CBC Missions

For some of you this may come as a surprise, since the last newsletter that we sent out indicated that we had additional support to raise and it might be a while before we could return to Taiwan.  We were so excited that within two weeks time, the Lord answered prayer by providing the necessary funds that were needed. We were able to purchase our airline tickets for July 7th and began feverishly trying to pack up and prepare to leave. We regret that we were not able to visit everyone that we would have liked to, so we hope you will understand.

We must say that our journey back to Taiwan was an adventure (or should we say nightmare). It began with a two-hour delay on our flight from Greenville to Houston, and we missed each connection thereafter.  By the time we reached L.A. at 1:30 am all service counters were closed, and we waited in the international terminal overnight so that we could get our flights rebooked first thing the next morning.  After going back and forth between service counters and making phone calls, we finally mid-afternoon were able to get our flights re-ticketed. The only hitch was that we had to fly back to Houston, spend the night and leave the following morning to fly to Tokyo and then to Taipei. Since we had been up for 38 hours, we didn’t much care what the details were….as long as we knew that we could have a bed to sleep in for the night and would be on our way to Taiwan the next day.  So….we finally made it to Taipei Saturday night (after having left Greenville on Wednesday night). However, our eight pieces of luggage didn’t. The people in baggage claims at the Taipei airport were able to trace them down the following day (They were still in L.A.) We finally received our luggage late Monday afternoon, and as far as we can tell nothing was missing. Well, there you have it…….our travel saga (the abbreviated version). Seriously though - we are thankful that we could rest in knowing that our God was in control, and we could be thankful for things like…being assigned to exit row seats so we could stretch our legs.  What a blessing! 

So, what’s been happening since we arrived? Of course, the first several days we were dealing with big time jet lag and had lots of boxes to unpack. One of our short-term teams from a Chinese church in Chicago was still here and staying in our guest facilities. We really enjoyed getting to visit with them before they left.

Also, we had the opportunity to go to a large “Urbana-type” mission fair at Zhong Tan Christian University in Zhongli.  On the first day, we helped set up the room that was assigned to SEND. The next day Buddy went back with fellow missionary to help distribute information packets, chat with students, and then help pack up the displays. It was exciting to see the interest that these students have in global missions.

Here are some of the praise and prayer items that we would like to share with you this month:

· We praise the Lord for His provisions and allowing us to return to Taiwan.

· It has been good to reconnect with friends and co-workers. Many of you have prayed for Scott since his serious scooter accident in May. He is doing better but is still experiencing double vision and pain from his shoulder injury and surgery. He tires easily and has been having trouble sleeping. Please continue to pray for healing. He and Leslie have been a tremendous testimony of God’s grace. They have been trying to reach out to the teenage boy who was involved with Scott in the accident. He comes from a very troubled home and desperately needs the Lord.

· Pray for us as we transition back into our life and duties here.  The heat and humidity is especially draining. Also, pray for our safety as we travel daily on our scooters (and car occasionally) in Taiwan traffic. It’s always a little overwhelming at first.

· Please remember family members who are experiencing health issues.

· Pray for the Lord’s guidance in which Chinese church we will be attending and serving.  We will be visiting churches over the next several weeks.

· The Lord has been answering very specific prayers for loved ones and our heart is overflowing with praise to Him!

Blessings,
Buddy and Joy Vaughn

It has been incredible over the years to watch His Love Ministries struggle, grow, change and conform to the image of Christ as we seek to be vessels for Him. One of the things we are trying to do is get everyone involved in praying, volunteering and giving. We are striving to get people like you to work with us and allow us to work for you. It is our desire that our service will become yours.

I want to share a story with you and ask that you remember a family in your prayers. Dennis lost his father a few weeks ago. Dennis and his wife contacted His Love Ministries a few months ago with a need that we were able to meet. Dennis’ father (Mr. S) was admitted into Savannah Specialty Care and they noticed His Love Ministries did a church service every Thursday. So, they contacted Marty McKenzie and asked that we visit him and share the gospel with him.

