Calvary International Fellowship: Prayer Addendum

Dear Friends,

Below is a paste from CNN's website concerning election violence. Please take the time to read it and pray. Please pray for Disciple Support Ministries and the Bible College campus in Kibera. Please pray for the more than 100 pastors that attend the college. Pray that they would be filled with the Spirit and able to minister among the chaos. Please also pray for the work in Mathare and the other slums. Thank you that we can come to you knowing you will intercede on behalf of these dear people.

May the King of Peace come take over for our worldly leaders!

Ed

From CNN's website

The lag in the revelation of the results is blamed for the outbreak of sporadic violence in some areas. Roaming gangs armed with machetes and other homemade weapons burned shops and broke into the homes of their political opponents Saturday in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya's capital. CNN Producer Kim Norgaard and his crew witnessed gangs looting and then burning several stores, and visited the home of a local organizer of one of the ruling parties that had been set on fire early Saturday morning.

The man was taken to the hospital with machete wounds, Norgaard said.
People's homes are being targeted according to their political affiliations, and armed gangs blame rival ethnic groups affiliated with local political parties for the violence. Police are out on the streets but seem outnumbered and unable to completely stop the burning and looting, Norgaard observed.

He said gangs trying to make their way into central Nairobi were being repelled with tear gas by police on the edge of the Kibera slum.

Link to Calvary International Fellowship: Prayer Addendum

Calvary Chapel Sokol, Moscow: Please, pray!

This prayer request came in from Shepherd's Staff missionaries at CC Sokol.

Dear friends and family,

would you please pray for my dad. He had a stroke last Monday and is in a hospital right now. At first, his condition did not seem to be too serious and from his own words, his doctor even said that he is getting better rather quickly. However, in the past few days my dad was feeling weak and refused to try getting up. My mom talked to the doctor, who said that this situation is alarming, because usually people in the worst conditions start getting up on the 3^rd to 5^th day after the stroke and she does not see any reason why my dad is not doing that. She also said that his type of stroke is the worst one and he should forget about a possibility to go back to work, “if he lives,” she added. There were some other things that the doctor said which only left us more perplexed.

My dad is not a believer. I’ve been sharing the Lord with him over the years and all the more when he had a heart attack some years ago, he was resisting then.
Please, pray for my dad, my mom and sister and for me too.

May the Lord be glorified through this situation!

Thank you! Natasha

Link to Calvary Chapel Sokol, Moscow: Please, pray!

Missionary News

Have you read an interesting article about missions or a missionary recently? Have you received a good news letter from a missionary on the field or read an interesting missions related blog post? If you thought it was good, others probably will, too. Email it to me and I'll post it.

50 Million Chinese Bibles and Counting . . . - China Connection: Laura Robertson Blog - CBN News

 I know it's Christmas and here I am blogging. Well, the house is quiet and I finally have a chance to go through my email. People love to email me missions related articles and I love getting them, but it takes a while for me to get my reading done.

Justine sent me this interesting article about Bible distribution in China. Here's an excerpt:

According to Lloyd, the major problem with getting Christian literature into China isn't the government interference, it's the lack of paper. The Amity Press, which is the only legal printer of Bibles in Mainland China, hasn't had the capacity to keep up with the growing demand. In response, the ABS has launched an initiative to distribute 250,000 more Bibles to China by equipping the Amity Press and other Christian groups with more paper and resources.

The issue of "lack of paper" or general lack of resources brings up another question- why doesn't the Chinese government allow other international groups, who have more paper than they know what to do with, to send Bibles to China?

Read the rest of the article here: 50 Million Chinese Bibles and Counting . . . - China Connection: Laura Robertson Blog - CBN News

It's not too late to bless a missionary

My friend Jeff emailed this blog post he read over on Piper's blog:

13 Ways to Bless Missionaries Without Paying for Postage
December 19, 2007  |  By: Tia
Category: International Outreach

Were you unable to send a Christmas present or care package to some missionaries you love this season? It’s okay. You can still bless a missionary this Christmas.

Here are 13 post-office-free ideas to get you started, most of which you could do right now from your desk:

• Pray specific Scripture for them and their ministry, and then email it to them.


• Call or email their parents—Christmas might be just as lonely for the ones at home as the ones away.


• Purchase phone minutes for an international calling card through an online service like OneSuite and email them the account number.


• Donate frequent flier miles to them.


