they are now seeking to have their marriage ‘blessed’ in church. We have a pending appointment to discuss this matter and we hope to take this opportunity to discuss matters of salvation with them. Pray that the Lord will open doors.

IFO Christmas Party Reminder

2008-12-02T14:19:00.000-06:00

IFO CHRISTMAS PARTY REMINDER
There are only a few more days until the world comes together for the IFO Christmas Party.
That’s the world that is studying in Little Rock.
Friday, December 5th, at 7pm IFO will host its International Christmas Party.
Grace Church is our host.
Will you come and celebrate with us?
____Yes LaJuana, I’m coming with _____others.
____No LaJuana, I can’t make it this year but will pray for open hearts.
(a RSVP helps us plan well and gives us some idea of how many to plan for)

If you are planning on attending, please bring 2 dishes of food to feed at least 15 people each.
Something Christmasee or a traditional Christmas dish that you serve at your table.

Also, as we share about The Gift of Christmas, we are trying to give every international student a Christmas gift.
Would you like to help? We are trying to keep each gift around $10. It can either be for a female, male or a family.
Please wrap and mark on the bottom: F for female, M for Male, FM for family.

One more thing: Let me know if you want to provide some baked Christmas goodies for the intl students.
We need to have them in individual cans, bags, plates, or boxes.

I hope to see you on Friday.

South African Update - Howell 12/2/08

2008-12-02T14:15:00.000-06:00

Greetings Friends!

I hope your Thanksgiving was fantastic. We enjoyed the day with a family of 30+ folks and they just took us right in--what a great day.

As this email goes out, I am just about to teach Church History at TES. I love history and studying Church History is a fascinating endeavor. There is so much to inspire one--and so much to learn in order to avoid similar mistakes!

The trip to South Africa is taking shape and God has provided more than 40% of the ministry budget. I will have to make the decision as to whether to go or not soon as the calendar clicks on--so thanks for the many of you who are praying and to those who are giving as well. It all matters and your prayers are greatly needed! (If you're unfamiliar with this South African endeavor, check out the MissionCrossRoads events) or email me and I’ll send you more detailed information. Some have written and asked about sending support for the trip. It is a simple process and 100% of all support goes toward ministry. Checks can be made out to Biblical Ministries Worldwide and mailed to:

Biblical Ministries Worldwide
Pat Howell #4141
1595 Herrington Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043-5616

Lot's going on these days. Elizabeth's birthday was Monday (12/1) and my birthday is Sunday (don't ask, please). The third semester of TES ends mid-December and with great gratitude for our students and the growing development of the school.

In January, I hope to be in South Africa ministering to churches and former students as well as seeing many old friends from our ministry there. Then, later in the month, Cathy and I have been invited to Los Angeles for John MacArthur's 40th Anniversary at GCC. Many former GCC staff members will be there and we will be among them. This will be a great celebration of God's faithfulness through John's ministry to GCC. It is a great blessing to count him a friend--and a privilege to have served with him as Missions Pastor and a Senior Staff member at GCC in the 1990's!

Mid-February brings two weeks in Myanmar and then a return to Los Angeles for the GCC Shepherds Conference.

I continue to pray and seek God's direction for my future ministry. Such a process is an inexact science for both the man and the church so again, prayers and counsel are always welcome!

Thanks for your encouragement and fellowship!

Mack Update, part 2

2008-11-29T16:45:00.000-06:00

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

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

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

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

Thank you for remembering us in prayer and support.

Mack, Urgent Prayer Request - 11/27/08

2008-11-29T16:44:00.000-06:00

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

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

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

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

Hefner Update 11/26/08

2008-11-29T16:41:00.001-06:00

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

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

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

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

Walker Update 11/21/08

2008-11-29T16:37:00.001-06:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Please PRAY for

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

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

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

Mack Update 11/26/08

2008-11-27T21:23:00.000-06:00

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

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

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

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

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

Sola Dei Gloria

Dinesh & Shannon Update 11/26/08

2008-11-27T21:22:00.001-06:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blessings!

Kinch Update 11/25/08

2008-11-27T20:17:00.000-06:00

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

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

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

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

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka

2008-11-21T18:50:00.002-06:00

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

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

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

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

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

From the Bridgmans

2008-11-21T18:47:00.000-06:00

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

Thanks for the generous Christmas gift!!

http://church.jp/Sanyo_Meg

Solis Update - 11/18/08

2008-11-19T19:44:00.000-06:00

Dear Christian Friends,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Encouragement regarding Missions

2008-11-17T14:52:00.000-06:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Howell update

2008-11-12T21:26:00.000-06:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - 11/6/08

2008-11-06T19:12:00.000-06:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bridgman Update - November 2008

2008-11-03T14:38:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much for praying for Sanyo Grace Church!

Praise God for:

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

Prayer for:

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

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

Claxton Update 11/3/08

2008-11-03T14:27:00.001-06:00

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

Walker Update - 10/30/08

2008-11-01T23:36:00.001-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hefner Photos

2008-10-22T22:20:00.016-05:00

Aaron and Lindsey have given us permission to share these photos with our blog readers.

Aaron spends a day in a tribe in PNG and helps with the building of the missionary’s house.

Aaron visited the village, where literacy is an important part of the church.

The kids with Falai and Jata, some good friends, sitting in a hut they made.

To quote Aaron, "What happens when Dad is supposed to be watching the kids."

Susannah, our family’s donkey, is being trained by Aaron and Wiye to work in the fields.

Mack Update 10/22/08

2008-10-22T21:55:00.001-05:00

The first week of GSM was super. Thanks for your financial and prayer support. A great group of hungry and eager students. Very encouraging feedback from the students. Many said they will promote the courses with pastor friends. After the GSM week we went to Jeffrey's Bay where we just had a great week end conference. Philip and Trenie K, a business man who has a heart for God and is excited about ministry were present from Sassleburg (sic) and we spent some time with them yesterday afternoon. They and others who were there brought up an idea that merits consideration (will describe later in this Email). We are staying in their beach house. Enjoying it immensely. A beautiful place, almost as nice as Capetown. International surf board championships are held in front of our house. As I write Carol is speaking to the ladies at a ladies conference. The ladies are excited. Good attendance at all the meetings. Packed on Sunday. Many outsiders - they had put posters up in various places and the people invited. Good feedback about the Lord's working in lives and marriages.

Here's an idea they mentioned that carries with it an exciting possibility. They are asking us to come down and do some counselor training courses in the area or to pipe it down (virtual media) by way of satellite - they say the eastern cape of South Africa gets neglected. They are going to work on seeing about the cost and the possibility of installing the virtual equipment on both ends (Pretoria and Jeffrey's Bay). If that is done it would be simple to just pipe the classes down here while they are going on in Pretoria. That would expand our outreach and impact. People from here applied for GSM last time, but were too late - classes were already filled. Met with several yesterday about the possibility of working out this arrangmenet and making it a reality. I told them that we have enough to do in Pretoria with classes and students there so that we couldn't take on any more in terms of finances and labor. They then assured me that they would do all the work - raise the money for the equipment, do the promo, do the grading of papers, etc. Leon (a former student of GSM), Wynand Fourie (pastor and graduate of TMS), Andre (Pastor and graduate of TMS) would do the work and Philip K would help in any way that he can (not the grading of course, but other aspects). Possibly and hopefully Martyn Beets one of our former students who pastors in Port Elizabeth (close by) could also help. One of the guys who met with us is into installing the virtual equipment as well as having contacts about how to get it. Philip K is really excited and looking for some way to use his time profitably since he's turned his business over to his son-in-law. He says he wants to serve and helping this to become a reality may give him some meaningful things to do. He wants to get involved. The boss of the man who has expertise in the area of facililitating satellite equipment was at the conference we presented. As soon as he heard about the satellite possibility, he came to see us and is really excited. He sees it as an opportunity to use his skills for ministry. Perhaps the Lord is putting a team together for this endeavor. If He is, we'll trust Him about the finances. The personnell seems to be in place. PTL for all of this. We're much in prayer. Hope you will be also. To have this satellite program will cost a considerable amount of money for the equipment, but will broaden our impact tremendously. Hypothetically, we could reach all of Africa without leaving Pretoria If we could do this in the Jeffrey's Bay area, we could do the same in other areas of Africa as well. Wow, the possibility excites me.

Warmly in Christ,

Wayne

Claxton Update

2008-10-21T10:14:00.001-05:00

Some great news from the Claxtons below. Also, you can read their blog here.

Getting off the plane again in Kiev was very different this time. There was no feeling of panic, we understood about 40% of what we were hearing as we stepped into the airport and the people looked, well like people rather than foreigners. Most of all we knew we had a home full of our own things to recover from the jetlag! It was stocked full of groceries, toys and starbucks coffee (Thanks to the BCLR youth group)! We were excited to see Kiev friends that we missed and a had new resolve to work hard on the Russian Language. It was actually surprising that we felt so comfortable in what seemed like such a strange place just a year ago.