I stopped by on a couple of occasions and found Mr. S sleeping and unwilling to speak with me. One Thursday I walked by Mr. S’s room and I felt a strong impression from the Holy Spirit to stop and speak with him one more time. He was asleep but this time I woke him up. I introduced myself again and told him I was here to speak with him about Jesus Christ and salvation. I was met with a pleasant open attitude toward the gospel. I explained the plan of salvation again to him and asked if he understood and he shook his head yes. I knew he wasn’t able to pray clearly and probably wouldn’t be able to finish a prayer because he was so weak. Therefore I asked him if I could pray with him. He again said yes. I prayed for him and then asked if he understood what I prayed. He shook his head yes again. I pressed further knowing the resistance I experienced in the past only to find he was willingly listening to me and responding positively.

I was overwhelmed by God’s goodness because it is so unusual for elderly people to receive Christ because they have resisted God for so long. I sent a letter to Mr. S’s family explaining the experience. They explained to me their prayers for their father and how they shared their faith with him on several occasion towards the end of his life. They thought just a few weeks before they received my letter that Mr. S was saved. My letter was simply a confirmation to the experience they had with their father.

I am reminded that God commissioned us to make disciples in Matthew 28:16-20. He commissioned us based on His authority and His presence. Even in Acts 1:8 Jesus promised when the Holy Spirit came upon you then you would have power. Evangelism and missions is based on the authority of the Holy Spirit. We should never give up when we are promised power and authority. I bet the reason why statistics show less elderly coming to Christ is not because God gave up on them but the church or family gave up on them.  Thank God the Mr. S’s family never gave up!! 

Let me encourage you to never give up because God is good and He is powerful. I also want you to know that His Love Ministries exists for Jesus Christ and His glory first of all but we also exist for you and your loved ones. If your family members are in any of the facilities that Marty or I go to, please feel free to let us know so we can reach out to them by sharing the gospel with them. We desire to partner with all churches and all Christians for the glory of God. Maybe the next Newsletter will be about your loved one and His amazing grace to save at the very last hour. The most amazing thing about this story is God called me one Thursday afternoon to speak with Mr. S because he would pass away that very next Saturday. The Shuman family continued to pray and continued to hope God would intervene in their Father’s life. God answers prayer and I believe as the family does, this was a confirmation by God that he called Mr. S home to be with Him. There is only one way God will call you home to be with Him and that’s if you have been born again. It may have been the last two days of his life. And Mr. S may have resisted God all of his life but God intervened at the appropriate time to answer the prayers of the family. I am encouraged and blessed to be a part of this Supernatural event. I received another brother in his 11th hour, Brother (Mr. S).

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

Dear Pastor Broggi and Friends at Community Bible Church, 

What is a Kodiak?  Not sure?  Well, let us tell you-

At a very special event that was held recently at the Sanford/Orlando airport, Marty and I got to see “A Kodiak” in person.  We attended the dedication of a Kodiak AIRPLANE that had been built by Quest Aircraft Company.  This very plane will be flown over to Indonesia this summer where it will be used for the Lord’s work by our missionaries there.  This is the first of several airplanes that our Mission would like to purchase for our countries overseas.  Marty and I rejoice for the missionaries and nationals who will be served by this aircraft. 

During our years of service in Indonesia, Don and I (our sons too!) flew on various small airplanes as we flew in and out of tribes whenever we went in for visits.  Our families who live and work in the tribes still rely on planes to bring in all of their supplies and mail, as their form of transportation in and out of their remote locations, and also at times, to speed their tribal people to a hospital in the city when necessary.  Many lives have been saved because they were able to receive timely help. 