• Purchase an iTunes gift card for them. Have it sent to you and email them the account number.


• Commit to pray for them on a specific day of the week for a year.


• Write a song or poem or story for them. Email them the text and a recording of you reading or singing it.


• Get friends and family together to create a holiday video greeting for them using Google Video or YouTube. Include lots of people you know they miss.


• Make a year-end gift through their missions board or agency.


• Western Union—the fastest way to send money.


• Call their local florist (not everyone is in the jungle these days) and have flowers delivered, or their local Pizza Hut and have pizza delivered—with corn and shrimp as toppings!


• Donate to a charity that means a lot to them.


• Make a monthly commitment to support them financially.

If you have your own ideas, respond to this post and let us know what they are. Maybe next year we can offer 50 suggestions, or 100.

(Remember to use d iscernment in written or video communication if your missionaries work in security-sensitive locations.)

HT: Desiring God

Inner City Ministry

This is a video my boy put together for Urban Youth Impact, the ministry he works for.


That is my son doing the back flip. CCJ worship leader, Jeff Thompson provides the music.

No Greater Love...

I've been reading postings from these Uganda bloggers over the past couple of weeks. They are in the middle of an ebola outbreak. Ebola is a terrifying and merciless disease, yet these people have given their lives to ease sufferring while risking their own lives.

Today Scott stood up to introduce Fred Lubwasa in church—Fred is a UPDF soldier and nurse who volunteered to work in the isolation unit back when we didn’t understand the epidemic, then stayed on when he knew it was Ebola. We first met him three weeks ago, the first time we were examining patients there. His exposure led to infection, and he battled for his life. Now discharged, he thanked Scott for the prayers of the people, so Scott invited him to church. As they stood together, Scott put his arm around him and shook his hand to show that post-Ebola patients are not infectious and should not be ostracized. He pointed out that God looks at the heart and in God’s kingdom this nurse is a “Big Man.”

We are also posting some additional pictures today of the other Heroes of Ebola.

Rosa Crestani, the MSF Medical Coordinator who led the advance team, moving in to create order in the chaos, passionately caring, with that core of steel that allows her to do her job even when criticized by politicians (and she’s had plenty of that in the meetings!).

Dr. Yoti Zabulon, the energetic and patient young doctor, who survived the Gulu Ebola epidemic of the year 2000 and then pursued a career in Infectious Diseases with the WHO in Uganda, flying to every trouble zone in the country to offer service, leadership, and wisdom.

Our Resident District Commissioner Sam Kazinga, who represents the President's Office to the District, with his commanding presence and insistence on work, pulling all the agencies together and keeping the Ebola District Task Force focused on their task, dispelling rumor and insisting on excellence.

Monday Julius, the Clinical Officer In-Charge at Kikyo Health Unit, who has been caring for Ebola patients at the epicenter since it began, seeing more Ebola patients than any other person in the district...and who has managed not to get sick with the disease!

And there are many others, the fresh faces from CDC who track contacts and draw blood samples and diagram transmission chains. The voices of experience from WHO and elsewhere who have seen this all before and know what to do next. The doctors from Ministry of Health who left their homes and families behind to shore up the devastated medical system here. The committed and competent field workers from the Red Cross who scour the district for contacts and cases.

Dr. Ian Clarke writes a weekly column, and in today’s he praises two doctors in Kampala working with paediatric AIDS. In that same spirit we applaud the heroes we’ve seen here. Just when one is tempted to despair over Uganda, these people remind us that God has his people everywhere, fighting the good fight, showing mercy, using their talents to serve others.

HT: ParadoxUganda

Retraction

I received a nice note from one a Mercy Ships VP regarding the previous blog post pointing to Chritianity Today's article. YWAM and Mercy Ships are two different ministries and apparently I'm the last person on the planet to know.

Both are great ministries. To fid out more about YWAM, click here: link. To learn more about Mercy Ships, follow this link.

Saving Faces | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Christianity Today has a great article about YWAM's Mercy Ships. Let's pray that God takes last weeks shootng incident and uses it to glorify Himself by sending more peopel into the field to spread His Glorious Good News. 

Staff members point to a South African couple, volunteer Trudi Venter and her plastic surgeon husband, Tertius, as an example of costly obedience. God leads just the right people - often couples - toward outreach aboard Mercy Ships. After Tertius operated on patients for 10 days on the Anastasis, he heard God's call to refocus his entire surgical practice around care for the poor. Since then, he has served on board 12 times.