This year is different in that we are adding 7 conferences to make total of 13. Our conference cities are Kiev, Lviv, Chigarene, Simferopal, Odessa, Rovno, Zhitomar, Vinnitsa, Donetsk, Ternopil, Novgorod, Cherkassy and Uzhgorod. We are very excited about how hard our Ukrainian volunteers are working to bring their fellow countrymen to the conference and minister to them in the name of the Lord. They are so excited to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to reveal God's plan for marriage and family. Their passion is both inspiring and humbling. The Kiev conference is October 25, we are thankful for a full house of 140 couples, many unbelievers. Pray for our Ukrainian Speakers Alex and Lena Travnikov and Vitaly and Johna Borody. Also pray for our American co-workers Scott and Cymp Stemple who will be presenting the gospel to the conferees. We are so excited to see what God will do this year!

Also we are hoping to become involved in a church that is beginning in Kiev. We are trusting the Lord that we will be able to serve in a Ukrainian church without translation so that we can come alongside another American family to plant a Bible centered, expository preaching church. Serving in and modeling a life built around Christ and His Church is one of the reasons we moved here so we are very excited about this opportunity and may be letting you know how you can help this church to grow and prosper here in Kiev. Pray for us as we take this exciting step!

We had a wonderful time seeing you all in America. We were able to see our families and church family, it was so encouraging! We were able to stock up on medicines, syrup and peanut butter! We feel much better! We were able to go to Chicago and meet Carra's wonderful friends at Moody. We couldn't ask for a more godly group of girls to encourage and help Carra while we are out of the country. We even attended some classes and were very impressed with her professors and Biblical training. God is so good to us! Pray for Carra as she had mono this summer and hopefully is recovering rather than relapsing. Also she is a Junior this year majoring in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and has to do an internship teaching English in a foreign country this summer. Pray the Lord will guide her as she makes these preparations.

Spencer is having a great school year in 11th grade, taking a very tough schedule of honors classes and studying for the SAT and ACT. Pray as he begins to make college decisions. We are grateful God has provided a wonderful group of friends for him who are seeking to grow together in the Lord while having alot of fun! One thing we love about his school is the emphasis on service to Ukrainians, pray he will continue to be servant hearted during these projects and have an attitude pleasing to the Lord.

Finally our homeschool year has started off wonderfully since we haven't had to move this year!!!! Yay!!! Miraculously everyone is on grade level and doing well after the doubling up and summer school we had last year in the midst of chaos. To God be the glory great things he has done! Pray the children will really take off in Russian as they meet with a tutor 1 hour a day, 3 days a week. Pray we will be faithful to speak Russian together as a family and not be afraid to use what we know. We hope to make alot of friends this year both Ukrainian and American so the children will be happier to be here. Some days they love it here and others they miss their friends and family deeply. It is hard to convince them that if they lived in America they would still have to do school and chores! They remember it as a place to swim with friends and go to VBS!

The Lord is good and we see it as a privilege to serve among these wonderful people.
We love and miss you all and are so grateful for how you helped us this summer and continue to be used of the Lord to keep us serving Him here in Ukraine.

The Claxton family

Hefner Update Sept-Oct 2008

2008-10-18T20:35:00.003-05:00

We Hefners are homebodies. We like to stay put. Just thinking about packing and going to and fro on rugged roads and hanging out in airports makes us tired. We would much rather stay in one place – preferably home! In spite of those preferences, the months of August, September, October, and November have been and will continue to be filled with a lot of traveling – across Senegal, into Guinea, and even across the ocean to Papua New Guinea! Here’s a little peek into what the Hefners are up to…

August – At the beginning of the month Lenaya spiked a very high fever that continued for 9 days. We suspected malaria at first, and tried treating it with malaria treatments two times with two different medicines. Her fever persisted. On day 9, Lenaya still had a fever of up to 105 degrees, so we called an emergency medical flight and flew to Dakar as a family and immediately saw a doctor and had some tests run. Through wisdom given by God, the doctor prescribed a special antibiotic for Lenaya, even before the results of her tests were in! It was really neat to see the Lord so obviously watching out for her and guiding the doctor’s decisions. She was diagnosed with e-coli and we spent 2 weeks in [city] while she recovered. Many of you back home were praying for Lenaya, and for that we are incredibly grateful. We went back {home} for 2 weeks, and then…

September – Aaron flew to Papua New Guinea for a church-planting workshop. This was quite a lengthy trip (3 ½ weeks) and because of Lenaya’s recent illness we didn’t feel comfortable with Lindsay and the kids staying in the village alone. So, once again, we packed up and ventured on the rugged roads. Aaron had a wonderful time in PNG visiting different tribal works, talking with other church planters, and being taught and trained by experienced missionaries. He was greatly encouraged by seeing how the Lord is building His Church in other parts of the world. We trust that things that he has learned during his time there will be very beneficial to the entire NTM West African team. After...spending a couple of weeks at home…

October – Aaron will pack his bags yet again, this time traveling to Guinea, W. Africa (just below Senegal) along with a few other members of our NTM Senegal team. While attending a conference there, Aaron will have the opportunity to share the things that he learned while he was in PNG. This will be a shorter trip – 1 week – and after he returns we will be going back{home}…and hopefully staying put for a while!

Prayer and Praise

We are so very thankful for the Lord’s protection and healing of Lenaya. His care for our family was evident in very tangible ways – providing the right doctor, the kindness and care of our support team, health and strength for dad and mom in spite of very minimal sleep. Thank you to everyone who was praying for us during that time.

Aaron’s trip to Papua New Guinea was not only a beneficial time of learning for him, but also a time of refreshment and encouragement. We are thankful for the friends he was able to spend time with and the blessing he received through seeing first-hand the work that the Lord is doing there in PNG.

Being able to homeschool the kids is such a blessing to Lindsay. She loves watching the kids learn, and also learning along with them. It is a joy to be able to give Elijah and Lenaya an education based on the Word of God. We thank the Lord for this opportunity!

Please continue to pray for the young man who began meeting with Aaron in August to hear Bible lessons. When we return to the village (beginning of October) our desire is to continue these meetings with him and continue on until he hears the full message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In our absence, {our co-worker} has met with him a few times (upon his request!) and gone over some of the Bible lessons. Pray for continued interest and understanding.

Pray for Lindsay’s health. She is still struggling with regular spells of unwellness. We hope to have thorough testing done when we are on furlough this next year. Please pray for strength as she continues to care for the family and do language and culture study.

Please pray for us as we seek to raise Elijah and Lenaya according to God’s Word. Pray for wisdom, consistency, patience, and humility.

As we come to the end of our first term on the field, our hearts are heavy for our friends {here}. Things are not as we desired that they might be, yet we trust in the goodness and wisdom of our great God. Please pray for the people {here}…and the other 110,000 {tribal} people of West Africa.

Walker Update 10/18/08

2008-10-18T20:31:00.000-05:00

We had a good meeting with our supervisor this week and God answered your prayers re: direction for the future. It looks like God is opening the door for us to be back in Papua, Indonesia next year. Our Wycliffe leaders asked us to return and help build up 3 Indonesian Christian organizations. Interesting how this seems to be coming together out of our contacts in August. Our supervisor is going to Papua next week to get the ball rolling with one of these organizations.

We'll share more details as we have them. Pls PRAY as we begin negotiating with the 3 organizations. Getting a VISA is a big issue, too. It's not too early to begin praying about that.

On Tue and Wed this week we met with colleagues who are eager to help missionaries on multi-cultural teams work together well. Focus on other cultures reminded me of how prejudiced and critical I am. So the big request: PRAY that I can cooperate with God in the ongoing transformation of my heart.

PRAY, too, for Jean.

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka

2008-10-10T21:48:00.001-05:00

Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for the period 22nd Sept to 5th Oct 2008

ZIAH: A couple, Lewis and Karen have expressed interest to work with the students at this college of agriculture. Our ministry there has been very limited due to shortage of laborers. We would now like to introduce Lewis and Karen to the college as counselors with whom the students can freely talk to. We are planning more preaching sessions and we would also like to introduce a bookstore at the college. It might also become necessary to introduce a bus service to pick up the students for church on Sundays immediately we have a number of them expressing interest to attend church. Pray that these plans will be implemented and be blessed of the Lord. Pray that many students will be converted and grounded in the things of God and that when they are finally scattered all over the country upon graduation, they will equally become witnesses to the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Women’s meeting: The monthly women’s meeting for September took place on Saturday the 27th. About 15 women attended. We have taken note that the attendance is drastically affected when the meeting is held just after pay day as many women are up and about doing there monthly buying for their homes. We looked at the topic of ‘love’ how we can identify the genuine from the counterfeit. Many women have fallen prey to the counterfeit and have ended up in questionable relationships. We compared the story of Jacob and Rachel in Genesis 29 to that of Amnon and Tamar in 2 Samuel 13. The one represents true love and the other the counterfeit. Pray that the many women who are entangled in questionable relationships will be assisted to come out of them and find peace in Christ.

Mr. and Mrs. Mbembela: This couple has not been to church for a while now. Visited them to try and understand their situation. The man is working awkward hours due to a critical shortage of labor at their work place. The wife, who professed faith recently, claims she’s had problems with transport since they recently moved to a place which is out of town. Looking at possible means of assisting her, including holding mid week bible studies. Pray that the Lord may grant us wisdom to know how best to assist this couple. Pray also for the husband that he also will profess faith in Christ having heard the gospel message many times before.

Home bible study: The mid week home bible study at Mrs. Musonda’s home has continued and we are still looking at the subject of afflictions. Having looked at how we ought to respond when we are afflicted, we are now looking at how we can assist those who are afflicted. We are drawing lessons from the accounts of Job and his three friends as well as the account of Lazarus’ death and how Christ went about comforting the sisters. Pray that this study will bear much fruit.

