Spring Greetings from Jonathan and Tamba

“From the rising of the Sun to the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised”.

Often as I travel across this great land of the United States of America, I find myself singing, America the Beautiful, which first verse states, “O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain. For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on Thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.” This really is a blessed country, a gift of God’s grace, but the thing that will truly keep a country great is brotherhood which can only come through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I thank God for all of you who in brotherly love have invited us into your homes, have fed us, have prayed for us and have encouraged us with your words and your financial support. You have helped us to plant churches in other lands and bless people such as Grace. Grace, a beautiful young girl starting down the road to delinquency came to know Christ as her personal Savior, and in the enthusiasm of her new found faith, led her sisters, mother and estranged father to the Lord. Today she is married to one of our pastors that she met in Bible School and is helping him in one of the toughest neighborhoods of her city. Grace is one example of the blessings we see of God’s love as we share the Gospel with others. Thank you for helping make this possible.

This last month we did another one of those long treks around the country re-acquainting ourselves with churches, friends and family. I saw my oldest brother David who I had not seen in over eight years and his son who I had not seen since he was twelve years old and now is married with three kids. Michelle enjoyed seeing her cousins - something that happens only every 3-4 years. She even saw some she had never met before.

In our absence from the field the work has been going on with many challenges similar to all ministries, yet God continues to bring victory. This last month, they had our largest camp of the year, with teens from all the areas of ministry in Brazil, and 35 gave their lives to Jesus. God is Great!

Plans & Prayer Requests 

In April we will be sharing at 3 WMF Rallies and several churches. Pray for us as we travel to these different places: for safety and to be a blessing to all.

Pray that all our needed support comes in for our salary and travel expenses.

We plan to go back to Brazil in the later part of May. April and Thomas need to go back for official reasons: April, to renew her visa, Thomas, to register for the army (it is mandatory there). Then both of them will return to the US to continue their studies.

Once again, thank you for your much needed & appreciated prayers and financial support. If you want to see how you can be of greater help, contact “aflc.org” for ministry in Brazil, projects and prayer requests.

Kvale Connection-March 2012

Intercession and Missions
Jesus, who unwaveringly intercedes for us, so graciously took the time to teach us how to pray. Paul also wrote, “Bear one another’s burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2, NASB). Likewise, it is the excess burdens which we need to share or confess with one another to make it known how to pray and bear. When these truths are realized in the translated Scripture and trusted as we actually do it, it is unbelievably freeing! May all peoples know it!
 
This is during prayer time with Pastor Rolf and the rest of the students in groups interceding. What a blessing to also share about Bible translation at the Bible School in Plymouth, MN during their 2012 missions week.

Our partner, DOOR International, shares this fun, heartwarming photo.  This is a deaf boy from Tanzania - thrilled with his new DVD Bible in his language, sign language. February 2012.  A Deaf person usually thinks not in terms of words, sentences, or abstractions, but rather in the context of visual, spatial, and concrete thought patterns.  Please continue to specifically pray that the Lord may send out more joyful workers into the harvest field as they respond in their hearts to the needs of sign language translation work for the deaf in every nation.

Please click here to read the rest of the Kvale’s newsletter.

Japan–World Relief

Below is a message from our relief partners at World Relief.

Dear Friend, One year ago a 9.0 earthquake shook much of Japan, triggering a tsunami that engulfed many towns and cities along its eastern shoreline. Over 15,000 lost their lives. In the weeks and months that have followed, the piles of debris and destruction are slowly being removed from sight. However, the invisible yet real pain of grief and loss will continue to weigh heavy on the thousands who lost loved ones and watched their homes and possessions washed away in an instant. Amidst this pain, we know that God has called the Church to stand with the suffering. Many of you answered this call. With your support, World Relief was been able to partner with passionate local organizations and churches to reach the most vulnerable and adversely affected people in remote villages of Japan.  On their behalf and with a humbled heart, we thank you for standing with us. We ask for your continued prayer for the Japanese Church, which is a small percentage of the overall population. Many pastors, now more than ever, feel the great burden to reach out to their churches and neighbors to council them as they grieve. World Relief will continue to support these pastors in this important mission with grief-counseling trainings to better equip them to aid the emotional recovery of so many in their communities. We know that Christ’s peace brings complete healing and whole restoration to broken lives.   This past year, with your financial and prayerful support, you have joined the Church and touched the lives of so many in Japan. From our Japanese church partners, local pastors and congregations, thank you. Blessings to you! World Relief

