The Putnam Family – Missionaries to Brazil
What a start to 2023! We welcomed in the new year as a church family asking for God’s blessing on the work here in Pinda. Our theme for this year is faithfulness. It’s been encouraging to see the people get excited about what God is doing and the growth in their lives.
We had a young family visit the church just before Christmas and they seemed to enjoy the services. We made a follow-up visit and learned that while they had been saved some time, they were actively looking for a Bible-preaching church. They didn’t have transportation to get to church but really wanted to participate as much as possible. Jediel had a motorcycle, but with a baby boy, 3 on a motorcycle wouldn’t be too practical or safe. He ended up trading his motorcycle for a car, and since the beginning of the year their family has been very faithful. Please pray for Jediel, Andressa, and their son Saulo. It’s awesome to see God working in their lives and their excitement to serve the Lord and grow.
You may remember Gisele - she was saved just before Christmas but had been coming to the services for a few months already. While her family is staunchly against her being saved and baptized, she has really grown and is so excited about the things of the Lord. A few weeks ago her husband Luciano came for a service. After the service, Gisele messaged me asking several doctrinal questions from Luciano about God. Immediately, I recognized that the question was based on a cultish view of Jesus Christ. Bro. Jonata and I were able to arrange a visit with them and began to explain to Luciano from John 1 and other passages who Jesus Christ is. What a joy to share that Jesus Christ is not merely a man, nor a good teacher, but in fact the Son of God and God the Son! We talked for a couple of hours and while I know the Holy Spirit is working in his heart, he still has not made a decision for Christ. Please pray for Luciano and that soon he would trust Christ!
Another exciting project is the John and Romans that are being printed and sent here in a few short weeks. We have 60k generic John and Romans with another 15k for the Day of the Dead event in November. Please pray for the production, packaging, and arrival of these much-needed resources so that the Word of God continues to be preached here in Pinda. If you’d be interested in participating in a group mission trip in August, please get in contact with me and I can get you more details.
We enjoyed a little time off school for the holidays, but we are very much back in the grind of life. It’s been exciting to watch Lainey as she’s learning so much and excited about it too! We are thrilled to tell you that our move to Pinda should be - Lord willing - within the next couple of days. Please continue to pray for everything to go smoothly as we - finally! - approach the long-awaited move to our city. Living in Pinda will enable many different ministry opportunities and certainly cut down on commuting and the financial aspect associated with commuting.
We are humbled by your faithful prayer and financial sacrifice so that we can labor together for the cause of Christ here in Pindamonhangaba. We love you all and pray for you often.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Jamie, Lainey, Clayton & Silas Putnam
Sent By:
Northwest Bible Baptist Church
Elgin IL 60124
Contact:
Putnams to Brazil
9n889 Nesler Rd
Elgin, IL 60124
Phone: (847) 695-6222
missions@nwbbc.com
info@nwbbc.com
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Josh & Alyse Szwarga – Missionaries to New Zealand
Last Wednesday night God answered one of our prayers by allowing us to see a young lady, Iah, accept Christ after the service. She had been attending our church quite regularly since mid-December. Our church was her first exposure to the gospel and we praise the Lord that she has been saved!
In January, in addition to the regular out-of-town Bible study and Friday night youth group messages I usually preach, I received several opportunities to preach in our church services. We also appreciate your prayers for Phil and Gail, mentioned in a previous letter. They have been growing steadily through discipleship.
Regarding the nationwide John and Romans distribution project, we have secured a second printing ministry for the project. They are able to start production as soon as we finalize some details with the New Zealand distribution office. Please pray for there to be swift approval, production, and shipping.
Our soulwinning efforts have gained some traction since our last letter. We appreciate your prayers over the scheduled time mentioned in our previous letter. It was a blessing to hear reports of prayer specifically for our soulwinning. Please stop and pray for Heidi and Rissi who were tender to the gospel this past week. There are others such as Sandy, John, Tomas, and Marty, all needing to be saved. The prayer list for salvation of friends and family at our church seems to be growing at a rapid pace. I read some time ago that one of our prayers for revival should be for Christians to have a passion to see people saved. There is a unique amount of emphasis in our church at the moment regarding the souls of the lost and I ask that you pray for that fervor to grow.
Looking ahead to this month, we ask that you would pray for the Friday youth activities. We typically will have one or two new teens each activity. Please pray for fruit that remains from those who attend. Also pray for a teen girl in our church, Alicia, as she will be having major back surgery on March 1. Lastly, we are seeking wisdom in starting a preaching class for young men, as our church has a solid group of young men with great potential to be used of God.
There is much to be in prayer for over here in New Zealand. Please know that we keep you, our supporters, in prayer by name weekly and seek to stay up-to-date on how best to pray for you as well.
Thank you for praying,
Josh, Alyse and Bentlee Szwarga
Updated Address:
51B Taniwha Place
Bethlehem, NZ 3176
Mailing Address:
Szwargas to New Zealand
9zn889 Nesler Rd
Elgin, IL 60124
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The Akuokoh Family – Missionaries to Ghana, West Africa
I apologize for the delay in sending out this letter. I wanted to wait until after we had our grand opening at Gospel Light Baptist Church of Abesim-Dominase before I gave you all an updated letter. We hope that you are all doing well and continuing to fight the good fight. No one has ever said it’s easy to serve the Lord, but I have heard many say that it’s incredibly rewarding, to which I can testify. I sure am grateful for the goodness of God.
We had a wonderful first Christmas here in Ghana, much different than we were used to. We had gotten used to snow around Christmas, but we had an over 90 degree day but still a wonderful day. I had an opportunity to preach the Christmas Day service for our good friend, Bro. Rexford Aning and enjoyed a time of fellowship before we went home to open our presents. It was overwhelming to reflect on the year and see how much our lives had changed in 2022, from Ezekiel’s birth to our transition to Ghana.
Gospel Light Baptist Church of Abesim-Dominase officially opened its doors on January 22, 2023. What an awesome day it was. We had ten people in attendance for the morning service, three adults and seven children under 15 years old. We cannot thank you enough for the time you all spent praying for our grand opening. Please pray that the Lord will use our church in a way that only He can get the credit for. We’re looking forward to every service and all the ministry opportunities we will have in the future of this church. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.
We hope you have had a wonderful start to the New Year. Since the start of Gospel Light Baptist Church of Abesim-Dominase, every week we have had an increase in attendance by at least five people and we’ve been able to lead eight people to salvation since we opened our doors. Our attendance has grown so quickly that we are having two services for both the Sunday School and Main Sunday Service. Raquel teaches the children under the age of 10 and I’ve been with age 11 all the way to the adults. It’s exciting to see the children and adults alike reciting their weekly memory verses, singing the hymns and bus songs we’ve been teaching them, and their desire to grow spiritually. All the glory goes to God.
The young people especially have been eager to come to church. It has become common for them to knock on our door early Sunday morning, with them asking us to give them a ride to church… they show up two hours before we start the services. Their spirit is so contagious. Our son, Ezekiel, is the youngest member of our church, and he needs a lot of attention. The ladies of the church help take care of him, so that my wife can focus on teaching. What a blessing!
