On the other side, in Cha’pur we had Asha and the women prayer warriors getting involved through a simple Sewing Training Program to help reach out to non-believers with the living Word of God and leading families to faith in Christ. Some like Ramita from Mahida in the picture also experienced the saving Grace of Jesus, and gave their lives over to Christ, and became useful in their simple way by working for the needs of society, which brought opportunities to share the Gospel with unbelievers.

The Small Business Development (SBD) Training held in March 2019 at Surkhet with the help of Trainers from Wabash Friends Church has helped people like Tulsa and her husband who is a pastor in Surkhet to come to understand that it is good for leaders to have a tent-making ministry. They started a ready-made garment shop with a small seed grant from CHE and soon this helped their churches in being self-supported and sustainable.

On the home front, PRISCILLA (Ritu) has also shown determination and leadership qualities in leading and guiding these women to rise to the occasion and be considered equal in families and communities. Even with the pressure of all these responsibilities and working in a Nursing College, Priscilla was awarded a PhD by Walden University (USA)

We Praise God for all our activities which have brought Him Glory in small and subtle ways.

Please Pray…

• For our CHE Trainers and their families as they serve God through various ways in different places and lead many more to Christ.
• For the work in Jugauliya among the Musahar people.
• The Eden CHE Committee in Cha’pur have taken the initiative of starting a Community Learning Centre in an attempt to become united and working among the poor and marginalized using CHE. They are led by Suleman and Pastor Ramesh.

We wish you, all of our friends and well-wishers, as well as our faithful supporters, a very happy and blessed time at Christmas this year, and a year full of his promises in 2020.

Shalom,

Samson, Priscilla, and Prateek

Nepal

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The post December 2019 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

For nearly a decade the Badgley family has been on a journey to reach the Shuar tribe of Ecuador and Peru with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It started when Russ and Sarah took a “Perspectives on the Christian World Movement” course and did a research project on an unreached people group. The group they studied was the Shuar. At that point they began to sense that the Lord wanted them to do something about the Shuar’s need for the gospel.

It wasn’t long until the Badgleys arrived to Greenleaf Friends Church in Southern Idaho and then soon afterwards began talking with EFM. Eventually the Badgleys moved to the southeastern part of Ecuador where they have been pioneering a new field for EFM. In a relatively short amount of time they have been able to establish relationships with the Body of Christ in Ecuador and get a much closer look at the realities of life for the Shuar. The need for the gospel is truly there. So is the opportunity for making disciples of Jesus Christ.

As you know, this journey has been a rough one for the Badgley family. There have been health challenges that have led to bouncing back and forth between Ecuador and the U.S. Until recently they did not feel released from a sense of call to live and minister in Ecuador. That release has now come after a period of seeking the Lord’s direction together.

The Badgleys will be relocating to the Pacific Northwest before the end of 2019. They will be stepping down from their roles as missionaries with EFM and looking for ways to serve the Lord through their professions. EFM is committed to helping them with their relocation which includes leaving Ecuador well, processing what the family has been through during the last few years as well as what they will go through as they adjust to living in the U.S, and also doing what we can to help them with some of their needs while they get settled in their new location (which is yet to be determined).

You have faithfully journeyed with the Badgleys through your prayers, giving, and encouragement. We ask that you continue to stand with them indefinitely through your prayers and encouragement and financially through March of 2020 in order to help cover the costs of relocation and missionary care.

This change of direction does not mean that the Badgleys’ journey with Ecuador and the Shuar is over. They want to be a part of helping whoever takes their place to pick up where they are leaving off. They also want to find ways through their professions to contribute to these efforts. So please pray that they will have eyes to see how the Lord wants them to do this. Pray also that the Lord of the harvest will send more workers to reach the Shuar. Thank you for praying.

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Dan Cammack

Executive Director of EFM

The post November 2019 Badgley Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

“Thank you all for this afternoon, the girls loved it. They were asking if they could come back next week!”

“Thanks so much. I really enjoyed that meeting with you all… for me it was a lovely time to worship with my kids… to be together at their level. Looking forward to the next one!”

“It was fab! We don’t get to too many services in the year, but was wanting to talk about and sing about God with my kids but not in the way I was brought up…”

These are a few of the comments that were posted in our “group” following our first “Interactive Family Worship Service”.  We have called it an “experiment”, and it is one that these families are committed to. We spent another hour on Thursday talking about what worked and what didn’t work, what they loved about sitting on the floor with their children listening to a story, hearing their questions and taking time to respond, creating a craft (or putting together a pie) as a family, and dancing and moving with the music. And most importantly we talked about “next time.” Next time is already on the calendar, and these women have already begun to invite others to join us.

