• Fully supported 21 missionary households in 11 fields.
• Sent one new missionary through EFM’s Teaching Abroad Global: Lana Thurston to Israel.
• Sent two teams of Future Missionaries on EFM training trips, plus one person for a one-year field experience.
• Sent Luke 10 Exploration Trips to eight of the 10 potential fields EFM is considering. The other two are going in early 2023.
• Are in communication with a growing list of over 100 people who have expressed interest in exploring missionary service.
• On a fun note – through the 2022 Christmas Catalog, God’s people have already provided: 757 chickens, 47 cows or buffalo, 131 goats, 76 pigs, 198 blankets, 161 mosquito nets, 46 discipleship kits, 27 evangelism kits, 108 school kits, 120 love gifts, 20 sewing machines, 56 saris, 15 tube wells, 87 papaya trees, and 31 spice plants!
• Finished the year fully funding last year’s budget.

In 2023, as God’s people are generous, we hope to:

• Identify which five potential fields EFM will commit to launching. To this end, we will send 10 follow-up exploration teams to further discern EFM’s CAN GO criteria to the 10 potential new fields. This is all in support of our Five-Year Goal (fueled by the Luke 10 Initiative) to send 10 new missionary households to 5 new fields by 2025.
• Identify 15 potential missionaries to send on field experiences to further discern their call to intercultural ministry.
• Further partner with and equip Friends Churches in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe in mobilizing to send their own missionaries to new fields.
• Create Missionary Care Teams to attend to our present and future missionaries’ needs – physical, emotional, spiritual and familial.
• Further develop our coaching system to assist our missionaries – present and future – to effectively respond to growing ministry opportunities.

This year also marks EFM’s 60th Anniversary! If you are interested in seeing our special Kick Off video, please send us an email and we will send you the link. (We can not post it online for the security of missionaries serving in sensitive areas)

We are committed to continuing this decades-long commitment to actively pursuing our part in fulfilling the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment. We can’t wait to see what God is going to do. Thanks for your part of this life-transforming ministry!

The post It’s EFM’s 60th Anniversary! first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The post Luke 10 Exploration Trip: Thailand Stories first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Who Was on this Trip?

The team was made up of:

• Ben Kibbe (EFC-ER)
• Scott Calhoun (EFC-ER)
• Rusty Savage (EFC-ER Director of Multiplication)
• Stan Leach (EFM Executive Director)
• Dan Cammack (EFM Field Director)
• David Thomas (EFM Missionary, Whole Life Discipleship)
• Solomon Sangking (The Way Foundation, Thailand)
• Charlee Kunakorn (The Way Foundation, Thailand)

Where Did We Travel and What is the Need in the Area?

Our team met in Chiang Mai, Thailand where we were all able to participate in the EFM Worldwide Missionary Gathering before departing for our Luke 10 Exploration Trip destination three hours to the north in Chiang Rai. The city of Chiang Rai is located near the “Golden Triangle” where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet. Our focus there was on an ethnic minority group known as the Lahu people, who are spread out in each of these nations.

In 2012, EFC-ER sent Ben and Charity Kibbe to Thailand to join a team started by Ben’s parents, David and Marilyn Kibbe, and their Lahu ministry partners. In 2016, The Way Foundation was established as an extension of that ministry, focusing on coaching and training Lahu pastors and church planting.

Since that time, led by national workers, Charlee, YawSaPa, and Solomon, The Way Foundation has been praying for and exploring opportunities to expand church planting efforts across the borders of Myanmar and Laos to unreached Lahu villages in those nations. Our Luke 10 team went to Thailand to meet with representatives of The Way Foundation and consider possible opportunities for partnership and collaboration in opening up a new ministry for the Lahu people in Laos and Myanmar.

