Hi all! Just a quick update to say THANK YOU! Thank you for praying and giving so generously. Last week, as we approached Christmas – the commitments to give, and the generous gifts given, added up to fully funded!

This means that with a combination of future giving, and generous one-time gifts toward support, we trust that my monthly needs will be met going forward, and I am able to return to Ireland NEXT WEEK.

Thank you! Thank you for welcoming me into your churches and lives these past months, while I have been in the U.S. Thank you for hearing my appeals and responding. Thank you for loving the Irish people and allowing me to go back and show them that love in real life.

I am scheduled to fly January 9, arriving in Ireland on January 10 – all going according to plan. So please continue to pray – for family and good-byes, for me as I pack and sort and try to remember ALL THE THINGS. Pray for flights to go as scheduled and all the details to come together.

Goodbyes are still tough, even after twenty years. AND I am looking forward to the “hellos” that wait on the other side of the ocean.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh literally means “May you have a thousand good things.” In English we would say, “thanks a million”.

Kathi Perry

The post Kathi Perri is Fully Funded! first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Estimado Amigo,

Estamos muy agradecidos por sus oraciones, amor y apoyo durante el 2021. Gracias a su apoyo, mi esposo y yo fuimos animados y motivados para continuar sirviendo al Señor, siendo obedientes a las tareas significativas en las que ÉL nos llamó a trabajar para su reino durante este año que ahora está terminando.

En resumen, lo que Dios, por su gracia, nos permitió lograr es lo siguiente: ¡Por favor, regocíjense y alabemos juntos al Señor!

Movilizador de Misiones para Amigos Hispanos

Dios nos permitió tener oportunidades de compartir sobre misiones globales y sobre EFM en varias ocasiones, incluyendo talleres y predicaciones en eventos como AMANA, la Alianza de Amigos Hispanos de América del Norte, y con iglesias de Amigos en los Estados Unidos, México, Centro América y Sudamérica. En su mayoría, estos fueron a través de Zoom.

Mentoria a Plantadores de Iglesias

Actualmente estamos asesorando a cuatro familias de pastores y nuevos plantadores de iglesias en México mediante una reunión de zoom mensual, y este año hicimos un par de visitas en persona para animarlos y orar por ellos. Damos gracias y alabamos al Señor por estas familias tan dedicadas y fieles a su llamado. Estas familias trabajan duro y el fruto es evidente. ¡Gloria a Dios!

Continúe orando por:

• Jaime y Lupita León, sirviendo al Señor como pastores en Sinaloa
• Israel y Daira De La Torre, a la cabeza de la iglesia en Aguascalientes
• Oseas & Jessica Chacón, comenzando una nueva iglesia en Chetumal, Quintana Roo
• Omar & Aryadna Ramírez, iniciando una nueva iglesia en Zacatecas

Visión México 32

Agradecemos a Dios por permitirnos seguir siendo parte del equipo para desarrollar el proyecto VM32, se trata de contribuir a alcanzar a México con el Evangelio plantando una Iglesia de los Amigos en todos los estados del país para el 2032. Como equipo hemos progresado. Este año fue posible enviar una familia al campo y una segunda está casi lista para ser enviada. Con estas dos familias tendremos presencia de Amigos en 14 estados de los 32. ¡Alabado sea el Señor!

EFM Siendo Bilingüe

Se han logrado grandes avances para hacer que EFM sea bilingüe a través de traducciones de inglés a español de cartas, notificaciones y periódicos de EFM. Más hermanos y hermanas de habla hispana están teniendo la oportunidad de conocer acerca de nuestros misioneros y acerca de la nueva meta de EFM. Nuevas personas pueden orar, dar y esperamos que muy pronto también se envíen Amigos Hispanos a los nuevos campos misioneros.

