Metropolitan Missionaries

Dear MBC family,

Happy Easter!  He is risen!

I’m at a coffee shop with Timothy and Jonathan while Matthew and Elizabeth are at a drama club in town with some friends. After drama class Timothy, Jonathan and Elizabeth will take the bus to Zenica to be with friends and help set up for a big Easter egg hunt tomorrow. The rest of us will go up there tomorrow morning.  It is sort of an annual tradition and the younger ones love the fun and the older ones another excuse to be with friends.

The big news here is that Timothy got accepted into the one-year Alpha Program at the Greek Bible institute to start this Fall.  I’m sure you got my e-mail about that.

Both the school in London and the one in Prague received my PhD applications by mail and are now waiting for my references and transcripts to reach them.  While I wait, I’ve ordered a few books on research, dissertation formation and writing.

The weather has turned really nice here—I think Spring has sprung!  Matthew and Kirsten especially enjoy being outside.  Matthew is working on building a tree house with a couple friends.  Daniel is old enough now to be able to crawl out to the balcony and look around.  An apartment building is being built next door so there is always something interesting for the younger ones to watch. They recently dug and poured the foundation.  I think it will be five or six stories high, so it will probably take them a year or so to build.

I’ve recently been translating Mark chapter 11.  I’m thankful to be getting that done. We are also at various stages of finishing John, 1-3 John, and James.  We’ll be meeting next week as a translation team to talk about some of the specific grammatical issues. We hope to print John and 1-3 John as a booklet by this summer.

I’ve also gotten some good progress done on Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar.  We’ve been translating and editing that since around 2003, I think, so it is nice to be getting closer to the end (though there is still a lot to be done).

We were encouraged by a visit from a friend, Izeta, recently. She used to come to our church when we had a church plant in our part of town. She works most Sundays, so can’t come to the church where we now attend, but it was nice to pray with her and give her the Bible study workbook, Gospel Transformation, that we recently printed.

Our teammate, Joy, is on furlough in Australia and we miss her. But Nicki is here from the States to fill in for her and she is helping a lot with the English library, and also helping Pam with watching the kids, doing “school” with Kirsten, and with cooking and cleaning.  She’ll be here for six months, until Joy gets back.

Well, I just wanted to write, give you a quick update and tell you thank you for your financial support. We really appreciate it!

Grace and peace,
Todd

Dear praying friends,

Here are a few prayer requests and praises about things happening soon:

1.       PRAY for Joy Hill as she leaves Saturday for her six-month furlough in Australia.  PRAY for allowance to take a little extra baggage, good flights and connections, strength during layovers, and a warm welcome. PRAY that her furlough will be refreshing and fruitful in her home country.
2.       PRAY for God’s timing about one or two possible trips to Greece.
a.       For me, Timothy, and perhaps Jonathan, to visit the Greek Bible Institute in Athens where Timothy is applying to attend this Fall.
b.      For me to travel with the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (under Daniel Wallace) to photograph Greek manuscripts in one or two monasteries there.  This trip is a maybe as I am waiting on word of whether the trip will actually come together and whether they need me.
3.       PRAISE God that I was able to mail off paperwork today to apply for the MPhil/PhD programs at International Baptist Theological Seminary (Prague) and London School of Theology.  PRAY for the Lord’s will about being accepted into one of these programs. Of course, we will remain living and ministering in Bosnia, and I would only need to visit Prague or London a few weeks each school year.  This is a research-based degree focused on writing a major dissertation, so there are no regular classes to attend.  PRAY for the Lord’s guidance for all those involved, that
a.       I would be accepted into the school of God’s choice and be able to begin this Fall.
b.      I would receive the specific mentor and topic of His choosing as well. It appears that I would have the opportunity to study under a world-class scholars, Craig A. Evans on NT backgrounds, or Max Turner on Ephesians.
c.       We would have wisdom re: the dissertation topic. The current topics are just ideas at this point. PRAY for wisdom if the Lord would rather have me pursue a topic in studying New Testament Greek manuscripts (textual criticism). I would need the right supervisor(s) and access to specific manuscript projects (see #2 above).
d.      Funding through grants or scholarships would be provided.

Thank you so much for praying!

