Book Translation

We'd really appreciate your prayers as I work with Mrs. Sato on yet another book translation. This time we've been asked to do Max Lucado's 'Facing Your Giants' on the life of David. It's a great book with some keen insights on living a victorious Christian life...Click here to read the full post.

A Note from the Mackeys

It seems weird that by this time next year, we might be living in the Amazon jungle! Wow. - and with a little baby. It seems like too big of a job for us to be doing the Lord’s work in a tribe - and you know what - it IS too big of a job for us. The great thing is that it’s NOT our job - it’s the Lord’s!!! We pray that we will keep abiding in Christ day by day so that the Spirit of God will work through us. Pray that we will be vessels of the Lord. Thank you!

A Note from the Pearson Family

Howdy from Texas! We miss you all! Things are "ramping up" at a rapid pace here. Todd is less than 60 days from deployment. His hours are a bit long at the moment, but he should have some more free time next month. Please keep him (and us!) in prayer as he prepares! He had to do his first notification this past weekend, and it turned out to be a family we knew. We ask that you also remember the Cox family as they have lost the husband/father to an attack in Afghanistan.

Thomas has started first grade and is loving it. We are still homeschooling, so far it is working out great. Reagan is frequently reminding us that she is the princess, and Jackson is crawling at lightening speed and my guess will be walking soon! The children and I will be visiting in December and January, and look forward to worshiping with you !Drop us a line sometime, we'd love to hear from you! wepearsons@yahoo.com or find us on Facebook (as several of you already have! :) )

The Schultz's

Dear Ministry Partners,

We are only a few days away from the beginning of our new fall term. The Lord is blessing us with 55 adults and 16 kids from 20 agencies heading to 26 countries. What a privilege and serious responsibility God entrusts to us with His servants!

In recent letters I have referred to an organizational and staff problem I have been dealing with. I am pleased to report that we closed the book on that issue this morning and our staff are now united again. This is truly an answer to prayer as we were dealing with a seriously divisive issue. Thank you for praying for me in my leadership and for us as a staff. Working this through was very difficult and painful. We each had to admit how we contributed to the problem with poor communication but more importantly with sinful attitudes and actions. As we let the Holy Spirit do His work we were able to “own” our own issues and submit them to Him. Please continue to pray for us as spiritual warfare is real and we want to be clean before Him. Isn’t it interesting that even though we can be mature believers serving the Lord we can still let ourselves fall into sinful attitudes and actions. We never rise above this and so we must always be alert!

Here at CIT we teach what it means to live out of the gospel, conflict management, and team principles so we now had to choose to live out what we teach. I wonder how much this recent division stood in the way of our effectiveness in the past few months. I look forward with confidence to what more the Lord can do now that this is cleared up. We truly want to live out of Philippians 1:27:

“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” NASB

The Lord has provided us with a new Facilities Manager but we are still looking for a part-time/full-time cook for 2009.

Praise/Prayer:

1. Restored unity in our staff division
2. The power of the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts.
3. Significant ministry in the lives of this next group of trainees
4. New cook
   

Thank you for standing with us in your prayers and finances.

George and Kathy

The Schultz's

Dear Ministry Partners,

We are only a few days away from the beginning of our new fall term. The Lord is blessing us with 55 adults and 16 kids from 20 agencies heading to 26 countries. What a privilege and serious responsibility God entrusts to us with His servants!

In recent letters I have referred to an organizational and staff problem I have been dealing with. I am pleased to report that we closed the book on that issue this morning and our staff are now united again. This is truly an answer to prayer as we were dealing with a seriously divisive issue. Thank you for praying for me in my leadership and for us as a staff. Working this through was very difficult and painful. We each had to admit how we contributed to the problem with poor communication but more importantly with sinful attitudes and actions. As we let the Holy Spirit do His work we were able to “own” our own issues and submit them to Him. Please continue to pray for us as spiritual warfare is real and we want to be clean before Him. Isn’t it interesting that even though we can be mature believers serving the Lord we can still let ourselves fall into sinful attitudes and actions. We never rise above this and so we must always be alert!

Here at CIT we teach what it means to live out of the gospel, conflict management, and team principles so we now had to choose to live out what we teach. I wonder how much this recent division stood in the way of our effectiveness in the past few months. I look forward with confidence to what more the Lord can do now that this is cleared up. We truly want to live out of Philippians 1:27:

“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” NASB

The Lord has provided us with a new Facilities Manager but we are still looking for a part-time/full-time cook for 2009.

Praise/Prayer:

1. Restored unity in our staff division
2. The power of the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts.
3. Significant ministry in the lives of this next group of trainees
4. New cook
   

Thank you for standing with us in your prayers and finances.

George and Kathy

A Note from Joel Colon

Dear Friends and Family,

I returned to Ukraine about a month ago, on July 25^th, after three months spent in America raising support and visiting family and friends. Although God did not provide all of the additional monthly support that was needed, he did provide some generous one-time gifts to help reduce the deficit that I am currently running in ministry expenses.

By now I think all of you have heard about my engagement to Irena Savochka, and our upcoming wedding on September 27^th. The ceremony will be here in Ukraine, just outside the city limits of Kyiv.

Irena was able to join me in America for the last month before I returned to Ukraine, and God provided the right circumstances that allowed her to meet all of my immediate family. My sister and her husband live on the west coast, but attended a conference which we were able to meet them at in Tennessee. Also, my brother who lives in China returned to the States for a month, arriving about a week before Irena and I flew back to Ukraine, so we were able to spend some time with him as well. We were also able to visit some of my extended family in New England and some of Irena’s extended family who live in Missouri. We were blessed by the way that God gave us opportunities to meet so much family in such a limited time period.

