WHY DO OUR MISSIONARIES STRUGGLE WITH FINANCES?

This is a question that pastors and church people are asking these days. The problems are real. I am trying to understand this myself. I have found some explanations that I want to share with you.

In the last four years or so the United States government has changed its economic philosophy. The dollar is no longer being supported in international trading. The upside of this policy has been that the U.S. trade deficit has narrowed. The U.S. still is importing more than it exports but the gap is narrowing. On Friday, October 12, 2007, I heard the news report that the trade deficit is the best it has been in seven months. That is very good news, BUT that is only part of the story.

The buying power of the dollar is weakened. Some say, for example, part of America’s solution is to buy from China, the Philippines, Mexico, Japan, Central and South America and from Europe. Now we are learning that products made in China often are below U.S. standards of safety. Will Americans ever again insist on buying American?

The present U.S. government policy to allow the dollar to freefall on the international markets has weakened the dollar worldwide. It used to be the most desirable currency in the world. It was strong, but not now. Some economists expect the European Community’s currency (Euro) to replace the dollar in the years ahead. No one knows for sure about this.

We might ask: in the last two or three years how has the change of American economic policy affected the missionary who lives overseas? ADVERSELY is the answer to this question! Right now missionaries in Europe, or Africa, and Japan are shaken badly. It is as if their wages have been cut no less than 30% in the last three or four years. Those who were receiving $30,000 now have to live on $20,000. That is a drastic cut that none of us could withstand. Who here could pay over $9.00 a gallon for gasoline?

This is why you will be seeing good missionaries coming back to raise extra support if they ever plan to continue their ministries overseas. Please listen to what they are saying. Try to understand their predicament and consider how you might be able to help missions in the 21st century.

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by Bob Van Sant

In 1996, Judy and I arrived in Simferopol, Ukraine, to work with deaf people. At that time, none of the deaf that we met had ever owned a Bible, nor had they been told the simple Bible stories that most children in America grow up learning. We started the first deaf service in our home with twelve deaf and it quickly grew to twenty. We began each service with flannelgraph so that they could visualize the stories. After three months, we were able to rent a theater at the KGB "House of Culture" and the deaf ministry continued to grow.

About this time, we had our first invitation and seventeen deaf were saved. Because of their deafness and a lack of a Biblical background, we dealt with each one individually. About eighteen months after the deaf church started, hearing people began to come (friends, relatives and people that we met on the street).

God blessed us with a building in January, 1998. Every time we walk into God’s house and see the people, we are reminded of how God has worked and is working in Simferopol. As our church grew, we realized the need for a worship service for the hearing as well as for the deaf with spiritual teaching and music. Therefore, we orchestrated a "church split." The building belongs to the deaf people; they have Sunday School and church services on Sunday morning starting at 9:00 AM. By 1:00 P.M., most deaf have left the building (sometimes we encourage them to do so) and the hearing begin their services. On Wednesday nights we have a joint prayer meeting.

Through the years, many deaf people have come to know Christ as their Savior and we have seen lives changed. People that had no hope, lives that were centered around the ‘bottle,’ and lives that were in disarray are being rescued. They have been given hope of a home eternal and have lives centered around the Bible. Their lives are now focused on serving the Lord through the various ministries of the church.

In the past eleven years, Simferopol Baptist Deaf Church has also started three additional deaf churches in Crimea. Because there is a large number of deaf in Sevastopol and some deaf travel two hours each Sunday to get to church, our deaf pastor Slava (see "But I’m Deaf") felt called to go to Sevastopol and start Lighthouse Baptist Deaf Church. They began meeting in a park next to the Black Sea. Because they were deaf, their singing and preaching went unnoticed by the normal activities in the park. However, winter came and a need for a building arose. We were able to rent a room for them and this church continues to grow today.

Slava still makes monthly trips there, but another deaf man Andrei (who was trained by Slava) is over-seeing the work. Five years ago, Yalta Deaf Baptist Church was started. Recently, in Feodocia another new church (headed by deaf BIMI missionary Robert Fuller) was started and in September, 2007, they celebrated their first anniversary. Men from our church go weekly with Robert to work in this new ministry.