Blessings,
Todd for all of us

March 26, 2009

1.      Thanks for praying for the education team.
-         Sam is on deputation in England. Ask God to give her a freedom in sharing her ministry and people who will pray and give towards her support needs.
-         Dorthe is in Denmark. She has meetings planned with her supporters and will be involved in training teens for an Easter outreach.
2.      The meeting to plan teaching for this summer went well and we are in agreement about how to approach the subject. This coming week is set aside for research and reports.
-         This weekend I need to finish the tax return forms for Switzerland (C: – please pray for focus and God’s guidance… not finished - I still need to work on this.
3.      The Student list for our summer Leadership Course has a slow but good start (We now have 8 students who have been accepted. Keep praying  for National leaders and Course graduates to share this training opportunity with many and for God to bring the students of His choice. It would be good to have at least a dozen students for the entire Leadership Course.
4.      Pray that God bless His people with a spirit of generosity. 2. Corinthians 9:6,7 May we all purpose in our heart to sow bountifully  - relying on His resources.  My prayer continues to be: “Lord, open my eyes to see what You have placed in my hands – finances, goods, talents, time, the Gospel, Your Word… empower me to open my clenched fists that I might sow bountifully.”

Thank you so much for praying for me and my ministry here. It is such an encouragement to know that God has given us each other to be workers together in His harvest here in Europe!
Martha G Heidinger

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for praying.  I wanted to mention a few answers to prayer as well as some new prayer requests.

1.     God answered graciously by giving us good weather for the Garage Sale.  There had been numerous days of cold, rain and snow but this turned out to be a fairly warm day.  It was dry, which was very important.  We had an excellent turnout and were able to raise enough money to pay for rent for the next two months.  It was a good time for the Christian workers, and was a good time for more people to learn about the English library.
2.       We are still in need of ongoing financial support for the library.  It costs $300 to run it each month (rent, utilities and miscellaneous expenses).  Donations can be sent to Pioneers and designated for account #150190 BOSNIA—BTRT Library. For more information, see www.booksforbosnia.com .
3.     Our short-term worker, Nicki Berthiaume, arrived safe and sound today from the States. She will be here for seven months running the library and helping our family.
4.     Timothy has applied to attend the Greek Bible Institute near Athens, Greece, for one year, starting in September.  Pray for his acceptance, if the Lord wills, and for wisdom in timing for Todd, Timothy and Jonathan to take a trip there to visit the school.
5.     Pray for Todd as he fills out applications and dissertation proposals to begin a distance M.Phil./Ph.D. program, most likely in the UK.  We will continue living and ministering in Bosnia as usual, with only occasional visits to the school.  This is a research program not requiring class attendance.  Pray for wisdom and the needed funding.
6.     We have a Bible society meeting 23 March.  Pray that we can get a lot of the translation ready in a format to present to the society members. Pray for wisdom and good decisions at that meeting.
7.     Pray for Joy as she trains Nicki to run the library, takes care of 1001 details and lose ends, and gets ready to fly back to Melbourne, Australia, for her six-month furlough. We’ll miss her!

In Christ,
Todd

Piasek, March 3, 2009
Dear Friends,

Thank you for taking time to read our letter. What a joy to write to you again! It is so good to know that you pray for us. Here what God was doing through us in February 2009.

‘Proclaiming the Word’
In 28 days of February 2009 we have registered at www.proword.eu: 25.667 hits, 18.333 files, 6.843 pages and 1.143 visits made from 49 countries (all continents)! We are excited and very grateful to the Lord for the growing number of people who use those outlines of messages.

Croatia
On February 7 both of us Helena and myself took part in the CEF Croatian Conference in Cakovec organized by Karmen from Croatia and Zvonko (CEF Leader) from Slovenia. What a joy it was to meet both Croatian and Slovenian workers and encourage them with God’s Word again. On February 8 I preached in the church in Puscine, Croatia.

Hungary
Returning from Croatia we stopped in Hungary for meeting with Sebastian and Georgina who are responsible for the CEF ministry in Central Europe now. God blesses them!

Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is one of 5 countries in Central Asia. God gave me another opportunity to teach during the two meetings on February 13 and 14, for CEF workers and for those who do Bible Correspondence Courses. In spite of limitations the Gospel is being proclaimed to the new generation! On Sunday I preached in churches in Tashkent. God is at work there!

