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China Outreach Ministries

May 7th, 2008

Friends and Partners, 
Today May 6th I celebrate my one year anniversary of moving back to the U.S. after nine years in China. It has been quite an exciting year of transition and change. Even though we have been back in the country in some ways we are not home yet since we are still not living in the house we own. That does not happen until July. However as a part of this return anniversary and a reminder of what it means to own a home, I was told today by a plumber and our tenant that we need to put in a new water heater; Such is life.
I want to thank you each for your continued prayers and investments which have made the transition a positive one. The ministry here this year has been very meaningful and enjoyable. I was reminded how strategic too when I was recently at the dedication of the new COM office and our staff conference in central Pennsylvania. We got to hear of reports from ministries around the U.S. and about some who have returned to China. We really do have a special opportunity to influence some of the best and brightest that China sends here to study. These quotes say it all: China note
* "I think that reaching out to students from the People’s Republic of China in the U.S. is simply the most strategically important Christian missionary endeavor anywhere in the world!" –Dr. David Aikman, China expert with 23 years experience as a senior correspondent with TIME magazine.
* "Never before in human history have so many young talents, coming from one country in ever-increasing numbers, studied in another. Can this unprecedented phenomenon pass through history without notable impact?" (The Washington Times, 2/17/95, p. A18) -Dr. Cong-Pin Lin, adjunct professor of government at Georgetown University.
The conference was a great time to meet the other COM staff and made me so thrilled to be a part of this ministry and made me thankful for each of you as ministry partners.
You have a part in the lives of each of those we touch here. Just last Friday one of the men, who is a Party member, with whom I meet each week, told me that he is wondering what life is all about; he knows that it is not in the Party’s philosophy or in just getting rich. He has heard the gospel in many forms since the Fall, but it seems that now God is making him aware of what is missing in his life. Pray that he comes to faith before he returns to China in August.
Some friends at an English class. Pray for God to open hearts and minds!
Again, thank you for being a part of our team.
Grace,
Joe May
China Outreach Ministries

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Osiecki May Update

May 7th, 2008
Greetings in the name of the Lord!

It is hard to believe that a month from now we will be back in States on furlough. This month is shaping up to be quite busy before we leave for America. We do so covet your prayers. Here is a bit about what has been taking place and what you can bathe in prayer.gas

Over the past couple of weeks I have put a pile of kilometers on the ministry van. I am so thankful to God for it. I have been to Berlin, Central and Eastern Poland. I was in Berlin with Pastor M. of the Gdańsk Baptist Church to consult with the leaders at the European branch of the Master’s Seminary. We are in the process of reworking and expanding the Gdansk Bible Seminary that has met at the Gdansk church for a number of years. Until now it has been a church based school, catering mostly to local folks interested in growing in their faith. However there are fewer and fewer options for Biblically training leaders within Poland. The seminaries which are currently operating in the country for the most part have gone liberal or are on the "downgrade," as C.A. Spurgeon once described the tendency. We spent a day in Berlin (actually from Gdansk its not too much farther than going to Warsaw) and have some idea how we can begin to expand. Also when in the USA, I (with Pastor M. who also will be in the USA) will be visiting Dr. P. R. at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City to look at a possible partnership with our school. Anyway, the need is CRITICAL I recently ran some numbers and over 30% of the Baptist churches in Poland currently have no pastor, over 85% of the mission stations have none either. There are a number of reasons for this but with no one in the pipeline due to theological degradation at the seminaries, there is no one in line in to fill the gaps. This means there is no one to take a pastorate from a pastor who would retire or from a missionary once a church is planted. There are several prongs to our plan and I will share them when we are back home next month. Anyway the need is critical and we cannot afford to be wishful thinkers in this regard. We need to act. We want to begin this fall.

As the area Presbyter I was also visiting churches in/out of our district this past month. Some of my dear friends back home have not quite understood what the term district "Presbyter" means in practice when I wrote about this last year. In Poland the local churches are autonomous but the area pastors vote for one pastor who will provide oversight, council and coordinate mission work in our district. In a liturgical church it would be the same as a Bishop but the main difference here is that the Presbyter does not have any direct rule over any local Baptist church but assists and helps as need be. This past month I have had to intervene in a crisis situation in one church and would covet your prayer particularly this weekend. Pray for repentance in the life of a key leader.

