The Ibrahim Family
Missionaries to Guyana, South America
Dear Prayer Warriors,
Praise the Lord for His tender mercies to work through us here in Guyana. For this month of April, we have seen 56 saved and 12 baptized. The month started off with our annual Bus Promotion. On April 7th we had our “Weigh-In Sunday”. Each bus route would try to bring in the most riders and weigh them as they come off the buses. Then we tally up and see who has the heaviest bus. On that Sunday there were 297 riders with a little over 27, 000lbs (12,246kg) that came off the buses. On the 14th April was “Ice-cream Sunday”. Every rider 4 -10 years old would receive an ice-cream. That Sunday there were 334 riders with 205 ice-creams given away. April 21st was Resurrection Sunday and we treat this Sunday as the biggest Sunday of the year. Every child 4-10 years old that rides the bus would get a beautiful papered wood frame kite. Our people worked hard since February making these beautiful kites and we are thankful for the work that was put in. That Sunday we had 335 riders with 227 kites given away. The last Sunday of our promotion was “Soak the losing Captains and bus workers Sunday”. The Bus Captain that brings in the most, they and their assistants will be exempt from being soaked but all the other captains and workers will get wet. That Sunday there were 270 riders and the soaking took place in junior church where all the children had a great time soaking the bus captains and workers. There were many saved and baptized during this month.
The Lord also added some new recruits to the bus ministry, for which we are very thankful. Presently God has blessed us with 8 bus routes, where we run 8 fifteen seat passenger buses and we pick up about 200-220 riders on most Sunday mornings. We pay about US $180 to run all these buses every week. Praise the Lord
for the bus ministry and the people He has sent us to work in this ministry.
On the 18th to the 21st April God blessed us to have our second tent meeting of the year. This time we had it in Diamond. A Hindu business man allowed us to use his empty lot to set up our tent for free. A next Hindu man used his excavator to level the land for free. Br. Dannet, a faithful member of our church gave his life to the Lord in a tent meeting 6 years ago and since then he and his family have been faithful to the Lord. God used him to pay for most of the expenses and our church covered the rental of the chairs and running buses. Pastor James Hoffmeister, Missionary to Trinidad came and preach a few nights and Pastor Mark, Br Kyle, Moses and Oscar came from Texas and preached the final nights. God blessed us with great preaching, singing and testimonies. We had people coming forward to be saved every service. Our people enjoyed this Resurrection week of revival and our guests closed it with a funny skit. Our people loved it.
Praise the Lord for these men investing their lives into the work of the Lord here in Guyana. Please pray for the construction of our building. We are presently working on a new stage for the church. We greatly covet your prayers.
Listening for the Shout,
The Ibrahim Family to Guyana
213 Section B Bloc X
Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara
Guyana, S.A.
Ph#: 592-216-6920
Email:foundationbaptistchurch@yahoo.com
Praise the Lord for His tender mercies to work through us here in Guyana. For this month of April, we have seen 56 saved and 12 baptized. The month started off with our annual Bus Promotion. On April 7th we had our “Weigh-In Sunday”. Each bus route would try to bring in the most riders and weigh them as they come off the buses. Then we tally up and see who has the heaviest bus. On that Sunday there were 297 riders with a little over 27, 000lbs (12,246kg) that came off the buses. On the 14th April was “Ice-cream Sunday”. Every rider 4 -10 years old would receive an ice-cream. That Sunday there were 334 riders with 205 ice-creams given away. April 21st was Resurrection Sunday and we treat this Sunday as the biggest Sunday of the year. Every child 4-10 years old that rides the bus would get a beautiful papered wood frame kite. Our people worked hard since February making these beautiful kites and we are thankful for the work that was put in. That Sunday we had 335 riders with 227 kites given away. The last Sunday of our promotion was “Soak the losing Captains and bus workers Sunday”. The Bus Captain that brings in the most, they and their assistants will be exempt from being soaked but all the other captains and workers will get wet. That Sunday there were 270 riders and the soaking took place in junior church where all the children had a great time soaking the bus captains and workers. There were many saved and baptized during this month.
The Lord also added some new recruits to the bus ministry, for which we are very thankful. Presently God has blessed us with 8 bus routes, where we run 8 fifteen seat passenger buses and we pick up about 200-220 riders on most Sunday mornings. We pay about US $180 to run all these buses every week. Praise the Lord
for the bus ministry and the people He has sent us to work in this ministry.