Off sick: I have struggled with a stubborn flu in the past week leading to raised temperatures and dizziness. Consequently this has also triggered high sugar levels being diabetic. Do pray for a quick recovery.

Bridgman Update

2008-10-06T21:41:00.002-05:00

http://www.church.jp/Sanyo_Meg/

Praise for:

1) For approval to buy land for Sanyo Grace church, the price is being negotiated as I write this
2) For our faithful supporters
3) For record attendance at our special evangelistic service on September 28 (21 attended)
4) For a new video we want to show to the kids that come to our house
5) For how our special speaker on September 28 encouraged our believers and made an impact on the new-comers
6) Many opportunities to witness to kids playing baseball and soccer in the park, and older folks in ground golf club
7) Mrs. Michihiro, Mrs. Yamada, Mrs. Kishimoto and Mr. Taniguchi seekers coming to church (pray for salvation)
8) Jeffrey and Kevin have started back to school and continue to do well
9) Paul is getting to know the members of the neighborhood committee more - pray for good outreach to them (none of them are Christians, yet)
10) 6 ladies (including Mrs. Yamada) are continuing to study the Bible in English with Violette

Pray for:

1) Pray for the salvation of the ladies who are studying the Bible in English with Violette
2) Mr. Igarashi, a Christian businessman, asks for healing and salvation for his son who has cancer (His son isn't baptized yet, but recently prayed to Jesus)
3) Mrs. Omura asks for continued prayer for health and her daughter's special needs(We haven't seen her during the summer)
4) Dr. and Mrs. Yoshii are seeking the Lord about when they should wrap up their medical practice, so they can have more time for ministry
5) For the kids Paul has contact with during the week ( parks and parties at the house) to be spiritually open
6) For new members in Violette's English Bible class on Sunday morning to stay for church in Japanese
7) For Mrs. Watanabe to choose to get baptized soon and Her daughter's salvation (She hasn't been able to attend church recently because of health)
8) Financial provision for Sanyo Church as we look forward to building a building (Pray for the remaining financial goal of $150,000 to be met)
9) Mrs. Omori continues to miss church because of bad health, pray for healing
10) More English students and friends who are seeking the Lord
11) For Paul as he fills the role of the chairman for the Japanese neighborhood organization (Cho nai kai)
12) For Mr. Hamada who has returned from the US, and has no job
13) Our financial support to continue to improve (also special needs for Kevin's educational expenses)
14) For Miss Ishihara to be faithful in attending church and to keep growing spiritually
15) For Paul as he is the special speaker at another church on October 19th, to encourage the believers there in personal evangelism
16) Spiritual growth and unity of the believers at Sanyo Church as we develop a vision for growth that includes purchasing land and building and calling a pastor
17) That Miss Kubo (came with her mother to special meetings!)and Mrs. Demura (never seems to be able to come)would be free from family obligations to come to church
18) The Lord's provision of missionaries or Japanese pastor for Sanyo Grace Church during our home assignment starting July 2009
19) For Reed Daigal, Allen Lungren, and Mr. Kennedy, three native English speakers who come to prayer meeting and have Japanese wives (They are believers, but we are not sure of their wives faith)

Thanks for praying

Walker Update 10/2/08

2008-10-06T21:39:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

We stepped off the plane in Papua, and it looked like ‘home’, but it didn’t feel like home. We were in our house a couple times to get some things, but someone else is renting it. So we stayed with friends. We only had a visa for 30 days, so we couldn’t stay. A weird and not so wonderful feeling.

The next day we flew up to Wamena, the town in the mountains near where Heidi and family live. We had a rich time with family, teaching, and exploring options for future service.

For three weeks we taught the teachers and students of Netaiken College, the school that Heidi and Scotty work with. Over meals we got to hear some of the students’ stories.

Yani was planning to leave his home in the mountains and attend the state university on the coast.   He had four pigs ready to sell that would finance his education. Then they all died, and his dreams were dashed. So he went to the top of a hill for three days and prayed with fasting. When he got home he found an envelope full of money that someone had slipped under his door. (He still doesn’t know who.)   Then his uncle, a pastor, gave him the rest of the money he needed for his first semester at Netaiken. (This $110 just covers room and board).

Yani is happy with the English he has learned at Netaiken. But he said, “I’ve learned so much more. I have learned that Jesus carries my sins. I can’t carry them myself.”

We had been asked to teach on Unity for the Netaiken staff retreat. So for three mornings we taught parts of the Come TOGETHER through Conflict course. PRAY that they will apply the Scriptures to the way they relate to each other, especially in the inevitable conflicts that come when working together cross-culturally.

Jean listened to Vivian, the wife of one of the leaders, who was struggling with forgiving someone who had hurt her deeply. In the evening fellowship time she shared how she was now ready to forgive. I know God was happy to hear that.

After the staff retreat, we took an adventure truck ride around the mountain to the campus where Heidi’s family live. (At Disneyland in the 60’s that kind of ride cost an ‘E’ ticket. But with the baby barfing in the back seat, we should have gotten a discount.)

First we taught the 16 Papuan students on handling conflicts. After we talked about the need to confess our sins to God and each other, Freddy wanted to apply that principle right away. After class, he asked me to hear his confession and pray with him. What a privilege to listen to him and affirm God’s forgiveness!

Then 10 American EduVenture students arrived. To help them form a learning team for the semester, we taught some ‘multicultural teaming’ modules. Papuans and Americans were paired up as roommates and study partners. We’ve heard good reports that they are growing a lot as they live and learn together.

Before we left Papua, Netaiken and another Christian college asked us to come back and help them in the area of staff development and member care. One leader said, “We want you to be like pastors to our teachers.” I would love to help their teachers grow as followers of Jesus and as teachers and disciple-makers of their students. Jean would like to come alongside staff and students to listen, pray with them and help them find greater freedom in Christ.

These relationships and experiences have touched us deeply, and we would like to go back. Being able to spend more time with family - love those grandkids J – certainly adds to the tug on our hearts to go back to Papua.

Bouncing around Asia this year without a visa to live in Indonesia, we have been asking ourselves, “What will we do next year?” We’ll meet with our supervisor on October 13 to consider the options together and seek God’s guidance.   These include:

1) Continue to develop courses to equip national and foreign missionaries throughout Asia. This is something I find very satisfying and can see some of the impact we are having. Now that Jean is teaching with me, it’s more fun than ever.

2) Jean has opportunities to expand her role in member care. She really has a heart for coming alongside individuals. I would like to help her on the training side of this role.

3) One thing that touched our hearts is the crying need to provide quality Christian education for Papua’s young people. Serving with Netaiken has the potential to touch thousands of children’s lives for Christ across Papua.

Many of the Netaiken students came out of high school with only a 4th grade education. That is typical of the education system in Papua. They learn English more easily than the ‘basic’ subjects.

One thing we did to help last month was teach 16 Netaiken teachers about ‘learning styles’. Then they turned around and taught the new students about their learning styles and how to use them to improve their learning. A NEW IDEA for them was, “You are your teacher. So take responsibility for your own learning, and you will learn.”

I am excited about the vision Netaiken has and would love to help build up their teachers.
Before we left Papua, the Netaiken director took us to a piece of land overlooking mile-high Wamena, the main town in the area. “This is where we will build our new campus, kindergarten through college,” he said. “We plan to start primary schools in the villages with Netaiken alumni as teachers.” Please PRAY for the funds they need to build this campus, which they need in order to expand their ministry and keep their accreditation.

4) There is a big need to train Papuans to translate the Bible into their own languages.   They need ongoing training, encouragement, and a support system to be successful. This Mother Tongue Translator approach could reach dozens of language groups with God’s Word. Helping in this program is another possibility for us.

“Why are we asking these questions about the future?” you may be wondering. As you recall, in February we accepted an invitation to serve in Bangladesh while we waited for our visa for Indonesia. As the months rolled by, we began to hear from our leaders that we can’t get visas like we used to. We will need to find a local organization to sponsor us in order to get a visa to live and serve in Indonesia.

The changes and uncertainty about the future have been stressful, not just for us, but for many of our colleagues. Fortunately, our God is not changing. And we are just beginning to see how wonderful our Daddy is. So we praise him that our trials help us to depend on him more than ever.

Pray with us as we carry out these plans:
October - Philippines - teaching and meetings
November 1-18 – Bangladesh – coach the new Learning that LASTS teaching team
Nov 19-23: LA - visiting friends
Nov 24- end of Jan – AZ – preparing training materials and enjoying family.

Then back to Asia as the Lord directs.

Thanks for standing with us as we learn to hang on tight to God’s promises. This summer marks 35 years with Wycliffe, and we are so thankful for all of you. Amazingly some of you have stood with us for most of those 35 years.

Blessings,

Roland (and for Jeannie, too)

IFO Update - 10/3/08

2008-10-06T21:36:00.000-05:00

BCLR Family --- I thought you might like this!
But first, I want to thank my sweet BCLR family for all your kindness and “overwhelming generosity” shown during the IFO picnic. You guys amaze me. There are few people who know how to serve like you do. One of the many blessings that I personally have is my “extended church family”. Thank you for loving me, and serving with me, to reach the world for Christ --- as the world comes to Little Rock.