Viaje para Futuros Misioneros

Fue un placer y una hermosa experiencia haber podido liderar, junto con Matt Macy y Brad Carpenter, el viaje de 6 futuros misioneros a Aguascalientes, México en julio. Dos semanas muy bendecidas de aprendizaje cultural, experiencias tangibles y claridad al llamado de estos jóvenes. Estábamos muy conmovidos y animados por la fuerte con que se sienten llamados a ser misioneros en el futuro.

Oramos para que este viaje realmente haya impactado sus vidas y su futuro y un día no muy lejano los veamos servir en el campo donde Dios los enviará.

Iniciativa Lucas 10 y Viaje Lucas10

Estamos muy contentos de haber sido invitados a ser parte del equipo de la Iniciativa Lucas 10 para explorar Ecuador, como posible campo misionero, durante el Viaje Lucas 10. Tenemos reuniones mensuales de zoom con los líderes de la Junta Anual del Noroeste. El primer viaje de la Iniciativa Lucas 10 será a  Bolivia y Perú y se llevará a cabo del 3 al 20 de enero de 2022 y el viaje de exploración Lucas 10 está planeado para el verano.

 Nueva Congregación en North Las Vegas, NV

Estamos emocionados de sentir el mover de Dios en el comienzo de una nueva congregación. Durante este año, el enfoque fue llegar a las personas que se han alejado de su relación con Jesús o personas que no asistían a una iglesia durante mucho tiempo. Se están llevando a cabo entrenamientos y discipulado para sentar las bases de este nuevo trabajo.

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO

Con gratitud y amor,

María Girón

Movilizador de Misiones para los Amigos Hispanos

The post Giron Carta de Actualizacion Diciembre 2021 first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Dear Friend,

We are very thankful for your prayers, love, and support during 2021.

Thanks to your partnership my husband and I were encouraged and motivated to continue serving the Lord and being obedient to the meaningful tasks that he called us to work on for his kingdom during this year that is now ending.

In summary, what God, by his grace, allowed us to accomplish is as follows; please rejoice, and let us praise the Lord together!

Mission Mobilizer for Hispanic Friends

God allowed us to have opportunities to share about global missions and about EFM on various occasions including giving workshops and preaching at events such as AMANA-the Hispanic Friends Alliance of North America and with Friends churches in the United States, Mexico, Central America and South America. These were mostly through Zoom.

Coaching Church Planters

We are currently mentoring four families of pastors and new church planters in Mexico. We give thanks and praise the Lord for these families so dedicated and faithful to their call. These families work hard, and the fruit is evident. Glory to God!

Please continue praying for:

• Jaime & Lupita Leon, serving the Lord as pastors in Sinaloa
• Israel & Daira De La Torre, leading the church in Aguascalientes
• Oseas & Jessica Chacon, starting a new church in Chetumal, Quinana Roo
• Omar & Aryadna Ramirez, starting a new church in Zacatecas

Vision Mexico 32

We are grateful to God for allowing us to continue to be part of the team to develop the VM32 project, which is focused on reaching Mexico with the gospel by planting a Friends Church in every state of the country by 2032. As a team we have made progress. This year we were able to send a family to the field and a second is almost ready to go. With these two families we will have a presence of Friends in 14 states out of the 32. Praise the Lord!

EFM Being Bilingual

Great strides have been made in making EFM bilingual through English to Spanish translations of EFM letters, updates, and emails. More Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters are having the opportunity to know about our missionaries, and about the new EFM goal. New people get to pray, give, and we hope that very soon there are Hispanic Friends also being sent to the new missionary fields.

Future Missionary Trip

It was a pleasure and a beautiful experience to have been able to lead, together with Matt Macy and Brad Carpenter, the trip for six future missionaries to Aguascalientes, Mexico in July. Two blessed weeks of culture learning, tangible experiences, and clarity to the call of these young people. We were very moved and encouraged by how strongly they feel called to be missionaries in the future.

We pray that this trip has really impacted their lives and their future and one day not too far away we will see them serve in the field where God will send them.

