Tuesday, August 31, 2010

News from Mexico

South O' Border
DR. & MRS LONNIE C. SMITH Sr.
Missionaries to Mexico
Hebrews 6:10
__________________________________________________________________


September 2010
Dear Friends In Christ:

Four more churches in Mexico now have a piano for their worship services. Al Williams a piano tuner and repairman has donated and delivered over 40 pianos to the churches of Mexico. His wife Jodie came with him to deliver these last four. Bro. Angel Zapata pastor of our First BB Church in Reynosa came with help and carried the four pianos into Mexico the day after they were delivered. Pastors from Chihuahua, Veracruz, Queretaro and Cd. Victoria in Tamaulipas will pick them up soon.

Bedford Baptist Temple, Texas pastor Ray Johns and Mission representative Randy Loyd have taken the oversight of Matamoros Baptist Mission. Eli Zapata, our grandson in the ministry is pastor of this Mission. The Baptist Temple is making plans to finish the building that will include housing for Eli and his family. The work is growing and there are over 50,000 people within walking distance of the church.

Reports for over seventy VBS show that God is still in the saving business. Because of the unrest in Mexico the attendance was smaller this year that in pasted years. However over many boys and girls were reached with the gospel. One church reported over 60 professions of faith. Others showed smaller numbers, but in all VBS there were souls saved. The Mexican Baptist church of Brownsville, Texas received help from Bedford Baptist Tempe in the form of school supplies and backpacks for all those attending. This work had three VBS this year. In one 16 were saved. In another over 25 were saved and in another ten were saved. Joel Olazaran is the pastor and director of these works. There was an average of about 30 souls were saved in each of these VBS. Praise God for those who have helped with prayer and financies.

Beloved we are so thankful for your continued prayer and financial help for our ministry. God continues to bless with souls and continued growth in attendance. Our youth camps were blessed this year and many young people surrendered their life to full time service.

Yours for souls in Mexico,

Lonnie & Margie

Monday, August 30, 2010

News from Turkey

Gateway/EPIC Newsletter August 28, 2010

Highlights of the Summer:
1. J. of Istanbul successfully completed three seminary courses along with having many speaking engagements and meetings pertinent to the ministry in Turkey. J. and L. have had safety in all seven thousand miles of driving this summer!

2. L. successfully completed her comprehensive doctoral examinations and is in the process of writing her dissertation in the subject area of Special Education.

3. E. has hosted many groups and individuals this summer in both Istanbul and in Beytel East in Sodom. He and Kenan have shared the gospel with scores of individuals and continue to be a light to those around them.

4. M. and his family have faithfully discipled and been a light in the area of Y.B. (new church plant area). They have hosted many groups and individuals all summer.

5. Meetings with EPIC in Northwest Arkansas. J., L. and the folks at EPIC had several encouraging meetings in Northwest Arkansas with ministry partners this summer and we are praying for fruit to be born from the meetings.

Urgent Prayer Request for E.: E. has been ill for several months and recently went to the hospital. He had four biopsies taken from his intestines and after the results came back he has had three different doctors give him three different diagnoses. The first said it was cancer, the second said it was ulcers and inflammation, and the third said it was none of the above and he needed to be re-tested but in the meantime take antibiotics as that may clear it up. Please pray for E. that he would be healed, pray for wisdom in the diagnosis of the illness and treatment.

Prayer Request for Beytel East and West: Today (Saturday) and for the next several days we will be having meetings with the leadership of our churches to deal with issues in the church (church discipline) and strategies for church-planting and evangelism outreach this year. Please pray with us that those that have strayed off the path would have a contrite and repentant heart and be remorseful and restored to fellowship. Pray with us that the Lord would guide us to do His will in Istanbul and in the East of Turkey.

Prayer Request for L.: Please pray for L. as she works with special needs children this year along with teaching in private tutoring. She will have many opportunities to share with these children and their parents. Pray for open hearts to the Gospel and open doors for her to share clearly with those she has influence with. Pray also that the Lord would guide her in her doctoral dissertation writing, specifically that it would be glorify Him and be used for the Kingdom. (Below L. has a special request for you all.) Thank you for being faithful to pray and support the ministry here to reach the unreached. We love you and pray that the Lord would continue to guide and use you where you are at and here in the Middle East!

