I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH. PHILIPPIANS 4:13
Dear Friends,
Christmas 2008 is now behind us and we are looking ahead to a new year filled with new challenges. A few weeks ago, we were asked by the TAG National office to serve as interim principal at the Mwanza Bible College for one term. We have done many things in our 30 + years of ministry, but we are preparing to enter into an area of ministry for which we feel completely unprepared. Fortunately, God has told us that “if any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously…” (James 1:5)
The Mwanza Bible College is dear to our hearts; we finished the project and opened the college at the end of our first term in 2001. We have already spent a good deal of time there since our arrival back in Mwanza, Tanzania. The new term begins in less than a week and we are already feeling a bit overwhelmed with the responsibilities that come with the job of principal. In addition, we automatically become senior pastors of the Bible College Church located on the campus; there are four other faculty members who are also on staff at the church.
We have toured the facilities and have slowly become aware of the many areas of need; the Mwanza Bible College is the youngest of the four TAG colleges and is far behind the others in the areas of facilities, supplies, and equipment. We have a long list of needs that we are adding to daily as we discover more and more things that this school lacks.
The Bible College runs about 80-85 students each semester and we graduated 30 students last November with three year diplomas. The staff and faculty are an incredible group of people who are committed to educating future pastors and leaders; they do so with joy and under less than ideal circumstances. We consider it a privilege to work with this group of people; they have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and are taking on extra duties to help as we adjust to our new role.
PLEASE PRAY WITH US FOR THE FOLLOWING NEEDS:
· We are starting the year at the Bible College with a “0” balance in the bank and with over a $1,000 worth of bills that are overdue or due.
· We need to buy food to feed close to a 100 people every day starting next week.
· We are short of or out of almost all supplies including textbooks.
· Some of the faculty housing does not have water; they use an outside spigot to haul water.
· The dining hall does not have tables and chairs; students sit on the floor or stand to eat.
· There are not enough dishes or eating utensils for all the students to eat at one time.
· Some of the buildings are in need of repair or need to be finished.
· The school truck is unusable because it needs work done on it.
· The road to the Bible College is in bad repair and often requires use of four wheel drive.
IT SOUNDS LIKE A PERFECT SETTING FOR GOD TO WORK MIRACLES! PLEASE PRAY AND BELIEVE WITH US FOR THESE NEEDS.
Workers Together for the Harvest,
Tim & Joyce Jarvis
Missionaries to Tanzania
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Glutting Prayer Letter - Chi Alpha Missionaries
Dear Prayer Team:
No news yet from the Brubakers about “dad’s” surgery or their son.
No news yet on a key church to help with our year-end conference costs. (I’ve registered for the staff conference today-on faith) ☺
Prayer Needs:
1. Please continue to pray for the Brubakers going to the University of Oregon
2. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s provision to be able to attend our 2 conferences: the Missions Summit Dec 30-Jan 1 and Momentum conference Jan 2nd
3. Nate Banke – Candidate Missionary 9/17/08
Target: Pioneer Chi Alpha at Colorado State University, 32,000 students.
Training: Internship 07-08 @ Sam Houston State University, TX
Support: 2 months itinerating, has about 50% of his budget (most raised as intern)
Nate is traveling around CO, meeting about 9 pastors this week.
Next week he has 5 leaders from Sam Houston, TX coming to his campus CSU to consider becoming a staff worker to help Nate start the Chi Alpha ministry. Nate hopefully will begin in Fall 09 as wants to raise 100% of his support by then.
Please pray for Nate that the Lord would provide favor and financial support with the pastors he is meeting with this week. Please pray for Nate as he hosts potential staff workers that the Lord would provide specific direction and confirmation to all concerned as to who will help Nate pioneer the Chi Alpha ministry at Colorado State University.
Thanks for praying!
The Lord bless you my friend!
Yours for the souls of collegians,
Gregg and Erin
No news yet from the Brubakers about “dad’s” surgery or their son.