On the 18th to the 21st April God blessed us to have our second tent meeting of the year. This time we had it in Diamond. A Hindu business man allowed us to use his empty lot to set up our tent for free. A next Hindu man used his excavator to level the land for free. Br. Dannet, a faithful member of our church gave his life to the Lord in a tent meeting 6 years ago and since then he and his family have been faithful to the Lord. God used him to pay for most of the expenses and our church covered the rental of the chairs and running buses. Pastor James Hoffmeister, Missionary to Trinidad came and preach a few nights and Pastor Mark, Br Kyle, Moses and Oscar came from Texas and preached the final nights. God blessed us with great preaching, singing and testimonies. We had people coming forward to be saved every service. Our people enjoyed this Resurrection week of revival and our guests closed it with a funny skit. Our people loved it.
Praise the Lord for these men investing their lives into the work of the Lord here in Guyana. Please pray for the construction of our building. We are presently working on a new stage for the church. We greatly covet your prayers.
Listening for the Shout,
The Ibrahim Family to Guyana
213 Section B Bloc X
Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara
Guyana, S.A.
Ph#: 592-216-6920
Email:foundationbaptistchurch@yahoo.com
The Briar Family – Missionaries to Romania
Pace (Pachay) the Romanian greeting for believers,
We are missionaries with Manna Worldwide to Campulung, Romania. We will be living and working at Father’s House a children’s home, helping meet the daily physical and spiritual needs of the children. We will be hosting Christian youth and orphan camps, along with mission outreach trips. We are being sent by Calvary Baptist Church in Connersville, Indiana with Pastor John Reynolds.
We have served in children’s ministries of our home church for over 7 years. The Lord has placed a burden on our hearts to care for children and lead them to know and love our Lord. As parents to five children, it has been our greatest joy to teach our own children to follow the Lord. This joy is repeated every time a child understands for the first time that they have a Heavenly Father who truly loves them and sent His Son to die for them!
We submitted to give the Lord full control of our lives at a Christian family camp. This allowed us to see, first hand, the benefits of a camp ministry. As we continued to pray for guidance, the desire to open our home to orphans grew. After a Manna missionary came to our church and told about the needs of children in Eastern Europe, the Lord began to make His way known to us. We began to learn about Romania’s great need for orphan care, as only 1.5% of children are ever adopted due the broken child protection system. We also learned Romanian children who age out of the system become adults without the roots or safety net of a family, causing them not to have any example of healthy family relationships creating a cycle of abuse and poverty.
During our survey trip to Eastern Europe we were introduced to some of the stories of these children. From living in unspeakable conditions with abusive parents, being sold into human trafficking, or abandoned because their parents were unable or unwilling to care for them. All the stories were heartbreaking. The Romania children’s protection system is broken, and these children seemed forgotten. We were able to meet the children and see the difference that being cared for in a Manna Children’s Home made. From tragic circumstances to a loving family, from knowing no hope, to knowing the love of our Lord
We are very excited to answer the Lord’s calling to Romania and would love the opportunity to share our burden, hearts and ministry with your church. We will be working with MANNA Worldwide as missionaries to Campulung, Romania, living and working at Father’s House, a family style children’s home. This will put our family where we can serve and disciple the children of Father’s House as members of our family. Father’s House facilities are used for Christian youth summer camps, to bring in unreached youth. Part of our responsibilities will be hosting these camps while expanding to include summer camps for orphaned children and youth throughout Romania. We will also be bringing in mission teams to help with hosting men’s and women’s conferences along with other outreaches for the local community, such as starting a children’s church and AWANA program with the local Baptist church.
We are praying the Lord provides us with the opportunities needed to disciple the youth and children of Romania, teaching them about our Lord while modeling healthy family relationships, breaking the cycle of poverty and abuse for the next generation. We are praying the Lord uses our family to make a lasting impact for His kingdom.
Faithfully,
Kyle and Amanda Briar
Sending Church: Calvary Baptist
309 W 24th St
Connersville, IN 47331
Email: k.briar@mannaworldwide.com
We are missionaries with Manna Worldwide to Campulung, Romania. We will be living and working at Father’s House a children’s home, helping meet the daily physical and spiritual needs of the children. We will be hosting Christian youth and orphan camps, along with mission outreach trips. We are being sent by Calvary Baptist Church in Connersville, Indiana with Pastor John Reynolds.
We have served in children’s ministries of our home church for over 7 years. The Lord has placed a burden on our hearts to care for children and lead them to know and love our Lord. As parents to five children, it has been our greatest joy to teach our own children to follow the Lord. This joy is repeated every time a child understands for the first time that they have a Heavenly Father who truly loves them and sent His Son to die for them!