The Kodiak aircraft is designed to run on “jet fuel” which is far more economical than aviation gas in most countries. In Indonesia, Avgas costs $ 14/gallon compared to Jet fuel which costs $4/gallon.  The lower price, in addition to the fact that Avgas is getting harder and harder to acquire because of limited production, makes the new Kodiak the wise choice.

A good number of our NTM Mission’s HQ staff, as well as some NTM retirees and visitors were able to attend the dedication in this spacious hangar.

A special moment was the prayer of dedication.  So many hands touched the plane that will touch so many lives!

Please join us in prayer that the Lord will open the door for the importation of this new plane to Indonesia.  Right now the Indonesian officials are asking for $800,000 to import the plane.  Funds that are not available at this time.  Our Indonesian Board is currently trying to negotiate that fee as well as complete all the necessary paperwork.  Please pray! 

We would like to express our appreciation and thanks to you for your partnership with us in our ministries with New Tribes Mission. 
We value your support very much—Thank You!
In His Care,
Marty and Charlene Wilson

Dear Friends and Partners of LCCTI,
It’s been a busy couple of months.  As you read this report, please take time to go to the links that describe more of our discipleship with national missionaries and for enlarged look at the photos click on the pictures. 

We want to thank you again for your faithful prayers for our ministry.  Our monthly revenue was down in 2009, but through your support we were able to continue this vital work of training cross cultural workers around the world. 

Working with EE-Eurasia this past month I had the privilege to teach a group of pastors and workers in presenting the Gospel contextually.  Cross-cultural communication is key in reaching those who do not understand the Good News of Christ.

Cherrapunji, India is considered one of the wettest places on earth.  I had the great privilege of working with missionaries in the northeast who were trained through Tent ministries. 

Thanks, and God bless,
Richard Lewis
Lewis Cross-Cultural Training

Greetings again CBC of Beaufort, SC! We were so excited to have a half day today.  A nap was high on our priority list.  Too many late nights of staying up until 1 or 2 am to get work done—we have a few important prayer requests for you…

*CIU’s (Columbia Bible College & Seminary/Columbia International University) library had a devastating fire in it on Saturday.  Well over a million dollars in damage occurred.  Many rare/irreplaceable Bibles and reference books were lost.  This is where we both went to seminary and the library is where Jen worked while we were in school.  Please pray for CIU’s library staff as they pick up the pieces.  This library is so important for those studying to be in ministry or heading out overseas as missionaries and the loss is great.  They are trying to salvage all that they can. 

*Julia’s appt. with the dermatologist on Monday, May 17^th to have the cyst removed.

*Our friends José Antonio & Helen- his mother just passed away after a long illness but took a sudden turn for the worst.  Despite our heavy workload at the moment, we want to minister to them during this difficult time.  We continue to pray for their salvation.

*Luis & Esther—Esther continues to avoid all church related activities.  Luis is eager!!  We were excited to learn that he has been e-mailing back and forth with the pastor from our church here.  Pray for us as we balance encouraging but not pushing.

*On the mission field, many times you just have to step up and help out where needed especially when the field or school is short handed.  We knew that Jerry would help out in the Business office for the school for awhile.  It looks like next year we will be extra shorthanded so everyone will be extremely busy.  We found out today that the computer tech (IT) is leaving the field June 20^th due to support issues.  The previous Business Manager flies back to the states June 1^st.  So Jerry is having to learn two jobs super fast (both of which could be full-time jobs under normal circumstances) plus teach 3 classes.  Please pray for strength for Jerry, a super high learning curve at the moment despite little sleep, and that he will be able to do all the jobs well despite the heavy workload.  Now you understand our longing for a half day!!!