We have been busy since we returned to Ukraine, with lots of preparations still left to be done, and just over one month left to go. As frequently happens, when I begin working on something that is so closely tied into culture, I learn much more about the Ukrainian and Slavic mindset and perspective. Specifically, I have been learning a lot about marriage traditions and expectations in Ukraine.

Having moved out of my last apartment before I went to America because of rent increases, Irena and I began looking for an apartment that would be suitable for starting our life together in October. With the help of Ira’s contacts we were able to find a nice one-room apartment just outside the city for $650/mo.

August is always a slower time of the year, as this is the month that most Ukrainians take their yearly vacations, and as usual, many businesses, companies, and even churches are running reduced schedules or shutting down their offices completely while people are away. Antioch has had many of our people gone as well, with some on vacation, and some of us making needed trips back to America, or being away for children’s camps and mission trips. This week we began meeting together again for prayer and planning for the upcoming months. Please pray for the many teams and training centers as they hold new rounds of meetings and trainings after busy summer programs. This coming month will be a large gathering of teams in the west, to talk about coordinating vision and strategy across multiple oblasts.

As I reported in my last update, the pastor of the Spanish church, Raidel, was asked to go to Brazil by the company for which he works. The decision to go was made only after considerable prayer and God seems to have opened up many new doors for him since he arrived. He is due to briefly return to Ukraine in the beginning of September to get his wife and young son, for whom he has been preparing a place. While this has been a time of joy and excitement for them, it has also been a time of sadness at their having to leave the Spanish church and the close friendships.

Raidel’s leaving has also highlighted the leadership needs that the Spanish church has, and the need for a better definition of its focus and future. This is the only Spanish language church in the city and I strongly feel that it is needed to reach out to the many Spanish-speaking students and businessmen who make Kyiv their home. Although there are some other capable men who have taken a keen interest in the church, at this time I remain the only one who speaks Spanish and understands Hispanic culture. Because of this, and at the request of the church, I have agreed to become the principal leader of the church for this interim period. I am meeting and praying with the main leaders right now regarding the direction that God would have us go. I am open to facilitating some major changes, provided that it results in an effective witness to Spanish speakers in the city. Please pray with us about what God desires for this church.

Praise God that:

1. Returning safely and signing a one-year contract for a nice apartment.

2. Several good months financially to reduce the ministry deficit.

3. Things are coming together for the upcoming wedding.

Please Pray for:

1. Upcoming wedding: Traveling relatives, organizing people and places, countless minutia.

2. Clear direction from God for the Spanish church, my role, and its future. Please pray also that God would reveal the leader that He desires to take over after this interim period.

3. Reconnecting with the various Antioch teams before their upcoming trainings and gatherings.

In Christ,

Joel

PS If the pictures don’t come through you can see them at:

http://web.mac.com/joelcolon

Birth Announcement of Logan Bertram

Praise the Lord! Logan Gabriel Bertram has arrived and is doing great.
He was born on August 21st, 2008 at 1:14pm.
9 pounds 14 ounces

A Note from the Wenger's

Starting in May to the present time we traveled many miles, watched God work in the lives of people in various places, enjoyed the wonders of His creation, both in nature and in our precious grandchildren, and faced some weeks of hard work because of water damage to the floor in Jim’s office. The water came not from storms but from leaving the dehumidifier on accidentally while we were out of town. What an unpleasant mess to face after a relaxing week in the mountains!

The May trip to Venezuela remains a highlight for us, and Jim continues to hear from the professors there who want to be effective witnesses in their various universities. He uses email, now that we know each other, to answer questions and encourage them in their initiatives. There are three locations in Venezuela where the vision cast by our team can be implemented. PRAY for Christian and Julieta as they launch a new ministry to students and professors in Valencia, for Alvaro, a professor in Merida, and for Aleive, one of the professors in Maracaibo. Christian, a Venezuelan Campus Crusade for Christ staff member, ably translated for the lectures about the damage that pornography does to those who view it. Along with lectures on other topics, that one was received well by the students in two venues. Please continue to pray for believing professors there and throughout Latin America where the doors are open for their influence by life and by word.

After working many Saturdays to remove wallpaper from an upstairs bedroom, Anne was glad to have Jim take over to repaint those walls in early June. The incentive to get that job done was to welcome visitors from Finland, whom we met in the 1980’s when the father, Antti, was a student at the Univ. of South Carolina. Now, with two of their three children, they came to America to celebrate a special birthday for Antti. They were able to join us for the final night of VBS at our church where Debbie, Mark’s wife, was the Bible teacher along with her father. We helped too since it was family oriented with teams made up of all ages who moved through a schedule of crafts, games, and Bible time each evening. It was fun interacting with four of our grandchildren there along with others on our team.

Both Jim and Anne taught Sunday School throughout the summer. Anne’s class was for those who have completed second grade. Jim’s was the choir class - ages not disclosed!

By late June it was time to travel to Arlington, VA for the National Faculty Leadership Conference sponsored by Faculty Commons. Culminating much prayer, long hours of preparation, and hundreds of e-mails and phone calls, the conference unfolded in blessing and challenge for some 300 people who attended from this country and eight others. Half of those were professors and another twenty-five were graduate students. Relationships deepened for some and hearts were touched by what was heard. Some comments made about the conference follow.
--I have been challenged to incorporate my Christian beliefs in my research.
--Clearly, I have been challenged to be more intentional in my witness ... and I have already started to follow-through with this.
--It’s inspiring to meet with hundreds of Christian professors from all over the country and the world!