Okay, I wanted to share this with you. I’ve been thinking about it all week and thought I should pass it on to you.
Last week I used a statement from Barry’s Wingfield’s sermon (one of my Cornerstone pastors) at Conversation Club on Monday night.
Barry quoted a Gallop Poll about American being the loneliness people in the world.
I wrote it into a question to be discussed with the internationals on Monday night.

Question:
A Gallop Poll said that Americans are the loneliest people in the world.
Americans…Do you feel this is true? Why or why not?
Internationals….What about your country? Do you feel that people within you your culture are generally lonely? Why or why not?

One of the Iraqi’s answered:
In Iraq, each home is responsible for this neighbors…7 houses to the right of him and 7 houses to the left, WHATEVER THE NEED! In doing so, each family is cared for by another. Therefore, loneliness is not a problem in Iraq.

Now that’s practicing “loving your neighbor as yourself”! I don’t know about you, but I want to practice what I preach!!!

One more thing:
We have 2 more weeks of Conversation Club this semester. We meet on Monday nights, 6Pm at MetroBCM on the UALR campus. We would love for you to join us. We would love for you to come, eat, and join in some good discussions. Here are the discussion questions for this week. Come if you can.

Conversation Questions:

Tell us about one of the best decisions you’ve made in your life.
Talk about something that you would like to pass down to the next generation.
Talk about something that recently made you happy.
If you had one month to do anything you wanted to do, and cost wouldn’t be a factor, what would you do?
What do you do when you need to relax?
What activity makes you feel the most alive?
Tell about a change that brought a new chapter in your life.
Can you name one way that people from different cultures can understand and respect each other better?
Most Americans know something about the 10 Commandments from the Bible.

Most Americans, however, cannot tell you what they are. Look over the list below and for discussion…..Share some of your thoughts?
(Remember, Cclub guidelines allow you to pass on questions that are uncomfortable----no problem).

10 Commandments, Exodus Chapter 20 --- God’s Standards

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image-any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Serving them for Him – with you,
LaJuana

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka 9/24/08

2008-09-24T17:10:00.000-05:00

Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for the period 8th to 21st Sept 2008

ZIAH: The students at this agricultural college had gone on recess and they recently reopened. They have a new intake of first year students. Their Christian Fellowship invited us to go and speak to the new students. About 45 students attended the meeting. We spoke to them from Daniel chapter one on the theme of the resolution that Daniel and his counterparts made. We tried to show them that these 4 young men were equally students in the king’s college. Like all students they faced pressures and challenges which required a firm and unwavering commitment in God for them to face. Because of their faith in God, they triumphed and they became an evangelistic witness to all around. Do pray for the students at this college especially for the first years so that they make the right decisions. Pray that instead of behaving like the prodigal son, many should find a living relationship with Christ.

Sheba: We have continued counseling sessions with Sheba. We pointed out to her that she needed to be in a good church where her soul would be fed if she was to experience a speedy recovery. It was good to see her show up at church last Sunday. Continue to pray for her especially as she needs to make critical decisions with regards to marriage and careers.

Merit Muposhi: Merit has been staying with a man who abandoned his wife and family a couple of years ago. But as she has listened to God’s word and more especially our series in John 4 looking at the Samaritan women, she has come under increasing conviction. She requested to see the pastor and she explained that she has now believed in Christ but wondered if God would forgive her for ‘grabbing’ another woman’s husband. She went on to explain that she does not want to stay with a married man and wondered whether she should leave him until he finalises the divorce with his legitimate wife. We need God’s wisdom to handle this matter because there are two possibilities. Either she is trying to use scripture to put pressure on the man to quicken up the divorce process so that she can ‘legally’ become his wife, or she has genuinely come under conviction of sin. Complex and crafty as human beings can be, do pray with us that we might know discernment concerning this matter. Pray for her man friend, Ivan who professes to be a Christian but has been living in sin that he should come under conviction and repent. He diligently comes to church.

Women’s meeting: The monthly women’s meeting for September is scheduled for this weekend. Having tackled a medical topic last month, we hope to tackle an evangelistic topic this Saturday to challenge the women to faith in Christ. Pray that the Lord will grant us the right message for this occasion. Pray that many will respond positively to our invitation to attend this meeting. Pray that the attendees will not only hear the word but that many will be converted.

Johnsons - Nairobi/ILA - 9/20/08

2008-09-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

I leave tomorrow afternoon for Ethiopia and Kenya where we are helping the national Campus Crusade staff and church leaders who work with them to start and upgrade their church planters training. I’m teaching this week in Addis Ababa and next week in Nairobi on small group ministry.

In both Kenya and Ethiopia the local name of ILA (International Leadership Academies) is Transformational Leadership Centre or TLC.

Here is a report from Don Lovell, the ILA-USA director reporting on the ILA class that just graduated from the first ILA in Kenya, a 10 month residential format.

In the grip of His love,
Mike

From: Don Lovell
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2008 1:20 PM

I am now in Addis Ababa getting ready to start the Ethiopian TLC training. Last week I was in Nairobi. where TLC-1 has ended with the graduation of 18 trainees on September 13th. The trainees planted 8 churches while in training (10 months).

Here are some comments they made:

Jeconiah, “I planted a church – Deliverance Good News Church - with the help of Kennedy. I have learned to be a servant leader.”

Daniel, “I thought I knew a lot as a trainer in the telecom industry, but I have learn many new approaches to training people. I have learned to build people for ministry service. Jadiel and I have planted a team led church.”

Pastor Elijah (older senior pastor), “The small group dynamics showed me how to use small group leaders to shepherd people.”

Denis, “I have understood how to preach from the Bible. I have learned to work with a team.”

Pastor Jackson (who has planted many churches.) “I thought I had learned everything. I now train my members to reach out and to grow.” TLC has taught me to be accountable to others. It has changed my personal life and the way I treat others.”

Kennedy, “I have learned how to multiply using the Church Based training.” “Biblical Interpretation and Application has changed how I learn from the scriptures.”

Rose, “Many visitors are coming to the cell groups.”

Benard, “I have applied servant leadership, especially in my family. I have 10 years experience in leading a church, but now I minister differently – I empower people for ministry.”

Frances O., “people use to come late to my teaching, but now they are on time. I had neglected my family life to do ministry, but now my relationship with my wife has come back. I am now responsible with family finances.”

Michael, “The course on Spiritual Disciplines changed my devotional life.” “Before I commanded people and now I align people for ministry. I have learned to be accountable.”

Frances K., “ I have a vision to equip others. I am working with 20 pastors to train them. In my devotional life I actually let the Bible speak to me.”

Pastor Joseph, “My church in Kibera was destroyed in the violence after the election. I am now building it back in a new way with small groups.”

Faith, “I have 3 small groups with 27 people. Three additional small groups are led by leaders I have trained.” TLC has changed the way I apply the Word to my life. I can listen to others and help them.”

Keep praying, Don

Williams - India - 9/18/08

2008-09-20T14:38:00.000-05:00

I know you all are concerned for India and so share some of the recent developments in my dear country. Some of you may already be aware but some need the brief information (you can google search for details) to stimulate your intercession before the Throne of Grace.

For the past month or so there has been concerted acts of violence targetted against christians and churches and churches in the North Eastern State of Orissa [FoxNews info can be found here: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Sep20/0,4670,ASIndiaReligiousViolence,00.html]. About 4000 thousand Christians from the tribal and lower caste areas fled into the jungles for safety having lost home and everything else. The violence then found a reaction from Christians across the nation and their protests caused a Hindu militant group called the Bajrang Dal [mentioned in the link above as well as here: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Sep16/0,4670,IndiaReligiousViolence,00.html] to attack and burn churches in some parts of a South Indian State of Karnataka. Just yesterday a 150 old RC Cathedral was attacked and damaged in the North India in the State of Madhya Pradesh.

The TV and News media has been highlighting all this and the Central (Federal) Government has yesterday sent a warning to the States of Orissa and Karnataka under Article 355 of the Indian Constitution that the Central Govt. may take action against these States if such violence continues against minorities.

A fall out of these incidences has been that there is an increased checking of:

1. Conversions to Christianity: Is this happening through incentives being offered or force. Remember that most conversions to Christianity (not necessarily Christ) has historically been from the poorer and lower castes of India. Many have benefitted by this.

2. Foreign Funding: there is much funding from overseas and the major portion of that is towards humanitarian aid to poorer and lower caste groups. However several charismatic and other "fringe" christian groups are recepients and use foreign money to "evangelise" India.

3. Foreign Personel: Many come in the guise of "tourist" or "business" and do "missionary work".

The fall out has also been that the Roman Catholic Church is trying to distance itself from the so-called "fringe" sects of the christian church.

Please note that I repeatedly use the word "violence" rather than "persecution". this is because the bible teaches us that biblical persecution is for righteousness and Christ's sake. What is currently seen in India is really a mixed thing -- there is persecution but much is because of a misunderstanding of the message and methods by so-called christians and churches.

Besides the violence aganst christians and churches there has been an increase of human tragedy by way of flooding in the Northern State of Bihar and now imminent flooding in the States of Orissa and Gujarat. Literally hundreds of thousands of people are affected and the poor are always the most to suffer.

In the midst of all this God's Sovereignty is not just a wonderful doctrine to believe in but the most securing one. He is in control and has given true disciples of Christ a wonderful opportunity to serve Him and live for His pleasure. The future is challenging but He has a purpose and has placed us here for such a time as this.

