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.

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now lockdown restrictions have been removed and after a long time we are able to go out and do the work. Churches are open and therefore the services have resumed. Thank you so much for upholding us and supporting us in this period. Now after pandemic situation inflation has increased and seems like everything is expensive. As small scale and large scale industries were locked down many products were not manufactured and so are not available.

We praise God that he keeps working in the lives of girls who lived in Joyful Children’s Home. Although they were not living with us, we kept in touch with them through conference calls, prayers and zoom meetings. It is encouraging to see so many of them walking with the Lord.

Among the three who live with us in our home at present, Rhema’s marriage was fixed.  She came to us as a four day old child and this year she is 21 years old. She did not know anyone from her family but became a part of our lives. Last June she graduated from college. She met Allan who is an engineer. He is from a good Christian family. They will be married on 12^th of  August. Many of our Joyful girls would like to attend the wedding. Kindly pray that we will be able to make all the arrangements for this wedding. It’s a big change for Rhema to go live in a different set up with her husband and in laws too. Pray for her adjustment.

In this pandemic time we had a wonderful ministry in our farm. Every day they were meeting together and worshiping and praying. People from nearby farms also joined. We saw the Holy Spirit working there and many were delivered from evil spirits. God is good. Despite lockdown we were able to go for overnight stays at the farm. When the monsoon rains began we had to stop as our farm was inundated with water flowing into our farm from the surround farms. The crops were submerged in water. The four families living there faced difficulties due to water seeping into their houses. In spite of power failures, being cut off from people and phone communication they all survived the ordeal. Now the rains have reduced. Praising God for their survival skills and God’s goodness.

All our staff are doing fine. They are still meeting everyday over the phone for prayers and sharing. It looks like that they were able to grow in their prayer life, Thank God that all our staff were kept safe and healthy.

Melissa, our daughter helped as a volunteer in a Christian Camp in Florida this summer. She is a hard and sincere worker. The camp director appreciated her work. After completing her time at the camp she visited her friends in NC and SC. We are so thankful for David Lanzer who provided a car so she could travel for a week to see her friends. She will return to her college in Kansas this week. This will be her final year.

We both are doing fine. God willing if travel is open we would like to come to USA in September. We would like to meet you. Kindly pray that this pandemic will not affect our travel.

We are really very thankful for your support and prayers for us. Some of you called us and some have written to us to encourage us in our hard time. Thank you so much for your friendship and partnership in the ministry. Continue to pray for us.

Yours in his Grace,

A. and S. M.

The post August 2021 A. M. Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Second wave of COVID-19 has brought our lives to the brink of death. Now we are seeing that few of our staff and girls who were in our Children’s Home are under attack. We covet your prayers for them. As there is lockdown we stay behind closed doors. For many, medical treatment is not easy to reach. The hospitals are already full of patients. Long lines of sick people wait outside the hospital for a bed or oxygen until someone dies or discharged. The lack of oxygen, respirators, bed, machinery, medical workers, etc. is seen everywhere in India. In the news, they say India has become a cemetery as a never-ending line of corpses are brought to be burnt every day. People are really experiencing a messy situation everywhere.

Many businesses are shut down due to lockdown. Thousands have lost jobs. Food is scarce as well. Farmers are not able to sell their products. We have mango fruits ready for harvesting but not able to sell. In the first wave of COVID-19, with the support we received from some donors, we were able to distribute food ration and vegetables to many needy families. We need to think of helping the needy now too. We had heavy rains due to a cyclone which caused much damage in the coastal area but we are safe.

My parents are doing fine and getting stronger. Thank you so much for your prayers. Every day we hear of someone we know has lost the battle. Just in 15 days my mother’s three cousin brothers, and one cousin’s wife, and a son died.  We are going through such a hard time, only God can save us.

Our staff and us are continuing our ministry through phones. Almost every day we all spend many hours on our phones praying and encouraging someone in distress.

Melissa has reached Florida and soon she will start helping in the summer camp near Tallahassee. Please pray that she will be a useful tool for God there.

Shobha & I, are doing alright. Just looking for opportunities to help people so they will be helped and comforted. We remember you all in our daily family prayers. Please continue to pray and support us and our ministry. Rest is fine.

Yours in His Grace,

A. and S. M.

The post May 2021 A. and S. M. Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Hi! It has been a long while since we have communicated with you!  We hope and pray that you are doing well. We are so thankful for Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection that we celebrated last month on Easter. Jesus offers redemption, healing, joy, peace and his life to us, and we are so thankful!

The Lord has been so good to us! Brad continues to focus quite a bit of time rebuilding and strengthening his back and neck muscles. We are happy to share that the Lord has answered and continues to answer our/your prayers for healing Brad’s body. Thank you for praying with us! The Lord has been using this time to do some important work in us. We are feeling much more ready to be and do what God has called us to be and do.

