Acts 16:16-18

Please pray:

• that the LHC teachers and staff would have wisdom and strength as they minister and reach out to each child with the love of Christ.
• for G—, a promising and enthusiastic student at LHC, whose parents have found work in another city. Unfortunately, they left him and his older brother alone at home. G—’s older brother has been a negative influence, and G— has not returned to LHC this summer. Pray that the LHC staff will have wisdom on how to reach out to G—. Pray that he would return to the positive, Godly influence at LHC.

Local church
Adi and Lavinia also asked for prayer for the small church they helped plant in a local village. A young mother in the congregation died earlier this week from cancer, leaving behind a 14 year old son, who is being cared for by his grandmother. The funeral will be at the church on Friday, July 3, and Adi will be preaching. This is significant; most people fear being buried outside the Orthodox church, because Orthodox priests have taught that doing so will prevent them from going to heaven. Following the service, there will be a funeral procession of 2-3 miles on foot to the cemetery. During this entire march, they will be singing, praising God, and sharing the gospel. This is an amazing opportunity for the church to reach the entire community for Christ.

Please pray:

• that God would sustain and comfort the family and church in the midst of their grief and loss.
• that the church will be filled with people who need to hear the truth of Christ’s love for them.
• that God would guide Adi and others as they preach and people would be saved.
• that God’s name would be lifted high through the praise of His people.

We truly serve a wonderful Saviour who cares for the needs of hurting children and heals hearts filled with sorrow. Thank you for your loving prayers!

God bless,
Christian

Please continue to pray for our health. We had one little one with what seemed to be a stomach bug yesterday and a couple others not feeling great.

WEXFORD – week 1: There are 30 children signed up for a.m. camp and 20 signed up for p.m. camp and our friend is expecting that we will get more. I just found out today that I need to write six puppet skits for the camps. Please pray for my inspiration to clearly share the Gospel through these skits.
Our friend says the church there is under spiritual oppression and the men especially are feeling the weight and struggling. Please pray for them and that God would use us to be an encouragement.

BALLYCASTLE – week 2: We just spoke to our friend there and found out that her and her husband’s requests for visa renewals have been rejected. They have to leave the country before we get there! We are still planning on going and volunteering at Corrymeela Centre. It is possible that their visas could be worked out in NY and they would be allowed to return a couple days before we leave. Please pray for their visas to go through, for their peace in this difficult situation, for our work at Corrymeela and safety up in Northern Ireland.

We will hope to communicate with occasional email updates while we are there, though it will depend greatly on our internet/computer access.

We thank each of you for your prayers going up for us.

When I spoke with Corina, Alan was in the recovery room and had not woken up, yet. The neurologist told her the surgery had gone well and he is hopeful that they removed the entire tumor. Until Alan wakes up and more tests are done, they won’t know if another surgery will be required or not. We praise God for guarding Alan’s life and continue to pray for his full recovery.

Please pray:

• that Corina will have the strength to care for Alan in the coming days.
• that Alan will recover and heal from his surgery without a lot of pain.
• that the doctors will have wisdom regarding any future further surgery and treatment.
• that the Lord will be glorified through Alan’s life.

We will continue to update you on Alan’s progress in the future. Thank you for your encouragement and prayers!

With a heart of praise,
Christian
Romania Reborn

Joe Holman

Bill Parker

1. Imagery
2. Story
3. Dialogue
4. Identification of Heroes
5. Overall Composition

Very helpful to read as the summer blockbuster season starts. Not that we can’t go to the movies, but we should be aware of the messages being preached rather than blindly absorbing it. We should also be able to answer some basic questions of the films we watch:

1. What is the overal message of the film?
2. Is that message consistent with God’s Word? Why or why not?
3. Does it correctly identify (maybe even just partially) the condition of man and his need for saving? If so, what is the savior it provides?

Read the article and think about it with the next movie you watch.

Don Darling

May was another month filled with many opportunities to get out the gospel. The Lord continues to bless the Abundant Life Baptist Church. The first Saturday of the month is our Kids’ Bible Club. In May we had a great number of kids come and as always the gospel was taught. Our whole family is involved in this ministry as well as many people from the church, especially the teens.