Luke 10 Initiative and Luke 10 Trip

We are very happy to have been invited to be part of the Luke 10 Initiative team to explore Ecuador during the Luke 10 Trip. We are having zoom monthly meetings with leaders from the Northwest Yearly Meeting. The first Luke 10 Initiative trip is to Bolivia and Peru and will take place from January 3 -20, 2022 and the Luke 10 exploration trip is being planned to happen in June.

New Congregation in North Las Vegas, NV

We are excited to feel the move of God in the beginning of a new congregation. During this year the focus was reaching people who have fallen away from their relationship with Jesus or people that were not attending a church for a long time. Discipleship and trainings are taking place to lay the foundations for this new work.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With gratitude and love,

Maria Giron

Missions Mobilizer for Hispanic Friends

The post Giron December 2021 Newsletter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

David Thomas/EFM Discipulado de Vida Integral

¡Es tiempo de la cosecha, celebremos!

“No se amolden al mundo actual, sino sean transformados mediante la renovación de su mente. Así podrán comprobar cuál es la voluntad de Dios, buena, agradable y perfecta“. Romanos 12: 2

El pastor Tertullien, nuestro líder de Disciplina para el Desarrollo (D4D) en Ruanda, dijo: “¡Dígale a Debby y a nuestros entrenadores de Navigator que es hora de cosechar los resultados de todas las semillas que sembraron en los últimos años!” La carta de Tertullien continúa de la siguiente manera:

Alabamos a Dios porque muchos de nuestros líderes de D4D lo están haciendo bien. Los líderes de nuestra iglesia nacional tienen buenos testimonios de la aplicación de los principios de D4D en sus vidas. Por ejemplo, están construyendo sus propias casas e incluso poniendo en marcha planes pastorales de jubilación (algo que ha sido una necesidad durante mucho tiempo). Vemos que D4D ha impactado a la Iglesia Evangélica Amigos de Ruanda en su conjunto. Los que están siendo mentoreados también demuestran una transformación más integral que la vista en años pasados.

Nos estamos expandiendo cruzando las fronteras denominacionales aquí en Ruanda, asesorando a líderes en el Congo y Burundi, y esperamos enviar a nuestros propios misioneros a otros países. Agradecemos a Dios por los nuevos líderes que continuarán el trabajo con D4D a medida que continuamos expandiéndonos. ¡Es seguro que el reino de Dios viene a África! ¡Tenemos una herramienta!

A pesar de que COVID-19 ha sido un desafío, se ha convertido en una oportunidad para usar el “proceso de resolución de problemas” de D4D y descubrir diferentes formas de hacer las cosas, para expandir nuestro entendimiento y para continuar con la evangelización y el discipulado.

Cuando visitamos recientemente nuestras comunidades D4D, vimos la diferencia que marca nuestra forma de pensar. ¡Las personas con las que estamos trabajando han progresado! La educación familiar tiene más propósito y es más eficaz. Los logros del Plan de desarrollo personal son más exitosos. Vemos a Dios obrando incluso en las dificultades.

Después de compartir los textos de Tertullien con mi esposa Debby, ella dijo: “Confrontamos las barreras de la dependencia, la mentalidad de pobreza, tantas necesidades insatisfechas de nuestros pastores y sus familias, así como la pobreza general de nuestros creyentes. ¡Alabamos a Dios porque nos dio la idea de superar esas barreras! ” Tertullien continúo diciendo:

Celebramos la transformación integral de los pastores, saliendo de la dependencia. Nuestros testimonios harán que llores de felicidad. Recogerás tus semillas sembradas. Hemos visto que eran profetas y ahora se cumplen sus mensajes proféticos.

¿Cómo? En la vida de nuestros pastores y la vida de nuestros cristianos. En la transformación de varias comunidades como Musovu y Kirambo. Nuestra denominación de las Iglesias Amigos ahora es independiente. Nuestra nueva estructura de liderazgo, nuestra toma de decisiones, nuestra Junta Anual y el liderazgo de la iglesia local, todos son autosuficientes en todos los sentidos.

¡Nuestra forma de pensar ha cambiado totalmente!