Chris

Bridgman October Prayer Letter

2008-09-19T20:22:00.000-05:00

Recently we have been impressed with how important prayer is in advancing the Lord’s work. That is because we are involved in a spiritual battle for the souls of men. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”(Eph 6:12). Right at this time when we are excited about getting land and building for the church the Enemy tried to cause havoc in our fellowship. One dear believer was severely offended by something he mistakenly thought I said in my sermon on August 31st. He gave me such a severe tongue lashing, I was almost sure he would leave the church or that I would have to go to another ministry. However, the intervention of a godly Japanese pastor whom I work with, (and I’m sure your prayers had a lot to do with it, too.) cleared up the misunderstanding. He apologized the next Sunday and we both attended a church conference on September 15th, where the visiting speaker spoke about spiritual warfare and the importance of prayer. It was such an encouragement to me to hear him speak of a similar experience in his ministry. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”(I Corinthians 10:13).

We saw how clearly God answered our prayers for land. Every Sunday service each church member took a turn to pray for land and building. God answered with a piece of land that is large enough for a building and a parking lot, is located in a very visible place, and at a very reasonable price. Negotiations to purchase are in progress now.

Please remember to pray for the following:
1)    Unity of our believers as we decide on the building
2)    That we can reach more young people for Christ
3)    The calling of a suitable Japanese pastor in the not-too-distant future
4)    Provision of missionary or interim pastor while we are on home-assignment July 2009~2010
5)    Jeffrey and Kevin future plans after college and high school.
6)    Violette is thankful for the 6 ladies who are studying the Bible with her in English. Pray for their salvation as they study her 8-week “Light and Darkness Bible Course”.

Dinesh & Shannon Update 9/15/08

2008-09-18T16:11:00.001-05:00

Please Join Us in Thanking God:

The flood waters in Madhipura are slowly receding. We have regular contact with our friends, and all are safe and slowly returning to their homes. The hospital will hopefully reopen in the next couple of weeks.
We thank the Lord for providing a wonderful apartment right next to PTI and in the same complex as other seminary families.
We are thankful Dinesh is already gleaning much from his studies.

Please Join Us in Praying:

Please continue to remember those affected by the flood—that these circumstances and suffering may result in people turning to Christ. Pray for the hospital staff as they help bring relief to affected communities. May they exhibit a vibrant Christian love and witness.
Pray for our Christian brothers and sisters suffering intense persecution in Orissa.
Pray for Nayna. Shannon spoke with her a couple of days ago. Her family is very upset and have ordered her to leave the house because she has become a Christian and is attending church (though they have not followed through with this threat yet). They told her to remove her Bible from the home and tore up a Christian book she had. She continues to stand on her profession.
Pray that Dinesh might maintain a proper balance with studies and family time. Pray the Lord may provide direction regarding the desire for village ministry and a day of surgical practice.
Pray for the hearts of the village women to be open to hearing God’s truth. Pray Shannon might have wisdom in building these relationships.
Pray we might keep our relationship with Christ the foremost priority in our life, protecting our time with Him, letting Him reveal and cut away areas of sin and becoming instruments He can use for His glory.

Walker Update 9/18/08

2008-09-18T10:36:00.000-05:00

Since we left the US in February, we've bounced around Asia...doing training in Bangladesh, then Indonesia, and next month we head to the Philippines to conduct training there. In November, we expect to be back in Dhaka to coach our team there as they teach a Learning that LASTS workshop on their own. And then back to Tucson by Thanksgiving to spend time with our parents, Emily and her family.

In all this travel, I have seen myself like a coconut borne by ocean currents. And I talked with our heavenly Father about my desire to have a house somewhere in the world. But I sense Him telling me that, much better than my having a house, is Him becoming more and more at home in my heart, and me sinking my roots down deeper into His love. So, I continue to center my heart in Him, and I have enjoyed all that we've experienced along the way!

In February, we thought we'd be just a few weeks training folks in Dhaka, Bangladesh while we waited for our 1-year visa to be ready in Indonesia. The 1-year visa never happened. The few weeks in Dhaka turned into 5 months of close fellowship with friends in our organization, both foreigners like ourselves, and our Bangladeshi colleagues. We loved training them! I learned right along with them as we taught the "Learning that LASTS Workshop" twice. I really liked Dhaka...the food is fabulously spicey, the colorful (shalwar kemis) clothes are fun to wear, and the daily mode of transportation in a rickshaw is a hoot...even moreso in the rain, with the rickshaw driver's plastic "lap robe" tucked around my legs! But...I was daily confronted with beggars who ply the streets. 40% of Bangladesh's 150,000,000 people are unemployed. Again and again, I'd sense our heavenly Father saying, "Look at them...meet their gaze...feel their pain...they are my children, too." And I'd have to make up my mind how much to give and to whom. What a stretch!

And in Bangladesh, I had a conflict with a colleague that I just couldn't seem to work through, try as I might. And I had to work through it to show that we can indeed come together through conflict, like the name of the Workshop we were about to teach says! She was a participant in our workshop, but every time I looked at her, the things she'd done and said replayed in my mind. Halfway through the week of teaching, I sensed our heavenly Father telling me that I had taken offense where I didn't need to, and that I needed to ask Him to help me overlook what had happened. When I confessed my sin, and asked for His help, He gave it! I could then make the 4 Promises of Forgiveness that we were teaching:

1) I will not dwell on this incident.
2) I will not bring it up to use it against you.
3) I will not talk to others about it.
4) I will not let this incident come between us or hinder our relationship.
(We learned the 4 Promises from Ken Sande, The Peacemaker.)

And slowly this woman's offense no longer bothered me, and my feelings toward her began to change. By the time I left Dhaka, we were becoming friends!

Roland and I spent last month in Indonesia on a 30-day visa. We had the awesome experience of teaching the staff and students at the English school where our son-in-law teaches in the Papuan mountains, Netaiken Academy. We taught these Indonesians about Learning Styles, and part of the "Come TOGETHER through Conflict" course. We feel ourselves being drawn back there in the future, to help with staff development and member care. It's a noble thing the staff are trying to do...take these Papuan high school graduates, whose prior education has only brought them to a 3rd or 4th-grade level, and help them develop into followers of Jesus who teach the next generation of children in little Papuan mountain villages, or run businesses to support themselves as the face of Papua changes. There are now more Indonesians from better-educated western Indonesia in Papua than there are Papuans! These outsiders are getting the good jobs while Papuans languish. Netaiken Academy leaders have chosen property to build their campus where they hope to teach kindergarten through college. Netaiken needs to have a campus with buildings on it by next year in order to keep their government accreditation. They need $50,000 to buy the land and get started. We wonder what our part will be in this school in the future.

Next month in Manila, we'll talk with our supervisor about that, and several other visa options for next year. She wants us to live in Papua. Pray for us as we wait for God to guide us in this decision.

Pray also about the house we have leased and furnished in Sentani, Papua. Thank God that we have renters. But we hear from a neighbor that our landlord wants the house back next year "when the lease expires". Next year? Our contract states that we have 8 more years left. Ask God for His will to be done as our neighbor serves as intermediary in talking with our landlord.

So, my friends, this is a rather long summary of what we've done since February. O yes, and we enjoyed our grandchildren in Papua, Walker and Arwen!

Thank you for loving us, and supporting us with your prayers and finances. The attached photo was taken in Heidi and Scotty's diningroom in Papua. Notice our first prayer card photo framed in the background. You have been on our team a looong time! We are so glad and grateful!

Hart Update 9/17/08

2008-09-17T14:19:00.000-05:00

Many of you have asked for the pathology report from Bud’s Whipple procedure surgery on August 19th. We had to wait until a week later for the report to be completed. Chris, Dr. May’s assistant “translated” the pathology report for us. During the surgery the doctors sent three area specimens to be inspected. (A)- Common bile duct margin which was negative for carcinoma. This is good because cancer has not spread up the bile duct into the liver. (B)- Tumor, pancreatic margin was negative. This means the margins of the pancreas itself were negative for carcinoma and the duct going from the pancreas to the duodenum are negative and there is a very low risk of cancer spreading to the duodenum. (C)-Pancreatic, duodenum portions of the stomach and small bowel were negative for carcinoma. They took out nine lymph nodes all nine lymph nodes were negative for carcinoma. The tumor which was removed was identified as invasive moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. This means this type of cell does not clump together and build upon itself, instead it sends out cancer cells in random directions. The pathologist said that these cells were not as aggressive as they could be so that is encouraging. During surgery they removed all the tumor they could see, but the cancer can be present in nerve cells, which can then spread through the nervous system. The pathologist checked the nerve cells in Bud’s specimen and only found one nerve cell positive for cancer. That is good, but they will be monitoring him closely for any changes. During the surgery the “mass”on the pancreas was removed as well as part of the pancreas, the duodenum, a large part of the stomach and part of the small intestine and tissue around all these organs to check for any cancer cells. Then all these areas had to be stitched back together, as Dr May referred to “realigning” his plumbing.

The next step will be to have an appointment with the oncologist, whom we met before the surgery, to set up a series of chemotherapy treatments. Bud has been out of the hospital for a week and a half now. He has lost a great deal of weight. He looks in the mirror and says “ I look as if I was released from Auschwitz”.