Jim was able to hear personally the story of an African professor who has suffered for the faith and interact with him. We continue in contact and pray for him. Morning prayer times around tables, after coffee and muffins, were encouraging as we poured out our hearts for the lost in the universities today.

Following the conference we had time to relax in the Shenandoah Valley and found again that mountains lift our spirits and refresh us immensely. Time to read, take some walks among the trees, and be away from phones, computers, and the routine duties was welcomed.

But then, as mentioned before, we arrived home and found a mess. Our very large personal library meant tons of books, bookcases, and all furniture had to be transferred to other places while the floor was replaced. While we were at it, we decided to replace the carpet upstairs at the same time. Fortunately we have two bathrooms upstairs as well as the living and dining rooms where we could put everything. You can imagine our delight to learn that a team from the youth group at our church was willing to help us do some of the moving. They also took on outside work that needed to be done, since it was being neglected while we tackled the inside jobs. On that particular day we had 21 people working in and around the house, since the carpet laying team was there at the same time. We have nothing but praise for those wonderful young people, ages 12 to 18 who worked hard, with great attitudes, and even listened to us share a bit of our testimony and ministry. What a blessing!

We were able to spend some time with our grandchildren in between the various ministries and projects of this summer.

We read in a report by Ravi Zacharias, well known apologist, an assessment we know to be true. “The attacks upon the Gospel are stronger than ever and a new breed of anti-theists wants to evict all ‘religious belief’ from the academy and the public square. Their own dogmatic materialism is held with such ‘religious fervor’ and is seen by themselves as intellectually sophisticated while any belief in the transcendent is seen as nonsense.” He went on to say that his ministry is committed to prayer, rigorous study, and to proclaim the power of God to bring men and women to Himself.

We also are committed to that effort through Faculty Commons, faithfully holding forth Truth by our life and our words as God gives us opportunity. Your support for us and your prayers for the universities are essential to our being able to do that. We will write more about the specific tasks ahead for the fall at a later date. Please pray for us as you are reminded.

Gratefully,

Jim and Anne Wenger

Birth Announcement of Tekoa Mackey

Praise the Lord! Tekoa has arrived and is doing great. Ginger's water broke Monday morning. Her contractions started Tuesday morning at 3:30 a.m. We arrived to check in to the clinic at around 8:30, and he was born at 11:45. No drugs, no epidural, no induction - all natural! Thank you all so much for your prayers. Please give us a few days to get some pictures and video on the internet.

Tekoa Everette Mackey

August 19, 2008 11:45 a.m.

Pictures of the Mackey's Opening their gifts from the Baby Shower

Gustav Bearing Down on the Kay Family

Just wanted to write an update on Gustav. The last update I just saw a few minutes ago (10:50) revealed that the storm is 4 miles per hour away (wind wise) from being a hurricane. It is now in between Hispaniola and us and the worst of it should hit later today and into the night (Thursday). They are projecting 20 plus inches of rain in some areas on the island with mudslides and flooding. Bud has secured the things in the driveway, got gas in the van and picked up a few things at the store. I've collected water. We've already lost a banana stalk last night. I think he tied up some others -- awnings are down, etc. ready for the wind. We are going to start bringing in the loose things from outside now.

The kids are excited:) It is a miracle that we finished school at 10:45 and now we are all getting ready. Please pray for the church people of which some are in very low lying areas where flooding could mean losing lives. I heard there were evacuations already taking place because of the projected amount of rain we are to receive.

All for now. I will try to write an update after the storm passes if we still have electricity.

The Bertram's New Website

We’re trying something a bit different with our website now. Hopefully it will be a bit easier to navigate and a lot simpler to update! Our hope is to update it every few weeks so that we can share our adventures with everyone more frequently! Baby pictures, prayer needs, the works! Please feel free to explore our site, email us with any way that we can improve it, make it easier to use, or just more informational! We’ve added a few updates, some more recent pictures of Emily and Ultrasound pictures of the baby! There is also information on what we are doing, where we are headed and a calendar of events to keep you updated on our plans! We’ll see how you all like it before we decide whether or not to keep it. Our desire is to keep everyone as informed as possible about all that is going on in the Bertram household! Thanks for continuing to pray and support us! You are a huge encouragement to us both!

To see the site just click here: http://sites.google.com/site/bertramsbyfaith/

Thanks again! Let us know what you think!!

Update from the Schultz Family

Our summer here at CIT has been going very well. We have had a good enrollment – much better than the spring. Our fall enrollment looks strong for which we are grateful. It sure makes a difference in the budget!

We have had two work groups (adult and youth) from a church in Indiana who have built a wonderful picnic shelter for us and created a new volleyball court. We are so grateful for these volunteers who also paid for the project!

Our cook on staff and on loan from World Team is leaving at the end of the year and we really need to find another one or even a couple. Cooking usually involves mostly lunches at various times and is in many ways a part-time job. This would be a wonderful opportunity for a semi-retired couple. Know of anyone?

Our staff in the Kids Intercultural Training program has reported that two children have accepted Christ as Savior during this term!! What a blessing this is for these children and for their missionary parents! During this week Kathy had the older kids build boats from cardboard to see whose would float the longest in the CIT pool. It was a fun and learning exercise!

Because of our growth at CIT we have been experiencing some organizational growing pains, which has created some staff pressure points. George is working on some new processes and changes to further develop staff unity and effectiveness. He is also considering developing a personal council of reference to help him with perspective and helpful ideas as well as personal growth.

For Father’s Day Kathy gave George a trip up north to assist Nathan with his youth group on a camping trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The trip was filled with camping, hiking, canoeing and working with kids. It was especially meaningful to watch Nathan serve in ministry and handle a very difficult situation with maturity, passion, and skill.