Ghanaian Independence Day is on Monday, March 6th, so we are planning to have a big day (Independence Day Service) on Sunday, March 5th. We are asking you to please join us in prayer as we pray for a great turnout and for people to come to know the Lord as their personal Saviour. Some of our church goers have already volunteered to help us run the events that day and will also help us go out and invite those in our community.
Please continue to pray for the growth of our church numerically and spiritually. We would also like for you to pray for us to be able to find a place for baptisms. Thank you for the love you show our family.
With Utmost Sincerity,
Daniel, Raquel, and Ezekiel AKUOKOH
CONTACT INFO
GHANA PHONE NUMBER: +233 544 975 591
EMAIL: akuokohs2ghana@outlook.com
MAILING ADDRESS: Stateside:
DANIEL AKUOKOH
P.O. Box 9
Harrison, TN 37341
Field Mailing Address: COMING SOON!
SENDING CHURCH
FREDERICK BAPTIST CHURCH
5305. ZION RD
FREDERICK, MD 21703
PASTOR JOHN Y. SEAY
(301) 473-8900
MISSION BOARD
BAPTIST INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS INC.
P.O. BOX 9
HARRISON, TN 37341
(423) 344-5050
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Missionary Bob DeWitt (BaGyi Bob) – Golden Land Baptist Missions
For the first time in almost two years, I was able to return to Myanmar in November and December. What a glad reunion day it was when I landed in the city of Yangon and saw again the faces of those preachers, students, and orphans whom I love so much. And despite the fear and pain of the Covid-19 pandemic, the misery of a military coup and resulting civil war, sweeping power outages nationwide, and the devaluing of their national currency bringing more suffering, I found them rejoicing in the Lord, serving God obediently, and winning souls – even among those who have and are still persecuting them.
The express purpose of my trip was different than others: God gave us a tool for evangelism. With the help of our friends at Bible Tracts Inc., we redesigned the gospel tract that I wrote several years ago into a 16- page, full color booklet. Through the gifts of American Christians, God has enabled us to print millions of this booklet in the city of Yangon. And because of the quality, the Myanmar people know it is important. Based on the testimony of a converted Buddhist leader, “A Monk Tells How He Found True Enlightenment” is designed particularly for southeast Asia and, more specifically, Old Burma. Many Myanmar pastors have said it is one of the greatest evangelistic tools ever given to their country. Many hundreds have already been saved. The power of the booklet is in the fact that it is full of God’s Holy Word.
Despite military checkpoints everywhere, some where I had to “negotiate,” I was able to visit our preachers, congregations, and missionary church-planters in four different provinces. Five wonderful young men, all graduates of Cornerstone Baptist College (a ministry of Bethany Baptist Church in Yangon and associated with Golden Land Baptist Missions), are planting churches in the north. Levi and Matthew are in Shan State, and Isaac Khong, Paul Lwin Myint, and Aung Ni Win are in Mandalay. With the help of GLBM’s Pastor Thaung Lian, we delivered tens of thousands of booklets and helped to distribute them in the streets of their cities.
“Mingalabar!” I cried. “Aye, say say lar?” (Hello! Is anyone home?) A woman in her forties came to the doorway of her home. There was no electric, and no floor but dirt. We were immediately invited inside. We sat on stools as her husband smoked a cigarette through a four-foot section of PVC pipe. We presented to them booklets and their neighbors came to receive them as well. Everyone in the house that day believed and turned to faith in Christ. That evening people packed a small bamboo hut where Levi is starting his church. The new converts came, struggled to sing the hymns, but eagerly learned more about Jesus.
In the very place where in 1824 Adoniram Judson was jailed and tortured for eleven months, where despite his suffering he translated the Scriptures into the Burman language, we distributed booklets and saw people saved. Those who turned to Christ then took armfuls of our booklets and handed them out in the village and nearby monastery.
After two weeks, I was joined by BTI’s Micah McCurry and we traveled to Myanmar’s fourth largest city where GLBM’s missionary families, the Davis’s and Judsons, are working to build the Malawmyine Baptist Church. We had sent 20,000 booklets ahead. And, in several communities and four city markets, very near the largest military base in the country, we gave everyone we met a booklet. People read them with intense interest, and many are being saved. 60,000 Booklets Distributed On This Trip Alone
Back in the city of Yangon (pop. 7 million), our school students went to the streets with us and distributed booklets until everyone was exhausted, hungry and thirsty, yet burdened for the few who rejected the booklet saying, “Don’t they know we are Buddhist?” But most people received the booklet with great interest and gratitude. An 84-year-old monk read the booklet, immediately believed the Gospel, and was gloriously saved and baptized. He said, “I served the temple all my life and I never heard this before. Why did no one tell me about Jesus?” Two hours north of Yangon, in a very tiny village along the Lai River, we distributed booklets to every household and the students in a nearby school. An old and withered woman, sitting in the doorway of her bamboo hut, reached for a booklet and was excited to receive it. The images and incense of her idolatrous worship, the place where she prayed to evil spirits, were visible behind her. Yet, reading every word of Scripture, she believed and received Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour.
The presses will be rolling for months. We intend to print four million booklets. And then, with the help of our partners, we’ll do it again. We want to translate it into other Buddhist languages: like Chinese, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian, Bhutanese, and Nepali. We are grateful for every person who has helped. With my whole heart, I want to thank you for praying and giving to GLBM.
Looking ahead: Please PRAY for the liberty to host a Baptist Heritage Pastor’s Conference in Myanmar in November 2023.
Contact:
Golden Land Baptist Missions
209 Gardner Road
Horseheads, NY 14845
607-739-9062, GLBM – Ext. 3
glbmbob@gmail.com
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The Owens Family – Church Planters in Bulgaria
This year for Christmas, we set up a live nativity scene on a trailer and pulled it through the streets, complete with a donkey, a calf, and sheep. We played the Christmas story and music on loud speakers along with a clear gospel presentation and the real meaning of Christmas. Almost everyone in the church was involved: some passing out tracts, some in costume on the trailer, and others guarding so there would be no accidents. I was very encouraged to see all of our people get excited about this and show up all 5 evenings, including Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It was a great success, and hundreds gathered each night to listen to the Gospel story. Although it was not possible to get a count on salvations, we witnessed many each night bow their heads and pray after the Gospel was presented.
Pray for Doni, Stefcho, and Betty who have been attending faithfully to take the next step and be baptized. Thank-you for your continued prayers for all the people God has given us the privilege of reaching with the Gospel. Pray that they will withstand the temptations of the devil and grow in their faith. Thank you for your faithful prayers and financial support that allow us to stay on the field.
Due to health and other concerns for our children that need to be addressed, we are planning to take a 5-6 month furlough from late May through October 2023. Unfortunately, we will not be able to travel to the west coast during this furlough, but we will be scheduling meetings in the east. If you would like us to give a report at your church please e-mail me or call, and we will do our best to fit you in. Also, we are in need of a dependable van, large enough to transport our family while on furlough. Please pray about this need.