Deaf Couples Conferences: Each year, we put together a deaf couple’s conference where families can receive instruction on marital and family issues. Deaf people do not have the modern technologies and conveniences that deaf in America have. So we offer them as many opportunities as possible to fellowship with other believers. We rent a resort on the Black Sea coastline and spend two to three days together. The couples come back challenged and eager to serve the Lord.

This year we held our eighth annual deaf conference. We had over 50 visitors from eight cities. Specialized training is provided for the deaf leaders and interpreters. Three young men accepted Christ as their Savior. Many gave testimonies of how much they benefited from the preaching, teaching, and fellowship.

Deaf Camp: After several major challenges, it seemed that the Devil was working overtime trying to prevent the camp this year. We had planned on thirty deaf children; however, one deaf school backed out, sending twenty of the kids to another camp that would keep them longer. We had planned on children up to age fourteen, but ended up with ten young people ages sixteen to twenty-two. God’s plans became ours! Only one out of the ten had any biblical knowledge and she claimed to be a Christian. So, nine unsaved older deaf teens required the full staff we had in order to keep things controlled.

We started building a foundation on Monday. By Wednesday night, Judy had the privilege of leading three young ladies to the Lord (Vika, Inna, Lesa). Immediately, these three girls changed. Their attitudes and their faces were a reflection of what had happened in their hearts. But right away they began receiving threats and abuse from the other deaf.

Vika had a best friend, Rita, who became angry. That evening as we were standing outside talking, Rita walked past us and struck Vika on the shoulder. She said, "You are stupid. You have listened to American lies. There is NO God and I want nothing to do with you!" For the next two days the girls never sat together and Rita only glared at Vika. Because of her faith, Vika lost her best friend.

On the last day of the camp, Rita hurt her foot pretty badly and she could not walk. Vika saw her friend in pain and went over to her and asked if she could help. With her arm around her friend, she helped her hobble to the camp nurse. Rita was shocked by this kind gesture and by the time camp was over that night, Rita also accepted Christ.

Why so many DEAF?

Many people through the years have asked us why there are so many deaf people in Ukraine. In America, 8.6% of the total population is deaf or has a hearing disability. When we contacted the Ukrainian Embassy in 1994, we were informed there were NO deaf people in Ukraine. In those days, when they took their census, deaf people did not count. There were NO blind, NO deaf and NO handicapped people. However, we knew that this could not be true. When we arrived in Ukraine, we found that there was actually a higher percentage than normal. Due to the lack of hearing aids and proper medical attention, hearing loss is greater in this part of the world. (The newest craze among the deaf in Ukraine is mobile phones so that they can text message each other.)

In America deaf marry deaf or, if they choose, they can marry a hearing person. In Ukraine, deaf ONLY marry deaf (it is cultural). We know that if a man is born deaf and his wife is born deaf, they have a greater chance of deaf children. There are other factors; therefore, it is hard to give an exact number. We do know that the people of these former Soviet Union countries have a larger percentage of hearing loss than in America. The need for missionaries to the deaf in Ukraine and Europe is great. They need to "hear" the Gospel. The deaf ministry in Ukraine is thriving. Pray for Bob and Judy Van Sant, Robert Fuller, Slava and others as they minister to this wide-open mission field.

Jam Sunday in UKRAINE

On "Jam Sunday" at Simferopol Baptist Church, all the ladies got a chance to show off their culinary talents. In deaf church, there were twenty different jams. Hearing church had twelve different jams. The men judges wore nice white chef hats with matching white aprons. There were the normal jams: cherry, strawberry, peach, and raspberry. Some of the stranger jams were: red tomato jam, squash jam, rose petal jam, assorted woods jam (by the way, that jam got second place to Judy Van Sant’s peach jam) and muskmelon jam.

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lava Kratko’s Story (As told by Bob Van Sant)

Shortly after our arrival in Simferopol in 1996, Tanya Kratko and her daughter, both deaf, were saved. Slava, Tanya’s husband, was a so-called "atheist" and refused to come to church. Tanya asked prayer for Slava and invited him to church each Sunday. After almost one year of begging, he did attend Simferopol Baptist Church for our One Year Anniversary; however, he sat in the back of the auditorium with his arms crossed the entire time.