This past weekend with the Baptist Church in Elblag we had a joint retreat. The weather was lousy but the lectures were interesting. With Pastor K. (my former intern) we did an overview of the Pilgrim’s Progress. We had about 40 people attend. For most folks it was their first exposure to that classic work on the walking the narrow road and the pitfalls and helps along the way. Also one of the Polish believers I met in Aberdeen, Scotland last year is planning on getting married this month and asked if I would do the wedding. I agreed under the condition we do some pre-marital counseling. Anyway up until the other he has been in Scotland and his fiance lives in South-Eastern, Poland and I am in Sopot (North-Central Poland). We have been doing Biblical counseling via SKYPE a free internet calling program with a three way connection between the U.K. and two cities in Poland. Amazing times we live in eh?

Finally, I would like to thank those who have helped last month in raising some money for our airline tickets home for furlough. We are still lacking about $3800. Please pray with us about this. I know these are tough times all around as the US Federal Reserve Bank continues to print dollars for Wall Street making oil and every other commodity go through the roof. Today I checked the price of unleaded premium here and it is now $8.20 a gallon in Poland. Misery loves company as they say. In these times its comforting to know that our God is in control of history.
1 Tim. 6:13-16

Blessings in Christ,
Chris
PS: See you all soon!

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Mason-Express May

May 7th, 2008

Mason Express

1. OPEN DOORS FOR SUMMER MINISTRY TEAMS FROM THE USA. Years ago when learning church planting from guru Ralph N. he emphasized meeting community leaders as one of the church planter’s first crucial steps. Yesterday a friend and I visited with the city district leaders in Mustamäe - a part of Tallinn. My friend had already built a relationship with these leaders and yesterday it paid off! We asked for locations to host a children’s club and a basketball day camp in July. They were sharing information and other contacts with me so quickly I could scarcely record it! The result is that we have the use of a centrally located school gym for our basketball camp FREE OF CHARGE. A second centrally located Cultural Center will be our kids’ club (a.k.a. Bible Club) site. These civic leaders were thrilled to have someone doing something positive in the community. They also invited our church to do concerts in the park using a stage they are having built! God is continuing to "make our paths straight" as we prepare for this ministry by people from New Castle, PA.
2. TALKING ABOUT JESUS. Did you ever stop to think how much Jesus wants to be
known? Often my time is spent with those already in the kingdom. Such is the nature of my job. At the same though Jesus says that as his child I am also to help others become missionary followers of Jesus. I asked you to pray that God would give me the specific opportunity to talk about him to others last month. He answered your prayers specifically. I was able to meet with "L" and "W". "L" joined me and some other guys for a sauna evening and he turned the conversation to God. Later in the month I asked "W" to grab lunch. He and I met on the basketball court. He was completely intrigued and asked lots of questions about
what I do. He mentioned, "You presented yourself as someone from whom I could ask questions, so I’m glad you asked me to lunch". Praise God for his grace!
3. SWEDEN PIONEER CONFERENCE OPENS NEW DOORS. I asked you to pray with us that God would set up the right connections during my participation in this conference at the beginning of April. God did just that! I was able to meet John V., a church planting pastor and visionary in Stockholm. I proposed to John the idea of partnering with United World Mission to advance the gospel in Sweden just as we are beginning to do in the north and south of Sweden. He was receptive and has opened the doors to do this. At the same time I had been looking for ways to explore new ministry opportunities in Norway. It turns out that a Norwegian DAWN leader was there. We shared our hearts, dreams and visions and agreed to cooperate together in Northern Europe to stimulate the planting of churches.
Please join us in praying for…
1. SUMMER TEAM PREPARATION. Pray for the people of Mustamäe and the kids around the "Saksa Gümnasium". Our target group is children ages 5-12. We will be advertising in this area, but most important is for the Holy Spirit to begin drawing people to himself.
2. CHURCH IN THE PARK. Pray for us as we develop ideas for connecting with people this summer in public places. We feel God is opening the doors for us and we want to capitalize on these opportunities to see our church grow and plant new communities of believers. Mustamae has 65,000 people and only one small congregation.
3. LATVIAN CONNECTIONS. Pray for my UWM colleagues Mark S. and Monte E. as they present mission opportunities to a group of church leaders on May 14th in Alabama. We are asking these leaders to adopt N. Europe as a ministry area. Specifically we are asking them to consider opportunities in Latvia and Sweden. Pray also for my relationships with Latvians. I will be in Latvia again May 28-30.
4. FINANCIAL UPDATE. Our monthly support is lagging $1450 behind our ideal budget. This affects us personally (salary reduced) and for ministry work funds (monies used to do the ministry). Pray with us as we think creatively about how to discover this new support while thousands of miles from our support base in the U.S.A.
Area Director for N. Europe and East Africa Serving with United World Mission.
Kevin and Wendy Mason
Our Vision:
To see the nations of northern Europe saturated with worshipping, serving, disciple-making churches that reproduce themselves and transform society for God’s glory!