Thank you for your continued involvement with us through prayer and finances as it makes this work of training missionaries possible impacting the world for Christ!

Praise:

1. Wonderful supporters

2. Two children accepting Christ

3. Great summer term

4. Good visit with Nathan

Prayer Requests:

1. Finding a new cook

2. Organizational development within CIT for greater effectiveness as we grow

3. Wisdom in creating a council of reference for George

More volunteer work groups needed

Mackey Update

Time has really been moving along here in Brazil. We have been anticipating the arrival of our little boy. Ginger has been staying healthy and is adjusting well to all the changes that have been taking place. We only have about FOUR MORE WEEKS! During that last week or so we will be staying at a house that is in the same town as the clinic; by staying there, we will only have a ten minute drive to the clinic (verses 1 hour).

These last few months have been very fruitful for us and we seem to have gotten off to a great start. We are involved in many activities in the church throughout the week and have begun some great friendships with not only individuals but families. This time is giving me a great head start seeing that classes don't start up until August. Pray for great comprehension of the culture and language and the ability to communicate just about anything.

This will probably be the last update we send out before our little guy is born into the world. Please pray for us as the Lord prepares us for what will take place in the upcoming weeks and months. Pray that the clinic will let me be present for the delivery (it is a small place, so if Ginger goes in to delivery in the middle of the night there will be less people and they will let me be in the room). Pray for a package of baby items that was sent down, which is being held up in San Paulo.

We thank you all so much for your prayers and support; we could not be doing this without you.

Interested in partnering financially? Go to http://www.ntm.org/give/645

Get to know us more at: http://web.mac.com/chris_ginger

Joel Colon

Irena Savochka and Joel Colon would like to formally announce their engagement to be married. They will be married on Sept 27th in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Note from the Mackeys

As our knowledge and practice of Portuguese is growing, so is my belly! I'm now at 7 months with only 58 days to go (his due date is August 20th).

Needless to say, we're excited about becoming parents!

It's hard to believe that we've now been in Brazil at the New Tribes Mission base in Vianopolis for over a month. We've been very involved in church, and welcome our new friendships. I am already somewhat comfortable in the Brazilian culture, and I'm proud of how fast Christopher is not only learning Portuguese, but also mixing in with the Brazilian men. He even goes shopping in town by himself, and keeps our wheels (cargo bike) in working order!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We think of you often, and could not be here if it weren't for you.

Update from the Mays

Thank-you for praying for us during our two-week Singapore trip. We fell in love with Singapore. With everything written in English, and only three subway lines to contend with, it was easy for us Tokyoites to get around. East meets West in Singapore, enabling us to eat food from all over the world.

Amanda's home church, The Peoples Bible Church, warmly received us, transporting us to and from the wedding, to church services and the airport. The three-day retreat with the church people gave us an opportunity to appreciate our Singaporean brothers and sisters in a deeper way. Getting to know Amanda's family better and meeting about 80 of her relatives at the wedding was a highlight. We feel honored to be related to the Ng family. Henry and Irene (Amanda's parents) are highly respected as senior pastor and we came to admire them even more as we got to see them in action.

Aaron and Amanda are finally on their official honeymoon, staying at a mountain cabin in Sisters, Oregon. They will be working at Multnomah Bible College this summer and will be able to move into their own apartment in mid-July on-campus. I'm sure they would appreciate your prayers as Aaron finishes up his last year of school and as Amanda looks for full-time employment.

Alecia continues to teach at Belgrave English School until her return to college on August 27th. She is learning flexibility and patience as her students range from age 2 to 14.

Gerald is quite busy this summer with the added responsibility of "holding down the fort" at Family Forum Japan while Tim Cole, the director, takes a short home assignment. Gerald is also teaching a “continuing education” theology class again for 8 weeks this summer and fall. The course is designed to better equip Christians to “rightly divide the word of truth”exposing them to the breadth of the Bible’s major teachings. Please pray for his 8 students as they work through this potentially life-changing study.

I'm leading a 4-week Bible study on the book of Acts for a group of seven ladies. I'd appreciate prayer for one of the unsaved ladies in this class, Sachiko, who is active in church but hasn't yet received Christ as her Savior.

We had a great gospel concert on June 21st, joining in with 300 other voices to praise God through the energetic thrust of black gospel. Our own little black gospel choir of 12 members has been asked to sing at a local City Festival on July 13. It will be the first time for our small choir to perform on our own aside from the big concert. Several of the members are unsaved, but are open to the Gospel.

Thank you for remembering us in prayer. We are powerless without prayer.

A Wenger Report

Lately we have been packing our suitcases and hitting the road often. And we’re not finished yet! Next Tuesday we leave for Arlington, VA where we will participate in the National Faculty Leadership Conference. By providing Christian fellowship, encouragement, and training in ministry skills, the conference hopes to move professors from being observers to join those who invest in the lives of their colleagues and students with reference to eternal matters.

Our goal is to build movements of Christian professors on every campus, so that each campus will have faculty who point students and colleagues to Christ. We have pre-conference staff meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, June 25 and 26, but on Friday, June 27 we will welcome the professors and graduate students to the weekend conference. Please join us in praying that the Bible exposition, the academic discourses, and the practical helps offered will be well received and will result in fruitful exploits for God in the year ahead. The secular university is considered a stronghold of the gods of this world due to prevalent philosophies that are not in line with God’s Truth. Much prayer is needed to see any changes in the climate on campuses across our land.