Serving for Jesus,
The Owens Family
“…as unto a light that shineth in a dark place…” (II Peter 1:19)
Support Address:
WB World Missions
PO Box 1147
Huntington, WV 25713
Sending Church:
Lighthouse Baptist Church
Pastor Dennis Morrello
2650 North Terrace
Huntington, WV 25705
304-412-4383
Mailing Address:
The Owens Family
Ulitsa “Prolet” 4
Studena 2344
Bulgaria
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The Villafranca Family – Missionaries to Hoonah, Alaska
Dear Pastor and church,
We kicked off the year with a busy January; thankfully, we have had meetings scheduled since 2022. January was a very gracious month for us, but as a gospel preacher, I was very encouraged to have almost all churches share their pulpit with me. We had meetings throughout the South, a few in Florida, many in Alabama, some in Georgia, Arkansas, and even New Mexico. You can only imagine the maintenance your vehicle needs after 5K miles each month.
Being in a vehicle for a prolonged time is not suitable for your health. While in Florida, we took advantage of our stay there to see the doctor, and I was able to get a necessary medical procedure done. Next week we will find out if we need a specific surgery; we ask that you pray for God’s will to be done and for good health for the years to come.
So far this month, we have gained four more supporters, and we praise God for getting us closer to the mission field. We have also been faithful at being witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ; during our travels, we met a young man whose life was rather sad and full of consequences of sin. His father was in prison, and at 17 years old, he was also a father to a beautiful 7-month girl. We befriended him at his workplace, shared the Gospel with him, and the next day we followed up with him and invited him to have breakfast at Chick-fil-A with us. We made sure his prayer of salvation was sincere and explained the believer’s security. We have kept up with him and are working on placing a Bible in his hands. Please pray for Ron to grow in grace.
Next month our schedule is full, and we have an opening we might need to keep open to follow up with doctor visits in Florida. Please pray we can get a meeting while we are down there. My wife and girls are doing fantastic! Sarah will soon turn three, and she is very excited about her Birthday. Kayla is growing, healthy and is stealing hearts in churches.
Gratefully,
The Villafranca family
Sending Church:
Iglesia Bautista Biblica el Faro
Pastor Jorge Armendariz
6000 Waverly Rd
Waverly, FL 33877
Mission Board:
Northwest Bible Baptist Missions
Northwest Bible Baptist Church
Pastor Phil Cavanaugh
9N889 Nesler Rd
Elgin, IL 60124
Make Checks Payable To:
Northwest Bible Baptist Missions
ATTENTION TO: Jorge Villafranca
9N889 Nesler Rd
Elgin, IL 60124
Phone: 352-602-0356
Email: villafrancastoalaska@gmail.com
Facebook: VillafrancastoAlaska
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The Porterfields – Missionaries to South Sudan
What a blessed holiday season our family enjoyed. We pray that you also experienced God’s goodness as time was set aside to recognize and celebrate God’s greatest gift given to us.
Now that a brand-new year has arrived, we are anticipating all the wonderful ways in which God is going to continue to use Blind Faith Ministries for the sake of the Gospel around the world. As the Lord leads, we are hoping to complete our building project this year with the Baxter family in Uganda, but additional funds are still needed to finish the project, so we humbly ask that you seek the Lord about being a conduit of His provision for this need.
We are encouraged to see how Beth’s Blessings is continuing to provide for and help some of the national pastors whom we are honored to support. Just this month we received a message of gratitude from Pastor George for your giving which allowed some of his brethren to obtain a few goats that will help provide for their families. You can see a picture of the goats and their excited new owners on BFM’s Facebook page (web address below).
We are grateful our evangelism team was able to go back into the interior of South Sudan in 2022 led by Pastor Taban, one of our national pastors. Through their efforts, we were able to see small groups reassembled, the gospel preached, and the Great Commission fulfilled with people saved, baptized, and disciples being made. We are very encouraged about this. Would you please consider taking on some of our national pastors for support?
This year we are seeking for an increase in our monthly support as we are experiencing a slight decrease in the funds needed to sustain the work that God has called us to and to finalize the projects that have already been started by faith. Would you ask the Lord if He would have you increase your giving, give an extra gift, or begin giving monthly now? Also, please pray with us that we will be able to schedule some meetings to present this work to some new churches. We love and think of you all often. Thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support to Blind Faith Ministries and our family.
The Porterfield Family
PO Box 1102
Princeton, WV 24740
Home: 304-487-5551
Cell: 304-320-8802
Eric.e.porterfield@gmail.com
www.blind-faith-ministries.com
facebook.com/BlindFaithMinistries
Sending Church:
Rich Creek Baptist
Spanishburg, WV
Pastor Jamie Mattox
Richcreekbaptistchurch.com
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Mike & Mary Wallace, Missionaries in Mexico City
Greetings in Jesus’ Name from Mexico City! I am feeling much better this week. Thanks for your prayers. Mary is still having problems, but I found another specialist and hope to get her an appointment. We are trying many natural things that have been recommended, apart from regular medicines, but no success yet. Apart from the pain, her intestines aren’t working well, but we were both back out together ministering this week. What a blessing!
We took the church group up to some open-air markets in the nearby mountains Wednesday. I snapped a couple pictures of Mary passing out tracts. God always blesses, often seeing a soul or more get saved, but sometimes not. Though we saw no obvious fruit in the markets that day, we gave out lots of tracts. Misael in his mid-40s received a tract earlier that day and read it. That night he came to church for the first time and said he knew his religion wasn’t enough. I believe the tract prepared his heart and after hearing the gospel that night, he prayed, trusting Christ as His Savior and was born again.
Friday at the orphanage, the orphans had a wonderful time. They love Mary. They made a gingerbread house that we brought from the U.S. as a kit. They also made & decorated cookies. They loved it. There is a new orphan girl named Noemi. She is shy but pray that one day soon, she will open her heart to Jesus and get saved. We hope to get permission to start bringing the orphans back to church for our services. Everything shut down during Covid for them, but we are hoping they can start coming to church soon.
We were out Saturday witnessing and inviting people to church. I am glad I felt better because we were back at it, climbing steps and mountains to get the gospel out. That day we also passed by a cemetery and met Monica. She wasn’t from the area, but she had traveled a couple hours to come care for the grave of her mother. Though obviously the cemetery is filled with death, Monica received eternal life after Mary witnessed and shared the gospel with her, then she prayed asking Jesus to saved her. I asked her, “Monica after the decision you just made by faith to receive Jesus as your Savior, if you were to die today, where would you go?” She smiled and pointed upward and said, “To Heaven to be with my Savior Jesus Christ.” Amen!
Yesterday church was full at Hope Baptist, and we had one first-time visitor and several visiting for the second time. Sundays are big here, and we are away from home all day. We were worn out on our way home when I received a call from a couple that was saved in our church last year and later fell out of church. They were having some marital problems so late last night we agreed to go to their room in someone else’s house where they rent. We were met in the street about 9pm and escorted to a dark, sketchy place and I had a hand in each pocket on my mace canisters. To enter the room, you had to go out the back side of the building and climb out on the side of a cliff onto makeshift steps and it was very dark. The only thing I saw as I felt like I was dangling there, was a big rat run across my foot. Thankful I didn’t jump or else I would probably not be here to write this. We arrived and tried to help for about an hour. Please pray for them and their children.