Now a word from the “infirm”—I really appreciate your prayers and notes and messages of encouragement. Long boring days in the hospital went by slowly with tubes and lines going in and out my body. A walk down the hall meant dragging a pole with bags on it with me. So glad to get out of the hospital but recovery is slow! Adjustments in eating and nourishment needed when appetite is “blah” now is my daily fare. BUT God is close by and has been the solid rock on which I have stood and trusted. - Bud

Thank you for your prayer support. We could feel the prayer you lifted up on our behalf. Thank you too for the words of encouragement you have sent. We thank the Lord for His presence with us in hard times and the many blessings he bestows to all of His children.

Walker Update - 9/6/08

2008-09-10T22:02:00.000-05:00

You remember the passage from Ecclesiates that begins:
Ecc 3:1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

Well, the next 3 weeks will our time to recharge, draw nearer to our Father, pray about His plans for us, and prepare for training we'll be giving in the Philippines next month. We sure appreciate your support (prayer and finances) as we have really worked hard the past two months. Tomorrow we go to our favorite beach bungalow (now has an internet connection). We'll take some books. Pray that we can follow thru on our desire to memorize and meditate on Scriptures.

Our time with Scotty, Heidi and kids was productive in a number of ways. We had opportunities to teach, as well as getting to know their organization and talk with the director, Paul, a Papuan whom God has blessed with vision and lots of ability to build into the lives of other Papuans. PRAY as we consider working with them next year. There is another Christian college that also asked us to help them with staff development. Both of these organizations desire that their students grow as followers of Jesus, as well as getting a good education. Both are equipping teachers for the the purposed of offering high quality Christian eduction to village children in Papua, a huge need there.

Blessings,
Roland

"May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do." 2Thes 1.11 (NLT)

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - 9/9/08

2008-09-10T21:39:00.000-05:00

Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for the period 11th Aug to 7th Sept 2008
No. 41 & 42

Ladies meeting: The monthly women’s meeting for August took place on Saturday the 16th. The topic for discussion was ‘Medical Issues that affect women’. It was handled by Dr Grave Singogo and his wife from Evangel Baptist Church. About 35 women attended and time could not permit to exhaust the medical related questions they were asking. The meeting paid immediate dividends as one of our women’s committee member, Karen, who is married but has not been able to conceive yet immediately went for a medical scan and was found to have fibroids in her uterus. She has since started receiving treatment. Pray for her emotional well being as this discovery has affected her negatively. Continue to pray that these monthly women’s meetings will bear more and more fruit.

Holiday YP: These meetings were organized for the teenagers who were around for the school holidays. Topics relevant to their age group were handled in addition to enjoying a time of games.

Death of the president: On 19th August Zambia lost its Republican president who died after experiencing a second stroke. The whole nation has been stricken with grief and as a church we saw it fit to take a break from our series in the gospel of John and look at themes related to our president’s demise. The first sermon we took was from Psalm 68, which reminded us that God is the Father of the fatherless. For this reason he appoints leaders over men. This general fatherhood issues from God’s goodness towards all he has created. The second sermon looked at the certainty of death and the appointment with God which we must all keep. If the highest man in the land had to keep this appointment all of us will be required to do likewise. Finally, in the third sermon last Sunday, we concluded by returning to the theme of God’s fatherhood only this time we were looking at the specific or spiritual fatherhood of God which he bestows upon all who believe in his Son. Do pray that much good will come out of this grief that has befallen us as a nation. Pray also for wisdom and God’s guidance to us as a nation as we choose a new leader.

Family Annual Reformed Baptist Conference: This took place from the 25th to the 29th of August and was attended by 13 people from our church. A few were attending for the first time and it is always our intention to expose those who have started showing keen interest in the things of God to these conferences. Pray especially for Bernard, Moses and Mildred who seem to be either serious seekers or have recently professed faith. Moses’ father is a Hindu and this makes his situation particularly difficult.

Sheba: She is a 21 year old grade 12 dependant to Karen and Lewis. She recently got involved with a young man and her guardians have just discovered she is expecting. They have referred her to us for counseling although she does not attend church with us. We have commenced the counseling with her. She claims to be a Christian although the profession does not seem to be valid. She faces a number of challenges as she must sit for major exams in two months time. Pray for wisdom as we try to assist Sheba.

Report Compiled by:
Raphael Jadge Banda
Missionary Pastor

Dinesh & Shannon - India - 9/7/08

2008-09-07T22:09:00.005-05:00

Thank you for all the prayers you are making on behalf of friends in Madhipura. We hear the Kosi River has found an outflow tract into the Ganga River, so waters aren’t supposed to rise anymore. In fact, they have receded some.

We hope you can open the picture we have attached. It shows the scene on the hospital campus as the boat is heading toward our home. The staff who have remained behind are paddling up to our veranda to do their cooking in a relatively dry place. The smiling man in the back of the boat is Sunita’s husband, Sonu. Other men in the boat include hospital staff who have stayed behind to help with relief work.

We spoke with Mahender. His family is okay but marooned in their home. His daughter-in-law delivered a baby in their home without any attending doctor or nurse a couple of days ago. We heard Sunita and her three children are staying in a relief camp. Pummi also called the other day and is safe but can’t move from her in-law’s home in a neighboring village. Still no word of whether Nayna’s family was able to find a boat or vehicle to reach safety outside Madhipura.

We are fine. Dinesh, Anna Grace and Joshua have all been sick the last ten days but mending now. We are still working on a short update to send out to give you a better picture of our life here.

Thank you for standing with us. Your friendship, prayers and support are a great encouragement to us, especially at this time of transition. We thank God for His kindness in letting us live and serve in this country. Please continue to pray those affected by the flood in Bihar might turn to God in repentance and experience His mercy and help spiritually and physically.

Lyons - India - 9/4/08

2008-09-07T22:01:00.002-05:00

Please pray for Herb who will be in Kathmandu, Nepal from the 6th - 13th September:
1. Pray for safety in travel and within the country
2. As he sets up the edit of the Nepali manuals
3. For the Teacher Training Workshop to be held for the staff of OM - this is strategic because this is their world-wide model for their use of BTCP in other countries.

Pray for Herb who will be going to Bangladesh from the 22nd - 27th September:
1. Pray for safety in travel
2. Pray for him as he checks on the final printing of the Bangla manuals - that they will, in fact, be finished!
3. He will be holding a Teacher Training Workshop during the week.
4. Pray for the Bengali edit - that this work may be progressing quickly and well.

Pray for Ruth:
It's been a difficult re-entry to Bangalore.
1. Our freezer died while we were gone and everything in it was awful. It had been locked away so nobody could get to it. We are now trying to get the stench out so that we can use it again.
2. Our electrical power backup system wasn't working, but we are thankful that this has now been fixed.
3. Our alarm system still needs to be repaired!
Pray that I will look at this 'obstacles' as 'opportunities to grow in the Lord'.

Christophers - South Africa - 9/5/08

2008-09-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

Greetings from the ends of the earth! We just wanted to share a few quick prayer requests with you before next week.

Next week is a crucial week for South Africa, one in which the whole of South Africa needs your prayers. For there will be a high court ruling on whether or not proceed with prosecuting the new president of the African National Congress Jacob Zuma. As president of the ANC, Zuma is the heir apparent to the current South African president Thabo Mbeki, next year. But Zuma is facing several counts of fraud and corruption. Zuma’s supporters are threatening violence and chaos if he goes to court.

This whole incident is one big catch-22 for the judge issuing the verdict. If they decide to prosecute Zuma, which they should, then they risk anarchy by the ANC Youth League, the South African Communist Party, and The Consolidated South African Trade Unions. But if they scrap the charges against Zuma for the sake of peace, then they send the message that the judiciary can be bought and is not truly independent. In a country that leads the world in unflattering crime statistics, you don’t want to send the message that justice can be bartered by the corrupt.

My own humble opinion is that they must prosecute this guy regardless of the potential consequences. He is as dirty rotten as they come. He is just to the left of Stalin, and if he becomes president there are many who think a Zuma presidency will signal the final nail in South Africa’s coffin. As Job reminds us “Can he who hates justice govern?” So please be in prayer about this pivotal issue.

On another front, a church in Pretoria was sued by their former music minister because he got fired when they discovered he was gay. It went to court and the church lost this watershed case. This landmark case has now signaled that it is open season on Bible-believing churches. This, of course, has emboldened the gay community even more. We are now praying that the church in question will appeal all the way to the constitutional court (South Africa’s version of the Supreme Court). If the church wins there, then at least a precedent is set. Our religious freedom is riding on this. Sadly, the USA isn’t far behind us on this one.

Finally, as I mentioned in our last prayer letter, we have a number people out of work. One of those men, Andrew Gill, is quickly reaching critical mass. Our church has done all we can, but now his vehicles are about to be repossessed. He is just on the verge of getting work, but it seems to be a case of oh-so-close-but-yet-so-far. Andrew has tendered on several jobs as a contactor, please pray that one of these contracts comes through soon.

Thank you for seeking our Father’s throne on our behalf. We are truly grateful for every prayer that is offered for us the ministry here!

Williams - India/Myanmar - September 2008

2008-08-31T19:07:00.003-05:00

There are going to be several enquiries and I have some and you may be asked so I thought it wise to send this out to some of you. Feel free to circulate with discretion.

