posted by Dennis and Carole Ford
May 15, 2008 on 5:08 pm | In letters | No Comments
Dear Friends,
Urgent Prayer and supplies are needed in Myanmar. Here is the latest Myanmar story from Trans World Radio.
Dennis Ford
TWR ~ Retired
Ministry offers faith amidst misery in Myanmar
Myanmar (MNN) ― Myanmar’s government is accused of hoarding emergency cyclone relief, frustrating attempts to help survivors.
The supplies are beginning to bottleneck at the airports because the junta regime refuses to allow aid teams in to distribute them. Add to that a crumbling infrastructure, and every minute lost in getting food and shelter dispensed could be a life.
Trans World Radio’s David McCreary says that’s why their response is coming through radio. They’ve dedicated 30-minute broadcasts that will provide biblical counseling and care five days a week for the next year.
But with homes washed away and large tracts of land under water, nearly two million survivors are facing disease and starvation. So what good is radio when survival is minute to minute?
“They are suffering daily. Things like trying to find clean water, food, shelter, getting medical attention–these are all things that we are trying to address through our programs. [We can] tell them where they can go to get these needs [met]. People that have battery-powered or solar-powered radio become a vital link for these storm survivors.”
McCreary says the broadcast provides more than a map to physical help. The programming will be specifically designed to help restore the lives and spirits of Myanmar’s people. “Typically, they just try to cling to the hope that the Gospel can provide, so that’s what we’re doing: providing them hope through the Gospel broadcasts.”
TWR’s Andrew Sundar, ministry director for Southeast Asia, says, “Currently, we are broadcasting existing shortwave programs to Myanmar in both the Burmese and Sgaw Karen languages. But the new relief-focused broadcasts will be vital when it comes to addressing the victims’ ongoing needs.”
Please pray that God will provide the $58,000 in necessary funds to produce this special series of programs for the spiritually-needy residents of Myanmar.
posted by Czeslaw and Helen Bassara
May 15, 2008 on 5:03 pm | In letters | No Comments
Dear Metropolitan Baptist Church,
Greetings from Poland.
We thank God for you and for all that you do for the glory of the Lord. You are very dear to us.
Can we ask you to pray for Dorota our daughter who since last Wednesday expects a baby in hospital in Tychy. Please pray for the safe delivery of the baby which was due on May 7. God is teaching us patience.
In His love
Czeslaw and Helena Bassara
Proclaiming the Word
Visit: www.proword.eu
posted by OConnor
May 15, 2008 on 5:00 pm | In letters | No Comments
We had many good heart to heart times, the three of us did: Victor Almendarez, Ambrosio Cordova and myself.
We have known each other for 14 plus years and seen the Lord move us from young slender new fathers to graying middle-agents field soldiers.
We traveled to QUITO this past fortnight, and the audience of 250 pastors from Ecuador and 15 countries were surprised that I would share my CP teaching time with Victor & Ambrosio. Victor took the lions share of teaching, followed by Ambrosio.
We had a “just for fun” over-night in the highland, colonial town of Cuenca , where the Pope had once visited. But my design was to also see more of the country. Victor and Ambrosio led a pharmacist to the Lord in Cuenca, and now Victor has another entry and contact there. Shoot up a prayer for Miguel.
In southern province Loja, we spent 4 days with the CB work and saw a couple of rural needy areas…Ambrosio and I led a store owner in a prayer of faith, accompanied by lunch for the day (a can of tuna, an aspirin, three liters of water and two bags of chips!)
On the plane home…
Loja to Quito to Panama to Honduras:
· Ambrosio returned to Honduras with new and renewed sparks for heading up the Extension Bible Inst here.
· And all three of us gave ourselves “home work ministry assignments” for ministry application here in Honduras.
· Victor gets real happy when asked about Ecuador.
Let’s be clear: Ecuador has a massive need (1% evangelical in the southern province) and Victor may be the man of the hour. He was invited to do pastoral training in Quito at the end of the year, and so we hope that the Lord and life say YES. He was also invited for church planting in Guayaquil and Loja. And so Victor is talking with the Lord r/ that. For now, it is a wait and see.