We had another spiritually fruitful week. We went o the open-air markets. While most of our church people went into and around the markets to minister, Mary & I walked along the roads in town, passing out tracts & witnessing. We entered one little store and two brothers were running their family’s little business. One of them, 19-year-old Guillermo, was very attentive and open as I witnessed to him and shared the gospel. He then told me he wanted to be saved, and he prayed receiving Christ as Savior. Later that day, I was passing out tracts along the sidewalk, and Mary had a good long talk with Francisco & Jose, sharing the gospel with them. They then told her they wanted to be saved, so Mary called me over. As I shared a bit more, I could tell that the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit had penetrated their hearts as their eyes were big, like a deer caught in the headlights. They both bowed their heads and asked Jesus to forgive them & save them. It is a blessing to see souls saved. As a church, we witness to more than 100 people every week and pass out thousands of tracts. Many are not interested but we pray specifically for God to lead us to the ones ready and He always seems to answer.
Tuesday and Wednesday we had our church people out again in the open-air markets witnessing, passing out tracts and inviting people to church. Saturdays we knock doors as a church. Other days we go out to evangelize, too, but as individuals & families, not as a large church group. This is a regular weekly occurrence part of our schedule. How awesome it is to serve the Lord helping others with the truth of salvation amongst so much empty religion. Wednesday Gabriel received a gospel tract in the market from one of our folks and came to church that night. He came because of the invitation but also because of the gospel he read in the tract. That night at church after hearing the gospel again, he trusted Christ as his Savior and was born again.
Saturday we were out with the church in a small mountain village sharing the good news of salvation. We had several good opportunities sowing the precious seed of the gospel. One of those opportunities was Mary talking to Cecilia. As usual, Mary took her time completely going through the gospel, reading each related verse and explaining it to Cecilia, being sure she understood. Cecilia recognized her sinful condition & her need of the Savior, and prayed, trusting Jesus as her Savior.
Sunday the church was full once again with five first-time visitors. A couple, Rigo and Luciana, have been faithful to church now for a few months and almost weekly they have a new visitor come with them. Luciana was saved recently but hadn’t been baptized until yesterday after the morning service.
Thanks for your specific prayers for Mary, and your text & emails. I can’t say that she is better, but she did have two nights last week where she was able to get a normal night’s sleep without being awake in pain. It might be that things are starting to make a turn for the better, but it is too early to tell so please keep praying. Her doctor gave her more medicine last week, making the 6th round of prescribed medicines. Mary & I recognize that though things are not always easy, God uses these difficulties to cause our hearts to remain soft, to be very prayerful and to trust the Lord more. He also opens many opportunities for us to relate with others in their struggles and to share the gospel with doctors, nurses, etc. Truly God uses all for good (Romans 8:28).
We are “...your servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5.
Mike & Mary Wallace, Missionaries in Mexico City
Cell: 330-419-0520
Email: contact@mexico-missionaries.com
Mail: P.O. Box 908
Donna, TX 78537
www.mexico-missionaries.com
Support & Sending Church:
First Baptist Church of Kenmore
2330 East Avenue
Akron, OH 44314
330-745-3619
Pastor Joe Grimaldi
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Jason & Lori Holt – Chile Church Planter & Latin America Director for VBM
Construction Has Begun: Liberty Baptist in Santiago
In January, we closed on the property, received the keys, and started building the new auditorium walls! Our Chilean families are giving sacrificially to help construct the church building, and several of our supporters have given, too. At the time of writing this newsletter, we have received $15,626. Praise the Lord! We still need $24,374. Our goal is to raise, by faith, the remaining amount by the end of February. Please pray with us to that end. Gifts can be sent to Vision Baptist Missions, PO Box 442, Alpharetta, GA 30009, Memo: Liberty Land Chile.
Conference Center Roof at the Chile Training Center
For several years now, we have rented tents for events held at the Chile Training Center. Over the past few months, we have been developing a plan to install a large metal roof over the entire exterior patio at the Training Center. This metal structure will allow us to host training events and conferences throughout the year with a maximum seating capacity of over 300 people! The total material cost for the roof is $37,500. The local church members plan to work together to build the structure, meaning we only need to cover the cost of the steel structure. Please pray about this need! Gifts can be sent to Vision Baptist Missions, PO Box 442, Alpharetta, GA 30009, Memo: Chile Training Center Roof.
Young Pastor Ordained
Lori and I celebrated 20 years on the mission field on January 16th! One of the highlights this year has been the many pastors we have seen ordained into the ministry. Last month, we had the privilege of ordaining John Moncada. John was sent out of Liberty Baptist in Santiago in 2020 to plant Cross Baptist Church. Since then, he has proven himself faithful to evangelize, disciple, and train young believers in this church plant. We love John and his wife, Maria José. God is using them in a mighty way. Please continue to pray for this family and ministry.
Contact:
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
(470) 377-3667
jason@connectchile.org
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The Miyashita Family – Church Planting Missionaries to Japan
1/31/2022
The weather here in Nagoya has been quite the rollercoaster ride! A cold front swept in bringing a touch of snow to our area. But the sun has since come out, and we’re enjoying bright blue skies once again. Our family has been fighting off some illness, but we’re happy to say that we’re on the mend.
Thank you for continuing to pray with us about a new location for our church plant. We had prayed specifically for a new location 1) on the first floor, 2) over 80 (preferable 100) square meters (1100 sq ft), 3) close to our current location, 4) not too expensive, and 5) has parking for 15 cars. Well, we recently found a warehouse that is a 5-minute walk away from our current location. The monthly rent is less than two hundred dollars more than we are currently paying and the area inside is 108 square meters. There are three parking spaces directly in front of the warehouse and the streets nearby are not a no-parking zone.
On Monday we were able to take a look inside, and it is really promising. We believe this is a big answer to prayer. This location checks all the boxes for what we were praying for and have been able to take a look inside. We will need to pay to have some work done so it will be suitable for us to use, and we are currently waiting to get an estimate back on how much the renovations will cost. Please keep praying!
Along with having adequate space for people to be able to come, we are also working to prepare people so the church plant can be in a position to accommodate guests better. To do this, we held a volunteer meeting, explaining the importance of thinking about what we do from the perspective of someone who has never been to church before, and remove as many barriers as possible to people believing the Gospel. The response we got was a tremendous encouragement.
On a slightly different note, an ad in the paper last year mentioned an opening for a parole officer. By God’s design, we “just happened” to live in a district with one vacancy. After meeting the chairman of the parole officers, we realized that Rosie “just happens” to know his daughter. Because these volunteer parole officers are commissioned by the Ministry of Justice to help convicts on parole integrate back into society, we hope it will help serve a bridge to not only serve the community but also share the Gospel with more people.
For the summer internship program, the Lord has answered prayers and sent us good candidates. We have been contacting their references for further information and hope to make a final decision soon. We will need to find a meeting space for this ministry, as the location we had planned to use fell through, and also to find language tutors for the interns during their time here. Please be praying for these needs.
Please also continue to pray that 5 people will get saved and baptized this year!
Please pray for:
• Bigger space (with plenty of parking) for our first church plant
• Church Growth
• Young Men to train for the ministry
• Three young men to come for the summer of 2023
• Place to use for second church plant
Yours for Japan,
The Miyashita Family
Contact:
Reaching Japan
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
ReachingJapan.com
Email: James@ReachingJapan.com
Phone: (470) 278-7415
What a start to 2023! We welcomed in the new year as a church family asking for God’s blessing on the work here in Pinda. Our theme for this year is faithfulness. It’s been encouraging to see the people get excited about what God is doing and the growth in their lives.