A month later, Tanya invited us over for dinner. We had given her a copy of the "Jesus Film," which Slava watched before we arrived. That night at dinner, Slava asked what seemed like a million questions about various religions; but he avoided topics that would bring him to salvation. When it was time for us to go, Tanya began crying and got on her knees before Slava - begging him to get saved. I got her attention and asked her to get up and not beg Slava. If the Holy Spirit did not draw him, then we needed to wait and pray. Slava asked if I would come in the morning and talk with him. Both Judy and I prayed that evening that Slava would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s moving.

The next morning at 10:00, I rang the door bell (actually a light, since they are deaf) and I saw someone looking through the peep-hole. Almost immediately the door swung open and Slava grabbed me by the arm. He said, "I must get saved right now!" I said, "Wait; let me take my shoes off (Ukrainian custom)." As I took my shoes off, I looked into the living room. There on the floor near the couch were Tanya and her daughter praying. I learned that they had been there most of the night! Slava was gloriously saved. He, his wife and daughter cried and praised God together.

Over the next several months, Slava could not get enough of the Bible. He would stay up to 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, studying his Bible and writing down questions. After each service, he would come up to me with the questions he had. These sessions at church would last for one, two, even three hours. Many times there was a crowd of deaf people around us. However, this was not enough for Slava and so he started making weekly visits to our home.

In 1999, Slava became deacon of the deaf church. As far as we knew, a deaf deacon was unheard-of in Ukraine. Through the next few years, I watched Slava continue to grow and I watched as the people began to look to him as a leader. I began transferring more and more responsibility to him and began planting the idea that he could become pastor. Slava’s reply would always be the same, "But I'm deaf."

Praise the Lord that Slava realized that "Deaf CAN!" In June of 2005, we laid hands on Slava to become pastor of Simferopol Baptist Deaf Church. Six American men were on the counsel and were in total agreement that Slava was truly fit for God’s service. Slava also is a missionary who travels each week to the cities of Sevastopol and Feodocia. In addition, he travels around Ukraine visiting other churches (deaf and hearing) and is in high demand around the country as an evangelistic speaker.

As far as we know, Slava Kratko is the only ordained deaf pastor/missionary in this country. For the past three years, Slava has been pastoring and training a man in Sevastopol to become the pastor there. The deaf church in Simferopol is growing strong, under the leadership of Pastor Slava. The church is averaging fifty to sixty in their weekly attendance. Pray for Slava, his wife Tanya and their daughter Natasha as they serve the Lord in Ukraine.

Training for ministry to the deaf is available:

Harvest Deaf Ministries was established by the vision of Dr. Reginald (Reggie) Rempel. As International Deaf Representative of BIMI for many years, Dr. Rempel had a vision for a school for "training the deaf to reach the deaf for Christ." This became a reality in the spring of 1994 with the purchase of approximately 14 acres of land in the North Georgia area and BIMI Deaf Bible Institute was begun. During the third year, the BIMI Deaf Bible Institute was changed to the BIMI Deaf Bible College. Since then, there has been a complete renovation of the buildings on the property including a dining hall, boy’s dormitory, a library, office space, and the Lee Roberson Chapel. The ministry now includes Harvest Christian Academy for the Deaf (1998) and Harvest Baptist Church of the Deaf (2000). In the winter of 2001, the BIMI Deaf Bible College, at the encouragement of both the BIMI headquarters and supporting pastors, changed its name to Harvest Deaf Bible College. All three are now under the umbrella of the newly created Harvest Deaf Ministries, Inc.

Web site: www.harvestdeaf.org
Email
Address: 1314 Old Three Notch Rd.
Ringgold, GA 30736
Phone: (706) 375-7107

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BIMI CONSULTANT Jim Sloan gives his personal testimony:

"As a child, there was nothing unique about my family except I had a deaf uncle. During the summer of l956, while watching TV with my grandmother, God used a program to touch my heart about the deaf. At that time my grandmother, while crying, told me she had been praying for forty years that God would call men to work with the deaf."

