A Note from the May's

Each of us just have to write to let you know how God has answered your prayers for us and those around us since our last May Memo.

Debbie-

Do you remember Kevin, one of our TEAM missionary kids, who was suffering from terrible sores in his mouth and throat? He was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, an allergic reaction to medication which can be fatal. After days of excruciating pain, 16 days in the hospital, and 10 kilos of weight loss, Kevin was released from the hospital. We enjoyed watching him eat and listening to him talk (two things he really couldn't do for almost three weeks) as he stayed with us for five days. Through this difficult sickness and suffering, God strengthened Kevin's spirit, giving him a vibrant testimony of God's faithfulness. We were glad we could help the Bridgman family through this crisis and see first-hand God's healing power. The doctors were amazed at Kevin's quick recovery. Your prayers along with hundreds of others from around the world no doubt made the difference.

Last Saturday I had lunch with Yumi, a 23-year-old young woman whom I met for the first time last month. Someone from Oregon introduced her to me via e-mail. Yumi speaks English fluently, having spent several years in the States, even graduating from art school in New York. She's a typical young person today, with very little ambition in life and feeling unloved by family. I was able to talk to her about some serious issues and give her a copy of a new animated version of the gospel called Manga Messiah. I'm thankful that she is open about talking about the Bible. Please continue to pray that Yumi will find that Jesus is the one that she needs, rather than the things that the world has to offer. And pray that the newly published Manga Messiah would draw people to God through the dramatic pictures and the Gospel message.

I've started teaching a Korean lady English and Bible at her home. Mrs. T. is a Christian, but has stopped attending church for a few years. She is so happy to open up the Word again and realizes that she needs to get back to church. Please pray for us both as I work with her through some personal issues. Her husband and 23-year-old daughter also need to get back into a vibrant relationship with their Savior.

Gerald-

Our Mitaka Gospel Choir's rehersals will start up again this week. We might have up to three new members, who showed interest in joining us after they heard us sing at a gym Christmas party last December. Pray that through gospel music, we will have opportunities to share our faith with these women and with those for whom we perform.

Whew! I'll be teaching my last Integrative Theology class this Thursday evening. The five students seem to have appreciated the eight classes and will hopefully use what they've learned to impact their world for Christ. I've been asked to teach this course again in the summer. Please pray for wisdom as I continue to make changes to improve the material to make it a more effective disciple-making study. Pray too, for the Christian Life Training Center's graduates this coming month. All are adults in the work place, who have felt a desire to deepen and broaden their grasp of Scripture to become more effective disciples for Christ.

Just recently Sato-san and I finished the translation into Japanese of yet another Max Lucado book, entitled "3:16." It is an in-depth look at just the one verse of John 3:16, drawing out many implications of those grace-packed words. Please pray for the final stages of editing and publication by Word of Life Press here in Tokyo. I'm already determined to make use of the book in my Theology class later this year. Please pray with us that it will strengthen and enable many Japanese Christians to be even bolder in their walk with Christ.

At Family Forum Japan we are just about ready to put out the re-release of the training DVD "Sex, Lies and the Truth." Aimed at youth, this powerful presentation lays out the lies of the world related to sexual relationships, "safe" sex, and illnesses like AIDS. With a clear presentation of Biblical principles we hope this media will be used in churches and schools to fill a woeful gap in the moral training of the youth of Japan. We're also gearing up for a series of family seminars and sexual abstinence seminars. These are the core of FFJ's ministry and take a great deal of work on the part of our handful of staff members. As you pray for those would you also pray for and consider how you might join our financial support team...we are facing a huge funding crunch and are looking to our Lord to provide funding for staff salaries, our radio ministry and publishing projects.

Finally, I've also been privileged since last fall to have an itinerant preaching ministry in several small churches in the greater Tokyo area. It's sobering and exciting to see both the struggles and God's working in these little bodies of believers. Please remember Oppama Bible Church's International fellowship, Nokendai Bible Fellowship, and Grace Bible Church, and that my rather simple Japanese will, indeed, communicate what God wants to give to each group.

Thank-you for being part of our team!

Medical Clinic Outreach

On the fourth Sunday of each month we cancel the evening service and have the medical clinic in our Sunday School room. After service the morning service Angilla Gayle served a big pot of soup and we went directly into the medical clinic. We thank God that He has provided another Christian Cuban doctor to help us when Dr. Noel is unavailable. So now we have two doctors that God has used to help build his Kingdom here in Spanish Town. Over fifty-five people came to church and around thirty were treated...Click here to read on.

