Newsletter 11 & 12-08

the Missions Banner

Presbyterian Presbyterian Missionary Union & Venture Guild International 1650 Love Road, Grand Island, New York 14072 v Phone: 716-775-0442 v Fax: 716-775-3405 Email: [email protected] Web: www.presbyterianmissions.org

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008, #233 ® “Declare his glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples.” Psalm 96:3

News to Know •

Winter Youth Conferences Scheduled Florida Presbytery: Dec. 30Jan. 1. Dr. George Gatis is the special speaker. Great Lakes Presbytery: Dec. 27-30. “Proclaiming Christ” Northwest Presbytery: Dec. 29-Jan. 1. Dr. Pine will participate. • ACCC Meets in MD The 67th Annual Convention of the American Council of Christian Churches met October 21-23 at the Evangelical Methodist Church in Darlington, Maryland. The theme of this year’s convention was “The Trust Committed to Us.” Dr. Richard Stratton, President of Clearwater Christian College in Clearwater, Florida, was the keynote speaker. Drs. McDonald and Pine attended as the representatives of the BPC Synod. The BPC is a charter member of the ACCC, an organization formed to stand as a testimony of faithful obedience to the inerrant Word of God in a world increasingly plagued by ecclesiastical and moral compromise. • Changes in Publication Schedule and Offerings Beginning with the January 2009 issue, PMU is making some changes in our Missions Banner publication schedule. The MB will include more news of the BP Synod, especially in its church planting efforts. Regular issues will be reduced in number to a total of six annually. At the same time, monthly bulletin inserts will be prepared for our churches which will include denominational news, ideas for outreach, and stories of encouragement from our local churches. Banner Photo above: Perth skyline, Western Australia

Doing the Father’s Business During his three-year ministry, Jesus always emphasized doing the will of his Father. In John 12:49, he said, "The Father who sent me gave me a command, what I should say and what I should speak." PMU strives to seek God's will in its continuing ministry in missions and church planting at home and overseas. Shortly after the first of the year, PMU will mark 24 years of service for Christ as an agency of the Bible Presbyterian Church. Dr. Len Pine, Field Director, and the office staff can hardly keep on top of the many openings God brings our way. We need your prayers for wisdom to make the right decisions. As we near the end of 2008, I come to our churches who have so generously supported this ministry with news that we are under-supported in some areas. The economy is not the brightest picture around, but our reliance is on the Lord God of heaven. Can you do more? We are such a small part of what God is doing within our church, but please pray that God will keep us firmly based in the mandate, method, model, and message of God's Word. We are grateful for the sacrifice of so many in financially assisting with this ministry. Please bring PMU to the attention of your prayer meeting group each time you meet. Thank you! — Morris McDonald, PMU President

For His Glory Praise the Lord for His blessings upon the first Vacation Bible School in the history of Bible-Presbyterian Church of Western Australia, September 30 - October 2, 2008. The Lord is good, and we give Him all praise and glory. The Bible lessons on the Wordless Book as well as the missionary lessons on the life of Eric Liddell were well presented by Preacher Hai Seng Lim from Ebenezer Bible -Presbyterian Church in Melbourne. We were able to reach fifty-one children with the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord that several children professed faith, including one girl from Iran. She told "Uncle" Hai Seng on the second day that she had prayed at home and asked Jesus to come into her heart! Please pray with us that the Lord will continue to bless the ministry of Evangel Bible Institute and BP Church of WA. We plan to have special meetings at Christmas at the church and in two old folks' homes. The church choir plans to sing in old folks' homes and in two hospitals. May the Lord be pleased to use us for His glory and the extension of His Kingdom. Thank you for your part in this ministry through your faithful prayers. A wonderful Christmas and blessed New Year to you. — Ed and Lehia Paauwe, Australia

Connected by a Living Hope Greetings, friends in Christ. A quick thank you as we run headlong into the holiday season, which is as busy here in the East as it is for you in the West these days! Your prayers and support have been so much appreciated by us here. As the folks here have learned more about the history of the Church, they have come to appreciate more the connection we all have as brothers and sisters in Christ. Christmas is a favorite time, as they know they are celebrating something with all of you as God’s people have done for years. Of course, things are a bit different here: There are no presents, no obligatory parties, and no churches with Santas bowing at mangers surrounded by unbiblical angels. Instead, the believers rejoice in inviting their unsaved friends to a gathering on Christmas Eve, and gathering with invited churches from other towns all day on Christmas Day to remember the birth of their Savior. I hope that you, too will enjoy this holiday season, and rejoice that so many others around the world share the hope that Christ has bought us by his birth, life, death, and resurrection. — Miriam F., Ch_ na

Presbyterian Missionary Union is a non-profit missions agency associated with the Bible Presbyterian Church. Our purpose is to advance the cause of missions that are biblically based and practiced and to stand against any compromise of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. PMU is directed by a Council of Christian leaders who volunteer their time to guide the ministry. To learn more about missions opportunities through PMU, or about the BPC, please contact us. The Missions Banner is published six times a year for interested individuals and churches. It seeks to promote the clear stand of the BPC by providing a biblical perspective on issues, fads, and theories in missions and church development. Our Editor is Len Pine, and our Publisher is Morris McDonald.