One of our colleagues in Faculty Commons went Home to be with the Lord on June 11 after a short but intense battle with ALS commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She was only 54 years old and had a significant role in leading the women of our ministry in addition to being a godly wife, mother, and influencer in her community and church in Minnesota. Such a loss reminds us that life is short and what we do each day should count for eternity.

We are blessed to be able to devote ourselves to this ministry and your partnership is necessary for our doing it. Thank you for your faithful prayers, encouragement, and gifts. The price of gasoline may have negatively affected the number of professors who will attend the conference in VA. We know you are noticing the rise in all your expenses too. We pray for God’s blessing and help for each of you.

Bertram Update

Just click on the picture to read the update.

Update from Joel Colon

It is nice to be back in the States for a little while, but since I keep forgetting my camera in the car, this update won’t have the usual assortment of pictures with it, sorry. I will try to get some pictures posted soon.

There are so many things over the last several years that I have gotten accustomed to doing without and have either forgotten about or stopped missing them. I like going through the stores when I come back and I am always fascinated by the various new American products, food items, and computer toys that appear. I never stop missing the peanut butter and spicy food, but this time I was also drawn to some of the new technological gadgets as well… J

Antioch has begun its usual summer slowdown with fewer meetings and trainings scheduled for June and July. Churches always have a lot of evangelism, children’s camps, and activities planned for the summer months, so we don’t hold too many training sessions. Although most of the Antioch team are very active in their local churches during this time, the summer months also allow us time to do planning and preparation for the upcoming busy fall and winter months. Please pray that God would bless the summer evangelism and outreach projects that directly contribute to the church planting efforts of the leaders and teams, which we have trained through Antioch

The Spanish church continues to experience the ups and downs of a foreign language church in Kyiv. Summer months see many students returning to their home countries or traveling abroad for work and vacation. The weather is beautiful though and the ones who remain have been having picnics and get-togethers down by the river. One big bit of news is about the current leader/pastor Raidel. He has been working at a company that recently asked him to move to Brazil for several years to work more intimately with the company offices there and in other South American countries. He has prayed quite a bit about this and God seems to be opening all the doors, so he will most likely be leaving in late July. We don’t know yet what exactly this will do to the church and who will be stepping up to fill some of the opening leadership needs. It will mean that I will have to preach a little more frequently at first and help out more with coordinating among the other leaders. Please pray that God will lead us in determining how to best continue this ministry.

Since I haven’t written very much about my girlfriend Irena in the regular updates, it is perhaps not all that surprising that I have been answering as many questions about her as there are about the good things happening in my ministry. J For those of you who have been keeping up with it, Irena did receive her American Visa (God blessed her with a five year, multiple entry Visa) and she will be coming to the US in June for several weeks. She will get to meet some of my family while she is here, and we even hope to connect for a couple days with my brother Ramon, who will be back from China for about a month starting in late July.

Speaking of Ramon in China, he continues to live in Chengdu and teach English as well as play/sing in the band Redwater. He was riding his motorcycle with some friends on May 12 when the 7.8 earthquake hit. He was just slightly outside the earthquake epicenter when it occurred and God miraculously kept him and his traveling companions safe as the roads and towns were wiped out around them and they were forced to hike out of the devastated area. He is doing well, although he reports that the continuing aftershocks continue to do more damage, wake them at night, and affect people’s nerves.

Support raising update:

It has been wonderful to be able to spend a little more time in America this time and share with many of my supporting churches and individuals, as well as present the ministry before new groups. Although much of my time and weekends have been busy, I still do have available times and dates in June and July and would love to share more about my ministry with you. If you or your church is interested in hearing more please send me an email to joelcolon@mac.com or call 828 286 1572 and we can arrange a time to get together.

I am looking to raise about $1700 more in monthly commitments for the expanding ministry expenses of training and coaching pastors, leaders and church planting groups. This breaks down to about 34 churches/couples/individuals willing to commit to $50 a month. Please pray whether God is leading you to partner with me in this ministry.

Praise God that:

1. My girlfriend Irena received a Visa and will be coming to the United States for a visit in June.

2. My mother received her Doctorate of Nursing from USC after a long educational journey.

3. God kept Ramon safe through the earthquake in China.

Please Pray for:

1. That God would continue to open new doors as I raise funds until returning to Ukraine in late July.

2. That the Spanish church would receive clear direction from God in the midst of Raidel’s leaving.

3. Summer evangelism and children’s ministries during the summer months.

In Christ,

Joel

PS If the pictures don’t come through you can see them at:

http://web.mac.com/joelcolon

Report about Kevin Bertram's Trip to Cambodia

I just received an update from Kevin this morning. He said they made it in safely from their long flight. Also they have toured the capital city of Cambodia to get more familiar with it for future (when we are living there and have to go there to get supplies). He also mentioned that he has already a ton of stories of things that have happened to them in the last few days. They make their first visit to the Cambodian tribes tomorrow. This is the beginning of some serious jungle/wilderness travel for them. He was saying that they may need to hike for a few hours if the road is terribly muddy. Be praying for them as they continue to travel into the other villages as the road conditions and living conditions become more and more difficult. Well, that all for now, hopefully I’ll receive more news later.

Emily

Family Forum Japan

The pace at Family Forum Japan has picked up considerably this month with a new book and DVD series coming available, and our speaking staff kept busy giving seminars on child rearing, marital relationships and sexual issues. Please pray for both the speakers and our administrative support staff, particularly as we prepare for one of our prime seminars in June. That will be an advanced training session for teachers, pastors, youth leaders and other Christians preparing to present the message of a biblical approach to Sexual Abstinence to the youth of Japan. Please pray, too, for God’s provision for general support income. We’re facing a serious crunch financially trying to pay our people, as well as cover other ministry expenses. More than anything we need more friends to join us by supporting Family Forum even just $20 a month.

