Voelker - September 2010
See You At The Pole is an international event held on September 21st where students meet around their school's flag pole and pray for their school, community and country. Several GLCA students planned the event on their own and most of our student body participated. The interesting thing is that we don't actually have a flag pole. Very few public buildings do. That did not stop us from gathering on the school's large veranda to join hands and hearts in worship and prayer. It was a moving experience as we listened to students praying in small groups. Most prayed in English but some chose to pray in their first language, be that Korean, Portuguese, Nepalese or German. We sensed His presence in a special way. Tears came to my eyes as I tried to sing standing across the circle from. Benjina who would not have chosen to participate in such an event before her salvation last Spring. Benjina is the fruit of your prayers. God is changing her heart and working on others. Later that morning I walked past the music classroom and saw the 3rd and 4th graders with bowed heads as their music teacher opened class in prayer. Again God's Spirit tugged at my heart. Uttam is a new Nepalese student who barely understands any English. I am sure he has no idea why we bow our heads in prayer or what we are saying when we talk to our God. What will God choose to do in Uttam's young heart and life this year? Please pray with us for his understanding of English to grow so that he can learn and grow academically and spiritually.
Two single teachers and a teacher's wife are leading a group of High School girls in a weekly Bible study. Participation in the study is growing and girls are opening up, sharing their stories and growing in their understanding of God's Word. Pray that lives will be changed through this investment of time and energy on the part of the leaders.
Please pray for Carlos Martins, a Deaf man who has come to our church four weeks in a row. He seems to have a hunger to understand God's truth and a burden for the many Deaf here who know nothing of God's love. We are not sure if Carlos is saved but are continuing to pray for spiritual understanding. Another Deaf man (also not sure if he is saved), lives about an hour and a half from Lisbon. Sergio has a hunger to understand the Scriptures and wants to become Portugal's first Deaf Baptist pastor. However, for both of these and for most Deaf, the Bible is very difficult to understand. Pray for David and Sarah Booth and myself as we seek God's wisdom in how to best minister to the spiritual needs of the Deaf. I began the fourth level of Lingua Gestual Portuguesa this morning. Class was pretty intense and a bit over my head but I have a good teacher and think that I will be stretched and learn a lot.
Cal's enjoying teaching five classes this school year, one of which is Marriage and Family. He has invited several young couples in to share their stories so that the students are not just hearing from him or from the textbook. Students are asking good questions about friendships and relationships. After class one day, a Nepalese student talked privately with Cal. "My parents have already arranged for a husband for me and I don't know what to do. Should I obey my parents and honor their wishes when God says I should not be unequally yoked with a marriage partner?" She went on to share that custom would only permit her to date and marry another Nepalese from her family's class or above. Though there are a number of Nepalese young people here, she does not know any who are believers except one male cousin.
Thank you so much for your partnership as we continue to minister at Greater Lisbon Christian Academy and at Igreja Baptista de Loures. We could not be here without your prayer and financial support. A recent email from a friend was signed "A Work In Progress." It was a great reminder to me that we are all His workmanship. Please join us in praying Philippians 1:6 for ourselves, our school staff, our students and our church family.
Running the Race,
Cal and Joyce Voelker
The Case for Christ
Lee Stroebel
A Seasoned Journalist Chases Down the Biggest Story in History The Project: Determine if there’s credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God. The Reporter: Lee Strobel, educated at Yale Law School, award-winning former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune—with a background of atheism. The Experts: A dozen scholars, with doctorates from Cambridge, Princeton, Brandeis, and other top-flight institutions, who are recognized authorities on Jesus. The Story: Retracing his own spiritual journey, Strobel cross-examines the experts with tough, point-blank questions: How reliable is the New Testament? Does evidence exist for Jesus outside the Bible? Is there any reason to believe the resurrection was an actual historical event? . . .
This remarkable book reads like a captivating, fast-paced novel. But it’s not fiction. It’s a riveting quest for the truth about history’s most compelling figure. What will your verdict be in The Case for Christ?