As always, I am so thankful for the life that God has given me in Ireland. I feel privileged to be allowed to enter into the lives of the people around me – through baby and toddler groups, Bible Study, Godly Play, and this “experiment” of worship that invites the whole family to participate fully. And I am thankful for you who faithfully pray for me, and these people that I love.

Praise God…

• For this new way to worship together, and the commitment to continue our “experiment”.
• For the privilege of learning and growing deeper in faith alongside these families.

Please Pray…

• For our interactive service, that it will become a regular part of our practice together.
• For a deeper understanding of grace and love for each of us.
• For my family as we navigate this time of grief following the death of my sister.

Read more…

The post November 2019 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

Creation is a central and foundational belief for both Christians and Muslims. These two verses speak directly to God as the Creator and His Word which was there at the beginning and spoken for the benefit of humanity, both physically and spiritually. It is a common ground area that speaks to both Christians and Muslims. It is a belief that brings up the question: Why God created human beings?

Our ministry at Purok Uno in Silangan Philippines has started a new study with our children, both Christians and Muslims, and the above verses bring together a belief that all the children know: God is the Creator.

So how does this work out in an ESL class? Not long ago I discovered a paper-based microscope called Foldscope. They were designed by two Professors at Stanford University, who were looking for a way to teach science to students in countries that couldn’t afford a regular microscope. As we were praying the idea of using the foldscope to teach English was brought up. As we continued to pray and seek how this would work, the Holy Spirit showed us Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1. Thus our theme and teaching in English and science is “Understanding God’s Creation through the Microscope.” (Big Shout-Out to Dwight Kimberly (Reedwood Friends) for being a Man of God and Scientist in our lives)

It has been a big hit with the children and the community. The children had to build the Foldscope thus utilizing all their learning skills from both the teacher (me) and video segments. And as we progress in this project the children have to answer questions about what they are seeing and learning about God’s creation. Of course, we sing songs, play games, and have snacks. Yes, they are also using the basic scientific method of observation and testing.

It is amazing to watch them absorb the material and lessons. We are planning a semester end gathering on Oct. 19^th. The children/youth and some parents from Purok Uno and Silangan Evangelical Friends Church will have a swim party and lunch. It will be a time to just gather, get to know one another better, have lunch, and FUN!

• Please pray for more parent contact of our students.
• Please pray they will understand the nature of God as the Creator.
• Please pray for more open doors of ministry to this community.

To the right is an updated picture of the church building in Tagnipa Evangelical Friends Church, Palawan.

Your fellow servants in Christ,

Roy and Jinky Twaddell

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The post October 2019 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

I’ve been reading a two-volume biography of Hudson Taylor and the missions agency he founded called the China Inland Mission. Hudson Taylor, as you may recall, was a key player in missions history. Not only was he instrumental in sending hundreds of missionaries into the interior of China during the late 19^th century, he also taught us much about how to carry out the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.

The title of the first volume of this biography is, “The Growth of a Soul.” It’s a 500-page story of how God prepared Hudson to do what he did. Some of that preparation happened in China itself. Most of it took place in his home country of England before going to China. If it were up to him, he would have gone to that far country long before he actually got there. God had a different plan, however.

This story reminds me of the journey that Molly Morton is on. Ireland has been on Molly’s heart and mind for many, many years. Even before coming to EFM she searched for ways to move and live there. Then, after joining EFM, Molly, along with her teammates in Ireland, continued the search. As you probably remember, the Republic of Ireland changed its immigration laws about the time that Molly became fully funded and received the green light from EFM to proceed to Ireland. We are all still working on getting Molly to Ireland under the kind of visa that will allow her to be there long-term.