Like last year, the Mother’s Day banquet was a huge success. There were over 40 moms that came for the banquet, and several from right around the church. The single girls served the meal and participated in the program. The church ladies were in charge of the program, the decorations, invitations and food. This year our special speaker was our co-worker Melanie W., and we were all challenged by her devotional on Lois and Eunice. This is usually the second-biggest event of the year; our anniversary celebration service being the biggest.

The youth continue to grow and they are reaching out to more areas. Zack, along with the other co-leaders, is doing a great job. Currently they are involved in a mission project, gathering clothes for the people living high in the mountains who are freezing this winter. The weather has been very cold this winter, and many children have died already from pneumonia and exposure. It has gotten down below freezing many nights and of course no one here has heaters or a furnace. There was a swine flu scare here, but the cold and pneumonia has claimed a lot more lives than the swine flu.

The 17th of the May we had a special Sanctity of Life Sunday and laid out a plan for the church people to be involved with a new ministry. Some Arequipa Christians, along with ABWE missionaries, are planning to open a crises pregnancy center in the city of Arequipa. It will be the first one in this whole area. We are so excited that God has raised up a godly Peruvian man to head up this ministry. It is amazing how God has already opened doors to provide a location for the center, as well as many supplies and volunteers. There was a great response from the church people who want to support this ministry with their time and resources. There are 7-10 churches that we are praying will participate in this all important ministry.

The big news – The Vida Abundante Baptist Church formed a committee to help select a co-pastor. This has been an exciting time in the life of the church and a new step of faith and obedience as they call a Peruvian co-pastor. This man will help in all the ministries as well as be in charge of the work while we are on furlough next year. The committee interviewed two men for this position. Both men have been leaders in our church work for the past 5 years and both seemed quite qualified for the ministry. After much prayer, fasting, and the interviews the committee decided to present one of the men for the co-pastor position. On May 24, the church voted in favor of calling Abraham Gonzales, our song leader, to be named co-pastor. This is great news! The church actually called a man out of the church where he has served and been a member for the last 6 years. Last Sunday we had a special ordination service and presented him to the church as the co-pastor. What a great way to see the Lord lead and work.

Debbie has had many opportunities to speak to the ladies in a couple of churches this month. It is great to see the Lord open many doors for her to serve in this way.

Teaching in the seminary this semester has been exciting for Aaron. He has been teaching a class on false religions. They have compared the beliefs of many different religions to the Bible. He has pushed his students to really know what they believe, why they believe it, and how to prove it Biblically. The end of July, Aaron will be teaching a module course on Evangelism/Discipleship methods. It will be 3 hours a night for 8 nights.

Zack will be graduating from high school in December this year. He took his SAT on June 2nd and is seeking God’s will for his life as well as where he should study. Please pray for him and with him in these areas. He has been such a big help in the ministry here in Arequipa and will be missed greatly by the whole church. We know the Lord has big plans for him.

Caleb is also very involved in the ministry and is a big help especially with the young kids. Both he and Zack watch the kids Sunday afternoon during our discipleship classes. Caleb finished his karate classes and was awarded his black belt. He is now beginning tennis classes with Zack. Caleb, Lord willing will be attending Grace Christian School in Huntington, WV while we are on home ministry.

Our furlough, or home ministry, begins in only 10 months. We plan on being back in West Virginia the beginning of April. We would ask you to pray as we want to finish well in the ministries we have here before we head to the U.S. We will need to start booking meetings with our supporting churches to give an update on our ministry, as well as book new churches to present our work. If your church would like to have us visit during our home ministry, you can contact us either through email (akarr@abwe.cc) or by phone (304-521-4330 – local West Virginia number that rings in Peru). While in the U.S., we will need a place to live and a car to drive. If anyone can help with these needs, we would also love to hear from you.

As we close this letter, we thank you again for your prayer and financial support. We know we could not do the ministry without all of you holding the rope.