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The McQuaids May

May 3rd, 2008
Dear Friends in the Lord,
“So, what do these missionaries you take care of do for the Lord?”
That’s a great question. I suppose some folks have the idea that our people are sitting around in rocking chairs, waiting patiently for the upward calling. Well, that’s not exactly what goes on here. Let me give you some ideas of how our retirees continue in very active service to the Lord. I could mention:

- Sam, who has just finished a stint on the Elder Board of his local church; who visits local nursing homes to minister; who is often invited to counsel with those going through hard times; who along with Berness, his wife, and Joshua, a coworker, has seen souls won through their joint ministry in the past year.

- Alex, Paul, or John who still go to jail to minister to those imprisoned there.
- Don and Wally, who head up our ministry of prayer here in the Village. You might be interested to learn that every missionary prayer letter that arrives here is carefully read, systematically prayed for, then sent to the SIM Archives for preservation.
-Jerry, Don, Jim and Ron continue helping out in the maintenance department of the Village even though they are officially “retired.”
- Pat, who regularly volunteers her time to help us out in the Lodge kitchen.
- Elaine and Marge who, though retired, are always ready to answer the call when we need an extra RN’s assistance.
- Wow, wait a minute! I forgot all about the large number of our residents who teach Sunday school, or help with Awanas, or take others to their doctor appointments, or help with Village activities, or serve on our advisory committee, or do music in their local churches, or visit others in the nursing home, or…
- Well, you get the idea. This is far from being a place where people just sit around. Our folks are deeply committed to continuing ministry as God gives them the strength to press on.
Thank you for allowing us to help them continue in the work of the Lord. Together, we are serving Him!
In Calvary’s Bond,
Andy & Gwen McQuaid
Prayer Requests:
1. Keep us in mind next weekend as we make a fast trip to visit a supporting church in Illinois. We’re looking forward to ministering at First Baptist Church in Freeport on the eleventh.
2. Remember to pray for our Lodge and Village staff. The stresses of caring for many who have deep needs can sometimes tempt us to be less than loving. Love is the key to fruitfulness, as Jesus tells us in John 15. Pray that we will develop the habit of always putting the interest of others ahead of our own.
3. Praise the Lord with us for Paul and Becky D., coworkers from Paraguay, who have been volunteering here at the Village for the past two weeks. They helped us out immensely, and its been a ton of fun for Gwen and me to spend time with them again.
4. Thank God with us continually for our team of supporters. We have been wonderfully blessed through our whole missionary career because of these churches and individual supporters.
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From Heads To Hands

April 23rd, 2008

Its been said that a river will only rise as high as its source. A congregation or organization will rise, intellectually and spiritually, only as high as its leadership. Without a growing/emerging leadership the church and the nation cannot grow deeper nor wider. While it is true we need MORE churches, equally, we need BETTER CHURCHES.
As you read this update I will have completed teaching 40 cross-cultural church planters at the Carey Training Center in Orissa. Many of these leaders have also been in one of my training sessions with
TENT. This conference is a refresher course, hearing reports and consulting those for their field ministries. Next month I will give you a full report.
My beloved country of Kenya is my next stop. I will be in the country for 10 days discussing the possibility of cross- cultural training for 2009.
Richard Lewis
www.Lewis-Training.com

