Missionary- Angela Baker

Angela Baker, a First Euless missionary supported by the Miracle, sent us this update:

Hello Everyone!

It was 3 months ago today that I arrived in Moscow! I realized that as I was working today. It is hard to believe it has only been 3 months! It feels as though I have been here much longer than that. I don't know if that is due to my familiarity with my surroundings or whether it is because everything here just takes so much more time and goes so much slower, but it is a positive feeling regardless.

I spent December working to gain an understanding of the situation here in Moscow and trying to make contacts. January has been spent working on a ministry plan. When I was expressing my frustration at how slow things seem to be taken recently, a good friend reminded me of two things:

1) Laying the foundation is the most important part in beginning a new ministry. Just as with building a house, the foundation work might not look to the outside world as progress but it is the most important aspect and worth taking the time to do right. That illustration really resonated with me and challenged me not to be hasty as I start a new ministry from the ground up.

2) I am in Russia.
This fact seems at first glance, to be quite simple and even comical. Of course, I am in Russia! I am aware of this every minute of every day, but that statement has much more to do with understanding expectations than geographical location. Being in Russia means- every thing goes much, much slower. This is not a culture that operates on the same time and productivity expectations we have in the US. It means that the government actually does declare 10 consecutive days state holidays and so no one other than gas stations, groceries stores, and entertainment outlets do anything. For ten days at the end of December and the beginning of January- nothing gets done! This is normal and I am the odd one for still hoping to have meetings during the "holidays." Crazy American that I am! :) Being in Russia means that everything happens through relationships and relationships take time. It was a good reminder because even with having lived in Moscow before, I forgot to what extent things are slower and more about relationships here.

So with those two things I look back on the past two months and see productivity and I am excited to share with you what I hope will be happening in the next two weeks. Relationships have been made, a foundation laid and I have great hope of being able to build on top of the two and begin a orphan ministry outreach from Moscow Bible Church this next month. Please pray specifically, as I approach the director of Boarding School #54 in Moscow. I have great hopes of the director being open to our involvement because of past relationships with the school. I have had so many people from Moscow Bible express their interest in helping in this type of ministry- the only component now missing is the place. So please join me in prayer for God to lead me to the right orphanage and to move the directors heart to allow us to become involved. School 54 is my first school- the one with which I have the greatest relationship base, but I have a list of 41 other orphanages or children's hospitals that I can contact if the director of 54 doesn't want our help. I apologize that my December update didn't come (having your internet stop working during the 10 day black hole of the Russian holidays set me back a bit on work.) My update letters will continue to come once a month barring any unusual circumstances. I look to start updating my website more frequently as well. I am attaching a picture of me and some children from an orphanage about an hour and a half outside of Moscow. The kids were very excited to have their pictures taken with us. The orphanage has a group come over a couple times a year from the US to help them with some of the physical needs, but I am hoping to be able to connect their orphanage with a local church for ongoing ministry.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I hope you all have a blessed day!

Serving Christ,

Angela

China Bible Translation

Dr. Jimmy Draper sent us this update

The Chinese translation of the New Testament is complete and the first printing is in progress. We will have 200,000 of the New Testaments ready for distribution to Chinese tourists in Thailand by the 1st of April. We expect to see all of them distributed within a few months. Other sources of distribution are also being planned. The Old Testament translation is in progress and will still be completed by 2011. The excitement is high among all involved. I’ll be going to Japan and Thailand in April to meet with the leaders there and may have more information.

Church Plants - Austin

Josh Proctor, Pastor of Austin area church plant, sent us this update:

Our journey continues to be very challenging, but we continue to learn what it means to trust the Lord to build His church little by little.

Since our last letter we did a Christmas brunch for neighborhood ladies, and three ladies came, had a great time and heard the gospel. Josh has continued to go door to door in Kyle. He has probably gone to about 500 homes now, where he has had about 100 conversations with people about the church we are starting. In December he went back to about 50 of the houses in our neighborhood and delivered invitations to our church along with homemade cookies that Kelly had baked from scratch. We now have three families coming to our house for church on Sunday nights. Prior to coming to our house for church, these three couples were unchurched.

We told you about the first couple that has been coming in our last letter. This was also the couple that I shared about at the Miracle Banquet in November. The wife of this couple was one of the women who came to the Christmas brunch. Right before Christmas this couple decided to follow Jesus, and the goal is for them to be baptized this month. Praise the Lord!!! Two other couples are now coming to our church as well. Both wives of these two couples know the Lord, but the husbands do not. They both acknowledge that they are searching, but they are not ready to surrender control of their life to Christ. We are praying that both men would surrender their life to Christ. One of these couples recently had their second child, and we have enjoyed getting to care for them as a church family. Our family, along with the other two families, have brought them meals during this time, and we have brought them diapers as well.

We are so thankful for what the Lord is doing in us and through us as He grows His church. We are currently studying the Gospel of Mark on Sunday nights, and we have many things on the horizon as well. Josh will continue to go door to door, and we are attempting to do three outreach events by Easter. We continue to attend the School of Church Planting at Hope in the City Church, and we had a big training conference in Waco this past weekend. We are praising the Lord for what He is doing in Kyle, TX!

