A. and M. A. | Serving in Bangladesh

Dallas Willard’s book “The Divine Conspiracy” is profound for his work on divine truth. I am motivated that my number one priority should be to spend time with the Lord. I asked myself, who am I? What kind of life am I living? Is God happy with the way I am living or leading? Do I hear the voice of God in my daily life? Do I obey God? God is inviting me to live in connection with him (John 15:4,5). At times, I felt like I was doing God’s will and executing his plan, but it turned out that wasn’t right. It was my wish, my dream, my plan. I like what Dallas says, “Until our thoughts of God have found every visible thing and event glorious with his presence, the word of Jesus has not yet fully seized us.” God is always inviting us to do his will. The very image of God demands his characteristics in our lives. God’s ultimate purpose is for us to have a loving and internal relationship with him. I realized that it is much more important to spend more quality time with the Lord and keep opening my spiritual ears so that I can hear his voice, asking for his plan for my life and ministry, rather than doing much work for the Lord.

We are doing various types of ministries focusing on sharing Jesus with non-Christians. We take every opportunity to share the love and forgiveness of Jesus with others. Our Friends Computer Center is one of the means of sharing good news with college and university students. Most of them are Muslim. We share Jesus with students. We have printed a basic computer manual book which also leads a student to know about Jesus.

Romans 10:15 says, “As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” The “Beautiful Feet Movement” was started in 2010 based on this verse and it is continuing today. We just finished this movement seminar (August 18-21). We had 67 women, 13 leaders, and 16 children come along with their mothers to attend this seminar from various Friends churches of the country. The main theme for this year was, “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). We did several workshops on how to listen to God’s voice and pray to God. Women had some unique experiences about hearing the voice of God through this movement seminar. We emphasized spending more quality time and building a personal relationship with the Lord and obeying his command. Our dream is to see every mother will be a “Mother of Prayer”.

Blessings,

A. and M.

Praise God… We had a very fruitful women’s movement seminar. We prayed for no rain during this seminar since it is monsoon season. These three days there was no rain. The rain started just after the seminar. That one of our disciples’ families just united after two and half years of separation. Determined to continue praying until the prayers are answered, we have all prayed for this family, and God has answered our prayers. Blessed is the name of the Lord.  Please Pray… For our fruitful deputation time in the U.S. starting in October. Pray that the Lord helps us to reach both our prayer and financial partner goals. We are below 100% of our goal. For our upcoming “Widow Seminar” in September. Our dream is to train and motivate widows to live a joyful and dedicated life in the Lord. For both of our sons so that they are equipped well to bring glory to the Lord.

Download this month’s prayer letter here…

The post September 2023 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The summer has flown by and already it feels like Fall in Ireland. The days are shorter and cool. The leaves are changing color. The streets are full of children in the morning and afternoon, wearing their school uniforms, waiting for the buses or walking in large groups with their shirttails hanging loose. Ireland is beautiful in any season, but still, I will miss the long, summer days.

What has filled my summer days?

In June I spent a week at this beautiful retreat center in Wales. It was a silent retreat, with the opportunity to meet each day with a Spiritual Director. It was intense, and relaxing, and the setting was beautiful. Also, I took my watercolors and began to paint again. At the end of August, I was back there for a guided retreat this time (we were allowed to talk to each other). It was a wonderful end to my sabbatical and also, a lovely place to be on my birthday.

In July I was able to attend the Young Friends camp in N. Ireland. Camp had not been held in person since 2019, and I was really privileged to be the speaker this year. It was wonderful to be back at camp, engaging with young adults, old and new friends. Recently I was back at camp, this time for a gathering of leaders from the last twenty years who came together to remember one of our friends who passed away unexpectedly at the end of August. I am so thankful for these friends who have invited me in and ministered to me, while allowing me to also minister to them (as Friends do).

In August I turned 60. The celebrations started early. I had a dear friend come from the U.S. to visit for two weeks. A group of friends (some of my “mums”) went to dinner and stayed overnight at a lodge in the Wicklow mountains. My visiting friend helped me make over some things in my garden. There was a second party at a local restaurant, complete with LOUD middle eastern music, and a belly dancer! Some of my neighbors attended, along with friends from church and from the baby and toddler group. For my gift, friends have chosen different months of the following year to invite me over for dinner. My heart is full.