Lee mas…

The post Carta de Oración Diciembre 2021 first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

I am asking you to pray every day till Christmas for our evangelistic meetings in 22 different areas.
Some of our areas do open air preaching, some areas do a march and pass out tracks, some areas show Jesus movies all night long and some areas sing carols and preach the gospel.
Please ask the Lord for a good harvest of souls for Christmas.

Please also pray for the jail ministry that a few of our Friends churches have started.  They have a fellowship meeting every day that 100 inmates are attending. More will be coming to Christ during Christmas time.

Praise the Lord.

Blessings,
B. and D. A.

The post A Christmas Prayer Request first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

In The Message translation of Matthew 6, it says, “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” God has provided for my everyday human concerns during my departure and certainly upon my arrival.

Close friends from Gateway Friends Church gathered at LAX to see me off and pray over my plane journey than they yelled goodbye obnoxiously while I went through security. I am blessed by these friendships and the deep care given to me by my second church home.

When I arrived to Ireland, I had the pleasure and blessing of staying at Brides Glen B&B which is owned and operated by Betty Stevenson’s and her family. Immediately, I felt the warmth of the Stevenson’s hospitality and strong commitment to the work of God in Ireland. Brides Glen is a working beef farm complete with new calves and cute barn kitties. Rhoda, Betty and David’s daughter, and her family live next door with their three children, Reuben, Rebekah and Gideon, who I have become quite attached to already.

Two weeks ago,  I moved into my own house in a densely populated neighborhood in Greystones called Charlesland. I am overwhelmed with the blessing and provision of God in the house that He has given me. I look forward to filling this house with good conversation, good food and good company. A few days after I signed my lease, God provided a wonderful new car for me with low miles and only four years old! The freedom of having my own vehicle will be paramount to my effectiveness in ministry as will my warm and safe house.

God has been providing for my “every day human concerns” in many different ways from highly responsive immigration officers to the generosity of my new church family at Greystones Nazarene Community Church. A few Sundays ago, I walked into the church hall on Sunday to find a table overflowing with household items like toilet paper, toaster, salt and pepper shakers and tea towels that had been collected for me and my ne house. Again, I was overwhelmed by the warm kindness and generosity of God through his people to me.

Thank you for coming along with me on this journey. A new journey began on November 3 when I arrived in Ireland. I am so grateful for all the ways God has provided for my “every day human concerns” and even more than that to remind me of His love for me and for the Irish people.

The post One Month in Ireland! first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

As you may have heard by now, Roy and Jinky Twaddell are retiring at the end of this month (December) from 28 years of missionary service with EFM. When we first announced their retirement in June of this year the Twaddells had hoped to be in the U.S. by now to thank their prayer and financial supporters in person. Shortly thereafter Jinky became seriously ill with COVID-19 and is still recovering from it. The plan now is for Roy and Jinky to come to the U.S. in the spring of 2022 for what might be called a “retirement celebration tour,” and then return to the Philippines where they still plan to live out their retirement years.

When an EFM missionary retires we usually encourage their financial supporters to continue supporting them for an additional three months in order to fully fund their support and transition costs (Twaddells have been underfunded lately). This is the case with Roy and Jinky. If at all possible, please continue your financial support for them until the end of March 2022.

Another thing we like to do for EFM missionaries who are retiring is take up a love offering for them. Donations for the love offering for Roy and Jinky can be made now. Please mark it “Twaddell Retirement Love Gift” when you make that donation. As the retirement celebration tour draws near in 2022 we’ll send out a reminder about the love offering.

In closing, we and the Twaddells would like to express our appreciation to all those who gave to help cover Jinky’s COVID treatment costs. It touched all of our hearts deeply to see how quickly and generously those gifts came in. We also encourage you to be praying about who else the Lord would have you support once your giving to Twaddells comes to an end. We will send further information in February about how to do this kind of reallocation of giving, but you are welcome to contact the EFM office at any time to request changes to your recurring giving.

The Lord bless and keep you during this Christmas season!

