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 Please, continue to come and encourage us
After preaching the morning worship service, “Please, continue to come and encourage us”, were the words of one of the members at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Lusaka, Zambia. After the worship service, everyone files out of the church and begins the tradition of lining up near the doorway of the building and shaking hands. This takes up a lot of time, but is an important cultural part of the end of every church service.
The members of this newly formed congregation gather together in spite of the fact their founding pastor has gone for further study. Having no church building of their own, they meet in a public school room like so many other congregations in Zambia do. The church’s lay-leadership carries on with Sunday School and worship service, as best they can.
We have been involved in ministries in Africa since 1997 among orphans and vulnerable women and impoverished children, but one of the most important reasons we are in Zambia is to help train pastors to take over the many churches that are planted by our national Zambia partner convention, the Baptist Convention of Zambia (BCZ) in the rural as well as the peri-urban (near city center) areas.
Preparing students for ministry in Zambia is a vitally important and essential ministry. It is a major financial, family and church sacrifice for the students to attend school. Some are farmers as well as pastors, and have families dependent upon them for basic living; food, their children’s education and clothing expenses.
The members of the Cornerstone congregation, like so many others in Zambia, are in need of trained leaders. Charles has been a BCZ Education Committee planner since 2006 and lecturer at the recently opened Zambia International Theological College (ZITC). After much prayer and planning this theological training school, of our Baptist Convention of Zambia partner convention (BCZ) was successfully opened in September 2008 with financial and prayer support from the ABCOTS region and has finished its first year of providing training to pastors and church leaders through our three- year Diploma of Theology program and our two-year Certificate of Theology program. Upgrading of national faculty members’ degrees, many financial crises and current lack of funding has delayed the start of the second year study. The first term of Year 2 has been postponed until April 2010. Please join us in financial support and prayer for the continuation of this vital ministry and the fulfilling of the need to immediately train many more pastors for the churches.
In His Service, Charles and Sarah West
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To read more about their ministry and of other American Baptist missionaries, global consultants, and development workers, we invite you to please visit www.internationalministries.org, and click on People who Serve.
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Acts in Action (para la version en Español oprime aqui)
by The Bonilla-Giovanetti family
February is the month of love and friendship. We would like to begin a series of journals by sharing, on even months throughout 2010, some thoughts about and from our MPTers. John 3:16 (Contemporary English Version) sets the tone for our sharing:
“God loved the people of this world so much
that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who has faith in him
will have eternal life and never really die.”
We met Carolyn Haines in 2005 in New Jersey. She joined our MPT as association rep for the Watchung Association. Carolyn, who is an active member of Freedom in Christ Baptist Church (FICBC), became one of us. She says that God took her weakened heart and replaced it with a “heart for missions.”
Through a series of subsequent encounters, our relationship has deepened and from association rep, Carolyn became our ABCNJ Regional Advocate and is very dear to us.
Friendships and love have been integral in our ministries and mission; we’ve seen afresh how important relationships are. We are moved to love just like God was moved on our behalf because of love. His love for us moves us to love those around us: our families; those that are part of our MPTs, like Carolyn; many of you in the churches; and, in our fields of service. More important, it moves us to love the lost and to share with them this Good News of salvation.
More recently, we have seen this kind of love in action as we have watched the outpouring of God’s love to those in Haiti after their January 12th earthquake. We pray for them and colleagues like the James, the Nzungas, the Pierres, the Schweissings, Kristy, Madeline, Adalia, and others yet to get involved. We see it in the ministry Kim Kushner is doing in El Salvador since she arrived in July 2009. You will get to hear her first hand during her upcoming visit to California. Call the ABCLA/OSH office for details. We’ve seen God’s love throughout this year of visits in the States and Puerto Rico and as we prepare for our new assignment in Spain. Many migrants continue to flow through Spain and we will accompany the churches of the Baptist Evangelical Union of Spain in their ministries to these migrants, training their leadership, and preparing Christian Education materials for their churches.
We know God’s love is moving us to His mission. We know God’s love moves you to His mission through prayers, encouragement, and financial support of missionaries serving around the world and of the regions that help us remain connected to the local churches. We are grateful for your loving support, your notes of encouragement, and the gifts that allow us to continue this journey en route to Spain.
Once we relocate in Spain, watch out for our call for “all hands on deck” for we cannot do this on our own; we want you to join us in this effort. There are so many different and pressing ministry opportunities around the world, with so many colleagues, and there is always a place for each of you in the field. Just ask the Lord to tell you where does He wants to use you, through His love, to touch those lives and offer them the Good News of salvation with the relief and care they need. He loved us so much, wouldn’t we love others just as much?
Let us invite as many as we can to have faith in Him so they too have eternal life and never really die.
Together pressing toward the goal, with loving prayers for you,
Acts 1:8, Romans 12:15, Romans 15:22-33
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To read more about their ministry and of other American Baptist missionaries, global consultants, and development workers, we invite you to please visit www.internationalministries.org, and click on People who Serve.
