CBC Missions

I would like to give praise to our wonderful Lord and Savior for allowing this Ministry to be the instrument used in changing lives.

Statistics from January to December of 2011:
*Church/Bibles studies conducted: 　908
*Ministered to 15,641 people
*Salvations: 82 at least
*Prayed /counseled with 440 people
*Bibles given out: 662
*Volunteers: 　63

Coastal Harbor Treatment Center for Youth

One night I was at Coastal Harbor for Youth for our weekly girls Bible study. There were 18 girls and 3 staff in a small room with only 12 desks; the topic was forgiveness (Psalm 32). The girls had so many questions. I love the questions. It means they are thinking and they really want answers. I even had a staff person ask me for a Bible that night. It is so sad to see these teen and pre-teen girls think that God will not forgive them for what they have done. Please pray for them, that they will understand God’s great sacrificial love for them and that He will forgive them. So many of them have people in their lives that they need to forgive, or they need to be able to forgive themselves, but they need to know the unconditional love and forgiveness of our wonderful LORD and Savior before they are truly able to do that. I really feel that God is working on some of their hearts. Please pray that they will be sensitive to God’s tugging at their heart.

Philippians 3:12-14

Because He Lives,
Marty McKenzie - Missionary To The Forgotten
His Love Ministries Nursing Home, Jail, & Prison Ministry
Endorsed by the North American Mission Board as a Chaplain

Greetings all,
“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.” Deut 4:29

Time is flying right by and we are almost in April. The weeks seem to fly by. I guess that’s a sign I’m getting older. I would ask you to pray about the following items.

1) Please pray for a couple of people who are coming to our weekly Bible study. They are not saved but searching. One person in particular is seeking God.

2) Please pray for the commentary project. The translation is moving along. The translation to the commentary on Matthew’s Gospel is complete. It is now being edited (by me) and it takes all of my free moments. I am checking the translation word for word with the commentary. There are 1000 pages.

3) Please pray for my preaching. I notice that since I don’t have Kasia to speak with anymore, that my spoken Polish has suffered some. Please pray for power in preaching and a good usage of the language.

4) Please pray for my kids. Some are struggling in school and I struggle with being able to help them. Kasia used to do this and it was easier for her.

5) Please pray for our semi-annual board meeting of the Baptist Seminary. There are some big issues to deal with. Pray for the Lord’s will to be done.

6) Please pray for finalizing summer furlough plans. We have to take a shortened furlough because the kids get out of school late. We will not be able to visit all our churches this year. This is a tough issue for me. We may have to furlough again in 2013 to make it to the rest of our churches.

God bless you all and thanks for your partnership in the Gospel in Poland.

Blessings,
Chris Osiecki

Dear friends and family,
Sandy is doing quite well. She wants to get outside and prepare the garden for planting, but will hold off for a couple more weeks. She is taking walks, trying to get both of us on a tasteless diet and getting back into her routine of weekly Bible study class and Mothering Matters program.

Bible Institute.
It dawned on me while in Chennai that it was twenty years ago this year I began working in India.　 Lots of things have changed in that time, but the one constant is the incredible need there is for training people for cross-cultural ministry.　 Thanks, again, to Dr. Gupta and HBI for allowing me the opportunity to influence others for missions.

Southern Sudan.
As you read this note my passport is at the embassy of South Sudan.　 Pray that I will get my travel permit to enter Sudan April 8.　 I will be there four days visiting former students and national missionaries in that country; learning what God is doing in this newly formed republic and how we might work there in the future.　

Kenya Mission’s Conference.
DISCOVER MISSIONS LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE will be April 18-21. Over 200 Kenyan pastors and local church leaders will be attending this conference.

Thanks again for praying and for your support,
Richard Lewis
Lewis Cross-Cultural Training, Inc.

Dear Friends,

This winter I read a history of the Pacific war, 1941-45. While the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 was devastating for American naval forces, it had the fortunate side effect of making naval leaders rethink overall military plans. The loss of Pacific battleships forced the adoption of an aircraft carrier strategy which may not have happened otherwise. This strategy helped win the war.
(By the way, John’s great uncle was the first war-time captain of the USS North Carolina which operated in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945)

March 22-24 –hosting a meeting of mission scholars at the Evangelical Missiological Society Southeast Regional meeting in Wake Forest, NC.

April 20-21 — hosting a meeting of mission scholars at the Evangelical Missiological Society Midwest Regional meeting in Deerfield, IL.

May 1-21 –training Diaspora church leaders in several Middle Eastern countries.

June 5-15 – organizing a Diaspora Mission Educator’s forum in Brazil

July 6-13 — training Diaspora church leaders in a Middle Eastern country

July to September – teaching missions and other courses at Cebu Graduate School of Theology, Cebu, Philippines.

September 19-22 – hosting meetings for mission scholars and mission sending agencies at the Evangelical Missiological Society Annual meeting in Chicago, IL.