On this tour, his wife joined him. One weekday morning, Trudi sang to comfort a fussy baby - Emanuel, a cleft-palate patient - as her husband toured the wards.

The Jesus film, VeggieTales, and other Christian videos are often shown to patients and their families to introduce them to the gospel. Trudi helped another patient, Nayo, 3, sip water from a cup as she pointed to a television playing the Jesus film. "Look! Jesus loves the children. He says the children must come to him." The child intently watches the screen as Christ heals a blind man.

Read the whole article here: Saving Faces | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Report from Chris Jones

Chris Jones sent out a great report about the work he and his wife, Noelle are doing in Cote d'Ivoire. The following is and excerpt:

The car which an American missionary let us use since November broke down last week and we had to get it repaired. I took it to the local garage which is about 4 blocks from our home. It is a field with a bunch of junked cars in it. There I waited 4 to 5 hours for some parts to be brought in. While there I was blessed to be able to share about Jesus with six young men. One man came to the Lord and went to church with us last Sunday. Two others were Muslims and were very interested in learning more about Esa (Jesus). We will set up a time to meet with them soon.

read the rest of Chris' report here: link

Connected???

 What is going on today?

It was not immediately known whether the shootings were related to an earlier shooting about 70 miles away in the Denver suburb of Arvada. There, two people died and two were wounded early Sunday when a gunman opened fire in a dormitory at a missionary training center on the campus of Faith Bible Chapel.

Source: My Way News - 4 Shot Outside Colorado Springs Church

YWAM Article Library

 

YWAM Staff Killed in Denver
By Paul Filidis

It is with great sadness that we report the shooting death of two staff members at our YWAM Denver (Arvada) training location. The shooting occurred just after midnight, Sunday early morning; two additional staff members were injured, one is in critical condition. Please pray -- for the families who are on their way to Denver -- for the critically injured young man undergoing surgery today -- for the staff and students who have been evacuated to another location -- for the apprehension of the gunman who fled the scene

Source: YWAM Article Library

Update

Two dead in YWAM shooting... 

Source: My Way News

My Way News - Gunman Wounds 4 in Missionary Center

please pray... 

DENVER (AP) - A gunman walked into a training center for young Christian missionaries in a Denver suburb early Sunday and opened fire, wounding at least four people.

The shooting happened at about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday at the Youth With a Mission center, Arvada Police spokeswoman Susan Medina said.

The extent of the injuries was not clear, and the gunman was still at large Sunday morning.

According to its Web site, Youth With a Mission has about 1,000 locations worldwide and trains people to become missionaries. About 50 people were inside the Arvada site when the gunman opened fire.

Source: My Way News - Gunman Wounds 4 in Missionary Center

Urgent Prayer Request from Far Reaching Ministries « CCk Missions

Sam Crowther over at Calvary Chapel Kendal had this post on his blog today:

We have just received word from one of our missionaries that an Ebola outbreak has been confirmed just outside their city in Bundibugyo. Following is the email that we have just received in our office today:

Doug and I after much prayer write to you about the situation we are faced with here. Over the mountains from us, in a town called Bundibugyo, an Ebola outbreak has been confirmed- as of Friday, November 30th. The town is not many miles from our home town of Fort Portal. But the road condition is bad, and takes 3+ hours to drive one way. However the only road leading in or out of this town goes through Fort Portal.

The World Health Organization, CDC (Center for disease control), Red Cross and various other organizations have already landed in the town and are helping to contain the situation. There are also several American missionary doctors that live there that are helping treat the victims of this virus.

As of yesterday, the count for the infected was at 93, and the count of deaths was at 22. At this point the percentage of the death rate is at 43%. This is a new strain, and has much milder symptoms then the previous 3 strains that hit Africa. The most common symptoms are head ache, diarrhea, fever and rash.

We do NOT write to you to in-sue panic or worry, we write that you may join together with us in taking this to the throne room of God. At this point, there are rumors that the Ebola virus has spread to Fort Portal, but there have been NO confirmed cases. All those that live in Fort Portal are at minor risk at this point in time. We are taking precautions and seeking God in this matter- we know He will lead us and guide us every step of the way and through every situation we are faced with.