J. from Istanbul

(Letter from L.)
Dear Supporters and Fellow Laborers,

As many of you may know God has been directing me into the field of special education over the last few years. As I continue to work in the schools systems in Turkey I am even more convinced that God is leading me to work with children with disabilities and their families. The picture is much bigger than Turkey and I am seeing more and more the need throughout the Middle East for the education of parents and teachers in the area of disabilities and special education. As I talked with my department head at Regent, Dr. Mark P. Mostert, God has impressed upon me the need to get involved in discussing these issues and educating people on disabilities and the ethical treatment of people with disabilities. Dr. Mostert started a wonderful forum out of Regent University called the Institute for the Study of Disability and Bioethics http://www.regent.edu/acad/schedu/isdb/ .

I am interested in getting Christian doctors or anyone with knowledge in this area to help write short opinion pieces and blog spots related to the disabilities and bioethics. If you are a doctor or someone with knowledge in bioethics or know someone who would be interested please e-mail me. With new technology in medicine, the health care reform bill and issues in bioethics and the ethical treatment of individuals with disabilities it is essential that we as Christian respond and share what God’s word has to say on these matters. All over the world people with disabilities are suffering and subjected to poverty, humiliation, and death.

Educating the public on these issues can help us begin to reconcile these men and woman made in God’s image to their society and their God. Pray with me as God leads me to the forum and contacts that will help bring about this reconciliation.

Possible topics for the website are:
1. Their experiences dealing with these issues.

2. How they handle the issues as Christians and how they counsel patients.

3. How they deal with insurance companies.

4. Suggestions for people in their dealings with doctors, insurance companies and illnesses.

Please email me your articles and suggestions at gatewayeducationalservices@hotmail.com

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Website: www.gatewayeducation.org
Check out the EPIC’s Website: www.epicinternational.org

Friday, August 27, 2010

News from Mexico

Dear Faithful Pastor and Friends,

We begin this letter with a happy note. We have been serving our Lord here in Old Mexico since May of 1974. We thank God for your faithful support. You have enabled us to be here and you share in the results we report to you.

Our Timothys and fellow laborers:
1. Uriel Hernandez: This 26 year old young man has preached twice at church since we last wrote you and has done so very good. One person was saved and baptized through him.

2. Josue & Sory Suazo: This couple is from the Dominican Republic. Josue's dad led Sory's dad to the Lord three days before he died in their homeland. At the funeral, six others trusted the Lord as Savior.

3. Lupita Mora: This special lady has formed a team to visit the hospital on Sunday afternoons. They have led eight people to the Lord.

4. Jorge Alejandro Montes: This young university student reports four professions of faith in personal soul winning and another three professions of faith in youth meetings.

5. Hector Manuel Padilla and Jorge Alejandro Montes made a trip to visit our national missionary in Tlaxcala, Mexico. They gave out hundreds of gospel tracts and led five people to the Lord while they were there. They were also an encouragement to the missionary and his family.

6. Helga Guiterrez has led five of her relatives to the Lord and three of them are now faithful in church.

7. There have been eight professions of faith here at Living Word Baptist and I baptized thirteen people in July and August.

Our Youth: A total of 42 went to camp this summer. Seven young men and women surrendered their lives to full time service and are planning to enroll in Bible college in September.

Missions: Living Word Baptist has expanded its missionary outreach to support a young Mexican couple preparing to go to Pakistan. Bro. Jorge Luis Gomez and his wife, Irma, are trying to work through all the red tape to get their visas. Please pray for them.

Praise Report: Nineteen year old, Eric Rosales, finally received a kidney transplant in July. The doctors marvel at his recuperation. We praise the Lord!

'Til Jesus Comes,
Lonnie C. Smith, Jr.