Del and Karen Palmer Traveling to Brazil

AFLC World Missions director Del Palmer and his wife Karen will be traveling in Brazil for the next two weeks. 

They will be discussing future goal and plans for the work in Brazil with the national church.  Pastor Palmer will also be teaching at our seminary there as well as doing a risk assessment for missionary Jonni Sliver. 

Please pray for the Palmers as they travel and minister in Brazil.

Bible Training Ministry in Ukraine and Beyond

The countdown begins! This month marks six months until the first class of students- Lord willing- begins the one-year Bible School program.  Momentum is building as preparations continue. The potential is so exciting! Yet, the
obstacles are certainly present. 

We are reminded that this is the LORD's work. It is only by HIS power and strength that it will come to pass. Yes, there is much yet to be done! But the greatest work is prayer. Would you please join us in praying specifically for the Bible School in the months to come? You can count on one hand our top five prayer requests. Here they are!

Check out what each finger means and how to pray specifically for the Coyles by reading the rest of their newsletter here.

Darwin Jacksons

The Darwin Jacksons are on a leave of absence from mission work with World Mission Prayer League.  Therefore, they will be on a leave of absence as AFLC Missionaries On Loan as well. 

We will not be accepting support for the Jacksons while they are leave.  Please be in prayer for them during this time.

Ambassador Institute: Kamuli Update

We praise the Lord that on February 4^th a new Ambassador Institute class was begun in Kamuli (see previous post on the Jore’s blog “Pray for Kamuli” for the background). Four churches joined together to invite Godfrey to come and train their members. Thirty-five students have been faithfully coming, which makes this the largest AI class we have seen so far. Godfrey reports that they are very interested in understanding the Bible and growing in their faith. Godfrey himself is very excited when he thinks of the impact that this will have in his home area. Thank you so much for your prayers.

I want to share a story that parallels what is going on in Kamuli. As you know, our vision for the Ambassador Institute is that the training be self-sufficient, that is, that it does not rely on outside funding for its continuation. That means that each of the teachers are teaching out of a sense of calling from God, and they are looking to him to provide for their needs. For most of them, the commitment entails about 1 full day a week away from their usual work, as well as transporting themselves to and from the training.

In Godfrey's case, the cost to travel to Kamuli and back is 10,000 Ugandan Shillings (about $5). Assuming a salary of 200,000 / month, (about $100, which is average for this area) and traveling to Kamuli 4 times in a month, that means one fifth of his salary would be spent on transportation to carry the training to Kamuli. Could you spend a fifth of your pay check to go and teach people the Word of God?

Well, we serve an awesome God. At the exact time that Godfrey was preparing to go to Kamuli to train, trusting God to meet his needs, God provided in a miraculous way. Godfrey got a contract from a hotel in Jinja to deliver 280 chickens to their kitchen one day a week. After buying the chickens from the chicken projects and selling them, Godfrey was getting a 2,000 shilling profit on each bird! Do the math! Instead of blessing Godfrey with the needed 10,000/week for transportation, he blessed him with 560,000!

Now there are many people who would become unfaithful when entrusted with such money, but Godfrey sees it as a provision from God to enable him to carry the Gospel to others. I am thrilled to see the floodgates of heaven opened and His blessing being poured out on His servant who trusted Him and yielded himself to His service. It also thrills me that the supply came in a way that is self-sustaining.

Check out the Jore’s blog here.