Stories and Testimonies

• Our team was welcomed into the home of David and Marilyn Kibbe who have lived and served in Thailand for 30 years. Although David was still recovering from COVID-19, they hosted a gathering for members of The Way Foundation and our Luke 10 Exploration Trip team. We shared a meal and a time of worship together under a beautiful full moon.
• We met a group of church planters from The Way Foundation who are making connections in Lahu villages in northern Thailand with no Christian church at present. The Lahu are divided into several different clans and many of these church planters are ministering to subgroups other than their own.
• Members of our team traveled to three different remote Lahu villages. Ben, Scott, and Rusty spent a night camping in the jungle with several Lahu men from Ja Taw before gathering for worship with the small group of believers there the following morning.
• We heard several testimonies from The Way Foundation leaders, Solomon and Charlee, about contacts they have made with Lahu villages in both Laos and Myanmar. They believe the people in those villages have been very receptive to their efforts. Charlee, Solomon, and their team are deeply committed to expanding ministry outside of Thailand and are anxious to receive coaching and training to help them do it.
• Before leaving, our Luke 10 Team and members of The Way Foundation decided to meet remotely once a month to pray for unreached Lahu people in Laos and Myanmar and continue the conversation about opening new fields in those nations.

What’s Next?Luke 10 Exploration Trips continue into 2023 as teams explore potential sites with first trips and/or follow up trips.  Our next benchmarks include hopes that the EFM board will approve a commitment in November 2023 to launching at least five new fields.  How Can You Join? Are you interested in exploring missionary service? Do you know of anyone of any age who might be interested in exploring the idea of serving as a missionary overseas for two or more years? EFM is currently looking to contact and connect with people about opportunities to explore serving as missionaries with the Friends Church! To learn more, visit here or fill out this interest form!

We look forward to sharing more news as it becomes available about what we are finding and discerning in EFM’s Luke 10 Initiative as we continue to explore where EFM may launch new mission fields.

Matt Macy
Director of Mobilization

The post A Report from the Luke 10 Exploration Trip to Thailand first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

This Fall has passed quickly. The baby group has been going strong, and the women have taken on the task of carrying on when I have been away from time to time. We took the traditional “Christmas baby” photo (as you can see below). These women want to keep the group going in the New Year as well. I’m thrilled about that.

Toward the end of October, I flew to California so that I could attend my niece’s wedding and participate in some of the family time surrounding that. It was a beautiful day, and I am so glad I could be there.

In my last update, I spoke of my plans to complete my M.A. at Barclay College before the end of the year. I was also ready to start a Continuing Professional Development course at University College Cork (for Social Work). I was gathering the paperwork so that I could register with the Social Work governing body in Ireland (now, that paperwork has been submitted – all 40 certified pages…). The important people who review those things will very likely come back to me with some further requirements so pray for that process and that I am able to do what I need to do to be a Social Worker in Ireland!

If you have lived long enough, you know that sometimes all of our plans change in a moment and goals must be deferred. That happened to me on November 23. I went to see my GP because for months I have gotten more and more breathless with minimal exertion. The GP sent me to the hospital emergency unit, and after seven hours of tests and consultation, I was admitted to the cardiology ward with fluid in my lungs. I was there for five days and more tests.

This is what I learned: I have a bicuspid aortic valve (which sounds like a tooth) but essentially it means that most of you have three flaps on your aorta that let blood through, and I have two. My heart works harder to push the blood out. My heart is healthy and strong. It is not enlarged or diseased. The arteries are not blocked. But I have this valve that has been working hard all my life and it is hardening and narrowing and it needs to be replaced. This will be open heart surgery, here in Ireland. This is not emergency surgery, but it is important and urgent.

When I was released from the hospital, I made the decision to defer my M.A. at Barclay College until the Spring. I also deferred my studies at UC Cork until next Fall. I am scheduled for surgery on January 3, 2023. EFM and my home church have made it possible for my sisters, Joni and Sandi, to come over when I am released from the hospital to look after me at home. They will tag team, and overlap for a few days so we can spend time together. I am thankful for the care I have here in Ireland (so many people checking on me and offering assistance) and the care I have in the US (sending help and prayers). Basically, during this time of waiting, my job has been to NOT GET SICK (which means I’m home alone, a lot).

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I have set up a Caring Bridge site where you will find news of the surgery and recovery. You will find the link here.