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Dan Cammack

EFM Field Director

• Donate online here on Roy and Jinky’s personal EFM donation page and designate “Twaddell Support Philippines” or “Twaddell Retirement Love Gift.”
• Donate by credit card over the phone at 303-421-8100.
• Mail a check marked with “Twaddell Support Philippines” or “Twaddell Retirement Love Gift” to EFM, PO Box 771139, Wichita, KS 67277.

The post December 2021 | Continue Supporting Twaddells Through March 2022 first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

It’s Harvest Time, Let’s Celebrate!  

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Pastor Tertullien, our Discipling for Development (D4D) leader in Rwanda, said, “Tell Debby and our Navigator coaches that it’s time to reap the results of all the seeds you’ve sown in past years!” Tertullien’s letter goes on, as follows:

We are praising God that many of our D4D leaders are doing well. Our national church leaders have good testimonies from applying D4D principles in their lives. For example, they are building their own homes, and even putting in place pastoral retirement plans (something that has long been a need). We see that D4D has impacted the Evangelical Friends Church of Rwanda as a whole. Our mentees also demonstrate more holistic transformation than seen in past years.

We are expanding by crossing denominational lines here in Rwanda, mentoring leaders in Congo and Burundi, and we hope to send our own missionaries to other countries. We thank God for new leaders who will continue the work with D4D as we continue expanding. For sure the kingdom of God is coming in Africa! We have a tool!

Even though COVID-19 has been challenging, it has become an opportunity to use the D4D “problem solving process” and to discover different ways of doing things, to expand our understanding, and to continue to do evangelism and discipleship.

When we recently visited our D4D communities, we saw the difference our way of thinking makes. The people we are working with have progressed! Family education is more purposeful and effective. Personal Development Plan achievements are more successful. We see God at work even in the difficulties.

After sharing Tertullien’s texts with my wife Debby, she said, “We confronted the barriers of dependency, poverty mindset, so many unmet needs of our pastors and their families, as well as the overall poverty of our believers. We praise God that he gave the insight to overcome those barriers!” Tertullien goes on to say:

We celebrate pastors’ holistic transformation, moving out of dependency. Our testimonies will make your tears for happiness. You will harvest your seeds sown. We have seen that you were prophets, and your prophetic messages are now fulfilled.

How? In the lives of our pastors and the lives of our Christians. In the transformation of various communities like Musovu and Kirambo. Our Friends Church denomination is now independent. Our new leadership structure, our decision making, our yearly meeting and local church leadership – all are self-supporting in every way.

Our mind set has totally changed!

Click here to download full prayer letter…

The post December 2021 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

I’ve been busy these last weeks, and it has been good to see many of you on my travels. Since my last update I have been in California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky! I’m writing from Kentucky now. I am so thankful for the opportunity to share about my work in Ireland, and the people that I love so much there. It has been a pleasure to visit some new places and meet people whose names I have seen over the years on different reports but haven’t had the chance to meet in real life until now. I have felt loved and supported and encouraged – Thank you!

In this week of Thanksgiving, I am very thankful for my life in Ireland. Twenty years ago, I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family, and just a few days later I got on a plane for Ireland. I arrived there on November 27, 2001. There have been great challenges, and great joy over the years. God has made a home for me there and given me friends who are like family. And I am so thankful.

I am also thankful for the chance to be in California for Thanksgiving again! I think that has only happened once in the last twenty years. I’m looking forward to holidays with my family.

As we approach the holidays, there are fewer opportunities for me to travel and speak, but if you are local in California and would like to have me come to your small group or church (or if you want to hear about Christmas traditions in Ireland!) give me a shout. I would be glad to come if we can work it out.

The post Kathi Perry November Deputation Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

La familia Carpenter | Sirviendo en Ruanda

“¿Cómo ha sido la pandemia en Ruanda?”

