February 2010 - Ministries

 SENT Prayer 

The Holyde’s (London)

• Thank you so much for your prayers! We have received Ruthie\'s new passport and should hopefully be able to fill out visa papers in the next week or so.
• Also we have purchased one-way tickets to London departing on April 20th. Having this date helps anchor down our schedule a bit between now and leaving.
• PTL our rummage sale went well on Sat. and the Agape-grams were successful too.

Please pray for:

• Our travels to other churches over the next month or so. That we will be a blessing wherever we go and that the Lord would place on the hearts of people the desire to sponsor us and come behind us as a support team.
• For patience and diligence to finish paperwork and sort through our belongings. 
• For clarity as to where in London the Shoreline Calvary London plant should begin.

The Merrill’s (London)

Praise

• We have been able to spend more time in the word lately and it has been so good!
• We have found a series of sermons that have been very encouraging and needed! 

Prayer

• Please pray that we would have the time to delight ourselves in the Lord, that we would be able to grow and serve the people out of the overflow!
• Please pray that we would hear the voice of God clearly!
• Pray that we would know how to spend our time wisely. Also to learn when we are supposed to say no to something to give time for something else more important.

Landon Rogers (London)

Praises:

• The rummage sale went so well! Almost everything got sold, all our volunteers had great attitudes and were crazy dependable, and i think we made a few dollars (I actually never heard a number... ask Trista).
• A guy who I met after the rummage sale, Ross, ended up coming to church that night. We got to talk for a while with Terry, and after he pretty much preached the gospel to himself I got to be there when he prayed to receive the Lord. Crazy! It\'s fun to get to be there for that step.

Prayer:

• Pray for Ross and deliverence from substance abuse. Also pray for continued response God\'s work in his life. He doesn\'t have a cellphone and I don\'t know how to get a hold of him. Pray for my faith to trust him to the hands that already hold his life.
• Have you ever played that "whack-mole" game? Well, this whole week I have been battling forgiveness like that. "They should have" WHACK... "why couldn\'t this" WHACK "I deserve" whack WHACK... as if I have any rights in the first place?! Who am I? Pray for victory in the hunt for moles and genuine forgiveness.
• To fall in love with Jesus through His word and to desire to pray more. Luke was a heavy hitter this week. Jesus went by himself to pray all night long. ALL NIGHT LONG! Oops. Wow Lord, I don\'t usually want to talk longer than I have to. That\'s sick. :)
• For an outreach to Cal Poly this weekend and a chance to share with as many of the people there as possible. The conference is for GBLTDHUVNH (or whatever it\'s called)... the homosexual advocates. Pray for God\'s heart of love, compassion, and brokenness for the people there and the right people to serve alongside.

Tobi (London)

• Praise for really sweet team meetings
• Prayer for being attentive to hearing the Lords voice & leading

The Park’s (London)

Praise:

• The rummage sale was a HUGE success!  Praise the Lord!  We got rid of tons of stuff and actually made a few dollars :)
• We have just received paperwork for our sponsor from London to help with our religious workers visas!!

Payer:

• Health
• Wisdom on when to buy our plane tickets and for what date
• Continued unity among the team

The Pottenger’s (Kisumu, Kenya)

• We praise God for a great week and for safe travels for Matt as he attended the conference in Nairobi with Pastor Stephen. 
• We also praise God that we are able to go away for a couple nights to a Christian retreat center that is in a rainforest not far from here. We are also hoping this will be a sweet time to pray about some big things like our home and whether we are to stay, as well as more direction for the ministry here.

 Please be in pray with us for:

• Our home situation and what the Lord would have
• Our ministry to the other missionaries here and ex-pats
• A refreshing time as a family
• Peg’s health in the pregnancy (she’s doing well overall but the heat gets to her in this season)
• Strength to endure the heat or cooler temps (Smile)
• Work for Pastor Stephen
• A meeting place for Sunday services

"M"s (Israel)