We praise the Lord for bringing us back to Spain.
Thank you for having a part in that.
Jerry, Jen, Josiah & Julia Fields

On a recent Saturday, I came downstairs to Wendy’s world of wallpapering and I heard her state, “God really likes you.” I transferred my attention from La-La Land to whatever she was saying with, “What’s that?”. She said, “God really likes you. I just got a phone call and our house is being rented for the next year from the time we leave and they want to buy our van too. God really likes you.” What a relief! (All this without a single advertisement, group email or any effort on our part) It seems God is “putting things in order” for us to get on to Budapest. The cool thing is that Wendy’s statement is part of the spiritual truth I need in my life right now. I don’t doubt God’s love for me at all, but LIKING me? That is a completely different relationship altogether! Pretty cool of our Father to show how much He likes me by arranging these critical details don’t ya think?

Relocating to Budapest - update. Though the process of packing up our lives here and moving to another country involves a lot of details, I remain focused mostly on a few of the biggies: wondering if we’ll have the cash to cover the moving costs, wondering if we’ll have enough cash to put our children into the International Christian School of Budapest (ICSB), wondering how we’ll get rid of what we won’t take with us. We’ll need SIGNIFICANT financial contributions to be able to do all this. The good news is that a friend of ours called a few weeks ago to start the process with a significant financial gift.  

Residence permits in Estonia. Our residence permits expire on May 2nd. I envisioned doing a lot of paperwork for a 90-day extension, but it is not needed! We automatically “flip” into the category of a tourist for a 90-day grace period. Thanks for praying for this!

Website goofs! You may have noticed that since January our Mason-Express updates have arrived as a “web-like” email. I’ve had trouble with our server and so have not posted extra pictures there. I hope to get this sorted out this month. For now…please bear with us.

Please join us in taking these requests to the Father:

a. May 2-3 - Estonian “Bible Days”. This is one of the largest Christian youth events of the year. Pray for Chelsea and Cameron and their friends, that God would really grab their hearts and deepen His work in their lives.

b. I’m in E. Africa April 28-May 13. Pray for safety and for things to work here at home. I’ll visit our UWM team in Nairobi, visit Turkana in NW Kenya with Mark Dye to do some training and visit our work in DR Congo.

c. Pray for complete financial provision for our move (estimated $7000).

d. Pray for complete financial provision for our children to attend ICSB next year ($17,000).

e. Pray for God to break through to me with how much he really likes me!

f. Pray for UWM field reps from Africa who will meet together at the end of May to work through a process of refining UWM’s mission..

Wendy and I are extremely grateful for CBC of Beaufort and your partnership with us!
Kevin for us all

Mason-Express is the source for news and ministry of Kevin and Wendy Mason
in Northern Europe with United World Mission and Expedition237

End of April- Believe it or not, this is the last week of classes at Clemson!  As we wrap up the spring semester, we thought we’d send CBC of Beaufort a few updates, in no specific order:

Russell accepted Christ with me during follow-up from the Dr. Schaefer outreach that we mentioned last month.

Mark and Katie (our oldest son and daughter-in-law) are expecting their first child in October (as well as our first grandchild).  Also, they are moving to Spartanburg, SC, this spring for Mark to become the CCC Director there.

Two students from Southern Wesleyan are going on summer projects and one student is going on a one year STINT to Central Asia.  This is our first year doing ministry at SWU, so we’re pretty excited about that.

Amber, our daughter, has about 70% of her support to go to Slovakia, as she plans for an August departure.  She will be there for 3-5 years with Campus Crusade working with college students.

We’ve seen some solid growth this year.  More students are in Bible studies than in the past few years and more students are stepping up to lead next year.

Kevin (our youngest son) is going on our partnership project to La Plata, Argentina, this summer, and the Lord has already supplied his financial needs for the project!

We currently have 25 students accepted to the Smoky Mountain Summer Project that we lead in Gatlinburg, TN.  For awhile we were wondering about the men, but they have finally started to sign up.  We leave for Gatlinburg on May 22.

Over the next month we’ll be wrapping things up at Clemson and preparing for the fall semester, organizing and planning for the Smoky Mountain project, and helping Mark and Katie move.

Tonight is our last weekly CRU meeting of the semester.  I’m speaking on I Corinthians 15:58, which says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”  That’s what we desire for our students and for ourselves!