God has answered his grandmother’s prayer by giving Jim and his wife Joyce a burden for the deaf. In 1990, after years of serving as a pastor and evangelist, Jim states: "The focus of our ministry changed." They joined the Committee on Missionary Evangelism located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While in Romania for a Bible conference in January of 1993, he met with an interpreter for the deaf. "She told me the deaf had never had a Bible study or church service. That statement changed the focus of our ministry until this present time. "

The ministry of the Sloans to the deaf has taken them to many foreign countries, as well as across America - presenting a desire to see deaf people saved and training them to serve God wherever He directs.

Have you ever thought about the deaf?

Jim Sloan

I sat in the office with a pastor of a large and aggressive Baptist Church in Budapest, Hungary. I said, "Pastor, you have great outreach ministries in the city and to your country. Why not to the deaf?" He replied, "We never thought about the deaf until you came."

NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE DEAF! I have heard this many times. Deaf people are everywhere—every country, every city, every village. Every country has its own sign language. Because of the difference in population of the deaf in each area, different kinds of ministries are required: deaf churches with deaf pastors, deaf ministries in hearing churches with interpreters, separate Bible study classes, etc.

Some countries like Germany, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria have several ministries to the deaf, but not enough. There is a deaf school with over 200 students and many adult deaf in the capital of Albania. As far as I know, there is no ministry for them. France has only one small ministry to the deaf in Paris. Four-hundred thousand deaf live in Paris. BIMI Missionary Bob Huffman wants to reach the deaf, but has no worker. NO WORKERS!

Deaf people cannot be reached with the gospel in the "usual" ways local churches use. We must have someone (a missionary from America or a national) who is willing to learn Sign Language and to learn the culture of the deaf then go to the deaf community with the Gospel. Begin now and pray Matthew 9:38: "Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into the (deaf) harvest."

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Matthew Hudson (our missionary in Kiev, Ukraine):

We have been distributing the New Testaments regularly, and many folks have been very grateful to receive them. We are going door-to-door throughout the village, and it is amazing to see how many people still don’t have a copy of the Bible. While out witnessing, I was able to lead a 91-year-old "Babushka" (grandmother) to the Lord. Thank you again for the part that you had in getting those Bibles delivered to us.

Darrell Johnson (BIMI missionary in Poland) with BIMI Bibles we provided for him:
We need your help!
Please send your love gift to:
European Bible Fund
Account 656 – BIMI
PO Box 9215 – Chattanooga, TN 37421

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John Jones

John and Mary Jones and their children are serving the Lord in Congleton, England. They have used a variety of ways to reach out into their community.

We are a young congregation with a real heart for this community. This concern has led us to provide a Bible-based witness serving Christ through varied ministries. We are a church for the whole family. We have ministries which are especially focused on children and young people. However, we have not neglected the needs of the more mature people in our community. At Congleton Baptist there is something for everyone.

As a church, we believe the Bible is the Word of God, through which He has revealed His love and plan for all people. We believe the Christian life is not only Heaven someday, but it is the best way to live today: for the individual, for the family, and the nation.

Congleton Baptist hosted its first Bike Rodeo

The afternoon was a great success. Each youth was given an opportunity to practice essential cyclist skills through a variety of games and events. The programme began with a bike MOT and safety inspection and concluded with an awards presentation to the top participants.

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Children were given a lesson from a number of "heroes" from the Rescue Zone, an event that was part of Congleton Baptist Church's fifth annual holiday club, earlier this month.

Talks from organisations were part of a theme focusing on great rescues from the Bible such as how God rescued Elijah from the wicked King Ahab.

Speakers at the holiday club for children at Bromley Farm estate included Congleton Fire service, Congleton First Responders and Cheshire Lowlands Search and Rescue service.

The Rev John Jones said: "I am convinced the young people will remember this event for a long time to come. The club was a great success and we are looking forward to next year. As a church we believe Christians ought to seek out opportunities to get involved in the community, to invest themselves in others and make a difference."