Blessings,

Kathi Perry

The post Kathi Perry December Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Over the years, there has been one constant on our prayer lists. It involved our yearly visa renewal and then years later our Naturalization process was added as well. Year after year, we have struggled with this process. It has been a constant source of frustration and stress. One year there was even a misunderstanding about our status, and we were given a date to vacate the country. Fortunately, the appeal process clarified the confusion, and we were allowed to stay.

Now after so many years we have amazing news. As of this December, all four of us will have been approved for our dual citizenship. I attended my ceremony in the first week of December to receive my certificate of Naturalization. Words cannot express how blessed we are to finally complete this process. Thank you, thank you, thank you for bearing this load with us. We are forever grateful.

As we prepare for 2023, may I ask you to join us in prayer for three specific goals for the year? Firstly, please pray for me, David, as I am pursuing new ways to use various modes of art to impact our community with the gospel. This has been a desire of my heart for quite some time. Over the last couple of years, I have seen this outlet develop and I am looking forward to seeing what becomes of it. Please pray for doors to be opened and new opportunities to be revealed.

Secondly, please pray for Tricia as she continues to expand her impact on the community by meeting the physical and emotional needs of those she meets. Please pray that new connections and new families be brought alongside her in this endeavor. Also, pray for her personally. At the end of October, Tricia and I were involved in a very serious car accident. We were hit head-on by an oncoming car. I was, fortunately, able to walk away with minor injuries. But Tricia has been dealing with the ongoing struggle of recovering from a more complicated injury. It has been and will continue to be a hard road to navigate, and we would ask that you pray with us through this. And please pray for the young man who hit us.

Thirdly, please pray for clarity of vision. I remember asking this specific prayer request in 2005 when we began this journey. Since that time, much has changed both personally and as a country. We desire to be clear on the new direction that God is leading us into.

We are greatly excited about what God still has in store for us in Ireland. Our hearts desire to continue to see lives transformed through a personal encounter with the one true God. We cannot wait to see how God will go before us and prepare the way. Thank you for praying with us every step of the way. If you already financially support us, thank you so very much. If you are not yet a financial partner, would you prayerfully consider joining us in 2023 to further the gospel in Ireland? Please know that you are loved, you are appreciated, and you are amazing.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Grace and Peace,
The Howell Clan

The post Howellclan Connection: December 2022 Newsletter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Wow! It’s been a long time since my last update and a lot has happened. I’ll try to give you an overview. In the past few months, I had the opportunity to be a part of two Luke 10 Exploration trips with EFM; one to Tanzania, and one to the United Arab Emirates/Qatar. Luke 10 Exploration trips are exploratory trips that are part of EFM’s process for discerning where God is leading our organization to start new fields. In between those trips (and after) I’ve continued to work on learning Kinyarwanda, and I am incredibly thankful for my language partner, Innocent, who has been so patient with me as I’ve learned.

I had an incredible time on the trip to Tanzania in September. The team was made up of Burundians and Americans. Together, we prayed and discerned about whether God is leading the Burundi Friends Church and EFM to start work there. We had the opportunity to talk with missionaries working among the Zaramo and the Kutu, two unreached people groups, and to hear the missionaries’ stories. It was so encouraging to hear what God’s doing among both of those people groups. We walked away from the trip not sure yet of how God wants us to be involved long term but sensing that another trip there is needed to discern more.

The Tanzania Luke 10 Team

The Gulf States Luke 10 Team

Next up was the trip to Dubai, U.A.E. and Doha, Qatar in October. My heart was filled with so much joy in both of those places but especially in Dubai. This trip was geared at seeing what God was doing among the Nepali immigrants in both of those cities, and the team was made up of both Nepali and Americans as we discerned together. We got to spend a lot of time with Nepali believers in both places, hearing about what God was doing among them and we were grateful for all the hospitality they showed us. God is certainly working among them. On our second day in Dubai, we went on a tour with some Arab guides who told us more about Dubai’s history and Emirati culture, and my heart was so full to be able to spend time with them and learn more about them. I really wanted to hear their stories and get to know them more, but it wasn’t the time or the place for that. I am praying about what it would be like for me to work in either of those cities but ultimately, it’s about where God is leading EFM as an organization and where he is sending me within that.

A View of Part of Doha. Can You Tell It’s Bright?

