(January 26, 2023) Elizabeth Kendal requests urgent prayer for the following…
These January updates are but the tip of the iceberg! Always remember that the context is spiritual!
‘For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places’ (Ephesians 6:12ESV).
January 22, 2023) Michael Ashcraft shares another amazing conversation.
To combat depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, Eden Frenkel delved into personal development, self-actualisation, Buddhism, meditation, Hinduism and the mystical interpretation within Judaism known as Kabbalah.
‘To be honest, I enjoyed the process of studying those cultures, but they were very temporary fulfillments,’ the Jewish born singer said on her YouTube channel, Graves into Gardens. ‘I constantly needed to go back and search for more. They didn’t fill the emptiness. I was looking for peace and happiness.’
Praying longingly
As a 12-year-old in the synagogue, she stayed before the ark and prayed longingly to God after everyone had left and gone to eat.
‘God, I know there is something,’ she uttered. ‘I don’t understand. I feel like there is something i feel like there’s something us.’
Eden had a proclivity for music but joined the Canadian Army as a career. In addition to seeking peace from religion, she sought peace from psychedelics. She had suffered some abuse as a child, she says, and sought in vain to resolve the trauma.
When she got stationed in Toronto, she met some Christian women who were extremely friendly and they invited her to study the Bible. Why not? she thought, since she had studied so many other religions.
What she found out about Jesus startled her.
(more…)
(January 20, 2023) Ross and Donna, Mandate Ministries, share from Chiang Mai, northern Thailand…
Last weekend another Karen village was bombed by government jets in Myanmar, forcing the villagers to live in the jungle!
No crops, no shelter, and seemingly no hope as the world looks on indifferently.
Thank you to all who contribute to our efforts to help. Thanks to our rapid-response team, we were able to get food products, rice, dry foods, and oil, as well as solar-charged batteries for their torches (flashlights) to these desperate people.
(more…)
(December 20, 2022) Daniel Buckle shares exciting news regarding Kid’s Ministry…
Believing that the best person to be church kids’ hero is local leaders, over the last few years we’ve been developing a Digital Kids’ Program that empowers and releases local kids’ leaders to spend less time programming and more time connecting with your kids and families.
Exciting new program
The exciting news is that we’ve recently been approved for a grant that has enabled us to be able to provide the program to you for free!
Here’s a video that lets you know about the program, as well as how to get involved.
December 15, 2022) Elizabeth Kendal requests urgent prayer for the following…
+ BURMA (MYANMAR): CHRISTIAN LEADER ARRESTED
Junta officials have arrested and are preparing to prosecute one of Burma’s most significant and influential religious leaders and human rights advocates. A former chairman of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), the Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson (pictured right in 2019) currently serves as chairman of the Kachin National Consultative Assembly (WMR), a group comprised of Kachin religious, political and civil society leaders. In 2019, Dr Samson travelled to Washington, DC to participate in the International Religious Freedom Ministerial Conference. Invited to the White House, he spoke with President Trump about the Burmese military’s religious oppression of ethnic minorities. On his return the military’s Northern Command attempted to open a lawsuit against him but was ultimately forced to drop the case.
Detention
Dr Hkalam Samson was detained on Sunday December 4, at Mandalay International Airport as he was about to board a flight to Bangkok where he was to receive medical treatment. He was held and interrogated overnight at Central Military Headquarters, before being put on a flight back to Kachin State. On his arrival at Myitkyina Airport, Dr Samson was arrested and taken away by officers of the junta’s Northern Regional Military Command.
(December 15, 2022) Michael Ashcraft shares another missionary enterprise.
After years of learning the language, developing an alphabet, teaching literacy, missionary Brooks Buser and team gave the YembiYembi tribe in Papua New Guinea copies of the Bible five years ago.
‘It has been a long time, almost 2,000 years, that the YembiYembi church have waited for this translation of the Bible into our own language,’ says a tribe leader on a Radius International video.
Welcoming their own Bible
Waving palm-like branches (or feathers) and dancing, about 100 tribe members received the printed and bound Bibles – the labour of nine years delivered by small prop plane – with fanfare, preaching and jubilation.
EDITORIAL NOTE: For some 40+ years the late Dorothy Gardiner (left), with her husband Ken, led the enterprising Life4Kids kids’ ministry touching thousands of children’s lives with care, helping them discover the love of Jesus. Ken Gardiner still leads this children-centred ministry, encouraging churches, especially leaders, to care for their church kids in these troubled days and assuring children that God is still in control and cares for them. The following is excerpted and updated from one of Dorothy’s caring teachings.
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(December 10, 2022) Dorothy Gardiner urges kids’ workers to really care in these dark days…
‘John’ (not real name) sits with his shoulders slumped, head bent, tears streaming down his face and with a voice filled with pain says, ‘The day my dad left my whole world fell apart and I can’t put it back together.’
No, he can’t put it back together, but when Jesus becomes the centre of his life he can know and experience the wonderful love of a heavenly Father who is bigger than any circumstance or hurt. God will see him through, lift him up, support and hold him.
God’s Word – the Bible – tells us that He will be a Father to the fatherless, that even if our own father and mother forsake us, He will lift us up. (See scriptures such as Psalm 68:5).