Czech Republic
On February 21 I taught during Teachers Conference organized by Daniela and Peter (former CEF worker) in Smilovice. More than 80 teachers and pastors took part. My theme for 5 lectures was ‘Reality of Christ.’ All CEF team (with the new leader Zbysek) took part and presented the CEF ministry and CEF literature.

Poland
In February I preached in three Polish churches (Jastrzebie, Piasek and Brzeszcze) and during one funeral in Pszczyna. I also shared God’s Word for young people in Tychy and for CEF workers in Piasek. Last Sunday (March 1) Bogdan our son was leading the church service in Tychy and I was helping him with my preaching. What a joy to serve the Lord together!

Thank you for praying for us!
Czeslaw and Helena Bassara

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Eph. 6:12

Our dear Partners in Prayer,

We are so grateful that you have been praying faithfully for us even though you have not heard from us in a couple months.  We did have a most glorious Christmas vacation with my brother and his family.  It was a long, rough trip to get there, but well worth it.

You may know already that as Bible translations reach their final stages the Enemy steps up the attack.  He is terrified of the Sword of the Spirit getting in the hands of people groups.  The Sword in the mother tongue is sharp and dangerous indeed!  Over in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo, the Mbandja whole Bible is in the very last stages of checking.  When we came back from our vacation we discovered that the Enemy had come after our partner organization responsible for this translation project, with full evil force, nearly paralyzing the organization.  Please stand with us in prayer that God will foil the attacks of the Enemy and restore health, strength and courage to this organization and to His godly servants there.

At the same time we are rejoicing because in February God sent us two couples to join the work here in CAR.  One couple has years of experience in several African countries.  The other couple is new to Africa.  We are spending time with them in orientation.  All four are wonderful people!

What is ahead for us?  This month we have two big sets of meetings coming up, our administrative team meetings, and the advisory team meetings.   Please pray again for a sweet spirit of unity, that we may work together to hear and obey God as He leads us in this great task of bringing His Word to people in the language of the heart.

After these meetings we will travel to Gemena in DR Congo.  Pray most of all that we would be instruments of encouragement and hope to the faithful people there.

Thank you so much, dear ones, for standing with us in prayer!

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  2 Corinthians 10:4  Hallelujah!

Love and prayers,
Cami and Larry

February 2009

Somehow I think God is trying to get my attention . . .