In the times in between and since the trips, I’ve been working on learning Kinyarwanda more. The trips were beautiful and good interruptions, but it did mean I’d have to remember and get back into it after each one, so my progress has been a bit slower than I would have liked. As I said before, I’m so thankful for Innocent’s patience in helping me learn and for how close of a friend he’s become to me. I’m so encouraged to see the things God’s doing in his life as well.

So, how can you be partnering with me in prayer during this next season?

• Pray that I may continue to humbly learn Kinyarwanda, about Rwandan culture, and about how ministry is done here.
• Pray for the Carpenters as they settle back into life here after a missionary conference in Thailand.
• Pray for EFM as we discern where God is sending us as an organization.

Thank you so much, everyone, for your continued prayer support and financial support. I am so thankful that all of you are partnering with me and am excited to see what God will do during the rest of my time in Rwanda. I pray that in the midst of all of the anxiousness that can come with the Christmas season that God will give you his peace.

In him,

Thomas Moore

P.S. Lots of good things have been happening in December as well. I’ll talk about more of those in my next update.

The post Thomas Moore’s Fall Ministry Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Dear Prayer Partners,

The last time we wrote to you, we asked you to pray with us for our trip to Thailand for the EFM World Gathering. There was one point in our travel that the airlines couldn’t find our luggage, and we needed it to continue traveling. We waited for a couple hours trying to get this worked out – then finally it all showed up! Even the little stroller! We were so thankful for this answer to prayer, and it was just one of the first ways we felt loved and cared for by Jesus during our trip. So, thanks so much for praying.

Before the EFM Gathering, we took several days for a family vacation in Chiang Mai. It was amazing to explore a different culture with our kids – to see the wonder in their eyes and to hear them talk about similarities and differences to our home. We had a lot of fun together and built some special family memories. We also had to hear some complaints about the heat, about jet lag, about the food, and about the transportation. I think it was a good process to deal with the pros and cons together. We didn’t get a lot of rest because kids just keep us busy whether on vacation or not! But, we are very happy for our time together. Some of the things we experienced as a family were staying in a house on stilts, swimming, visiting water buffalo and bunnies at a rice farm, enjoying the sights and sounds and tastes of the night market, playing in indoor play places, seeing a Giant Panda and other animals at the zoo, and riding in tuk tuks. We also really enjoyed spending time with a special family that we can’t name for security reasons. It was amazing to see our kids play together, to relax and unwind a bit outside of our usual places of ministry, to share honestly about our lives, and to laugh at all sorts of things together!

As missionaries, we are so cared for. By our directors, by staff, by Yearly Meeting Superintendents, and by our prayer partners (and I am including you in that group!) That was the main thing I took away from our EFM Gathering. We heard teachings, we participated in discussions (but not business meetings), we worshipped together, we ate together, we participated in small groups, and were able to get to know fellow missionaries better. An amazing childcare team taught and played with our kids while we were in sessions, and even took Sarai to visit some elephants at a special elephant park! Some of my favorite moments were brief but sincere interactions with a few special people God put in my path. People who said, “I understand and relate with those difficulties” or people who said, “we’ve been following your news and we’re praying for you” or people who said, “you are very loved by God and very loved by us”. We could not be more excited to be a part of the EFM team and their desire to seek first God’s Kingdom and to let him take them anywhere in the world to do so!

The travel was really tough at times, but God got us through, and the trip was very worth it. We got home on December 10, and are settling back in and preparing for Christmas and the end of the year. As we wrap up 2022, we know we have so much to be thankful for, and we wish we could fully express how thankful we are that you are on our team. As you encourage us, let us encourage you: you are so loved by God and by us. Keep seeking his kingdom. And please let us know how we can pray for you.

Love,
Brad and Chelsea
Sarai, Gideon, and Ian

The post Home Again- An Update from the Carpenters first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Thank you for your prayers and support of EFM’s Luke 10 Initiative. Here is a glimpse of what EFM experienced at the National Luke 10 Think Tank on November 2, 2022 in Wichita, KS.

Who Came? Forty-three leaders, future missionaries, and people with missions experience representing seven regions/yearly meetings in the U.S. and ten Luke 10 Exploration Trip teams.