Apartment Life

Missy Linkletter, Apartment Life Area Director/Partner with FBCE, sent this update:

First Baptist Euless currently has 3 CARES Teams serving:
Matt & Ana Dowling @ Camden Lakeview
David and Jeannie Ware @ Ash Lane
Matthew and Amy Timberlake @ Post Oak Place.

One of my favorite stories this month so far comes from David and Jeannie Ware:

“We took some food we had in our pantry to Lakeesha because she called us needing something to feed her 19 month-old baby. The baby had been sick with ear infections and was now on antibiotics, but had diarrhea and vomiting. Lakeesha had spent all her money on doctors and prescriptions, so we took her some broth and other clear liquids suitable for babies. We told her we would be praying for them all. We will check back on them tomorrow. She called because of our number on the calendar that says 'call if you need anything.'”

The Wares’ experience is what it’s all about. Being a CARES team is about building relationships with people, meeting them where they’re at, and earning the right to be heard. It’s as easy as bringing clear liquids for a sick baby, visiting with someone when they are going through difficult circumstances, throwing a Christmas party in the clubhouse, or giving out breakfast treats in the morning. The results are amazing!

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
-2 Corinthians 4:6

MidCities Pregnancy Center

Paula Odom, Director of the MidCities Pregnancy Center, sent us this update:

A young woman recently came to the Center with her two-year old. She received a positive pregnancy test result and told us that she planned to get an abortion. When asked why she would consider abortion, she said, “It’s not a good time.” However, she did consent to having a sonogram. She saw her baby, but she still left the center without changing her mind. In the days that followed we prayed for her and phoned, but there was no reply. A couple of weeks later she reappeared at the center asking for financial help. We referred her to agencies that could help her with medical care. We also told her about our Hope program (coupons used to buy baby/maternity items). Her eyes lit up when she saw the clothing/supply room that held all the items available to her. This time she left the center saying, “I’m going to have a baby in May.”

A life was saved.

We know that this was the power of God working through the prayers of His people. He is the One who changed her heart. This is just one of over 37,000 women who have come through the Mid Cities Pregnancy Center. We continue to pray that God will prepare the way to Irving. We are praying for His choice for the office location, that He will bring the needed resources, and for volunteers (especially bilingual) to begin training for the Irving opening.

“With God all things are possible.” Mark 9:23.

We feel stronger than ever that the Lord is leading us into Irving, where hopefully, we will see twice as many women touched by the love of God!

Church Plants - Arizona

Ray Strauss, pastor of The Church at Sun Valley in Arizona, sent this update:

Friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers! It is with awesome privilege that I joyfully report to you that Sunday we had our “dress rehearsal” in preparation for our community launch this coming Sunday. Last Sunday we met with our core families and neighbors and had 35 people, most whom are not believers. Out of the 35, the decision cards were marked as follows:

4 recommitments: ( I personally believe these were professions of faith and will learn more after follow-up)

8 desiring to attend our new members class and become members of the church

6 interested in child dedication (there are a lot of babies!)

1 feeling called into the ministry (specifically youth, we need one of those!) *He is also the community coordinator for the developer and as the official coordinator, he inquired if the church is willing to partner together on community projects and activities, i.e., they provide the funding and the church provides the, direction, activities, and people. God is up to something there!

7 desiring to serve in any capacity

3 desiring discipleship to grow in their commitment and relationship with Christ!

We are so humbled and excited at what God is doing here. FBCE family, we thank you so much for your prayers and support! Lives are being changed and a genuine sense of excitement and expectancy is building in the community around the church and what God is doing. The church is becoming the “community hub and go-to place” for people to learn what is going on and what there is to do.

With the birth of the community, God is teaching people how to be caring neighbors, good friends, and kingdom citizens. We have fastened our seat belts because the Lord is doing something so powerful in our midst. One day people will say, "What is it about Festival Ranch that is drawing people there?" The answer is simple: “When Christ is lifted up, all people will be drawn to Him!”

Lastly, I heard that you all prayed for us in the middle of your service Sunday! Thank you!!! The unity and kindred, sweet spirit that permeated our service was no doubt helped by your prayers! Pray for us this week as we hand out door hangers inviting every family and resident in our community to church this Sunday! We fully and confidently expect great and mighty things from our awesome God this Sunday!

Grace and peace,
Your missionaries,

Ray Strauss and Daniel Scott
The Church at Sun Valley - Your other family!

Church Plants - New York

JR Vassar, pastor of Apostles' Church in New York, sent this update:

By the grace of God, Apostles Church is healthy and growing. We have two growing congregations, one in the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the other near the East Village in Manhattan. Our East Village venue is an amazing cathedral with a rich history and beautiful architecture that has helped create a reverent atmosphere for our worship gatherings. We have experienced a flood of new people with 33 people signed up for January membership class. We have also experienced a flood of generosity from our people. In addition, Advent was a great time for our people to reflect on the generosity of God and extend that same generosity to others. On December 16 we handed out $10 bills to everyone in the congregation and told them to use it to bless someone in need during the Christmas season. We created a blog to let people share their stories. They have been amazing testimonies to God’s presence in the City through His people. You can read the stories at www.mytendollarbill.blogspot.com.