Exciting News from Ukraine

Warm days have come to Lviv and we hope you too are enjoying some nice spring weather wherever you are. We took a week of vacation during our border crossing trip earlier this month which was very refreshing. But it is also good to again be back home in Lviv.

The most exciting news this month is that after many months of prayers (ours and yours), it seems like God really got hold of Mrs. Tanya. I (Tomasz) had a chance to preach this Sunday when Pr. Bendus was gone and Mrs. Tanya came to church because of that.

After the service she thanked me for the sermon and said she would call me later that day. She did and when we talked she told me that during the preaching she realized that she was a dead person (spiritually) but she said that it was not the case any more! She kept saying, “You know what I mean...” Saying that she was referring to our many talks about how a person can be saved... She knew everything she needed to know but in the past she always refused to accept Jesus as the only way to God. So I asked her, “Does it mean that you accepted Jesus into your heart as your Savior?” and she said, “YES!” What an exciting moment! I know there was joy in Heaven that day (Luke 15:10) and we too were rejoicing here on earth.

We realize that this is the first step and it is now really important to follow up with regular discipleship so that what God had started in her life would continue to grow. She has a scheduled surgery tomorrow, will be in the hospital for a week and after that she will only be able to either stand or lie (no sitting) for some time so we will see what that means for our opportunities to meet. But God knows and we believe that He will provide for that too. Please continue lifting up Mrs. Tanya in your prayers. She also said that before Sunday she was reading “Our Daily Bread” because it was interesting but she did not read the Bible passages. When we asked if she was reading her Bible now, she said, “Oh yeah!”   It is also exciting to see her natural way of sharing God’s things with others. On Sunday she was invited to her friend’s house for lunch and that friend was actually telling her not to go to church (so that she could come for lunch earlier). Mrs. Tanya told her friend she needed to go to church because she told me she would come. But the exciting part is that after church, Mrs. Tanya retold the whole sermon to her non-Christian friend, in detail!  

Jesse Long – Tanzania

It has been another busy couple weeks since I last wrote!  First of all, I want to thank you for your prayers for the weekend of spiritual meetings we had back at the beginning of this month.  It was a blessed opportunity to be reminded of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We also had a great time with our guests from Bildoy Bible School in Norway (March 10-15).  We had a total of about 35 students who came in two separate groups over a period of those 5 days.  A lot of work fell on Ben during that time as he was the “teacher on duty” but everything came together well and it was a time of encouragement for all involved.  Pray that the time these students have had here in Tanzania and Kenya would have a lasting impact on them and their relationship with God for years to come.

After the last of the guests left on that Monday morning (the 15^th), we had only the remainder of that week to finish up our classes for this semester.  Unfortunately, there was also a lot of work in the fields that needed to be done knocking down weeds between the rows of corn…all 16 acres of it.  So, classes were canceled as the students spent the 15^th-17^th in the field.  Fortunately, we still had Thursday and Friday to finish teaching our classes and do our final reviews in preparation for finals which will start today (March 22^nd).  Pray for the students as they finish this semester and have only 2 short weeks at home with their families over Easter break.

Another recent blessing we received was a visit over this past weekend from some of our good friends – Eivind (the MAF pilot based in Arusha), together with his fiancé, Nadia (from Israel), and Nadia’s younger sister, Neli.  They had a free weekend so decided to come see where we live and we were happy to have friends come and celebrate with us the fact that we have finished teaching for this semester.  They came Friday evening and left yesterday after church (Sunday, March 21^st).  Eivind is one of the coolest missionary I have ever known.  He just has such a great heart, is so much fun, plus they came is his soft-top Land Cruiser and brought the meat of a Thompson gazelle that he got a few months ago.  So, over the course of the weekend, we enjoyed the peace and quiet of Waama, did some motorcycle riding, made a trip up to the waterfalls near our house to do some swimming together, and then had a totally excellent dinner of barbequed game meat.  I will attach a picture of the five of us with Eivind’s sweet ride in front of our house.  (L to R: Jesse, Neli, Eivind, Nadia, Ben)

Please pray for the students as they do their finals for the semester (March 22-24) and then as Ben and I make our way to Arusha on the 25^th (Ben’s 27^th birthday).  Ben’s fiancé will be arriving in Arusha on the 26^th to spend Easter break here.  Pray also as she and Ben make a trip up to spend some time with Ben’s brother and his family in Uganda and as I spend that time at a workshop in Kenya for staff of East African Bible schools.  Pray also for our upcoming third and final semester to begin on the 12^th of April.  During this final semester I will be teaching four classes: English to a mixture of students from each of the three courses, The Pastoral Epistles (1-2 Timothy, Titus) to the first-year students, 1 Corinthians to the second-year class, and Introduction to Evangelism also to our second-year students.  Please pray for me as I begin to prepare for these classes even during our time away from Waama over Easter break.  I certainly continue to covet you prayers for my future beyond Tanzania as well.

As I close, I want to wish you all a blessed Easter season and thank you again for your interest in and participation with this ministry.  You mean more to me than I could tell you.  May God richly bless you!

In Christ,

Jesse Long

Mbulu, Tanzania

Paul Abels - 25 Years of Service in Brazil

Dreams Can Come True!

March 2010 marks 25 years since we arrived in Brazil as young missionaries. We came with two little girls, a firm faith in an unfailing God, and a dream in our hearts to share Jesus and start Free Lutheran churches. In obedience and perseverance, by faith and determination and God’s grace the dream turned into the reality we reflect upon today. We thank God for using our lives and our humble efforts to preach the Gospel, to love people, and to establish Biblical churches where Brazilians worship God and encourage one another in their faith regularly. Our faith has been tested, our energies have been spent, money has been invested, and prayers have been answered.

At times it is overwhelming to reflect on all that has happened in these past 25 years. Remember with us and pray with us for:

· God’s provisions day after day for us and for our ministries. He has blessed us spiritually, emotionally. physically and financially.

· The faithful financial and prayer support of countless friends in the U.S.

· The huge responsibilities that continue in the lives of those who have come to Christ through our ministry.

· The on-going maintenance of buildings and properties entrusted to us.

· The future doors of ministry we have yet to open and walk through.

In youthful optimism no task seemed too great back in 1985. Now, 25 years later, the reality of caring for the ministries established seems very great indeed. For this reason we continue to need your prayers and support. Thank you for dreaming with us and believing that God can do the impossible!