Thank you for upholding us up to the Lord.
How can we pray for you?
Thank you, too, for the support sent toward this trip!
Patrick O’Connor
posted by adminusertyle
May 8, 2008 on 5:44 pm | In letters | No Comments
Friends of ABWE in Myanmar Affected by Cyclone
May 6, 2008
On Saturday, a deadly cyclone struck the southwestern part of Myanmar (formerly Burma). News reports have listed at least 14,000 dead and possibly a million homeless in Yangon (the former capital) and four other districts of the third world country. The total scale of destruction is unknown and information hard to get as the military-controlled government continues assessing the damage to the tribal villages and outlying areas.
For many years ABWE has assisted dear Christian friends in this country through our Global Access Partnerships (GAP) ministry. Telephone and mobile phone service have been severed by the storm, and we have not yet been able to contact our friends through email. We are very concerned for the people of Yangon, especially these Christian brothers and sisters we know personally. News reports say food and clean water is lacking. ABWE has opened an account to assist our brothers and sisters in the recovery efforts. Teammates in neighboring countries are preparing to visit Myanmar as soon as they can get visas and seats on a plane. They will contact our partners, assess the damage and determine what we can do in the wake of this national disaster.
For more information please contact Beth Isbell at gap@abwe.org or (717) 909-2309.
posted by Price
May 8, 2008 on 5:39 pm | In letters | No Comments
Dear praying friends,
1. I just got word this morning that the apartment above where our friend, Jurij Sinij, lives caught on fire. The ceiling above the bedrooms where Jurij lives with his wife and children live, collapsed. Their family got out unharmed but only with their passports. They were not yet able to go back and check on the apartment or their belongings because the fire was under investigation. PRAY
for Jurij and his family in this loss: for strength, God’s grace and peace, recovery or replacement of their belongings and for a new place to live. PRAISE God that Jurij and family were not hurt, though there were injuries and even deaths of others involved. Jurij was a student of mine at the Bible Institute in Sarajevo and recently became the pastor of the Baptist church there.
2. We had asked you to pray for Kirsten’s visa. We recently found out that she will not qualify to get a permanent visa because we are out of the country more than 60 days after the time that her most recent annual visa expired. This means she will have to continue to get only annual visas.
3. PRAISE God for a recent gift toward our vehicle fund in Bosnia. PRAY for a foundation that is considering helping us financially toward the rest we need to get a vehicle.
4. PRAISE God for safety over many miles traveled speaking at churches in Iowa and Oklahoma.
5. PRAY for Timothy and Jonathan, that they can complete the 40 hours of driving instruction required before getting their driver’s licenses; we need to do this before we leave for Bosnia. PRAY also for them to do well on the upcoming ACT exams.
Thank you for your encouragement and support!
Todd
posted by Gupta
May 8, 2008 on 5:31 pm | In letters | No Comments
Dear Friends,
Recently I had the privilege of traveling with one of our graduates and listened to him as he narrated God’s faithfulness in guiding him in the ministry after he graduated from HBI. I was so blessed by listening to him and knowing our efforts in developing and building transformational leaders are bearing much fruit. I know you will rejoice and be blessed so let me share his story.
Mathew graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2000. When he enrolled as a student, he was talented but unassuming. As part of the training he was skilled to disciple people through cell groups, lead worship, share the gospel in village through music and drama, conducting Sunday school for children, mobilizing prayer concert and many other ministry skills. He told me that his active participation at New Calvary church gave him a passion for world missions.
However, when he completed his M.Div program, he was not sure what was next in his life and asked the Lord to show him the direction. Mathew did hear God asking him to start the work in his own town but he did not want to follow God because he always thought that’s where most of the hindrances and difficulties would come. Mathew, in his heart said a big “no” to God’s plan and started to do his own things and joined a Bible college in North India to teach.
