Metropolitan Missionaries

1. Continue to pray for Dorthe, Sam and myself as we seek to grow together as a team and to be creative with the challenges we face, having a much smaller staff than in the past.

2. Pray for the 12 children here at the CEF Leadership Training Institute with their parents. We have three young ladies caring for them. The children are settling in very well - especially considering the language challenge. (One of the young ladies is helping only this first week - pray that God supply a third helper for at least the next 6 weeks; after which our child count goes down to 9) Pray that those caring for the children have wisdom in coming up with a creative and diverse program for these children: ages 6 months to 11 years. Mostly active boys!

3. Please pray for healing of whatever is causing the pain in my neck - after a week of physical therapy - and changing to a special pillow I am able to sleep through the night. (Computer work with bifocals (C: does not help) Pray for stamina for these beginning weeks of this training - With more families present, there seems to be a greater need for me to be present and listening and getting answers to their questions.

Thank you for praying with me.

Martha G Heidinger

Friends at MBC -

thank you so much for your faithful support and prayers. I have attached a general update (Click the Link Below)

I want to thank you specifically for your regular gifts this year and for the ways you find to encourage me and pray for me and my ministry here. Whenever I experience God at work in and through our students, I simply must thank Him for the fantastic team He has called to join me in this ministry. HE IS FAITHFUL!

On HIS team together,

Martha G Heidinger
Heiding June 2008

Hello Friends and supporters,

This is our news letter for this quarter. May the Lord continue to demonstrate His grace and mercy to you and your family.

Peter Morgan
ABWE-St. Lucia

(Click the Link Below)

Morgan’s Message - June 2008

Here are a few updated prayer requests and praises:

1. We return to Bosnia in just 4 1/2 weeks (July 22) and we have begun packing.  Please PRAY for efficiency and wisdom in packing, especially to know what we should take to Bosnia, what we should leave in the States in storage and what we should get rid of.  PRAY that we can get everything over to Bosnia within the amount of luggage we are allotted.

2. PRAISE that Timothy got his driver’s license.  PRAY for Jonathan that he can pass his test before we leave. PRAY for no complications with Timothy getting his wisdom teeth out in early July and for a quick recovery.

3. PRAISE God that we now have all the funds we need to purchase a vehicle when we return to Bosnia.  PRAY for just the right one that is a good price, in good condition and gets good gas mileage.

4. PRAY for wisdom which ministry commitments I should make; I’ve been asked to teach a new course at one of the Bible schools, but really need to make good progress on Bible translation and the editing of the other biblical reference materials and need much wisdom in deciding how to invest my limited time.

5. PRAY for a church for us to attend when we return to Bosnia.

Thank you for standing with us for Him.
Todd Price

Dear Friends,
June 20, 2008

We are grateful for your prayers.  God is using them
and your support is invaluable here.  God is using
your prayers in our lives and we are here in large
part through your love, encouragement and prayers.
Keep up the great work!  With love, Chuck, Karla and
kids (the Topp Six)

PRAISES - please thank God with us that:

1) there is a great attitude toward service that many
in church have - many volunteered to help with the
VBS, scheduled in late July.

2) there is stability in the church now after several
months of stress and conflict due to the departure of
a couple of families and differences in doctrine.

3) Alex and Liz Pantoja arrived in the US last week
to begin a three week course in preparation for their
acceptance with Turkish World Outreach (TWO) in the
Chicago area (Wheaton).  They then will travel to
Colorado to interview with personnel from that mission
agency.

4) the kids successfully finished their respective
grade levels in homeschooling (except Jonathan - he is
on a different school schedule).

5) our overall good health and stamina.  The Lord is
good - all the time!

6) several people in the church are growing and
serving - Gerardo and Monica (you have prayed for them
before), Ana, Clarita, Sergio, Miriam, and others.
They are being discipled by Chuck or Karla or both.