Where Shall My Help Come?

“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”” Psalm 121:1

When one works with animals and people at the same time, strange things can happen. Two weeks ago, I examined a cow which had a lame foot. I found the cause of the lameness and the farmer and I proceeded to load the cow back on the trailer. The cow was a little skittish, but she jumped back into the trailer, the farmer slammed the back door shut and began to lock it, and I turned back to the barn to begin my next job. Then, there was a loud crash—I turned back to behold the door wide open, the farmer on the ground and the cow running over him to freedom. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt but we now had a cow which had never been to Greenbush before and was determined to see all the sights. It ran down our driveway into our neighbor’s back yard through the 4 feet of snow. I jumped into my truck with a loaded syringe of tranquilizer determined to catch her on a street and slow the cow’s apparent plan to visit downtown Greenbush. Three times in the next half hour, I managed to get the cow onto one of our icy streets, but her four wheel drive permitted her to dive into the next yard before I could catch her. I don’t know where her four active brain cells were carrying her but I do know she was now no lover of men. The sight of one of us on foot set her in motion to kill (or at least maim). Finally, she arrived at our school where just 10 minutes earlier about 50 kids had been on the playground. Corrine (Oh the wisdom of a good wife!) had called the school and warned them that we had a cow on the loose. The teachers had responded wonderfully and all that were left were 4 farm boys who figured they knew how to help handle that cow. Just as we and the cow arrived, the teachers had gotten the 4 cowboy wannabes off the grounds as well. Now the cow stopped—she was tired and finally we had time to assess our options. My first suggestion was to have our local police drop her on the spot. Lisa, who works for me and had now caught up with us, said that would be messy and she suggested we call Wojo. Now Wojo (Keith Wojciechowski) is a real cowboy and lives only 4 miles from Greenbush. She called—he was excited and was at the school in 15 minutes with his son, 2 horses, and lariets. He unloaded the horses, jumped on his and headed for the cow lariat looped and ready to toss. This cow had never seen a horse—she responded the only way she knew—she charged. When the horse didn’t spook, she tried to change direction—the lariat snaked through the air and Wojo caught her on his first throw. The farmer and I raced back to the clinic, got his trailer, loaded the cow, and sent them back to the farm. On the way back to get his trailer, the farmer was bemoaning how this was the worst day of his life. I looked at him and said, “No way! No one was hurt, no property was damaged, we caught the cow, and…she is no longer lame—it’s a great day!”

Sunday morning, Psalm 121 was used at the beginning of our service. As I meditated on it, I first laughed because it’s hard to look to the mountains in Greenbush (there are only two hills in all of Roseau Co—we name them—Bemis and Minnesota). Then one of those God moments dawned on me—why was the Psalmist looking for help at all? The obvious answer is that he needed help (we keep things simple up here!). We live our lives with the complete intention of staying out of trouble—that if trouble comes, it’s out of failure on our parts to avoid difficulties and that if trouble comes, we like the farmer look upon those difficulties as bad days. The Psalmist simply and beautifully reminds us that it is on those days that we look most intently at our Lord and God because on those darker days, we are reminded that we absolutely need Him—that He is our creator—that He is our keeper—that He is our protector. At the close of every Sunday service at United, we sing the first stanza of “God Be With You Till We Meet Again”:

God be with you till we meet again, By His counsels guide, uphold you,

With His sheep securely fold you, God be with you till we meet again.

May God be with you all as we face the struggles of the days—the sunny days as well as the darker days—those days especially as we look to where our help indeed comes from.

Dr. Lyle Mattson

Dr. Mattson is a veterinary in Greenbush, MN.  He serves on the World Missions Committee.

MTI Students in Mexico

Thank you for you prayers.  I appreciate them so much and have seen answers to your prayers.  A major thing is that Hannah and I have not gotten sick from being in a new place, and we have been safe in everything that we have been doing.  Another huge praise is that Memito, the oldest son of the family we're staying with, came to church last Sunday.  Please pray for him as he's in college and facing many different things, that he would come back to Christ.  Please pray for Claudia, the mom, who is recovering from her major surgery last week.  She's still pretty sore and tired, but doesn't like not being able to do very much.  She has been showing us how to make some jewelry, so that's been interesting to learn.  Please pray for us as we're learning Spanish.  It's so exciting when I actually understand something, and then when they say something I don't know, it just reminds me all the more of how much I still have yet to learn.  Please pray for Memo, the dad, and Abraham, the other son, that they would realize their need for Christ, and pray for us, that we would be a light and a witness to them.  Thanks again for your prayers.

In Christ,

Amanda Bellefy   

An Oral Bible – Part 3

I would like to update you on how the Mega Voice audio players are having an impact here by sharing some of the testimonies from the students who have received them. 

Last week Fred (one of the students in Butagaya) reported that he had been sitting with a Muslim man.  After hearing the sound of Fred’s player in his pocket, he asked, “What is that sound?”  Fred showed him the MegaVoice and the man listened to several of the stories.  After Fred saw that the stories were speaking to the man’s heart, he urged him to accept Jesus.  The man replied, “I am near with salvation” (meaning: “I am getting closer to getting saved”).  Fred said that the first night after receiving the player his whole family sat in their house and listened to the stories until late at night.  He says that everyone from the 5-year-old to the grandparents can hear and understand the stories.

Geoffrey (a student from Naigobya) had been sharing the stories he learned in class each week with a group of guys that mocked him and said he did not know what he was talking about.  After receiving the MegaVoice Geoffrey went to them again and started telling them the story of Creation.  Once again they ridiculed him and told him he did not know what he was talking about.  He then pulled the MegaVoice out of his pocket and pushed “play.”  The skeptics gathered around in amazement as they heard this little radio recounting for them in their own language the story of Creation exactly how Geoffrey had told them.  “You have been telling us the truth!” they exclaimed. 

Godfrey (our yard worker) told me he heard the story of Paul and Silas (Acts 16) for the first time.  He was amazed by the power of God in the story as the earthquake opened the prison doors.  He said, “If I had been that jailer, I would have asked how I could be saved too!”

Daniel (from Butagaya) said, “People are now coming to me asking me to spare time for them so that they can hear the Bible stories.”

