Hi everyone! My friend D, who I asked you to pray for before, has a phone interview on Wednesday. Praise God!
She is very nervous and excited. Please continue to pray for her. Thank you!
Let’s also thank God for the wonderful retreat!
Update prayer newsletter from our missionaries June 2, 2009
Dear Friends,
We are in the last leg of our work for the month…whew. But we have already seen and heard back wonderful reports since the volunteer team visit and our trainings we have had. Seeing souls won is a tremendous joy but seeing our local friends effectiveness in winning them is by far a greater one. And still the greatest is when we can all reflect that it is because He first loved us that compels us to obey. The work doesn’t come without some consequences. It has led to our children to be a bit sad that they couldn’t spend a lot of time with both parents at the same time. Please remember them as we look to the very end of the month to have some real quality time with them.
Pr Requests:
· A leader’s husband has recently died, in fact, just yesterday. It was very unexpected. The wife believes he could be raised again like Lazarus. She asks us to believe that He could do that if it is in His will. She is the key leader of a major county in our area. Of recent, we have seen great burden from the believers for the people there to come to know Him. It is characterized as a place where people have money but no lasting peace and joy. It is one of the most unreached areas of our city. The enemy surely doesn’t approve of us trying to extend His kingdom in this area. Please pr that He would open the door for His message of good news to break through. Please pr that God’s glory will be seen in this area, especially through the few who have tremendous burden for it.
· The next couple of days, several leaders are gathering to consider the work for a major part of the work here in Asia. Please pr for protection and that His guidance and wisdom will be evident. Please pr for His creativity especially in light of the ever surmounting limited resources.
· Pr for those who participated in the training that there will be a tremendous spirit of unity, boldness and burden in the days ahead as they implement their strategy plans. Pr also that we would be able to raise up local trainers who could do this training. Pr that they would be people of pr. Pr for their areas of emphasis that we would see His work come to fruition. Pr also for our time of follow up in the next couple of weeks.
· Pr that our believers would know how to discern from the growing number of cults that seem to be in our area. Pr that they shouldn’t fear them but know how to train their flocks in knowing how to resist them. Pr for clear discernment of His Word. Pr that they will not back down in shining His light.
· Next month we shift our focus to supporting two new interns that will be staying with us for the summer. They come with anticipation and joy and we are looking forward to their time. Please pr for their preparations and a heart of willingness to learn and grow and sense His call for long term service. Pr for their effectiveness and boldness. Pr for their fellowship as they prepare to send them.
· We also have two sisters from America here and one is considering staying here more than just for the summer. They are wanting to support our overall work and already we have given them some beginning tasks to work on. Please pr that we will learn how to equip them where they would be effective partners to our overall work. Please also pr that we would know how to build a lasting relationship with their ch to continue to adopt our city and beyond.
· Pr for guidance in our and perhaps your visa situation. The children and Ev’s visa end in August, but we have several options now that seem viable. One we are targeting is an English Training Center that wants to provide a worker’s visa for us as a way to support M’s on the field. We are excited about this because there is no requirement on our part to work as a teacher for them. Their vision is to support M’s. They hope we can help recruit foreign English teachers though where they can serve as English teachers and share the good news. Perhaps He is calling you? There are real options here if you feel like this could be for you.
Answered Pr!
· In a mid-level follow up meeting we had, it seems that people we hadn’t heard from in a while were not floundering but in actuality seeing some significant fruit. They saw their group being kicked out only to see it thrive now in the new place they are meeting at. They are really reaching that area of town. The same group that dealt with the false prophet also is hearing from a cult called Parental God. However, since they dealt with the false prophet they knew how to repel against it and stay focused on reaching out with the truth.
· The training team that was here had trained 10 and another 40-50 others partially. The response from the training lead to some asking for it again and more concretely it led to 3 solid plans in reaching their area of our city and beyond. More importantly, it was amazing to see that they wanted to work with one heart and purpose in unity even though they came from so many different ch’s. While it may be hard to see absolute unity, it was obvious that there was aggressive collaboration going on and a willingness to serve one another.
· The American team that was here walked away with a greater sense of how large our Dad is. They met more than 50 people here and had invested significant time with them. There are two that are here as I mentioned above that will be following up with them. They also have helped see several come to faith.
Praises!
· One of the networks who was at the training already hosted a couple of EV gathering and several had come to faith just from that meeting. It was inspiring to hear that everyday someone was being added!
· Recently, we have made this observation of our work. Last year, He opened up many doors to begin seeing His work being accomplished. This year we are seeing the influence of our work beginning to be realized. In every strata, demographic, and most locations of our city we are seeing our local brothers and sisters taking the torch in seeing the people come to know Him. Also, you always know that they are taking ownership when they rename and package our training so that it is better received!
Jobs May 11, 2009
Mary’s friend D has been looking for a job for a while. She is the younger sister of the missionary we support. Please pray that God will allow her to find a job really soon and that she would trust God during this time of uncertainty.
Jess’s co-worker Karina asked if our church could pray for her boyfriend Mark who has been searching for a job for 9 months w/out any hire as of yet. It has been really hard on his morale and she asked if we could support through prayer.
