COMIX35 Prayer Blog

For my wife and our family

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:38:04 -0600

After a 4 year struggle against ovarian cancer, and the effects of chemo, Susan can no longer tolerate treatment, and she can't eat, so she has chosen to go home. We met with the palliative care team today to discuss the details of her transition from the hospital to hospice care.

We are very grateful for the efforts of all her doctors – especially her oncologists – and the chemo suite nurses and other hospital staff. Their care enabled our family to enjoy some great quality time together.

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4: 16-18)

For my wife Susan

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:10:05 -0600

I have not posted much recently about the health of my precious wife Susan, so I wanted to let all our Prayer Partners know that she is still struggling bravely against cancer. While the latest chemotherapy treatments have been easier on her in the short-run, she is starting to encounter new challenges that appear to be side effects from the drug. Some of these have been very difficult for her, especially a recent problem with swallowing, as well as severe fatigue and back pain.

As I've written in the past, we are blessed to live just minutes from one of the best cancer centers in the Southwest USA, and we are so grateful for the care she has received there. Please continue to pray for Susan's complete and miraculous healing.

Thank you.

For the students at our Québec Seminar

Fri, 20 May 2011 14:03:23 -0600

Our seminar last month in Québec, Canada, was the best we have held in 15 years, I think. The Lord really blessed our time together in so many ways, and everyone was amazed and impressed – students, teachers, and hosts! It was a real "mountaintop" experience. And my health held up quite well. We appreciate all of you who prayed for this event – your prayers were answered Big Time!

Please continue to pray for the students, for the projects launched at the seminar, and for the lost Québecois who will be reached through these efforts. Please pray for me, too, as I make plans to return to Québec later this year to do follow-up with the students – to discuss their progress, where they need extra help on their comics, etc.

Thank you.

For two friends of COMIX35

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:07:17 -0600

Please pray for the health of two dear ministry friends who are both Christian Comics Pioneers...

Editor/author/teacher/missionary Liz Isáis serves on our International Advisory Board and hosted 3 of our seminars in Mexico. Her daughter Sally reports: "She has an extremely bad throat/chest/head infection and she feels pretty bad. We have been giving her antibiotics, but she is responding very slowly. She does not feel well at all. The fever has broken as of yesterday night, but she still needs a lot of prayer. The doctor was worried that this would turn into pneumonia and I don't think she is out of danger in that regard." After she had a heart attack last September, Liz wrote in her newsletter: "If you have been praying for me, I am deeply grateful! Of course if it had been God’s will to take me Home, that would also have been fine, although I really enjoy doing my work!"

Cofounder of the Christian Comic Arts Society, Don Ensign is a long-time personal friend and a supporter of our ministry. He also attended our 2nd comics seminar in Atlanta, Georgia USA in 1996. Don had a prostate biopsy on 8 April and has just learned that the results are positive. His doctor has told him this cancer is treatable, and Don will be meeting with him tomorrow to discuss the next steps.

Thank you for your prayers for Liz and Don.

For Kozumi Shinozawa San and Yoshihiro Nakano San

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 11:18:38 -0600

In the midst of all the tragic reports coming from Japan I received the heart-breaking news that Noah, the 7-month-old son of manga artist Kozumi ("Kelly") Shinozawa and her husband Yoshihiro Nakano, had died suddenly in his sleep on the night of 26 March.

The family is devastated, confused and in need of much dedicated prayer support.

Kelly San said that at first she thought she would have to quit doing her Christian manga, because she was drawing the night Noah died. However, at Noah's funeral, she felt both God and Noah told her "never give up drawing manga for God."

Please join with all those who know and love Kelly San and her family – raise your voices together to the Lord, pour out your prayers for them to be sustained in their distress, and lift them to the throne of God for His strength and His Healing.

Thank you.

For the people of Japan

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:01:47 -0600

I have many dear friends and associates in Japan from COMIX35's 15 years of ministry work in that country. Please pray especially at this time for Takanori Kanari Sensei who graciously had agreed to be one of the judges for our Manga-Ka project. Pastor Kanari lives in Fukushima, one of the areas in greatest danger from the nuclear reactors. They have very little food there and no gasoline to get away from the area. Please pray for him, his family, and his church.

Also, I want to let you know that Christians who want to give toward Japan relief are being strongly recommended – by the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA) and Reaching Japanese for Christ (RJC) network – to donate through the Christian organization CRASH. Donations to CRASH Japan can be made through:

Horizon Central

1001 E. Palmer St.

Indianapolis, IN 46203

(Put "CRASH" in the comment line of the check.)

Thank you for your prayers for Japan.

For our seminar in Québec next month

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:25:56 -0700

Lord willing, we will be holding our COMIX35 seminar at Villa de Brôme in Lac-Brome, Québec, just one month from now. The registration deadline is coming up next week on Tuesday 15 March.

Please join us in praying for:

• The students who have already registered
• Those still making decisions about attending
• The teachers and other speakers
• The translators and interpreters
• The seminar planning committee
• Our hosts and partners at EVQ Media
• The lost Québecois who will be reached through the comics created as a result of this seminar.