Peter (Naigobya) complained that the volume was too quiet.  The players are ideal for a small group of 15-20 people to hear.  When I asked him why it was too quiet, he said that he had been playing the stories for around 100 of his fellow students at his High School during a "Scripture Union" meeting!

The response to the MegaVoice players has been very positive so far.  Many people are hearing the Word of God in their heart-language for the first time.  However, one of the drawbacks is that they are not reproducible.  In other words, it is a foreign device that comes from the West and it is not easily accessible to the locals.  When it comes to reproducibility, technology once again becomes an ally of the missionary.  Internet access is becoming more available and cell phones are becoming more advanced.  We hope to have the Lusoga audio on the Internet soon for Lusoga-speakers to download.  More and more people in Uganda (and in much of the 3rd world) now have cell phones that are equipped with MP3 capabilities which means people have the potential or putting the Lusoga Bible stories on their phones!  The reproducibility question may be answered when the stories can be distributed from phone to phone throughout Uganda FOR FREE.

Meanwhile, the work of translating and recording stories continues.  Roy, my Lusoga teacher, is the one who is working with me on translating and recording the stories.  So far we have recorded 41 Bible stories with more in the process.

Thanks for your prayers that Uganda might hear the Word of God and turn to Christ.

Nate Jore

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” –Psalm 19:7a

Website: www.jorenews.blogspot.com

Steve Kvale’s Newsletter

This winter we have shared in various churches, added a family pet which livened things up during such sadness in the loss of Glenda’s father, and trained as a family in flexibility while needing to be available for the needs in Starbuck and at our home in Balaton.  God is faithful to comfort, guide, encourage, strengthen and enable us when we think we are
going to burn out. Our joy continues . . .

To read Kvale’s latest newsletter click here.

Violence in Mexico

Just a quick note about the current bad news from the Mexican city of Juarez.  Many people confuse Juarez with Jerez and I just wanted to make sure there was no doubt that we are not anywhere near the border city of Juarez where the violence took place.  Juarez is just across the border from El Paso, Texas about a 15 hour drive from where we are in Central Mexico.

In Christ,

Todd Schierkolk

Promoting Mission in the Eastern USA

AFLC World Missions Director, Del Palmer and his wife Karen have been traveling in the eastern states of the USA promoting missions.  They have visited churches and pastors in Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania.   This week they will continue in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Each connection is different, but at a typical presentation Pastor Palmer preaches about missions and then gives a presentation explaining the ministry of AFLC World Missions.

 

Karen normally meets with the youth and children.  Wearing traditional Indian dress she explains what a person does as a missionary.  She encourages the children to be missionaries where they are right now and be sensitive to God’s call in the future.

Please be in prayer for their safety and effectiveness.

Darwin Jackson - Mexico

"I saw something today which affected me more than anything I ever saw or read on religion. While the battle was raging and the bullets were flying, Jackson rode by, calm as if he were at home, but his head was raised toward heaven, and his lips were moving evidently in prayer." (Re: General Stonewall Jackson, recounted to Chaplain William W. Bennett. America's God and Country)

The Anderson's and us may get to practice Gen. Jackson's technique as the "battle rages and the bullets are flying" here in Mexico. The two latest notices are close to home. "Canadian tourist Ivet Wait was shot in his left leg March 4 during an attempted carjacking in a trailer park frequented by international tourists in Mazatlan, Sinaloa state." and "Large firefights have taken place in towns and cities across Mexico, but occur mostly in northern Mexico, including Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, Chihuahua City, Nogales, Matamoros, Reynosa and Monterrey." Krista wrote me "There has been a noticeable increase in crime in the last month or so. You can tell more by the nervous energy that everyone seems to have than anything else. We had a shooting about 100 yards from our apartment one weekday at 10am, and a few of the youth in the church have been robbed, gun shots and sirens are now more noticeable too." Pray for peace and calm in Mexico.

Pastor Antonio opened up and shared in a sermon his broken heart for his oldest daughter who met a man on the internet, went to visit him (near Mexico City), and is now pregnant living with him. Please pray for Ana, the young man, as well as her parents Antonio and Amalia.

Dan and Leonie Gomez were here for a week or so with a group from Canada to put a roof on the pastoral house in Mascarenas. The plan on coming back next year to start on the interior. The Gomez are now in Mexico City visiting with family before the fly back to Canada. Pray for a joyful visit and safe travel.

The cold weather has made our visitations a little slow these days, but the work in the homes in Mascarenas is going well. It seems Ciria and her husband Juan are not getting along, so we may not be able to continue our Catechism studies with Alonso. Pray for healing and a continued open door with this family.
Mary Ann has been struggling with a stress related headache for several days. Pray for that wonderful "calm" that comes in the midst of the battle. Your fellow workers,

Darwin, Mary Ann Gracie, Cesar and Sykari

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Visit our blog spot at: http://jacksonsfellowworkers.blogspot.com

Amanda Bellefy – MTI Student in Mexico

Thank-you so much for your prayers.  It's 80 today, but it was 33 last night, so the temperature changes are crazy here, but I won't complain.  Friday I helped make some tortilla things and they made them in an old outdoor oven, so that was really cool to see.  While I was there, a man came who was related to some of the people there and he's a cop from Nebraska.  Anyway, he said he was atheist, but I was able to witness to him and he was very open to what I was saying and at the end he said he wasn't an atheist and he has read the Bible before, so I pray that God would use that and that he would start reading his Bible again and become saved.  His name is Danny if you would be willing to join me in praying for his salvation.  Spanish classes have been going well, although learning a new language is really hard.  Pottery class has been going well too.  I don't know if I'll be able to bring everything back-the dad, Memo, said we'd have to go on the streets dressed up in Indian garb and try selling them on the streets.  I've been learning how to cook Mexican food as well, so that's been fun.  Please keep praying for the family we're staying with-Memo & Claudia and their sons Memito (Memo Jr) and Abraham.  Memito just moved out of the house and he used to be  active in the church but hasn't been since going to college this last fall, so pray that he would come back to Christ and pray for Abraham and Memo, that they would see their need for Christ.  Please pray for us and being a witness to them and being an encouragement to Claudia, who is the only Christian in the family.  Thank-you for your prayers.  Praise God Hannah and I have both been healthy and safe.

