Newsletter 5-07 Color

the

Missions Banner 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

MAY 2007, #218 u “Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples!” Psalm 96:3

Myanmar Summer Camp Draws Hungry Souls [From Rev. Kima] “We just arrived home on Saturday (April 22) from the Summer Camp. The Camp started from April 12 and ended on April 19. I am so excited to inform you that it was one of the most blessed camps I have ever conducted so far. We had 120 campers this year (forty-five children and seventy-five adults). Among them were twenty Buddhists, with many of the others being nominal Christians having no true assurance of salvation.

Ed Paauwe Recovery Please keep Dr. Ed Paauwe, Perth, Western Australia, in your prayers as he recovers from back surgery performed on May 11. Pray for his wife, Lehia, as well, as her many labors are increased by the loving care of her husband.

Adult Campers take in Bible teaching “As for the orphanage home, we had thought at first to take in only new five children. But we decided to take new ten children because we received many applications (thirty in all) and we feel that many of them are really in need of help. We also decided to have two centers, one in Yangon and the other in the mission area. We believe that having two centers will result a better impact in the mission works.”

Daw Win Gyi receiving baptism “The salvation message was well received, especially by the nominal Christians. Many of them testified that they received the true assurance of salvation during this camp. I just baptized five new believers from among the Buddhists. Thank you very much your prayers. God really answers your prayers.

News to Know

Daw Tin Ting receiving baptism [Will you help support the Kimas’ ministry in Burma? Their account needs an additional $700 of monthly support to sustain their multi-faceted ministry! Thank you. — Ed.]

Children’s group of campers

Pine Visit to NYC On April 22nd, Dr. Pine and his family had the privilege of visiting and ministering in Tompkins Square Gospel Fellowship, an independent Reformed mission in the heart of Manhattan, New York. Pastored by Dr. Bill Jones, the mission continues on a century-old legacy of evangelism to the Jews and other ethnic groups on the East Side. This trip was an effort to build bridges to inner city ministry in NYC for the potential involvement of our domestic Team Timothy efforts. La Paz Building Goes Up The BPC in La Paz, Bolivia, pastored by Rev. David Quisbert, has begun its building project to erect a new sanctuary! We praise the Lord that he has supplied all the funds needed for the first phase of the project. Pray that the new building will aid the furtherance of the gospel in this needy city. Pastor Quisbert, incidentally, has fully recovered from the severe mugging he endured last September. Thank you for your prayers. Banner Photo above: Kay Lar Village, Inle Lake, Myanmar (Burma)

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 ten 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. Editor: Len Pine. Publisher: James S. Blizzard

Adapting to Cambodia “It's been an exciting couple of months being reintegrated into Cambodian culture. Since this is now a long term mission I'm focusing on learning the language in the hope that the Lord will bless me in teaching and preaching his Word in Khmer rather than in English with a translator. “While my language skills are so basic I can only say some polite things, I am working to communicate. An example of this is trying to get around by moto [a small motorcycle — see the picture at left for an example — Ed.]. The Church I am preaching at once a month is three miles away, and I can’t walk that in my Sunday best. Contrast of old and new in Phnom Penh When I hire an English-speaking moto driver near the hotel I usually get a big con job. One even stopped half way and said it was too far for the agreed-upon price. I had to pay double to get him to take me the rest of the way. I worked hard to memorize the needed phrases in Khmer to use a non-English speaking moto driver from the end of the block. I can say the address, and where the address is, since the house numbers are in random order and sometimes even repeated. I can tell them “I know the way,” since many don’t know their way to the far side of the city very well. I can tell them to go straight ahead, turn, etc. This may not seem like much but it can be hard to remember when you’re dangling on the back of a moto in Phnom Penh’s traffic. It makes life a lot easier to speak even a little Khmer. “To learn more of God’s blessing the Cambodia mission please check out my web page, http://baldwin/ gracebpc.org. Be sure to look at the “Gallery” for the photographs I’ve uploaded.” — Rev. Mark Baldwin

What an Opportunity! An Update on Miriam’s Work Miriam has been busy with her regular teaching position in the capital city of the world’s Hard at work! most populated country. Students from all over the country are brought in by the sponsoring foundation (an international concern), which trains them in various skills to prepare them for going back to their home villages and cities in remote areas to build infrastructure and speed technological, medical, communication, and agricultural advances in those areas. These adult students are considered to be among the “best and brightest” from their home areas, and are carefully selected. Miriam’s task is to teach conversational English so that these students can come to the United States and study here (all expenses paid by the foundation) before they return to their homes. The potential for the ministry of the gospel is immense, especially since we will have the opportunity to reach the students while they are here with clear and unguarded testimony that is difficult to come by in their homeland. When they return, they will be in positions of authority, and their personal impact upon others will be great. The Lord has also opened up doors for studies in the Word on a more personal level for Miriam. She regularly leads these studies with several interested women, and reports great blessing as a result. The difficulties these ladies face on a daily basis in their homes and workplaces are tremendous; many of them are married to unbelievers, and the single ladies are often pressured by their families to marry unbelievers. Finding solid Bible teaching is next to impossible in some locations, and we are thankful that Miriam is there to fill a gap. Pray for safety and good health for Miriam — she recently had a “run-in” with a serious bout of the flu that laid her out for several days (it was going around her study group!). Pray, too, for a burden of her heart that the Lord would lead a pastor to come to her city to establish a faithful fellowship for ex-patriots, and be a resource for training local believers who desperately need solid teaching. Finally, pray for additional financial supporters for her account, which has fallen a little behind in recent months. Thank you! [Picture above has been altered for security reasons.]

Columbia Bible Presbyterian Church Calls its First Full-time Pastor Columbia BPC in 2006

The Columbia Bible Presbyterian Church has extended a call to Rev. Steve Brinegar, former church planter from Florida under PMU, to take the pulpit of the twelve-year-old congregation. The Northwest Presbytery has received Rev. Brinegar, and will officially install him in the Scappoose, Oregon, ministry on May 22. Rev. Brinegar’s first Sunday in the pulpit is slated for May 13. Please pray for the congregation and the Brinegar family as they adjust to one another and rejoice together in God’s provision of a faithful shepherd in their midst.