For the past few weeks I’ve sensed His benevolent hand beckoning me to be still in His presence; I’ve heard His tender voice calling me to come aside and partake of some spiritual manna.  His life-lesson for me of late has been unmistakable.  I hear it in the morning through the radio ministries of John MacArthur and D. James Kennedy; I read it in the evening in the devotional writings of Our Daily Bread; I receive periodic reminders of it in the form of e-mail messages from and conversations with friends; I experience it in the variegated circumstances of daily life on planet earth.  It’s a familiar lesson in which those who belong to the Lord are regularly schooled.  Living illustrations of it abound in every epoch of biblical history – Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, David, Elijah, Daniel, Elijah II (a.k.a. John the Baptist), Jesus, Peter, and Paul.  And we dare not forget Job, who surely must have qualified for a Ph.D. in the subject.
The lesson, of course, is learning how to respond to what James refers to as “all sorts of trials” (James 1:2, New English Translation).  In his excellent commentary on James, D. Edmund Hiebert notes that the mention of trials in this particular context does not mean “solicitation to evil” or “inner temptations to sin,” but rather the “undesirable events that assail us from without” or, to put it simply, the “testings and trials of daily life” (The Epistle of James: Tests of a Living Faith, p. 72).  Not a day goes by that you and I don’t experience troublesome trials in some form or fashion.  Eliphaz, one of Job’s “friends,” hit the proverbial nail on the head when he said that “man is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7).  Even Job himself had to agree:  “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble” (14:1).  Benjamin Franklin was only two-thirds right – trouble is every bit as much a certainty of life as are death and taxes.  Trials of all sorts are man’s constant companion throughout his earthly pilgrimage.  Difficulties and disappointments, problems and perplexities, frustrations and fears await us with the dawn of each new day.
In light of this unpleasant but undeniable reality, what is the lesson God desires to teach us?  How should we respond whenever we find ourselves in the crucible of divine testing?  In a word, James 1:2 says, joyfully. Not angrily or critically, not resentfully or bitterly, not mournfully or pitifully, not woefully or disparagingly, but joyfully!  The New Century Version expresses it this way:  “My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy.”  The New Living Translation reads, “Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.”  James is instructing us not to rejoice over the trials themselves, but to recognize them as opportunities for God to produce in us something of supreme value, namely, patient endurance in the midst of trials (James 1:3; cf. Rom. 12:12).  This character quality is absolutely essential, inasmuch as trials serve as the anvil upon which our spiritual metal is forged, resulting in maturity or “wholeness” (James 1:4; cf. Rom. 5:3-4).  And so we’re to rejoice, James says, knowing that the daily bumps and bruises of life are necessary trainers in order for us to be all that God desires and has destined us to be.
How do we do this?  Man’s prescription would be, “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, suck it up, bite the bullet, grin and bear it, hang in there, and remember, when the going gets tough, the tough get going!” Frankly, I like God’s prescription a lot better:  We must . . . run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.  For the joy set out for Him He endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.  Think of Him who endured such opposition against Himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up (Heb. 12:1b-3, New English Translation).
It was through personal suffering that Jesus achieved spiritual victory not only for Himself (Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Pet. 3:22), but for us as well (Isa. 53:4-5; 1 Pet. 3:18).  Although Satan and fallen men conspired at the cross to commit the ultimate act of evil, it was through the cross that God accomplished the greatest possible good (cf. Gen. 50:20)!  And so it is in our lives as well.  The daily testing of our faith is one of the ways in which God achieves His ultimate goal for us which is to make us like His Son (Rom. 8:29; Gal. 4:19; Eph. 4:13).  For the Redeemer as well as for the redeemed, earthly suffering is the divinely ordained path that leads to heavenly glory (Rom. 8:17).  Only after passing through the refining fires of affliction and tribulation does God consider us worthy of His kingdom (1 Pet. 1:7; 2 Thess. 1:4-5) and grant us the eternal privilege of entering that kingdom (Acts 14:22).  This is why we can “count it all joy” whenever we find ourselves in the furnace of life’s trials, knowing that our loving heavenly Father is in the process of producing a masterpiece – for His eternal glory and our eternal good!
God is blessing the ministry of Released Time as boys and girls are hearing and responding in faith to the good news of Jesus Christ.  In LeFlore, OK, enrollment has grown from about 40 students from just a few years ago to 114 currently.  Word of mouth is the best advertisement as boys and girls invite their friends to join them in learning about God, the Bible, Jesus, and salvation.  One of our long-term goals is to have at least one RT class in all 77 counties in Oklahoma by 2020.  We have a long way to go in reaching that goal, so join us in praying that the Lord will open doors of opportunity to present the ministry.  Our board president, Bob Pearce, and I, along with one of Bob’s co-workers, are working on the development of a new website that will enable us to provide anyone with instant access to information about our ministry and specific steps on starting a Released Time program in their school.  At some point in the near future, we hope to provide those who desire to contribute to the ministry through on-line giving an opportunity to do so using PayPal or a similar type of secure payment method.  We will also have downloadable items in PDF format, including CBM/Released Time brochures, teacher and volunteer applications, background check forms, parental consent forms, and teacher monthly report forms to help facilitate the process of starting new classes and provide resources for existing classes, including teaching tips, recommended books and other teaching tools with links to additional websites, and sample lessons from the CBM curriculum.  Please pray for the work on this project to progress quickly so that we can start introducing as many people as possible to this tremendous missions opportunity.
One thing we’re doing differently this year is in connection with our annual spring banquet.  Rather than having one banquet in the Oklahoma City area, as has been our usual custom, we will be hosting a series of banquets in communities where we have Released Time programs currently.  By dividing the state into three regions – northeast, east-central, and southeast – we hope to be able to thank and encourage as many of our CBM friends, volunteers, and supporters as possible.  Our northeast banquet will be held in Nowata on Saturday, April 4th, and will include our Released Time family members from Chelsea, Ponca City, and Tulsa (Berryhill) in addition to Nowata.  Our east-central banquet will be held in Depew and will include our friends from Henryetta as well, with a date to be determined soon.  We’re still working on a site and date for our southeast banquet which will include Hodgen, LeFlore, Smithville, Howe, and Watson, OK.  Our purpose in conducting these banquets is two-fold:  (1) To express appreciation to our volunteers for their faithful service, to encourage them in their ministries, and to provide them and their students with an opportunity to share how God is working in their lives through Released Time; (2) To invite area pastors to come and learn more about the ministry, and to encourage them to consider starting a Released Time program in their own communities.  Begin praying now for a good response, particularly from the pastors, as we seek to expand our mission field so that we can reach more and more children for Christ.
In two weeks, March 16-18, I will travel to our national headquarters in Townsend, TN, to participate in the annual CBM Directors Conference.  This is always a rich time of equipping and encouragement for the area directors as we enjoy fellowship together in the beautiful Smoky Mts.   Doug Clark, Executive Dir. of the Assoc. of North American Missions, will speak to us on “Serving the Next Generation of Missionaries” and “The Generation Gap.”  We will also be introduced to the TELL (Teaching Exchanged Life Living) curriculum and finalize plans for our 75th anniversary celebration in Florida in 2010.  Please pray for traveling mercies and spiritual refreshment and renewal for our group.
I’d like to conclude this month’s letter with a challenge from J. Irvin Overholtzer, founder of Child Evangelism Fellowship:  When the people of Judah were carried into captivity, the poor with their children were left in Jerusalem, and Jeremiah was left with them.  Many of the children were starving, and many died.  There was not enough food, and there was no human way to secure more food.  Jeremiah cried, “Mine eyes do fail with tears . . . because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city” (Lam. 2:11-12).  He pleaded with the Lord’s people to weep and pray (Lam. 2:18-19).  This condition of the children in Jerusalem is a type of the condition of the children in the whole world today.  The children in Jerusalem were starving for physical food; the children of today are starving for salvation.  Then there were thousands; now there are hundreds of millions.  Now one but God can meet this terrible need today, but He can meet it if His people pray as Jeremiah prayed and as he pleaded with the Lord’s people to pray.  We have the “Bread of Life” now.  It is our God-given duty to go out after the children where they are.  May God lay this burden on all His people everywhere.  May we each humbly ask Him what we can do to evangelize the children.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and gifts that enable us to distribute the Bread of Life through Released Time Bible classes, the only Bread that can satisfy hungry children today, tomorrow, and forever.