Barry & Susan Bouchillon
Clemson University
Campus Crusade for Christ

Another Wonderful Day: Another 27 leaders of the growing church in the Philippines received degrees from Baptist Theological College and the Cebu Graduate School of Theology at the end of March. Nearly all of these graduates have been in classes led by Jan or me, and some we have personally mentored.  It is exciting! 

We are now teaching concentrated summer sessions, which means teaching 8 to 5, Monday through Saturday.  Jan is team-teaching the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate course.  I taught methods for interpreting the Bible, hermeneutics, for two weeks in Cebu and am now on the island called Masbate teaching the same subject to another group of pastors. 

Missions Is a Family Affair: Part of the Cebu Graduate School of Theology extended family is the Filipino mission society, Bethlehem Star of Peace (BSOP). Over 20 graduates are now missionaries in Southeast Asia among Buddhist and Muslim people groups. One of our graduates has seen wonderful results with a music and English language center he opened for young adults in an unreached Southeast Asian country. He is so busy following up interested contacts that he does not have time to teach the classes!  But God has a plan… 

Our son Richard is a recent college graduate with a degree in English and music, so BSOP leaders asked him to assist at the language and music school. Richard is completing his TESOL certificate and is planning to leave for this new assignment on May 15. This is an important front-line mission opportunity that will help guide his future ministry choices. Richard has raised enough money to stay for 2 months, but he has been asked to stay for 6 months.  He needs to raise $4000 more to make this happen.  This is a small investment to insure that an effective Filipino mission strategy can flourish in one of the cultures most resistant to the gospel. Would you consider a one-time gift for his support? If so, contact Pastor Vince at CBC of Beaufort. 

An Expanded Missions Focus for the Baxters: For many years we have been helping send Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s) into Asia, Europe, and north Africa as intentional tent-making missionaries. I have been involved with developing training for these workers. Last November, I was part of the Lausanne Committee of World Evangelization meetings in Seoul, South Korea. This group is focusing international missions strategies on diaspora people groups, similar to OFW’s.  I was urged by the Lausanne leaders to give more time to this important work, and we are excited to report that this will be happening. Our sending agency, Converge Worldwide, has embraced this expanded role for the Baxters. We will be dividing time between our current task of theological training in the Philippines and the new task of developing and conducting training for tent-making missionaries among the various diaspora people groups in Asia, Africa, and Europe. This change of focus will occur in October, at the end of the next seminary semester. 

We are still working out the details, but we will keep you updated. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to play an important part in this new missions strategy to reach some of the most difficult areas of the globe. Thanks for making that possible family and friends of CBC of Beaufort.  

Blessings,
John and Jan Baxter
Converge Worldwide Missionaries
Training Church Leaders and Missionaries in the Philippines

Dear Pastor Broggi and Friends at Community Bible Church,
Marty and I REALLY enjoy serving at our NTM Home office in Sanford. As the sign on the wall in our publication’s building so aptly puts it … we are truly “Missionaries Serving Missionaries.”

If anyone there has the time, we would like to invite you to come for a tour of our NTM Home Office.  You will hear both of the history of New Tribes Mission and of the building itself.  During the tour you will visit the different departments and see how each has a part in the glorious ministry of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to native people groups around the world. 

We’ve heard some interesting facts about our building which we would like to share with you in the event that you don’t have the opportunity to visit us here in Sanford.

• That our current home office was built in 1925 and was originally a very sheik hotel (Hotel Forrest Lake) and EVERY ROOM HAD A BATH! (Kind of standard these days, but not back then.)
• That some of the “rich and famous” who could afford the extravagant $5.50 a day fee included….

·         Al Capone

·         Mary Pickford

·         Victor Borge

Just in case you were wondering, none of the above were NTM missionaries! 