Blessings,

John and Jan Baxter
Converge Worldwide Missionaries
International Catalyst Global Diaspora Network, Lausanne Movement

Dear Friends and Partners of LCCTI,

As a new year begins we look back and forward. This time last year a category three tornado came within a quarter of a mile of our house in our little community of Cincinnati, Arkansas, killing 4. Today it’s bright sunshine and no sign of bad weather.

Last year I traveled over 100,000 miles to India, Russia, Ukraine and Kenya. When you receive this email I will be packing for five weeks of teaching in India with two more trips later this year to the sub-continent. The other events scheduled are a big mission’s conference in Kenya and trips to Sudan and back into the deserts of Pokot and Turkana, where we served for fourteen years.

Well that’s the plans, but it’s God who directs our steps (Prov. 16:9). Who really knows what this year will bring? Whatever He has planned for me and my family, we know that He will do all things well according to His purpose.

Thank you for praying,
Richard Lewis
Lewis Cross-Cultural Training, Inc.

Greetings in the name of the Lord! Well in early January we got back to Poland after our time in the States for Christmas. Our Christmas was a wonderful time with family and a much needed escape for having to spend our first Christmas without Kasia alone in Poland. In many ways it was hard to come back. Poland is quite cold right now. The temperature during the heat of the day is around 15 degrees Fahrenheit and at night the temperature drops down to around 1 degree. It is supposed to get colder later this week. Thankfully the heating system is working as it should in our house and we are nice and warm.

During the Christmas holiday the funds for the matching gift came in to start the commentary project. Praise the Lord. The translator sent me the first big chunk of text for editing yesterday. She had done a small piece about two weeks ago but then fell ill and was not able to get much done until the end of last week. I am doing the first edit on the text. It is quite a challenge for me and is good for my Polish. Please pray for the translator and myself. We will give the text to an expert in Polish to adjust the language so it reads well. My editing is primarily theological and some linguistic (picking up small errors, punctuation, capitalization). This is a huge project and quite time consuming please pray.

Last Sunday we held and evangelistic service at the church plant. We passed out (in the bitter cold) in the center of town invitations to a special worship service. A couple of folks did show up. It is amazing how God sovereignly works in the hearts of people. One lady came from one of our tracts, the other came from the invitation. Please pray the Lord is indeed working in the hearts of these women. In general we are getting some decent contacts with people whose hearts the Lord has opened. On a US scale the results are meager but this is Poland and Kashubia to boot. Right now we have 5 people who have made contact with us or are coming to Bible studies or the worship services. One of the ladies who came to the evangelistic service had her own Bible. This is very rare here and a sign that the Lord had previously been working in her life. We are trying to reap where we did not sow and God is letting us see some fruit. Despite the fact that the numbers are small I am encouraged. Poland is a tough mission field but it is not an impossible mission field.

The kids are on semester break from school. I am trying to balance all the editorial work on the commentary and preaching responsibilities with giving them a little fun. Today I took a break and took them swimming at a local pool and took them to McDonalds for a treat.

Please be in prayer for us.
Warmly in Jesus,
Chris Osiecki

The Lord moved in our hearts greatly during our years as members of CBC. 1996-1999. We first felt the call of God on hearts for full time ministry and missions while we were in Beaufort. We’ve been in Malisheve, Kosovo since July 2000. You at CBC have been an integral part of the Lord’s work here through your prayers, financial support, love, and friendship. (Philippians 4:17) We are excited to report on God’s amazing faithfulness in providing land for a permanent church building for the Body of Christ in Malisheve. And He’s put us on a path toward a project that will be a great blessing to the Muslim community we serve. All glory and honor to our Lord! He is worthy to be made known!

Thank you,
Randy & Lycia Harvey

 Greetings in the name of the Lord!

Ephesians 3:20-21.

Praise God that He is able to do so much more than we ask or think.
Prayer is the key to effective life and service because God can change
things in ways we cannot imagine.

This past Tuesday was All Souls Day in Poland. It is a day when
people go visit the graves of their loved ones. I took the kids to
Kasia’s grave. Each time I visit the cemetery the pain seems to get
less intense although it’s still hard. It is harder to go through
photographs, which bring up memories and a deeper sense of loss. The cemetery seems to accentuate the finality of the whole matter. When I
go there I realize that it’s over and I need to look forward. Although
I don’t celebrate All Souls Day and all that it represents, a holiday
where people go to the cemetery to visit departed loved ones is not a
bad thing. I tend to keep everything in perspective. Our time here
on earth is relatively short. We are all going to the grave (unless
the Lord returns first) and we need to get on with the work of the
kingdom.

In October with Jarek we finished delivering gospel tracts to the town
of Reda. This culminates the three cities we had targeted,
Wejherowo, Rumia, Reda with well over 100,000 people. It took about
one year to complete. We are now moving into the villages surrounding Wejherowo with the remaining tracts. We are also preparing a new
tract for a fresh sowing in Wejherowo. The tract is titled:
“Purgatory a place that does not exist” Almost without exception
everyone you meet in Poland has a spiritual worldview which includes
purgatory. People believe that they are not good enough to go to
heaven (they think of salvation on the basis of their works) and that
they are not bad enough to go to hell, so they will suffer for a while
in purgatory. We are hoping that the tract will stir the waters and
lead some to salvation. Please pray.