There has been ongoing severe attacks on Christians in the Norther State of Orissa. I have attached a document made available by the Evangelical Fellowship of India (an umbrella organistion) which lists several of the specific attacks. Today''s news is as severe and the media in India is sympathetically reporting this. the Central Government is handicapped as the State Government needs to deal with the situation. The State government has been pretty slow in curbing the attacks.

Together with this there has been a terrible flooding in another State (Bihar bordering Nepal) and over 2 million people have fled the waters and are homeless and difficult to reach ... they are suffering with no supplies of food and cut off from civilisation.

The GMI folk are all safe and God be praised for the continued blessing upon PTI and our local churches. I have been blessed during my visit to Myanmar in July when I was able to enter the Delta region which has been devasted by the Cyclone. Crossing 5 check points the military did not notice me and I had free access and was able to visit and deliver relief to needy folk. Over 2 hundred thousand people may have died in that region. I will be going there in October with the Children's Hunger Fund men (5 of them) for 4 days and again in November to conduct a month long teaching and training Course for the Kachin Baptists.

Last weekend I was privileged to visit Kolkata and was accompanied by Stephen Williams. This short trip was to encourage Jyoti Chakravatty in his ministry especially in the new fledgling church plant he has in that huge city. By the way, that city has been held hostage for the past week by a political party that defies all logic and is disrupting the whole State of West Bengal in it's efforts for more industrialisation. The fall out is that many roads are blocked and trucks carrying essential goods cannot enter or leave the city -- almost a week now.

I am currently Teaching every day at PTI the 12 students from Myanmar (teaching Soteriology) to make sure these pastors are clear on that essential doctrine and also saved. I also leave each Lord's Day through the book of Ecclesiastes. God is also pleased to bless the ministry at Grace to India where I now provide oversight on a regular basis.

Enroute to Myanmar I have consistently visited Bangkok and it has been wonderful to have Steve Fernandez and Pat Howell accompany me and teach there as well as in Myanmar. God is turning at least one local church around and several pastors are now regularly meeting to indepth study the doctrines of grace together.

Pray fervently for India, Thailand and Myanmar. While persecution continues God is wonderfully on the throne and is being glorified.

Chris Williams

Pune - Maharashtra
INDIA

Panjwani - August 2008

2008-08-31T19:06:00.000-05:00

“Madhipura Goes 6 ft Under Water”

Dear Family and Friends,

This is the headline to which we awoke this morning. Fourteen days ago the embankment which held the Kosi River on its normal course flowing east of Madhipura broke, and the river continues to charter its new course right through Madhipura and the surrounding districts. The paper says two million people are trying to evacuate, most on foot since there are no trains running and few vehicles in these village areas. Food is not easy to come by, and the reports we are reading are grim. People who are unable to evacuate due to the waters are seeking shelter on the railroad tracks, atop trees or the highest ground they can reach.

Our thoughts and prayers have constantly been with friends in Madhipura over the last few days, and we have tried to stay in regular contact. Madhipura town is shut down and no stores are open to buy food. With flooding of the hospital and staff homes, the hospital has been closed and most staff have evacuated. There are a few who have stayed behind to help with relief efforts. We have been unable to contact Mahender but heard today he remains in his home despite the situation. Speaking with Nayna in our village today, she said all homes were flooded. Her own family was trying to find a boat or vehicle to take them to safety but were having trouble locating anything. Pummi left with her family three days ago. Sunita and her family remain in their flooded home.

Please continue to remember these dear friends. We were told the water is expected to rise another 1 ∏ feet by tomorrow.

Dinesh and Shannon

Hefner Update - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:58:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

Lenaya has a clean bill of health. The lab work came back negative, so we are clear for take off tomorrow. Thank you all so much for your prayers for her.

We give all the praise to the Lord for giving us access and ability to use good doctors and meds.

Aaron

Panjwani - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:57:00.000-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from Pune, our new home for the next three years. We are just getting settled in, and Dinesh has started seminary. We hope to send a short update soon but wanted to let you know of the flood situation in Madhipura which is affecting our friends and the hospital. Communication is somewhat hampered, but we understand one or more dams broke in Nepal last week, resulting in flooding of parts of northern Bihar. Please remember them in your prayers as many homes are flooded, and spread of disease is always a problem in these situations.

Blessings,
Dinesh and Shannon

Myanmar Relief Pics - July 2008

2008-08-31T18:49:00.003-05:00

Here is some of the documentation and expressions of BCLR's concern for the people of Myanmar. Some of the funds went to provide school supplies for children and boats and nets for men to go back to work and provide for their families.

Hart Update - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:48:00.000-05:00

Dear friends,

Thank you for your prayers. God kept topical storm Fay away from the
Suncoast beaches and Dad was able to have his surgery today as
scheduled. The doctors were able to remove the whole tumor, along
with removing 1/3 of the pancreas, 1/2 of the stomach, and some of the
small intestines. Praise that there was no seeding in the lymph
nodes. We won't have the final pathology report for several days
since the tumor was about 1 inch and takes awhile to process.
The immediate prayer requests are that no infection occurs, no leaking
develops and Dad can gain his strength quickly. Robin is with Mom
this week and will leave on Friday. I will fly down this Saturday and
return next Thursday, August 28. We are thankful that surgery went
well and Dad seems to be doing well at this time. Our family
appreciates all your prayers.

To God be the glory!
Holly

Walker Update - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:47:00.000-05:00

Hi,

We just finished a great week with Netaikan teachers (the program Scotty and Heidi are in). Very receptive people, some conflicts were resolved (or at least worked on) as a result of the training so we praise God for that.

In a few minutes we'll board the truck to drive to Bokondini, the village where Scotty's campus is. PRAY as we teach 14 Papuan students; then starting on Friday, 10 American students will arrive and we'll start of process of multicultural teaming. We won't have email again until 2 Sep.

Thnks for praying.

Blessings,

Roland

"May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do." 2Thes 1.11 (NLT)

Mack Update - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:46:00.000-05:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The following information will bring you up to date about what's happening in our ministries and also give you some praise and prayer information. We just completed 11 days of what seemed to be non-stop, but blessed teaching in California. Much encouragement concerning the interest of the people in biblical teaching in the classes and conferences plus interest in what we're doing in RSA. We (TMC) had 1,800 people at the women's and men's conferences -- the book store sold well over $60,000 worth of books, which is a good sign that the people are readers. Jim Newheiser, Stuart Scott, John Street and myself were the speakers for the plenary sessions with the men. Next year Jay Adams is scheduled to be added to the stable of male speakers. We've outgrown the facilities at TMC and next year will hold all of the conferences in the auditorium at Grace Community Church to accommodate the people. GCC auditorium holds 3,500 people. So that gives room for growth.

I started here at Bible Church of Little Rock with an all-day conference August 2 on Marriage and Family Topics and will continue this course on week nights and other Saturdays, and then on Sunday I began teaching Truth for Life course part 2 in the Equipping hour for adults. I also have begun teaching the Intro course at Expositor's Seminary. Busy but encouraging opportunities.

Before we left South Africa for our summer ministry in the USA they made a DVD about GSM including testimonies from students who had competed the two-year course and information about the next courses. We have used it in several places (churches) since being in the USA. As a result we have had several people ask about how they could help with the much needed scholarship fund for students. The DVD has been very useful. We showed it at Providence church in Atlanta before I preached, and the result was that the church decided to provide the funds for the training of one pastor who pastors a church in a squatters camp. We have also shown the DVD in a morning service at BCLR in Little Rock and have had great interest from the people. We will probably show it a couple more times in other places. Another church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has already sent money to sponsor another pastor for training. The total cost per student averages about 30,000+ rand ($3,700) for the whole course. That!
30,000 rand would include tuition, books, transportation, lodging and food. A large portion of that amount would be for transportation from where they live and minister, and the rest would be for the food, tuition and books. Many of the students who work among very poor people simply can't afford that amount of money, and so we must raise scholarship funds for them if we want to train them for more effective and more biblical ministry in their churches and in using what they learn to train others in the areas where they live. (If you want more information about GSM, go to www.gracefellowship.co.za and click on the side bar that says GSM.)

Since being in the USA we have had several people talk to us about coming to South Africa to help in the work we're doing - a physician and his wife have expressed great interest in moving to South Africa. Both of them have completed our MABC program at TMC and would be a great asset in the ministry in that they have training and experience in biblical counseling and also in medical issues. Another man who was a Deputy Chief of a Fire department in the San Diego area (but is now retired) has expressed an interest in coming and helping us. He probably will come soon on an exploratory trip. He has talked to me about how he could help us in spreading the teaching of biblical counseling and reaching out to the non-white (40 million) and white (4 million) populations in RSA. He is in his late 40s and a part of the church that Jim Newheiser pastors in Escondido - Jim says he would be a terrific asset, godly and gifted. Another single student in his late 30s who has served in the !
military in Afghanistan is very interested in helping and wants to have a mentor so he can learn biblical counseling from a practical perspective. Another man who is a South African who is completing his studies at TMC and TMS has shown some interest in coming to work in South Africa after he finishes his studies. John and Janie Street and other people here who have worked with him are very high on his abilities and godliness. Carol spent a morning with his wife and was much encouraged by the time spent with her. Another young man who has previously spent some time with us in South Africa is coming for at least a year to join us (Josh and Marda, Carol and me, and Beth) in ministry to the black settlements in the Pretoria area. He will probably get involved in teaching pastors and others English so they can read the Bible and other biblically based material. Anyway, much to pray and praise about.