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The Story of Bak
It was Bak’s first day at NightLight. She was attending her first Bible Study (Jesus 101). Even though she came into the class about 30 minutes late – she was right on time for God to change her life.
I was in the middle of teaching several other new employees at NightLight when Bak walked in and interrupted. She graciously folded her hands and bowed her head to apologize as any good Thai person would do. She wasn’t smiling. Most women on their first day usually aren’t smiling. They are nervous, they are embarrassed about the life that they have been living, they don’t know anyone yet, and they have never heard about Jesus. She sat down with the other women and listened. As I was wrapping up the lesson I noticed the expression on her face was changing. She seemed to be more and more interested in what was being said. Finally, as I was still speaking, she blurted out in a not so quiet voice, “I want that man! How do I get that man?” I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant, but I dared to ask, “Do you mean Jesus?” “Yes! Yes! How do I get that man Jesus?” Though the way she put it was rather crass, it was the only way she knew how to ask about a man. Stuttering a little bit in response to her excited outburst, I tried to explain that you can get to know this man Jesus by following him, talking to him, and receiving him into your life. “Yes! Yes! I want to do that!” We have never had a conversion this quickly before at NightLight, but then again there are surprises almost everyday at NightLight. So I led her in prayer and she became a follower of Jesus. When she lifted her head from prayer she was beaming and proclaimed, “Jesus is my boyfriend!” Soon after that Bak received instruction in discipleship and was baptized. Bakquickly learned that being part of the churchmeant being the Bride of Christ which – is way better than just being Jesus’ girlfriend.
One year later I began to notice her expression had changed. She looked sad, depressed, and lonely. One day she blurted out to me inthe office, “Pastor Jeff, when am I ever going to get a real boyfriend?” Though sympathetic I had to ask her, “What happened to your boyfriend Jesus?” She hung her head and looked embarrassed. I quickly told her to find a quite place and read on her own Revelation 2:4 “You have forsaken your first love.” She came back the next day with a lighter countenance and simply said to me, “I understand.” Since then I have seen her worshipping more wholeheartedly and falling back in love with Jesus.
Bak’s conversion may have been different or more unique than some of the other womenat NightLight, but her post conversion experience is not unusual. It takes quite a while for women who have been used and abused by men to continue to embrace Jesus as their first, true love.
Pray for Bak to not forsake her boyfriend/husband Jesus!
Pray for the others who come to NightLight that theywill passionately desire to be in relationship with Jesus as much as Bak was on her first day!
Blessings,
Supervisor of the Pastoral Department
NightLight
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The Story of Alex
Alex, a graduate of the City of Youth, just can’t get away from Hope Unlimited! After settling into a great job as an industrial carpenter, he decided to put down roots and purchase land to build a home. The plot of land has a beautiful view of Hope Mountain. He said he wanted to be constantly reminded of the ministry which led to his transformation.
Alex has created an opportunity to unite most of his family in Vitória to begin a new life together. He brought his 33-year-old sister up from São Paulo where she and her four children had been living in extreme poverty. Her family includes a 21-year-old daughter, son-in-law, and their three-year-old girl. These seven relatives now live with Alex in his small rented apartment while they are waiting to move in to the new home.
Alex has displayed such generosity and grace. This type of family reunification and healing is common among Hope graduates. Only 18% of Brazil’s street children are biological orphans; many of the remaining “social orphans” have a strong desire to be reunited with family – and to create healthy, loving relationships. Since the children at Hope are able to experience so much spiritual and emotional healing, they become the perfect “agents of healing” for their families once they graduate.
Update: In the past year, since we wrote about Alex, he has finished his home—and was married this December. He and his new wife have accepted our offer for them to be on our team of house parents at Hope Mountain. He won’t make as much money as he did as a carpenter, but they will live with us, and Alex’s extended family lives in his newly completed home. There is no one that can understand another street kid more than a former street kid and graduate of our program. We are truly blessed to have such well qualified, young, Christian house parents that want to give back to the program that once helped them.
Phillip and Corenne Garrison Smith serve as American Baptist Missionaries with International Ministries in Brazil. Click here to read about their ministry. (link to: Phillip and Corenne are in need of individuals and churches who will support their ministry through prayer and finances. Our missionaries need to raise a majority of the funds that are required to keep them on the mission field. Learn more about how you can support Phillip and Corenne and other American Baptist missionaries by clicking here ; Learn about the missionaries in the “Covenant of Relationship” with ABCLA/ABCOSH by clicking here
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Dear Friends,
We are happy with the warm welcome we received starting our deputation time in the LA area. It is good to reconnect with so many friends here. We are thankful to the Lord that FBC Alhambra, made a car available to us, and that we already have been able to visit a number of churches and bible study groups in the few weeks that we are here.