In Christ,

Amanda Bellefy

Ben Jore - Tanzania

Time continues to fly by and second semester is soon to come to a close!

We have two weeks of teaching left and one week of finals before the end of the semester. Waama will then be closed for two weeks over Easter before the start of the third and final semester of the school year.

This semester has been a good one - teaching continues to be a true joy.

Our class preparation has been quite intensive as we seek not only prepare ourselves to teach but also to prepare notes in Swahili that we can leave behind so that future teachers will be able to use our notes.

This is very labor intensive, but we trust will have a lasting benefit to Waama. Jesse and I have also been able to go on a total of 3 weekend Jesus Film trips this semester. We were especially blessed on our last trip to Labay where we showed the Jesus Film twice and shared in a seminar where we were able to give a very clear presentation of the Gospel in a very spiritually needy area. Please pray that the seeds which have been planted will bear much fruit.

Jesse and I are really excited for Easter Break. Having a couple weeks off will be really nice for both of us. I am especially excited because my fiancee, Adela, will be coming for three weeks to visit and see what I have been doing for the past three and a half years. Please pray for safety and a blessed time together. We are planning on traveling up to Uganda to visit my brother Nate and his family, as well, while Adela is here.

Thank you for praying for Froydis (the Norwegian missionary lady who recently had a stroke). At present she is back in Norway recovering. The latest reports we've heard is that her paralysis went away quite quickly and she is talking again. While her recovery is still not complete, doctors are actually recommending that she come back to Tanzania as early as May because of the boost that such a visit would be for her spirit and the positive activity it would be for her mind. We praise God for this progress and ask for your continued prayers on her behalf.

Would you also pray for Stefano? He studied first year last year and came back for second year this year. After first semester he returned home only to have his infant child pass away. As he was recovering from his loss, his wife also passed away. Needless to say he has not returned to school as he is desperately trying to take care of his 5 small children by himself. This man has planted at least 6 churches in areas where there have been virtually no Christians. The church has rallied around him and has helped him as much as they can, but he could use your prayers.

Thank you for your partnership in this ministry! Your prayers, encouragement, and financial support are the only reason we are here.

May God richly bless you!

Ben

Paul & Becky Abel

When God places His call on a life or on a ministry it is a “given” that opposition will arise to try and thwart efforts to turn hearts toward the truth.  This morning while reading the account of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall I realized once again that there is no victory without struggle, perseverance, and faith in God.  There are dangers from without and dangers from within, but God’s wants us to persevere and trust in Him to strengthen us for every good work. The words that encouraged me were – “Do not fear, remember the Lord and fight for your brothers and sisters.”  We continue to work on building up a spiritual wall of protection, calling Brazilian Christians to work together in edifying the church. It is important to not be intimidated by the threats of outsiders or discouraged by the apparent difficulties that rise up within, but to trust in Jesus to help us build a firm foundation for ourselves for the generations to come. Thank you for your continued prayers for us and for those with whom we work.  We must not abandon the work midway. As Jesus reminds us in John 9.4 – “It is necessary to do the work of Him who sent me while it is day, for the night will come when no man can work.”

And the work continues….There has been little rest for us since I last updated you on our life the end of January.  Thank you for praying for our Youth Camp during the Carnival holiday in February.  A busload of 40+ young people from Campo Mourão joined our group of 90+ from the Curitiba churches to spend four days of spiritual challenge and fellowship at the ARCA.  Once again we praise God for blessing us with favorable weather and with spiritual blessings.  The one word most often used to describe this camp was “different.”  Our speakers emphasized making a rational decision to follow Christ, not based on an emotional appeal.  We helped the youth understand that in the midst of so many philosophies and lifestyles in our world today, the only spiritual answer that really can satisfy and sustain us is found in developing a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Pray for the many youth who dedicated their lives to following Jesus.

The week before camp we finally finished a project we have wanted to get done for years – the ARCA was painted inside and out!  We also purchased a new industrial stove and two ovens for the kitchen.  And Paul built a porch on the front side of the ARCA which ended up being a wonderful area for eating and small group meetings during camp.  These projects were all possible because of a generous donation from some friends of the ARCA ministry in the U.S. – thanks so much!

We were happy to welcome Paul’s folks, John (84) and Ruby (80), to spend time with us once again this year. John shared a wonderful morning message at camp based on Romans 12:1-2.  It is a blessing to see his zeal for the Lord and his concern for young people and the work of the church here in Brazil.  They plan to visit many of the churches and hold two evangelistic campaigns.  John also volunteered to give daily Portuguese classes to the four short-term missionaries who arrived the day after camp was over. 

We are very happy to have Nathan Olson, Jon Nelson, Amanda Aldrich and Bethany Marschner with us.  They spent their first two weeks with us in Bateias.  We are very impressed with their willingness to make friends, learn the language and share their faith in Jesus with others. Their first two weeks were packed with many activities involving work projects, relationship-building and witnessing opportunities. Yesterday we left home and drove in two cars to Campo Mourão where they will be spending the bulk of their time and ministry at the Bible School and orphanage.  Please pray for these four young people as they adapt to life in Brazil and seek to serve the Lord in this place.  If you are interested in seeing Brazil from their perspective take a look at their blogs - http://preachandteachbrazil.wordpress.com/ and http://www.bethanyandamanda.blogspot.com/

Tonight we will be going to a wedding here in Campo Mourão.  Sunday and Monday we will help get the short-termers settled and set up a schedule for them as they get to work here.  Then we will be on our way back to Bateias and the work and challenges there.  We are happy that lay pastor Augusto has started his ministry in the Campo Largo church. Paul will be finish giving a course of Profession of Faith, and  I will be giving a training course for people involved in the children’s ministries at our churches in March.  Then we hope to take a little time to organize our lives and house in preparation for our furlough which begins in May.  You probably have no way of understanding how wonderful and crazy our life is here without experiencing it firsthand.  But, we want you to know that we appreciate your prayers and support. I am sure that the Lord has worked through your prayers to sustain us and encourage us as we offer our lives as a living sacrifice to God. Working together we hope to win some for Christ and keep building the “wall” for God’s glory. 