The Fire Brigade talked about fire safety and gave the young people an opportunity to see what its like to be a fireman. Children also learned the work of Lifeboats and basic sea side safety and Cheshire Lowlands Search and Rescue team informed the children of what to do if they should ever get lost.

There were also quizzes and games and advice from organisations such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Mr. Jones added: "We are so pleased that the emergency services were willing to take part in this year’s club. Their involvement brought the rescue theme to life."

This article appeared in The Congleton Chronicle 15 August 2007

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Rita Burns

We have used our Upper Room in the town centre to hold Afternoon Teas. This is an outreach to let the town of Market Harborough become acquainted with Trinity Baptist Church. My job is to stand out on the main pedestrian area and advertise that we are serving homemade cakes and a cup of tea at bargain prices. When people sit at our tables, we see them read the tracts we leave there for that purpose. Church people are on hand to talk with any guest asking questions about who we are and what we are doing in Harborough. At the first Tea, we had 35 come in and the second time 50. Four people visited our church from this ministry.

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By Lisa Thatcher - Serving with her husband Don and children in Republic of Ireland

First Communion and Confirmation is very important to the children of Ireland, since ninety-two percent are Catholic. When a child is facing First Communion, there are huge parties given. The child receives large amounts of money and gifts. It is a very big day for all involved.

Ellen, a friend of our daughters, is a believer. We knew that she would be one of the only children in her class not participating in First Communion this year. We had been praying for Ellen that she would be content not having a part in the school activities for this event. Also, we were looking for a way to celebrate the fact that Ellen had accepted Christ within the last year and had been baptized.

The Lord placed an idea in my heart. We would have a tea party as a "Celebration of Salvation." We decorated with crystal dishes and with a heart tea set. Our other decorations all centered on the fact that our girls and Ellen had much to celebrate because they had asked Jesus into their hearts.

The tea party began with a devotion reviewing what it means to be "saved." Then we sang favorite songs, decorated cards, made a heart bracelet and homemade soap. At the conclusion of the party, I presented each girl with a sterling heart necklace. This necklace was to symbolize that each girl had asked Jesus into her heart. It was also a reminder that the Lord would never leave them nor forsake them. It was a very special day.

BARB AND SARAH

By Barbara Redlin, her husband Robb and two children serve with BIMI in Wales

Since moving to Wales, we have learned that there is an excessive amount of alcohol that is consumed here in the UK (and in much of Europe). It is done as a sport almost...even to see who can drink the most. But I didn't realize that many parents GIVE their teens (and sometimes younger) the alcohol. The logic is that if they are accustomed to drinking when they are young, they will not go overboard with it when they come of age.

Sarah is a teen who comes to our church off and on. She has been struggling with drinking for quite some time. After she told me about it, I made a list of verses on the computer with some art work on it so she might hang it up in her room or keep it out to see the verses on a daily basis.

She did just that...but one day for some reason she had thrown the list of verses in her purse before going out.

As she walked down to meet her friends, she reached in her purse to get her cell phone. Just as her friends asked her if she wanted a Strongbow (a can of alcohol), she saw the verses with the phone. She said she stopped and realized that she had to say no to them because she knew it was wrong. This occurred about lunch time when these teens were out in plain sight of authority, not caring or worrying that they would be caught.

She did say no and then listened for the next hour or so to the other teens giving her a hard time. I told her I was proud of her and would keep on praying, asking her if she'd like me to print out more verses to give to her friends or to even use as wallpaper for her room!

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Bischofsheim, Germany

Gratitude filled the hearts of Dan and Tricia Dubbe and their church people at the open house for their new church building, formerly called the Bischofsheim Bahnhof (train station).
The train station, built in the late 1800’s, was the last stop before the mountains which separated it from the next largest city to the north. Hitler wanted to extend the tracks through, but his career was cut short in 1945. The station was closed in 1989 and was used as a storage and a carpentry shop. Now the Lord has allowed Dan and Tricia and their people to transform it into a beautiful worship facility.

At the open house service, there were so many people in attendance that they could not all fit into the auditorium. The town mayor was invited to speak shortly; he said he enjoyed this very "spiritual" time with the people. Dan Dubbe feels the reception was very good for the church in the community.