The Ukraine Report

THE UKRAINE REPORT for AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2010

Dear Pastor Burress and friends at Victory Baptist Church,

After visiting some churches, we took and finished an intensive two-month Russian Language course on July 30, 2010. It was a challenge to say the least. Nancy and I both passed. This will really help in our Ukraine ministry.

On August 1, we formally started our furlough and have been in several great missions conferences. Now we are reporting what God has done in Ukraine.

- We now have 25 pastors who are taking our classes.
- We now have classes in seven Ukraine cites - three main regions.
- Our goal of 100 total students was surpassed - we have had over 500.

We sent Tanya K, our translator, to the Philippines to work with missionaries Dennis and Gloria Ebert for four months. She is studying English, the Bible, and theology there. It was quite a change from Ukraine to the tropics.

In September our fall 2010 classes start up in Ukraine. With a lot of planning and help, we are able to keep all our scheduled courses going while we are on furlough.

Please pray for:
- all our helpers in Ukraine to do well
- all the Bible college students and teachers
- traveling mercies and health for us during the days ahead

We really appreciate you folks at Victory Baptist helping us win Ukrainians for Christ. Thanks for partnering with us.

Ron and Nancy

www.ron.minton.name

Monday, August 9, 2010

News From Botswana

Dear Loved Ones,

It's been a busy couple of weeks--sorry we have not kept you updated on all that is happening with us.

We continue to have good services and are seeing growth in individual lives. Our Tuesday evening prayer meeting has become such a sweet time. There are only a few of us there, but the time of prayer and Bible study is rich. On Tuesdays, we have been going in depth into the sermon material from Sunday. We are so encouraged at how people are opening up and putting into practice what they are learning. It is great to see them comfortably sharing their struggles and growth with each other.

We have recently heard from our pastor in Kenya, Isaka. He continues to reach out in his community, training and encouraging. To our amazement, they are hoping to put electricity in the church building so they can have night meetings. Just incredible to watch his vision and excitement for what God is doing in Kabuchai.

This week we had a letter that left us speechless. We have written before regarding a young man in our ministry who is an orphan. One of our supporting churches sent money to help him begin his college career. He is now taking classes to be a lawyer. He wrote us today and said, "thank you for giving me something even my relatives never gave me--the opportunity to be loved." Wow--what a gift of a letter. He is so faithful to bring his friends to church. It has been a blessing to us to see him grow.

Last weekend, Steve and I celebrated 35 years of marriage! We were able to steal away for a couple days and enjoyed the time to be together and reflected on all God has done for us.

We came back to a full schedule for August. Friday is our last day of the second term of school. Saturday is a camp reunion. Saturday, the 14th we welcome another group form the US for another camp to be held beginning the 17th. That group leaves on the 23rd. On the 22nd, we begin our classes at Camp Hope for children with HIV-AIDS. Staff returns on the 31st and we're off again with school.

Specific Prayer Requests:
  • End of term responsibilities
  • Saturdays' Camp reunion to be well attended and feed into the next camp
  • People staffing the upcoming camp to come with open hearts to learn about the culture and ways to effectively communicate God's love here
  • I'm in charge of many of the activities at Camp Hope--pray I can find staff to fit each activity
Reaching the Unreached,
Steve, Pam, Amanda, Derek, Devin

Prayer Letter From the Letts

July 30, 2010

Dear Pastor and Church

Greetings once again in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since our last letter we have had 8 new churches pick us up which brings us from 68% to 73%. We have had others say that they are going to, as well, so we are greatly encouraged. I was preaching in a Church in New York and during the invitation two young ladies received Jesus Christ as their Savior and many more had come to the altar to pray. So things are happening along the way to which we praise the Lord. Sometimes we get the idea that deputation is all about raising money to get to the field……..no!……it is ,that, but much more…I praise the Lord for every soul that comes to Christ as a result of His word being preached.

We have seen people come forward and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and several come for prayer but the most exciting ones are those of your own family. Our granddaughter prayed with me to receive Jesus into her heart. She is a beautiful young 15 year old girl that needs your prayers as she grows in Christ…this past week she went to camp which is a great time for growth and change. Then to top it off our 8 year old granddaughter followed the Lord in believers baptism.