I have continued my studies at Barclay College and hope to complete my degree by Christmas. The baby group is up and running again. I am working on completing my Social Work registration with the Irish governing body (CORU), which I expect will open more opportunities for ministry here. AND I will be in California for a few weeks in October and November for my niece’s wedding.

Thank you for reading this far! You can pray for me as I try to balance my coursework for Barclay (completing my Capstone Project), a Continuing Professional Development course for Social Work, a visit to California – and mums and babies, families, relationships. I honestly feel energized and excited about the possibilities ahead (pray for those too!).

Blessings,
Kathi Perry

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

Samson and Priscilla Retnaraj | Serving in Nepal

Arun and Babli are our CHE trainers who have a unique Children’s Ministry in Aurahi of Dhanusa district. After their marriage (which was against their parents’ wishes) both invited the ire of their non-believing families and were attending the local church. Babli started to bring the young female children together to recite songs and tell Bible stories to them. The children learned these songs of worship and liked coming together every day to their house. Soon the mothers also accompanied the children, and it became a bigger group. Incidentally Arun and Babli discovered that most of these children were Musahars (a Dalit group). The group grew bigger, and we got involved as we trained Arun and Babli to systematically teach using Children’s CHE lessons which aligned with Bible studies and encouraged Bible studies in the families as well.

Almost all Musahars in Nepal live in the rural areas. Musahar are primarily bonded agricultural laborers, but often go without work for as much as eight months in a year. Children work alongside their parents in the fields or as rag-pickers, earning as little as ₹25-30 ($0.35-0.40) a day. The Musahar literacy rate is three percent overall and falls to an abysmal one percent among women. By some estimates, as many as 85% of some villages of Musahars suffer from malnutrition. With scant access to health centers, preventable diseases such as malaria, TB, gastroenteritis, and kala-azar are prevalent.

A few years down the line, many children from this group and others in the community enrolled in the local government school for a formal school education. Now we have about seven or eight who have graduated from high school and are attending the local ‘church’ in Arun and Babli’s house with their mothers also in attendance. The male members of the family did object initially but soon the changes seen in these girls made everyone happy and wanting to get involved. Last year six of these girls took the bold step of making a public testimony of baptism and were formally led into the family of Christ by Arun as the local church leader. After graduating from high school, one girl even enrolled in a Bible school nearby for a 12-month Bible training. During this time, accompanied by Babli, she went about evangelizing with ‘supervisors’ in nearby communities which were majorly Musahar communities. God is bringing about transformation in these communities using these little angels of change.

Please pray for this fellowship as it grows in the future and that the grace of God abounds in this community and enables many of them to come out of human bondages and serve with joy and pride in their hearts as they now serve their newfound master – Jesus.

Thank you all for your love and prayers for our ministry!

Samson and Priscilla Retnaraj

Download this month’s prayer letter here…

The post September 2022 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, God gave a lot of blessings to our church. There were many difficulties, restrictions and church closures but our God was always with us as he promised: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5). We can be especially thankful for him on three main mission areas: (1) the children’s work, (2) the youth group’s work and, and (3) the gipsy mission.

The Children’s Work

After a long break, we could organize children’s days on three mission places: Ozora, Budapest and Tolna. I think it’s a very great opportunity for this way we can reach the unbeliever parents through their children. The program was similar in every place. We started with singing Christian children’s songs. After, my wife taught the children a story from the Bible (she included the gospel too). Then we prayed together with them. Finally, we made some handcrafts which kids enjoyed very much.

In Ozora, I made a deal with the local leader of the community house. She allowed us to organize occasions again, as the situation of the virus is better in our country. On the 14^th of August, after a few church meetings, the first children’s day was there. Ozora is a village with a lot of gipsy families. People are very poor, but they have open heart to the word of God. At the end of the children’s day, we gave them little presents, candies and some donation dresses.

On the 15^th of August, we organized a children’s day in Budapest. As it was just a few hours long, the unbeliever parents stayed there, they got involved in it, and heard the Good News too. I believe that the seeds fell into a good soil. On every fourth Sunday, we decided to organize a children’s day in Budapest, since this way new unbeliever parents come to the church and hear the gospel.

Thirdly, on the 20^th of August, we had an all-day long children’s day in Tolna. The program was similar as in Ozora. There were about 30-35 children. After the lunch, we took the children to the bank of the River Danube where we played with them and organized a foam party with the help of the local fire department. At the end, we could invite the parents to the church.