And here at home in the book department, we've been giving away a new book called Manga Messiah. The life of Christ is pictured in Japanese Manga (cartoon form), a new way of getting the Gospel out to the many people who enjoy manga. We've been pleasantly surprised at the positive response we've been getting. Pray that God might use this book to bring people to salvation. It can be used to spark an interest in reading the Bible.

Wada-san, the manager at Debbie’s women's gym, continues to change from a negative to a positive disposition at work. God continues to open up windows of opportunity to share the Gospel with her. Yesterday Deb talked with her a bit about the spiritual significance of the Narnia Chronicles. Please pray that God will continue to soften Wada-san's heart and that she will put her faith in God.

Our Bible Study Fellowship class is coming to a close as we have our sharing day this week on what God has been teaching us in the book of Matthew. It amazes us both that there are non-Christian ladies coming to the study. Despite the load of homework, Ayuko, an unsaved friend with no Bible background, continues to attend week-to-week. Please pray that Ayuko will meet Jesus in a personal way.

Speaking of coming to a close, on May 21st, our good friends Tom & Ginna Sloan released their 32-year-old son Joshua, from this earth to heaven. After 2 years and 7 months of battling brain cancer, Joshua is in the arms of Jesus. He and his wife Sadie fought victoriously, making a huge impact on all of us. You may have prayed for the Sloan family, as we mentioned them several times in prayer letters. Please continue to pray for Sadie and the two girls, ages 5 and 2, as they adjust to a new life without Joshua.

Finally, we'd appreciate prayer for health and safety as we fly to Singapore on June 2nd for the “Big Day.” Aaron and Amanda are already there, preparing for their June 7th wedding.

Thank-you for teaming with us in impacting Japan for Christ!

The Wenger's are Back from Venezuela

We’re back from our trip to Venezuela. Our team of six traveled to Maracaibo, Venezuela, on May 13, spent three days doing classroom talks, lunches, training seminars, and individual conversations at two of Venezuela's top universities, on Saturday toured the old city and debriefed with the local Campus Crusade staff, and then flew home on Sunday. This trip had God's blessings throughout: many heard the message of salvation and responded, believers were challenged to allow God to use them as salt and light where they are, and our team from the US came alongside the gifted local team to share in what God is doing there. Here are some highlights of how God answered your prayers:

1. Traveling in and out of Venezuela was perhaps the hardest part of the trip. We were paying some kind of travel tax every time we turned around, and the paperwork and logistics were annoying. We literally ran out of money from paying the required and unexpected taxes, and still had one more tax to pay. God provided through one of the professors, Tom, who had his American Express card with him--the only card the airport bank in Caracas would accept.

2. All talks were met with great interest and spiritual openness. It was gratifying to see university students so enthusiastic and interested in a presentation, plus being able to share the gospel right in the classroom—such a privilege! Tom, Phil, and Wes (our two profs and one grad student) spoke numerous times in various venues and at each of the two universities the remarks on the comment cards were encouraging. Our hosts told us that the Venezuelans can be bluntly critical if they don't like something, so the absence of negative comments really indicate how spiritually prepared the hearts of the students were. We were able to talk one on one with some of those who attended the lectures. Thankfully our Spanish flowed again! Now the local staff and believing students will follow up those who indicated a decision and more interest.

3. God also did a great work in the lives of the Venezuelan professors. Although fewer attended professor outreaches than the student gatherings (just like in the US!), the ones who came, both Christian and non-Christian, appreciated the Biblical and practical input offered. Venezuelan professors who follow Jesus feel isolated, so it was great to develop friendships with them and help them see how God can continue to use them. The four active Christian professors we met in VZ are involved in ministry in some way. We will follow up with e-mail that will have added impact after having met them face-to-face. The two sessions Jim led for exploring ways to help them give us a framework for proceeding, Lord willing. Another trip at some future time may also be possible and would be welcomed.

4. Thank God for His protection. Because of student elections on the campus, there were incidents of tear gas bombs being thrown around the various buildings where we were. We were never in danger, and students who came to class were able to attend our lectures when their professors did not show up. We were kept safe in cars and while walking on very uneven pavement. God also prevented everyone from any sickness the entire time. We enjoyed some good meals, including many of the delicious tropical fruits.

5. We really want to say Praise the Lord for this long-awaited privilege, and for which you gave and prayed with us. May God be glorified and His kingdom enriched because of this. As you are reminded, please pray for believers in Venezuela who may have limited time for such freedom of expression. Pray also for the continuing follow-up of those who made decisions or indicated interest in knowing more.

An Update from the Schultz Family

In April Kathy attended the MK (Missionary Kid) Caregivers Consultation in Kansas City, KS. This conference is designed to further equip those who minister to MK's. One of the values of this consultation is, "The care and development of missionary families must be intentionally planned by caregivers." Since CIT is proactive in our training of families, Kathy went to the consultation to share and gather ideas for our program. Of particular interest was why some mk's walk away from the Lord-good checklist to pass on to families.

This spring our Childcare Coordinator (ages 0-5 years) resigned and it has been a harrowing time trying to find the right person for the position.
Just last weekend, the Lord provided 2 applicants-and none too soon as the CIT summer session begins May 28. We praise the Lord for His provision of our summer staff as well. We should have a full house of 30 children-ages 2 months through 14 years. How exciting!

On a personal note we had a really nice visit with Nathan and his wife Beth in PA a few weeks ago. We saw their church where Nathan serves as Middle School Youth Pastor. We also did a one-day quickie trip to New York City - Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and got to eat in a wonderful Brazilian restaurant!