What Happened? Worship. Prayer. Luke 10 study. Reports. Observations. Recommendations to keep exploring! Affirmation. Inspiration. Discerning what it means for Evangelical Friends to be faithful.

Seven teams who completed exploration trips from April-October 2022 summarized what they saw for EFM’s CAN GO Criteria and recommended that they continue to explore because of potential they identified for launching a new field. Three more teams go out December 2022-March 2023.

What Were the Results? The EFM Think Tank and EFM Board affirmed that each team continue exploring for full CAN GO Criteria. Champions will mobilize follow up Luke 10 Exploration Trips in 2023. EFM also commissioned focus groups for further study into best practices for partnerships with Friends in other countries and potential multi-culture missionary teams.

What is Next? In November 2023, EFM will approve which fields are ready to prepare for launching. This includes a commitment and announcement to launch along with recruiting persons of various gift sets and experiences who are called to fill needs on pioneering teams.

The Lord now sent them ahead
He instructed, “Pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send more workers.
NOW GO, and remember that I am sending you – Luke 10

EFM’s Five-Year Goal:
To send 10 new missionary households from North America to launch 5 new fields by 2025.
In launching these new fields we will pursue partnerships with Evangelical Friends groups on other continents who share our vision and wish to work with us.

EFM’s Luke 10 Initiative:
EFM’s Luke 10 Initiative mobilizes Evangelical Friends to explore and discern where EFM will launch new mission fields. In 2021, six regions/yearly meetings participated in five regional Luke 10 Think Tanks to identify potential sites to explore, then in May 2021 they all gathered for a National EFM Luke 10 Think Tank where eleven sites rose to the top for exploration as potential new mission fields. Regions/Yearly Meetings adopted sites to send teams on Luke 10 Exploration Trips in order to bring reports to the November 2022 EFM National Luke 10 Think Tank.

EFM’s CAN GO Criteria for starting a new mission field:

• Champions: Passion for a people/place “We must go!”
• Affirmation: From the body of Christ local, national, and international
• Need: Compelling need for the Gospel
• Gifting: Persons available with gifts and character to go
• Opportunity: There is openness and an invitation

Ten Sites of Initial Luke 10 Exploration Trips in 2022/2023

1.  Mexico: April 19-29, 2022, planned by EFC-MAYM in partnership with Mexico Yearly Meeting.
2.  Ecuador, Shuar people: May 30-June 16, 2022, planned by NWYM.
3.  Greece: May 30- June 10, 2022, planned by NWYM.
4.  Eastern Europe: June 15-22, 2022, planned by NWYM in partnership with EFC-Hungary.
5.  Tanzania: September 11-21, 2022, planned by EFC-MAYM in partnership with Burundi Yearly Meetings.
6.  South Sudan: October 10-21, 2022, planned by EFC-MAYM in partnership with EFC-Rwanda.
7.  Dubai/Doha, Nepali speaking immigrants: October 17-24, 2022, planned by EFC-ER in partnership with EFC-Nepal.
8.  The Lahu People of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam: December 8-15, 2022, planned by EFC-ER in partnership with Thailand Friends (who are registered as The Way Foundation).
9.  Northern India: February 20-March 4, 2023, planned by IYM.
10.  Northeast Brazil: March 11-21, 2023, planned by RMYM.

If you would like to read the reports from the Luke 10 Exploration Trips that have already taken place, click here.

The Great Commission is too big for anyone to accomplish alone and too important not to do together.

The post A Report from the 2022 National Luke 10 Think Tank first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

I’m about two hours out of Chiang Rai in a Lahu village with Joshua, Solomon, Dan Cammack, and a few other Lahu men. They just played “The Old Rugged Cross,” and now “Amazing Grace” followed by “Oh Come All You Faithful” at a fast beat. There are two base guitars, two classical guitars, and Solomon on the keyboard. The local pastor is singing in Lahu. It is a pretty fun moment. A young couple and their baby just joined us!

We ate a delicious supper at the pastor’s house, which is where we will sleep tonight. But before we sleep we will watch Brazil vs Croatia’s World Cup match in their large multipurpose room (living, dining, sleeping, futbol watching, etc.).