Nora was at the conference for Seminarians, and Pastors in the denomination the first full week of January in Orlando, Florida. She did some presentations and put invitations out for volunteer work in Europe, including teaching at Seminaries there, as well as teaming up with Seminary Students in the former Soviet Union, for outreach specifically in Muslim areas of the former Soviet Union. Though this invitation was great for seminarians, it is also a possibility for any other young adult that feels the call for outreach in that part of the former East-Block, to do this with experienced other young adults that speak the local language, and are well aware of local cultural sensitivities.
We want to highlight working in an elderly people home in Moldova, as well as helping new mission outreach, a youth camp and a seminary there. Also a three month high school English teaching in Serbia, as well as some renovation and construction work in summer 2010 at a Seminary building and a church-outreach center. Also an English camp in the Czech Republic in summer 2010 or church construction help in the Czech Republic throughout the year.
Pieter had some preliminary meetings with Pastors and regional ministers, about our starting 12 months, of deputation, and how to use the time best. We are feeling home here in Southern California, and are grateful for the help we received with the integration here, including a grocery basket upon our arrival at Atherton. It is our joy and with great appreciation and thankful hearts, we are happy to have a small apartment at Atherton Baptist homes, which in regard to their original calling has the desire to help hosting missionaries on deputation in the US, without their hospitality it would probably not be possible for us to be so centrally located in the LA area. We are starting to know more and more residents and it gives a sense of being home.
We are looking forward to sharing with you about the ministry in Europe, and about what God is doing there while we visit your churches, or Bible study meetings, or home cell groups. Please invite us through the regional office, or by emailing or calling us.
Greetings from Alhambra,
The Lord Bless You,
Pieter & Nora Kalkman
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Hidden on a Hill in Tijuana
A few miles from the junction of the Pacific Ocean and the US-Mexican border, hidden on a hill in Tijuana lies Deborah's House. Its location high on a hill overlooking a poor neighborhood in the suburb called La Gloria is somewhat ironic, because it is a shelter for abused women and children run by the Baptist women of Northern Baja, California, and needs to be kept secret from the abusers. When a work team from First Baptist Church arrived in June, it stuck out like a sore thumb, because the second floor of the shelter was covered with raw lumber. Now it has a stucco surface that has been painted and fits into the surroundings more comfortably. Tijuana is a surprising city. No longer a sleepy border town, it is bustling place of about 3 million people (no one knows for sure). Hundreds of thousands of native Mexicans have made their way to the city to seek employment in the factories. Costs are high and wages are low, so for many, instead of finding a better life, they have sunk deeper into poverty. With poverty and despair comes abuse. Ray Schellinger and Dr. Adalia Schellinger-Gutierrez, an American Baptist missionary husband and wife team, are working with the Baptist women of Tijuana to provide a safe environment for families needing to escape. Last summer, during the time the Des Moines team was there, 3 mothers and 9 children were living at Deborah's House. Our work task while there was to work on the construction of the roof and internal structure of the second floor of the main building and to provide wiring to a smaller building that is being used as a sewing room, and to teach marketable skills to the women. Eventually it is hoped that many more can be sheltered for up to 3 months while women develop skills and find jobs and places to stay.
There is more work to be done. In March, two separate teams from Des Moines are traveling to Deborah's House: one from Westover Baptist March 13-20, and one from First Baptist Church March 20-27. Consider joining them, or bring your own team. The experience will be rewarding!
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Previously on Missions Corner..
ATM MACHINES in the DR CONGO?
How do missionaries in foreign countries get local funds? In the past, the process of "getting cash" in local currency (FC's -francs congolese) depended upon the treasurer and bank account of our local partners, the Baptist Churches of the Congo (CBCO). This meant uncertainty and often long delays between the request and the actual receipt of the funds.
While the "cell phone revolution" hit Kinshasa in 2002-2003, banking and ATM possibilities have taken longer to develop. The first free election in over 40 years, in 2006, paved the way for more governmental stability, and for the increasing investment in development by private corporations and other countries, especially China.
While in 1998 it was illegal for a person to posses or use US currency, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, US currency is now preferred. In 1998 it was almost impossible to get money exchanged. Today, 100's of exchange tables dot the sidewalks of Kinshasa with $1,000's of dollars sitting out "in plain view", and anyone who looks like they might have foreign currency is "rushed" while walking down the sidewalk. Theft is rare, since the thief will be stopped by the uproar of the crowd, and often is beaten on the spot.
AT LAST, access to cash through the ATM system is NOW available to our missionaries Wendy Bernhard, the Niles, the Clemmers, and the Lowery's who live in or near Kinshasa. PRAY for safety for Wendy as she travels from Kimpese to Kinshasa on Sat. Jan. 9th, to deliver molasses, get money from the ATM at her bank, and to pick up BIbles for use in upcoming youth rallies with the Responsible Living Skills Team. Pray for their film presentations and that the young people will be receptive to the True Love Waits seminars coming up on the 15th and 16th in Kimpese.
Peace,
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