Nos hicieron esta pregunta reflexiva muchas veces durante nuestra estadía en los EE. UU. (Mayo de 2020-julio de 2021) y hemos informado que, como en cualquier otro lugar, ha sido muy difícil. Varios cierres, mandatos de enmascaramiento y pautas de distanciamiento social y guías para avanzar parecen ser muy útiles para contener la propagación de la enfermedad, ¡y por eso estamos extremadamente agradecidos! Sin embargo, el aislamiento, la falta de capacidad para trabajar y adorar al Señor con otros han tenido graves consecuencias tanto físicas como emocionales para muchas personas cuyo sustento depende de los trabajos cotidianos y cuyo corazón depende de estar con otras personas en cada situación.

Mientras estábamos fuera, el Señor sostuvo a los líderes de la Iglesia Evangélica Amigos de Ruanda (EFC-R) y les dio ideas creativas, como turnarse para escribirse y enviarse devocionales por mensajes telefónicos, y participar en video llamadas regulares para animar unos a otros, grabando sermones y respondiendo a las iglesias locales para ayudar a los miembros de la iglesia y la comunidad más necesitados. También han iniciado el Fondo de Desarrollo para Pastores para ayudar a los pastores con su sustento. Con EFM uniéndose en sociedad, los pastores pueden desarrollar planes para general ingresos y trabajar con un grupo local de líderes para refinar ese plan y obtener un préstamo cuando sea necesario. Es emocionante ver a los pastores más capaces de cuidar a sus familias y a sus congregaciones, y esperamos que estas habilidades y experiencia bi-vocacionales sean útiles en el futuro, ya que soñamos con que los pastores y líderes sean enviados a donde no hay iglesias, incluso a través de las fronteras a los campos misioneros.

En Discipulado para Desarrollo, específicamente, los líderes se enfocaron en discipular a sus familias, y hemos visto testimonios alentadores de familias que se acercan más a Jesús y todo lo que Él quiere que ellos sean. Sin poder viajar, se han mantenido conectados por teléfono con los grupos de discipulado de Congo y Burundi, alentándolos a seguir dando seguimiento al progreso de los miembros de su grupo. A través de todo esto, creemos que el Señor está fortaleciendo y haciendo crecer a los líderes en el discipulado, ¡y oramos para que el crecimiento continúe exponencialmente en el futuro!

¡Brad se ha embarcado en un nuevo viaje desafiante pero emocionante! Ha comenzado un programa de maestría a través del Seminario Fuller (en línea) con el propósito de aprender y prepararse para la futura tarea de ayudar a nuestros amigos africanos a levantar, capacitar y enviar a sus propios misioneros.

Aunque originalmente pensamos que solo pasaríamos unos meses en los Estados Unidos, vivir ahi durante un año completo con nuestra familia extendida fue muy especial. Nuestra transición de regreso a Ruanda ha tenido sus altibajos, pero estamos muy agradecidos de que en este momento nos hayamos asentado en nuestra vida y en nuestro hogar en Ruanda.

Sarai (casi 9) y Gideon (6) han disfrutado de estar de regreso en Virunga Valley Academy (VVA) para continuar sus estudios, aprender y jugar con amigos. Ambos han expresado que extrañan a su familia en los Estados Unidos, especialmente a sus primos, pero podemos ver que también están apreciando algunas de las personas especiales y oportunidades en Ruanda.

Ian (1) no ha perdido el ritmo desde que aterrizó en Ruanda. Le encanta explorar, correr y jugar en todas partes. Le encanta salir a caminar para ver las cabras, vacas y vehículos del vecindario en la carretera cercana. Estamos agradecidos de que a él también le encanta leer libros y ha llegado a conocer y amar a nuestros amigos ruandeses que trabajan en nuestra casa y sus alrededores.

Brad y Chelsea están agradecidos de estar de nuevo en su hogar en Ruanda, pero todavía les resulta difícil descubrir nuevos ritmos, ¡habiendo agregado un niño pequeño activo y el trabajo escolar de Brad a la mezcla!

Lee mas…

The post Carta de Oración de Noviembre 2021 first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.