• Praise the Lord for His provision-  The Lord has continued to provide faithfully for us during this time of financial difficulty.  We know we need to get back to the States to work on our support network, but we\'re not able to leave until after March.  So between now and then things are a bit tight.  But the Lord is so good to provide as needs come up, and it\'s been just amazing to see how well He takes care of us. Many thanks to all of you for praying so faithfully for us and to those who have given sacrificially towards our support. We are truly blessed and want to thank and glorify our God for His goodness.
• Praise the Lord for new opportunity This week we met with the director of a large ministry here in Jerusalem.  Recently this ministry has been approached by some individuals from the orthodox community, who are asking for Bibles and more information about Jesus. We discussed options for a cooperative effort in reaching seekers and discipling new believers who are exiting the ultra orthodox community.  It was a very positive meeting and we are looking forward to seeing how the Lord leads in this effort.
• Praise the Lord for answered prayer This week we saw some important answers to prayer.  We\'ve been asking you to pray over certain of our unbelieving ministry contacts for a while now. One young lady, the daughter of the "B" family, is making some significant progress.  We had some big discussions with her about life choices this week, which were received positively. While visiting us at home, she also heard the gospel and a personal testimony from another Israeli friend of ours, who is a new believer.  We can see the Lord working in her heart day by day. Keep up the prayers!
• Outreach-  Please pray for the salvation of the unbelieving Jewish contacts we are developing: those we received from Jews for Jesus\' ministry, the "B" family, and  Miss"F" who has been attending our Isaiah study, and new believers miss"G" and Mr "A".  Also please pray over our plans for a Passover banquet on April 1st.  This will be an outreach to unbelieving jewish people in our community.  We are also planning to assist some of the folks from the Joshua fund in an outreach effort here in Jerusalem- please pray for wisdom in planning and for hearts that are open to the gospel.
• Health-  Please continue to pray for our resistance to colds and flu, especially now that winter weather has begun.  Also that we will be able to control the mold and mildew that is so common here in the winter months, and which is a respiratory irritant to us.
• Citizenship-  Please continue praying for Abra\'s attorney (Mike) and his staff as they are working on our case. He has asked us to be present for the proceedings starting on March 1st. Please pray for the Lord\'s will to be accomplished and for His provision for  the remaining legal fees. 
• Care team- Please continue praying for our care team members, who are working behind the scenes in this ministry to support John Michael and I. These are the people who help us with technical/ internet communications, administration, logistics, distributing this prayer update, furlough and many other specific needs as well as praying faithfully for us. Spring is an especially busy season for many of them.

Haiti (Samaritan’s Purse)

• That we would be able to find a suitable place for our cargo ship to dock and unload relief supplies.
• That there would not be an outbreak of epidemic disease.
• For survivors as they mourn the loss of their loved ones.
• For our team\'s physical, mental, and emotional welfare as they face many challenges.
• For wisdom in determining the most effective response to this disaster.

STAY Prayer

The Sweeney’s (NY)

• we are back from a week long trip visiting Christian colleges recruiting for our summer staff positions. We had a blast meeting all the young people and I believe have quite a few interested in serving at the camp here this summer. 
• God so protected us from all the snow storms and kept us from any more fever. So that is a huge praise! 
• Now we will be contacting each interested person and setting up interviews. Please pray for God to guide the staff that interviews; that He would give them wisdom and that He would lead the right people to serve here this summer. All staff have the common goal of introducing the campers to Jesus and sharing His love with them. Since our campers are at-risk kids from NYC\'s projects and young people with varying disabilities....the job of camp counselor is challenging and rewarding!  
• Thank you all so much for your prayers!

Nancy (Lifewater/YWAM)

praises

• Warmth of a fire in cold places
• good connection with my sister on professional level about human behavior change
• I learned a family friend calls my mother every evening to check in on her
• did I say last week that generosity of Maui friends covered ALL the costs of my HI trip (even gas & grocery money)?!!!

prayers

• God\'s wisdom & timing in how to proceed with my mom\'s tenant issues,  that my mom see reality & be strong & courageous
• God continue to reveal Truth to my sister
• God use me to be an encouragement for MT friends who are struggling
• divine appointments & reconnection with MT relationships
• God\'s anointing on Costa Rica prep with Jennifer & Isaiah prep with Joy, and God\'s prep of the hearts of the students we will be with
• Egypt airfare
• nurses expected Mike not to make it through last weekend, but as far as I know he is still hanging on to this world.  pls. continue to pray for him & family, esp. daughter Jenni\'s faith & salvation of Mike\'s friend Jaqueline through this pain

SENT Prayer 2/10/2010

The Pottengers (Kisumu, Kenya)

