June 14, 2009

Photographic Memory

Aaron, Sarah and their parents graduate from high school!

Prayer mirrors the gospel. In the gospel, the Father takes us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of salvation. In prayer, the Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of help. We look at the inadequacy of our praying and give up, thinking something is wrong with us. God looks as the adequacy of his Son and delights in our sloppy, meandering prayers.” —Paul Miller

Remembering His Grace, Begging His Mercy

For what and when should we praise the Lord? Praise the Lord in everything, especially His guidance. Praise the Lord “in sweetness and in sorrow.”

Thank you Lord for the grace You gave to Aaron Covington and Sarah Vanderwall in order to complete the requirements to graduate from high school.

Claudia Umlor had carpal tunnel surgery on her wrist last week. Please pray that the repairs heal quickly and without further trouble. Would you also pray for a quick resolution to the error made in Claudia’s unemployment or that God would provide in another way?

The City of Bell Gardens Police Department is in a time of transition. An Interim Chief has been appointed until a permanent Chief is installed. Pray for the safety and well-being of the local officers, the staff and volunteers who serve to keep our city safe. In addition, the churches in Bell Gardens are partnering with the Police Department and the Neighborhood Watch in the observance of “National Night Out” (August 4th). National Night Out seeks to promote safety and community in our neighborhoods and communities. More details will be provided later. For now, would you ask God for His blessing and help in preparing for this event?

Carol Mead’s cancer has not affected her spirit. She desires to go and do as much as she is able. Please ask God to renew Carol’s health.

Praise the Lord for the safe return of our travelers. Shawn and Marissa Sammartano enjoyed a long (although way too short) weekend in northern California; Alice and Jim Covington were able to attend both high school graduations.

Pastor Tony Núñez will begin a six-month sabbatical beginning July 1. He will not be teaching at Biola nor regularly preaching in the Spanish congregation in order to focus on completing his doctoral dissertation. Please pray that Tony can complete his degree and also pray for the various leaders in the church who will be assuming various responsibilities in Tony’s absence.

The Korean congregation is preparing for a Bible Conference which will be held June 30 to July 3. Would you pray with our brothers and sisters for clarity in the teaching and explanation of the Gospel and would you pray for those who will be attending who do not yet have a relationship with Jesus Christ?

We pray for the physical safety. emotional stability, and spiritual awakening of the men and women of our military forces who are engaged in fulfilling their responsibilities.

• Marvin Funkhouser—deployed to Iraq for 18 months
• Coleen—a friend of Woody and Barbara Blalock
• Tony Loving—flying troops in and out of various areas
• Bryan Miller—in Guam, will be in Iraq soon
• Sam Im
• Steven Henning
• Jorge Avalos
• Ryan Bareng
• Jeremy Peters—currently in Iraq
• Jeremy Thomas—currently in Afghanistan
• Jason Kiser—currently in the Gulf
• John Kiser—currently in Iraq

Read the Bible

In April, May, and June our Bible reading centers in Hebrew History, from Joshua to Esther. In June we’ll read Ezra (10), Nehemiah (13), Esther (10). The chapter totals are listed to help set your reading pace. Remember to include 3 Psalms and 1 chapter from Proverbs each week.

The suggested 2009 Bible reading guide (1 page) can be downloaded here.

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”

Richard & Ellen Hayes

June 1, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

As summer rapidly approaches here in the foothills of Spokane we are anticipating several ministry opportunities. In July our church hosts a Family Fun Festival which draws people from the surrounding areas, as well as, a Vacation Bible School, a Family Camp and numerous other opportunities to impact the lives of individuals and share the Gospel message. The Lord has strategically placed us here in a wonderful opportunity to serve Him and impact lives.

Our family mourns the loss of Richard’s father, Guy H. Hayes, who passed into the presence of the Lord on May 11, 2009. Richard continues to handle matters related to his dad’s estate and is planning a special service for the family in late August.

Carrie continues to do well at East Valley High School and will graduate on June 15th. Christina finished her junior year at Biola and left for Boston, Massachusetts on June 1st to serve as an intern for Campus Crusade for Christ. Christina will return home on July 31st. Katie completed her sophomore year at Biola and is home for the summer and is eagerly searching for a summer job. Carrie will work at Safeway through the summer and is excited about attending Biola in the fall.