No news yet on a key church to help with our year-end conference costs. (I’ve registered for the staff conference today-on faith) ☺
Prayer Needs:
1. Please continue to pray for the Brubakers going to the University of Oregon
2. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s provision to be able to attend our 2 conferences: the Missions Summit Dec 30-Jan 1 and Momentum conference Jan 2nd
3. Nate Banke – Candidate Missionary 9/17/08
Target: Pioneer Chi Alpha at Colorado State University, 32,000 students.
Training: Internship 07-08 @ Sam Houston State University, TX
Support: 2 months itinerating, has about 50% of his budget (most raised as intern)
Nate is traveling around CO, meeting about 9 pastors this week.
Next week he has 5 leaders from Sam Houston, TX coming to his campus CSU to consider becoming a staff worker to help Nate start the Chi Alpha ministry. Nate hopefully will begin in Fall 09 as wants to raise 100% of his support by then.
Please pray for Nate that the Lord would provide favor and financial support with the pastors he is meeting with this week. Please pray for Nate as he hosts potential staff workers that the Lord would provide specific direction and confirmation to all concerned as to who will help Nate pioneer the Chi Alpha ministry at Colorado State University.
Thanks for praying!
The Lord bless you my friend!
Yours for the souls of collegians,
Gregg and Erin
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Season's Greetings from the Priests - Missionaries to Germany
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from your missionaries to Germany. As we reflect on 2008, we are so grateful for both your faithful prayers and financial support of our family and ministry. We have been back in the US now for several months, raising support in anticipation of returning to Berlin in Spring/Summer 2009.
This past year we added a beautiful boy to our family, Alexander John. Alex is now 9 months old and a very happy baby. Jackson is four and attending the Lab Pre-School at Central Michigan University, where his Auntie Cheryl is the director. He loves to help out around the house and to work with daddy and his tools. Mercy is in the second grade at Vowels Elementary in Mt. Pleasant, MI, and has made a lot of friends and become quite the reader.
We decided to base as a family in Michigan to be near our families, during this year of support raising. Since August, Kirk has been the one on the road, spending most of his time in our other home state of Louisiana. A special thanks to all of our friends and family in both Texas and Louisiana who took Kirk in, housing and feeding him (he gained 10 lbs!!!). This fall of itineration has been a challenge for our family, separating us sometimes up to four weeks at a time. However, it also has been a joy and privilege to re-connect with so many of you. We look forward to seeing many more of you in the coming months before we return to Germany.
We stay in steady contact with the ministry back in Berlin and are excited to report that things are growing in both our student ministry and church. We are even more excited to get back there to reach more Students with the love of Jesus and see the Kingdom of God advance in our cities across Germany.
Many of you have recently increased your monthly support and we are very grateful for that. Due to the weak dollar and increased budget needs, we need to raise an additional $1000/month and $40,000 in cash before returning. Thank you for helping us reach this goal so that we can return to Europe as soon as possible. We know that God is our source – but He is using you as the channel to enable us to live and minister in Europe. Your partnership and faithful support is greatly appreciated.
Merry Christmas,
Kirk, Amy, Mercy, Jack & Alex
This past year we added a beautiful boy to our family, Alexander John. Alex is now 9 months old and a very happy baby. Jackson is four and attending the Lab Pre-School at Central Michigan University, where his Auntie Cheryl is the director. He loves to help out around the house and to work with daddy and his tools. Mercy is in the second grade at Vowels Elementary in Mt. Pleasant, MI, and has made a lot of friends and become quite the reader.
We decided to base as a family in Michigan to be near our families, during this year of support raising. Since August, Kirk has been the one on the road, spending most of his time in our other home state of Louisiana. A special thanks to all of our friends and family in both Texas and Louisiana who took Kirk in, housing and feeding him (he gained 10 lbs!!!). This fall of itineration has been a challenge for our family, separating us sometimes up to four weeks at a time. However, it also has been a joy and privilege to re-connect with so many of you. We look forward to seeing many more of you in the coming months before we return to Germany.
We stay in steady contact with the ministry back in Berlin and are excited to report that things are growing in both our student ministry and church. We are even more excited to get back there to reach more Students with the love of Jesus and see the Kingdom of God advance in our cities across Germany.