In His Service,
The Karrs

Prayer requests:
Health for our family
Our furlough needs house car etc.
Zack for the decisions he needs to make about college and his future
Our Co-Pastor and his family Abraham and Viviana and their children
The crisis pregnancy center
Groups that will be arriving in June and July

1 Samuel

One of the ideas they shared was for parents to encourage their children  to  take notes during  the sermon.  My  first  thought was how hard  this would be  for my kids  (who are ages seven, nine, and ten) because it’s hard enough for me! But I decided to give it a  try.  I  gave  them  some basic  instructions  and  encouragement and we tried it out.

The first Sunday of note taking was a little rough. I had to remind them a few times to keep it up during the sermon, and they had trouble knowing what to write. Like I said, note‐taking isn’t easy. But one thing I did notice was that for the most part, they were paying attention during the whole sermon.  It felt like a small but significant step forward.

The  next  thing  I  did  that  really  helped was  create  a  one-page, note-taking form for them to use. The form  includes boxes that hopefully get them thinking about what to look for in the sermon. The boxes give  them  special places  to write down the main verse, other verses, big  idea or main point, what I should do, words I don’t know, and extra lines for additional notes.

As an  Easter gift  to  our  kids, Christy made them each a decorated three-ring binder in which they can keep their sermon notes. They loved the binders and are excited about writing down things on the form each week.

We’ve been using this form for a couple months now, and I’ve been really impressed with the results. It is incredible to me how quickly they’ve been able to learn this skill and how much they are able to write down. The other significant thing is they are doing their best to pay attention to the sermon now. Some weeks are better than others, and sometimes they give up or get frustrated, but we’ve found that they are really growing in it and
making  progress. They are learning important life skills in listening and note taking, and I want to deliberately help them grow in these areas.

Another great benefit we’ve found from the note taking is it gives us an opportunity to talk about the sermon as a family. At dinner on Mondays, we all get out our notes and walk through the  sermon. Christy and I help the kids fill in parts that they missed, and we explain the parts that were hard for them to understand. This also reinforces the big ideas for Christy and me too!

In the May newsletter, Jack talked about worship “preflight” and how important it is to get ready in advance to worship. That pre-worship preparation is important for success in teaching your children to take notes.
Ultimately, our family goal is to teach our children about the incredible value of worship and learning in a community of believers. As a parent, I also need to teach my kids through my actions about the exciting opportunity we  have  on  Sunday mornings  to  corporately worship our God and Savior. My kids need to see me truly excited about worshiping God in order to fully incorporate this lesson into their lives.

If you’d like to try out the form we created you can download it from the church website (pdf).

Unfortunately, Alan will have to have another surgery. Corina will be meeting with the neurologist today to schedule the delicate surgery to remove the cancer that has spread to Alan’s brain. If this surgery goes well, Alan will spend some time in Bucharest recovering before returning home with Corina. Even after the surgeries, he will have to continue radiation and chemotherapy. We don’t know what the future holds for Alan, but we want to praise God for holding him in His loving arms throughout this difficult journey.

Please pray:
- that Corina and her helpers will have extra strength, physically and emotionally, to care for Alan through his recovery and the next surgery.
- for the neurologist, who will be performing the critical brain surgery, to have a quick mind and sure hands.
- that Alan will find comfort in Corina’s arms and know peace that passes understanding in the midst of the pain.

A New Little Dreana
A Note from Adi:

“We are very happy to announce that since Monday at 4 pm our family has a new flower, Adriela Kayla, as part of the family. We like to call her the “little lady bug”.
We want to thank you for your prayers for our family.
With love,
Adrian and a significant number of girls”

Praise God for this new little life! Please pray for Lavinia to recover quickly from labor. Pray that God will bless Adriela and the Dreanas, as they bond as a family and celebrate the miracle of birth.

With praise,
Christian

Follow link to view PowerPoint online.

