If My People Pray

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

Recently we had a 24 hour Prayer Vigil at the pregnancy center. The following week we saw God do many great things, especially confirming how He is going before us into Irving.

Two pastors from Irving churches came to tour the center. One of pastors asked us to come to his church to do a ministry presentation in April. He grew up in Irving and was excited that we were going to start a satellite office there. He said that he wanted to connect us with other churches in Irving as well. I asked him if there was a ministerial alliance there for pastors, and he said, “Funny you would ask that, I am putting one together right now.” He invited me to come and do a presentation about the new Irving center when they began meeting.

The other pastor brought in his wife to tour the center, and he brought baby bottles with donations from his church! He encouraged us in our plans for Irving because he noticed there was no center there and the need is great.

God did something else wonderful, through one of our staff members, Paulette Huff. Here is her story:

I went to see my doctor for my annual exam, and while I was there I made small talk with the medical technician, telling her about the work I did at the pregnancy center. While talking, I learned that the young lady had made one appointment to an abortion clinic and cancelled it, only to make another appointment. She saw abortion as her only solution. She and her boyfriend already had a year-old baby boy and he didn’t particularly want another baby. Money was very tight. As the conversation went on, I shared what I might have shared with her in a counseling room. The Lord was very present. A heart was softened and tears flowed easily. Two total strangers hugged.
A life was saved.

My last words to her were, "God sure does love you a lot to answer your prayers. You asked Him to tell you what to do and He sent me to you."

This story is not complete without mentioning a few more details. First, there was a nurse in the same practice who told this young lady that God had a purpose for her and her baby, and that she and her friends would be praying for her. Second, this young lady cancelled her second abortion appointment and never made another one. Finally, this doctor’s office is in Irving! God is confirming our move there, little by little. We may not have a pregnancy center in Irving yet, but we’ve got our first client—and she’s chosen life!

Needless to say, we have all been reminded of the importance of prayer as we serve the Lord, and we are planning to have a prayer vigil one day each month. We are so grateful to be part of the “Miracle” and for the first tiny life saved!

The Harvest is Coming

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

It was just several weeks ago when we began meeting in a home.

Then, on January 13th, 2008 the Lord blessed us with a school for our meeting place.

The next week, the Lord gathered more people together.

And He continued to add weekly those who were coming and being saved.

They brought their children.

And their friends.

And their friends brought their own children.

God was up to something!

We pray for people and do our best to be faithful.

We know that God is doing His part.

God has grown His family in an amazing way, in just eight weeks!

AMG International: Hope for India Conventions

Here is an update from AMG International, a missions organization supported by the Miracle:

Dear Brother in Christ,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Once again we thank God for the opportunity He has given to us to conduct Hope For India Conventions- 2008 at Bheemili, Bommuru and Chilakaluripet. God used servants of God mightily for the extension of His kingdom. Men of God delivered heart touching and soul stirring sermons. Many non-believers accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior, believers strengthened in the Word of God, and national workers took a decision to reach the un-reached people with new vision and motivation.

Hope For India Conventions Numbers:

Hope For India Conventions at Chilakaluripet :

• 900 salvations
• 6,000 trained and equipped
• 10,000 attendees

Hope For India Conventions at Bhimili :

• 600 salvations
• 2,500 trained and equipped
• 6,000 attendees

Hope For India Conventions at Bommuru :

• 500 salvations
• 2,000 trained and equipped
• 5,000 attendees

Please pray for these people so that they can be a witness for many perishing souls and they may shine for Jesus in the society. Thank you for all your support and prayers for the spreading of Good News and giving Hope to India.