REQUESTS - please pray with us for:

1)  the VBS planned in late July (the 21st to the
25th), that people from the church would serve with
humility and passion, that many kids, youth and even
adults would make a heart decision to receive Jesus as
their Savior and the Lord would bring new contacts
into the church.

2) two kids clubs are planned for the week before the
church’s VBS (July 14th - 18th).  Please pray using
the same requests for the VBS in #1 above.

3)    Alex’s and Liz’s support and for safe travel in the
US.  They still need a considerable
amount of support before they can leave for long term
missionary service in Turkey.

4)    We are planning a road trip to Nicaragua in
mid-August.  Karla has not visited her home town
in nearly 25 years.  Please pray for safety in travel
(about a three day trip), that we would be an
excellent witness while there and for
emotional-spiritual preparation.

5)    God to raise up faithful men for service - men who
have a passion for Jesus Christ.

6)    Lord willing, Jonathan will participate in the
summer missionary program (his third year).  Please
pray he will grow in his faith, ability to share the
Gospel, disciple people (mostly children) and for safe
travel to various parts of central Mexico.

7)     Please pray the second part of 1 Timothy 4:12 for
us and for the church here in Ciudad Azteca.

The difference between a VBS and kids clubs is for us,
the size and place of these events. The VBS is on a
much bigger scale, about 150 kids attend and there is
much more participation from the church members and
the place of the VBS is where the church meets. The
two kids clubs are on a smaller scale, usually about
50 kids or less, there will be help from at least
three summer missionaries in doing the clubs and they
are usually done in a home or in a backyard (like a
backyard Bible club).

With the two clubs, they will be held in two different
church member’s homes about 30 minutes from Ciudad
Azteca, Mexico City (where we live). We are praying
they will be used of God to begin two new cell groups
which may, Lord willing, develop into two new church
plants in the future.

Jonathan and another young man from the church will
leave for summer missionaries this coming Friday. The
training will begin this Saturday and go until July
4th. On the 5th they will begin their ministry for
the next three weeks in different parts of central
Mexico, in different churches. Their experiences will
be varied and challenging. They will be teaching
mainly children but sometimes a youth or an adult also
is present. Pray God’s Word will do its work through
Jonathan and the other summer missionaries.

The summer missionary program finishes the 26th of
July. The summer missionaries will have their closing
ceremony that day.
With love,

Chuck and Karla Topp

Tuesday AM
Dear Friends,
Please forgive the generic note but we are so busy we have had no down time so far. What an awesome team! What a testimony! There have been so many happenings, so many times of God just bringing an awesome miracle and we just standing in awe. We have been hugged, kissed and loved. We have been served even as we try to serve them.

We have never taken a team that has had to work in such cramped tiny space. It is the best example of caring for people in conditions that most of us would just say no normally. How can a little tiny church serve so many with so little?

Our first day we were amazed how organized everything was. The church has a man who is so organized and he had given appointments to people to come at a certain time. Really made things smoother. But we still are not able to see everyone who shows up.

Some stories. Debbie, our professional clown  (in and out of appropriate dress), has been to Peru before with another group. Sunday night after a 2-hour church service like nothing most of us had been in before, we got back to hotel and found a dentist, her medical student daughter and her mother waiting to us. Pedro had met her on his last trip and she had agreed to spend as much time with us as she could.

After she left, Pedro and I went to our room and the phone rang. It was Joy. Daniel had fallen in the shower/tub and fell face first into the ledge at the end. 2 cuts on lips but broke one tooth and pushed two teeth out of place. Pedro called Cindy, our dental assistant, and they went to see him. Cindy examined and said, “It is bad. He probably needs a root canal; he will be in lots of pain. Pedro decided to call the dentist and ask her advice.  He called her cell. All she said  is, “I will be right there.” They had stopped to eat very near our hotel. When she looked at it she agreed with Cindy. She said they were to call her office on Monday and she would see him. She gave him pain medicine and antibiotic. At midnight Pedro went looking for an open pharmacy for the pain medicine. We had the antibiotic.
The reason for the long story is to tell how God engineered everything. The dentist came the night we would need her. She was close by when we called. She was able to see Daniel in her office yesterday (Monday), her daughter was out of school and was able to come get him. She speaks English so we did not need to loose one of our translators. She did dental work that in the US would be $2000-$3000 for $ 350. Daniel is doing well. Can’t eat solids yet but no pain today.