They have had visitors on a regular basis since the opening of this new facility. Besides their regular church services, their program offers various ministries including: small group Bible studies and discipleship, youth meetings, camp and evangelism. For many years, the station was a central point in town. Now in Germany, the land of the Reformation, the former train station will be used as a training station to win souls and disciple them for Christ.

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Compiled by Maylou Holladay

CZECH REPUBLIC - Samuel Barth Family. A local Baptist pastor invited me to assist in their annual English camp. I taught English for three hours each morning to university students and helped with the Bible studies on the book of Mark each evening. At least six of the fifteen campers were not saved. Please pray for these students.

ENGLAND - Mark Bell Family. Rudy Ruiter followed the Lord in believer’s baptism. After the baptism, he and his wife Fiona became members of the church.

Reta Burns. For three weeks, we held VBS in our Upper Room in the town centre of Market Harborough. Two eleven-year-old girls and one nine-year-old boy, Thomas, from my Sunday School class were saved.

John Jones Family. We had the privilege of baptizing Mr. Shenton who had been attending our church for two years. He was christened and confirmed in the Church of England but has recently accepted Christ as his Savior. At his baptismal service he gave testimony of his faith in Christ.

Ferrell Kearney Family. In 1982-1983, I pastored Lighthouse Baptist Church in Birmingham for the furloughing missionary. At present, Barbara and I are back in England taking care of the ministry of the church. Many of the folks are still faithful after all these years.

Marcia Kittleson. We continue to put leaflets and John/Romans through the doors. We have helped to give out 1200 flyers. Most of our visitors have come because of our leaflets.

Jack Moorman Family. Recently John A. went to be with the Lord. His funeral service was a triumph of one who dies in Christ. The Gospel went out to the many unsaved family present. Please pray for John’s 30-year-old daughter Mandy.

Glenn Palmer Family. We celebrated the 22nd anniversary of Calvary Baptist Church in Spalding with a good attendance of forty-six with several visitors. It was encouraging to hear our teens share the blessing of learning God’s Word.

Glenn Pizor Family. The Lord even used our move to a different home to give us an opportunity to witness. We were able to give a gospel leaflet to our real estate agent. He later asked for more to pass on to colleagues and Family. Please pray for him.

Mickey Schrimshire Family. We have just completed our 24th year in the UK as missionaries. Again this summer, we had a team of 25 adults and teens from around Britain who helped in our beach mission in Llandudno, North Wales. Our puppet team was blessed to spend two weeks in America giving performances in five churches and two public schools.

ESTONIA*** a new field is open for BIMI - Andrew Bunnell Family (formerly in Russia). We are on the ground in Estonia. We are now working to establish our residence in the country. (Pray for Andrew and Sarah and baby Joey as they begin their ministry in a new country.)

FRANCE - Carey Abbett Family. Susan and I just worked in the second camp we have had this year. We know of at least fifteen children who publicly acknowledged receiving Christ as their Savior during this camp.

Danny Flowers Family. Robert is a retiree who is suffering from cancer. Our first visit into his home was in December 2005. He was uninterested at that time, but has recently accepted Christ as his Savior. He is coming to church and has begun discipleship studies.

Bob Huffman Family. We had our official inauguration of our church building. Among the 250 present was the vice-mayor of our town, who spoke briefly of the need for groups like ours. We also rejoice that a man and his wife followed the Lord in believer’s baptism.

GERMANY - Dan Dubbe Family. At youth camp, one of our preacher boys led a set of twins from our church to the Lord. Five of our church young people were active in the teaching, music, activities and planning of this year’s camp. It is exciting to see an enthusiastic faith in the young people taking action!

Walter Hornung Family. I am encouraged that three men of our church are able to preach good sermons. Also, that a 74-year-old woman and two Jung men followed the Lord in baptism and proclaimed their faith.

Rodney Kidd Family. The daughter church in the north of Mannheim is doing well and is now one year old. We are teaching a basic course in what it means to be a Christian to a group of people who have been visiting the church. We pray they will soon become believers.