Thank you.

For the up-coming RJC Conference

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:33:35 -0700

Next week is the 10th Annual International Reaching Japanese For Christ (RJC) Conference at Northshore Baptist in Bothell, WA, USA. During one day of this event I'll be helping Roald Lidal from NEXT with a short seminar on using manga (Japanese-style comics) as a tool for evangelism. Following that I'll be leading a workshop on "Sharing Your Testimony in Manga" with comics writer/artist Kathleen Webb. Don Regier from Word of Life Press, publishers of Gospel manga in Tokyo, will also speak. Tim Ingle from Let's Love Japan will facilitate a workshop on "Using Anime for Evangelism."

Please pray for all of us as we prepare for these sessions. There is also a RJC Conference Prayer Guide available online if you want more detailed information to focus your prayers for us all.

Please pray particularly for my physical health which has been poor this past week.

Thank you.

For the Paden family

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:26:36 -0700

Jonathan Paden, husband of COMIX35 Board Treasurer/CFO Renée Paden, passed away unexpectedly on 8 January 2011.

Please pray for Renée, for their daughter, and for the rest of his family during this very difficult time.

Thank you.

[ Link to Jonathan's obituary in the Albuquerque Journal ]

For our new African Comic in French

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 21:25:30 -0700

Éclats: Bandes Dessinées d’Afrique ("Bursts: Comics of Africa”), our new comic for French-speaking Africa, has been printed! Distribution will begin soon in Africa and Europe. In the meantime, we are starting discussions with our partners at PJA (Publications pour la Jeunesse Africaine) for a second issue of Éclats as well as a possible COMIX35 seminar in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

Please pray for efficient and effective distribution – including copies to all our great contributors – and pray for us and our partners at PJA as we plan future projects together in the French-speaking countries of Africa.

Thank you.

Our up-coming seminar in Québec

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:42:38 -0700

I have just returned from Québec where we met with our hosting partners and confirmed plans for a COMIX35 seminar in Lac-Brome next year!

As I've written before in this Prayer Blog, the comics-loving Quebecois have been labeled "the most unreached people group in North America," so please pray diligently for this seminar – for the organizers, the teachers, the students, and the people who will be reached through the comics created as a result.

Thank you.

For our new International Advisory Council

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:58:44 -0600

COMIX35 has established an International Advisory Council! These precious brothers and sisters are former Board members and others we turn to for counsel and assistance on a variety of issues. We are very grateful to them for all their help and for their willingness to be recognized formally as our ministry advisers. Please pray for them, for their families, for their ministries, and for their health. Thank you.

Urgent Prayer Request!

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 21:32:20 -0600

One of our Asian ministry associates will be having an important meeting, arranged at the last minute, regarding an evangelistic comic book project for a restricted-access country. He has asked us to "cover this meeting in prayer." It will take place in Asia on Wednesday 13 October at 1:00 PM. Even if you don't read this beforehand, please do pray for this meeting – since we serve the Lord God Most High, Who exists outside of time – and for this project.

Thank you.

For our Board of Directors

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:05:36 -0600

COMIX35's Annual Board Meeting is coming up very soon, so please pray for our Board of Directors as we strategize, plan and budget for the coming year.

Thank you.

For our Francophone Africa Comics Project

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:30:49 -0600

The first issue of our new comic book for Francophone Africa is almost ready for publication. Our partners at PJA (Publications pour la Jeunesse Africaine) will be sending us a mock-up soon. This is an anthology magazine entirely written and drawn by Africans for Africans (just like the English-language comic for Africa that we helped produce in 2008).

Please pray for COMIX35, our partners at PJA, the comics writers and artists, and for the people who will be reached in French-speaking countries in Africa through this new comic book.

Thank you.

Our travels in Asia

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:51:45 -0600

Lord willing, José Carlos will be joining me in Japan after I finish teaching at the School of Cartooning & Animation for Missions in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In addition to our meetings in the Tokyo area, we plan to attend Comiket, where over 30,000 small comics publishers display their manga materials to over 500,000 attendees at every show. Since 1999 COMIX35 has been encouraging Japanese Christians to see Comiket as a great mission field for comics evangelism.

Please pray for José Carlos and his wife Soraya as he prepares to make this important ministry trip with me.

Thank you.

Up-coming school in Thailand

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:52:58 -0600

Soon I'll be teaching for a week at the School of Cartooning & Animation for Missions in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Please pray for me as I prepare my classes, for my health to hold up well during the long travels, for protection and peace-of-mind for my wife Susan while I'm gone, and for the students and staff at the school.

Thank you.

For our Mexico seminar

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:26:22 -0600

Please pray for our upcoming seminar in Mexico City, from June 23rd to 26th. Pray for our teachers Nate Butler, José Carlos Gutiérrez, Iván Emilio Tapia and Rubén Curiel. Pray for our students and our hosts at Milamex and Prisma Magazine. Pray especially for the people that will be reached for Christ by the works from this seminar.