The doctors are seeing patients one by one. 2 doctors in each room. A mother came with her 2 year old. Very sick and mostly non responsive. The mother had heard through her sister who goes to the church that these doctors were coming. She had walked from her home in the jungle to be here this week for care for her son. His appointment was for Tuesday but the child was so sick, she showed up early. He had scabies, a disease rarely seen in US and some areas of his body were superimposed with staph infection. They made some contacts and sent him to the government run hospital emergency room. They treated him and sent him home (his sister’s house) and he will see a dermatologist in a few days. At the emergency room, they gave him prescriptions for antibiotics and scabies medication. She had no money to buy any of it. She came back to the church to ask what to do. We had “better” antibiotics than the hospital prescribed thanks to the donations from you back there. We did not have the scabies medicine but we were able to buy it from the project money some of you gave for whatever we need. We needed it for this. This sad story has just ripped the heart of the team.

The one in charge of the organization of the patients and has done such a great job is John. He attended medical school for all but his last 2 years. In Peru it is 6-year program after 2 years of college. He could not afford to stay to finish and is paying back some of the loans he had to take out during the first years. Pedro is so impressed with him and how smart he is. He sticks to Pedro because he wants to learn everything. And Pedro is happiest when he is teaching a medical student. Our hearts are broken that this guy cannot finish. We know God has His reasons but we are going to be praying that somehow he will be able to go back to finish. Here we are talking about maybe $300 per month as to the thousands in the US per semester.  Anyone with $300 a month with nothing to spend it on, let us know.

The children are so “cute”. They are loving our clowns Debbie and Jamie. Face painting and nails polishing are top priority with the children. They are singing with them and telling them the stories of Jesus’ love. At lunch the Feeding Kitchen is  feeding about 160 children.  Yesterday we were smelling the delicious soup they were making. So good. Chicken broth with tiny vegetables and potatoes. The broth was made with chopped chicken feet. Very nutritious but something most Americans would gag at the thought. Nothing is wasted here.

You, who sent us through prayers and money, know that we are here because of your obedience to God’s prompting you to help. Those of you who donated either money or supplies have to know that such money or supplies are being called a miracle for many of these people. I just wish you could see all. We can never come home and tell you what is happening to us. We are here to serve. They are serving us by showing us God as never before. As Rhonda said last night thinking of the children she treated, it is so humbling.
Tuesday night

I did not get to finish this morning so will add some notes about today. We had more patients than we could see but saw 66 total today plus those who went to the dental clinic.
At breakfast Jack and Milena with Operation Rescue Children (ORC) shared about ORC and the history of how it got started here. Milena shared about the mountain people who live in shacks going up the side of a mountain near the church. This afternoon about 1/3 of our team, people from the church, and Jack and Milena decided to go up there with candy and tracts etc. A treacherous area to go up. The bus driver decided he could go a long distance up but almost went too far and had to back down to turn around. A miracle in itself.  They walked about length of 2 blocks and found children and adults. They started sharing one on one. They found a man maneuvering on the “street” in a wheel chair. He was paralyzed from the waist down after a sudden illness of unknown etiology. He has children and family but cannot care for them. Some in our team began to share Christ. He listened and a number of other men came to see what was happening to him. After hearing his physical needs they asked him if he wanted to receive Christ. He did! and so did 8 of those men listening with him. Before the afternoon was over 11 people received Christ.
Before they had left we had some concern about safety and the short time they would have. Being mostly our young team members, they persisted and it was agreed they could go. In talking to them it was as if they were “compelled” to go. To think we were so concerned about them and yet not knowing these 11 whose hearts had been prepared to receive the gospel. God knew what He wanted.