We submitted to give the Lord full control of our lives at a Christian family camp. This allowed us to see, first hand, the benefits of a camp ministry. As we continued to pray for guidance, the desire to open our home to orphans grew. After a Manna missionary came to our church and told about the needs of children in Eastern Europe, the Lord began to make His way known to us. We began to learn about Romania’s great need for orphan care, as only 1.5% of children are ever adopted due the broken child protection system. We also learned Romanian children who age out of the system become adults without the roots or safety net of a family, causing them not to have any example of healthy family relationships creating a cycle of abuse and poverty.
During our survey trip to Eastern Europe we were introduced to some of the stories of these children. From living in unspeakable conditions with abusive parents, being sold into human trafficking, or abandoned because their parents were unable or unwilling to care for them. All the stories were heartbreaking. The Romania children’s protection system is broken, and these children seemed forgotten. We were able to meet the children and see the difference that being cared for in a Manna Children’s Home made. From tragic circumstances to a loving family, from knowing no hope, to knowing the love of our Lord
We are very excited to answer the Lord’s calling to Romania and would love the opportunity to share our burden, hearts and ministry with your church. We will be working with MANNA Worldwide as missionaries to Campulung, Romania, living and working at Father’s House, a family style children’s home. This will put our family where we can serve and disciple the children of Father’s House as members of our family. Father’s House facilities are used for Christian youth summer camps, to bring in unreached youth. Part of our responsibilities will be hosting these camps while expanding to include summer camps for orphaned children and youth throughout Romania. We will also be bringing in mission teams to help with hosting men’s and women’s conferences along with other outreaches for the local community, such as starting a children’s church and AWANA program with the local Baptist church.
We are praying the Lord provides us with the opportunities needed to disciple the youth and children of Romania, teaching them about our Lord while modeling healthy family relationships, breaking the cycle of poverty and abuse for the next generation. We are praying the Lord uses our family to make a lasting impact for His kingdom.
Faithfully,
Kyle and Amanda Briar
Sending Church: Calvary Baptist
309 W 24th St
Connersville, IN 47331
Email: k.briar@mannaworldwide.com
Wallace Family – Missionaries to Mexico City
August 5, 2019
Dear Pastors, Friends & Family,
We have been praying and fasting for weeks as a church that God would prepare hearts for the VBS and God has already started. Wednesday night we had a first-time visiting couple named Luis and Paula and they both got saved. Yesterday morning we had two others saved named Eduardo and Elena. Last night we had a 17-year-old teenager named Ana who had visited once before bring a 19-year-old friend named Jessica, and they were both saved (see photo).
We are excited that the orphans Mary teaches music to will be able to attend our VBS this week. A lady in our church named Isabel was a bit discouraged Wednesday because they had no money nor food. This happens often with our people but they usually don’t tell us about it. She decided to go anyway with Mary & I to pass out tracts. I met a man who had a fruit/vegetable stand and he gave me four bags full of fresh produce for free. We took a couple things out for us and gave the rest to Isabel, not knowing how desperately their family needed food, but God did. She later told us the story.
Our Vacation Bible School was last week and the Lord really blessed our prayers, fasting and work. We had many teenagers saved as well other children and several adults. We had over 100 in attendance each day with several new ones each day. We had six divided clases each day. Our church ladies made good food for the children daily. Apart from the daily lessons on the Apostle Paul, we had games, crafts, singing and a puppet program. We presented special gifts to the first three place winners in each level for memorizing Bible verses and bringing visitors. We also had certificates for all the children that attended. Sunday we had good services with more first time visitors and more people saved. It was a big but fruitful week so thanks for your prayers. Now we will follow up on those who came.
Wednesday we had a first-time visitor named Maria Guadalupe who brought her five children with her to church. After the service, she repented, trusting Christ as Savior. Mary and I made a visit last week to see a lady who came to church a couple Wednesdays ago and she was also saved. While in her house, she told us she got rid of all of her idols and she could tell that God was blessing her greatly. Church was full again Sunday for both services.
Mary and I both went to the doctor last week. Our volcano “Popo” continues now for several months being very active and has caused the pollution to be much, much worse than normal. A week ago on Tuesday, August 13th it was very explosive. The bad pollution caused Mary to get a sinus infection and she is taking several medicines now. I saw my gastroenterologist last week and he has me now on some strong medicine to try to rid me of the parasite problems which have infected my digestive system.