We had a young family visit the church just before Christmas and they seemed to enjoy the services. We made a follow-up visit and learned that while they had been saved some time, they were actively looking for a Bible-preaching church. They didn’t have transportation to get to church but really wanted to participate as much as possible. Jediel had a motorcycle, but with a baby boy, 3 on a motorcycle wouldn’t be too practical or safe. He ended up trading his motorcycle for a car, and since the beginning of the year their family has been very faithful. Please pray for Jediel, Andressa, and their son Saulo. It’s awesome to see God working in their lives and their excitement to serve the Lord and grow.
You may remember Gisele - she was saved just before Christmas but had been coming to the services for a few months already. While her family is staunchly against her being saved and baptized, she has really grown and is so excited about the things of the Lord. A few weeks ago her husband Luciano came for a service. After the service, Gisele messaged me asking several doctrinal questions from Luciano about God. Immediately, I recognized that the question was based on a cultish view of Jesus Christ. Bro. Jonata and I were able to arrange a visit with them and began to explain to Luciano from John 1 and other passages who Jesus Christ is. What a joy to share that Jesus Christ is not merely a man, nor a good teacher, but in fact the Son of God and God the Son! We talked for a couple of hours and while I know the Holy Spirit is working in his heart, he still has not made a decision for Christ. Please pray for Luciano and that soon he would trust Christ!
Another exciting project is the John and Romans that are being printed and sent here in a few short weeks. We have 60k generic John and Romans with another 15k for the Day of the Dead event in November. Please pray for the production, packaging, and arrival of these much-needed resources so that the Word of God continues to be preached here in Pinda. If you’d be interested in participating in a group mission trip in August, please get in contact with me and I can get you more details.
We enjoyed a little time off school for the holidays, but we are very much back in the grind of life. It’s been exciting to watch Lainey as she’s learning so much and excited about it too! We are thrilled to tell you that our move to Pinda should be - Lord willing - within the next couple of days. Please continue to pray for everything to go smoothly as we - finally! - approach the long-awaited move to our city. Living in Pinda will enable many different ministry opportunities and certainly cut down on commuting and the financial aspect associated with commuting.
We are humbled by your faithful prayer and financial sacrifice so that we can labor together for the cause of Christ here in Pindamonhangaba. We love you all and pray for you often.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Jamie, Lainey, Clayton & Silas Putnam
Sent By:
Northwest Bible Baptist Church
Elgin IL 60124
Contact:
Putnams to Brazil
9n889 Nesler Rd
Elgin, IL 60124
Phone: (847) 695-6222
missions@nwbbc.com
info@nwbbc.com
••••••••••
Josh & Alyse Szwarga – Missionaries to New Zealand
Last Wednesday night God answered one of our prayers by allowing us to see a young lady, Iah, accept Christ after the service. She had been attending our church quite regularly since mid-December. Our church was her first exposure to the gospel and we praise the Lord that she has been saved!
In January, in addition to the regular out-of-town Bible study and Friday night youth group messages I usually preach, I received several opportunities to preach in our church services. We also appreciate your prayers for Phil and Gail, mentioned in a previous letter. They have been growing steadily through discipleship.
Regarding the nationwide John and Romans distribution project, we have secured a second printing ministry for the project. They are able to start production as soon as we finalize some details with the New Zealand distribution office. Please pray for there to be swift approval, production, and shipping.
Our soulwinning efforts have gained some traction since our last letter. We appreciate your prayers over the scheduled time mentioned in our previous letter. It was a blessing to hear reports of prayer specifically for our soulwinning. Please stop and pray for Heidi and Rissi who were tender to the gospel this past week. There are others such as Sandy, John, Tomas, and Marty, all needing to be saved. The prayer list for salvation of friends and family at our church seems to be growing at a rapid pace. I read some time ago that one of our prayers for revival should be for Christians to have a passion to see people saved. There is a unique amount of emphasis in our church at the moment regarding the souls of the lost and I ask that you pray for that fervor to grow.
Looking ahead to this month, we ask that you would pray for the Friday youth activities. We typically will have one or two new teens each activity. Please pray for fruit that remains from those who attend. Also pray for a teen girl in our church, Alicia, as she will be having major back surgery on March 1. Lastly, we are seeking wisdom in starting a preaching class for young men, as our church has a solid group of young men with great potential to be used of God.
There is much to be in prayer for over here in New Zealand. Please know that we keep you, our supporters, in prayer by name weekly and seek to stay up-to-date on how best to pray for you as well.
Thank you for praying,
Josh, Alyse and Bentlee Szwarga
Updated Address:
51B Taniwha Place
Bethlehem, NZ 3176
Mailing Address:
Szwargas to New Zealand
9zn889 Nesler Rd
Elgin, IL 60124
••••••••••
The Akuokoh Family – Missionaries to Ghana, West Africa
I apologize for the delay in sending out this letter. I wanted to wait until after we had our grand opening at Gospel Light Baptist Church of Abesim-Dominase before I gave you all an updated letter. We hope that you are all doing well and continuing to fight the good fight. No one has ever said it’s easy to serve the Lord, but I have heard many say that it’s incredibly rewarding, to which I can testify. I sure am grateful for the goodness of God.
We had a wonderful first Christmas here in Ghana, much different than we were used to. We had gotten used to snow around Christmas, but we had an over 90 degree day but still a wonderful day. I had an opportunity to preach the Christmas Day service for our good friend, Bro. Rexford Aning and enjoyed a time of fellowship before we went home to open our presents. It was overwhelming to reflect on the year and see how much our lives had changed in 2022, from Ezekiel’s birth to our transition to Ghana.
Gospel Light Baptist Church of Abesim-Dominase officially opened its doors on January 22, 2023. What an awesome day it was. We had ten people in attendance for the morning service, three adults and seven children under 15 years old. We cannot thank you enough for the time you all spent praying for our grand opening. Please pray that the Lord will use our church in a way that only He can get the credit for. We’re looking forward to every service and all the ministry opportunities we will have in the future of this church. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.
We hope you have had a wonderful start to the New Year. Since the start of Gospel Light Baptist Church of Abesim-Dominase, every week we have had an increase in attendance by at least five people and we’ve been able to lead eight people to salvation since we opened our doors. Our attendance has grown so quickly that we are having two services for both the Sunday School and Main Sunday Service. Raquel teaches the children under the age of 10 and I’ve been with age 11 all the way to the adults. It’s exciting to see the children and adults alike reciting their weekly memory verses, singing the hymns and bus songs we’ve been teaching them, and their desire to grow spiritually. All the glory goes to God.
The young people especially have been eager to come to church. It has become common for them to knock on our door early Sunday morning, with them asking us to give them a ride to church… they show up two hours before we start the services. Their spirit is so contagious. Our son, Ezekiel, is the youngest member of our church, and he needs a lot of attention. The ladies of the church help take care of him, so that my wife can focus on teaching. What a blessing!