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SHARE Family Education Conference

April 19th, 2008

This a special update about our family. Generous supporters made it possible for Wendy and the kids to attend the SHARE Family Education conference March 1-8. This turned out to be a breakthrough event for Chelsea, who has been suffering from regular migraines. Since I was not there, it is best to hear it straight from Wendy!SHARE Family  Education Conference
Hi! I wanted to write to tell you a bit of what your gift and prayer has done for our family. To say we enjoyed the SHARE Conference is an understatement! I felt that the whole week was exactly what the Lord knew we needed. Each of our kids THRIVED in the classes, and quickly bonded with other missionary kids. They automatically click with other kids who understand their lives. All four kids are already talking about going back next year!Chad Mason
Every morning we had an hour of worship and Bible teaching. I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to sing and worship in English! The speakers truly understood the challenges and pressures of living cross-culturally.
I attended all sorts of seminars relating to the theme of education. It was SO helpful to pull away from the normal bustle of life (home-school, child training, ministry) and just focus on our kids educational issues. The seminars dealt with topics like understanding our children’s learning styles, preparing kids for high school, issues of learning in a second language, teaching writing, etc. I was so refreshed by all the stimulation and new ideas!
A whole team of American medical and education professionals were on site and available for consultations. Chelsea has been struggling with migraine headaches very frequently. We were able to meet with a doctor, a counselor, a nutritionist, and a vision therapist. Even though I speak Estonian, doctor visits in Estonia have always been a frustration. There is a huge volume of medical vocabulary that is not used in ordinary life. It was wonderful to communicate with a doctor in English!
I praise God that the vision therapist was there (I didn’t even know there was such a field as vision therapy!) A regular optometrist deals with the health of eyes, but a vision therapist concentrates on how the brain interprets the signals that the eyes perceive. She did a whole battery of tests with Chelsea, and discovered that her brain is having to work on overdrive because her eyes are not working together. Somehow they classify the brain’s ability into age levels, and Chelsea is about at an 8 year old level. (Not intelligence wise, but just how the brain receives info from the eyes). As you can imagine, this has been very frustrating for Chelsea, who is 14 and doing junior high work, and so much of school is reading! She often sees double, the lines jump around, and visual recall is greatly affected (meaning that with her brain working so hard, by the time she gets to the end of a line of text, she forgets what she read at the beginning of the line). The poor kid didn’t know this wasn’t normal, since she has always been that way! This could very well be a main cause of her constant headaches.
The great news is that this condition is treatable through eye therapy. I was able to talk with several other families whose children have been through the therapy, and they had wonderful results with their kids. It’s even something we can do here in Estonia, since it works through a computer program. We are in the process of researching and ordering that, so hopefully relief is on the way for Chelsea! I’m so grateful that we were there at SHARE and that God provided the vision therapist for us!
Both Chelsea and Cam took the standardized test, Iowa Test of Basic Skills. This was their first time to be tested, and we were all a bit nervous! As a home-school teacher, I always wonder if I’m covering all the bases and doing a good enough job. I got their test results the next day, and was thrilled! God knew how badly I needed that encouragement right now.
Well, I could tell lots more great things about the conference, but the main message I want to tell you is THANK YOU! We all have been incredibly blessed by your kindness. May God bless you richly in return!
With a grateful heart, Wendy / Mason-Express is the source for news and ministry of Kevin and Wendy Mason in Northern Europe