Praises:

• A safe journey from Nairobi to Kisumu
• A beautiful welcoming from friends here
• A dining room table with chairs waiting for us from fellow missionaries who knew we needed one. It feels like a real home now. ;)
• Time to catch up with fellow missionaries, staff, Kenyan friends, and Pastor Stephen
• A new guard for night – He is a born again Masai man from up country named Gideon.
• Time to catch up with Mama Grace and her daughter
• Reconnecting with Pamela and her family and seeing how she has become best friends with Mary who has helped us in our home.
• Constant electricity and water!!!!!
• A lot cooler weather since we’ve arrived. (We know people have been praying for this. )
• God’s faithfulness to walk us through the hard adjustment back especially for Peg

Prayer:

• Matt most likely will be attending a conference in Nairobi with Pastor Stephen, please pray for safe travels as he drives back and forth to Nairobi this week and for sweet fellowship with Stephen
• Please pray for the men from the Bible study here who are attending the same conference that they would be even more excited about the Word and their walk with the Lord.
• Please pray for a location that we could start meeting for Sunday services. There is such a need.
• Please pray for Pastor Stephen to find work that will provide for his family.
• Please pray for The P4 as we escape for a couple days to be a family of 3 and take some time to pray for direction of certain ministries
• Please pray for us as we find our new routine and for Peg and baby as the first trimester progresses.

The Parks (London)

Praises!

• God is beginning to show us more pieces to the puzzle!  It is so awesome to see how things are coming together as we wait on Him!  Visa questions are getting answered!

Prayer:

• We would love continued prayer regarding the visas.  Just that the Lord\'s hand would continue to be in that situation and wherever He would have us with that, we will obediently follow.
• Wisdom on how to spend the last couple of months here.
• Just for health in general :)

Landon (London)

Praises:

• Sweet times in the word... God is so real!
• Crazy awesome people (and lots of em) at the London meeting.
• God\'s healing work in a close friend from Jr. High.

Prayer

• I\'m praying about buying my ticket this  week. For wisdom and favor.
• My sister is still on bed rest. For edurance and sweet times with Jesus for her.
• To fall in love with Jesus through His word.

The Merrill’s (London)

Praise:

• We had a good weekend with Luke\'s family. They fully support us, that\'s a huge blessing!
• Even though things seem overwhelming at times, we have never doubted our call to London!

Prayer:

• For energy and strength as things can be overwhelming.
• For clarity in decisions that need to be made.
• Favor with all the agencies that we have to deal with. Frida needs to
• get some paperwork done in Sweden, and it\'s difficult when we are not there.

Meagan Webster (Mexico)

• Pray for a new vehicle (their van died), wisdom for leadership as they make decisions
• Pray for all those who have recently given their lives to the Lord
• Pray for the lost
• Pray for the comedor

The As (Israel)

• Thank you for praying for the renewal of our church building contract. God abundantly answered your prayers.Yet in spite of the increase of costs in Tel Aviv, God had our Orthodox Jewish landlords show abundant favor towards us. Not only did they not increase our rent, but we will pay $200 less each month!  Pray for the same type of favor when we meet with the landlords for the Women’s Apt next week.
• Please continue to pray for the woman that we’ve been sharing about that was raised Orthodox and considers us her parents. Last month, for the first time, she prayed to Jesus for over an hour. She told Him that if He was God she wanted to live her life for Him.  She’s been estranged from her family and for the first time in years, her father just came to visit her from England (you’ve got to love the timing). She told her father that she now believed in Jesus. He got upset and told her she would go to hell and no longer be Jewish. She’s back to being very confused. It’s this way with many of the people we minister to. They are so close, but are so fearful of making the wrong decision. Please pray that God would completely open their eyes. Pray for continued patience and perseverance for us.
• Please continue to pray for one of the Muslim women that we’ve been ministering to. She desperately wants to live in peace with people and just have everyone love each other. She asked me once “why we Americans make the Muslim people have to kill us; like 9/11”. She quit attending the Mosque a few months ago because she said that all they do is talk about hating people. She told me today that she’s decided to always attend the Women’s Bible Study and possibly the church service. Pray that she gives her life to the Lord

The Ntulume’s (Uganda)

Praise 

• Had a great visit to the brethren in Kanegaramire Village. Were able to put on a seminar teaching program and people were blessed and eager to learn God’s word
• Had a sweet time teaching on and baptizing new believers

Pray

• For all that God is doing in Uganda
• Salvation of the lost
• Growth for believers

CC S, Russia

• Volera is being prosecuted so the cops came and took all the computers from the church office... These have all the information that Olesya needs to finish the tax papers (that are due very soon) for the church and 6 other orginizations she works for.