Ghanaian Independence Day is on Monday, March 6th, so we are planning to have a big day (Independence Day Service) on Sunday, March 5th. We are asking you to please join us in prayer as we pray for a great turnout and for people to come to know the Lord as their personal Saviour. Some of our church goers have already volunteered to help us run the events that day and will also help us go out and invite those in our community.
Please continue to pray for the growth of our church numerically and spiritually. We would also like for you to pray for us to be able to find a place for baptisms. Thank you for the love you show our family.
With Utmost Sincerity,
Daniel, Raquel, and Ezekiel AKUOKOH
CONTACT INFO
GHANA PHONE NUMBER: +233 544 975 591
EMAIL: akuokohs2ghana@outlook.com
MAILING ADDRESS: Stateside:
DANIEL AKUOKOH
P.O. Box 9
Harrison, TN 37341
Field Mailing Address: COMING SOON!
SENDING CHURCH
FREDERICK BAPTIST CHURCH
5305. ZION RD
FREDERICK, MD 21703
PASTOR JOHN Y. SEAY
(301) 473-8900
MISSION BOARD
BAPTIST INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS INC.
P.O. BOX 9
HARRISON, TN 37341
(423) 344-5050
••••••••••
Missionary Bob DeWitt (BaGyi Bob) – Golden Land Baptist Missions
For the first time in almost two years, I was able to return to Myanmar in November and December. What a glad reunion day it was when I landed in the city of Yangon and saw again the faces of those preachers, students, and orphans whom I love so much. And despite the fear and pain of the Covid-19 pandemic, the misery of a military coup and resulting civil war, sweeping power outages nationwide, and the devaluing of their national currency bringing more suffering, I found them rejoicing in the Lord, serving God obediently, and winning souls – even among those who have and are still persecuting them.
The express purpose of my trip was different than others: God gave us a tool for evangelism. With the help of our friends at Bible Tracts Inc., we redesigned the gospel tract that I wrote several years ago into a 16- page, full color booklet. Through the gifts of American Christians, God has enabled us to print millions of this booklet in the city of Yangon. And because of the quality, the Myanmar people know it is important. Based on the testimony of a converted Buddhist leader, “A Monk Tells How He Found True Enlightenment” is designed particularly for southeast Asia and, more specifically, Old Burma. Many Myanmar pastors have said it is one of the greatest evangelistic tools ever given to their country. Many hundreds have already been saved. The power of the booklet is in the fact that it is full of God’s Holy Word.
Despite military checkpoints everywhere, some where I had to “negotiate,” I was able to visit our preachers, congregations, and missionary church-planters in four different provinces. Five wonderful young men, all graduates of Cornerstone Baptist College (a ministry of Bethany Baptist Church in Yangon and associated with Golden Land Baptist Missions), are planting churches in the north. Levi and Matthew are in Shan State, and Isaac Khong, Paul Lwin Myint, and Aung Ni Win are in Mandalay. With the help of GLBM’s Pastor Thaung Lian, we delivered tens of thousands of booklets and helped to distribute them in the streets of their cities.
“Mingalabar!” I cried. “Aye, say say lar?” (Hello! Is anyone home?) A woman in her forties came to the doorway of her home. There was no electric, and no floor but dirt. We were immediately invited inside. We sat on stools as her husband smoked a cigarette through a four-foot section of PVC pipe. We presented to them booklets and their neighbors came to receive them as well. Everyone in the house that day believed and turned to faith in Christ. That evening people packed a small bamboo hut where Levi is starting his church. The new converts came, struggled to sing the hymns, but eagerly learned more about Jesus.
In the very place where in 1824 Adoniram Judson was jailed and tortured for eleven months, where despite his suffering he translated the Scriptures into the Burman language, we distributed booklets and saw people saved. Those who turned to Christ then took armfuls of our booklets and handed them out in the village and nearby monastery.
After two weeks, I was joined by BTI’s Micah McCurry and we traveled to Myanmar’s fourth largest city where GLBM’s missionary families, the Davis’s and Judsons, are working to build the Malawmyine Baptist Church. We had sent 20,000 booklets ahead. And, in several communities and four city markets, very near the largest military base in the country, we gave everyone we met a booklet. People read them with intense interest, and many are being saved. 60,000 Booklets Distributed On This Trip Alone
Back in the city of Yangon (pop. 7 million), our school students went to the streets with us and distributed booklets until everyone was exhausted, hungry and thirsty, yet burdened for the few who rejected the booklet saying, “Don’t they know we are Buddhist?” But most people received the booklet with great interest and gratitude. An 84-year-old monk read the booklet, immediately believed the Gospel, and was gloriously saved and baptized. He said, “I served the temple all my life and I never heard this before. Why did no one tell me about Jesus?” Two hours north of Yangon, in a very tiny village along the Lai River, we distributed booklets to every household and the students in a nearby school. An old and withered woman, sitting in the doorway of her bamboo hut, reached for a booklet and was excited to receive it. The images and incense of her idolatrous worship, the place where she prayed to evil spirits, were visible behind her. Yet, reading every word of Scripture, she believed and received Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour.
The presses will be rolling for months. We intend to print four million booklets. And then, with the help of our partners, we’ll do it again. We want to translate it into other Buddhist languages: like Chinese, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian, Bhutanese, and Nepali. We are grateful for every person who has helped. With my whole heart, I want to thank you for praying and giving to GLBM.
Looking ahead: Please PRAY for the liberty to host a Baptist Heritage Pastor’s Conference in Myanmar in November 2023.
Contact:
Golden Land Baptist Missions
209 Gardner Road
Horseheads, NY 14845
607-739-9062, GLBM – Ext. 3
glbmbob@gmail.com
••••••••••
The Owens Family – Church Planters in Bulgaria
This year for Christmas, we set up a live nativity scene on a trailer and pulled it through the streets, complete with a donkey, a calf, and sheep. We played the Christmas story and music on loud speakers along with a clear gospel presentation and the real meaning of Christmas. Almost everyone in the church was involved: some passing out tracts, some in costume on the trailer, and others guarding so there would be no accidents. I was very encouraged to see all of our people get excited about this and show up all 5 evenings, including Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It was a great success, and hundreds gathered each night to listen to the Gospel story. Although it was not possible to get a count on salvations, we witnessed many each night bow their heads and pray after the Gospel was presented.
Pray for Doni, Stefcho, and Betty who have been attending faithfully to take the next step and be baptized. Thank-you for your continued prayers for all the people God has given us the privilege of reaching with the Gospel. Pray that they will withstand the temptations of the devil and grow in their faith. Thank you for your faithful prayers and financial support that allow us to stay on the field.
Due to health and other concerns for our children that need to be addressed, we are planning to take a 5-6 month furlough from late May through October 2023. Unfortunately, we will not be able to travel to the west coast during this furlough, but we will be scheduling meetings in the east. If you would like us to give a report at your church please e-mail me or call, and we will do our best to fit you in. Also, we are in need of a dependable van, large enough to transport our family while on furlough. Please pray about this need.