Corina will be traveling to Bucharest on Friday to stay with Alan during his surgery. Two young women have been staying with Alan in Bucharest during Corina’s absence. A friend of Corina’s and director of an organization that works with abandoned babies in the Oradea children’s hospital, has been led to help Alan by providing all of the extra nursing care that Alan has needed in Oradea and Bucharest. This valuable help has been a true blessing to Alan and Corina during this difficult time, and we are truly thankful for God’s provision and the help of Corina’s friend.

Please pray:
- that Corina will have safe travel to Bucharest to be with Alan.
- that God will bring comfort and peace to Alan and Corina as they spend time together before the surgery.
- that God will give all the doctors and surgeons involved in Alan’s case wisdom and steady hands as they perform a very complicated and delicate surgery.
- that Alan’s nurses, will have extra strength to provide loving care for him.
- that God will work his perfect will for Alan’s life and future.

I will send out updates on Alan’s progress as I receive them. Thank you for joining us in prayer on behalf of this special little boy.

A New Arrival Coming to Living Hope Center
Adi and Lavinia, directors of Living Hope Center, are expecting the birth of their third daughter next week. Today, Lavinia wrote that the baby is showing signs of coming a bit early and asked for prayer.

Please pray:
- that this new little girl will arrive safely and in good health
- that Lavinia will have extra strength before, during, and after birth
- that God will provide everything the family needs physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually to care for their expected daughter

May God bless you!

Trusting in a faithful Father,
Christian

Don Darling

“Whether you are new to Romania Reborn or have been hearing about our work for years, we believe the chidren and their breathtaking stories will come alive for you as never before. There is no cost to attend, but donations are welcome and will be accepted at the event. Bring a friend and join us!”

Saturday, June 6, at 10:30 a.m.
Blue Ridge Bible Church
770 South 20th Street
Purcellville, VA

Please RSVP by June 1, 2009 to (304) 535-1555 or info@romania-reborn.

See the profile page of this ministry here and learn more about Romania Reborn.

Bill Parker

Follow link to view Power Point.

“Brother Let me be Your Servant.
Let me be as Christ to You
Pray that I might have the grace to let you be my Servant too.
We are pilgrims on a journey
We are brothers and sisters on the road
We have to help each other walk the mile and bear the load
I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh, I will laugh with you
I will share your joy and sorrow till we’ve seen this journey through.”

The month of April saw us celebrating the death and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ. The whole denomination was supposed to hold a national Easter Convention in a town call Techiman in the south of Ghana. But there was not enough space available there to accommodate the estimated number of participants. The total membership of Bible Church of Africa in the country is about 10,000. So instead, we held regional and district conventions throughout the nation.

In the Nankani area where I minister, the Easter convention was held in Navrongo. About 600 people attended the four days convention. It was a time of spiritual renewal and soul searching.

Baptism:
A total of 111 people were baptised on Easter Sunday morning in a reservoir. It was all joy to see some family members and friends come to witness the baptism of their wives, children, husbands and friends. It was so symbolic.

Outreach:
We are reaching out to the P—u community, east of Navrongo. A few members from that community have started coming to church and are being discipled by the elders each Sunday.

P–a:
The church in P–a is not picking up as we expected. The influence of Islam is so great in the town of P–a. We will never give up until the Lord establishes His church in P–a. We are still doing house-to-house witnessing till we’ve seen this journey through.

Funerals:
On the 25th April, I attended the burial service of Reverend Eastwood Anaba, his two daughters, and four members of his church. They all died in a car accident on Good Friday. It was a big loss to the Anaba’s family and his church (Fountain Gate Chapel.)

On the 1st and 2nd May, I preached at the funeral service of Charles Bandari’s mother. She was 78 years old and went home to the Lord.

Meetings:
In early May, I travelled to Accra to attend SIM Strategic Planning meeting. While there I am attending the Bible Church of Africa council meeting and will be preaching in one of the BCA churches.

Family:
My son K— finished University this week. Thank you for your prayer and financial support that kept him through four years of un-interrupted studies.

Both J— and P— are back to school (senior high school) after the Easter holidays. Japheth is currently the president of the student council and also prayer secretary of Scripture Union in his school.