Our love to you,

Paul and Becky

An Oral Bible – Part 2

"Do you have any more of those?" Godfrey, our yard worker, had just been introduced to the "Mega Voice Player" (a solar-powered audio player) on which I had recorded several Bible stories in Lusoga, the native tongue in our region of Uganda. I had brought one out to him in the garden to see what he thought of it. I let him take it home for a few days to test it out. He brought it back with the battery (good for 15+ hours) almost depleted. He himself had just gotten through 8 of the 32 stories, and then his wife and his neighbors wanted to have a turn with it. His eyes were shining as he retold some of his favorite stories back to me (Joseph, Isaac and Rebecca). They were totally new to him, even though he is a believer and regular church-attender. 

The people amongst whom we are working are primarily oral learners, meaning their preferred method of learning is through listening (storytelling), as opposed to reading. Learning this has caused us to pursue various avenues in which we can best communicate God's Word to the people, so that the Truth will not stay on the pages of the Book, but will find its way to their hearts.

Our most recent find is the "Mega Voice Player" a hand-held audio player that can be programmed..

In the past year, we have been working on translating and recording a number of Bible stories into the Lusoga language.  The stories we have been working on correspond with the Ambassador Institute curriculum that we have been teaching in two villages.  Each of the students have now received a Mega Voice Player with 37 of the stories recorded on them (over 4 hours of audio).  Here is how it works...

I edit and organize my audio files on the computer to get them into the format that is required by the software.  After the audio files are ready, they can be transferred to the Scribe (larger gray/black unit pictured above in my left hand).  The Scribe is then able to program each of the individual players.  The beauty of the system is that any time I want to add more stories to the players, I can program the Scribe at home and then bring it to the village locations and program the players there.  It is battery-powered and easily transportable.  The plan is to be continuing to add new stories as we complete translation and recording.

We currently have 25 players programmed, and I distributed them to my students this past weekend. (Please see our blog - www.jorenews.blogspot.com - for pictures) I am very excited to see the impact as people hear the Word of God in their heart language.  Pray with us that the Word of God would go forth with power and that lives would be changed.

For the Kingdom of God in Uganda,
Nate Jore

Update from Pacchas

Dear Family and Friends,
As we look to the Lord for our help and strength, we pray you are doing the same. Isn’t it assuring to know that our Lord is always with us? We praise God for His continued work in our own lives and the lives of those around us. Keep leaning on Him daily as you serve the Lord wherever you are.

Carnival Vacation

We are not very excited about carnival in Ecuador. Carnival begins in late January or early February and lasts until about the 15th of February. The main idea of the holiday is to throw water at people. It’s like a huge water fight that accelerates and is full blast the last three days of the ‘season.’ Since we are not really into the holiday, we went with Darwin’s parents to a piece of land they own about an hour from Cuenca and camped there for one night. The view of the mountains was amazing!! (Note the Photos!) We drove to a couple small towns the next day which was a little bit of an adventure. First, there was a big puddle of water and mud that we swerved through and then, the bridge we were going to cross had broken down. Therefore, the people had made small wooden bridges across the river in another area. Because Kirsten was a little nervous about riding over those bridges, she got out of the car to take pictures instead. We enjoyed our time in the warmer climate, and we came back with some sun tans and mosquito bites. We had a great time together. The third day of vacation we went to a huge, beautiful waterfall. We couldn’t even get a complete picture of it because it was so tall. The water was freezing, but that did not stop Luis and Silvio (Darwin’s brothers) from getting in for a minute. We will be putting more of our pictures on the blog this week for you to enjoy. Keep checking for them at www.pacchateam.blogspot.com .

Darwin and Kirsten Paccha

Darwin is a 2009 graduate from AFLTS.

Jesse in Tanzania

Thank you so much for your prayers on behalf of this past weekend’s evangelism trip!  We were so blessed as we visited the region of Labay.  Both of the villages where we showed the Jesus film (Friday night and Saturday night) were places with relatively little Christian influence.  In fact, the local evangelist of the village where we were on Saturday told us that this new church plant only has about 10 Christians.  Before showing the film that evening, we spent the afternoon teaching a seminar and were very encouraged as we had the opportunity to share some very clear presentations of the gospel to the 60+ people who showed up!  Most encouraging was the fact that several of the people in attendance were some of the village elders.  When our sessions were over they said, “We have never come to church before but we have really learned some things today and want to start coming now!”  Praise God!  May the seeds that were planted bear much fruit!

The previous weekend that we spent in Arusha was also a blessed time.  Ben ended up needing to have some work done on his motorcycle that delayed our return to the school.  Nevertheless, we had some very positive interactions with our fellow missionaries there and returned here very encouraged.  God continues to orchestrate many things on our behalf.  It was also a blessing to have an improved internet connection which enabled us to have increased communication with family and friends.  As a matter of fact, I received some great news from my sister, Anna, and her husband, Dary!  For those that don’t remember, due to injuries that Dary sustained in Iraq, they are unable to have children of their own.  Recently, however, they were approached by an expectant, single mother who asked if they would be able to adopt the baby she is carrying, due at the beginning of September!  Dary and Anna are SO excited and I am so happy to see the way God seems to be preparing to fulfill Anna’s lifelong dream of having a baby of her own!  I also think it is pretty cool that I am going to get to be an uncle again. J  As God brings it to your mind, please keep this whole situation in your prayers, as well.

So, second semester is going to be over before we know it!  Please continue to keep us in your prayers.  As I mentioned in my last update, this coming weekend is our weekend of spiritual meetings for the semester here at Waama.  Pray that God would be glorified through this time and that His people would be built up and encouraged in their faith.

Thank you again for your part in this ministry.  As I watched people come forward this past weekend out in these villages to make public professions of faith, I couldn’t help but praise God for all of you back home who make this work possible.  May God richly bless you for your part!  Keep up the good work!!

In Christ,

Jesse Long

Mbulu, Tanzania

Red Sea Moments – Jon Nelson

Back in the beginning of December Nathan and I had sent an email and posted a blog update titled Red Sea Moments. The email was about the Israelites crossing the Red Sea in Exodus 14 and their attitudes when they realized that the Egyptians were chasing them. The Israelites said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” Moses then stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord drove the sea back and the Israelites crossed on dry ground. We talked about what a miracle that was and how we had decided to wait for our visas and not doubt our calling from God.