In the mean time Mathew was married to Prasanna, also a graduate from HBI, and God blessed them with a beautiful girl. Life seemed to be going okay, though God the Holy Spirit kept nudging him to surrender to God’s plan to start the ministry in his own town.
Two years went by and God blessed them with another girl. Three months later, one night the newly born was not able to sleep and was crying. Mathew and Prasanna were up all night to help the baby and the baby finally slept at 4.00 a.m. Prasanna was too tired and she too went to sleep but Mathew could not sleep. About 30 minutes later, he wanted to check on the child and found there was no movement in the baby. When he touched the child, he felt the child’s body was so cold and the child was not breathing. They immediately rushed to the Doctor who told them the baby was dead.
Completely broken, Mathew looked to God for His grace and experienced a new level of intimacy. God reminded him of His desire to start a ministry in his town. He told the Lord, “I would listen to you and start the ministry in my own home town”. Mathew told me that they were not angry at God but realized their unwillingness to obey God and now wanted to listen and follow Him.
Mathew and Prasanna shared a vision for planting Churches as there were no churches, especially among young people. So they started to look for a place to rent but could not find a place.
One day when Mathew was walking near a restaurant, he sensed the Lord asking him to contact the manager of the restaurant for a place on Saturday evenings. Knowing the manager belongs to an anti-Christian movement and a fanatic Hindu, Mathew was hesitant but did not want to reject the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He approached the manager and asked him whether their conference hall would be available every Saturday to conduct a fellowship meeting. To Mathew’s utter surprise the man immediately said “yes it is available”.
This was the first sign of God’s miracle. They negotiated the rent and again it was a surprise that the manager gave him a discount and did not ask for an advance. Another miracle!
Mathew printed out hand bills and distributed them to many young people without knowing who would come. The day came and he rented 50 chairs and a PA system. The service was scheduled to start at 6.00 p.m. but by noon it started to rain heavily. Mathew and Prasanna knelt down and prayed to the Lord to do a miracle. Exactly at 5.00 p.m. the rain stopped. Another miracle!
While Mathew and Prasanna were waiting for people to come, they saw a group of young people coming into the restaurant. Exactly at 6.00 p.m. they started singing. Mathew had to do everything from arranging the chairs, setting up the PA system, playing the guitar, leading the singing and sharing the Word. There were totally 62 people who came for the service. PTL Another Miracle!
At the end of the service an elderly man walked to Mathew and asked how much was the rent and who was going to pay every week. Mathew told him “I started it without any money in hand, only trusting the Lord to provide the resources. It costs $400 a month”. Mathew told him the manager of the restaurant allowed him to start without even taking any advance. Hearing this, the elderly man told Mathew, “I will pay 50% of the rent and here is my contribution for the first month”. Mathew was astonished and praise God for another miracle he experienced the same day.
Friends God is good all the time and all the time God is Good! All God wants us to do is to listen to Him and trust Him. Prasanna and Mathew learned where God leads He will provide. God began to burden them to develop a church planting movement in and around the villages of their town.
They started a training unit in their home and trained 13 young men from villages. Morning was theory classes and evening was practical ministry in village. God began to open the doors in villages and today there are 13 churches planted in a period of 18 months!
Mathew’s goal is to plant 500 churches by training 500 people in 5 years. Mathew told me, “Sir, the training we received at HBI is truly helping us in the ministry. The practical ministries and skills we have gained while at HBI, are very beneficial to plan and carry on the ministry. We will ever be grateful to HBI for giving us a vision for ministry and a passion for God”
Friends, we have many such Mathews who have graduated from HBI serving the Lord in villages, towns, cities and countries. Just in the last 12 months, God gave us the opportunity to invest in the lives of 4,704 men and women from various regions to build them as transformational leaders for church and nation.
As we continue to press on towards the goal of equipping 200,000 men and women all over India to plant one million churches, will you continue to stand with us in this great task of discipling India for Christ?