Lights Out, but the Lord Shines We've been having a lot of power problems in my new home/school/Church. (It's out as I write this letter.) A few weeks back, as I was teaching, the power failed in my part of town. It was as dark as the proverbial tomb, so I ushered everyone out. They fumbled around trying to figure out which pair of sandals was theirs, and I struggled trying to lock up. The next morning, as I was doing my devotions, the door bell rang. When I came down the gate was open, and my cranky old motorcycle was missing. In the dark I had locked one gate twice and missed the other. I was heartbroken. The man at the gate was a Christian and had heard of me and my work through the community. He was interested in studying the Bible and perhaps, one day, becoming a pastor. I rejoiced. I am most grateful to God for His mercy and to His people for their support of this ministry. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” - 2 Corinthians 4:18 — Mark Baldwin, Cambodia

Grateful for Partnership Dear brothers in Christ: Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As we come to end of 2008 we just want to say thank you for all your faithful partnership in prayer and financial support this past year. You have been a blessing to us, and we appreciate it. We had a blessed year of good work on the mission field. We thank the Lord for the work of our Vacation Bible School which reached children and families with the wonderful gospel. We also reached kids for Christ with our AWANA program. We gave the Word of God to the youths by means of teaching the English language. Thanks to Team Timothy for their efforts and work with us in Bolivia, many persons accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. “Team Timothy” has provided good training to our church people with the Word of God. Today we have new families and are training our new members in the principles of the gospel and the BPC. We have reached out to persons that live in the streets depending on alcohol and drugs. Our God has allowed our BPC to put the Bible in the hands of Bolivia’s President, Evo Morales. It is the first time that the President and Vice-president have received the Holy Scriptures. We thank all our brethren of the BPC who joined us in prayer, especially for the legislation about Bolivia’s new Constitution which was approved in Parliament to be implemented on January 25, 2009. [Note: Not everyone in Bolivia is happy about the new Constitution, and there is great unrest there at this writing. Please keep our brethren there in prayer for their safety and unhindered gospel work. The political climate is extremely volatile. — Ed.] Finally we send warm Christmas greetings to the Pastors, Elders, Deacons, all leaders of the BPC, and all the believers. We send warm greetings to The Ladies Missionary Society. May God bless you and your families during this Christmas seasons. May you all have a blessed 2009 with the Lord’s mighty presence. — David Quisbert, Bolivia

Deliverance and Development Praise the LORD for His wonderful blessing and guidance throughout the year. How wonderful is serving the LORD in His given and blessed task. Thank you very much for upholding us in your prayers and your continuous support of the mission works in Myanmar. It is only through you and your partnership that the mission work here is possible. Philippians 1:3-6 is a special passage I hold in my heart for you: I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…. The mission works, the planted churches, the orphanage children, the preschool, and leadership training process are all going well. The LORD has done many wonderful things to and through us this year: 1. Protection from the Nargis cyclone. None of us were killed or lost. None of our houses or livestock were destroyed. The LORD has enabled us to show our love by visiting the victims and offering a little relief to them from what God has given us. 2. We have planted one BP church at Thinglei. This new church has several potential leaders who can help it become self-supporting (dependent upon God!) in a few years’ time. 3. The LORD granted that I could attend Synod this year and enjoy the fellowship of the brethren there. I was impressed to see the BP Church in North America defending the faith and being very active in mission works. I desire to pay a short visit to every BP church and mission in Myanmar (twelve in all) in order to encourage and train them to become true and strong BP churches. This is my burden for the coming year, if God is willing. It will take time — about two months — and much energy and funds. Please continue to uphold us in prayer and financial support. — Khawl Ro Kim, Mynamar

A Year of Opportunities The year of 2008 has been one of tremendous changes and blessings here at PMU. New opportunities present themselves to us on a regular basis: opportunities for growth, for praise, for prayer, for adjustment, for ministry as a whole both here in the US and around the world. Even as economic woes impact society on a broad spectrum, the need for declaring the gospel remains as great as ever — and the Lord provides. Truly, He deserves to receive all the glory for the expansion of His kingdom. Let me thank you for your faithfulness in supporting this ministry with your funds and your prayers. Let me also give a special thanks to the volunteers at the Grand Island Bible Presbyterian Church who so faithfully labor each month to do the Missions Banner mailing. Their selfless service makes sure that the Banner gets out in a timely manner. God bless you! On behalf of our PMU Missions Council and missionaries, myself and my wife, Karen, may God richly bless you in the coming year. Thank you for your partnership with us in this wonderful work. — Len Pine, Home Office

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Missions Banner Presbyterian Presbyterian Missionary Missionary Union Union 1650 Love Road, Grand Island, New York 14072 v Phone: 716-775-0442 v Fax: 716-775-3405 Email: [email protected] Web: www.presbyterianmissions.org

NOVEMBER /DECEMBER 2008, #233 ® S PECIAL YEAR- END FIELD PHOTO INSERT

Reaching Four Continents for Christ: The Year in Pictures

Aust rali a

SOUTH AMERICA

Presbyterian Missionary Union is a non-profit missions agency associated with the Bible Presbyterian Church. Our purpose is to advance the cause of missions that are biblically based and practiced and to stand against any compromise of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. PMU is directed by a Council of Christian leaders who volunteer their time to guide the ministry. To learn more about missions opportunities through PMU, or about the BPC, please contact us. The Missions Banner is published six times a year for interested individuals and churches. It seeks to promote the clear stand of the BPC by providing a biblical perspective on issues, fads, and theories in missions and church development. Our Editor is Len Pine, and our Publisher is Morris McDonald.

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