Sunday Blessings

We thought a post about last Sunday’s service would be as much an encouragement to our prayer team as it was to us. It was our “pulpit exchange” service and another pastor from a sister church shared how God is working in his life. He stated that ever since Brother Karl’s funeral, God has been convicting him. He publicly shared that years ago when he got saved in prison in Philadelphia, the presence of God was so wonderful that he really didn’t want to leave prison. God miraculously worked so that...Click here to read on.

Baby Mackey - 14 Weeks

Hello every one! We want to share with you our latest news on the baby. He/She is 14 1/2 weeks and 6 inches long! We had the appointment this last week and when the doctor saw the baby she said that it has a very strong heart beat and a great spinal cord. We praise the Lord... Click here to read on

See What Jack Campbell has Been Up To

Dear A-Team

China & Ping

What a full year it has been! Ministry doors have been opened wide to Ethiopia, China, Auburn and Clemson. My trip to China was especially meaningful for the LORD not only gave me several evangelistic opportunities but also allowed me to follow-up on one of the scholars I discipled while he was studying at Clemson. He is now a professor at a prominent university in communist China. Even though he has been a Christian for only three years he has twenty-five students he is training in the Word of God. He is also a leader in his local church. Pray for Ping, because the government is increasing its persecution of Christians in its "preparation" for the 2008 Olympics.

Clemson, Chess & Creation

One of the greatest obstacles our international students have in understanding the gospel is the evolutionary brainwashing they have received in their undergraduate education. This is one of the reasons we were overjoyed to be able to invite and host Dr. Jonathan Sarfati this fall at Clemson. Thanks to the contacts and great support of the Greenville Creation Study Group we utilized the many gifts God has given Dr. Sarfati. He is not only a world renown creation scientist but he is also a three time national chess champion. We invited the greater Clemson community and students to challenge him. He played over fifteen at a time and beat them all. We also had two seminars for Clemson faculty members. Our large meeting in the Brooks Performing Arts Center attracted over five hundred. The LORD used this to give us many opportunities to give the gospel to American and international students. Pray for our follow-up, for many questions have been asked that relate directly to the good news that is only in Jesus Christ, the maker and sustainer of heaven and earth.

Auburn & Classical Christian School

Working with Dr. Peter Doyle has been a real treat for me this year. Here is a man who is 75 (+) going on 17 in his zeal for the LORD, yet having the wisdom and maturity of a tested warrior for Christ. This year he retired from pastoring Trinity Presbyterian Church and is now a full time missionary with RMI. Thus, he has even more time to invest in the lives of student leaders at Auburn University. What a joy it has been to meet many of these young men and women he is discipling and assist him in this blessed work.

I had the privilege to preach several times in the chapel services of the classical Christian school that his church operates and this year they have adopted the Christian Discipleship Castle as their Bible program for their 5th grade. This fulfills one of the goals of our discipleship training, to be flexible enough to teach Biblical truths to graduate level university students and elementary students, at their appropriate level. Please pray the LORD would continue to open doors for this training program to help followers of Christ obey the Great Commission and fulfill the Cultural Mandate.

Ethiopia & Sudan

I have been invited to return to Ethiopia with the same medical group I traveled with last year (Christian Medical and Dental Association - www.cmda.org). We are planning to work again with Damtew, the godly Ethiopian pastor who headed up our mission last year. According to Damtew, we will be going to a different location (Arba Minch) that may attract even more pastors than we trained last year (140 pastors). It will still take us four days to get there from Clemson, so please pray we could redeem the time and all our bags would arrive with us.

Another Christian brother in the Clemson area has asked me to consider accompanying him to the Sudan next year. The mission group he is a board member of has been given a large tract of land by the government of Sudan. They are planning to build medical and educational facilities on this property to help the people of southern Sudan and to train their pastors. As with all of my overseas trips, I can go only if the money is there to fully cover the expenses. So please pray that all the funds would come in if this is God's will. The opportunities for Kingdom expansion really look amazing.

". . . On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.

Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."

2 Corinthians 1:10b-11

A Quick Note from Chris and Ginger

We have been having technical difficulties with adding to our website. At the school, where we work, we are not able to add anything to the website. There’s some type of firewall that prevents us from doing it. This is a little disappointing because we want to update it more often, but it looks like it will be much less frequent than what we thought.

We’re now in Oklahoma for the weekend, so we’re able to publish to the web.

Numbers 11

I’m reading through the Bible, and have gotten into the book of Numbers. Even though some of the Old Testament can seem a little monotonous at times, it is still “chock full” of God’s holiness. Reading it gets me excited as I think about awesome God!