E— will be going for his field practical soon. E— is an orphan we took care of in school. He has finished one year of his four year university studies.

Mercy is enjoying her ministry with the kids in our community and the church. She has 18 kids in the community to whom she provides food and leads in Bible study.

Holiday:
You may wonder what I am going to say. It is not about my kids’ holidays. This time it is Mercy and I taking a holiday. It sounds funny to me. But it is true. We are taking a holiday and will go far away from home. Pray that the Lord will provide for this to happen.

Communications:
My internet service in the house is spoiled. I had a problem with my laptop (the only computer in the house). This is due to the multiple use of it by many people. I have lost all data on my laptop. Pray that this problem will be solved for easy communication.

General News:
The rains have started. It is a good sign for now. Yet, food prices continue to go higher and higher. The cost of living very high…(This is part of the global economic problem.) Inflation in Ghana is high. Many families are without food and seed. It is sad that in the cause of sharing the Gospel, you asked if they have prayer needs and the response is “Yes, we need food”. You hear this from person to person, family to family. May God intervene!

Well, it is not about me, it is not about my ministry, it is about His ministry. May His Kingdom Come, and May His Will Be Done.

What a Big Privilege to be part of your ministry. I value this wonderful partnership of sharing. I view you all in His Ministry here in Ghana.

Thank you for your partnership support.

Your brother and sister, and His Servants,
Stephen and Mercy Aputara

Purpose: Is to beg them to reconsider their decision of accepting their “religion” which they claimed was the original religion of the chiefs ancestors.

This group is providing bore holes and repairing broken bore holes, starting pre-schools in strategic communities etc.

They are providing the same social services the church has been doing for the past years. They are focusing on the chiefs and opinion leaders. They are a BIG THREAT to the church now.

We will appreciate your prayers support.

We need Wisdom and Power of the Holy Spirit as a church to be able to handle these brothers of ours.

Thank you for praying.

Stephen and Mercy.
Let the chiefs and the rest know the truth

Alan is currently at the children’s hospital in Bucharest, Romania undergoing radiation therapy, meeting with doctors, and enduring numerous tests. He has been a brave little soldier throughout this whole process. Sadly, the doctors have confirmed that the cancer has spread to Alan’s brain and he has less than 10% chance of surviving the surgery. Tomorrow, he will meet with another doctor to determine the extent the cancer has spread throughout his brain. Depending on the results, surgery will be scheduled for sometime next week.

When it became evident that Alan would be unable to go to England for surgery, Corina was very concerned about the quality of care he would receive in Bucharest. Corina has been pleasantly surprised by the caring attitude and the excellent skill of the doctors involved in Alan’s case. This is an answer to prayer! Corina also found two young women who will stay with Alan and take turns caring for him 24 hours a day. Although Corina wanted to stay with Alan, her numerous responsibilities back home prevented her from staying for an extended time. She is planning to return to Bucharest for Alan’s surgery.

Please pray:
- that Corina will have wisdom as she makes numerous decisions necessary for Alan’s care.
- that the Lord will strengthen Corina, who has come to love Alan with a mother’s love. This love has been a joy to both Corina and Alan, but is accompanied by the pain of possible loss. Pray that God’s love will sustain them both.
- that the Lord will give the doctors wisdom as they provide care for Alan and prepare for a very difficult surgery. Pray for steady minds, eyes, and hands.
- that Alan will know he is loved, even in the midst of the pain. Pray that he will feel the peace that comes from being held in the loving arms of the Savior.
- that everyone involved, especially those who do not know Christ as Saviour, will see God’s hand in Alan’s life and will know the truth of His love for them.
- that God will fully heal Alan, whether in this life or the next, and that Corina will have peace knowing the outcome is in God’s hands.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

With a prayerful heart,
Christian (Romania Reborn)

See Jayme Metzgar’s ministry profile page here and learn more about Romania Reborn.

Sermon May 10, 2009

Sermon May 3, 2009

See the Richardson’s ministry profile page here.