Our family is bigger this week. Our son, Joseph, and our daughter-in-law, Joanna, had their second child on Sunday, August 18th, Everest Colson Wallace. This is our fourth grandchild. Pray for Everest as he was in PICU for a couple days and still has some lung issues.
The church was full for all services on Wednesday and Sunday. We plan to start building more benches, hopefully this week. Yesterday we had many first time visitors and after hearing the gospel preached, a lady named Montserrat repented and trusted Christ as Savior. It is a blessing to see many newly saved people faithful to church.
Mary will be in Alabama a few days helping her dad and family with some legal matters. Mary’s dad has to have 24-hour home care due to his health. One blessing is that yesterday one of the workers named Dewana asked Mary, “Are you a Mormon?” When Mary replied “no” Dewana said she was in the Mormon church for a while but realized it wasn’t true, and Mary took the opportunity to witness to her. Not long later, Mary & Dewana bowed in prayer and Dewana repented and trusted Christ as Savior.
Saturday we went witnessing and passing out tracts at one of the local open markets. This is where most go for their everyday needs and they are always full of people. We easily get out thousands of pieces of gospel literature in a very short time.
After church yesterday a group of us went to visit a home-bound lady from our church. She was always faithful and helped with our tract ministry but due to her health has not been able to walk nor come to church the last two months. We sang hymns into her window from the street, prayed, gave her notes and gifts. A young man named Juan was saved and he is in his mid 20s. I spoke to him for a while after church yesterday and he is excited about his new faith in Christ.
This month we have a single Christian man planning to visit us here for a missions trip. Next month we have a Mexican missionary visiting our church to present his ministry to another country and I am hoping we can take him on for support. There is still time to plan a visit here for a missions trip this year for any who are interested.
This month Mexico celebrates it’s Independence Day on the 16th and we are planning a big event at church. This month our church also celebrates its 3rd year anniversary. It is amazing what God has done in just this short time on our second term, with people saved almost every week, baptisms regularly and Christians growing in faith, with a burden for souls. All is this is possible because of God’s faithfulness and your part in our ministry. Thanks for everything. Our next furlough is less than 9 months away and we are starting to make plans for our return to the U.S. to report to our supporting churches.
We appreciate your fellowship with us in the gospel ministry. Thanks for your time in reading this update. We are “...your servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5
Bro. Mike Wallace and Family
PO Box 908
Donna, TX 78537
Ph#: 330-419-0520
Email: www.mexico-missionaries.com
Dear Pastors, Friends & Family,
We have been praying and fasting for weeks as a church that God would prepare hearts for the VBS and God has already started. Wednesday night we had a first-time visiting couple named Luis and Paula and they both got saved. Yesterday morning we had two others saved named Eduardo and Elena. Last night we had a 17-year-old teenager named Ana who had visited once before bring a 19-year-old friend named Jessica, and they were both saved (see photo).
We are excited that the orphans Mary teaches music to will be able to attend our VBS this week. A lady in our church named Isabel was a bit discouraged Wednesday because they had no money nor food. This happens often with our people but they usually don’t tell us about it. She decided to go anyway with Mary & I to pass out tracts. I met a man who had a fruit/vegetable stand and he gave me four bags full of fresh produce for free. We took a couple things out for us and gave the rest to Isabel, not knowing how desperately their family needed food, but God did. She later told us the story.
Our Vacation Bible School was last week and the Lord really blessed our prayers, fasting and work. We had many teenagers saved as well other children and several adults. We had over 100 in attendance each day with several new ones each day. We had six divided clases each day. Our church ladies made good food for the children daily. Apart from the daily lessons on the Apostle Paul, we had games, crafts, singing and a puppet program. We presented special gifts to the first three place winners in each level for memorizing Bible verses and bringing visitors. We also had certificates for all the children that attended. Sunday we had good services with more first time visitors and more people saved. It was a big but fruitful week so thanks for your prayers. Now we will follow up on those who came.
Wednesday we had a first-time visitor named Maria Guadalupe who brought her five children with her to church. After the service, she repented, trusting Christ as Savior. Mary and I made a visit last week to see a lady who came to church a couple Wednesdays ago and she was also saved. While in her house, she told us she got rid of all of her idols and she could tell that God was blessing her greatly. Church was full again Sunday for both services.