We are also enjoying having daughter Beth living at home these days. Joel is here for a few months (back from the Ukraine) and it's great to have him around as well!

Praise
1. A very helpful MK Consultation
2. Finding a childcare coordinator

Prayer
1. Special leading of the Lord for Kathy to choose between 2 wonderful applicants 2. Incorporation of the new childcare worker into our staff 3. Skill and stamina in teaching the good number of kids coming this summer

We continue to be so grateful for your prayers and support. Thank you so
much.

A Note from the Mackeys

We have safely arrived in Brazil. We serve such a mighty God! I just want to say that you all are INCREDIBLE! You are the best team that we have ever been a part of. Thank you for all your prayers; God answered everything that we asked for and beyond. We made all of our flights just fine and still cannot believe that when we arrived in Miami at gate J7, our connecting flight to Brazil left out of gate J8! (If you have ever traveled overseas, this is unheard of.) Upon arriving to Brazil we went through immigration just fine, and when we went to claim our bags for customs check. . . . they looked at our passports and waved us through with no questions or even touching a bag!! After 20+ hours of traveling we arrived with ALL of our luggage and were treated to a typical Brazilian meal. We are now still settling into our apartment at the New Tribes Mission base where we have already begun Portuguese study.

In the next few days we will be adding to our website a ton of pictures and even a short clip of our drive into Vianapolis. http://web.mac.com/chris_ginger

Thank you all again for your prayers and we will continue to keep you up to date with the events of our lives and what God is going to be doing.

Update from the Kays

Many of you know we came back to Jamaica after our home assignment under different circumstances. The student pastor (28 years old) who was to graduate in June and take over the pastorate of Spanish Town Tabernacle, died suddenly in January. We arrived on the island on a Tuesday and went to his funeral the next Saturday. It was a bittersweet time, though, seeing our friends and co-workers again under these circumstances. It has taken the congregation some time to grieve and find their way after this tremendous loss for the church. We are thankful to the Lord for providing others to do the various things our student pastor used to do such as leading the service, leading youth group, witnessing, preaching, etc, however, Karl is still greatly missed. Please pray for his wife, Jody, as she continues to grieve the loss of her husband.

In the midst of this, we are thrilled with what God is doing in the church. There were four people who went forward to receive Jesus as their Savior the weekend of February 24 after the church service. On Good Friday a man in his thirties came for the first time and was asked if he was a Christian and he said “That’s why I am here. I want to become a Christian .” Devon became a Christian that day. We found out that he has his own business working in the same exact location of a man we knew over ten years ago named Clinton (from Kingston) who had his own business there, but has since migrated to the States.

Sherry lives with Devon. We found out that for a few Sundays she stood outside the door after worship service and called Donette over to give her tithe for the church. Sherry didn’t come to service because of her work schedule, but continued to give her tithe. She finally came to church the week before Palm Sunday for the first time. She was thrilled to be able to come and be a part of the service. She is not a Christian, but we see God working in her life. Please pray for her and Devon as they grow in the knowledge of God. Also after the Good Friday service, there was a young lady, Tracy, in her twenties who had been coming to church consistently for about a month. She came up right after service was over and said “I’m ready! I’m ready!” She accepted the Lord that morning!

A few Sundays ago after church, two teenage sisters made professions of faith. There are five sisters of which four came to church. They came out to youth group the Friday before. Later that evening when Bud and Dad went witnessing in the community they ended up at the Arnett’s house where they sat on the veranda with all the sisters and their mother and father. They had a piece of fabric hanging as a door to their house. Their house was deep in the ghetto. As they sat there on the veranda speaking with Mr. Arnett, (Daniel) they found out that no one in the household works. He made a comment, “My children are my life, my pension, my retirement, my everything.” When we heard this statement, we became a bit concerned for the girls in this regard. Many times in a situation like this, young girls are forced into a compromising lifestyle just to survive. During the course of the conversation talking about the Lord, Daniel said, “Why do you care about me?” Dad’s response was, “Once I wouldn’t care, but now Christ lives in me and His love causes me to care.”

They were also able to visit a man whom we’ve had contact with before, Patrick Brown. He is the father of two of our Sunday School children. He made a profession of faith that same evening. A few days later they saw him again and were able to encourage him in his walk with the Lord. They also “ran into” a man they had met months before who made a profession of faith while they were working on the church building. His name is Max. He just “so happened” to get off work early that day and they “just so happened” to be on the same path leading into the community when their paths crossed. Coincidence? No! We discovered that he hasn’t come to church like he said he would because he works seven days a week. Please pray for these dear ones whom God has called to Himself that they will make the time to meet with us and or find themselves in church so they will begin to grow in their new found faith.

A group of ten young adults have joined the 2-7 discipleship class offered during the Sunday School hour. It is a wonderful time of accountability and growing in the Lord. Please continue to pray for this group as they take this class that they will find the time during the week to study the lesson and memorize the Scripture passages.

Please pray that the truth of God’s assurance of salvation, answered prayer, victory over temptation, forgiveness and guidance will sink deep into their hearts as they go throughout their spiritual life.

For those of you who haven’t heard, we have been blessed to have Pastor Clark Lindsay offer to put together and update a blog site for us. The address is: kayschronicle.wordpress.com

We try to update this as often as possible. This site will contain more information on what is happening here in Jamaica from day to day and will keep people informed of updated prayer requests as well as including some pictures. God has so abundantly provided for us throughout the years and this is just another example of His goodness.

An Update from Todd and Jamie Pearson

Hi all! Sorry for the bulk message, and the delay. We don't have internet at the house yet and I am sitting in a parking lot with the laptop! I just wanted to be sure you all knew we made it safely and get you our new address. I will send more as soon as I can get up and running at the house, as well as get that blog I've been promising going.