HUNGARY - Marc Patton Family. Our new church plant in Nyergesujfalu will hold their first baptismal service and also officially form the church membership. A total of ten people are becoming charter members. We had about 90 people present for our annual family camp. Many made important decisions.

LATVIA - Jonathan Thompson Family. Please pray for a new meeting place for our church services.

NORTHERN IRELAND - Ed Bissett Family. Hugh, 92, and his wife, 80, attended a luncheon we had at our church. Afterwards, Hugh wanted to speak with me. That evening, he and his wife trusted in Christ for forgiveness of their sins. Now most Sunday nights they are in our services.

POLAND - Darrell Johnson Family. On August 12, it was a great joy to see four Polish believers take a big step of faith by becoming the charter members of the "Chrzescijanski Zbor Wolnych Baptystow" – Christian Independent Baptist Church. It was a day we had planned and waited to take place for the past 14 years.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND - Dan Canavan Family. After a 24-hour Prayer Marathon at our church, God brought two Irish teenage girls to the church. These 17-year-old twin sisters felt impressed to stop in to ask about doing a Bible study. They shared that they had made a profession of faith at a camp run by Scripture Union. Please pray for Alaine and Gilliane.

Stephen Finley Family. (Recently moved to Athlone to begin a new church plant). Please pray for Dave and Patrick who have been attending our services. We are praying that they will soon realize their need for salvation. Two churches have helped us to put out 2,500 copies of the Midlands Bible Tribune.

Don Thatcher Family. In these early days of the Anchor Baptist Church in the southeastern corner of Ireland, we are encouraged to have a new lady named Janet visiting our services. I also have at least one man who comes out to knock on doors with me.

Bob Zemeski Family. This month was our second anniversary of River Valley Baptist Church. We have been encouraged to have Norah and Paul to come Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Please pray for Paul’s salvation.

ROMANIA - Tom Gentry Family. In one week of our camp, over 200 young folks between the ages of 12 and 15 have responded to the call of salvation. Another 75 have come forward to dedicate their lives and pray for those being saved.

Ed Hembree Family. We are beginning our 5th year of our Independent Baptist College of Romania. This summer our 8-day choir tour took us to several different churches throughout Romania.

Keith Herndon Family. We took our camp to a Gypsy village that is two hours away. Each evening service averaged about 120 people in attendance. There were over 100 who came to Christ.

Brian Nibbe Family. More than 150 different children came to our VBS. On the last two nights 39 children responded for salvation and 10 came for assurance of salvation.

Tim Tyler Family. Ioan Dundi is a 45-year-old man who had received our material in his apartment mailbox, came to our services and was saved last month. He just became the seventh person to be baptized this year.

RUSSIA - Duane Hearron Family. Teaching at the high school called "Memory of 13 Fighters" has opened many doors. It has enabled me to break into the culture of this village and remove some of the many obstacles that an outsider would normally face.

Don Ossewaarde Family. Soon after Alex was saved in January, he was reading his Bible and noticed that saved people get baptized. I was going to speak to him about baptism, but he asked me first! Alex was our first baptism in Russia. The following Thursday his wife Pollina accepted Christ and then was baptized.

David Sterling Family. Our local House of Culture has allowed us to hold our VBS clubs there. The director of the local school allowed my wife Dee to invite the children from the school to the club. We have had as many as sixty young people attend, including some Muslim children.

Ron Winkler Family. Over the last several months, I have preached almost exclusively about salvation. Our two most faithful young people, Tanya and Natasha, recently gave testimony of having prayed to accept Christ on their own. I have already started discipleship with them.

Adam Young Family. We are the only Independent Baptist missionaries in the entire Volga Region of 32 million souls. We have had some great times soul-winning this month with two professions of faith, and three new people meeting with us for Bible study. Inna, a young married mother, found one of our tracts on a bench in the park, called us, and has committed to a weekly Bible study with us.

SCOTLAND - Doug Cameron Family. Please pray for a building for our church. Attendance has been good, but we need a permanent meeting place.

Arvin Devers Family. Recently we were out doing door-to-door work. Among those we met at the door, one was a Muslim, one a Sikh, one a Roman Catholic, and two went to the local Church of Scotland Church. Please pray as we try to reach the diverse population of Scotland for Christ.