Tomorrow is an area meeting for the TLCC group of Lahu churches Joshua has been serving in leadership. What fun!

We drove up Wednesday from Chiang Mai where Debby and I participated in EFM’s second Worldwide Gathering. Debby is now flying back home.

On Thursday, Dan Cammack, Stan Leach, and our Lahu The Way Foundation (TWF) leaders met and spoke about their partnership with EFM. On Friday, our Luke 10 Exploration Trip Team, including all of us plus Rusty Savage, Scott Calhoun, and Ben Kibbe met to hear from some local church planting couples and The Way Foundation leadership. They described their vision to take the Good News into unreached Lahu villages in neighboring countries.

On Sunday Scott Purser arrives on the bus. Scott and I will coach with our Discipling for Development team Monday through Friday. Tuesday will be spent in preparation for our Wednesday lessons with all the Way Foundation staff. They have been studying every Monday, working through the top three subjects in their curriculum list on the priority discipleship subjects for their staff. This came out of our June trip’s example of working through the Mobilization Phase lessons to arrive at their community’s syllabus.

Thursday and Friday our aim is to strengthen Yawsapa’s team leadership with work on the weekly meeting planning cycle, including good delegation and communication. We also want to lead them through the next lessons they will need to facilitate the Mobilization process in their villages.

Please pray for Yawsapa, Manat, MaoPa, and Jabo, the current Discipling for Development (D4D) team. Pray that they have the grace to be one as Jesus and the Father are one! (That was from a team building mini-lesson Stan Leach gave). Please pray that they are “one in Spirit!” (That was from Ernesto Ramirez on our EFM Luke 10:2 Prayer Gathering call).

Pray for the team to understand the Mobilization process they are in, and help them capture and put into practice the next lessons. The lesson called Appreciative Approach (also called Appreciative Inquiry) is an incredibly valuable tool and I want all of them to capture it this next week.

Pray for good health. Pray for Roy and Joy Lujan to fully recover from COVID-19. Roy was planning on coming with me this trip and had to cancel. Also, pray for David Kibbe to fully recover from his recent bout with COVID-19 here in Thailand.

We are now a couple of hours into this jam session, and the church sanctuary is filling up. I’m tired, and if I was home I’d want to go to bed, but I imagine that time will be hours away! It sure is fun being with these new friends, and especially with Solomon and Joshua.

I am counting on your prayer support for a successful coaching week. Thank you in advance for releasing lots of the Holy Spirit’s grace, favor, wisdom, and blessing over us this week!

David Thomas

The post David Thomas December 2022 Prayer Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The eighth Luke 10 Exploration Trip in 2022 is departing tomorrow, December 8!

EFM has been planning ten Luke 10 Exploration Trips to ten different country/people group destinations in 2022 as EFM discerns where new mission fields will be launched as part of EFM’s Five-Year Goal! Eight of the first Luke 10 Trips will be completed in 2022, with two of the first trips being planned for early 2023. EFM gathered for a Luke 10 Think Tank on November 2 in Wichita and heard reports on what each team has seen for EFM’s CAN GO Criteria. They also took time to discern next steps, including further Luke 10 Exploration Trips to promising sites in 2023. See more information here.

The purpose of the Luke 10 Exploration trip to Thailand is to meet with the Friends leadership team in Thailand (registered as The Way foundation), which is lead by Charlie Kunakorn and Solomon Sangking. The team is will explore future work in Laos, Burma, Vietnam, and China. They will be based in Chiang Rai and will visit surrounding villages to meet with church planters and future missionaries from the Lahu tribe, who have a calling to go to those countries. They will also be exploring the possibility of a trip to Laos next year.

Team members include: Ben Kibbe (Damascus Friends Church, EFC-ER), Scott Calhoun (Canton First Friends Church, EFC-ER), Rusty Savage (EFC-ER Director of Multiplication), and Stan Leach (EFM Executive Director). Additional team members include: Solomon Sangking (The Way Foundation, Thailand) and Charlee Kunakorn (The Way Foundation, Thailand).

The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to cast out more workers into his fields.

The post Luke 10 Exploration Trip to Thailand: How You Can be Praying first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.