Many of you have recently increased your monthly support and we are very grateful for that. Due to the weak dollar and increased budget needs, we need to raise an additional $1000/month and $40,000 in cash before returning. Thank you for helping us reach this goal so that we can return to Europe as soon as possible. We know that God is our source – but He is using you as the channel to enable us to live and minister in Europe. Your partnership and faithful support is greatly appreciated.
Merry Christmas,
Kirk, Amy, Mercy, Jack & Alex
Sunday, December 7, 2008
A Note from our Missionaries - Todd & Cindy Anderson
$15 and 15 minutes. I'm boldly asking you for our Christmas gift. I hope you don't mind. Sometimes people want to know what we would like to have or to have a list from us. Would you give us $15 of your money and 15 minutes of your time?
The longer we work in the Bengali Hindu world the more we see how entrenched the strongholds and demonic forces are that grip this people keeping them in blindness and bondage. Prayer is the only thing that will change that. We need thousands of people to pray and intercede with us or nothing we do here will have any affect until these strongholds are overcome in prayer.
Create International has worked with us to produce an 11 minute dvd about the Bengali Hindus. It's just been released. It is called Bengalis-Not Forsaken.
Here is my Christmas gift request to you...Would you order this dvd for $15 then set aside time to watch it and pray for the Bengali Hindus for 15 minutes sometime in the next three months? Maybe you could show it to a group of friends and pray together. Maybe you could show it in your church service or a house group. Maybe you could watch it and pray and then pass it on to another group who you challenge to watch it and pray.
$15 and 15 minutes. If you gave us that for Christmas, it would mean more than anything else you could give us.
If you want to help in this way, please go to the website http://www.createinternational.com/store/index.php. Then click on "Bengali Not Forsaken" and order it online. Or, if you prefer you can send us a check for $15 made to Todd Anderson, 11522 172nd St W. Lakeville, MN and we will get it sent to you. Then after you get it, please just let us know when you watched it and with whom and that you prayed for the Bengal Hindus and any scriptures or Word's God gave you when you did.
We really want to see 2009 be a year of breakthrough and freedom for the Bengalis here in Siliguri. But it won't happen without prayer, much prayer.
Thanks for taking time to read this in a busy season. May the Savior who came to deliver and redeem show himself strong this new year in your life and ours!
The Andersons
The longer we work in the Bengali Hindu world the more we see how entrenched the strongholds and demonic forces are that grip this people keeping them in blindness and bondage. Prayer is the only thing that will change that. We need thousands of people to pray and intercede with us or nothing we do here will have any affect until these strongholds are overcome in prayer.
Create International has worked with us to produce an 11 minute dvd about the Bengali Hindus. It's just been released. It is called Bengalis-Not Forsaken.
Here is my Christmas gift request to you...Would you order this dvd for $15 then set aside time to watch it and pray for the Bengali Hindus for 15 minutes sometime in the next three months? Maybe you could show it to a group of friends and pray together. Maybe you could show it in your church service or a house group. Maybe you could watch it and pray and then pass it on to another group who you challenge to watch it and pray.
$15 and 15 minutes. If you gave us that for Christmas, it would mean more than anything else you could give us.
If you want to help in this way, please go to the website http://www.createinternational.com/store/index.php. Then click on "Bengali Not Forsaken" and order it online. Or, if you prefer you can send us a check for $15 made to Todd Anderson, 11522 172nd St W. Lakeville, MN and we will get it sent to you. Then after you get it, please just let us know when you watched it and with whom and that you prayed for the Bengal Hindus and any scriptures or Word's God gave you when you did.
We really want to see 2009 be a year of breakthrough and freedom for the Bengalis here in Siliguri. But it won't happen without prayer, much prayer.
Thanks for taking time to read this in a busy season. May the Savior who came to deliver and redeem show himself strong this new year in your life and ours!
The Andersons
Thursday, December 4, 2008
News from Ethiopia
Check out the newsletter from our missionaries Bob & Rhonda Thomas who are serving in Ethiopia. http://thomas4africa.org/newsletter.html
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Glutting Prayer Letter - Chi Alpha Missionaries
Thank You For Praying With Us For Our Ministry!