Mary and I both went to the doctor last week. Our volcano “Popo” continues now for several months being very active and has caused the pollution to be much, much worse than normal. A week ago on Tuesday, August 13th it was very explosive. The bad pollution caused Mary to get a sinus infection and she is taking several medicines now. I saw my gastroenterologist last week and he has me now on some strong medicine to try to rid me of the parasite problems which have infected my digestive system.
Our family is bigger this week. Our son, Joseph, and our daughter-in-law, Joanna, had their second child on Sunday, August 18th, Everest Colson Wallace. This is our fourth grandchild. Pray for Everest as he was in PICU for a couple days and still has some lung issues.
The church was full for all services on Wednesday and Sunday. We plan to start building more benches, hopefully this week. Yesterday we had many first time visitors and after hearing the gospel preached, a lady named Montserrat repented and trusted Christ as Savior. It is a blessing to see many newly saved people faithful to church.
Mary will be in Alabama a few days helping her dad and family with some legal matters. Mary’s dad has to have 24-hour home care due to his health. One blessing is that yesterday one of the workers named Dewana asked Mary, “Are you a Mormon?” When Mary replied “no” Dewana said she was in the Mormon church for a while but realized it wasn’t true, and Mary took the opportunity to witness to her. Not long later, Mary & Dewana bowed in prayer and Dewana repented and trusted Christ as Savior.
Saturday we went witnessing and passing out tracts at one of the local open markets. This is where most go for their everyday needs and they are always full of people. We easily get out thousands of pieces of gospel literature in a very short time.
After church yesterday a group of us went to visit a home-bound lady from our church. She was always faithful and helped with our tract ministry but due to her health has not been able to walk nor come to church the last two months. We sang hymns into her window from the street, prayed, gave her notes and gifts. A young man named Juan was saved and he is in his mid 20s. I spoke to him for a while after church yesterday and he is excited about his new faith in Christ.
This month we have a single Christian man planning to visit us here for a missions trip. Next month we have a Mexican missionary visiting our church to present his ministry to another country and I am hoping we can take him on for support. There is still time to plan a visit here for a missions trip this year for any who are interested.
This month Mexico celebrates it’s Independence Day on the 16th and we are planning a big event at church. This month our church also celebrates its 3rd year anniversary. It is amazing what God has done in just this short time on our second term, with people saved almost every week, baptisms regularly and Christians growing in faith, with a burden for souls. All is this is possible because of God’s faithfulness and your part in our ministry. Thanks for everything. Our next furlough is less than 9 months away and we are starting to make plans for our return to the U.S. to report to our supporting churches.
We appreciate your fellowship with us in the gospel ministry. Thanks for your time in reading this update. We are “...your servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5
Bro. Mike Wallace and Family
PO Box 908
Donna, TX 78537
Ph#: 330-419-0520
Email: www.mexico-missionaries.com
The Holt Family – Missionaries to Chile
Chile Youth Congress
Lori and I were blessed with the opportunity to travel back home to Chile for a week to be a part of our annual Youth Congress in July. We could fill several months of prayer letters with all the news of what happened in 8 days! Here are some of the highlights:
• This year’s attendance was the highest ever, with an average of 250 each evening. We rented a tent to hold the Congress at the Chile Training Center property for the first time ever. We’ve been holding all other team events there for the last few years, but there is currently no roof for our large exterior space. This makes the winter/rainy season an impossibility to hold services there. The tent was a great temporary solution for this winter event. Don’t forget that Chile is in the Southern Hemisphere. We’re praying for the Lord’s provision for a permanent roof by next year’s Congress.
• We were able to meet with many of the pastors and their wives and hear reports of how God has been working in their churches and families. We have been in constant contact while stateside, but there’s nothing like sitting down together for a meal and talking face to face. We praise the Lord for how God is using the faithful servants.
• We also discussed details with three young couples about future church plants in Chile. It’s amazing how God works things together. As we listened to their thoughts and gave feedback, we began to see how God was orchestrating the staged timing of these 3 new church plants. Please be in prayer as we begin these projects with the Lord’s help when we return to Chile in 2020.
Land for Liberty
We were able to attend two services at Liberty Baptist and participate in a couples meeting during our week in Chile. We had been eager to meet the new couples that have joined the church while we’ve been away. This church is thriving, and we were encouraged to hear reports of how children, teens, and adults have grown in their walk with the Lord. It also seems as though God is leading yet another young couple out of this church to be future church planters. Please remember to pray for Liberty and consider sacrificially giving toward a permanent facility so this church can continue to grow. Every square foot is currently in use. All donations can be sent to:
Vision Baptist Missions
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
memo “Liberty Land Fund - Chile”
Our newest missionary to Chile: Tracy Paver
We are so excited to announce that God is growing our team of missionaries in Chile!