I want to build off of that email and talk a little about how the Israelites continued to doubt God and continued to think that God only wanted them to die in the wilderness. In the fifteenth chapter the Israelites were without water and grumbled to Moses and this is right after the Lord parted the Red Sea for them to escape! In the sixteenth chapter the Israelites said, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat post and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” As if God answering that cry wasn’t enough in the seventeenth chapter the Israelites again said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

I look at this and marvel at the doubt that the Israelites had and then I look at my life, especially being here in Brazil, and marvel at my own doubt. At times I found myself saying, “Lord why did you want me to come here? I can’t even seem to communicate with these people. I could have stayed in the States and gotten involved with a ministry where I can communicate! Lord, you must have made a mistake…” Through my own personal time in prayer and with his word I realized first and foremost the Lord doesn’t make mistakes, I am here for a reason. Even though the language isn’t coming as quickly as I had hoped it is coming and the Lord is using my life and my situations in ways that I’m sure I’ll never know in this lifetime. Secondly, this time in my life where I am forced to communicate, even at most times very badly, has strengthened my dependence on God. It has caused me to realize that He is in control and that He is made strong in my many weaknesses.

Nathan and I both continue to ask for prayer as continuing to learn the language can be a struggle at times, but day by day it gets better. We have found so much joy in the Lord and in the work that is being done here and we continue to thank God for the blessing it is to be here! Paul and Becky are amazing hosts with such a warm heart for the people and God has used them in miraculous ways! We will only be with them for about another week before we continue our work in Campo Mourão with the Bible School and the Miriam Infant Home. So far in our time here in Brazil we have realized that our schedules change on a whim, the day never goes as according to our plans and that there is always work to be done. Only one thing is ever set in stone and remains constant and that’s that the Lord is working in the lives of the people here in Brazil and in our lives. The Lord has taught us so much already and we continue to look forward to what the Lord will continue to teach us.

I realize that this isn’t a typical update email and in the future we will more than likely be more descriptive of the work that we have been doing while we are here. Until that time, please visit our blog at http://preachandteachbrazil.wordpress.com/. We typically update it every night or every other night with the various things that we have done throughout the day and different prayer request that we have.

We thank you for your partnership in the gospel and hope that everything is well for you in the states!

In Christ’s love,

Jon Nelson and Nathan Olson

Chmiel’s Ukraine

February greetings to all of you! Still enjoying this year’s winter or are you getting impatient for the spring to be here soon? Our February started with Tomasz again going to Odesa for the DELKU Pastors’ meeting. One of the challenges of these meetings is that they are in Russian (we speak Ukrainian). Most of the time it’s ok because Tomasz can understand quite a bit of Russian even though he can’t speak it. But this time one of the language misunderstandings was that Tomasz worked on the wrong text all of the pastors were supposed to study before coming to the conference. The pre-conference information letter was in Russian and it said to study this text... The reference was abbreviated and it started with “E”. In Ukrainian, the only New Testament book starting with “E” is Ephesians. So Tomasz studied this text from Ephesians even though he was a little confused as to why these very verses were chosen. When he arrived to the conference he learned that the assigned text was not from Ephesians but from Hebrews!!! In Russian, “E” is pronounced “ye” and is the first letter of the book Hebrews. In Ukrainian, Hebrews also starts with “ye” but it’s spelled “Є”. Well, something new to learn all the time...
Speaking of Russian still being used a lot in some parts of Ukraine (even though Ukrainian is the only official language), Ukraine now has a “Russian-speaking” president. As many of you probably know, on February 7 Viktor Yanukovych was elected the new Ukrainian president.
We are curious to see what this change brings for Ukraine and for us living in Ukraine as foreigners. If you’d like to, you can read more about Viktor Yanukovych here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Yanukovych 

 

 

On February 18, our little lady “celebrated” 9 months. We can’t believe she is already such a big girl. She is now crawling all over our home, she is cruising the furniture, always exploring something new... What a busy little girl she is!

On February 20, instead of a regular youth group meeting, we had a “Family Night” at our house. That day our youth group meeting was not just for the youth, but also the parents and people from our church were invited to join us on that night. Our goal was to give a chance to the parents and people from our church to see “what we are doing with their kids” :) And also for all of us to get to know each other and to enjoy some God-centered fellowship.
We sang songs, had a Bible Study and watched a video presentation showing some of the children and youth ministry highlights from the last two years.  And then we also played a game. You got a word and you had to either draw, pantomime or explain the word to your team in a way that they could guess it.

We were really thankful for this opportunity to spend time with people from our church and to get to know some of our students’ parents, especially those who do not come to our church. When it was time for people to go home, many were saying “Until next time” :)  So we will see what new opportunities open from this.

In our January email update we asked you to pray for a boy from our youth group who was publicly getting involved in some bad things so we had to ask him not to come to our youth group meetings until things change. I (Tomasz) wanted to meet with him one-on-one but he did not return my phone calls and avoided all other ways of contact. The good news is that about two weeks ago, he himself called me, we got together and after we talked, he deleted the bad stuff he had on his Facebook (Satanism as his only interest, links to bad movies, etc.). He is now again welcome to come to our youth group meetings and I also invited him to meet with me to study the book of Ephesians together (one-on-one Bible Study). He did come to our first Bible Study meeting even though we met early in the morning before school so that was encouraging. On the other hand, I guess I hoped for more of a repentant attitude, more of a heart change. Right now it’s more like, “what I was doing was just a phase in my life, many of my friends (including some from the German Lutheran church) are involved in these things too, I am not doing it any more, it’s not such a big deal...” Please pray for this boy and for me as we continue our Bible Study meetings, that God would really get hold of his heart and that there would be a real change in his life. 

We are right now in Poland, taking our “border crossing trip”. Everything went well at the border except that the officer told us that with our non-Ukrainian car we need to cross the border every two months not every three :( That is not good news for us because we already have a lot traveling to do. We will again try to look into our options as for registering our car in Ukraine, but when we were trying to do that last time, we did not get very far (just spent a lot of time on it without finding anything helpful). If you’d remember this in your prayers too, we’d appreciate it very much.

Thank you again for your friendship and support. If you’d like to see some more pictures, you can see some below or you can go to http://www.chmiels.com/HannahJoy/. You will find both family and ministry pictures in Hannah’s Picasa album.

Blessings,
Tomasz, Miriam and Hannah Chmiel

An Oral Bible?