Our schedule takes us from home base in Ohio to North Carolina, back to Ohio, to Virginia, back to North Carolina, to Kentucky, to Ohio, back to Virginia. So the month of August is once again a busy schedule. I like it best when we are busy because the more we can share our ministry the closer we come to getting back to the “white unto harvest” field of Australia. I was talking to one missionary that shared with me that he had been on deputation for 2 ½ years and hopes he will hit 50% sometime in August. I can understand that………..but don’t wish that time schedule on any missionary. We still hope to leave the first of the year, and we couldn’t have it in better hands then our Lord…trusting Him is the best way to live. We certainly thank you for your sacrificial partnership with us to do the work in the field of Australia. May the Lord continue to bless and give you fruit for your labor.

Ron & Vicki Letts
Your Missionaries “Down Under”

Dan & Val Waugh

July 30, 2010

Dear Friends and Fellow Servants of Christ,

We trust this letter finds you and yours doing well and encompassed by God’s most wonderful blessings. We thank God for each of you and how each of you has been so interwoven into the fabric of our lives. As God has caused our paths to cross, and we have affected one another for God’s glory, our lives have been enriched.

Well, God is at it again. There is a small congregation in Summerville, PA that needs a pastor to lead and care for them; just as God brought each of us together so that we might meet each other’s specific needs. He is taking Valerie and I there. Summerville is 1½ hours east of Pittsburgh, PA and is a town of approximately 500. There are several towns that connect, and will bring ministry opportunities as well. Though the congregation is small, these are people whom Jesus loves, and who love Him, and they are highly prized of God. They are praying for the best pastor in the world, however they will settle for me (LOL). We will be leaving Rochester, NY on August 26th. We have 27 days to finish our packing, and then we will load the truck.

Thank you very much for your help in getting us this far. There are several needs that are upon us now, and we appreciate your continued help, Here are several ways you can help us:

1. Pray for the people of Summerville, and us, as we take up our calling amongst them. We are ready to “Preach the Word, and love the people”.

2. Pray for our relocation.

3. If you feel lead of God to help with our move we are in need of additional finances. You may give a special offering to help with the move.

We want you to know how special you are to us, and how important you are in the ministry to which God has called us. May the Lord and His wonderful grace keep you in the center of His will, where His greatest blessings will ever be yours.

Serving our gracious Lord together,

Daniel and Valerie Waugh

Auglst '10

South O' Border
DR. & MRS LONNIE C. SMITH Sr.
Missionaries to Mexico
Hebrews 6:10 P.O.Box 720245 August 2010

Dear Friends in Christ,

July was another busy month in the work here in Mexico. Since the Mexican schools do not get their vacations until July the VBS have to be conducted in this month and part of August. The reports are good from those whom we have received word. Others will be sending the results soon. Please continue to pray for souls saved during this time of harvest. We also wish to thank each of you who have made it possible for us to reach over 10,000 boys and girls with the gospel.

The different BBM Fellowships conducted their youth camps also this month. Monterrey and Reynosa conducted their camp just south of Monterrey. There were over 150 young people who attended and many dedicated their life to the Lord. Several made a decision to enter full time service and study in a Bible College next September. Many other sections of Mexico conducted their camp. The results will be forthcoming.

The First Bible Baptist Church (Filedelfia) of Reynosa celebrated their 30th anniversary this month with a weekend revival. Missionary pastor Martin Castillo was the featured speaker.

The North Mexico BBM also attended the celebration on Friday 30th. Dr. Angel Zapata is the pastor of the church. He is also on the board of directors of the National BBM as Mission Director. This church has been responsible for establishing over 14 other churches and missions in the area.

Beloved we are ever so grateful for your faithfulness in prayer and financial help toward our ministry for so many years. During this difficult financial time we know that many are making the sacrifice to continue this support. Our prayers are that God would continue to bless you in your effort to reach the lost around the world.

Yours for souls in Mexico,

Lonnie & Margie