Lori and I have known Tracy Paver for more than 10 years. She is a godly, faithful servant who has proven herself in many ministries at our home church, Vision Baptist. I don’t know of a young lady with more passion for Christ and faithfulness in ministry.
We are so excited that God has led Tracy to partner with our ministry in Chile! She will have the privilege of assisting in Chilean church-planting ministries by evangelizing women and children, developing women’s and children’s ministries in various church plants, and teaching women at the Chile Training Center. We know the Chile church-planting ministry will be greatly blessed by her service.
Currently, we are at the stage of growth and ministry in Chile where there are so many opportunities to serve—in established local churches, in new church plants, and in the Bible college. God is blessing and having another godly woman to help train the next generation of pastors’ wives and assist in a variety of ministries to women and children will be a great asset to the ministry.
Lori and I are eagerly praying that Tracy gets to the field quickly. We highly recommend her. I would like to encourage you to invite Tracy Paver to your church and prayerfully consider supporting her ministry. She will be a blessing.
The Holt Family
Vision Baptist Missions
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
Email: holt@biblicalmissions.com
Lori and I were blessed with the opportunity to travel back home to Chile for a week to be a part of our annual Youth Congress in July. We could fill several months of prayer letters with all the news of what happened in 8 days! Here are some of the highlights:
• This year’s attendance was the highest ever, with an average of 250 each evening. We rented a tent to hold the Congress at the Chile Training Center property for the first time ever. We’ve been holding all other team events there for the last few years, but there is currently no roof for our large exterior space. This makes the winter/rainy season an impossibility to hold services there. The tent was a great temporary solution for this winter event. Don’t forget that Chile is in the Southern Hemisphere. We’re praying for the Lord’s provision for a permanent roof by next year’s Congress.
• We were able to meet with many of the pastors and their wives and hear reports of how God has been working in their churches and families. We have been in constant contact while stateside, but there’s nothing like sitting down together for a meal and talking face to face. We praise the Lord for how God is using the faithful servants.
• We also discussed details with three young couples about future church plants in Chile. It’s amazing how God works things together. As we listened to their thoughts and gave feedback, we began to see how God was orchestrating the staged timing of these 3 new church plants. Please be in prayer as we begin these projects with the Lord’s help when we return to Chile in 2020.
Land for Liberty
We were able to attend two services at Liberty Baptist and participate in a couples meeting during our week in Chile. We had been eager to meet the new couples that have joined the church while we’ve been away. This church is thriving, and we were encouraged to hear reports of how children, teens, and adults have grown in their walk with the Lord. It also seems as though God is leading yet another young couple out of this church to be future church planters. Please remember to pray for Liberty and consider sacrificially giving toward a permanent facility so this church can continue to grow. Every square foot is currently in use. All donations can be sent to:
Vision Baptist Missions
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
memo “Liberty Land Fund - Chile”
Our newest missionary to Chile: Tracy Paver
We are so excited to announce that God is growing our team of missionaries in Chile!
Lori and I have known Tracy Paver for more than 10 years. She is a godly, faithful servant who has proven herself in many ministries at our home church, Vision Baptist. I don’t know of a young lady with more passion for Christ and faithfulness in ministry.
We are so excited that God has led Tracy to partner with our ministry in Chile! She will have the privilege of assisting in Chilean church-planting ministries by evangelizing women and children, developing women’s and children’s ministries in various church plants, and teaching women at the Chile Training Center. We know the Chile church-planting ministry will be greatly blessed by her service.
Currently, we are at the stage of growth and ministry in Chile where there are so many opportunities to serve—in established local churches, in new church plants, and in the Bible college. God is blessing and having another godly woman to help train the next generation of pastors’ wives and assist in a variety of ministries to women and children will be a great asset to the ministry.
Lori and I are eagerly praying that Tracy gets to the field quickly. We highly recommend her. I would like to encourage you to invite Tracy Paver to your church and prayerfully consider supporting her ministry. She will be a blessing.
The Holt Family
Vision Baptist Missions
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
Email: holt@biblicalmissions.com
The Arthur Harris Family – Missionaries to Turks & Caicos Islands May - July
The Porterfield Family – Missionaries to South Sudan
Dear Friends and Supporters, July/August 2019
We are very excited about what the Lord is doing through Blind Faith Ministries. It’s a continual encouragement to us how the ministry continues to make progress despite Satan’s attempts to stop it.