What does a Bible look like in an primary oral society?  We often think of the Word of God as a book yet, "The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it" (Deut 30:14).  A missionary's job is to get the Word of God from the Book to the hearts of men.  In this photo we see the power of audio as David, one of the students, listens to Revelation 5.

  In the past year, we have been working on translating and recording a number of Bible stories into the Lusoga language.  The stories we have been working on correspond with the Ambassador Institute curriculum that we have been teaching in two villages.  We are now ready to give each of the students a solar-powered audio player with 32 of the stories recorded on them (over 3.5 hours of audio).  Here is how it works...

I edit and organize my audio files on the computer to get them into the format that is required by the software.  After the audio files are ready, they can be transferred to the Scribe (larger gray/black unit in my left hand).  The Scribe is then able to program each of the individual players.  The beauty of the system is that any time I want to add more stories to the players, I can program the Scribe at home and then bring it to the village locations and program the players there.  It is battery-powered and easily transported.  The plan is to be continuing to add new stories as we complete translation and recording.

As I write this now, we have 25 players programmed and ready to be distributed to the students this weekend!  I am very excited to see the impact as people hear the Word of God in their heart language.  Pray with us that the Word of God would go forth with power and that lives would be changed.

For the Kingdom of God in Uganda,
Nate Jore

Four New Short Term Missionaries in Brazil

Four new Short Term Missionary Assistants have left and arrived in Brazil.  They are Nathan Olson, Jon Nelson, Bethany Marschner and Amanda Aldrich.  The left on Wednesday.  They just confirmed their safe arrival in the message below.

 

Hey everybody!
We all (Nathan, Jon, Bethany, Amanda) have made it safely to Brazil and are enjoying good fellowship with the Abels! The Lord provided a great connection through Chicago from Minneapolis to Sao Paulo and we made it all the way to Curitiba with only the minor hiccup of losing one of Jon’s pieces of luggage (which will be delivered soon).
Please continue to keep us in prayer as Jon and I got 1 ½ hours of sleep on the overnight flight and are jumping right in to work alongside the Abels! We also are realizing that our language practice has paid off, but that we are far from fluent...please keep us in prayer that we would continue to grow in language acquisition!
Only Jesus, Nathan Olson & Jonathan Nelson

Home from Mexico

I arrived home from Mexico earlier this week.  Thank you to all who prayed for me as I traveled.  This was a very profitable trip and I was able to return home healthy.  My only problem was a sunburn.  It’s hard to return home to Minnesota snow and cold after experiencing the sweet smell of fresh cut grass.

Del Palmer

Dan and Marcella Giles to Leave Field

Dear Friends and Family in Christ,

Greetings and blessing to you all. After serving for the last two years in Jerez, Mexico, it is time for the Giles family to continue on a new path. Therefore we have resigned as Short Term Assistants and have moved to the city of Aguascalientes for a few months. Lord- willing, we hope and plan to return to the US eventually and I, Danny, will start a new job when we arrive. Please continue to pray for us during this transition and especially that God will provide the job He has in store for me. We are trusting completely in Him for our needs and direction. We cannot thank you enough for all the financial support that you have given us. If you wish to continue to support the ministry, please do so by supporting Ingrid, my sister, as she now lives by herself and continues her work full time. Thank you and God Bless you.

In His Service,

Daniel A. Giles

Ben Jore – Tanzania

Greetings from Waama Bible School! The 2nd semester is well under way and life is back to its usual busy self! Classes have been going very well. My class schedule is heavy on the history side of things, but that is just fine with me. The students seem to be enjoying all their classes and learning a lot. It is truly a joy to equip these church leaders with tools to better serve their home congregations.

Jesse and I are very happy to report that we have started up our weekend ministry again! The main emphasis of this ministry is showing the Jesus Film, but in recent years has also turned into a time of teaching seminars and preaching. So just in case we felt like we had any free time, we decided to start up this ministry again. January 29-31 Jesse and I (and about 8 students) went to the region called Tumati. We showed the Jesus Film three times that weekend. This past weekend (Feb 5-7) we were in the region of Bassotu where we were able to show twice. Usually the school sends a driver with us, but they asked if we would drive this time. So Jesse drove and we experienced mud like I've never seen before.

We were sliding all over the place, but we never got stuck! We're pretty sure that only the hand of God kept us from sliding into one of the million ditches and ravines that parallel (and sometimes across) the road. We praise God for his protection during these two weekends of ministry. Jesse and I are planning on having 4 more of these trips before we hit graduation in June. We appreciate your prayers for these trips and for those who hear the Gospel through these efforts.

There is some sad news that I would like to share with you. One of our good friends and fellow missionaries, Froydis, had a stroke. She first came to Tanzania while it was still an English colony (a LONG time ago) and is responsible for translating the Bible into the local language, Iraqw. She is much loved by everybody here, including Jesse and me. She was evacuated by plane to Nairobi last Sunday. She is still in Nairobi but is looking to return to her home country of Norway when her health permits. Reports said that she lost her speech and control of the right side of her body. But just today we heard that she is speaking again, we haven't heard about the paralysis. We praise God for this. Will you pray for Froidis and her work with the Iraqw Language and Culture Trust?

Thank you so much for your support and prayers on our behalf. May God bless you,

Ben

Celaya Youth Retreat - Mexico

The  morning started off about 70 degrees with beautiful sun and hopes of a glorious February Saturday.  It was the type of day that any normal teen would be making plans to play football or go to the mall.  Interestingly, a handful of teens arrived at church where they would be encouraged to walk with Jesus.

Why would a teen spend a beautiful Saturday in class learning about God rather than relaxing with friends?  The only reason is the regenerative power of the Gospel.  They’ve heard about their sins, trusted in the mercy of Christ to forgive them and now the Holy Spirit is living inside of them motivating them to thankfully live for God.

This is what world missions is all about.  It’s happening one person at a time, in one location at a time all over the world. 

Please show your thankfulness to God by joining others going, giving and praying for the Gospel to change lives.   

 

Finally Going!