Ellen continues to be involved in the Women’s Ministry leadership and enjoys spending time with various ladies at the church. Both of us are getting ready for the camping season for the Pinecroft Christian Camps where we jointly serve as the Secretary-Treasurer of the organization. Richard continues to teach as an adjunct instructor at Moody Bible Institute’s Spokane Campus. Richard just finished the Spring Semester and taught the Hermeneutics class (Biblical interpretation). For the fall semester Richard will teach a class called Bible Introduction which covers the text of the Bible from the original manuscripts to modern day translations.

There is an issue that is not always comfortable to discuss and that deals with our finances. It has been just about 13 years since we initially raised our support to serve with Village Missions, and over the course of time our monthly financial support has begun to dwindle. While we serve in a larger than average Village Missions church, we are still Village Missionaries and required to raise and maintain a supplemental support base. Include in our support base is $250.00 per-month that goes directly to Village Missions as a service fee. Village Missions has not been immune to the challenging economic times in which we live and has felt the impact of the economic decline. We know our Lord will provide for our needs and for the needs of Village Missions and invite you to join us in praying for His provision.

As we anticipate a ministry filled summer we want to thank all of you who uphold us in prayer and continue to support us financially each month. Here are a few things we would appreciate you remembering in prayer:

• Pray for our continued effectiveness as we impact the foothills and Spokane area for our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Pray for us as we built relationships with the people in our community, that these relationships will lead to opportunities to share the Gospel.
• Pray for us as we continue to get to know and build relationships with the people here at Foothills Community Church.
• Pray for Christina as she serves her internship with Campus Crusade for Christ in Boston this summer. Pray for her mom and dad who will really be missing her. Pray for Christina’s safe travel and for her safety and ministry in Boston.
• Pray for Katie as she is home for the summer. Pray she finds an appropriate summer job and that she connects and finds a place of ministry here at Foothills Community Church for the summer.
• Pray for Carrie as she graduates from East Valley High School on June 15th and works at Safeway for the summer and anticipates the fall semester at Biola.
• Lastly, would you please make our monthly financial support through Village Missions a matter of prayer, as well as, the needs of Village Missions itself.

Thank you for your faithfulness over the years. You are a special blessing and we appreciate you so much!

We pray that the summer season will be one in which each of us will be actively pursuing the Master’s business and we anticipate His coming.

In Christ Jesus, our Lord,

Richard & Ellen Hayes
Village Missions, Spokane, Washington

Eric & Josie Oldenburg

June 2009

Do you ever have those moments when you read a word or phrase in Scripture that you know you’ve read countless times but, this time, it really stands out as though you’ve never seen it before? That happened the other day when I read Psalm 118, which describes the Lord as acting “valiantly.” The word sounds very respectable, and I’m pretty sure that it was a great way to describe medieval knights, but what does it mean for God? Now, I know that it’s not proper hermeneutical form for deciding Biblical meaning to look up the definition of a word in an English dictionary instead of the original Hebrew word in a lexicon or theological dictionary, but all of my resources for doing the latter are in Ukraine, so I was limited to the former. The word primarily connotes acting bravely, courageously or with valor — not things that we usually attribute to the God of the universe for Whom the universe is but a footstool. But the word also means to act “worthily” or “excellently,” phrases that are ubiquitous in the Scriptures. We can attest that God has been working this way on our behalf, and we trust that He will continue to work this way as we return to Ukraine. Praise be to our great God Who ever works valiantly on behalf of His people.

Praise God with us for the following:

• We finished the southern California portion of our home service with success and joy. We shipped some boxes to Ukraine, Eric preached and we said many, many goodbyes.
• We had an enjoyable trip to Minnesota to visit some friends as well as some former fellow Ukraine missionaries (although Eric missed the latter due to sickness).
• The Lord has provided the monthly support that we need to return to Ukraine. This is truly a sign of God’s favor during such economically trying times.
• There is a Thursday evening Bible study at Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church that Josie will be able to participate in this summer.