In early September, approximately 14 students will be getting their graduate certificate from our Bible institute in Uganda. Their faithfulness and commitment to accomplishing this goal has been a blessing both to me and our Ugandan leadership. We are looking forward to how the Lord will continue to use these men as they wrap up their studies and go further in their service for Him. Please keep these men in your prayers.
A couple of the different churches in Venezuela that we partner with and support have exploded in growth in recent months. It is such a blessing to see the Gospel flourishing despite the political turmoil that is plaguing the country. Our prayer is that God will continue to use the crisis to turn many more hearts of the Venezuelan people to Himself.
Our pastors in Colombia and Brazil still need your prayers and support as they work to get their respective church plants off the ground. They are doing an excellent job. If finances allow us to do so, I am hoping to make a trip to Cucuta, Colombia in the near future to be with Jesus Ochoa and his family and the new work they are starting there. In Cuba, Yovany is as consistent and steady as it gets. It is a blessing to partner with such faithful men of God.
My family is doing really well. Our daughter, Beth, started Kindergarten. Her enthusiasm about school has been quite contagious. Rich Creek Baptist will be having the annual Call to Duty Youth Rally on August 17th. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for this event and the young people who will be attending.
Our prayer needs, other than those already mentioned above, are for more laborers and an increase in our monthly support, and for my son to be saved the first time he clearly understands the Gospel. We also would like to request prayer for a special unspoken request for our daughter. Thank you for partnering with us.
The Porterfields
PO Box 1102
Princeton, WV 24740
Ph #: 304-487-5551
Email: eric.e.porterfield@gmail.com
Dear Friends and Supporters, July/August 2019
We are very excited about what the Lord is doing through Blind Faith Ministries. It’s a continual encouragement to us how the ministry continues to make progress despite Satan’s attempts to stop it.
In early September, approximately 14 students will be getting their graduate certificate from our Bible institute in Uganda. Their faithfulness and commitment to accomplishing this goal has been a blessing both to me and our Ugandan leadership. We are looking forward to how the Lord will continue to use these men as they wrap up their studies and go further in their service for Him. Please keep these men in your prayers.
A couple of the different churches in Venezuela that we partner with and support have exploded in growth in recent months. It is such a blessing to see the Gospel flourishing despite the political turmoil that is plaguing the country. Our prayer is that God will continue to use the crisis to turn many more hearts of the Venezuelan people to Himself.
Our pastors in Colombia and Brazil still need your prayers and support as they work to get their respective church plants off the ground. They are doing an excellent job. If finances allow us to do so, I am hoping to make a trip to Cucuta, Colombia in the near future to be with Jesus Ochoa and his family and the new work they are starting there. In Cuba, Yovany is as consistent and steady as it gets. It is a blessing to partner with such faithful men of God.
My family is doing really well. Our daughter, Beth, started Kindergarten. Her enthusiasm about school has been quite contagious. Rich Creek Baptist will be having the annual Call to Duty Youth Rally on August 17th. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for this event and the young people who will be attending.
Our prayer needs, other than those already mentioned above, are for more laborers and an increase in our monthly support, and for my son to be saved the first time he clearly understands the Gospel. We also would like to request prayer for a special unspoken request for our daughter. Thank you for partnering with us.
The Porterfields
PO Box 1102
Princeton, WV 24740
Ph #: 304-487-5551
Email: eric.e.porterfield@gmail.com
The James Miyashita Family – Missionaries to Japan
Dear Pastors and Prayer Partners,
In July, we were in rainy season for most of the month. Niigata’s rainy season was a little different from the Tokyo area. While there were days that it did rain, we had many other days with clear skies. However, the rainy season is now officially over, and the summer heat is in high gear.
During July, we visited Senri New Town Baptist Church in Osaka, Japan. This was a church started by Dr. Don Sisk over 50 years ago. The Lord has been working tremendously through that work which is now under the leadership of Pastor Ogawa. It was encouraging and challenging to see what the Lord has done!
On the last Sunday of July, we had a special event at the church to draw people in. We served Kakigori which is shaved ice similar to a snow cone. Everyone who came stayed for the service afterward. It was the first time that several of these had come for a Sunday night service, so we were excited about that.
Rosie finished her first term of language school and is on summer break until the end of August. She has been absorbing the language and making good progress. Please be sure to lift her up in prayer as she studies the language.