Memorial Weekend BBQ May 5, 2009
Let’s pray that God would use this even and send LOTS of new people our way!
Pray for God to:
1. get rid of all barriers as people consider coming to the event
2. great weather
3. for OCC members to have courage to invite their friends, neighbors, acquaintances, roommates, coworkers, and family
4. for OCC members to get out of their shell and talk to new people during the event
5. for all the logistics to work out perfectly (food, set up, etc)
What else??
Expectant Mothers May 4, 2009
I want to pray for all the expecting mothers of our church. I pray for their health and safe delivery.
I also want to pray for the fathers, that they will step up and be leaders of their house especially during these next few months where repsonisbilty in the home will become increasingly difficult.
Lastly I want to challenge those in our congregation to not only pray for these families, but help them. There is so many little things you can do!
-Jin
Compassion Children April 24, 2009
Please use this post to pray and share about your Compassion children. I am often rebuked by the fact that my compassion children probably pray more for me than I do for them.
Most recent prayer requests from our missionaries April 16, 2009
Dear Friends,
Thank you for keeping us in your pr. We had a great meeting with our co-workers and found that He is working in so many more ways than we could have imagined. Please continue to lift us up. In the coming weeks we will be announcing several logistical concerns about people and teams arriving. We have a very aggressive schedule as there are many who wants to join in to impact lost-ness in our city.
Pr Requests:
· We will be contacting individuals regarding a special training that will commence on May 15th till the 18th. There will be a follow up meeting on the 19th for those who have already participated in this training. This is an important training on many levels as it helps those who attend how to prepare and think strategically for long term visioning of their work. Please pr that we will be able to invite the right people to attend that will have a burden for the people and the work.
· From the 19th to the 21st, we will be meeting with other team leaders in our province for the purpose of fellowship and collaboration. For a longtime we have been sensing a need to not just have a plan for our city but also for our province. Please pr that we will meet in a spirit of unity and be able really be able to come up with solid goals that will encourage each other. Pr that our time will be encouraging to all of our families as they get to know each other.
· From May 12th – 24th, we will be having an experienced team visit our city. In years past, they have been coming to our city much prior to when we arrived, but this time around they want to work with us. The timing is somewhat short noticed, but we are pr this partnership will prove to be fruitful. Please pr that there will be national partners will be willing to work together with them and that it wouldn’t be viewed as overwhelming, pr that all the logistics for the team will be well handled especially in light that they will be here during the training mentioned above. We are not too worried about being available for them because they are experienced in our city, but we do ask you to pr for our communication with that team going forward so that that surprises will be limited.
· Pr for team members that are here and those who will be arriving. Those who are here are making great strides. They too need their language and zeal for the gospel to be a real passion. Those who are coming will need their encouragement. In coming days, I’ll be giving you details.
· As we minister those we serve with, family concerns greatly increases. There are those who grandparents wouldn’t approve of the decisions some have made in receiving the gospel, many who are without jobs, and still others dealing with real bad health concerns. Please lift these brothers and sisters that they would be encouraged and yet they will not be idle in serving Him.
Answered Pr!
· The meeting we had on the 28th really brought an amazing synergy to the group. WE WERE BLOWN AWAY by some of the reports. We didn’t collect all the information for this past year as well as for the most part this year and hundreds of people coming to faith was reported. Many others groups were started. Please continue to pr and lift up these and that they will continue to be effective in those they share with.
· The meeting with the consultant proved to be encouraging. It seems to be a real viable options but still we need to consider many details before moving forward with this. The initial response definitely was favorable however.
· Sister Jane (name changed) has been hurt by these experience that she has had to deal with. It turns out that while this is an answered pr in the sense the problems (details are not known) are being worked out, it is also a pr request in that she needs to be healed. She is hurt that her husband was not truthful to her. Apparently, he didn’t tell her that he told his brother that it would be okay for him to put his name as the owner of the factory. This is why there was so much confusion. Since finding out the circumstances, we have seen them twice and they seem to be honestly working things out.
Praises
· WE praise Him simply because He is worthy. We hope this email finds you well and know that we are thankful for faithful pr partners like you.
Jonathan’s test April 7, 2009
Please pray for Jonathan’s engineering test, coming up in about 2 weeks. Pray that he’ll continue to study hard and that he’ll do well on the test. Pray for him to be able to concentrate as he studies and also for him not to be anxious but to have peace as he trusts God no matter the results of the test.
My cousin April 2, 2009
As some of you know, my cousin is currently in jail and is scheduled to be released in October. He’s already been in there for more than a year. He is not a Christian. I’ve sent him many books about Christianity and have been exchanging a lot of letters about God. Please pray for him. Pray that he would read the Bible and that God would convict his heart as he reads. Pray that he would humble himself before God and also that he would see how much he needs God. Pray for an open heart and an open mind as he reads the Christian books (Born Again, by Chuck Colson). Pray also for me that I will have the wisdom and God’s direction to write the right words to him in the letters.
Mary’s health March 28, 2009
I likely have “diabetes during pregnancy” and also am having a toothache. Please pray that I will be diligent about my diet (I’m not supposed to eat a lot of carbs/sugar) and that my toothache won’t get any worse.