We are so thankful for your partnership with us in ministry. We believe that each one who prays with us and/or partners in finances is a vital player on the ministry team. Thank you for your help that enables ministry to continue in Central Africa.

The Lord is still working in Central Africa. It is a joy to hear from our friends and colleagues in Rwanda. They regularly send us updates of what God is doing among them and through their ministry. I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but sometimes we feel like the weight of the ministry is on our shoulders. But it is so good to see that the Lord is continuing his ministry through our Rwandan Friends even when we aren’t there!

We have been back in the U.S. for much longer than we had planned for! We have had to postpone our return to Rwanda several times for various reasons. Most recently we have decided with our EFM leaders that we will return to Rwanda at the end of July. This will enable our kids to finish the school year here in Wichita. And it will also enable us to be a part in some important EFM events for future missionaries. At the end of May/beginning of June we will help with a Future Missionaries Retreat. We helped lead one of these back in 2009 and we look forward to another retreat. Then, in early July, we will go on a short-term mission trip with future missionaries. The vision is that this trip will be a time for us to walk alongside future missionaries in a cross-cultural context.

As you know,

We believe that the Lord is leading us to work with our Rwandan, Burundian, and Congolese Friends to lead a movement of whole-life discipleship, church planting, and missionary sending.

Would you please pray:

The post May 2021 Carpenter Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

As many of you are hearing the news about India’s COVID-19 situation we want to let you know that we both are safe and our staff are doing alright. Some of our Home girls living in their home towns and their family members have had mild symptoms of COVID-19. Among the general public many are infected severely and dying. The numbers quoted on TV or by our government are comparatively very, very less. There is a shortage of medicines, oxygen, ventilators and beds in the hospitals. There is a lot of extortion at the hospitals and even in the crematoriums. In North India, especially it is a very bad situation.

In Shobha’s family five were COVID-19 positive. By God’s grace all are now healed. Thank God. They got timely help and now they are back in their own homes. My parents are still very weak. Not able to eat food. Today my mother is admitted in the hospital as she is not able to eat anything. My sister has no fever but she has cough and very weak. Kindly pray for my parents and my sister. Thank you. In my home town, there are many COVID-19 cases. Some neighbours of my parents are affected and are hospitalised. Every day I hear of someone that I know is dying of COVID-19. Very sad situation.

At this time, we are reminded of 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”.

In our last prayer letter, we sought help for our daughter Melissa who had no summer vacation plans.  We are so thankful for the response we got from many. Several of you have opened your houses for her. Thank you so much.

We are very thankful for Pastor Roy Mack for suggesting a summer camp in Florida.  He introduced us to his friend who is the Director of this camp. Melissa applied and got accepted to work in this place. She will have the opportunity to work all summer. She is in Kansas till 4^th May and then she will drive to Dallas where she will get her driver’s license renewed. After that she will go to Florida.  We are so thankful for your suggestions and many of you opened your doors for our daughter. Our hearts are truly touched by your kindness.

We are again in lockdown for two weeks. Please continue to pray for safety. We are mostly working through our phones, praying and counselling and encouraging those in need. Thank you for your prayers for us and for India.

Yours in His Grace,

A. and S. M.

The post April 2021 A. and S. M. Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Bangladesh Newsletter

April 2021

The post April 2021 Bangladesh Newsletter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The post April 2021 B. and D. A. Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Newsletter

Evangelical Friends Mission Kolkata

October-December 2020

Greetings in his matchless name. 2020 has gone and when we look back, the year was not good for us. But we believe that God is in control and that he controls everything. After many losses, by his grace, we came to the end of 2020. Now, we praise the Almighty for his wonderful care for us. Personally, I lost my brother and his wife. My brother was an important leader of EFM Kolkata.

By the grace of God, our work is continuing. For four months (March-June), the church was closed, but we met in house fellowships. The number of attenders at house fellowships was very limited, but the number of house fellowships grew. Each of our staff and pastors worked hard to preach in different house fellowships.

We had regular Skype meetings with our staff. Finally, we opened our churches on the first Sunday of July. Our coaching classes opened in July as well. In October, our staff was able to be together in Kolkata where we planned how to organize our Christmas program.

We had a two-fold goal: 1) To encourage our members and churches to submit themselves to his hand and support the church; and 2) to preach the good news through the house fellowships. By the grace of God, the result was good. Many people came to Jesus and some even accepted him by taking a public testimony of baptism. In Kolkata there were eight people, in Shyamnagar there were nineteen, and in Malda there were six. Praise the Lord!

Though the churches were affected by COVID-19, we had the opportunity to hold Christmas programs in different places. When many churches were closed, the Friends Churches opened for everyone, which made our gatherings wonderful. Special Christmas programs on the open streets were also very good. I am sharing some pictures of the open Christmas programs below for your enjoyment. Please pray for our churches and ministers. God bless you.

