By Robert A. Meyer

"Where there is no vision the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he" (Proverbs 29:18). In this short verse of scripture "the vision" is equated with the Word of God.? "The vision" is not indicating that the perishing of people is because of a lack of sight on the part of others. People are perishing because of a lack of hearing "the vision" or the Word of God.

1 Samuel 3:1-4 states: "And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli.? And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.? And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I." ?Again God’s Word is here equated with the word vision.

There was "no open vision" indicates that God was not at that time speaking to and through a prophet.? Eli physically was going blind and could not see.? Worse was the fact that he was going blind spiritually.? When he saw Hannah’s lips moving in despair as she pled to God for a son, Eli lacked the discernment to judge righteously.? He "thought she had been drunken" (1 Samuel 1:13). He judged her by her outward appearance.? God looks on the heart.? Men look on the outward appearance as 1 Samuel 16:7 indicates.

Our need today is for more Samuels to rise up and declare God’s "vision," God’s Word, God’s message.? 1 Samuel 3:18 says: "And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him."? As God’s messengers we must "tell?every whit" of God’s Word to a lost and dying world.? We must not hide anything that could be used of the Holy Spirit to bring souls to the Lord Jesus Christ from them.

Souls are perishing because they have not heard.? Let’s share and spread "the vision."

Yours in Christ

Robert A. Meyer

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By Alan Brooks

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 3:16 brings many things to our minds during this time of year—God’s sacrificial gift of His precious Son. John Newton, the great pastor and song writer, stated that "I am glad that John 3:16 does not say, ‘that if John Newton believeth in him he should not perish’, because I might not have been the right John Newton, but thank God it says, ‘whosoever’; that definitely includes me." I too, rejoice that I am part of the "whosoever".

This text is especially applicable during the holiday season for it illustrates what our Lord has done for us. John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." God gave us "the Word" in flesh through the person of Jesus Christ. We now have the opportunity to give God’s Word to all flesh (the world).

God has opened an unprecedented door of opportunity in the largest Islamic country of the world—Indonesia. In 2004, the biggest tsunami in modern history hit the Island of Nias, an island off the coast of Indonesia. A horrible earthquake of 8.7 magnitude has also devastated the area and destroyed two major cities. The country has been physically demolished but worst than that is the spiritual darkness.

If only we could place a Bible in the hands of every Junior High School on this island. Permission has been granted by the government of Nias to do this very thing! Twenty thousand Junior High School students can receive a copy of the Word of God if we provide the funds to print and distribute these Bibles­—only $3 per student. In the past two months we have been able to raise approximately half of the needed funds. The first 5,000 were ordered to be printed the first of November. Many people at this time of the year desire to give something extra for worldwide missions or are looking for a special project to close out the year of giving.

Would you consider sending a gift today? This is a great project for churches, Sunday School classes, Christian Day School classes, and individuals. Please designate all funds to "Bibles for Nias."

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by Tim Meyer

The Solomon Islands are a group of over 990 islands off the Northeast coast of Australia. I grew up in Australia as an MK; one of the missionaries that my parents had worked with, Brother Clyde Simpson (BIMI), was stationed in the Solomon Islands when he was in the Navy in WWII. At times Bro. Simpson shared stories with my sisters and me of his days in the Solomons and often said he prayed someone would go there as a missionary some day.

Having planted the Harvest Baptist Church here in Australia in 1992, we began looking at ways to extend the ministry of our Aussie church into the regions around us. We began praying about the Solomon Islands.

A terrible ethnic unrest had been brewing in the "Happy Isles" for some time, culminating with a wave of violence and arson that started in 1998. Very little news of the tension reached other nations. The Solomons is a third-world island nation of only 500,000 people that has very little effect on the world economy. It seemed no one wanted to get involved.

The tension that arose in the early 2000s was between two main ethnic groups—the people of Guadalcanal and the people from the island of Malaita. Deep within the culture runs a devotion to those of one’s island and province; one is obligated to look after his "wantoks." (Wantoks is pidgin for "one talk," those who speak the same language.) Corruption within government became rife. Government ministers would take funds and pass them on to wantoks. As the strife increased, militias formed. Road blocks were set up on each end of Honiara, trapping Malaitans in. Houses and factories were burnt, people were murdered. One shop keeper told me that head hunting also returned and that the public market place in Honiara became a place of intimidation. Finally in 2000 the ethnic unrest was so bad that one militia group kidnapped the Prime Minister.

In 2002, we seriously considered moving to the Solomons, but the ethnic unrest did not allow us to go. Instead the Aussie church asked us to stay, and we did. But the Solomons stayed on our hearts. When the new government came in they invited Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and other nations of the Pacific to help. In 2003 the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) landed in the Solomons, and peace was restored. We continued to watch and pray.

In 2005 I had the opportunity to make a trip to the islands. Being a bit of an adventurer ("have a go" as we say in Australia), I went by myself and decided I’d keep going as far as I thought was safe. I had heard that the Malaitans were an industrious people so I decided to go to Malaita. I landed on Henderson Field (the old US air control tower built by the Seabees is still there) and then took a ferry to Malaita.