Counting it all joy,    Scott Brinson

Thank you all so much for your continual prayers for us.  Here are a few updates.

1.       PRAISE that Kirsten got her annual visa today and it is good through the end of 2009!
2.       PRAISE that I was able to meet the deadline of finishing the Croatian translation of William D. Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar (35 lessons, 480 pages). We printed 50 copies and they have already all been given away or sold!  We are excited about the great response.
3.       PRAISE that an unexpected donation came in that will allow us to print all five manuals in Croatian of the Omega Course: Practical Church Planter Training.  (Each manual is about 200 pages in length.) We will also put these online for anyone to use for free. Each manual has 25 lessons on themes such as church planting, evangelism, Bible study, preaching, prayer, etc., thus a total of 125 lessons to help tray lay leaders for church planting.
4.       PRAISE that finances were given so we could print 50 more copies of Gospel Transformation in Serbian. This is a workbook with 36 lessons (360 pages in length) to help believers grow deeper in the Christian walk.  These were just printed and already half of this print run have been spoken for.
5.       PRAY:  I need wisdom as I am praying about applying for more graduate (here called post-graduate) studies.  This will be in addition to the current ministry we have and will need to be done mostly by distance with only rare visits to the graduate school. We will not relocate or change any of our current ministries in Bosnia so will have to do this from a distance.  I am looking into a few schools in the United Kingdom.  Pray for this situation; I am waiting to hear back from several institutions about whether I can do this and what the specific subject matter would be.  (For the British PhD, there are no classes to attend but rather it is all through research and dissertation work.)
6.       We have been enjoying birthdays at the Price household. Check out our blog (see below) for pictures.