So what are all these delays really about? I think that “The Growth of a Soul” sums it up well. Molly, her teammates, and the rest of us who are part of this journey have come to the conclusion that the Lord is giving her extra time in the U.S. in order to work on some personal matters as well as to prepare her further for the kinds of ministries she will be involved in once she moves to Ireland. So, in order to take advantage of this extra time we put together a plan that includes the following:

• Begin an online master’s degree in Pastoral Studies through Barclay College. This will help deepen Molly’s knowledge of the Bible, theology, and ministry in church settings.
• Participate in The Lab which is facilitated by Alan and Barbara Amavisca in Southern California. This will deepen her knowledge of and reliance on God with a community of like-minded people as well as expose her to different ways of doing outreach in a secular society.
• Gain experience in a local church setting through a residency facilitated by Equipping Leader Ministries (led by Stan Leach). The local church setting will most likely be cross-cultural. This will help broaden Molly’s experience in the various ministries of a church as well as strengthen her ability to minister cross-culturally.
• Continue meeting with the EFM Ireland team and stay in touch with the Nazarene church in Greystones in order to keep building a relationship with that congregation.
• Meet twice a month with Carol Lewis who will help coach Molly through this entire plan in such a way that Molly continues to learn how to be a good learner and have additional support in working through the difficulties that will surely arise. Carol’s coaching will help integrate the various pieces of this plan and also help the learning process proceed at an appropriate pace.

Most of the pieces of this plan are already in place and functioning. At the beginning of 2020 we will evaluate how the plan is going and determine whether it’s time to apply for the Minister of Religion visa that would allow Molly to be in Ireland long-term. Our prayer is that immigration officials will take into account all the work that she is currently doing and that it will strengthen the case for giving her this kind of visa. If all signs are “go” on both sides of the ocean, then Molly’s move to Ireland could happen during the summer of 2020.

When you accepted Molly’s invitation to support her through prayer and financial giving you probably expected her to be in Ireland by now. We did too! We are all very grateful for the way in which you have hung in there in the midst of all these twists and turns in the journey. I hope this update is helpful to you in showing where we are at in the journey (as best we can tell!) and some of what we anticipate up ahead. I trust that this update also shows you how your prayers and financial giving are helping Molly’s soul to grow right now as she prepares for current and future ministries. Thank you for your faithful support.

As you can imagine, the plan described above comes with a cost. If you would like to invest further in Molly’s growth you can do so by clicking the donate button below and making a contribution.

If you have any questions about this update please feel free to contact me.

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Dan Cammack

Executive Director of EFM

The post Update Regarding Molly Morton first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

by David and Tricia Howell

Tis the season for orange traffic cones, barriers, diversions in place, stop and go signs, and men in high visibility jackets to dot the landscape. Construction is in full swing.

We live in a beautiful little town on the seafront called Wicklow. A place filled with coffee shops, small businesses and the like. Normally I love sitting outside, drinking my coffee, and chatting with people as they walk by. Today as I write this, I am sitting outside one of the coffee shops and it is a different experience all together. It is loud and dirty and chaotic. When the construction zone enters, it loses its charm for sure. However…it is necessary. Without the upgrades or repairs or preventative maintenance, we would be in for serious peril down the road.

In many ways, life mirrors this scene. It takes a time of a construction zone in our lives for the needed work to be done. They can be messy and ugly as things are dug up and revealed. They can be hard times or confusing times, but they are necessary. They require a great amount of patience as the work, slow as it may seem, is carried out. And in the end, it will all be worth it.

Recently, I have been thinking about our ministry and our friends who have gone through tumultuous construction periods in their lives. These friends have faced addictions, relationship problems, deep wounds, and so many other issues that have caused a deep spiritual brokenness. As we struggle through these times with each of them, we hold fast to the promises of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” What a celebration it is to see the brokenness repaired and the new life appearing. The cones are gone. The roads are clear. And the peace has returned. But God is not done here. As new cones begin to pop up in other friend’s lives, we pray that they too may find the same peace in Jesus Christ. Would you please join us in this prayer?

Praise God…

• For relationships that encourage and bless us, both from Ireland and the US.
• For the lives that have been transformed through the ministry of EFM-Ireland.
• For the opportunities to minister and share Jesus with people who have graciously invited us in.

Please Pray…

• As the new school year begins, life picks up speed, both personally and in ministry. Pray for Jonathan who starts university in Dublin. Pray for Moriah as she starts 5th year (her Junior year). Pray for us as we volunteer in the schools and begin a new year of working with teenagers.
• Pray for our Visa and Citizenship process. We are waiting to hear back in relation to our current visa and for our application for citizenship for Tricia. Please pray that we will be granted favor to stay and continue to serve.
• Pray for our ministry among those we are blessed to know. Our prayer is that they will know Jesus Christ as their Lord and the love and peace that this brings.