Matthews – September 2010
Our hero… (and a bit more)
While we are on furlough, our friend Andrew is visiting from Australia. During the visit, we have taken the opportunity to do some tourist things in Iowa. One thing that we decided to do was to go on a tour of the State Capital Building in Des Moines. I will be honest, it was great. We encourage anyone to take the tour, it is an amazing building with fascinating history. The person who made the tour enjoyable and educational was our tour guide, Peg.
Peg was passionate, excited and knowledgeable of all areas of the building. Also, she gave credit to the architects, financiers and builders by name. One gentleman she referred to throughout the tour was, Robert Finkbune. She would even state his name with the title of ‘Our Hero, Robert Finkbine.’ His name was memorable, because she acknowledged him at least ten times with the same title, ‘Our Hero, Robert Finkbine.’ The realisation that hit me was I grew up in Iowa, I had been to the Capital Building many times, but I had never heard his name before that day. Yet, Peg shared his name as a noted historical figure that should never be forgotten. To my shame, by the next day, I had forgotten his name and had to call the tour company to get the information. ‘A Hero of Iowa, but one who was easily forgotten.’
Even with all of the new education of Iowa history, the challenge Peg gave me was in her communication style. She said she gives the tour numerous times a day, month & year. Yet, I would assume that she would be just as passionate about the building and her ‘Hero, Robert Finkbine.’ Peg challenged me to communicate with the same level of passion about ’Our Hero, Jesus Christ.’ We have the privilege of talking with many people every day, month and year about Jesus, but do I share with the same enthusiasm & passion as Peg did about Mr. Finkbine? Do any of us? It was a good challenge during a time like furlough. I would pray we would communicate with this message passionately, even on our most exhausting days.
Robert Finkbine died in 1901 and he did leave leave a legacy. Interesting, as I study history and the Bible, the Finkbine legacy will eventually fade and will be a blip on your local Wikipedia page. A vapour that will eventually be forgotten.
Yet, our ‘Hero, Jesus’ lives on. His legacy will never die. We do live to share about ‘Our Hero, Jesus, Our Saviour, Our Lord, & Our King.’ He is the one who we serve and desire to share with anyone who will listen, His saving message. I hope I can be as passionate, excited and knowledgeable about all he has done, is dong and will do for us all. Praise His name.
Thanks for the challenge Peg.
A bit more…
Praises:
1) We have had supporters increase their support and new support come in during our time here.
2) The visit from Andrew has been a blessing for us from ‘home.’ We needed the Australian infusion into our lives to spur us on for the coming month.
3) An offer for computers to be sent to Australia. We are still waiting on assistance with the shipping.
We have had for some specifics on our prayer requests:
-$200 monthly increase for support – This is due to a change in our schooling situation for 2011 and some adjustments in support from specific churches.
- Shipping of 2-3 computers to Australia
- We still are praying for 4 new laptops for city ministry (Mac or PC)
-1 new laptop & 1 new desktop for family needs – Ours are in need of replacing at home
-Direction and funding with church plant in Sydney; we have the opportunity for new church plants in 2011 – Our goal is to raise $5000 for this fund.
-Funds for furlough – This has been a bit more expensive than we realised, but the Lord has provided in his mighty way
-We would like to purchase a small vehicle to assist in travel needs for future ministry. (ex. Toyota Corrolla)
That is it for now, but there will be more to come. Thank you for your prayers and support.
The adventure continues…
The Matthews family
Kristi Walker – September 2010
Dear Prayer Supporters,
I have two special requests to share with you quickly regarding the next few days:
1. This weekend is our annual church retreat. My home/sending church - Heritage Baptist Church in Clarks Summit, PA - is here to minister to us this weekend. Pray that God will work in a mighty way in hearts and lives tonight, tomorrow and Sunday as we sit under the teaching of the Word of God. Not everyone attending the retreat is a believer, so pray for eyes and hearts to be opened! Also, we are baptizing 7 young people (teenagers and pre-teens) tomorrow (Saturday) in a lake, and several unbelieving family members will be there to witness the baptisms. We are so excited about this! I will send out an update next week and include a couple of pictures. :-)
2. This Wednesday, for the first time ever (that I am aware of), high school students in Berlin will be participating in "See You at the Pole" (http://www.syatp.com/). A young lady in the 10th grade stepped forward and volunteered to be the student initiator for this event. Students at John F. Kennedy School will meet in front of the high school at 7:30am to pray for their school, the city of Berlin, and the nation of Germany! We will also be hosting a 6:30 prayer breakfast before SYATP at a local coffee shop across the street from the JFK school. Pray that many students will be motivated to participate and that they will have boldness and courage to PRAY as their fellow students watch and enter the school all around them.