Thank you.

Por favor oren por nuestro próximo seminario en la Ciudad de México, que se llevará a cabo del 23 al 26 de Junio. Les pedimos que oren por nuestros maestros Nate Butler, José Carlos Gutiérrez, Iván Emilio Tapia y Rubén Curiel. Por nuestros asistentes, nuestros anfitriones de Milamex y la revista Prisma. Especialmente oren por las personas que serán alcanzadas para Cristo a través de los trabajos que aqui se produzcan.

Gracias.

Our Board, volunteers, and families

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:20:34 -0600

We have several prayer requests related to our Board members, volunteers, and families:

• Melissa David, wife of volunteer John David who serves on our ministry's Audit Committee, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Please pray for our sister Melissa's complete healing.

• Gerald Burch has resigned from our Board of Directors as of this month to take on an assignment as Interim Pastor of an English language church in Bangkok, Thailand. Please pray for our brother Gerald and his wife Brenda as they resume their work in Southeast Asia.

• My precious wife Susan is continuing with her chemotherapy treatments. Please pray for Susan's complete and miraculous healing.

• My own health issues of the past year were not solved by my surgery last August, and the doctors have been unable to locate the source of the pain and stop it. Please continue to pray for my healing as well.

Thank you.

Our work in Québec

Wed, 05 May 2010 13:34:15 -0600

José Carlos and I were in Québec in April, along with Alain Auderset of Switzerland, a two-time winner of the International Prize for French-language Christian comics. We were there to inspire the production of Christian comics by and for the Quebecois people. We were able to make new contacts, renew earlier connections, generate interest and excitement, and discuss follow-up including a possible COMIX35 seminar next year.

As I've noted before, the comics-loving Quebecois have been labeled "the most unreached people group in North America," so please be praying for our efforts in Québec. Please pray, too, for those Quebecois brothers and sisters who are already laboring in this harvest field.

Thank you.

Our Inmate Tract Project

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:06:08 -0600

Recently José Carlos and I attended the latest Operation Starting Line (part of Prison Fellowship) face-to-face meeting in the Washington DC area, where we gave away 2,000 copies of our new "Heart of Stone" tract to ministries in attendance. In addition to being an evangelistic tract for inmates, it also provides the details for our Christian Comics Tracts for Prison Inmates Project on the back.

We have also shipped 1,000+ copies to Bill Corum, the subject of the tract, for use in his ministry.

Please pray that this tract would touch the hearts of prison inmates and at-risk youth throughout the USA. Please pray, too, that it would help us to connect to more Christian prisoners who will be able to produce their own personal testimonies in this comics format.

Thank you.

For health & healing for the Gutierrez family

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:27:01 -0600

Please pray for my health, and the health of my wife and 3-year-old son, because we have been afflicted with constant throat and lungs complications. Please ask that our Lord may re-establish our health so I can continue with upcoming ministry events.

Thank you.

Por favor oren por mi salud, la salud de mi esposa y de mi hijo de 3 años, porque hemos padecido reciente y constantemente de las vías respiratorias. Les pedimos que oren para que Nuestro Señor restablezca nuestra salud y que pueda continuar trabajando en los próximos proyectos y eventos del ministerio.

Gracias.

Our Francophone Africa Comics Project

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:03:38 -0600

Last year we helped Christian comic creators in Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, and South Africa produce their own comic in English, and your prayers helped us through that challenge (see below).

Now we plan to publish a new issue in French for Francophone Africa in partnership with PJA (Publications pour la Jeunesse Africaine). This will also be an anthology magazine entirely written and drawn by Africans for Africans.

All the information was posted on our site today in both French and English.

Please pray for COMIX35, our partners at PJA, and for a great response from Christian comics creators in the French-speaking countries of Africa.

Thank you.

About the people of Quebec

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:43:15 -0700

I continue to be moved by the statistics I have read about the Quebecois people of Canada. They have the lowest rate of church attendance in North America. They have the highest percentages for divorce, abortion, couples living together outside marriage, and out-of-wedlock births in Canada. They have Canada's highest suicide rate – reportedly one of the highest suicide rates in the entire industrialized world!

Outreach Canada, a church-planting and church-growth ministry, has labeled the Quebecois "the most unreached people group in North America."

As with other Francophone cultures, the Quebecois love comics (or bandes dessinées, as they call them). COMIX35 wants to inspire one or more French-language comics with a powerful "return to the Lord" message for the hurting, empty hearts of the Quebecois.

Please pray for these precious people and for COMIX35's plans to reach them. Thank you.

Our Mexico plans in 2010

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:30:42 -0700

Please pray for the new P.I.C.S. Projects in Mexico, such as the "Today's Parables" series and Juvenile Prison tract, as well for the next seminar in June.

Thank you.

Oren por favor por los proyectos P.I.C.S. en Mexico, tales como la serie "Parabolas de Hoy" y el tratado para el Tutelar de menores, asi como el próximo curso en Junio.

Gracias.