Lea Devers. We are grateful that two girls were saved during the Bible Club. Please pray that these girls will grow up to serve the Lord.

Graham Forbes Family. For 40 years Jack suffered from alcoholism until he came to Christ. When he was baptized, many of his family came and heard the message that was preached. His wife, who was saved as a young person, rededicated her life to Christ and joined the church the Sunday Jack was baptized.

Dennis Snelson Family. Over the last two months we have seen three ladies make professions of faith; two have begun their discipleship training. Our school ministry continues where we speak to primary six and seven classes twice a year.

SLOVAKIA - Doug Cook Family. On a train trip to Bratislava, I asked the Lord to give me the opportunity to share Christ. A man named Sylvester asked the important question, "Why are you here?" Over the next 30 minutes I had the privilege of sharing Christ with Sylvester. He has committed to come to hear me preach.

SPAIN - Clayton Livengood Family. We had a special baptismal service for 11-year-old Daniel. Our missions’ conference was a blessing and we are able to continue supporting all of our missionaries.

UKRAINE – Robert Fuller. We had three deaf men and seven hearing taking separate classes for our first Bible College. I thank the Lord for helping me teach Bible Doctrines.

Tony Hess Family. This year our Bible College got started. I taught the first section of Bible Doctrines class, teaching on Theology.

Matthew Hudson Family. This year our family celebrates our 10th anniversary on the mission field. While distributing Russian New Testaments and gospel tracts throughout our village, we have been able to share the gospel with many people.

Daniel Irvin Family. In spite of not being able to read or write, Sister Raisa (who was saved and baptized last year) has brought more people to the services than anyone else. She listens to her Ukrainian New Testament on tape.

John Magas Family. Please pray for Lecia to accept Christ; we have had Bible studies with her in her home, but she hasn’t yet made a decision for Christ.

John Spillman Family. Our church member Svetlana Pavlovna died, leaving her unsaved husband. We have witnessed to him many times. Please pray for his salvation.

Bob Van Sant Family. At our "Bread of Life Sunday," each person who attended received a loaf of bread. Every visitor who came also received a copy of the Word of God. After church, we took the excess loaves to the orphanage. God also blessed at our teen camp. There were youth from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Moldova…the biggest year ever.

WALES – Robb Redlin Family. Our church in Beddau celebrated its first anniversary with 44 in attendance. Mary, who brings her daughter to Kidz Klub, asked to speak to Robb after Sunday night service and she accepted Christ as her personal Savior.

Ben Wharton Family. We helped start a Kidz Klub this summer. The Lord has blessed this ministry and we are averaging between ten and fourteen children every Sunday. Please pray for Rachel who has been coming to Kidz Klub with us. Her father is an agnostic but her mother has shown some interest.

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Joshua and Melissa Booth – to England. Living in Missouri.

David and Stephanie Gross – to Moldova. Living in Tennessee.

Justin and Grace Hayes – to the Republic of Ireland. Living in Virginia.

Polly Irvin – to Ukraine. Living in New Mexico.

John Paul and Richelle Jones – to the Republic of Ireland. Living in South Carolina.

Todd and Kimberly Lapato – to Austria. Living in Virginia.

David and Michelle Lewis – to Romania. Living in Tennessee.

Julie Smith – to Spain. Living in Florida.

Paul and Bethany Smith – to the Republic of Ireland. Living in Missouri.

Harry and Gina Stanley – to England. Living in Georgia.

Dwight and Ruth Talbot – to Norway. Living in West Virginia.

Julio and Andrea Velasquez – to Spain. Living in Georgia.

Rob and Angela Willoughby – to Estonia. Living in Minnesota.

Veteran missionaries home on furlough may be available for meetings in your area.

Churches may contact the European Director for current status, phone numbers, addresses and E-mail particulars for those who are in deputation or on furlough.

Telephone Brant Holladay at (423) 344-5050.

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Richard & Patty Comer -  CENTRAL AMERICA
Brian & Jamie Cone -  THAILAND
Richard & Elizabeth Conrad -  JAPAN