Read more…

The post September 2019 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

For some time, Edwin and Maria have been sensing that it would be good for the church in Aguascalientes not to have a constant missionary presence so that it can continue to develop under the leadership that has been raised up. When an opportunity arose in Yorba Linda, California, to join the pastoral staff of the Hispanic congregation called “Amigos” (Friends), they felt led to accept the invitation. Their first “official” Sunday is August 4, 2019, and they are already getting settled in the Yorba Linda area. But in taking this step they are not leaving missions behind. Their vision is to mobilize Hispanic Friends for carrying out the Great Commission of Jesus Christ; Friends in Yorba Linda, Mexcio, the United States, and Latin America. They are currently exploring ways to do that in partnership with EFM.

Their current relationship with EFM as full-time missionaries came to an end on July 31 of this year. EFM is encouraging the Giron’s supporters to continue their giving through November of this year so that we can provide the Girons with a “love gift” which will help them cover the costs of getting settled in the United States. Those of us who have served as missionaries know how expensive it is to settle in the U.S. and the extra financial help is deeply appreciated. Furthermore, ongoing giving until November helps to cover the ministry expenses in Aguascalientes that EFM committed to for 2019.

If you are not a regular financial supporter of the Girons but would like to be part of this “love gift,” you can contribute to it by:

• Donating online here
• Donating by credit card over the phone at 303-421-8100
• Mailing a check marked with Giron designation to EFM, PO Box 771139, Wichita KS 67277

Please stay tuned for further news on how EFM and the Girons might partner together to mobilize Hispanic Friends for missions. We should know no later than November of this year what that partnership will look like. It is very likely that the partnership will require some level of financial support, and many of you may want to be a part of that. Please pray for the Lord’s guidance in the conversations that are happening.

Finally, here is a note from Edwin and Maria for you: Our hearts are immensely grateful. We praise the Lord for the experiences we have lived all these years of ministry in Mexico. We are thankful to have been able to witness the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives, grateful for the extreme and integral care we received from our beloved EFM family, and grateful to each of you our dear partners for lifting us up constantly with your precious prayers and support so that we could carry out the tasks and overcome all the challenges of ministry in Mexico during these 11 years. We are deeply grateful that God is allowing us to complete this chapter of our life and our ministry with much grace, blessings, and peace.

We are looking forward to seeing the ways in which God will allow us in the near future to remain connected with missions through EFM. We pray that God continues to bless the generous heart of each one of you.

The post August 2019 Giron Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

We trust that you are experiencing the love of God in your day today. May He give you eyes to see His loving care for you.

The Lord is expanding our vision for what He wants to do through the Evangelical Friends Church (EFC). Here are some details and a request.

We believe the Lord is leading us to move towards and be a part of a movement in and through the Evangelical Friends Church in Africa of whole-life disciples who are making disciples, planting churches, and sending out missionaries. Please watch the video below to more fully understand what the Lord is doing among us and how we believe He is leading us forward. This video was created by our friend Seth Binford.

Watch The Whole – 10 Minute Video Here

–OR —

Watch The Video Split Into Four Chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

At this point we do not know exactly what this will look like, but we believe that it will include Evangelical Friends Church leaders, pastors, and missionaries from Africa Friends and from Friends in North America. This is a huge vision and continues to grow in us. The Lord is leading our African Friends towards missions-sending and we believe that He will call others from North America (maybe you!?!?) to join us to partner together towards this vision.

Currently there are two ways we sense a need for people to join us. We do not know if it is you or not, but we want to invite you to prayerfully consider joining us in these needs.

1. Intentional and specific prayer. We believe that prayer is a key part of moving into all that God has for us to be and do. We sense that we are on the verge of a big movement. The members of our D for D leadership have been dealing with different issues related to health, deep tiredness, and other things. We believe that at least part of these things is related to spiritual warfare. Therefore, we are asking for some of you to join us more intentionally in prayer. Here are some ideas for how you can partner with us in prayer.
   • Join our Prayer Shield Team. We hope to have people specifically praying for this vision becoming reality every day. We would love to invite you to consider committing to pray intentionally and consistently at specific times. It might be that some would feel led to commit to praying daily. Others on a certain day each week or on a specific date of the month. This would be a time to pray for the overall vision, our D for D leaders, etc. Would you consider joining us in this way? If so, please respond and tell us how you intend to pray. We would like to know who might be praying when.
   • Join a Local Church Intercession Team– we would like to set up groups for intercession using the phone app called WhatsApp. We have groups working in different local churches and in different countries. We would like to increase specific prayer for each of these groups. In each WhatsApp group we will share specific prayer requests related to that group. Joining an intercession team means that you would be joining the D for D team in a specific community as a prayer warrior.
   • We will continue to send out prayer requests and updates through email. These emails will be great additions for specific ways to pray. Please be intentional to pray with us for those things we write about.
2. Become a missionary with Evangelical Friends Mission and join us on the ground to move towards this vision.
   • Contact the EFM staff (https://friendsmission.com/go/) to begin a discussion and process of discernment with us about your calling and your part in helping us move towards this vision.
   • Pray regularly for the Lord to lead you into His plan for your life and that you will obey his leading.