Please be praying for...

• The return of the computers ASAP!
• And for Volera\'s protection/That God would be working in this/That his mom would come to Christ through this.

Steve & Nora (Braselton Malawi)

• Furnishing the house
• A new vehicle that is dependable
• A good start for the School of Ministry.
• Continued growth at CC Lilongwe in the Word of God.
• That our discipling of young men in our fellowdhip will bear much fruit.
• For more laborers.

STAY Prayer

The Sweeney’s (NY)

• We are on our summer staff recruit trip for CBF. We\'re at Liberty University today and tomorrow. Praise for tons of interest in summer positions...praise for the great kids we\'ve met and opportunities to encouraging them in trusting the Lord with their futures!   
• Please keep Paul in prayer...he returned to the hotel late this morning with fever. 
• Also, more snow is coming and we\'ll be traveling! We\'ll need some prayer coverage for that!

Nancey (YWAM/Lifewater)

praise

• beautiful weather & refreshment on kauai
• a suspicious spot on my mammogram totally disappeared in followup mammos & ultrasound a week later

prayer

• continue prayer for Mike K & family
• my sister be held close & strengthened by the Lord through difficulties at home
• opportunities to share Bible with WA sister this week
• wisdom & discernment of my mom\'s condition & how to respond
• Craig & family in loss of his dad this past week (the family I visit next week in MT)
• for people doing translation of  Costa Rica materials 
• airfare for stockholm & egypt
• communication with S Africa school leaders

STAY Prayer Updates

The Sweeney’s (NewYork)

• Please keep Paul in prayer as he\'s been home sick with fever since last Weds eve. The dr says it\'s just a bug of sorts, possible sinus infection or flu type. He has lots of coughing and fever. 
• We plan to leave for our summer staff recruiting trip on Monday if he is well. 
• Our camp president,Jim, is in alot of pain after injuring his back during a fall. Please keep him in prayer as well. 
• Praise the Lord for our healthy maintenance man, Kerry! With all the snow, he\'s been able to keep us plowed out so all the residents can get to their respective ministries.
• Our ministry\'s little church plant, Revolution Church in the Bronx, has just been incorporated, is that the right word?, it is now officially a church. I\'m not sure how that changes things....but the believers there are quite excited. They are precious saints; many only believers for a couple of years through CBF\'s urban ministry and they come from homeless/and/or aids shelters. A store front (called "Room to Party")  is rented on Thurs for mid-week service and Sundays.

Nancy (Lifewater/YWAM)

Praise: 

• for  time in the park where I used to work with my friend & former supervisor.  Good reconnect & discussions.  
• For a quiet time I was able to connect with Mike & say goodbye before I left Maui
• for the church body who is there to help the Knowles family

prayer:

• healing for both Mike\'s cancer  & Mary\'s epilepsy, for daughter Jennie to move toward God and make good choices this week in upholding family responsibilities, for Christina\'s strength & wisdom, for the people who are afraid to help Mary because of her seizures to trust God and help anyway
• for the spirit to give me insight in my study of Isaiah
• for plane ticket to Stockholm & Egypt in May (trip is confirmed now by all parties)
• for the Spirit to speak through me as I spend time with Kathy this week. 
• for my friends to see their need of Jesus in their spiritual seeking & buddhist style practices
• for God\'s power, vision, strength, patience, wisdom for my sister & her family in their struggles
• for safety & good weather as Kathy & I do trail work this week

SENT  Prayer Updates

Meagan Webster (Guadalajara, Mexico)

• direction regarding her time in Guadalajara
• a long distance relationship with George
• for the Lord to grow her and do a work in her heart and use her
• possible March trip to SLO (speaking engagements)
• teams to come and serve at the Comedor

The Parks (London)

Praises:

• David has encountered people from one of his delivery stops that have been very supportive/excited about our journey to London.  It is always exciting to see people catch the excitement of the vision - especially when it\'s out of people you least expect!