We so appreciate your prayers and encouragement!
Todd for all of us

20 February 2009
Hello dear, beloved friends:
The need to fill out a report made me realize that I haven’t communicated. Let me remedy that immediately. I’ve just gone through a death experience that left me, last week, drained, fatigued and melancholy. A dear friend and member of the church died. Let me tell you about her.
Lety came to church through her friend Aida, one of our sisters. Aida had led her to Christ, at work, and now brought her to church. That was about three years ago. At the time I was in charge of visitors during Sunday School, to make sure they knew Christ, or to lead them to him. So I had a good one on one visit with her making sure she was a Christian and teaching her assurance of salvation. For several Sundays I had the opportunity to teach her additionally and we became good friends.
I had the opportunity to counsel with her several times later on. She had a good deal of problems. One was a very unfaithful husband, verbally abusive to her and her three children. They had separated and were in the process of divorcing. Also, she was obese, extremely fat, and had a very hard time loosing weight. In spite of her problems she was a very happy person and, now that she had become a Christian, full of joy. It was nice to be with her. She loved to be in our worship services and enjoyed the music and the singing most of all.
Now about six weeks ago she went to the hospital due to abdominal pain. She surprised all of us sharing that she had to stay at the hospital because she had cancer. I wondered if she knew what she was talking about so I gave her a call. She surprised me again telling me “the doctors said I had metastasis.” She said it so casually that again I thought she might not know what she was talking about, or that she might have misunderstood the doctor. So I went to see her, four weeks ago, or so.
She did know that indeed she had cancer. And it was really in metastasis, reproducing through her body. It was terminal and she understood it. Yet she was strangely joyful; and her joy was because she anticipated that she was going to be with Jesus soon and was personally going to see Him. She bubbled with happiness! Her only regret, and she became serious, was that she would not see her children. I explained to her that she should pray for her children, especially for their salvation, and that she should trust the Lord to save them, eventually, in His own good time; that He had promised to do what we ask of the Father in His own name. So we prayed and she did not fret about her children’s salvation any more.
She asked her doctors to be allowed to leave the hospital for a Sunday, for the purpose of being baptized, and return in the evening. They said they would let her, and we got the baptistery and the deacons ready, so I could baptize her. Sunday came, but the doctor did not allow her to leave. She was in pain, and sedated.  I had to baptize her in her bed with one witness present, Aida.
She deteriorated very rapidly in three weeks during which I went to see her four times . The fourth time she was unconscious, heavily sedated with morphine; her body retaining much water; and she moaned continually as she breathed. I stayed with her for about two hours, praying to our God to give her an easy transition into His presence. That’s why I returned home drained, fatigued and melancholy. The next morning she went home to Jesus and I felt rested, at peace. Her strong faith left an imprint on me.
Her family is non Christian but we had a very evangelistic service for them at the funeral house. Before her last sedation, Lety asked the family to invite our church to have a service with them at the funeral home; she asked them not to wear black, but dress colorfully and be happy; and lastly, that all the flowers people placed around her casket, be taken to our church to adorn it on the following Sunday. And they did!
Now it’s up to us, as a church, to keep alive our contact with her family. Would you pray for Lety’s family? And for us, as we try to reach them with the gospel? I kid you not, I would not trade my pulpit and pastorate for any other type of work.
Well, those were the recent good news, now a bit of bad news. Roberto, our Pastor of Evangelism and Cells just left us. Problems developed between him and several persons in the church, and he wasn’t able to handle them well. I’m sure he’ll learn to do it as he becomes wiser and more mature for he really is a fine minister. But, for now, we’ve lost him. He created the Manna Diner ministry and it’s still going on. Roberto had the wisdom to train a lady to step into that ministry and the ministry is alive and well. The cells are still going on and we (elders) are looking for a man to coordinate that ministry.
The economic global crisis has hit us quite hard. Beginning in December our offerings dropped dramatically, to less than half what we were giving, and they have remained that low during January and February. And I expect they will remain the same during March. It seems to me that governments around the world have been guilty of living beyond their means. Those governments send us to jail if we spend more than we make. But they do precisely that! And that has promoted distrust and fear. And it seems to me that our fellow Christians are giving with fear, not with faith. We need to restore faith in our God who has always had the economy in His hands. Just as He controlled the rains or droughts in biblical times, so also He controls now the economies of the nations. So I’m preaching for the purpose of restoring hope and courage and faith in the Lord Who is faithful to Himself, to His Word and to His people. I’m preparing the fourth of a five sermon series.
To get through on a reduced income we (the church) have instructed our treasurer to pay salaries, missionaries’ support, and fixed expenses, in that order; and to cut back on ministerial expenses. Let’s not be filled with fear.
It was back in 1986 that Lupita had that terrible accident in a highway. Her car lost a wheel at high speed and she broke through the sunroof, flew high and dropped down outside the highway another ten feet. She recovered in about six months. But the doctor told her she might have consequences later on. She’s been out in space (her way of describing a state of dizziness). So she doesn’t dare to drive. So, she stays home. Her orthopedist doctor has prescribed medicine and she’s improved. She says the doc has brought her in from outer space and that she may be landing soon. Pray for a safe landing!
I promise to correct my delinquent ways, communicating more often. We love you,

Ernesto and Lupita – your missionaries in crisis but well, in Mexico, also in crisis and not well.