During August, there are several events and festivals in our city for the summer. Please pray for us as we do outreach events to make new contacts. Our city is largely still ignorant of the Gospel so we ask that you please continue to pray for laborers.
Finally, we would like to say thank you to all of you who prayerfully and financially partner with us. Thank you for your sacrifice to enable us to work in Japan as missionaries. We cannot do what we do without your help.
“What’s preventing you from believing in Jesus?” Takafumi is a college student who has come to church multiple times and I asked him this question over coffee the other day. We asked you to pray for him in our last letter and I can tell the Lord is definitely working on Takafumi’s heart. Please continue to pray for him to get saved!
August is a month when many people visit their families for Obon. Obon is much like the day of the dead in Latin American countries. People spend time with family as well as visit their ancestors’ graves. August also has festivals that are tied to shrines. All of this combines to create a spiritually dark atmosphere in Japan.
However, we had multiple first-time visitors come to our church during August! One was a mother visiting our area from a different part of Japan. She lives on the other side of the island that was severely affected by the 2011 earthquake and nuclear meltdown. Her sister lives near the church and has come a couple of times as well! We are excited about the new people the Lord continues to bring. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. We want to see souls saved!
This summer has been a hot one. One city in our prefecture recorded one of the highest temperatures in Japan this summer (40.3°C or 104.5°C). However, that was only for about a week and temperatures are now slowly falling.
On September 1st, we had a church BBQ. We were excited that multiple people returned and were there for the service. The message was a simple one about Jesus who came to call sinners to repentance in Mark 2. Please pray with us for the Lord to open the eyes of the people here!
On September 13th we will be taking our driver’s license exam here in Japan since we are currently both on international driver’s licenses.
Yours for Japan,
James, Rosie, and Silas
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
Ph#: 470-278-7415
Email: james@reachingjapan.com
In July, we were in rainy season for most of the month. Niigata’s rainy season was a little different from the Tokyo area. While there were days that it did rain, we had many other days with clear skies. However, the rainy season is now officially over, and the summer heat is in high gear.
During July, we visited Senri New Town Baptist Church in Osaka, Japan. This was a church started by Dr. Don Sisk over 50 years ago. The Lord has been working tremendously through that work which is now under the leadership of Pastor Ogawa. It was encouraging and challenging to see what the Lord has done!
On the last Sunday of July, we had a special event at the church to draw people in. We served Kakigori which is shaved ice similar to a snow cone. Everyone who came stayed for the service afterward. It was the first time that several of these had come for a Sunday night service, so we were excited about that.
Rosie finished her first term of language school and is on summer break until the end of August. She has been absorbing the language and making good progress. Please be sure to lift her up in prayer as she studies the language.
During August, there are several events and festivals in our city for the summer. Please pray for us as we do outreach events to make new contacts. Our city is largely still ignorant of the Gospel so we ask that you please continue to pray for laborers.
Finally, we would like to say thank you to all of you who prayerfully and financially partner with us. Thank you for your sacrifice to enable us to work in Japan as missionaries. We cannot do what we do without your help.
“What’s preventing you from believing in Jesus?” Takafumi is a college student who has come to church multiple times and I asked him this question over coffee the other day. We asked you to pray for him in our last letter and I can tell the Lord is definitely working on Takafumi’s heart. Please continue to pray for him to get saved!
August is a month when many people visit their families for Obon. Obon is much like the day of the dead in Latin American countries. People spend time with family as well as visit their ancestors’ graves. August also has festivals that are tied to shrines. All of this combines to create a spiritually dark atmosphere in Japan.
However, we had multiple first-time visitors come to our church during August! One was a mother visiting our area from a different part of Japan. She lives on the other side of the island that was severely affected by the 2011 earthquake and nuclear meltdown. Her sister lives near the church and has come a couple of times as well! We are excited about the new people the Lord continues to bring. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. We want to see souls saved!
This summer has been a hot one. One city in our prefecture recorded one of the highest temperatures in Japan this summer (40.3°C or 104.5°C). However, that was only for about a week and temperatures are now slowly falling.
On September 1st, we had a church BBQ. We were excited that multiple people returned and were there for the service. The message was a simple one about Jesus who came to call sinners to repentance in Mark 2. Please pray with us for the Lord to open the eyes of the people here!
On September 13th we will be taking our driver’s license exam here in Japan since we are currently both on international driver’s licenses.
Yours for Japan,
James, Rosie, and Silas
PO Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009
Ph#: 470-278-7415
Email: james@reachingjapan.com