Prayer:

• Continued prayer for team unity and any decisions that are being made as far as living, potential buildings to set up shop, etc.  That we will continue to be seeking God\'s will first and foremost, that we will not get distracted by other things.  
• Pray for our friend Cara, who lives in London, and her sister Joanne as Cara shared the gospel with her the other night.  For Joanne\'s salvation.
• Pray for our friends Niki and Dan living just outside of London who are asking the Lord for clarity on how to spend there time ministering to people over there.

Landon (London)

Praise:

• I feeling much better and have been productive academically this week.
• We have access to the presence of God... It\'s tripping me out.
• God\'s crazy goodness this last weekend.

Prayer:

• My sister\'s medication to slow contractions is causing nausea (which causes vomiting, which causes contraction) and she just got the flu yesterday. Pray for the Lord\'s strength and presence to be clear.
• The people we got to be with last weekend. For Seth\'s growth (a guy at dreamcenter) in Jesus and continued recovery.
• Humility before my insanely awe striking God.

Tobi (London)

Praise: 

• SCL Team meetings are such a blessing & bonding further as family is awesome a great care team dinner on Friday. The Lord has blessed me with beautiful women of Him.

Prayer:

• I will be back and forth commuting down south a few times over the course of the this week and the next to care for a friend who is getting surgery and to be back for London meetings.
• For the Team: departure dates, support funds, logistics, its a very full season for us all in preparation on many levels

The Merrills (London)

Praise:

• A very encouraging and refreshing last weekend in Idyllwild. We spent a night there at a B&B, and had lot\'s of time to hang out, talk and be with friends. Well, we did other stuff too, but it really was refreshing in a very odd way, and we had lots of fun :)

Prayer:

• For us not to get overwhelmed, but know that God will give us strength for each day He sets before us. We know He\'s in charge of our schedule and will provide for us, but we need every reminder.
• We are still trying to decide Care Team and Shepherd\'s Staff stuff.
• Please pray that we will feel God leading us in that very clearly as we don\'t know what to call home. If that makes sense.

Mark Piester (Russia)

• Pray for the children who attended the Christmas celebrations in the cities of Urozhainaya, Rybinsk and Orel. Pray that the seeds that were planted will bear fruit and that they will know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
• Pray for Sasha Kuzmin for his upcoming treatment for Parkinson’s. He will travel together with Pastor Yevgeny Kravtsov to visit a clinic in St. Petersburg. Pray for wis‐ dom for the doctors to be able to provide the proper analysis and treatments.
• Pray for the economic situation in Rybinsk and the rest of Russia. Thanksgiving for Gods provision to purchase the necessary food.
• A heartfelt thank you for your ongoing support and prayers which give me the opportunity to serve God and the Russian people. Praise to the Lord for his ongoing work of changing and redeeming lives of children, young adults and people for eternity God is at work through your prayers and financial support.

The Pottenger’s (Kisumu, Kenya)

Praises:

• Precious \'goodbye\' time with family before they left
• getting the extra bag on for no charge!
• an extra seat for more room, and a smooth trip with all luggage arriving!

Prayers:

• For sleep adjustment to the time
• for their bodies to adjust to the hot weather
• for their appointments Monday
• for their housing situation in Kisumu

C (Israel)

• I\'m winding things up and preparing to return to Israel.  I will be spending over a week with my family to help and serve them.  My dad is now on oxygen 24/7 for the rest of his life.  He told me to go forward with my work, that it\'s important.  But not after I get to take time with them.  I will be landing on the 13th of February in Israel and really need your prayers to re-enter without a problem. 
• The work in Israel is awaiting me!  Because of all the details in preparing to return I haven\'t had much computer time, so I apologize for not being able to answer emails.  Thank you all for understanding and thank you for your prayers.  I\'ll try to do better.
• LOVE WITHOUT BORDERS - Following is a partial email from a co-worker; I took a trip to the north to visit our small home fellowship (Which LWB started) of MBB’s. (Muslim Background Believers)  They are all so joyful, and appreciative of our times of fellowship.  It was a fun day as I took along two local believers and we had a great time of fellowshipping and praying with them.  I was also able to bring more food to help each family. I brought ministry movies about the Old Testament, and they are hungry to learn more.