For the week of October 27, 2008
Vol. 12 No. 40

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money…” — 2 Timothy 3:1-2

 
Answers to Prayer

TOGO. Dr. Russ and Melody Ebersole. “Aisha is a young mother of three children whose husband was killed in an accident last year, and whose older son was then taken to live with other family members. Earlier this year, her younger son was admitted to the hospital with severe malaria. Despite all our efforts to save his life, he did not respond and died, leaving her alone with only her daughter. Melody had visited with her, and we helped take her and the little body back to her home. Melody and Russ’ sister, Sue Briggs, continued to follow-up with her. Through their ongoing witness and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Aisha stated that she believed. A short while ago, Aisha came to our home again, said that she had left her (Middle Eastern) religion to follow Christ. She also said that she had led two of her friends to the Lord."


Africa

TOGO

Steve and Mary Jo Mills. The church at Agbonou continues to press forward in their new building construction. The dedication has been set for January 2009, and they are trusting the Lord to provide the balance of funds that are needed to complete it. Mary Jo is very busy in the operating room providing the needed anesthesia for the various cases being done. She is also very active with her OB ministry, and she has seen a dramatic increase in ladies she is seeing in her prenatal clinic. Steve just finished up with a seminar for local pastors where a visiting missionary, Dr. Steve Nunemaker, taught the principles of stewardship. This seminar was preceded by another seminar in Lomé dealing with teaching and designing courses for teaching.

Dr. Russ and Melody Ebersole. Melody has a parasitic infection caused by a sand fly’s bite. It is the mild form of the disease but difficult to treat. Recently, three mothers of hospitalized children attended the mother’s discipleship class, and all three made decisions for Christ that day. At the same time, a young man came to a saving faith in Christ as one of the teachers shared the gospel with him during game time. Please pray for these new believers, that they can receive the critical follow-up that will allow them to grow in their faith, especially for those who are only at the hospital compound for a short while.
 

Far East

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Bill and Lori Smith. Rapture Baptist Church is in the process of voting for deacons and church leaders. Pray that God will work in an incredible way as the church begins to move ahead with outreach and other ministry. Funds are needed to transfer a shipping container to the clinic once it arrives at the dock. Pray for continued opportunities to share Christ and His love at the clinic. A National Pastors Conference will be held at the Bible college. Pray for the funds needed to cover the expenses and for this conference to be a huge blessing. Several of the students are in need of money to pay their school fees.

PHILIPPINES

Craig and Elaine Kennedy will join at least 200 delegates in Malaysia for the second Asian Pacific Mission Congress on October 28-30. Craig will do a workshop on Resources for Mission’s Training, and Elaine on Unraveling Worldview Obstacles in Missions. Next semester, Craig will be teaching the Baptist History and Belief course from November through March at Baptist Bible Seminary and Institute as well as continuing coordinating STIR-Asia and ABWE-Philippines.

Kent and Sandra Pool are grateful for the help they received following the typhoon. The difficulties of recovering from the storm have also brought great opportunities. Because they too are victims of Typhoon Frank, they are doing more evangelism now than ever before. Hardly a week goes by without an opportunity to give the gospel in public schools and government offices, including the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources. Kent has spoken there twice and is arranging to go back there again. Kent is still having trouble with his knee. He might need surgery to repair it, but one of his doctors wants him to rest it for the next three weeks (semester break) to see if it improves. Please pray that surgery can be avoided.


South America

Bob and Lynn Trout (Administrator for Spanish Speaking South America). Bob travels to Argentina next month to take part in a seminar in Buenos Aires November 1-4. He will be part of a conference in Santiago, Chile, November 4-10. He will then take part in the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the first church established in Lima, Peru, November 10-15.

COLOMBIA

Butch and Bonnie Jarvis were honored last month for having served in Bogota for 30 years. Their first church service in Bogota had 17 in attendance. That first church has grown to 22 churches and those 17 people have grown to over 2,000. They are planning on continued ministry with ABWE as Adjunct Faculty for Seminaries in Spanish-Speaking South America. They will also be serving with Starkey Road Baptist Church to help train leadership for a Spanish-speaking church plant in that church’s ministry.

PERU

Glenn and Dorothy Budd are beginning their fifth term in Peru. As the Sunday Business Class Bible Study continues to concentrate on The Story of Hope, they are seeing much interest and receiving good questions as students learn of God’s marvelous plan of salvation down through history. Tuesday evenings, Dorothy has joined Virgie Farley, team-teaching the ladies the Bible study, Extraordinary Women of the Bible. Three of the women are saved; the others are very interested and have made good comments. Pray for the teaching preparation time to be multiplied and fruitful and for the salvation of these dear friends. Soon the New Hope Crisis Pregnancy Center will be celebrating its three-year anniversary. Pray for the preparations being made and that the banquet and celebrations will glorify the Lord, yielding spiritual fruit among the needy sector of Chiclayo. Please continue to pray for a new director.

Tim and Virgie Farley. Due to the deteriorating physical and mental health of her mother, Virgie is spending three weeks with her parents in the US. Praise the Lord that in the recent upheaval of government personnel, the Minister of Transportation retained her position. She has been very supportive of the aviation ministry and is open to paving the way for more flexibility within the Civil Aviation Department. Earlier this month, Tim, Glenn Budd, and others took part in a three-day conference for teens and adults from approximately 35 villages.


Home Office

Dr. Bob and Shirley Cropsey (International Director of Healthcare Mobilization). Dr. Cropsey is currently in Asia with doctors Wendell Hyink and John Yee relieving a missionary surgeon for two weeks. The missionary doctor is meeting with architects and construction representatives to make plans for phase one of the new construction project at the hospital. Dr Cropsey and Dr. Yee will be in Malaysia for the second Asia Pacific Missions Congress October 28-30. They will be speaking about the missionary opportunities for Asian healthcare professionals. Over 200 will be attending this conference from all over the Asia Pacific region.

Sue Ann and Jerrold Thomas (International Ministries) writes, “Our daughter, Lisa Boatman, has now been diagnosed with metastatic cancer. She has exploratory surgery scheduled Wednesday to try to locate the primary site, thought to be her neck or throat. The prognosis is not good. She is in her early 30s, a single mom with two small boys. She lives in the Chicago area. Sue Ann and I covet your prayers for God's healing intervention or successful treatment.”