Praying for Europe

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Below is the most recent one.

The following stories come from IMB workers serving as Apprentices, meaning they are serving their first term (usually 3 years) of a career of missionary service. For more information visit: http://www.imb.org/go/serving.aspx#Apprentice/Career

 

by an IMB worker in Germany

God keeps growing our group that meets at a Starbucks. It’s been amazing to see how the Lord saved a guy from the first group. When the group came back together after Christmas the entire group was from his friendship circle. Together, we are intentionally using his network as a platform and try to reach new people and form new groups.

 

by an IMB worker in Italy

The Lord continues to give us opportunities to share the gospel despite our language barrier. My language partner, who is also our neighbor, came over for dinner with our family around Easter. After dinner and after the kids went to bed, she asked what we do to celebrate Easter and we began telling her how we start the weekend celebrating Passover on the Thursday before. This opened the door for a conversation regarding theology and Christianity that lasted over two hours. Although a typical young post-modern, she had many questions and was very interested in our beliefs. We read the Bible together—both in Italian and English. We also showed her an evangelistic video on YouTube, Falling Plates. Please pray for this relationship to continue to grow and that the Spirit would draw this friend to Himself.

 

by an IMB worker serving among the Roma

This term has been busy: we moved, continued in seminary, endured a parasitic infection, made some great friends. It has been a busy but sweet time. Being here in our new location feels wonderful. We are no longer commuter missionaries. There is a large population of Roma right here in our new location which I did not even know about until last week. We have experienced disappointment and joy. There is now a core group of Roma believers. It seems like change is the only thing that is constant in the lives of Roma. Just when we get excited about a new believer or house group the people move. With all that said it has been awesome to be a part of what God is doing among the Roma people. I am grateful for this opportunity!

 

by an IMB worker in the Southern Europe

My teammate’s landlord shared with me at the beginning of last month that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He had lost quite a bit of weight and looked pale. I prayed with him in front of his house and didn’t see him again for several weeks. Last week when I talked to him he said, “You’re my brother,” and that the prayer I prayed worked. His cancer is in remission and he is looking better. I said praise the Lord, giving credit and glory to God. A few days after that my teammate and I were able to share the gospel with him. I hope being faced with his own mortality and the hope we have in Christ, he will soon receive the gift of forgiveness, reconciliation, salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

MONTHLY PRAYER FOCUS

Big Prayers for Big Places

As you probably know, Russia is geographically the largest country on earth! And its capital city, Moscow, is the largest city in Europe (over 15 million inhabitants).  These big places are on the hearts of our IMB workers and their national and stateside partners. But most people don’t think about the fact that there are also a myriad of unreached and/or unengaged people groups, who make their home within the borders of Russia.

Many of these faces, we wouldn’t readily recognize as people who might live in this amazing country. The largest of these groups are the Chuvash, numbering over 2 million people, about a third of whom live in the Republic of Chuvashia. Many in the republic have mixed Russian and Chuvash ethnicity and often claim to be both or don’t distinguish between the two.

Four years ago, God called a believer from Mississippi to begin serving among the people of this formerly unengaged unreached people group. Moving to the capital city of Cheboksary with a population of just under half a million, this man from Mississippi started sharing Christ by giving the message of hope to any who would listen. Today there is an active group that gathers weekly to reach the unreached. From this group two home Bible study groups have formed.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for these groups in Cheboksary to continue in their focus of reaching and sharing the good news of Christ.
• Intercede that Chuvash believers will take up the call to reach their family, neighbors, and friends for Christ.
• Pray for the health concerns of the man from Mississippi, as he continues to cast a vision among the young believers in Cheboksary to see a new church begin in the year ahead.

Ethnic costumes in Russia; Chuvash on far right.

Nepal Update

Nepal Earthquake Update from BGR on Vimeo.

Nepal - Praying and Helping

Prayer guide for Nepal

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On April 25 at 11:41am IST, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 rocked the small nation of Nepal. Nearly 100 aftershocks, including a magnitude-6.7 temblor Sunday, have hindered rescue efforts and terrorized residents who are forced to sleep in open squares and parks due to the weakened state of buildings. The quake unleashed a devastating avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens. Some warned that dozens of people may still be missing and were almost certainly dead. Many of the roads to remote hill tribe communities are believed to be cut off by landslides, making it likely that some of these communities can only be reached by helicopter. The death toll from Saturday's earthquake has passed 5,000, with thousands injured and more deaths expected as rescue efforts move into more of the affected areas. Will you pray with us for the people of Nepal? Pray for health, for safety, for provision, and for healing from heartbreak. Ask the Comforter to be with the people and to move in their hearts.