This past month I had the privilege of hosting two missionaries from
the IMB (International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist
Convention). James and Ken are relatively new missionaries in Poland
and looking for a place to serve. They wanted to meet with me to get
an idea of what the opportunities are in Northern Poland. Please pray
for the Lord’s leading in their lives.

During the month of October I also took part in an ordination service
of the pastor who lives two hours South from Wejherowo. It was an honor to lay hands on a man who has faithfully served the Lord for many years.

I would ask for prayer for the kids in school. The Polish system is
very demanding and I sense that a couple of the kids are struggling.
Please pray for them, they are still getting over their grief from
their mother’s death and the heavy workload from school is a lot for
them.

Finally I would ask for prayer for the church fellowship in
Wejherowo. Pray not only for new people but for those who attend to
be committed to seeing a vibrant church started in the town.

Blessings,
Chris

 Greetings,
Peace is something that is promised to us through the knowledge of God in the gospel. I am happy to relate that peace is one thing I have been experiencing of late. The pain of losing Kasia is slowly subsiding but what is left is a sense of loneliness and sadness to some extent. It is here though that the Lord gives and multiplies His peace. In the midst of the grief I can say with a degree of thankfulness that I am able to experience God’s peace. 　

In September I was able to attend the annual pastor’s conference in Warsaw. 　This for me now is no small feat. It requires getting someone to stay with the kids, cook meals and be there for them when they get home from school. It also requires getting someone to drive the kids and drop them off at school. Thankfully the Lord provided and I was able to attend the conference. During the conference I had a meeting with the President of the Baptist Union of Poland. He wanted to talk with me because the Seminary Board made some decisions which got his attention. 　We were able to clarify everything and ensure that a new leadership program for the training of workers will take off as planned this weekend (Oct. 7-9th). The 　Seminary Board decided that the new program couldn’t be accredited unless strict criteria were met in keeping with the academic standards of the Seminary. After working through the issues involved we developed a plan to allow for accreditation for certain courses. There were some other issues that we discussed wherein we do not see eye to eye. Please pray that the Seminary can continue to develop along the Biblical lines the board has laid out without getting sidetracked by other matters.　

This past weekend the General Director of the Slavic Gospel Association, Bob Provost, came to visit with me and the kids. This was indeed a kind gesture of support for us in this difficult period of time. Bob’s mission stories fascinated the kids. They were impressed by how much one person can do for the sake of the gospel if they prayerfully put their mind to it. Bob also brought me news concerning the Memorial Commentary Project for Kasia. A donor has come forward and will match any new gifts up to $10,000. If the match is met this would put us over the amount needed for the project and we could begin. To date about $7000 has come in, this leaves $18000 left to raise. Please be in prayer as to what the Lord might possibly have you to do. A number have responded already and I deeply thank each one of you. If someone felt led to donate now the gift will be matched and in effect doubled. To give now would require memo-ing a check “Polish Memorial Commentary- Matching Gift.” (See Caren at CBC for further details).

Please continue to pray for the church plant in Wejherowo, pray that the Lord would give us new people. Please pray for a man named Arek who came to service last week but is lost and need’s the Lord. Pray also for me and Jarek this month for distribution of gospel literature and progress in the gospel.

Blessings,
Chris
2 Peter 1:2

 Dear Partners and Friends of LCCTI,  

Presently I am in Bangalore, India teaching at the South Asia Institute for Advanced Christian Studies, where I will be for the next four weeks teaching cross-cultural missions.　 Below are the events of the past month.

Two weeks ago I had the privilege to teach missionaries and pastors for TENT in Hyderabad.　 These men and women, from as far north as Punjab, Nagaland and Nepal, as well as people from Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, attended my daily four-hour training sessions.　 Most of these people are already involved in ministry and have enrolled in the TENT program (1 to 9 months) to receive new tools on how best to communicate the Gospel to their Hindu and Muslim communities. I am privileged to have a small part.　http://tentindia.org/

From Hyderabad I took a 14-hour train to another state in India called Maharashtra and conducted training in the district of Nashik. Those who attended this course have completed the TENT training, from as far back as 12 years ago, and came to this meeting to gain new insights, give reports on what God is doing in their ministries and be encouraged by one-another.

LCCTI has committed, based on our partnership with TENT, to underwrite these refresher courses, which is basically bus or train fare, food and lodging for the time they are in the sessions. The cost of this refresher course was a bit over $1,000. If any of our partners could help offset this expense from our budget it would be deeply appreciated.

Talking with the pastor of a Baptist Church in Bombay last week, he told me how God has faithfully blessed their church since they decided not to take foreign support but rely totally on God for their needs. I was able to share with him that for over 35 years, Sandy and I have lived by faith for God’s provision. I guess it is true with all of us; we all depend on God for our jobs and our careers. In return for His blessings on our lives we share with others that the Gospel might be preached.

Thanks to all of you who love and support this ministry.
Richard Lewis
Lewis Cross-Cultural Training, Inc.