On the ferry crossing between the islands I sat next to a lady who was in a South Seas Evangelical Ladies Band. They were on their way to sing at a village church in Malaita. I asked if I could visit and if she would give me directions to the village church. "Just follow the road out of Auki for about 1 kilometer and the church will be on the right- you’ll hear us singing." So on Friday evening I followed the road out of Auki, and four kilometers later I heard the singing up in the bush.

On Sunday I started to walk back to the church for the morning service, but along the way I met a man using crutches. He had rough made calipers on his legs. His name was Charlie; he had suffered from polio as a child. I stopped to talk to Charlie, who told me he was going to his village church back toward Auki. I asked him if I could follow. When we arrived at the church, Pastor John Une’ete asked me if I would preach. He said I was the first white man to visit his church. After I preached, Kathy Mahlon brought out her 94-year-old father. Mr. Mahlon said he wanted to meet me. He had been a Christian since being a boy, and in WWII had crossed over to Guadalcanal to help be a guide and tracker for the US forces. It was a humbling experience to have this gentle faithful man leave his bed because he wanted to meet me. I believe it was a great honor for me. After preaching and having a time of fellowship, the villagers asked me if I could come back to teach them. I agreed. I asked Pastor John if there was anything I could get for him. This poor village pastor humbly asked for a good study Bible, "So I can preach better for our people." Two months later I returned to hold the first Bible classes in that little village church. It was a wonderful time of studying God’s Word.

In the last year word has gotten around that a missionary from America/Australia was there to help. Mr. Mahlon has since gone on to be with his Saviour, but the more I have?learned the more excited we become about what we could do as a church to help in the Solomons. I have returned several times to hold classes and we are now in the process of setting up a Baptist Institute for the training of pastors. There are several young village pastors who want to be trained to preach the Gospel, start Baptist churches and continue in sound doctrine. One village pastor walked ten hours through the jungle to come for the lessons.

Primarily we want to help train village pastors. They want to reach the next generation. Sadly, twenty-first century modernism is gushing into the islands. We also want to encourage new missionaries to go to the Solomons. As far as I know, there has been only one good Baptist missionary there since the British pulled out in 1978 and his family had to leave because of the ethnic tension. ?We believe God wants us in Australia to encourage the church here to start considering the regions around Australia. ?We currently go over to the Solomons four times a year and hold module classes for the village pastors in the little town of Auki. There are Christians there, but at this time there is no Baptist church or trained person to pastor. We are setting up a permanent classroom where village pastors can come and view teaching on DVD in between modules. We are also seeking to get in some infrastructure (like coconut mills and portable saw mills) so the Christian villagers can start an economy whereby they can maintain good sanitation, have their own ministries, buy their own Bibles, and tithe to build their own church buildings.

There are over 300 islands inhabited in the Solomons and I have already gotten letters from 20 village pastors from different provinces asking me to consider coming to teach them. Most of these men heard of me by word of mouth alone.

Please consider the Solomons. Pray that God would protect the wonderful and friendly people there from the modernism that bombards their beautiful shores. Pray for laborers, and if we can be an encouragement to get you on the island to minister (or if you want to buy a coconut mill!) please consider joining us in this newly established ministry.

Tim & Bonnie Meyer have been in Australia since 1991. They are also interested in young men and women coming to help them minister in the Aussie church for short term mission work (6 months to two years). Workers can help them in the ministries they have in Australia and also travel to the Solomon Islands to experience third world missions. If you’re interested, write Tim and ask about the "John Mark" ministry opportunity. TimAMeyer@BigPond.com

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By Pastor Brent Baughman
Stanley Heights Baptist Church
East Ridge, Tennessee

My Trip to the Land Down Under

Our church and our Lord gave me the opportunity to travel to Australia for nearly three weeks in September & October. It was a thrilling and an enlightening experience.

On this trip I had the opportunity to be with two missionaries from our congregation (the Robert Gunter family and the Tim Meyer family) and one family we support (the Kevin Harris family). After spending the day in Sydney with Kevin Harris and his family the day I arrived, I traveled to Melbourne to be with Robert & Lisa Gunter. While there, we prepared for and celebrated the church anniversary and a new building dedication with Calvary Baptist Church in Melbourne. In addition, I participated in the National Baptist Fellowship that their church hosted. After the conference, I went to Brisbane to be with Tim & Bonnie Meyer and their children Jessica, Katrina, and Robert and their church, Harvest Baptist Church in Beenleigh.

Certainly my vision was increased. I saw the great need for obedience-driven churches in the great cities and the many small towns with no Gospel witness—let alone a church. In addition my understanding was increased. I have worked with our men closely, but I now have a greater understanding (by no means extensive) of Australian culture, their fields of service, their burdens, and their vision. My time with Australian believers, pastors, and missionaries was also very enlightening and added to my learning experience.

I can’t speak for our missionaries, but I will say the joy of reaffirming our relationship with one another, of building the home connection with the adults and the kids, of knowing that the people of our church loved them enough to send their pastor to be with them was the greatest benefit I received. For our church, this trip was an affirmation of our commitment to the members of our body and the Great Commission.

I have asked many missionaries over the years, "Would you rather have someone come visit or send you a check for the amount the trip would cost?" Every time the answer has been, "I would rather someone visit." This trip has shown me why.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Scot C & Katie Daku -  AMERICAN SAMOA
Paul J & Wendy Daku Jr -  FIJI ISLANDS
James & Dawn Daley -  INDONESIA