We are soooooooo thankful to each one of your for your faithful prayers and support. We need many more like you, so will you please forward our news letters to others and introduce the ministries of HBI to your friends, families and churches. We need your involvement to help us fulfill the vision and mission God has placed in our hearts. Last year because you gave over 218,000 people received the Lord Jesus Christ, 49,410 were discipled and joined the local church and 414 new churches were planted where no churches existed. Thank you for helping us make a difference!
Look forward to hearing from you. Praying for you and may the Lord bless you.
Your servant in the Lord,
Dr. Paul (Bobby) Gupta
President
HBI Global Partners
www.globalpartners.org
posted by adminusertyle
May 1, 2008 on 12:32 pm | In letters | No Comments
Dear Praying Friends May 1, 2008
May 13 will mark our 30th wedding anniversary! How different that day will be than our
25th anniversary (May 13, 2003) when we found ourselves at the City of Hope Cancer
Hospital with Paula receiving her brother’s stem cells during her bone marrow transplant
(BMT). Humanly speaking it was that transplant that saved Paula’s life (we all know that it
actually was answer to prayer by 100s of believers….like you). In April of 2004 Paula
attended a huge celebration (3,000 attended) at the City of Hope for those who had
survived their BMTs. All the participants wore a huge button with the number of years they
had lived since the BMT – Paula’s had a large “1″ on it. This last week Paula attended the
same ceremony at City of Hope, however this time she gladly wrote a large “5″ on the
button. Paula’s joy was heightened by the fact that the doctors had cleared her to return
to Thailand where we can minister to OMFers but also celebrate our 30th anniversary in
our adopted “home”…we fly in a few hours!
When we were evacuated from Thailand in 2002 we had 3 days notice and so Paula did not
get closure and didn’t get to say good-bye to her friends. We anticipate that this will be a
very emotional trip and would like you to pray:
1. Paula’s health and endurance: Paula has been taking shots (all her previous
vaccinations were wiped out by chemo) and this has reminded us of the dangers of various
diseases in Thailand. Pray that Paula will have good health and no fevers. We face a 24
hour+ flight and so she needs extra endurance
2. Pray that Paula can see all her friends (thai and expat) without it being too emotional
or draining – she really needs to pace herself.
3. We will be mainly doing counseling with OMFers and helping put on a pray counseling
seminar, along with workshops, preaching and a trip to an orphanage. Paula will probably
lead some Moms in Touch meetings and training.
4. Pray that Andy and Amber will not have any problems with the home, cars etc. while
we are gone.
Kids News
Andy hopes to go to Quebec to receive his MDiv degree in a few weeks. Pray that all his
course work will be approved so he can get the degree and start preparing for France
Tim and Lydia will be leaving for 3 weeks to Albania and Turkey to see Lydia’s folks but
also spy out the land for possible ministry in that region in the future. Pray that God will
speak clearly during this time about their “niche” in that region.
Amber has secured a job to teach 3rd grade in the fall, and plans to work over the
summer in Lake City Colorado.
Titus will be working in San Diego over the summer. He and I are planning a long cross-
country flight in a small plane in June.
Champ and Cheese
I had a very sobering hour long conversation with a 15 year old Thai boy, Champ, whose
mother had fled to the LA after a divorce and had later sent for her children. Champ had
been taken out of his house and put in a foster group home for six months due to
violence against his sister and mom. I could quickly see that Champ was still a very angry
young man. Part of his anger was towards his mother who had forced him to come to LA
and now was putting him into a 3 bedroom house with 10 other Thai people. Included in
that 10 was his “step father” who during the time he was gone had brought in another
minor wife, her daughter and a bunch of kids. I talked with the social worker who was in
charge of Champ and could hardly believe the dysfunction of the situation. The one
glimmer of hope is that the mother has recently professed Christ. Do pray for the Thai
pastor as he seeks to get Champ and his family out of that toxic home. The only hope is
for God to graciously and powerfully intervene.
Encouragements
We recently attended a large OMF mission conference in our area and represented OMF at
Biola University. At Biola my workshop on human trafficking was not put in the
brochure/schedule. They simply announced it five minutes before it started during a
chapel service. I expected a handful to attend. To my amazement there were 110 students
in a room that was set up for only 70. I attended a 4 day Kairos course (Condensed World
Mission Course – kind of a mini-Perspectives) and hope to teach it to the Thai community
here in LA. My storying group at the US Center for World Mission continues to grow. Paula
will be doing a one day seminar on “Friendships” with Ruthi Curtis when we return as well
as the both of us speaking a Thai family retreat. Things are going quite well despite our
18 year old Buick giving up the proverbial ghost, leaving us a bit short on transportation.
We will give you a full report on our trip to Thailand when we return May 19th
In Him,
Larry and Paula Dinkins
posted by Topp
May 1, 2008 on 12:29 pm | In letters | No Comments
Dear Friends,
Thank you once more for the prayers and thanks you
offer God the Father on our behalf before the throne
of grace. God is answering your prayers, although at
times it seems to be slow - from our perspective. But
His timing is perfect. Please use the praises and
requests below when praying for us. Thank you and we
love you, Chuck, Karla and kids
PRAISES - please thank God with us for:
1) the stability in the church. Since the difficult
times we had in Dec to Feb one family has returned to
the church and things seem more calm. On a Sunday
recently we announced from the pulpit the changes that
had taken place, reasons why some had left the church
and a warning that some were being invited to attend a
church with false doctrine. The church responded
well.
2) Alejandro Flores and his family have returned to
the church after an absence of about three months. He
returned repentant and ready to work. That is a big
help in the ministry and a big encouragement for us.
3) Our health - it has been good for the entire family
the past several months.
4) Gerardo and Monica Arzamendi are healing, growing
in Christ and serving well in the church.
5) David’s restoration is going well - he continues
responding well to God’s restoring work, David is
working full time in a Wal-Mart in Mexico City and
learning many valuable lessons with regard to the use
of his time and money.
6) the women Karla is discipling (Clara, Ana, Adelina
and others) and for the men Chuck is discipling
(Sergio, Carlos T., Alejandro F. and others).
7) Alex and Liz Pantoja - Alex was recently given a US
visa and together with his family will visit the US
for interviews with a possible mission agency (Turkish
World Outreach). Their support raising is going well
and we are trusting God for a departure date in July
or August of this year.
REQUESTS - please ask God for:
1) Jonathan - Lord willing, will take the SAT test
(college entrance test) this coming Saturday, the 3rd
of May here in Mexico City. Please pray he’ll be
calm, not too nervous, confident in the Lord (he has
been practicing for about the past eight months) and
for clear thinking and good memory.
2) baptisms for the church that we will have this
coming Sunday, the 4th of May. Please pray the church
will be encouraged, the six people to be baptized will
give an excellent testimony to our Savior and that God
would be glorified through all this!
3) the missions conference planned for the 24th and
the 25th of May. Please pray that the church would be
encouraged toward missions, Adolfo, the conference
speaker from la Huasteca (where the church has taken
several missions trips), would encourage and challenge
us and for God to raise up at least two more people
for a commitment to become missionaries from the
church here.
4) the women Karla is discipling and the men Chuck is
discipling (mentioned above) that these people would
become more like Jesus in their character.
5) David’s continued positive response to restoration
and his healing and victory over sin.
6) Alex and Liz Pantoja - please pray they would be
able to raise their total support by the summer and be
able to leave for Turkey in July or August. Also,
that they would have safe travel in Mexico as they
raise support and while in the US in June (Lord
willing).
posted by Scott Brinson
May 1, 2008 on 3:14 am | In letters | No Comments
April 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Few happenings in life elicit as much joy as the birth of a child. I vividly remember the births of each of my children, seeing and holding those precious gifts for the first time, overflowing with joy, praise and thanksgiving to the Lord as I admired His handiwork, and thinking to myself, “This is the most beautiful little sin-sick wretch I’ve ever laid eyes on!”
All of the above confession is true except for the last part. As I cradled my newborn sons and daughter in my arms, I have to say that David’s biographical birth record in Ps. 51:5 was the farthest thing from my mind: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. The iniquitous sinner of whom David speaks here is not his mother, but himself, as reflected in the NIV translation: Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. In confessing his sins of adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11), David not only acknowledges his culpability for those sinful crimes, he professes himself to be a sinful creature; in fact, he says, there was never a time in his mortal existence, not even during his gestation within the safe and “innocent” confines of his mother’s womb, when he was not a sinner. As Charles Spurgeon notes in his commentary on this verse, “It is as if [David] said, not only have I sinned this once, but I am in my very nature a sinner. The fountain of my life is polluted as well as its streams. My birth-tendencies are out of the square of equity; I naturally lean to forbidden things. Mine is a constitutional disease, rendering my very person obnoxious to Thy wrath.”
Such painful words cause me to want to jump to my feet and shout, “Objection!” Yet no matter how impassioned or persuasive my arguments, the ruling from the bar of divine justice prevails: “Objection overruled.” I have no defense, neither for myself, nor my children, nor anyone. We are, all of us, charged with high treason against the One Who formed our inward parts, knit us together in our mother’s wombs, and fearfully and wonderfully fashioned our frames in secret (Ps. 139:13-15). All of us, like sheep, have strayed from our Shepherd through no fault or lack of care or provision on His part, but as a result of our own wayward tendencies inherited from our original progenitor, Adam (Isa. 53:6a 1 Pet. 2:25a; cf. Rom. 3:10-12; 5:12, 19a). Thus, every man, woman, and child is a sinner by nature as well as by choice. Not even infants, as Spurgeon said, are innocents.
This truth is slowly but surely making its way beyond the walls of the church. Secular behavioral experts used to think that the human brain was not sufficiently developed to formulate lies until the age of four; however, Dr. Vasudevi Reddy of the University of Portsmouth has discovered through her research that babies actually start practicing deception as early as six months, and that by the age of two they have virtually perfected the art of deceiving their parents in order to avoid punishment. A study on juvenile delinquency conducted by the Minnesota Crime Commission several years ago revealed these findings:
Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered: he wants what he wants – his bottle, his mother’s attention, his playmate’s toys, his uncle’s watch, or whatever. Deny him these things and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He is dirty; he has no morals, no knowledge, and no developed skills. This means that all children, not just certain children but all children, are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in their self-centered world of infancy, given free reign to their impulsive actions to satisfy every want, every child would grow up to be a criminal, a killer, a thief, and a rapist.
Nightly newscasts routinely bear witness to these harsh realities. Earlier this month, police in the southern Georgia community of Waycross uncovered a plot by a group of students to execute a violent attack against their teacher. Among the items discovered were a steak knife, handcuffs, and duct tape. Detailed job descriptions such as covering the classroom windows and cleaning up afterwards were assigned to each of the nine students said to be involved in the plot, which the police chief described as “a serious threat.” The conspirators? A group of 8- and 9-year-old third-graders who apparently were mad at their teacher for scolding one of them.
In my work with children I see firsthand the bitter fruits of their depraved natures – anger, jealousy, rebellion, pride, deceit, selfishness, violence. A poor home environment and other external issues often are contributing factors, but the ultimate cause of these and other ills is a heart that “is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” (Jer. 17:9). Inherent in the Hebrew word for “sick” is the idea that a heart in such a diseased and deplorable state is, from a human standpoint, incurable. Self-esteem, anger management, behavior modification, psychotherapy, even character training, provides no effective remedy in healing a sin-sick heart. Such a serious malady demands a radical cure that only the Great Physician can provide: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). If a child’s sins could be dismissed with a simple, “Kids will be kids,” or “Oh well, nobody’s perfect,” it would not have been necessary for Jesus to die. But it was necessary, for only the blood of the spotless Lamb of God is sufficient to cover sin and cleanse the sinner (John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:19).
Our schools are filled with little sinners whose only hope is Jesus. Through Released Time Bible classes, boys are girls are hearing and, by God’s grace, responding to the life-changing message of “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Delaynee, a fifth-grader in Watson, OK, says Released Time provides her with an opportunity to “praise the Lord, thank Him, and let Him wash my sins away. And,” she adds, “We get to learn more about Him every time we go and know how much He loves us, even putting His own Son on the cross for our sins.” Matthew, a fourth-grader in Ponca City Released Time, has learned that “Jesus died on the cross for me, for everyone.” Delaynee and Matthew are two of nearly 1,600 children we’ve had the privilege of ministering to this year through Released Time; of these, 92 have expressed a desire to trust Christ as their personal Savior!
Nearly 70 friends and supporters of the ministry attended our annual banquet on April 4th. Our national director, Jerry Traister, shared with us how God is blessing and expanding the outreach of CBM, most notably through the provision of land and funding for two new camps in Virginia and Pennsylvania. State Rep. Sally Kern’s message on the biblical roots of our educational system served as a fitting reminder of the importance of reaching children for Christ at an early age. According to research studies cited by Child Evangelism Fellowship, 85% of Christians profess to having received Christ between the ages of four and fourteen. Life in this fallen world has a hardening effect on the human heart over time. For children, especially, “now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2)!
As the summer months approach, I will be seeking opportunities to share the ministry of CBM and Released Time through a variety of means including print media, radio, and church presentations. The goal is to broaden our borders by seeking to establish new Released Time programs in communities and schools throughout Oklahoma. If you know of a particular group or church that might be interested in learning more about our work, please let me know.
Through your faithful prayers and gifts God is graciously meeting our needs. We will soon be purchasing a computer and projector for use in ministry presentations; Bibles and teaching materials for our RT students and volunteers; and training materials for our teachers. Support for CBM staff, including George and Donna Warrington and myself, is an on-going need, and many of you give generously and faithfully so that we can continue to serve as the Lord desires to use us. Thank you so much! Please pray for open doors of ministry and that God will direct us to those communities and schools where the fields are “ripe for harvest” (John 4:35).
In the Savior’s Love,
Scott
posted by OConnor
May 1, 2008 on 3:05 am | In letters | No Comments
Wednesday, 4-30-08
Dear Friends:
Please shoot up a prayer for me, as I get to head south to Ecuador today - for 11 days.
My co-workers — Victor Almendarez and also Ambrocio Cordova — will accompany me for:
1) networking with a rather large cluster of Ecuadorian CP-er’s in QUITO, but also
2) scouting our new regions beyond our own Honduran borders.
NETWORKING…In QUITO, we have a ren-dez-vous with persons from 15 countries, who are brain-storming toward extending new CP movements from River to River (Rio Grande to Rio de Janero). Additionally, 200 local QUITO pastors are set to receiving training toward starting churches the best way possible way. I am to teach one session on CP-ing…pray that I don’t get to be too nervous, and that I can stay calm and in the Spirit! (And that I can have clarity of thought and speech.)
SCOUTING new regions…. we have time in the southern-most region of Ecuador (LOJA Province), with this crazy idea of trying to round up some couples from Honduras to go and make disciples (1% there are evangelical).
Retreat with the Lord… I am encouraging V and A to use these 11 days not only for CP stuff, but for long and extended and early a.m. and late p.m. personal times with the Lord, encouraging them to come apart for lengthy alone times with their Shepherd, as a time to reflect and renew. A “retiro personal”, I speak of.
And to encourage you, we close with this…… Jesus quietly told his men, “do this in memory of me”, as He took the bread and broke it and gave it to them. He broke the bread, but also his very life. And so all of us, too, are permitted to be broken - like the bread - as we give our very selves to others. Please pray for Debbie and I to voluntarily break ourselves for others and for our Shepherd. And we pray this for you, too!:-) And we are encouraged with Jesus’ eve-before-His death comment:
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life”
“ But make up your mind not to worry”
“ Be always on the watch, and pray that” (Lk 21).
Love from down here,
Patrick and Debbie
Serving with: www.missionsdoor.com
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