Pray to God with us for the following:

• We plan to return to Ukraine by Aug. 12 in time for our SEND Ukraine area conference in L’vov. Pray that we would find just the right tickets for our return and that Eric’s visa would be processed within that timeline.
• Pray that we will be able to schedule and complete all needed doctor appointments, home service responsibilities, and personal and Church visits before our departure date.
• Pray for Eric as he preaches this Sunday at Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church. He will be addressing the passages in which the Father speaks in the Gospels.
• Pray that we would be ready for our return to a foreign-language context. Pray, as well, that Dietrich will take to Russian/Ukrainian as fabulously as he’s taken to English.

Ps. 118: 15b-16: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”

Eric and Josie Oldenburg
Send International

Arvalee Palmer

June 2009

Dear Ones in Christ,

It is great to be home again in Tucson, Arizona. As the saying goes, “There is no place like home, be it ever so humble!” Last month I spent three weeks in Wisconsin with Julie and family and was able to attend Emily’s wonderful harp performance and other special events.

Since returning home, things have been rather busy but I am looking forward to getting into editing the book once again. I’m very much aware that it is there waiting for me!

I want you all to know that I am thankful and appreciate your gifts and prayers for me. I am thankful most of all to the Lord for the way He meets my needs day by day.

Recently I heard from Peter and Joy. After their many travels, they are home again in Salatiga, Indonesia, on the island of Java. Here is a quote from their letter: “While we were visiting the NTM headquarters in Australia we found out that our 2 year Australian visas that were granted this past December could be in jeopardy if we don’t soon make Australia our ‘home or residence’. So after praying and asking God what to do about all this, we are making plans to move there in September!” They will continue to be involved in pastoral/member-care with the missionaries serving through New Tribes Mission in Australia and Indonesia. They are making a short trip to the States and plan to stay with me two weeks the middle of July. In Florida they will attend 2 leadership training courses. After saying goodbye to family and friends they will return to Australia the middle of September.

I’m including some news for prayer from one of the tribal locations in the Sepik Region in Papua New Guinea: I trust this will encourage you to pray for these new believers in Christ as well as the missionaries, Brooks and Nina Buser.

In the Yembiyembi tribe, 19 people were baptized in the river last Sunday. There were some incredible testimonies, with good questions and answers. But as is typical in Yembiyembi “fire chases sweet” (bad follows good), and we came crashing back to earth yesterday. One of the village chiefs called us down for a “meeting” to discuss why so many were crossing over (becoming believers). It turned out that it was a pre-planned trap to try and get the believers and myself to react and start an all out fight…or worse. To their credit the believers held their cool and got out before any major fights erupted, but the tension in the village is high. Remember that the believers (like every good Yembiyembi) have been raised to fight at the drop of a hat, and to have 26 men hold their cool while some younger men were taunting them and begging them to fight is….very unnatural. Please pray for these next days as they will be loaded with tension and the possibility of a major village explosion is high.

Yours in the fellowship of the Gospel,

Arvalee Palmer
New Tribes Mission

Byron & Robyn Siemsen

June 1, 2009

Dear Supporters,

I resisted joining Facebook until recently, but two nights ago Facebook finally proved its usefulness. For those who are not familiar with it, Facebook is an online networking web site. Many people use it to keep updated on what their friends are doing. Actually, it was not Facebook that was useful; it was God’s timing.

Byron checked my Facebook page quickly before we went to bed, and told me that someone invited me to “chat,” which means to send messages via the Internet. It was Lupe, who lives a few blocks away from us, asking if I could take her to the hospital because her mother had taken herself to the emergency room that day. She did not have her phone, so her only communication device was the Internet via Facebook, but I would not have seen her request if Byron had not looked at my page. Instead of going to bed, I went to the hospital with Lupe.

It has been a long time since I have written about Lupe. We met four years ago when she was in the ninth grade. Her high-school youth group had a leadership-training program, and she asked me to to be her mentor. Now she is eighteen years old and has graduated from high school. She is very bright and hopes to go to college in the next school year. This year she has been working.

Lupe’s mother has been in the hospital other times because she has chronic anemia. Sometimes, when it gets severe, she starts to lose all her energy and becomes dizzy. This time she went to the bus stop planning to go to a health clinic, but when she vomited at the bust stop, she decided to go to the emergency room at the hospital instead. She told me half jokingly that she hates coming to the hospital because whenever she comes, she ends up staying. The doctors did a myriad of tests again this time, and now she has to wait a couple weeks to hear the results. Her anemia started when she had her youngest children, who are twins, about nine years old. She does not know what causes it, though. She is one of the strongest women I know, but this is scary for her.