In Christ’s Service Together,

Brad and Chelsea

The post July 2019 Carpenter Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Our family arrived in Quito early morning of the 4th of July after spending several days in Idaho and Washington with churches, family and friends. After staying a night in Quito, we collected our vehicle from an organization that safely stored it for us, and in the early evening, headed southerly toward Macas. We had a short-term housing arrangement awaiting us.

Our travels were not uneventful however. Before we left the U.S., Russell ended up with a broken nose (church softball), Sarah with a kidney infection, and once arriving in Ecuador we encountered a landslide late in the evening that forced a retracing of travel and rerouting, costing us about 3 extra hours and an overnight stay in a hostel. Despite these bumps, we made it safe and sound!

Since arriving in Macas, we’ve been enjoying reuniting with friends and acquaintances one-by-one. It’s been fun to see people’s reaction to Matthew’s growth and express their love and care for him, and yet they always ask where the rest of the kids are and want to see them as well.

Joseph and Ruth hit the ground running and have been volunteering at a local school with vacation Bible school and English camps. They’re partnering with several short-term mission groups from the states who come each year. Emma has resumed training with her basketball team in Macas. She has one to two months of strength training to complete before she starts modified regular practice.

Russell and I have spent much time searching for housing and getting the kids needs met, as well as providing rides to the kids as they volunteer and have evening activities with the short-term mission groups.

We’re thankful to have found a nice, comfortable and affordable house in town, near our language route areas, and in only one week into our time here. The landlord offered it up to us for the same price as several of the three bedroom apartments have been asking, and without carrying the risk of structural integrity issues during a time of heightened earthquakes here. The house also has a yard area for the baby and Emma’s dog. God has blessed us for sure.

During our host church’s men’s group, Russ mentioned moving to our new place in a few days, and six or so men volunteered to move us. They brought a pickup and a large commercial truck and got the job done in a day. Gotta love South American hospitality and relationships!

Joe and Ruth are thinking they’ll resume basketball and swimming once school begins.

Matthew Health Update

Six months of good health, without any paralysis issues! Sometimes it’s hard to process those words: “our baby” and “paralysis events.” His neurologist initially thought he possibly had a genetic condition and would severely decline in the months to come. We’ve seen great progress and normal development in in Matthew. Additionally, we recently learned that when Matthew had his lip tie cut as a newborn, he was severely overdosed with lidocaine. The words we were told were “near euthanasia.” It seems his brain may have needed time to bounce back and “rewire” from that damage. But God has been good to us to spare and restore our boy, and we are grateful for your prayers in this matter. Thank you for your ongoing prayers.

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The post August 2019 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Psalm 2:8

Our brothers and sisters working in The Way Foundation in Chiang Rai, Thailand (friends through Damascus and Winona Friends Churches in Ohio – EFC-ER) are praying about the communities they will be discipling over the next few years. They have been going through a process preparing their team to mentor a community through a transformation process where the community overcomes the things that hold them down in poverty and release the blessing of the Kingdom of God among them. They have come up with criteria and they have taken many trips to help them discern the most “ready” communities for this work. They are also actively seeking insight from the Holy Spirit to know which communities to select. Even though we don’t know which communities they will select, we can join them and Jesus in asking the Father for these specific Lahu communities. We believe that the transformation that will happen, a clear example of God’s Kingdom come among the people of these villages, along with all the leaders who will be developed through this process will be the foundation of a growing disciple-making movement reaching deep into the rest of the Lahu speaking cultures and beyond them into other people groups.

Join me, our Lahu brothers and sisters, and Jesus as we “Ask the Father” for these communities, for the Lahu nations, and for the nations God wants to reach through his Lahu church (their inheritance)!

David Thomas
Whole-Life Discipleship

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The post July 2019 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.