The Youth Group’s Work

As I said, I’m thankful for our youth group, too, for they are loyal and enthusiastic. As you know,  because of the pandemic the community house of Budapest was closed for a long period but our youth kept contact on every Sunday morning on Zoom. Praise the Lord, the community house is open now, but they keep on organizing Zoom meetings. We’re also thankful, because they’ll have a youth camp from the 26^th to the 29^th of August. Please, pray for this camp that our youth group can be in agreement and in love in Christ (Psalms 133:1-3).

The Gipsy Mission

Praise the Lord, after a break of one and a half years we could visit our gipsy brothers and sisters from Serbia and Croatia. They were so happy for us, they missed us in the last hard period.

Thank you for your prayers. We are also praying for you and EFC mission work!

With love,

Tony and Ági Frei

Click Here to Download Full Prayer Letter…

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

If you would like to receive on a regular basis prayer requests and praises for how God is working I encourage you to sign up for EFM’s monthly prayer letter. You can do that by clicking on the button below.

Also, EFM is still receiving donations to our emergency fund for COVID-19 related relief efforts. If you would like to contribute at this time you can do so by clicking here or using the button below.

The post COVID Pandemic Testimony from Romania first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

If you would like to receive on a regular basis prayer requests and praises for how God is working I encourage you to sign up for EFM’s monthly prayer letter. You can do that by clicking on the button below.

Also, EFM is still receiving donations to our emergency fund for COVID-19 related relief efforts. If you would like to contribute at this time you can do so by clicking here or using the button below.

The post COVID-19 Pandemic Testimony of Bir Bahadur first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Bhutan Friends Newsletter

From Rupak and Pramila Tamang

“For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.”  Psalm 91:3

FAMILY

Greetings from Bhutan and from our family. To give you an update about our family, my older son and daughter-in-law are doing well. They are excited and happy with the blessing God has given them – our granddaughter. She is two months old and will be three months on August 14^th. Our two younger sons began college on August 4^th at one of the best colleges in Bhutan, Royal Thimphu College (www.rtc.bt). We’re very much grateful to our partners prayer team and EFM for granting such a privilege. Samuel working on a BA in English and Kenchola is working on a BA in Political Science. We are praying for safety and healing for all and for the current pandemic situation which has taken place globally.

MISSION AND CHURCH ACTIVITIES

We have done several programs, which includes the appointing of leaders and elders (about 96 all over Bhutan), six wedding ceremonies, and completing the 16^th batch of Bhutan Friends Bible School. Students were taught about the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the facts and history of the four gospel books of Jesus and their authors. The students were also taken on a field trip. The new training center is in the heart of Thimphu city. We have added ten new members to our church, and they all took a public display of baptism.

COUNTRY

Glory to God that our country, Bhutan, rejoices the 2^nd Prince of Our Beloved His Majesty the King and Royal Highness the Queen was recently born!

Our country is also facing a lockdown situation currently. Below are some of the pictures of different parts in Bhutan following the lockdown which indeed helps in decreasing the threat of transmission of COVID-19.

Please Pray…

• For the current lockdown situation to open.
• For the completion of our end vision 2020 by December 10^th.
• That more churches are being planted and that they fulfill the Great Commission in our generation.
• That the churches grow stronger in faith and accept the challenges for the Great Commission. It’s crucial to plant churches.
• That we could send more missionaries outside Bhutan.
• Please pray for our churches in Bhutan and for the overall country regarding safety. With all that is happening, that it may leave advantages for the fulfillment and for the raising of his kingdom and his people in Bhutan.

Read more…

The post September 2020 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.

In Cha’pur the first group of 17 women went through the WCL training. It was so well received that another 23 went to the next one. Our Women CHE Trainers doubled as Facilitator, says that these first groups of women have taught at least one lesson to 1678 other women. This was eight years ago, and Asha was one of those teachers.

Kiran, another CHE Trainer says, “Women ask me how they should respond to their husbands when they don’t show respect for them. I tell them, ‘You can respond as if you are trash, or you can respond with self-respect, as a worthy person. Then your husband will learn to respect you too.’ The spiritual impact is transforming when women who feel they are unworthy learn that God loves them. I know now that I’m a daughter of the King of Kings! Such knowledge lifts my head. I can walk proudly like a lioness now!”

Read More…

The post September 2018 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.