When they came back some could not wait to tell us, “it was awesome!” Michael F was the first to find me and tell me, then Michael G and Shayla and one by one they were coming back so excited and had to repeat the story over and over.

I believe this will be the highlight of the trip even though there are many other highlights.

Two very young girls came to the clinic today without their parent. We ask that a parent be with any child seen. Their mother had died and the father works all day. We saw them. So beautiful they were! So needy.

There was the lady who saw Pedro yesterday and somehow today slipped through the system and ended up with him again. When asked what her chief problem was she said, “You saw me yesterday and gave me nothing, not even a piece of candy.”  She was back because of other medical problems.

Glen, our other doctor, is loved by all the patients. He knows just enough Spanish to greet them and a few personal greetings. Then the translator, usually Pedro (our Pedro’s nephew) takes over. They make a great team. Heather is in the same room with the 2 doctors doing blood sugar tests. She is also the runner to go next door for medicines.

I must stop here because you are already asleep with this long epistle but I am bursting with all the things that we see everyday.  You can’t imagine how we see the hand of God over and over!!!

Keep praying for us. We are tired in body but so ready to keep working.
Love to all of you!
gg for Peru 2008 Team

Thursday, June 19, 2008
Hello from Honduras:
A few of our supporting churches have asked to get our PAPER prayer letter in paper version, but also as a PDF (email) version.
I have attached it our JUNE, 2008 paper prayer letter as a PDF file version.
Thanks!!
Patrick
PS – I fly to INDIA next week for CP teaching…. PLEASE please be with me in spirit….and shoot up a prayer, too

(Click the link below)

OConnor June Update Letter

Attached is a note about the Peru Mission Trip. We do ask for your prayers. Also attached is a daily prayer guide that shows you our schedule. Please use that to pray each day. The team will be there until June 30. Pedro and Glenda will return on July 7th.?
Pedro and Laura Gismondi (nephew Pedro) will be working with us much of the time.
We will work with 2 small poor churches, One in Rimac and one in Lurin (sections of Lima). Lurin has no running water. We will be there only 1 day.
They have the feeding kitchen in partnership with Operation Rescue Children. See their website at www.rescuechild.org
We hope to spend one afternoon at Posada de Amor Orphanage.

We are so thankful for all of you knowing you are praying and supporting us.
Thank you
Pedro and Glenda and the Peru 2008 Team

(Click the Links Below)

Gismondi June Prayer Letter

Gismondi Daily Prayer Guide

Dear Friends,
How are you? I’m really enjoying camp. The kid’s are sleeping in tepees, cooking over fires, learning about God and having lots of fun!!! Last week two campers came to know Christ! I almost cried as the kid’s from last week left. Please pray for wisdom as we prepare for the upcoming week and for unity among our team. Thanks! As camp continues, I see the Lord equipping me for Africa, allowing me to share about Uganda, and being stretched. Please pray He will continue to use this summer as I lead worship and teach drama to draw me and the campers closer to the Lord. You are a huge part of this ministry. Thank you so much for your encouragement.

Teah

(Click the Link Below)