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Taiwan Update

April 17th, 2008
WARM Greetings from Taiwan,
We are grateful for the good conference that we had a few weeks ago in Danshui (near Taipei). It was spiritually refreshing, and we also enjoyed visiting some nearby scenic areas. Taipei is known to have frequent rains this time of year, but we had ideal weather while we were there.
Our English/Bible study at Peitun Church is going well. We recently switched the time on Sunday from 8:30am to 1:00pm. Since changing the time two weeks ago, our class attendance has jumped from 5-10 people attending to 25-30 attending. It was encouraging to see the good response, but having a large class presents some real challenges. Please pray that God will give us wisdom and discernment as we prepare the lessons each week.
Here are some other prayer items: 1) Pray for Joy and the other SEND ladies who will be attending ARES (Asia Regional Equipping Seminar) in Japan, April 21-25. There will be a total of 54 women who will be attending. We have been asked to pray for hearts to be encouraged, motivated for change as God directs, and warm fellowship - a bonding among the Women of SEND Asia.
2) Continue to pray for Buddy regarding his diabetes. The doctor has added another medication to try to lower his blood sugar. He will go back in one month for blood tests to see if the new medicine is having any effect.
3) Many in our SEND Taiwan field are struggling with financial support needs. Also because the U.S. dollar has steadily been dropping, missionaries are beginning to feel the pinch. We would rather not even have to mention the issue of money, but SEND’s policy states that when we are below 95% on our monthly support, we are supposed to let our supporters and those on our mailing list know of our situation. Individual shortages not only impact the individual missionary but also the field area as well. Please pray that the Lord will soon supply the additional $800+ in monthly support. 4) During the month of May, Joy has been asked to teach a weekly English class in Tanzi (for Wilma Limjoco, fellow SEND missionary), who will be in the U.S. for three weeks. Please pray for Joy as she teaches this group of adults who are beginners and understand very little English. 5) Please pray for Grace’s husband, Andy, who is not a believer. Grace is a Taiwanese friend who attends our Ladies’ Bible Study on Wednesdays. She has been such a blessing to me as I see how she diligently studies God’s Word and “hungers and thirsts after righteousness”. She truly desires to be able to serve the Lord along with her whole family. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15 For your prayers and partnership in the gospel, we thank you so much! To Know Him and Make Him Known, Buddy and Joy Vaughn
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New Creation

April 11th, 2008
birds

Dear Friends at Community Bible Church,
When a Christian says that someone is a “New” creation, that has the possibility of bringing a strange image to the mind of an unbeliever. Just what is a “NEW” creation? The Bible explains to us just what is implied with that phrase. It also tells what is involved in order to become a one.
Last Friday, I (Charlene) received word that there are “new” creations in a tribal group in PNG!
After the people heard about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, one tribal man stood to say, “When I heard Jesus say ’It is finished,’ I knew that there was something to this that we had never heard. … Do you hear this? We have never heard this before. His work was finished. There is no more work to be done. The free gift is just sitting out there for us to take it.”
Others took turns and told how the Gospel affected them. “I just am so happy about what Jesus, the Redeemer, did for my sin on the cross,” said Klara.“He had to carry so much heavy pain and sorrow and burden for me. My inner being just cries when I think of what He did for me. He cleaned my dirty inner being and my body of sin. He washed it away with his blood, and He made me clean again. My inner being cannot stop thinking about this. Last night as I tried to sleep, I just turned and turned, for my thoughts would go back to Jesus and what He did for me on the cross.I am so happy about the free gift that Jesus gave to me .
Ismail shared, “Today, I believe that Jesus is my Redeemer and that when He died on the cross, His blood bought my sin. The big space that Adam and Eve made between them and God, when they sinned in the garden, all men who are born get that big space as well.But today I believe in the Redeemer, and the great Creator Being (God) joined me back to Him, the original Source of Life. Now I am standing in God’s canoe, never to go back to Satan’s canoe again.”
The missionary went on to say that some of the people have heard the teaching, but they still have questions. Pray that they will soon have their questions answered, so they can join those who are rejoicing in their new life.
I am sure you rejoiced as you read how God has answered prayer, and how the Word has changed lives!
As I was working on Indonesia’s monthly update today, I worked on a new email message from the missionary team working with the Dao people group in Papua. It was such an interesting story, that I have attached it with this message. The “new” creations in Dao have a big concern for others! Please read through their report and pray that as God’s Word goes out, that there will be more “new” creations soon.
Marty and I want to thank you for your encouragement, financial support, and prayers. God is so good to us, and we are thrilled that you are a part of that!
In His Care,
Marty and Charlene Wilson
New Tribes Mission
New Tribes Mission
1000 E. First Street
Sanford, FL 32771
Read the rest of this entry »