Thank you all so much for your continual prayer support through these last 5 ½ months of waiting! Jon and I received our visas yesterday in the mail and are looking forward to the work of the Lord in Brazil as He has finally opened the door for our entry there! We will be disembarking as shortly as Wednesday evening at 7:30pm, along with Short Term Assistants, Bethany & Amanda, to travel together to Curitiba.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please be in prayer for our safety  as we travel, continual wisdom in learning Portuguese, and for the windows of opportunities to fly open in sharing our faith in Jesus Christ! Our visas have been issued for a minimum of 12 months so we look forward to keeping you all updated as we spend the next year on the field!

Blessings in Jesus!

Nathan Olson & Jon Nelson

Tanzania – Jesse Long

Thanks so much for your prayers on our behalf.  We continue to progress well in this year’s second semester here at Waama Bible School.  It is hard to believe how fast the weeks go by.

As I promised in my last update, I am writing to report on our recent weekends of village ministry.  Again, these were our first weekends of village ministry since the beginning of the school year.  The longer we are here, the more responsibilities we are given here on campus and that makes it increasingly difficult to leave campus for entire weekends at a time.  We are grateful, however, to have been able to begin again with this part of our ministry and always enjoy seeing new areas and interacting with local believers.

Our final weekend of village ministry for this semester is set for February 26-28.  We appreciate your prayers for that time.  Pray that God would be preparing the hearts of those that will hear the Gospel during those days.

I am also happy to report that progress continues to be made on our “Acclaimer Project”.  For those that don’t remember, the primary goal of this project is to ensure that the Jesus Film ministry we have had since we arrived will be able to continue even after we are gone.  This will be accomplished through the establishment of national evangelistic teams equipped with solar-powered video equipment.  We are excited about the people God has brought across our path to take part in this project, and the excitement continues to grow even on the part of those who will make up these various teams.  Please continue to pray that God would give Ben and me wisdom in the directing of this project, that He would continue to raise up faithful evangelists to participate in each team, and that the equipment itself would perform well for years to come.

For those who have followed us on our blog, I need to apologize for the lack of recent updates.  We hope to make it to Arusha Feb. 19-23 and I will do my best to get some new pictures up at that time.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue to progress through this second semester.  It is going to be over before we know it. 

• Feb. 12-14 we are having a special seminar here at the school.  Next weekend (as I mentioned), we hope to be in Arusha. 
• Feb. 26-28 is our weekend of village ministry in the village of Labay. 
• Mar. 5-7 is a weekend of spiritual meetings here at the school. 
• Mar. 12-14 we will have another group of students visiting us from a Bible school in Norway. 
• March 22-24  second semester finals are scheduled. 
• Easter - Ben and I have not yet determined all of what our Easter break will include but it looks as though we will spend at least part of it (April 6-12) at a seminar attended by staff from a number of Lutheran Bible schools here in East Africa.

I also covet your prayers as I continue to seek God’s direction for my future.  May God clearly direct each one of us and may we all be faithful in our obedience to Him.  God bless you!

In Christ,

Jesse Long

Mbulu, Tanzania

It’s a Tuff Life

After getting the truck washed from yesterday’s problem, we spent the morning assessing the risks of having a crisis in Mexico.  We discussed ways to make those risks less likely so that the missionaries can live safer lives.

Following our planning session we went to Claudia and Memo’s for a wonderful Mexican dinner.  It’s a tuff life, but someone has to tend to social events. 

Del Palmer

Traveling in Mexico

Sunday in Jerez

Sunday we worshiped in Jerez with an English service followed by a Spanish service and Sunday school.  The church has grown since the last time I was in Mexico.  After the service we gave a number of people rides home.

It has been raining for several days in Jerez.  After we dropped that last person off we went down a road that had a large puddle in the middle of it.  The ground around the puddle was dry so we went around the puddle.  It wasn’t very long until we  were stuck and even putting the vehicle in four wheel drive wouldn’t budge it.  We all got out and tried to push it.  The more we pushed, the deeper we went into the mud.  A man in the neighborhood tried to pull us out be he got his truck stuck.  Finally we gave up and walked home.

Todd called a friend with a big truck who was able to get the vehicle out just in time to watch the Super Bowl.

Traveling in Mexico for Missions,

Del Palmer

Update on Haiti

Dear Association of Free Lutheran Congregations,

I continue to hear stories daily of the ways God is working in and through His Church in Haiti.

27-year-old Pénel - a member of the local Assemblies of God Church - is one of numerous volunteers ensuring vulnerable families have access to the water provided by their churches and World Relief.

Pénel explains that his church - like many other churches - was destroyed in the quake. The congregation now gathers outside the church or in the camp to pray and worship together.

In Pénel's camp and in sprawling neighbor camps, about 700 members of his church have set up makeshift shelters built out of tarps, faded sheets, sticks, and scrap corrugated metal. Every day is a struggle to find enough food and water.

Even before the quake, the majority of Haitians did not have access to clean water. The earthquake has devastated the already weak infrastructure.

"This water is life to us," Penel says. "We share water and food. As a Christian, I am ready to help others in any way I can."

World Relief and Haitian church partners have distributed more than 64,000 gallons of water - 20 truckloads - to 12,000 vulnerable families in the last week.

World Relief is also investing for the long-term, drilling boreholes and installing submersible pumps to ensure sustainable access to waters in six communities in Port-au-Prince.

"This will make a very big difference," says Pastor Pierre Alexis, head of an orphanage that will be home to a new borehole.

"We are planning to invite people from the community to come and get water here. It is important to show people the real Jesus - the One who cares not only for their body, but also for their soul. If you follow Jesus, you must show it through your actions, not just say it."

Thank you for being a part of showing people the real Jesus.

Thank you for being the Church.

"It is important to show people the real Jesus - the One who cares not only for their body, but also for their soul. If you follow Jesus, you must show it through your actions, not just say it." - Pastor Pierre Alexis

President Obama highlights World Relief as a significant responder to the Haiti crisis during today's National Prayer Breakfast.

Jerez Here We Come

MTI Students Hannah Swansen and Amanda Bellefy are traveling to Jerez, Mexico.  They have an overnight flight and will arrive to work with the Schierkoks on Wednesday morning.  Hannah and Amanda will be in Mexico from February until May.

Morks Travel to Congo/Uganda

Glenn and Sherry Mork are traveling to the Congo where Glenn works with a orphanage in the Congo.  After traveling to the Congo Glenn will travel to Uganda to meet with the Jores for direction and encouragement on behalf of the World Missions Committee.  Please pray for the Morks as the travel in Africa.