Yours in Christ,

D. K. and Choity Sarkar

West Bengal, India

Celebration in Shyamnagar F. C.

Celebration in Bhadreswar F. C.

Celebration on Kolkata Street

Our Kolkata Team

Celebration in Krishnapur, Malda

Celebration in Gopalpur, Malda

Celebration in Gosaba F. C.

Celebration in Gazole, Malda

Celebration in Uttarakhand

The post January 2021 Sarkar Newsletter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Bangladesh Newsletter

December 2020

What dreadful days everyone is going through! In January, no one understood what is going to happen in the days and weeks ahead. But, even then, God is good! He is always good! In that time of uncertainty, God gave us a verse:

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Let me share some of our joyful work that the Lord has helped to do in the midst of this crisis period.

A Day with Children: It was a joy to spend a day with 52 children on 16 November. It was the first public program of this year. There was lots of fun, including Bible storytelling, skits, learning new songs, and eating together. May the Lord raise this new generation for his kingdom work!

Friends Church Multiplication Conference: We were able to connect globally through Zoom and YouTube and attend the Friends Church Multiplication Conference in November. A small group of people attended with us online and our city leaders and volunteers joined us at the EFC office. Many could not attend this conference because of language problems and not having access to the internet. We have planned to take the materials from the conference and organize them into a training program December 15-17, 2020. We are expecting 23 pastors and leaders will join with us. Pray for the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

Discipleship Training: We had our second public training program. 25 lay leaders participated from six Friends churches. Our local team worked very hard organizing this training. Husbands and wives mostly attended. Pray that the Holy Spirit leads them everyday.

Mothers Gave Birth Children: We are so happy that some of our churches have given birth to new churches. Three new churches were born and 67 new believers took a public testimony of baptism. The Lord’s family is growing!

Food Distribution: By the grace of God, we were able to distribute food again to needy people. It was a great blessing to the believers. We are so thankful to those who have shared their love to these people.

Tube-Well Installation: We were able to install five tube-wells after a flood for drinking water. People are now getting fresh water for drinking.

1. For our Church Multiplication Training Seminar from 15-17 December. Pray that we can develop many multiplier disciples in 2021.
2. For our community Christmas party. We have selected 50 communities to share the Christmas story with. Pray that the Lord prepare many hearts to receive him.
3. For our elder son, Steve, as he is at Barclay College in Haviland, Kansas. His new semester will begin in January. Pray for his studies, good health, and courage to take any challenge to fulfill our master’s goal.

The post December 2020 A. and M. A. Newsletter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

CHILD CARE CENTER IN VILLAGE: Closed since April, but we are keeping in touch with our students by visiting their homes. If the Lord’s willing and government’s restrictions are lifted we will start them soon.

NEW BELIEVER’S FELLOWSHIP: We are meeting in small groups in several villages. Our Pastor, Dhan Singh Dhurway, is planning to have a larger group in one village for a Christmas service. He has asked me to give the Christmas message. We hope that we will be able to have Christmas worship for new believers in one village farmhouse. Remember to pray for it. This fellowship is growing and we thank God for it.

FARM: We had very little rain this year during Monsoon. Our well had no water and the previous well was also dry. We were forced to try another for another. Thank God that after a couple of trials we found good and plenty of water. This well will be able to provide water to our neighbors in the village and also for our need.

BIBLE STUDY: During COVID, I wrote a Bible study on the “Family of Bethany” in Hindi basing on Luke 10:38-42 and John chapter 11:12-19. These are more than 100 pages. I am proofing it by a couple of good writers. It is almost ready to go to press. I need money to get 1000 copies printed. Please pray and help me in this work. I am sure it will be helpful book for the pastors and Bible school students. Please pray about it and help me in this project.

FAMILY:  I am sorry to say that my younger brother who was a retired police officer died on November 26^th. He left behind two daughters and one son and their families. Suzana is doing better. Our daughter Arpana Massey lives with us and is taking more responsibilities of our ministry. She is a trained teacher and is a widow with two children. Her son, Abhishay, is studying at the School of Evangelism in Greenville, NC and her daughter is doing pre-graduation studies here and lives with us. I am sure she will be in touch with you more. Our elder son, Arun, and his wife, Shobha, are ministering in state of Karnataka. They keep in touch with us and help us in our needs. Our younger son, Amit, and his family are in Dallas where he has a Tennis Academy. They are also doing well and keep in touch with us.

By the grace of God, I am doing well. The Lord has given me good health but after preaching for thirty minutes I have cramps which cause unbearable pain for short time. I also get tired easily, but the Lord is good to me and gives me daily strength.

THANKS: I want to thank you for your prayers and kind support. We do appreciate your greetings and emails and your comments on Facebook and Messenger. Those are encouraging us. Your support is helpful to us in the ministry.

Yours in his grace,

Rev. Dr. Gabriel and Suzana Massey

The post December 2020 G. Massey Newsletter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.