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Phone Call…

April 11th, 2008

CampusCrusadeforChristJust as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
Ecclesiastes 11:5

Susan brought the phone outside to me on a Saturday afternoon last month and said, “I think you’ll like this one.”You know how it is when you’re busy and you really don’t want to stop and talk on the phone.
The caller started by saying, “Barry, this is Jim, you may not remember me.”Jim went on the tell me that he was a freshmen at Georgia Southern in 1986 and that I had shared the gospel with him and he later accepted Christ.He just wanted to say thanks for sharing the gospel with him, and went on to tell me how he had gone to seminaryand was now planting a church for his denomination in Brunswick, GA.I could vaguely remember him, but not the details of our conversations.As you can imagine, I was so moved by the Lord allowing me to hear what happened in Jim’s life!
My conversation with Jim reminded me of one of my favorite verses (above).We do not know how God works as we minister in His name.Sometimes He allows us to get a glimpse of what He is doing, but I’m convinced that we do not know the results of much of our service. I left Georgia Southern discouraged by what I considered many failures, but over the years God has at times revealed things He did that I did not realize at the time.
Barry & Susan Bouchillon
Clemson University

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Mason-Express

April 4th, 2008

REJOICE WITH US…
1. MARCH USA TRIP USED TO THE MAX! Not only was our United World Mission AD retreat a significant time of training, fellowship and effective business, God allowed me to have significant spiritual conversations with some relatives. During the past two years I have had some significant spiritual conversations with these relatives. After yet another time of relating about our real God and real life, they have accepted my offer to be a spiritual coach to them!
I’m also fired up for renewed contact with New Grace Church in Orange Park, FL. They have had a complete shake-up of leadership and change of congregation in the last few years. We were kind of dropped through the cracks. We’ve been diligently pursuing that relationship and there was confirmation that they would like to pursue a partnership with us. There were several other important personal ministry partner connections in North and South Carolina! Praise God for opening these doors and making every minute count!
One especially enjoyable part of this trip was meeting new missionaries. I joined in the interaction and final assessment steps in Charlotte, NC. Krista Johnson has been appointed to come to Sweden! She’s a great gal and it will be a pleasure to have her partner with Swedes to advance the kingdom.
2. CAR UPDATE. Rejoice with us that $6150 has come in towards our $10-$12,000 goal for a replacement vehicle. Here’s a simple comparison: an 8 year-old VW Passat from Germany with 70,000 miles costs around $10,000. The same car in Estonia lists for about $12,500. We have several friends who regularly bring in cars from Germany and know what to look for. We would use them to help us find the right vehicle.
3. “I HOPE YOU NEVER LEAVE ESTONIA” my friend said to me last night. He and I are part of a men’s discipleship group. Our focus is to help these men become active followers of Jesus. “J” continued, “Your smile and the way you are with people just draws people in and makes them feel important.” Praise God for a chance to positively influence “J” and others like him! Wendy, of course, receives these kinds of comments from people all the time!
PRAY WITH US ACCORDINGLY…
1. SWEDEN INTRODUCTIONS. Pray that God will set up the right “meets” for developing partnerships.
2. MMLK LEADERSHIP ROLE. Pray for Wendy and I as we have the privilege of leading people in their growing faith and discipleship.
3. CAR FUND. Pray for the remaining money to come in to reach our goal of $10-$12,000. If you would like to make a secure, tax deductible donation, go here for specific instructions: Financial Support for Kevin and Wendy Mason

4
. PRAY FOR OPPORTUNITIES to use WORDS to share the love of Jesus with those around this month!
5. PRAY FOR N. EUROPE APPOINTEES - UWMers who have been accepted as missionaries but are discovering their support. For Estonia - Andrew and Harmony Lynch, Josh Cauley Leanne Gasaway. For Sweden - Krista Johnson, Nancy Hallstrom, Tony and Gwen Martin.
Every blessing,
Kevin for the whole family
Area Director for N. Europe and East Africa serving with United World Mission.