Serving for Jesus,
The Owens Family
“…as unto a light that shineth in a dark place…” (II Peter 1:19)
Support Address:
WB World Missions
PO Box 1147
Huntington, WV 25713
Sending Church:
Lighthouse Baptist Church
Pastor Dennis Morrello
2650 North Terrace
Huntington, WV 25705
304-412-4383
Mailing Address:
The Owens Family
Ulitsa “Prolet” 4
Studena 2344
Bulgaria
••••••••••
The Villafranca Family – Missionaries to Hoonah, Alaska
Dear Pastor and church,
We kicked off the year with a busy January; thankfully, we have had meetings scheduled since 2022. January was a very gracious month for us, but as a gospel preacher, I was very encouraged to have almost all churches share their pulpit with me. We had meetings throughout the South, a few in Florida, many in Alabama, some in Georgia, Arkansas, and even New Mexico. You can only imagine the maintenance your vehicle needs after 5K miles each month.
Being in a vehicle for a prolonged time is not suitable for your health. While in Florida, we took advantage of our stay there to see the doctor, and I was able to get a necessary medical procedure done. Next week we will find out if we need a specific surgery; we ask that you pray for God’s will to be done and for good health for the years to come.
So far this month, we have gained four more supporters, and we praise God for getting us closer to the mission field. We have also been faithful at being witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ; during our travels, we met a young man whose life was rather sad and full of consequences of sin. His father was in prison, and at 17 years old, he was also a father to a beautiful 7-month girl. We befriended him at his workplace, shared the Gospel with him, and the next day we followed up with him and invited him to have breakfast at Chick-fil-A with us. We made sure his prayer of salvation was sincere and explained the believer’s security. We have kept up with him and are working on placing a Bible in his hands. Please pray for Ron to grow in grace.
Next month our schedule is full, and we have an opening we might need to keep open to follow up with doctor visits in Florida. Please pray we can get a meeting while we are down there. My wife and girls are doing fantastic! Sarah will soon turn three, and she is very excited about her Birthday. Kayla is growing, healthy and is stealing hearts in churches.
Gratefully,
The Villafranca family
Sending Church:
Iglesia Bautista Biblica el Faro
Pastor Jorge Armendariz
6000 Waverly Rd
Waverly, FL 33877
Mission Board:
Northwest Bible Baptist Missions
Northwest Bible Baptist Church
Pastor Phil Cavanaugh
9N889 Nesler Rd
Elgin, IL 60124
Make Checks Payable To:
Northwest Bible Baptist Missions
ATTENTION TO: Jorge Villafranca
9N889 Nesler Rd
Elgin, IL 60124
Phone: 352-602-0356
Email: villafrancastoalaska@gmail.com
Facebook: VillafrancastoAlaska
••••••••••
The Porterfields – Missionaries to South Sudan
What a blessed holiday season our family enjoyed. We pray that you also experienced God’s goodness as time was set aside to recognize and celebrate God’s greatest gift given to us.
Now that a brand-new year has arrived, we are anticipating all the wonderful ways in which God is going to continue to use Blind Faith Ministries for the sake of the Gospel around the world. As the Lord leads, we are hoping to complete our building project this year with the Baxter family in Uganda, but additional funds are still needed to finish the project, so we humbly ask that you seek the Lord about being a conduit of His provision for this need.
We are encouraged to see how Beth’s Blessings is continuing to provide for and help some of the national pastors whom we are honored to support. Just this month we received a message of gratitude from Pastor George for your giving which allowed some of his brethren to obtain a few goats that will help provide for their families. You can see a picture of the goats and their excited new owners on BFM’s Facebook page (web address below).
We are grateful our evangelism team was able to go back into the interior of South Sudan in 2022 led by Pastor Taban, one of our national pastors. Through their efforts, we were able to see small groups reassembled, the gospel preached, and the Great Commission fulfilled with people saved, baptized, and disciples being made. We are very encouraged about this. Would you please consider taking on some of our national pastors for support?
This year we are seeking for an increase in our monthly support as we are experiencing a slight decrease in the funds needed to sustain the work that God has called us to and to finalize the projects that have already been started by faith. Would you ask the Lord if He would have you increase your giving, give an extra gift, or begin giving monthly now? Also, please pray with us that we will be able to schedule some meetings to present this work to some new churches. We love and think of you all often. Thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support to Blind Faith Ministries and our family.
The Porterfield Family
PO Box 1102
Princeton, WV 24740
Home: 304-487-5551
Cell: 304-320-8802
Eric.e.porterfield@gmail.com
www.blind-faith-ministries.com
facebook.com/BlindFaithMinistries
Sending Church:
Rich Creek Baptist
Spanishburg, WV
Pastor Jamie Mattox
Richcreekbaptistchurch.com
••••••••••
Mike & Mary Wallace, Missionaries in Mexico City
Greetings in Jesus’ Name from Mexico City! I am feeling much better this week. Thanks for your prayers. Mary is still having problems, but I found another specialist and hope to get her an appointment. We are trying many natural things that have been recommended, apart from regular medicines, but no success yet. Apart from the pain, her intestines aren’t working well, but we were both back out together ministering this week. What a blessing!
We took the church group up to some open-air markets in the nearby mountains Wednesday. I snapped a couple pictures of Mary passing out tracts. God always blesses, often seeing a soul or more get saved, but sometimes not. Though we saw no obvious fruit in the markets that day, we gave out lots of tracts. Misael in his mid-40s received a tract earlier that day and read it. That night he came to church for the first time and said he knew his religion wasn’t enough. I believe the tract prepared his heart and after hearing the gospel that night, he prayed, trusting Christ as His Savior and was born again.
Friday at the orphanage, the orphans had a wonderful time. They love Mary. They made a gingerbread house that we brought from the U.S. as a kit. They also made & decorated cookies. They loved it. There is a new orphan girl named Noemi. She is shy but pray that one day soon, she will open her heart to Jesus and get saved. We hope to get permission to start bringing the orphans back to church for our services. Everything shut down during Covid for them, but we are hoping they can start coming to church soon.
We were out Saturday witnessing and inviting people to church. I am glad I felt better because we were back at it, climbing steps and mountains to get the gospel out. That day we also passed by a cemetery and met Monica. She wasn’t from the area, but she had traveled a couple hours to come care for the grave of her mother. Though obviously the cemetery is filled with death, Monica received eternal life after Mary witnessed and shared the gospel with her, then she prayed asking Jesus to saved her. I asked her, “Monica after the decision you just made by faith to receive Jesus as your Savior, if you were to die today, where would you go?” She smiled and pointed upward and said, “To Heaven to be with my Savior Jesus Christ.” Amen!
Yesterday church was full at Hope Baptist, and we had one first-time visitor and several visiting for the second time. Sundays are big here, and we are away from home all day. We were worn out on our way home when I received a call from a couple that was saved in our church last year and later fell out of church. They were having some marital problems so late last night we agreed to go to their room in someone else’s house where they rent. We were met in the street about 9pm and escorted to a dark, sketchy place and I had a hand in each pocket on my mace canisters. To enter the room, you had to go out the back side of the building and climb out on the side of a cliff onto makeshift steps and it was very dark. The only thing I saw as I felt like I was dangling there, was a big rat run across my foot. Thankful I didn’t jump or else I would probably not be here to write this. We arrived and tried to help for about an hour. Please pray for them and their children.