But… how will they know without someone to tell them? God-inspired churches and really caring kid’s ministry workers can offer–
(more…)
(November 30, 2022) John Sherrill shares an amazing story the most amazing story from the heart of Africa in 1922.
That year, Reverend Henry B. Garlock and his wife Ruthanne, of Toms River, New Jersey, volunteered for a dangerous assignment: they were to go to Africa as missionaries to the Pahns, a small tribe in the interior of Liberia. No missionaries had ever before worked with the Pahns. The reason was simple. The Pahns were cannibals!
The Garlocks (right) arrived in Liberia and set up camp with a group of African Christians whose tribal boundary touched that of the Pahns. Almost immediately Mrs. Garlock came down with malaria. Their meagre medical chest was soon emptied and still her fever rose. Garlock had a difficult time persuading the natives to take a short route to the coast for more medicine because the way led through Pahn country.
At last, however, Garlock convinced the chief that it was possible to skirt the danger areas, and that if medicine didn’t arrive soon, Mrs. Garlock might well die. One morning at dawn a group of men left the compound and headed out, filled with misgivings, to bring back supplies.
Captured by cannibals
About noon the head carrier suddenly appeared in the doorway of the mud hut where Mrs. Garlock lay. He was out of breath. In gasps he blurted out what had happened. One of his men had been captured by the cannibals. The African assured the two missionaries that unless the man could be rescued, he would be eaten.
(November 20, 2022) David McGuire, missionary to Romania, again uses his camera to ‘write’ reports and share some updates…
We’re called to share the good news about the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of the world. The world is in terrible trouble these days and we believe that James’ teaching of James 2:17 must be active if we’re to reach lost souls with the gospel!
And what did the apostle say? The Message Bible pulls no punches – ‘Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?’
Consequently, we endeavour to act as Christians should, meeting practical needs as well as sharing our faith. Hence we join with others here in Romania to reach out however we can expressing the love of God, whether it’s…
1. Children’s ministry
Many kids here have never heard of Jesus or His gospel message of love and forgiveness of sin, and we continue to reach such with the good news, using biblical cartoon movies. Praise God that they’re attentive and that several have accepted Jesus.
As well as regular gatherings, we treat them with special meals and outings… below Left: Tigmandru summer kids on a trip to the zoo Centre: happy kids. Right: Summer outreach camp (our daughter Sabrina, in black, top right).
2. Helping Ukrainians
(i) Needs
We don’t work alone but continue to associate with other Christians and teams reaching out to this troubled nation… getting badly needed items and transporting these up to Ukraine.
Left: Food and clothing Centre 1: Needed stoves Centre 2: YWAM Cluj’s Nieck (He comes from Holland) buying food Right: Packing potatoes
Have Trailer: Will Travel! Queuing up at Ukraine border…
(ii) Sheltering refugees
Encouraging those who have made it to Romania to settle peacefully, even supplying Ukrainian food!
3. Local outreaches lead to salvations and baptisms
Tigmandru outreach with seven churches attending. Blessing some new converts ready for baptism.
4. Building homes for the needy
This aspect of our ministry continues. As many know, I delight to use my building skills and with others we bless homeless people, especially for gypsies… and take the opportunity to share Jesus as we build.
Right: 77-year-old Phil France from Sheffield, England came here to help build this house in Danes.
5. Prayer opportunities
Team members take every opportunity not only to tell of Jesus but to pray for the sick showing His love of all.
Most times we stand and pray.
Sometimes we really have to get down to business as it were! 30 minutes of sincere prayer, then healing came to this person’s foot, praise God.
6. Teaching and training
Below: Equipping leaders conference, Tigmandru. Michael Cantrell teaching on biblical use of finance. Marcel and team teaching on worship. Norman Patterson teaching on Today’s Church. Me, David, teaching on divine healing. YWAM group that was taught spiritual warfare by me.
7. Yoked partnership
As James went on to teach in verse 22 – ‘Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”?’
We appreciate your prayers. This really supports us in our ministry here for the Lord. May God use you too whether you are to reach out to needy people, especially to witness Jesus.
With my wife Rodica (my gifted fellow-minister) and Sabrina (See Sabrina’s challenging October article – What is the True Christian Lifestyle). We can be contacted/supported via link below.
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David and Rodica McGuire are missionaries in Sighișoara and have built many homes for the poor in that area, especially among the gypsy communities, as well as outreaching to children who have never heard of Jesus, using cartoon DVDs. Link: OnlinerConnect@gmail.com. Recommended: David’s own story A Work in Progress (Amazon)
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November 11, 2022) Elizabeth Kendal requests urgent prayer for Ethiopia…
On Saturday night October 22, gunmen believed to be from the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA – formerly known as ‘OLF-Shene’) stormed the Midre Genet St. Mariam Church in Gebre Guracha.
Inside the church – which is located around 160km north-west of Addis Ababa in North Shewa Zone, Oromia Region – were priests, deacons and a church administrator who had gathered for an all-night prayer service.
Murder and abductions
One deacon was killed in the attack and 11 others were abducted. By November 4, one priest and the church administrator had been ransomed. To date, the whereabouts and condition of the other nine captives remain unknown. North of the capital, Addis Ababa, with three sides adjoining Amhara Region, North Shewa Zone (Oromia) is 84 percent Oromo, 15 percent Amhara, 5.3 percent Muslim and 94 percent Christian.
Connecting with You! 