Gateway/EPIC Newsletter
September 9, 2010
Dear prayer partners and supporters,
I cannot express the joy that I have in telling you what the Lord has been doing since we have been back in Turkey. There are many prayer requests and news regarding the ministry here.
Update on E.’s health: Within about one week we will know for certain but it appears that E. just has dysentery not cancer! He has been taking medicine for this and already feels like a new person. Continue to pray for his health as he has one more doctors appointment.
Update on Beytel West: We have been focusing on discipleship of our guys at Beytel and have seen fruit from this already. We are praising God for “C.” from Scotland that has now has joined in our leadership of Beytel. We are greatly blessed by his giftings and experience. Our focus this year is in the area of intense discipleship with Beytel Church. Pray for the spiritual growth at Beytel.
Need for ESL teachers: We will be continuing our ESL program in Istanbul and need committed teachers to help with this. We will partnering with another ministry here and use their facilities as it is in a very central location. Pray the Lord would send the right teachers and that it would be His timing.
Update on Beytel East: E. will be moving back to Istanbul to help with the establishing of Beytel West and the Kurdish church. J. and E. will continue to take trips to the location of Beytel East in Sodom to do follow up and other Eastern provinces that they have open doors to. We will be sending a full team back to Beytel East to establish the base there. Pray that the Lord would send the laborers that would be called to go there. J. and E. leave next week to say goodbye to all those we have been working with and pack E. up and move him back to Istanbul. Pray for safety in their travels and that they may use this time in Sodom to again clearly share the Gospel.
Update on the Kurdish Worship service: We will be meeting once a month to worship in the Kurmanji language. Pray that there would be no fear in meeting to worship. Pray that the Lord would raise up national leaders for this work.
Update from L.: L. has been researching for her dissertation but is having trouble narrowing down a topic. Pray for the Lord’s guiding in this. Also she is now tutoring many children and one with Autism. Pray that she would have a great impact and testimony in their lives.
Short Testimony from J.: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139: 23-24).
I have been praying for quite some time that our King would show me the wickedness in my heart and refine me so I would be a more useful vessel. I asked Him to complete in me that which is lacking and remove the evil. I asked Him specifically for an intense cleansing. This summer our Lord granted my request. During this intense period of a month straight I did not understand that this is what I was going through and I was in despair because of the state of my sin and heart. I felt like I did when I first came to understand the mercy of God and came to Christ. At that time (18 years old) I wept bitterly over my sin but rejoiced in the unexplainable grace.
During this month period this summer almost every day I mourned and wept uncontrollably over the state of my heart. The Lord showed my sins and patterns in my heart and life that I did not know existed. I confessed and repented to our King and then realized that I was nothing more than a worm or a piece of dangling flesh. There is and was nothing good in me, anything that is or was good is only by the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the only one worthy to receive glory, honor and praise. It is because of Him and His work that we do anything good. I then asked the Lord to please hold back on sanctifying me to that intensity, as I could not take it anymore. I thought to myself, if I am this bad now at 31 how much more cleansing will I go through when I am 61, and what else is evil in my heart? The thought scared me. The grace of God is too much.
I praise our King for answering my prayer, even though it was the most difficult month in my entire life. It has lead to a revival in my heart and I pray that this revival leads to a revival in our church in Turkey and an awakening in the many unreached Muslims here. I encourage you all to ask the King to do a similar work in your heart. You will find out that you are worse than you think you are, but at the same time you will experience amazing grace. This at one time was a normal practice in the Christian life, taught and encouraged especially by the Puritans.
“In the spiritual world also I am dependent entirely on thee. Give me grace to know more of my need of grace; Show me my sinfulness that I may willingly confess it; Reveal to me my weakness that I may know my strength in thee… My sins are black and deep, and rise from a stony, proud, self-righteous heart; Help me to confess them with mourning, regret, self-loathing, with no pretence to merit or excuse;…”
[1]-Puritan prayer
God bless you all and thanks for your prayers.
J. from Istanbul
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