We had another spiritually fruitful week. We went o the open-air markets. While most of our church people went into and around the markets to minister, Mary & I walked along the roads in town, passing out tracts & witnessing. We entered one little store and two brothers were running their family’s little business. One of them, 19-year-old Guillermo, was very attentive and open as I witnessed to him and shared the gospel. He then told me he wanted to be saved, and he prayed receiving Christ as Savior. Later that day, I was passing out tracts along the sidewalk, and Mary had a good long talk with Francisco & Jose, sharing the gospel with them. They then told her they wanted to be saved, so Mary called me over. As I shared a bit more, I could tell that the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit had penetrated their hearts as their eyes were big, like a deer caught in the headlights. They both bowed their heads and asked Jesus to forgive them & save them. It is a blessing to see souls saved. As a church, we witness to more than 100 people every week and pass out thousands of tracts. Many are not interested but we pray specifically for God to lead us to the ones ready and He always seems to answer.
Tuesday and Wednesday we had our church people out again in the open-air markets witnessing, passing out tracts and inviting people to church. Saturdays we knock doors as a church. Other days we go out to evangelize, too, but as individuals & families, not as a large church group. This is a regular weekly occurrence part of our schedule. How awesome it is to serve the Lord helping others with the truth of salvation amongst so much empty religion. Wednesday Gabriel received a gospel tract in the market from one of our folks and came to church that night. He came because of the invitation but also because of the gospel he read in the tract. That night at church after hearing the gospel again, he trusted Christ as his Savior and was born again.
Saturday we were out with the church in a small mountain village sharing the good news of salvation. We had several good opportunities sowing the precious seed of the gospel. One of those opportunities was Mary talking to Cecilia. As usual, Mary took her time completely going through the gospel, reading each related verse and explaining it to Cecilia, being sure she understood. Cecilia recognized her sinful condition & her need of the Savior, and prayed, trusting Jesus as her Savior.
Sunday the church was full once again with five first-time visitors. A couple, Rigo and Luciana, have been faithful to church now for a few months and almost weekly they have a new visitor come with them. Luciana was saved recently but hadn’t been baptized until yesterday after the morning service.
Thanks for your specific prayers for Mary, and your text & emails. I can’t say that she is better, but she did have two nights last week where she was able to get a normal night’s sleep without being awake in pain. It might be that things are starting to make a turn for the better, but it is too early to tell so please keep praying. Her doctor gave her more medicine last week, making the 6th round of prescribed medicines. Mary & I recognize that though things are not always easy, God uses these difficulties to cause our hearts to remain soft, to be very prayerful and to trust the Lord more. He also opens many opportunities for us to relate with others in their struggles and to share the gospel with doctors, nurses, etc. Truly God uses all for good (Romans 8:28).
We are “...your servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5.
Mike & Mary Wallace, Missionaries in Mexico City
Cell: 330-419-0520
Email: contact@mexico-missionaries.com
Mail: P.O. Box 908
Donna, TX 78537
www.mexico-missionaries.com
Support & Sending Church:
First Baptist Church of Kenmore
2330 East Avenue
Akron, OH 44314
330-745-3619
Pastor Joe Grimaldi
••••••••••
Jason & Lori Holt – Chile Church Planter & Latin America Director for VBM
Construction Has Begun: Liberty Baptist in Santiago
In January, we closed on the property, received the keys, and started building the new auditorium walls! Our Chilean families are giving sacrificially to help construct the church building, and several of our supporters have given, too. At the time of writing this newsletter, we have received $15,626. Praise the Lord! We still need $24,374. Our goal is to raise, by faith, the remaining amount by the end of February. Please pray with us to that end. Gifts can be sent to Vision Baptist Missions, PO Box 442, Alpharetta, GA 30009, Memo: Liberty Land Chile.
Conference Center Roof at the Chile Training Center
For several years now, we have rented tents for events held at the Chile Training Center. Over the past few months, we have been developing a plan to install a large metal roof over the entire exterior patio at the Training Center. This metal structure will allow us to host training events and conferences throughout the year with a maximum seating capacity of over 300 people! The total material cost for the roof is $37,500. The local church members plan to work together to build the structure, meaning we only need to cover the cost of the steel structure. Please pray about this need! Gifts can be sent to Vision Baptist Missions, PO Box 442, Alpharetta, GA 30009, Memo: Chile Training Center Roof.
Young Pastor Ordained
Lori and I celebrated 20 years on the mission field on January 16th! One of the highlights this year has been the many pastors we have seen ordained into the ministry. Last month, we had the privilege of ordaining John Moncada. John was sent out of Liberty Baptist in Santiago in 2020 to plant Cross Baptist Church. Since then, he has proven himself faithful to evangelize, disciple, and train young believers in this church plant. We love John and his wife, Maria José. God is using them in a mighty way. Please continue to pray for this family and ministry.
Contact:
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
(470) 377-3667
jason@connectchile.org
••••••••••
The Miyashita Family – Church Planting Missionaries to Japan
1/31/2022
The weather here in Nagoya has been quite the rollercoaster ride! A cold front swept in bringing a touch of snow to our area. But the sun has since come out, and we’re enjoying bright blue skies once again. Our family has been fighting off some illness, but we’re happy to say that we’re on the mend.
Thank you for continuing to pray with us about a new location for our church plant. We had prayed specifically for a new location 1) on the first floor, 2) over 80 (preferable 100) square meters (1100 sq ft), 3) close to our current location, 4) not too expensive, and 5) has parking for 15 cars. Well, we recently found a warehouse that is a 5-minute walk away from our current location. The monthly rent is less than two hundred dollars more than we are currently paying and the area inside is 108 square meters. There are three parking spaces directly in front of the warehouse and the streets nearby are not a no-parking zone.
On Monday we were able to take a look inside, and it is really promising. We believe this is a big answer to prayer. This location checks all the boxes for what we were praying for and have been able to take a look inside. We will need to pay to have some work done so it will be suitable for us to use, and we are currently waiting to get an estimate back on how much the renovations will cost. Please keep praying!
Along with having adequate space for people to be able to come, we are also working to prepare people so the church plant can be in a position to accommodate guests better. To do this, we held a volunteer meeting, explaining the importance of thinking about what we do from the perspective of someone who has never been to church before, and remove as many barriers as possible to people believing the Gospel. The response we got was a tremendous encouragement.
On a slightly different note, an ad in the paper last year mentioned an opening for a parole officer. By God’s design, we “just happened” to live in a district with one vacancy. After meeting the chairman of the parole officers, we realized that Rosie “just happens” to know his daughter. Because these volunteer parole officers are commissioned by the Ministry of Justice to help convicts on parole integrate back into society, we hope it will help serve a bridge to not only serve the community but also share the Gospel with more people.
For the summer internship program, the Lord has answered prayers and sent us good candidates. We have been contacting their references for further information and hope to make a final decision soon. We will need to find a meeting space for this ministry, as the location we had planned to use fell through, and also to find language tutors for the interns during their time here. Please be praying for these needs.
Please also continue to pray that 5 people will get saved and baptized this year!
Please pray for:
• Bigger space (with plenty of parking) for our first church plant
• Church Growth
• Young Men to train for the ministry
• Three young men to come for the summer of 2023
• Place to use for second church plant
Yours for Japan,
The Miyashita Family
Contact:
Reaching Japan
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
ReachingJapan.com
Email: James@ReachingJapan.com
Phone: (470) 278-7415