Last week I asked for prayer for the need below. We’ve not had any progress on it yet, please continue to join with us in prayer. (Please know I’m not asking you to contribute by asking for prayer!) (I felt I needed to dispel any unspoken expectations)
I’ve approached 2 key churches, one is seriously considering an amount. Please pray for these churches to contribute generously. Pray for other churches and individuals to contribute this week and next too.
(Please join us for prayer:I need to raise $1400 to go to our year-end conferences ($800 if I go by myself). They are national meetings for the staff and students. I need to have the funds by December 10th. One is called World Missions Summit and the other is called Momentum. Momentum is on January 2,2009 and the Summit is on Dec 30-January 1, 2009. Please pray that the Lord will help us have the funds to attend, especially as a family. Please pray for God to radically work through the conferences so lives of students and Chi Alpha staff will be built up, trained and become affective for HIS KINGDOM. Pray that we’ll see radical healings, restorations and revivals at the conference and back home on university campuses.)
PRAISE REPORT - In October I asked prayer for Monica: Rich and Monica Brubaker, University of Oregon, OR. Praise God everything worked out so well. Erin did an awesome job sharing and praying with Monica on Nov 3rd. And the Lord worked out some key issues over the last few weeks in Monica’s life that really ministered deeply in her heart. Monica is doing very well. Thanks for praying!!! What an awesome God we have!
Please pray for the Brubakers 1. They have an autistic son who is having a physical reaction (body twitching) from being over-stressed. He recently was switched to a “regular classroom”. Please pray for calm and peace in his heart and an ability to cope. 2. Please pray for Rich’s Dad as he is going into cancer surgery to remove his pancreas on Friday Dec 5th, in the morning. Please pray for a successful surgery and healing from cancer. 3. The Brubakers started raising support in Sept 08 and now have 45% of their budget raised. Rich has church service in OR scheduled through June 09. Please pray for continued favor in their support raising efforts.
Thanks for caring and for praying! We love you!
Yours for the souls of collegians,
Gregg & Erin
Last week I asked for prayer for the need below. We’ve not had any progress on it yet, please continue to join with us in prayer. (Please know I’m not asking you to contribute by asking for prayer!) (I felt I needed to dispel any unspoken expectations)
I’ve approached 2 key churches, one is seriously considering an amount. Please pray for these churches to contribute generously. Pray for other churches and individuals to contribute this week and next too.
(Please join us for prayer:I need to raise $1400 to go to our year-end conferences ($800 if I go by myself). They are national meetings for the staff and students. I need to have the funds by December 10th. One is called World Missions Summit and the other is called Momentum. Momentum is on January 2,2009 and the Summit is on Dec 30-January 1, 2009. Please pray that the Lord will help us have the funds to attend, especially as a family. Please pray for God to radically work through the conferences so lives of students and Chi Alpha staff will be built up, trained and become affective for HIS KINGDOM. Pray that we’ll see radical healings, restorations and revivals at the conference and back home on university campuses.)
PRAISE REPORT - In October I asked prayer for Monica: Rich and Monica Brubaker, University of Oregon, OR. Praise God everything worked out so well. Erin did an awesome job sharing and praying with Monica on Nov 3rd. And the Lord worked out some key issues over the last few weeks in Monica’s life that really ministered deeply in her heart. Monica is doing very well. Thanks for praying!!! What an awesome God we have!
Please pray for the Brubakers 1. They have an autistic son who is having a physical reaction (body twitching) from being over-stressed. He recently was switched to a “regular classroom”. Please pray for calm and peace in his heart and an ability to cope. 2. Please pray for Rich’s Dad as he is going into cancer surgery to remove his pancreas on Friday Dec 5th, in the morning. Please pray for a successful surgery and healing from cancer. 3. The Brubakers started raising support in Sept 08 and now have 45% of their budget raised. Rich has church service in OR scheduled through June 09. Please pray for continued favor in their support raising efforts.
Thanks for caring and for praying! We love you!
Yours for the souls of collegians,
Gregg & Erin
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