From Chris and Laura Burton

He’s Just Not That Into You
25 female students from the University of Central Oklahoma recently attended an afternoon at the movies with Laura to see the new movie “He’s Just Not That Into You.” Following the movie, Campus Crusade hosted a tea party and discussion groups to talk about the movie. The event was a huge success!

Here’s what students had to say:
“I learned that marriage is a 100%/100% split, not 50%/50%.
“I liked discussing the movie and how we felt about it. I also enjoyed Laura’s talk.”
“I learned that girls get hurt by idolizing relationships.”
“I enjoyed the discussion groups and meeting new people.”

As a ministry to the young people today, we are increasingly compelled to use culturally relevant topics and material (such as the movies!) to reach out to students and talk about the spiritual aspect of life. Although the movie did not rank high on the list of “must see movies,” it did reveal how many girls have a misinformed view of marriage and relationships. Yet, God promises a relationship that does not disappoint and we are committed to telling students how they can experience fulfillment in that relationship!

Men Stop Shaving for Grizzly Man BBQ
It all began with a discussion among students at Southwestern Oklahoma State University about who’s facial hair would look the best once it had grown out for a month. And then it became a simple concept: Let’s grow out our facial hair and celebrate our manhood by having a Grizzly Man BBQ after 30 days. Being in full-time ministry with college students, I often find myself searching for the delicate balance between sharing the good news of Jesus Christ verses discussion impregnate with adolescent jocularity. Sometimes the latter prevails.

The redeeming part about this story, besides the fact that I had the privilege of witnessing such raw humor first-hand, is the opportunity to build trusting relationships with the next generation of men. The college students of today are the leaders of tomorrow! And the convictions that they develop during the college years will affect them for the rest of their lives. And with the post-modern student of today who often places his loyalty with friends that he trusts rather than absolute truth, trust and relationship is the currency that holds its value.

Evan (pictured right in red shirt) is a student leader who has completed his prerequisite coursework and is now in nursing school. He is a strong Christian that is committed to making an impact for Jesus wherever he goes. This has been seen in his unique talent for gathering people! In fact, one of the men that came to the Grizzly Man BBQ (who also decided to shave, like me) is a new friend of Evan’s I overheard a conversation they had while we were eating and it will encourage you!

Evan: “Hey Caleb, you should come check out ‘Cru’ sometime.”
Caleb: “What’s it like? And when do you meet?”
Evan: “We meet on Monday’s at 8PM in the Student Lounge. And we usually spend time singing and have a speaker. It’s fun.”
Caleb: “So, is it like a bible study or something?”
Evan: “Kinda. But we sing songs and the speakers talk about things relevant to college students and show how it relates to the bible.”
Caleb: “Okay, I’ll come check it out. Remind me, okay?”
Evan: “Cool.”

It might not sound like an evangelistic conversation that Bill Bright would have shared, but I see a Christian student reaching out to one of his peers, inviting him into the body of Christ to experience what Jesus is doing in the hearts and minds of students at SWOSU. Praise God for men like Evan who will grow out their facial hair, invite his friends over for a Grizzly Man BBQ and simply extend an invitation to a new friend to come check out Cru.

Prayer Requests
• Pray for Chris as he prepares to take a heavy load of seminary classes this summer. He plans to complete his MA[BS] (Master of Arts in Biblical Studies) from Dallas Seminary sometime in the next 12 months. Pray for him to be spiritually prepared for the coursework and for the logistics of being away from home for 8-10 weeks to focus on studying.

• Pray for Laura as she mentors and disciples two students (Angela, Sarah). She has greatly missed meeting one-on-one over the past few years and has arranged her schedule in such a way that she can now spend time with these growing women.