For the week of May 12, 2008
Vol. 12 No. 19

"So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” — Acts 14:23


Africa

TOGO

Peter and Janice Maybury. Pray for the mentoring of Pascal and Essotina as Peter seeks to help them grow as preachers for the church at Kpeta. Pray for others to continue the teacher training after the Mayburys depart in August. Pray for their move to Mango and learning the Anufo language. They are excited that five of their Mango team mates will be arriving in the next three months. God is bringing everything together in His perfect timing.

Steve and MaryJo Mills were planning on returning to Togo on separate flights due to a class Steve needed to take during the month of July. However, after recent communications with different individuals in leadership, Steve will be returning to Togo at the same time as Mary Jo—June 30. There is some work that Steve needs to do in Togo with land that is being considered as the future site for the new hospital in northern Togo. Please be in prayer for those who will be arriving prior to Steve who will be doing a lot of preparatory work for Steve and the surveyor.


Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico

NICARAGUA

Andy and Diane Large. The church youth are now leading the intermediate youth program, thanks to Word of Life missionary Guillermo Aguilar who is continuing the discipleship of the leaders. Praise God for the growing involvement of the servant leaders in the work of their church. Three financial gifts have been received for the church property. Three couples have come for marital counsel. They are not members of the church yet, but the marriages are being saved and transformed by the power of the precious Word of God.


Eastern Europe

SLOVAKIA

Jerry and Sue Hamann hosted a weekend of English classes this month. Thirty students attended. They had a great time talking with the students and getting to know some of them for the first time. They had opportunities to present the gospel to 13 of the 30 students. Pray that the Lord will use His Word to bring them to salvation.


Far East

JAPAN

Tom and Paula Carr. Mike B. is scheduled to arrive in the middle of May to help with the coffee shop ministry, as Courtney will be heading back to the US to attend Candidate Class and join ABWE as a full-time missionary. After Mike leaves in August, there doesn’t appear to be anyone available to head it up full-time. May 25 will be the final Joyful Sounds gospel concert before the Carrs begin furlough ministry in August. Please pray for a good attendance and many hearts to be touched through the music and the Word. June 8 is PRAISE 2008, a time when their fellowship of churches gets together for testimonies, singing, and fellowship. Please pray also for the new church plant effort that have begun in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture. The Smiths and Sue Hahn have both moved into the area and have begun making contacts.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Bill and Lori Smith. Seventeen students will be participating in a tw-week module for the Master’s Program this month. A new term has begun at the Bible college. The third and fourth year students are out on their practical assignment. The clinic needs funds to purchase a three-month supply of medication from a wholesale warehouse in Lae. The repairs on the ambulance were totally covered by the insurance payment. Pray for the parents of baby Lorna who died last week. She had spent many days at the clinic over her young life. Bill and Lori had opportunity to ministry to friends and family through the funeral service.


North America

MAINE

Dan and Betsy Delavan. Cindy, a young mom, has been attending church faithfully. She has been excited to understand that salvation is “by grace through faith, and not of works.” Please continue to pray for Cindy’s husband Josh, who isn’t interested in church. Norm and Millie have attended through the winter. Norm doesn’t know Christ yet. Pray also for the salvation of Phil and Jackie. Three church teens will be serving God this summer at Camp Northfield. On May 26, the church will enter a float in a local parade. The Delavan’s will leave on an 8,000 mile trip through the Western United States on May 26.


South America

BRAZIL

Dave and Patty McIntyre have decided to lease the camp to another group during their furlough ministry. This way, the camp will be maintained and used during their absence, and it will even generate income for some much-needed repairs. The sports center property is temporarily being run by Tarik, an Iraqi refugee. The Copacabana church is working on a community outreach ministry that will use the facility. They hope to fund that ministry without financial support from the US. Pray for the ministry at Hope Baptist Church while the McIntyres are away. Alberto, currently in seminary, will do some of the preaching and discipleship while they are gone.

David and Susan Blazer (furlough) request prayer for times of ministry in the homes of their hosts, and as they present the challenge of the work in Paranaiba to churches. They would like to raise money to buy property and build a small building for the church.

CHILE

Jon and Kim Spink (prefield) have finished language school in Texas and will be moving back to New York to complete their prefield ministry this summer and fall.

Dave and Ruth Ann Rogers work with a missionary who is ministering to many of the evacuees from the volcano that erupted in the south of Chile. Many were forced to flee their homes—some with families of 10 or 12 people. They may be forced to stay in shelters for three to four weeks or more. The ABWE missionary team has decided to take up an offering of staple goods, personal hygiene items, blankets, clothing, and other essentials, collected from within sister churches and from any other believers who want to get involved. The efforts will be channeled directly through the missionaries in the south (Marcelo and Julia Henriquez) to those in the shelters. They plan to take the items given to the needy and personally share with them Christ's love, while helping meet their personal and physical needs. Please pray as the collection is taken up and that this will serve to be a platform to personally spread the gospel of Christ to the thousands currently living in high schools, hospitals, and other very basic shelters. More information is available at www.abwe.org.

COLOMBIA

Scott and Laura Carter’s church is involved in an evangelism and discipleship program, called Plan Felipe (Plan Philip). It is a one-on-one evangelism/discipleship study that starts in the book of John and leads the student to discover biblical truths for him/herself. It has been so wonderful to see at least eight people accept Christ as their Savior since the church began the study in February. There are at least 50 of these studies going on right now. Liliana Acho is considering the possibility of taking over the camping ministry after the Carters depart for furlough in January of
2009. The Carters are surveying possible church planting cities for their ministry after furlough.


Home Office

ABWE is hosting three seminars this week. Rebecca Pippert’s Bible Study Evangelism on May 12; Ed Stetzer—Breaking the Missional Code, May 13,14; and on May 15-16, Ken Ham and Dr. Terry Mortenson’s Gospel Foundations in Genesis.

Marilyn Scraver (MK Education) attended a home school convention in Harrisburg last week and recently participated in an online seminar for home school educators. She will be sharing information about Shepherd College with a missionary mom who has a developmentally challenged daughter.