Thanking you,
Yours in His Glorious Service

ARUN KUMAR KANTI MOHANTY

Seminary Ministry

Here are some encouraging words from those that were blessed by the Seminary Shopping Spree:

"It really means a lot to everyone that you guys care so much. When I watched the DVD It was very moving emotionally to hear your pastor's message. You see we have made many sacrifices to follow God's path for our lives, and to see that someone else cared so deeply about that really means a lot. I was very encouraged by the event and cannot thank you enough for having it."
In Christ's Service,
Jonathan Sharp

"I am ecstatic! What a wonderful and sacrificial investment of the caring congregation at FBC Euless! What vision and commitment to meeting needs! Words just don’t say thank you enough from me!"
-Dorothy Patterson

"I wanted to say thank you for all the time y'all put into making Saturday such a blessing. I am thankful for the coffee table I was able to bring home to my apartment! I hope that this event was a blessing to everyone who gave time and items to make it successful! Thank you again!"
-Kelly Jones

"I wanted to take a few minutes and just thank you for the way you brought God's glory Saturday morning. We have witnessed first hand accounts of God working in so many ways that we would have otherwise missed. And I'm telling you, brother, one of those accounts took place Saturday. When we decided to attend the event at Euless, we really didn't know what to expect. God revealed Himself to her in a huge way!! I talked to Ralph, the guy who won the basket of goodies. When we first met him, He had just moved here from Germany, didn't have a car at the time, and seemed to really be having a hard time. When I talked him on the way out Saturday, he was just beaming with excitement over having won something. And finally, talking to a guy in my class who told me about a student whose washing machine just went on the blink last week... the student was there and he now has a washing machine! I can tell you personally that we all came away with a heightened awareness of the importance of showing love."
In Christ alone,
Steve Lasiter

"I wanted to thank the church for all of the donations given at the Seminary giveaway this past Saturday and everyone who was involved with it. We are very appreciative of your thoughts, prayers, and support as we study here at Southwestern. The donations were a large blessing to us! Thank you!"
Love in Christ,
Mandy Alexander

"We are in our first term at Southwestern and are seeing day by day God's faithfulness to provide for our family. We have two children in college and a high schooler at home and are trying to go to school fulltime. So it was a great gift to us to receive a much-needed bookcase and get some of our books off the floor and out of boxes! We are so grateful that your church has a heart to encourage seminary students. Some of our friends were able to take home a bedframe, mattress and boxsprings so they now can have their parents visit! We were so impressed that First Euliss had thought of so many of the extra details to be helpful: the beds came with new sheets, pillows, even mattress pads, the new minivan had had the taxes prepaid on them, laundry and cleaning supplies were provided--all the stuff of everyday life that can be quite burdensome to families on a small income. Please thank your members for surrendering their time, their possessions, their hearts for God to use them to build up families like ours. We thank God for you and ask His blessing on your church and the community in which you minister."
In His love,
Hubert and Shawndee Edenfield

Church Plants- Arizona

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

We certainly have an exciting report to share this week! As for the attendance, here is what the Lord has done:
January 13... 35
January 20... 40
January 27... 52
February 3... 48
February 10... 56
February 17... 61
February 24... 75
What these numbers do not show are the people who have been saved, called into ministry, redeemed out of troubled marriages, healed from a variety of problems, and a dozen lined up for baptism.

Again, we are so grateful for our FBCE family! Your prayers and support make all the difference! We simply could not do this without you all!

Prayer requests are:
1. We need the Lord to raise up some more teachers for children’s classes. These last two weeks have shown we are at capacity and need to start 1-2 more children’s classes to maintain momentum and a healthy ministry.

2. We are having a movie night this Friday night at 6:00 pm at the Festival Foothills park. Free hotdogs, popcorn and drinks will be offered as we reach out to more in our community. We hope to generate more awareness of the Church at Sun Valley and get to know many of the new families moving in.

3. Pray for the staff to have wisdom as we lead and make decisions. We are looking to have a ministry fair where we share areas of service and opportunities within our church that will help us grow, maintain health, share the ministry, and give our folks a place to serve.

4. Most of all, thanks to God who inspires and leads us in the wonderful work of His!

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory! -Psalm 115:1

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ray and the Church at Sun Valley

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.