The Certainty of Tomorrow

Tomorrow, even the end of the today, is not certain. Let's make the most of the time and opportunities we have, both for our own life accomplishments and to influence others for the Kingdom. These truths are easy to say and harder to experience the reality of.

Most of you know that our son, Bret, plays basketball at ETBU. I follow closely and get to know the players and schools involved. Bret transferred last year and so now I know two conferences pretty well. Both have lost young men to car accidents in the past two weeks.

One young man died in a car accident Friday, March 13. He was driving on I-40 in Arkansas to watch his son play his first soccer game. The university released this "In Memoriam" statement. I did not know him. I did know he was an excellent basketball player for the University of the Ozarks. He played against ETBU three times this past season. In the first game he went for 23 points and 7 rebounds; game two was a double - double against them, 10 points, 10 rebounds, plus 4 assists. His last college basketball game was against ETBU in the American Southwest Conference tournament quarterfinals; he scored 8 points in that game. I also knew that he had a memorable name, Ted Beard IV. I learned in the obituary his nickname, Taz, was just as good.

Such things scarcely begin to reveal a person. I learned he was 28 years old when he died, quite old for a college senior. He took several years off college, beginning in 2008, to pursue a professional hip-hop music career. You can read more about that at the Central Track site and at the Ninja Tunes site.

Even that only scratches the surface. Ted Beard had also just written a children's book and was considering that as his career once he graduated with a degree in biology and two minors. University of the Ozarks had an article published just three days before his death about this book and people from the music world and the university are trying to raise money to publish the book, Whoosh, Says the Bad Thought! My guess is that even knowing all of that, I know virtually nothing about who he was as a man. I wish I did. I hope I will work hard to know those God brings into my life and to make the most of the time and opportunities he gives me.

I was working on these thoughts when news of another tragic death to a young man came to me. Britten Shuck of Seiling, Oklahoma died two days ago in a car accident while going to join his team for a road trip. My prayers are with the parents, family and friends of both Ted Beard and Britten Shuck. Life seems too short when it all goes as planned; what about when ended in tragedy? We are not guaranteed tomorrow. Let's not live like there is no end to this life on earth.

Ephesians 5:15-16 "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil."

Colossians 4:4-6 "that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person."

BGR is a Great Way to Help Others

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Read the article below or click here to go to BGR's website.

Asha*, 18, is a bright, creative young woman who loves dancing and who can’t stand to sit still. She currently lives in India at the Atulya Home, which offers love and care for women who have been trafficked or sexually abused. There, she has continued to heal from a life of child marriage and slavery.

That nightmare began when Asha was a young teenager and her parents died. In India, it’s common for girls to get married at that age, so her remaining relatives wed Asha to an older, handicapped man.

He beat her often, and Asha was miserable.

Eventually, the girl’s aunt took her away from her husband and brought her to a large city where Asha could work through an agent as a domestic maid. This situation wasn’t any better. The teen went to work for a local family, and every member of it beat and verbally abused her. They also gave all of her wages to the agent. Asha never received a single rupee.

One day, she decided she had suffered enough, and Asha ran away.

As she loitered in a public place, wondering where to go, a strange man approached her. Instead of helping her, he abused Asha and then threatened to kill her if she talked told anyone what he had done.

Alone, Asha slept on the street. Fortunately, police officers noticed her and picked her up. They sent her to a children’s home, where she could find safety. She later moved to another home, where she began to heal, deal with her emotions and study. During this time, Asha gathered her courage and testified against the agent who formerly employed her, and the government forced the agent to give Asha the money she had earned working as a maid.

When she turned 18, Asha moved into the Atulya Home. There, she began to dream about what her life could hold. The young woman currently wants to become a doctor so she can care for impoverished people. She wants to help others in desperate situations.

But for now, she continues to study. Because of her late start, Asha is still in primary school, and she won’t enter medical school for a long time. However, the Atulya staff loves the fact that she is thinking about her future.

After all Asha has endured, the future could hold something wonderful for her.

*Name changed