Today I read Numbers 11 - WOW, what a chapter! (Click here to read on)

Image: Principle Driven

A Note from The Schultz Family

Our spring term for training missionaries is now underway. Surprisingly, our numbers are lower than normal especially after all the growth we experienced the last few years. However, this does give us a chance to invest more personally in the lives of those God has sent to us. Kathy has children only for two weeks this spring so she is spending her time discipling a couple of ladies in our church plus spending time with our daughter Beth who has moved home for a while. Registrations for the summer look strong so we believe these low numbers are just an anomaly.

We (Beth included) spent a couple of weeks in Alaska back in January and had a wonderful trip visiting friends and speaking at the mission’s conference of Lazy Mountain Bible Church. It was a privilege to invest into the ministry of the church and so much fun to visit our former place of ministry and be encouraged by so many people. We forgot what “real” cold weather was like but we did enjoy it. We even got to spend a day riding a snowmachine!

Upon returning George led the CIT Steering Committee meeting, led a workshop at the National Missionary Training Forum in Richmond, VA, worked on a committee for the Blackbaud software conversion coming July 1, met with the UWM Board sub-committee for our 5 Year Strategic Ministry Plan, and prepared for the upcoming term.

On Saturday we leave for a weeklong mission’s conference in Charlotte at Calvary Church then on to Shannon Forest Pres. Church in Greenville for their mission’s conference a week later. These are busy days.

Our daughter Beth moved back home for a while in January (we’re happy to have her!) and found a job at a local veterinary clinic as a vet technician. She is also taking online coursework to improve and enhance skills in this field.

We thank you for your continuing prayers and support.

George and Kathy

Please pray for:

1. Meaningful contributions to the upcoming mission’s conferences
2. Wisdom in the development of our 5 Year Strategic Ministry Plan
3. Wisdom for utilization of time among many responsibilities
4. Finding a Facilities Manager and dealing with staff changes

An Update from the Kay Family

While we were on home assignment several churches and individuals undertook a project to provide 100 new chairs for the Spanish Town Tabernacle. What a tremendous blessing they are. We are so thankful to all who gave toward this.

With the pressure of Pastor Karl’s funeral we bought 100 new plastic chairs and them spent several hours washing them since they were extremely dirty! We still had to borrow 75 more from C.C.C. (a sister church) and then 50 more from K.T. (another of our zone 4 sister churches). We now know that our building church can hold 310 chairs!

To read the rest of their update, click here...


If you liked this post and would like to know when I add more, please e-mail me at Jim@wolffind.com and I'll put you on my update list.

Catch Up with Chris and Ginger

Here are a couple of summaries of the Mackey's latest posts on their blog.

Since we are still waiting on our visas, we sense the Lords leading to serve at the New Tribes Missionary Training Center in Missouri. Ginger will help in child care so that students can attend classes, and Christopher will help in the Tech Center, fabricating and building solar panel systems to send to missionaries on the field.

We did have a big event the other day! Christopher was cutting wood in the Tech Center, and cut his finger! We rushed to the Emergency Room, and praise God, he didn't cut down to the bone. He didn't even need to have stitches! The doctor numbed it and put some medicine on it that cauterized his wound. She then dressed it and sent us home. We picked up some prescribed antibiotics and pain pills at the store on our way home. Our big event for the day!!

The mission has provided them with a lovely home and they are pretty much settled in. They have reapplied for their visas, so that puts them back in limbo again. In light of this, they felt this move to Missouri would be the best use of their time in support of their mission. Please continue to pray for their visa to go through and for Ginger as she progresses through her pregnancy.


If you liked this post and would like to know when I add more, please e-mail me at Jim@wolffind.com and I'll put you on my update list.

Introducing the Benezette Family

Tisha and I had the chance to meet this fine couple while at New Tribes Training Institute for Chris and Ginger's wedding. They made quite an impression on us, so I wanted to introduce you to them and their mission in Mongolia. Here is a little about their family:

Ben, a Floridian, and I (Andrea), a Canadian who grew up in Africa, met at New Tribes Bible Institute in Wisconsin. It was there that our hearts were lit on fire with the passion for reaching those who have never heard the Gospel of Christ. We were married shortly after completing Bible School and continued on with NTM Missions Training. We have three children who are a source of joy and laughter to us!

Aiden is five years old. His desire is to grow up 'big and strong' just like Daddy. He is curious and sweet and loves books and 'transformers'.

Ayrik is three and full of fun and energy. He and his brother are close friends and do everything together. He adores mud and scaring his parents with his crazy antics.

Calvary (two years old) tries to do everything her brothers do. She can jump already and has no problem climbing ladders and going on the slides all by her self. She is very feminine but a bit of a tom boy.

They are back in Mongolia now, and after a run in with the flu, the family is starting to settle back into the Mongolian way of life. Ben is back to studying the Mongolian language (not an easy task) and Andrea has started homeschooling their two oldest children.