A great source of information can also be read on Jennifer Myrhe's blog- Jennifer and her husband Scott are two of the American missionary doctors that live and work in Bundibugyoand are still there treating patients. Jennifer has been updating this blog daily with very helpful, factual information on what is going on there at ground Zero.

Here is her link @: http://paradoxuganda.blogspot.com/

Source: Urgent Prayer Request from Far Reaching Ministries « CCk Missions

Safe Harbor: Pacific Northwest Flooding

On Tuesday evening our assessment team was able to get into the town of Vernonia, OR on the Nehalim River. Vernonia was one of the hardest hit communities in Oregon with both strong winds and massive flooding. Much of the town and surrounding fields and farms were under as much as 5 feet of water. It also took over a day for emergency crews to reach the town after the storm passed as every highway had been blocked with downed trees, power lines, mud and land slides, as well as erosion from flowing water. As the Lord led the assessment team they were able to make contacts with county emergency officials, the local grocery store owner (who’s a Christian), and county health service administrators who work with the elderly and shut-ins.

On Wednesday a Response Team headed by Randy Foster was deployed to Vernonia, taking with them a cook/work trailer with enough food to give a hot meal for 400 people including local citizens, first responders, and National Guard Troops. They were able to deploy in the parking lot of the local grocery store. They will also be serving a pancake breakfast, and lots of water. This team will be reinforced by other volunteers from regional churches for at least the next week. Because of the extensive damage, the Responders will be doing anything from cooking and delivering hot meals, helping remove wet drywall and muck from homes, to helping the county health administrators check up on the elderly and shut-ins.

Please pray that the love of Christ will be evident to all through everything that our Responders do and say.

In Christ’s Service,

Daniel Gettemy

Safe Harbor International Western Regional Coordinator

HT: Safe Harbor Blog

Grace in Sudan

Bill Paquette is serving with Safe Harbor in Sudan. Below is an excerpt from his recent newsletter. No doubt you've heard the recent story of the British school teacher being jailed and expelled from Sudan for allowing her students to name a teddy bear Mohamed. Islam can be graceless, but Bill's newsletter demonstrates the grace shown by Christians.

Grace is non existent in Sudan. A dear friend of mine whom lived in the compound with me had an issue with taking things that didn’t belong to him. After discovering an item missing that only he could have taken, it was determined that he had to go. My heart agonized over this as in Sudan prison is the punishment for stealing. It seemed like an opportunity to show my brother grace, mercy and forgiveness. After 4 days of prayer, I told him how much I loved him and that I had no choice but to let him go. We prayed with him and provided some benevolence so that he wouldn’t end up on the streets. The result is that the thief was shown grace and mercy (just as we are). The Sudanese staff also learned grace.

Read the whole story here: Safe Harbor Blog

Calvary International Fellowship

This prayer request/report came in from Ed Compean this week: 

Please pray for the American missionary community here in Kenya. The weakening U.S. dollar coupled with Kenyan inflation has taken a toll. Some will need to leave and others are wondering if they can afford to stay through 2008. Personally, we praise God that He is providing. It is tight, but not critical like some of the others. The dollar has lost 8% against the Kenyan Shilling in the last year alone and 20% over two years. At the same time Kenyan inflation has increased costs by 25%. Again, God is providing, but we ask that there be specific prayer for us and all the missionaries concerning their personal and ministry budgets.

Read the rest of Ed's report here: Calvary International Fellowship

Calvary Chapel Sokol, Moscow: Laura's Story (l to r: Jackson,Chas, Alfa, Laura)

This is a great post from CC Sokol. Moscow blog. Leave a comment if you click through to read the whole story. Missionaries in the field love to hear from us Stateside...

About 7 months ago I got a call from Laura in her broken English and she wanted to meet, she was living 3 hours away in a different city and so we met at the Leningradskiy train station. She began to tell of all the things the Lord was doing in her life, and how He had touched her life in a powerful way. It was obvious to me she was a different gal then when I had known her at the hospital. It was then that she told me about her children back in Cameroon and so I encouraged her to return as soon as possible and that we would help her make that step. To leave Russia when your visa is expired is not a quick and easy process but I was amazed how quickly it fell together and within 3 weeks Laura was at the airport on her way home. I believe God has a great plan for Laura who was very anxious to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all her family.

Read the rest of the story here: Calvary Chapel Sokol, Moscow: Laura's Story (l to r: Jackson,Chas, Alfa, Laura)