Please pray that Lupe’s mother will be healed of her anemia. Pray that it is not caused by a type of cancer, which is one of the tests for which we are awaiting results. Most of all, pray that she will find Jesus to be the One in whom she can put her trust. She said she would be very thankful if you prayed for her.

Pray also for Lupe. This has been an all-around rough year for her, and she was hoping to have some time to reflect on the year and on her relationships. She is trying to walk in obedience, and she asked me to pray that she will not become complacent in her walk with God. Pray also for peace for her. Her mother is a single mom, so it is even more scary for Lupe that her mom has health problems. Lupe already has many extra responsibilities helping her mom with her younger siblings.

In Christ,

Byron and Robyn Siemsen
World Impact, Los Angeles

“Worry is interest paid on trouble before it becomes due.”

Turkey, Greece, Rome trip summary, part 7

Hello Everyone,

It has taken me awhile to catch up after being gone, back, and gone again. But I am progressing (even if some things are late-r than usual).

Would you add two prayer requests to the ones included above? Monday morning (6-15), Mrs. Duncan’s body died, however her soul and spirit is now enjoying the presence of her Savior and Lord. She is Donna Rigsby’s mother. Donna is in Tucson, AZ with her family. A funeral is planned for June 26 (a week from this Friday).

The second request is for Wanda Slaven. She has been awaiting notice regarding a second surgery date to remove the remaining cancer. The surgery is now scheduled for Tuesday, June 23 at 5:00 PM. I’m sure she and her family would also appreciate your prayer.

It has taken far longer than I anticipated to complete our trip summary. Here is the final installment. Those shouts of joy are not only yours but mine as well. Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 21; Rome (Churches)

We saw the Vatican Museum but we didn’t see the Pope. The history of the painting of the Sistine Chapel is more about political maneuvering rather than Biblical doctrine. A new addition to St. Peter’s Basilica is the display of Pope John XXIII’s remains. We learned the Pope does not speak “ex-cathedra” here. We visited the church building called St. Paul’s Outside the Walls (which was the largest church in the world until St. Peter’s was built). There we saw the Pope (well, we saw all of the Popes) on ornate mosaic medallions. This is where Paul’s bodily remains are buried (but not on display). The church called “Three Fountains” is where Paul was executed. The legend says when his head was severed it bounced three times. At each spot where it touched the ground “a spring of water broke forth.” More believable than the legend was the delicious Trappisti chocolate we bought and ate.

Thursday, January 22; Rome (Ancient)

We had a half-day to tour the Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum), the Roman Forum, and the Mamertine Prison. The architectural wonder of the Colosseum is that it is free-standing instead of against a hill. The Romans’ use of the arch makes this possible. The Arch of Titus, on the edge of the Roman Forum, was erected to commemorate Rome’s victory and capture of Jerusalem. A relief in the Arch depicts the menorah, trumpets, and possibly the Table of Showbread plundered from the Jerusalem Temple. In the afternoon everyone went to sites that especially interested them. Some locations included shopping, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and McDonalds. In the evening we met together for our Final Farewell, to give thanks to the Lord for our adventure together.

Friday, January 23; Farewell Tour

What seemed like the longest day of our entire tour began with a short leisurely morning and a white-knuckle landing in Paris. After a few tense moments prior to our departure due to a lack of necessary international documents, our long flight to Los Angeles was routine and uneventful. We were instructed how to use the seatbelt, the location of the exits, and forbidden to smoke in the lavatory. However, there were no signs or verbal warnings about getting too close to the edge. The day “officially” ended thirty-six hours later with hearty greetings from immigration officers and custom agents.

. . .

At the abrupt end of Luke’s second volume we are given one final insight about the way Paul chose to live as a bond-servant of Jesus Christ. Eugene Peterson summarizes the thought, “He welcomed everyone who came to visit. He urgently presented all matters of the kingdom of God. He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open.” Good teachers tell and show.

Jim Covington