Thank you for your participation in the ministry in Berlin through prayer. We need it and appreciate it!
Kristi
Edmondson - September 2010
Dear Friends,
The last time you heard from us, Deb and I were preparing to leave Boston for organizational meetings in Iowa. Since that time we have spent a week with Baptist Mid-Mission's missionaries, reported to six supporting churches, attended our son David's wedding to Janelle Campbell, said goodbye to our daughter, Linda, as she headed off for college (Maranatha Baptist Bible College), and finally, said goodbye to Dave and Janelle as they moved to South Carolina. Yikes, no wonder we are feeling a little bit emotionally and physically spent. :)
In the mean time, the task of ministering the gospel to the world by ministering to the world in Boston continues to make progress. Throughout August our fellowship was somewhat scattered, so it was comforting to be together again this last Sunday. What a blessing it is to have mature Christians, young Christians, and seekers joining together on Sunday mornings to learn about how to know and walk with God.
Jay's (baptized last month) parents visited our services Sunday. It was an honor to not only become acquainted with Jay's parents, but to also have the privilege of communicating the gospel to them. When we minister to our international friends in Boston, we often have the opportunity to minister to their homeland, as well. We are now hearing of family members who are responding to the Christian testimony of our young disciples and are, themselves, responding to the gospel and becoming followers of Christ. The gospel is moving from Boston to other parts of the world.
Our weekend furniture give-away is a very recent illustration of the global nature of city ministry. When one of our international friends came by to pick up the furniture she had chosen, she informed us that she had already told her mother in China about it. Her mother couldn't believe we would just give it away. Our friend then said, "You know, this kind of thing just doesn't happen in China." She also asked if we did this because of our belief in Christianity. I said, "Yes, God puts it in our hearts to show His love to people." She said, " You know I am Buddhist. I used to believe that I should only follow this one religion. But because of this kindness, I want to look into Christianity." We are praying for this student, as well as her mother back home.
This coming weekend is another busy time in Boston, including a baptism (our intern, Andy, will be baptizing Alex), the Moon Festival (an important Chinese celebration) which we are hosting, and a missions conference in the area in which Bill will be attending and speaking on Saturday and Sunday night.
Prayer Requests
1. We have a number of Bible studies that need to be organized for the fall including evangelistic, infant discipleship, baptismal, and more mature discipleship studies. Please pray that all would be organized and happening by the end of next week.
2. Bill is finishing up course work for his class on Eastern Orthodoxy (Deb is helping with fifty pages of typing). This needs to all be done by Monday of next week.
3. There are two families considering joining the ministry team in Boston. Please pray that God's will becomes clear.
4. We have lost two supporting churches this last year--one ceased to exist and another decided to move in a different direction with their mission dollars. This means that we are losing $420.00 of our monthly support. This is a matter for earnest prayer.
5. Pray particularly for Cody and his family. They came to a summer program, and we are praying specifically that we will be able to share the gospel clearly with them, and that they will become members of the fellowship.
Praise the Lord
1. The Lord provided all that was needed for the basement renovation and for the ministry home air conditioners.
2. We are having a third baptism in a little over a month.
3. The Lord has helped us establish several evangelistic and discipleship studies.
4. A community group recently asked Bill to pray at a community event, stating that they wanted "the spiritual leader of the community” to pray. Although these individuals do not attend the fellowship, it is evident that progress is being made.
5. Jay brought his parents to church and they heard the gospel.
6. Tina (baptized last month) will be playing the keyboard for us this Sunday.
7. Bill is receiving excellent opportunities to present global-city-church planting in seminaries, Bible colleges, leadership conferences, and missionary conferences. These opportunities are coming without solicitation on our part.
The Son always shines in Boston,
Bill and Deb Edmondson