Todd started work this week, and is very happy with his new assignment. He is the chaplain to the 303 MIl Battalion (Military Intelligence).

We found a house, it is beautiful. It will be up to visitor speed here soon ;) so start shopping for airline tickets!! :) For the moment, our cell #'s are the same. Home phone will be hooked up middle of next week (with
internet!!!!)

A Note from the Wenger's

Praise God that the funds needed for our ministry trip to Maracaibo, Venezuela May 13–18 are in hand and the schedule of events is almost complete. We are excited about the prospect of a harvest in the evangelistic opportunities planned, as word from the Venezuelan staff is that there is widespread openness in the universities to hear and consider the claims of Christ and the Gospel message. We want to assist the professors who go with us and to offer help to believing professors in that city’s universities as they continue ministry to their students and colleagues, in a 68,000 student state university and a smaller private school. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will be spent in various venues for lectures, testimonies, and interaction over meals.
We count on your prayers for God’s enabling the 6 going from the U.S., and for getting to and from the places designated for each of us. Pray for health, safety, stamina, and our spiritual alertness as we speak with many there. Tuesday and Sunday are travel days to and from VZ, and on Saturday we will debrief with local staff so that the value of our visit can be assessed. We plan to see a bit of the city that day too. All in all it is a quick trip with a full schedule.

May 2 to 4 we will be in Georgia for a reunion at the Radiotherapy Clinic where Jim was treated for prostate cancer last spring. We will see friends and hear lectures by doctors where questions can be answered too. Upon our return from VZ we will prepare for summer which includes hosting guests from Finland in our home followed by the National Faculty conference in Washington DC in June. Our family members are all doing well with each family approaching the end of another school year. Even Mary Beth has been studying and working this year. We are grateful for God’s blessings on us in so many ways. Thank you for your part in that blessing!
Gratefully, Jim & Anne

A May Update from the May's

Yes, "our month" is already here! It has already proving to be an exciting month with big things happening in our family life.

Alecia successfully finished her second year of college and is back in Japan teaching English to Japanese children from ages two to ten. Thank-you for praying her through all her papers and exams. In celebration we decided to do a photo shoot for her. It's a Japanese tradition to dress a young woman in a kimono at age twenty, when she becomes an "adult". We thought we better take advantage of the chance before her 21st birthday! We have a friend in our area who owns many kimonos, and she helped create our Japanese princess as you see her in this picture.


Aaron has a very exciting month ahead. First, he'll be finishing off his junior year at Multnomah Bible College, and his fiancee' Amanda graduates on May 16th. Then the two of them head to Singapore to finish off final preparations for their June 7th wedding. Amanda's dad, Henry Ng, is the senior pastor at People's Community Church, where the wedding ceremony will be held. With Gerald giving the message, and Henry officiating in the ceremony, it is going to be a family thing.

For all the family and friends in the Portland area, there will be a wedding reception on August 16th. We know that many of you are unable to attend, but we appreciate your prayers for God's blessing on Aaron and Amanda as they start a new life together. Aaron has one more year of school which qualifies them to live in the married student apartments at Multnomah Bible College. They are seeking the Lord about doing ministry in China or some other limited access country in the future.

News from the Mackey Family

Chris and Ginger have an announcement for everyone about Baby Mackey on their blog! Click here to see what they have to say.

Support Needed for Joel Colon!

Dear Friends of Joel Colon:

It is with undisguised pleasure that I write to you on behalf of our colleague and my son Joel. First a brief note of history. In September of 2004, Joel accepted the challenge to serve the Lord in Ukraine with SCPI. At that point he made a one year commitment and you graciously accepted the challenge to support him in prayer and financial resources.

In March of 2005, Joel arrived in Kiev with support adequate to meet his living expenses and ministry goals based on a short-term commitment. A year after that (2006), believing that God had more for him to do in Ukraine, Joel made a long-term commitment to the work without a corresponding increase in his support base.

We have witnessed God’s hand of blessing on the SCPI ministry in Ukraine and God’s hand on Joel’s life in ministry. The work in Ukraine has greatly expanded and Joel has been a great asset to the Antioch (SCPI) team.

Expanded ministry, both for the team, and for Joel, has necessitated increasing expenditures; all of this within a context of a nation with a rapidly escalating cost of living. Apartments that rented for $250 a month in 2005 are now over $800 monthly. The city of Kiev now has the 10^th most expensive cost of living in the world.

Budget adjustments and creative living arrangements have held at bay the need to seek greater funding for Joel’s personal needs as well as his contribution to the team’s ministry expenses. However, the time has come to address the pressing financial needs.

Two things are needed in order for Joel to continue to minister in Ukraine with adequate resources: first, a continued commitment from you his supporters to continue to provide at your current level of giving. Secondly, a twofold effort on your part:

1) If at all possible, increase the amount of your contribution. Many of you are already giving sacrificially and I thank you for your generosity.

2) There is also a need to expand the support base. Joel needs more churches and individuals to partner with him for the work in Ukraine. Joel is scheduled to return to the US for an extended period beginning in April. If you have family, friends, neighbors and church contacts that may have an interest in Joel’s ministry please make arrangements for Joel to follow up on those contacts. You can contact Joel at joelcolon@mac.com

You can also contact me at colonjames@bbellsouth.net or 828-286-1572.

I would be delighted to assist in arranging for any home or church meetings during the next few months. Of course, all of this bathed in prayer for God’s leading and blessing.

I look forward to God’s provision through you His people.

Jim Colon