They are a wonderful couple. Please be sure to pray for them as the Lord leads.


If you liked this post and would like to know when I add more, please e-mail me at Jim@wolffind.com and I'll put you on my update list.

A Note from CEF!!!

To all our friends!

You are invited to join us for our 20 Anniversary Celebration Event, Saturday, March 1st 6:30 p.m. at First Baptist North Spartanburg. This fund-raising event is for adults and will include a reception with heavy h'ordevours and fireworks will conclude the evening. Please call our office for reservations. 574-0236

Also!!

Plan to attend our Children's Ministry Conference, Saturday, March 15th at Trinity Presbyterian Church. We have been approved to give 1 CEU if you are a Christian school teacher or 6 DSS hours if you work in a day-care.This wonderful one-day conference will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 4:00 p.m. The cost is $55 and includes the Children's Ministry Resource Bible ($25 if you already have the Bible), notebook, hand-outs and lunch. Registration is necessary to ensure materials-please call our office to register by March 6th. 574-0236

If you liked this post and would like to know when I add more, drop me an e-mail at Jim@wolffind.com and I'll put you on my update list.

Charge Your Electronics with the Sun

Missionaries don't always have the resources most of us do. NOT A BIG SURPRISE! When you live in a remote area, doing something as simple as charging your cell phone, or other hand-held electronics, can be a pain. Here is a link to a site that sports a terrific little invention that will solve this problem.

It is called the Solio (so-leo). It's powerful enough to charge all hand-held electronic products at home or on the move, anywhere under the sun. The Solio can accept power from either a wall socket or sun storing energy within its internal rechargeable battery. When fully charged Solio can store enough power to charge a typical cell phone, iPod or Nano at least two times.

If you're on the field, or headed that way, take a look at this product. It could save you some headaches.

Click here for another source of power.

February Update from the Browns

Dear Family of Trinity PCA,

I am reminded that "a man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his path." We were given the word in December that my unit would not be deploying in March; in fact, we will probably not deploy until March of '09. So, I now have the joy of learning more of the in's and out's of being a battalion chaplain in garrison! This is yet another example of God's goodness to the Brown's as we continue to assimilate into Army life (and Texas!). I still maintain a consistent counseling load, and I recently conducted my first marriage retreat. What a blast! I took 23 couples to a resort on Lake Travis and we enjoyed a glimpse at how "the other half" lives. Please continue to be in prayer for the families of my battalion who are struggling to survive. Also be in prayer for their chaplain. I feel confident that the retreat was helpful in some very practical ways; I ask you to pray that God would grant me more creativity in making it a more "redemptive" time with these couples. I want to help them improve in their communication skills, yes, but I want them to see the very real need of Christ in every aspect of life. So please, pray that the Lord of the harvest would call many of our military families to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Laurel and the kids are doing very well. There are the usual struggles of colds and allergies, but Texas is proving to be a good "first" duty station. We enjoyed the holidays and the different visits from family, but we have settled back into a good routine for '08. Laurel continues to participate in the post-wide bible study for the ladies and is also working with Child Evangelism Fellowship here on post. It will come as no surprise that she is steadily gathering a good network of "Army Wives" that always seem to be helping one another. I have been very encouraged to see how Laurel continues to assess, adjust, and improve with homeschooling and the other activities the kids are involved in. Caleb has enjoyed becoming a Tiger Cub Scout, while Emily is our Brownie Scout. Peter is now truly four. The other week Laurel took the kids to a new co-op that we now have the kids involved in, and during the introductions Peter's turn arrives, and he informs them, "Hi, I'm Peter, the mean one." Zeddie Grace is large and in charge. To no surprise, she is very verbal and all personality. The high point to my day is coming through the door to a chorus of "DADDDDYYYY!!!!" and to have little Zeddie tackle me at the knees.

The holiday visits were a tremendous blessing, but it made us miss our families and various "home" church families terribly. Laurel now has a page on Facebook, so you can get the latest on the Brown's on a more regular basis. Please continue to pray for God to grow all of us in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and that He would give us the opportunity to come home to Spartanburg for a visit. Thank you for your love and prayers...please keep it coming!

Your family in Christ,
Kyle, Laurel, Caleb, Emily, Peter, and Zeddie Grace

Generate Your Own Electricity

I'm always keeping my eyes out for cool new technology that may be of benefit to Missionaries on the field. I have a particular interest in electrical generation because Chris and Ginger are part of my family and they may be working remotely in South America soon. That's why, when I came across this article, I though I'd pass it along to the readers at Trinity Missions.

I saw an interview of the fellow that invented this and it looks like it works quite well. The price is certainly right and will get better once they go into mass production. Take a look and let me know what you think.

If you'd like to look at pricing and packages, look here.