• The New York Giants owned the building and brought their players to the hotel (at least for one season) for spring training.
• Then the building became the Sanford Naval Academy functioning as a private boy’s military school.
• In 1977 New Tribes Mission purchased the building and moved their national home office there from Woodworth WI.  
• That from our home office over THREE THOUSAND missionaries (2009 statistics) are served by the different departments.

The work of cross-cultural evangelism requires TEAMWORK at home and on the field.  THANK YOU so much for your partnership with us through your prayer and financial contributions which make it possible for us to serve missionaries around the world as part of the NTM USA Home Office Team. 

Prayer Requests:

• For wisdom, joy, and diligence in our service to the Lord.
• For a job for my son, Jamie.
• For the salvation of Marty’s grandchildren.  They are listening but keep putting it off.
• For the work going on overseas…especially in Indonesia.  We hear often from our dear friends there who are facing hardships and victories.  Hearing of someone receiving Christ is the biggest blessing!  Please pray for more laborers!  Pray for the Kodiak airplane that is getting equipped and readied for service in Indonesia.  It actually will be here in the Sanford area on April 19 at the Sanford Airport.  Marty and I would like to see it before it is sent overseas. 

May the Lord bless you richly as you serve Him,
Marty and Charlene Wilson
New Tribes Mission

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.  Psalm 126:3
Dear Friends, Hi.  This is Deb…
You all have recently been much on my mind and heart.  As I wash dishes, I often pray for you — as a group and individually.  I write to let you know of our love, and to give you a bit more insight into our life back here in these United States:

My life is full with being a wife and mom, juggling two kids’ different schedules.  And I love my times supporting and working with Carl — developing relationships — usually as folks are in and out of our house, or as I run into them around town..
Stevie attends school about 12 minutes away.  Both before and after school, he works on some supplemental ‘home-schooling’ lessons.  Due to our return to the U.S. during the school year, and then many more transitions once back, he changed schools 5 times last year.  During his play breaks, he loves to jump on our neighbor’s trampoline, to run, and to swing.
Julianne is home schooled.  She is happy she’s learning to read, like her big brother.  And she loves taking swim lessons.  This past week she’s been hard at work on her back stroke and side breathing (freestyle). The kids are a hit on the Columbia International University campus, whenever they “go to work with Daddy”.  They often facilitate building relationships, laughter and fun.
Carl continues to learn this new people group: the Millennial generation — those born here in North America from about 1980 through the late 1990s.  I appreciate his insight into how God has equipped this generation to carry the torch, reaching all the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Most exciting to me is his vision to mobilize us older generations to mentor the Millennial generation.  Many of them desire to learn, and are open to this kind of relationship with someone who has a few more years of life experience. His days are full developing relationships with students on the C.I.U. campus, following up people who’ve contacted TEAM for more information, interviewing folks, helping them to find their way further towards serving God overseas.  He does this through face-to-face meetings, time on Facebook, phone calls, Skype calls, e-mail and more.  We also regularly have people into our home, as we are close to the C.I.U. campus.
As for me, I am learning to trust God more.  Having spent 1/3 of life overseas, I continue to re-acclimate to being here in the U.S. for now.  As Julianne and I memorize Bible verses for home school, God is pricking my heart to become more like Him in my attitudes. Am I truly trusting Him with all my heart?  (Prov. 3:5-6) As I train my children, what are the big pieces of wood in my own eye?  (Matt. 7:1-5)

He is a faithful God who delights in transforming us to His own image.
Thanksgivings:
– for strength and stamina for the non-stop ministry opportunities coming our way.
– for God’s transforming grace at work in us.
– for you, our faithful support team.

Prayer requests:
– for God’s continued healing in both our children’s lives.
– for continued effectiveness, especially for Carl as he mobilizes/connects with people.
– for sufficient financial support.

Looking forward to the day when some from every tribe, tongue and nation will worship together at His throne!
Serving Him together with you,
Debbie (& Carl) Peklenk
with TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission)