17
Dec '14
December 2014
17
Dec '14
I have been reading the life story of Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China who spent 51 years ministering to the people there. Through his efforts multitudes were reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for standing with us in 2014 and please pray for us and with us as we step into 2015 with an even greater sense of purpose and destiny. In our next newsletter, we will include a full report of all that God allowed us to do together in 2014. Here are a few things I gleaned from the writings of Hudson Taylor which inspire us as we look forward.
“You must go forward on your knees.”
“God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him.”
“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.”
“The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”
“I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”
“I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking Him to do His work through me.”
“Many Christians estimate difficulties in the light of their own resources, and thus attempt little and often fail in the little they attempt. All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His power and presence with them.”
“Oh, how it must grieve the heart of God when He sees His children indifferent to the needs of that wide world for which His beloved, His only begotten SON died!”
Together we are making a difference in the lives of those that Jesus died for. Please continue to pray with us and stand with us as we press forward into His purposes and plans.
I just read a quote from William Carey, the Father of the Modern Missions Movement. He wrote to one of his supporters in England stating. “I will go into the pit – if you will hold the rope!” While I don’t personally feel I am in the pit, others in America wonder how I can bear living here. I have Asia grace, the enabling ability to do what God has called me to do. I love it!!! Thank you for holding the rope making it possible for me to be here serving our God in places that are so very un-Christian.
It’s been a while since I wrote a newsletter because I have been busy doing the same old things, training and personal mentoring of key leaders. I usually teach FREE seminars focusing on leadership skills for missionaries here in South East Asia, but also train and connect them with Business As Missions opportunities so they can earn money while doing the work of the ministry. However, this last month, I had two new things happen in my life.
The first thing was that I went to China. This was the fulfillment of a promise God made to me 40 years ago while China was closed to Americans. I stayed at the guest house of an orphanage that cares for handicapped children, mostly babies with deformities. Often they only need surgery to repair their abnormalities. Handicapped children are usually given up because of the “one child” policy in China and are adopted to families, mostly in the US.
The word has gotten out and I meet with someone almost every day here in Chiang Mai. I help leaders become more productive in their ministry through training them how to organize and train their people so the leader can be free to expand their ministry. Ministries are growing but many of the leaders are still doing everything themselves and often burn out. I am beginning to see leaders change and make the transition to train their people to do what they themselves have been doing. Growth without change is impossible. Significant growth without significant change is impossible.
I went to south Cambodia a few weeks ago to teach leadership skills to about 50 pastors from the Vietnam border area. If we don’t train others to lead, we will not see the Kingdom of God grow.
In II Timothy 2:2, the Apostle Paul told Timothy to train faithful men who would also train others. Without leaders, the Kingdom of God will not grow. Ephesians 4:11-12 says that the purpose of leadership is to train the saints to do the work of the ministry. This principle of God was used by the Apostles to establish the church. Paul traveled about teaching and leaving leaders behind in every city. Can we do less?
In II Timothy 2:2, the Apostle Paul told Timothy to train faithful men who would also train others. Without leaders, the Kingdom of God will not grow. Ephesians 4:11-12 says that the purpose of leadership is to train the saints to do the work of the ministry. This principle of God was used by the Apostles to establish the church. Paul traveled about teaching and leaving leaders behind in every city. Can we do less?
Two out of every three people who have not heard the Gospel live within one thousand miles of Chiang Mai, Thailand where I live. According to Romans 10:13-15 there are three categories of people in the whole world; Hearers, preachers and senders. In the world there are only hearers but in the church there are only preachers and senders. Which are you; a preacher or a sender? If you are not preaching, you should be sending through prayer and/or finances.
I am here on your behalf. Would you please pray for me? If you would like to help with travel and training expenses, I welcome your support. I have enough for personal living expenses but traveling to train native pastors can be expensive.
- Please pray for the following:
1. God’s favor and wisdom as I help ministries throughout this part of the world.
2. God’s financial provision for me to travel and train struggling/growing leaders and ministries. There are now more requests for help than I can fulfill without additional finances. Travel cost are what I need the most. The people
I help are among the least and the last in God’s kingdom.
3. Open doors to share during my trip back to the US in December.
4. Clear direction and open doors for this next year so I can fulfill my call to help leaders grow.
5. It gets lonely here though I am busy. Please pray for me to keep focused on God’s call to this part of the world.
Since August, the youth from our missions group, Corazones en Fuego, have led two youth retreats! One was in August, and another was in October. More youth came to these camps than have come in the past. Before coming to the camp, most of the attending teens weren’t in a good relationship with God, nor were they attending church. As usual, on the first day of ministry, the attending teens weren’t too open to receive the Word.
But over the week God really did show up, and change their lives. It was wonderful to see the teens being touched by God. We saw that the teens had a new desire to change, and to give their lives to God, following Him no matter what. Most of them had wrong ideas in their mind. Some thought that no one could change them. Others thought that there was no solution to their problems. Still, others were convinced that because they had neglected a relationship with God, God wouldn’t help them if they asked. The attending teens were looking for answers in places that answers couldn’t be found. But some of the teens from Corazones en Fuego have had those exact same questions and thoughts in the past, so they were able to counsel the attending teens, by sharing the Word of God, and their testimonies. They were able to share with them that God did change their lives, that God is more than able to help them, and that God actually wants to help them. Those little moments of testimony can change a young person’s life. The youth went back home with renewed hearts. This was only possible because of the amazing Power of God!
In mid-November we took a mission trip to Pisco with some of the youth from Corazones en Fuego. There, we built a prefab home for a very poor family that serves at Pastor Carlos Llaja’s church. The family consisted of Jose, Cindy, and their two children, Nazareth (10) and Guadalupe (4). There is a lot of delinquency in the area where they live, so the house that they were living in was not safe for their children. It was so touching to see the joy on Jose and Cindy’s faces when the construction of the new house was completed. They were so excited and thankful to God to have a ‘real house’, though it wouldn’t seem like a ‘real house’ to any of us. Being part of this project showed us again how great a love God has for us, that even when we disobey Him, He sometimes chooses to bless us. This house was just a little proof of that.
At the end of November we held an eyeglass clinic in Chorrillos. We had the opportunity to share the Word of God with many people! We prayed for all the needs that they had (healing, jobs, etc). Some of them even gave their hearts to the Lord! It was a big opportunity to help people by giving them the truth of The Word of God…that if they will open their hearts to Him, He will work in them.
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A NEW OPTION FOR DONATING TOWARDS OUR MISSION WORK.