Teah Thomson Prayer Letter

In mid-June we begin a six month home assignment. Outside of Ethiopia, we are sometimes asked to describe a typical day, but “typical” supposes that life is, in some measure, predictable. But that isn’t really what comes to mind when we think of life here. For instance… Dawn called me at the office yesterday to warn me not to eat at the little dive across the street from the grad school where I usually have lunch. She suspected that I hadn’t heard about nearly 40 deaths over the past couple of days from what presented as some kind of hemorrhagic fever. As it turned out, the deaths were caused by an unscrupulous local merchant who decided to extend his supply of cooking oil by
supplementing it with highly toxic mustard seed oil. Her attempts to reach me proved unsuccessful because the phones at EGST were all down. Because our dial-up connection requires a phone and I needed to get a few urgent emails answered, I had gone up the road to a café to get internet access.
Happily, I didn’t have to go by taxi. Hopping on one of the local taxis requires some circumspection, after the latest in a series of taxi bombings took place
earlier this week, killing several people including a world-renowned expert on elephants. There has been one every two or three months. No one claims
responsibility, but there are number of viable candidates, including a couple of rebel groups inside of Ethiopia and a Somali fundamentalist group called
Al Shabab which is seeking to expel the Ethiopian troops who now occupy neighboring Somalia. It is widely suspected that neighboring Eritrea supports all
of these groups, as the still-unsettled border dispute which sparked a disastrous war ten years ago simmers on amid rumors of another war.
Back to the phones… The phones have been out quite a lot lately – a fact which many Ethiopians blame on the Chinese. The Chinese have won many contracts in Ethiopia primarily in telecommunications and road-building. One peculiar feature of the phone system is that it goes off when the power goes off. Still the Chinese are widely admired by the Ethiopians, not least for their amazing work ethic. So industrious are the Chinese that a nearby non-Chinese road project which has dragged on and on to the frustration of local residents has been unofficially re-named “The Road which Amazes the Chinese”. The power (and hence, the phones) have been out with fair frequency recently. Ethiopia depends almost exclusively on hydroelectric power. But with a sub-par rainy season last year and the almost complete failure of the short rains in February and March, the country is dry, the water-levels in the dams are low and residents of Addis Ababa are now experiencing “power shedding” 2-3 times a week in 14 hour shifts.

Our preoccupation with the inconvenience of the power shortage produces no small measure of guilt, as we now hear daily of how the failed rains have led to food shortages for some 4.5 million people. The rolling blackouts have produced steep increases in the price of candles, but the price of other commodities has surged as well, in part as part of the sharp rise in food and fuel globally, in part, because of drought and an inflation rate that is running at 20-30%. Prices also spike with what might be called
“seasonal religious factors”. Recently, it has become difficult to buy milk, even at elevated prices, especially in the evenings. Last night, we tried 4 or 5 different shops before giving up. Here in Addis, roughly 50% of the population is Orthodox and fasts from meat and dairy products for 50 days before Easter. With the collapse of the market for milk, the production drops as the cows adjust to the drop in demand. But with the arrival of Easter, demand soars and the cows struggle to catch up.
Challenges and Changes in Ministry
Amid the varied vagaries of daily life, we cope with the demands of ministry, which has in recent months also brought added challenges. For the past three years, I have been an elder of the International Evangelical Church here in Addis. Even at the beginning, the task of providing direction for a church which on a given Sunday may have 1200 people from 40 countries was far more difficult than I could ever have expected. But then in October the pastor resigned amid a complex of difficulties and conflict.
And so, quite unexpectedly, I found myself in a position of both carrying much of the preaching responsibilities at the church but also working to bring
reconciliation in the midst of the conflict. In the midst of this, we were presented with a difficult decision. The SIM-Ethiopia Director came to us and
asked if I would consider serving as Acting Director while he was on furlough over the next year. That decision also proved to be complex, impinging as it did on my
responsibilities at EGST and changing temporarily my focus from theological education to mission leadership. In the end, we agreed to take this on for six months beginning
next January. Even thinking about it is a bit overwhelming, with the responsibilities it will bring for serving and assisting some 120 missionaries involved in dozens of ministries across Ethiopia. To keep things interesting, I deal with a steady stream of students and others who come by my office. In the past few weeks, these have included.
· A Nuer refugee from Sudan, seeking money to get back to south Sudan.
· A retired Ethiopian man desiring my input on an article he has written which argues that Jesus’ resurrection took place on the cross.
· A student seeking advice on the launch of a new journal of religious studies for Ethiopia.
· A woman warning of a rumor among some of her Muslim friends of an impending al Queda attack in the US.
We could add to these the care of Amelewerk and the many other things that have fallen primarily to Dawn over the past few months. As Amelewerk has gained strength and returned to work, she has become for us a profoundly poignant witness to the Lord’s subtle grace which amid the challenges of daily life excels in making the ordinary extraordinary.

Steve and Dawn for the boys