We are encouraged by the fact that we have students for our next two-year course of study from 10 different countries - South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Namibia, Nigeria, Germany, Swaziland and USA.

Blessings. SDG.

Wayne and Carol Mack
Romans 14:7-8

Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:44:00.000-05:00

CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH OF MAZABUKA

Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for the period 28th July to 10th August 2008 No. 40

• Josephine: She attended the June ladies meeting and we have been following her up. We called to ask her how she had received the message and she said after we talked to her, she reflected over her life and she has now given her life to the Lord. She said this has been evidenced by her starting to pray and to read the bible. She agreed to come to church and also for us to have bible studies with her. But she left town soon after this discussion to attend to family issues. Pray that her profession of faith will prove to be genuine.

• Bernard: He has continued to show consistence at church ever since he claimed to have become a Christian after we shared the gospel with him and his elder sister Mrs. Mbembela. He has prior to this led a riotous life. He was not serious at school; he impregnated a school girl; and was a source of continuous grief to his guardians to the extent that no one wanted to keep him. Let us pray that his profession of faith will prove genuine and that from now onwards he will lead a profitable and fruitful life.

• Holiday YP: A number of youths who normally are in boarding school are around town during school holidays prompting us to run holiday youth fellowship meetings. These meetings are tailored to encourage interaction between the youths and to address youth relevant issues like character development. Pray for the success of these meetings.

• School leavers club: We had been struggling to find the best means of informing the school leavers whenever we have a meeting. But the Lord has granted us the wisdom to use sms text messages to get to those who have attended at least one meeting and have left us with their telephone numbers. This seems to have worked well for the last meeting we had where the attendance was more than 30 and most came in response to the text messages. The radio programs have also continued. Continue to pray for this ministry.

• Funeral: In the past week we experienced the passing on and funeral of a dear friend and brother, Dr Simon Mphuka. He was also an elder at Kabwata Baptist Church. Simon was a childhood and family friend. We were classmates in high school, church mates firstly at LBC and then KBC, university mates and above all friends. His passing leaves a deep ache which is only soothed by the hope we firmly hold on to that one day we will be reunited in glory. Let us continue to pray for the wife, children and parents he has left behind.

• Ladies meeting: The monthly women’s meeting for August is scheduled for Saturday the 16th. The topic for discussion will be ‘Medical Issues that affect women’. This is the topic that was supposed to have been handled by Dr S Mphuka before he fell ill and ultimately passed on. It will now be handled by Dr Grave Singogo pastor of Evangel Baptist Church.

Report Compiled by:
Raphael Jadge Banda
Missionary Pastor
Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka.

11th August 2008.

Hefner Update - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:43:00.000-05:00

here is an update:

Briefly, Lenaya is not better
They had the plane come and fly them to Dakar

Please pray...it is hard to be so far away!
But God's grace is sufficient and new every morning
this man needed it this morning as I read this email

PTL for all his hand on my son and his family
PTL for all the people of New Tribes who are helping Aaron and Linds and Lenaya

Thanks for your prayers

Hefner Update - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:41:00.002-05:00

From Mike Hefner:

I usually do not send emails on personal stuff but as one father to another (and one grandfather to “some”) I would appreciate your prayers

On August 1, I got an email from Aaron stating that Lenaya has malaria chills, shaking really bad and with a fever of 105
They put her on meds

On August 3, I got an email that she was doing better (they were finishing the malaria meds (3 day course)
Her temperature was down to 101 and the day before she slept a lot and had a good night sleep

This morning I got an email stating that Lenaya has had a relapse…her fever spiked again…she is very tired and weak and her stomach is in pain

Please pray for Lenaya and wisdom for Aaron and Linds as to what to do for Lenaya Also, pray for Aaron and Linds as they deal with this very difficult situation

Thanks so much for your prayers

Mike

From: Aaron Hefner [mailto:aaron_hefner@ntm.org]
Subject: Update on Lenaya

It seems that Lenaya has had a relapse. She spiked another fever yesterday afternoon, and whatever it is that she has appears to be cycling again. The fever continues (although not as high as at first, thankfully) and she is very tired and week, and has some stomach pain. We are trying to determine what it is that she has – something very difficult to do in our situation (locale). The Lord’s wisdom is much needed. We are thinking that she might possibly have “relapsing fever”, as her symptoms match those of that illness. We don’t want to be hasty though and put her on yet another course of medication if it’s not the right one. Please pray with us that it would become more clear what the illness is (if it does follow the pattern of relapsing fever that we have been reading about) so that we can give her meds if she does need it.

Linds

Walker Update - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:40:00.000-05:00

The Come Together through Conflict (CTC) course went well last week. We put in 12 hour days and had to work through the previous weekend to prepare, but it was worth it. We just relaxed this weekend.

so thanks for praying. and keep it up. We have just a week to get ready for two different events in Papua next week. (1) learning styles and study habits for Netaikan (the school Scotty and Heidi teach in) and then their annual staff retreat. The need unity, so we'll do part of the CTC. We'll need to adapt it for this group and we don't have much time. And the learning styles stuff is new to us. So we'll be working hard on that, too. Friday we fly to Jakarta; then on to Papua on Sat. PRAY we can get our travel documents in Papua to allow us to fly to the mountains where Netaikan is.

Thanks,

Blessings,

Roland

"May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do." 2Thes 1.11 (NLT)

Bridgman Prayer Update - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:39:00.000-05:00

Praise for:

1) For record church attendance in July
2) For our faithful supporters
3) For a piece of land that our church can already afford (The elder board of our mother church wants to research about the land some more, but will most likely give their approval to buy the land in September.)
4) Church members continue to have unity about the purchase of land and building
5) A kids summer program on August 6th (praise we can have it/pray for a good turnout)
6) Miss Ishihara wants to witness to her sister this summer vacation
7) Mrs., Nakahara has started coming to church
8) Jeffrey is doing well and has a good job this summer
9) Paul is getting to know the members of the neighborhood committee more - pray for good outreach to them (none of them are Christians, yet)
10) Kevin had a ministry with high school kids on the northern island of Hokkaido for two weeks in June. He is now in the mountains of central Japan helping out in the outreach there. ( Thanks for praying for him, and thanks to those who contributed support!)

Pray for:

1) In our follow up of the ladies who came to the ABC meeting, two ladies (Mrs. Mori and Mrs. Yamada are studying the Bible in English with Violette. Pray for their salvation)
2) Mr. Igarashi, a Christian businessman, asks for healing and salvation for his son who has cancer (His son isn't baptized yet, but recently prayed to Jesus)
3) Mrs. Omura asks for continued prayer for health and her daughter's special needs
4) Dr. and Mrs. Yoshii are seeking the Lord about when they should wrap up their medical practice, so they can have more time for ministry
5) For the kids and moms who come on August 6th to be open to the Gospel.
6) For new members in Violette's English Bible class on Sunday morning to stay for church in Japanese
7) For Mrs. Watanabe to choose to get baptized soon and Her daughter's salvation (She hasn't been able to attend church recently)
8) Financial provision for Sanyo Church as we look forward to purchasing land (we have the funds!!)and building (Pray for the financial goal of $300,000 to be met for the building)
9) Mrs. Omori continues to miss church because of bad health, pray for healing
10) More English students and friends who are seeking the Lord
11) For Paul as he fills the role of the chairman for the Japanese neighborhood organization (Cho nai kai)
12) For Mr. Hamada as he hasn't been well enough to attend church recently(he came for a few Sundays but has stopped again)
13) Our financial support to continue to improve (also special needs for Kevin's educational expenses)
14) For Miss Ishihara to be faithful in attending church and to keep growing spiritually
15) The planning of effective evangelistic events for all of 2008 ( We will have a nationally known Christian special speaker on September 28th)
16) Spiritual growth and unity of the believers at Sanyo Church as we develop a vision for growth that includes purchasing land and building
17) That Miss Kubo and Mrs. Demura would be free from family obligations to come to church again.
18) For a missionary couple to fill in here for our year of home assignment, starting summer 2009

Hart Update - July 2008

2008-08-31T18:38:00.000-05:00

Hey friends,

Spoke to my dad this afternoon. He met with the GI doctor and after
reviewing all the tests, scans and scope they have decided that the
blockage is caused by a tumor. The pathology scraping was
inconclusive. Dad also met with an oncologist this afternoon and since
they don't know the type of tumor yet they will treat it like it is a
malignant tumor in the pancreas. He has another appointment with the
senior oncologist this coming Monday and they will decide the next
step which will probably be surgery followed by radiation and / or
chemo when they determine the type of tumor. Dad spoke with the
doctor about continuing with their trip to Philadelphia Aug. 6-13.
Dad was going to preach and teach a class but they have cancelled
those appointments and he will just go up to visit my sister and
possibly help with the BTCP class, just not teach it. The surgery
will probably be scheduled after Mom and Dad return from Philly.

Thanks for your prayers. Dad is amazed at God's providence in how
this has all come about and how quickly the tests and procedures have
been done. As Dad said about last week, "i was pricked, I was poked,
I was scanned, I was scoped!" We are rejoicing at God's goodness and
faithfulness and pray that He will be glorified as we witness to those
around us.

Sincerely,
Holly
--

Bryan & Holly Smith