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We wish to send greetings to each of you
today. We pray that God is blessing you as you remain faithful
to the eternal cause of Christ.
We want to thank each of you for your continued
prayer and support. God's faithfulness is overwhelming and we
are grateful for His consistent provision in all areas of our
lives. It is especially wonderful to know that so many
think of us and pray for us on a regular basis.
Someone very intelligently once said: "Out
of sight, out of mind." While we hope that is not entirely
accurate, we do realize that our human frailty is inclined toward
forgetfulness when there is no present reminder before us.
Therefore, perhaps our "absence" in correspondence or in presence
has allowed you to forget to pray for us. For this very
reason, we write today: To present our case to you so that you
may lift us up to God!
The Lord continues to work in our lives and in the
lives of those in Barrio Santa Ana. It seems God often uses
the most "unlikely cases" to do His work. Perhaps it could be
said that almost any of our congregation are part of that very
category. In spite of our weaknesses, failures and
insufficiencies, God shows mercy and is continuing to do His will in
lives. We remind you of our recent paper newsletter that you
should have received in early January. We asked you to pray
for some of our young people. We named Karin and Kester in
particular. The Lord is helping them and we rejoice in
that. Please call on the Lord to do a marvelous miracle of
grace in other lives as well.
Another Sister in our church that we would like to
request prayer for is named, Maria. She has been "around" for
a few years now, but only in recent months has she given "all"
to Jesus. It is a blessing to see her enthusiasm as
she leaps into visitation and witnessing. She needs a miracle
in her physical body, so please pray for that as well as
her spiritual strength.
| Culmination....... or
Not? |
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We are happy to announce that the family of Bro.
and Sis. Joe Barraclough will soon be on their way to Venezuela,
Lord willing. We received word from our contact here in
Caracas that the Immigrations Department had approved their one year
missionary visas and that they should be waiting for them in
Houston....... or........ in Chicago.
But anyway, "...it doesn't matter. It's the same place.
One is the name of the state and one is the name of the city...."
That was literally what the Immigrations
Department said!!! As you can imagine, Bro. Barraclough
called Houston (where they SHOULD be) and none exist there....
So, now he's trying to play phone tag with the Venezuelan Consulate
in Chicago to see if they are there.
The moral of this story is:
DON'T STOP PRAYING!!!!!!!!!!! The Venezuelan experience
has taught us all the correctness of James O. Fraser's words,
"I used to think that prayer should have the first place and
teaching the second. I now feel it would be truer to give prayer the
first, second and third places and teaching the
fourth."
Please do pray for the Barracloughs as they prepare to arrive
in March (if they can find their misplaced
visas!).
| How To Avoid Being A
Missionary |
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One of my greatest desires in life is to somehow
be a part in helping others realize the call to missionary
work. I know that in my pursuit of this goal, I have been
misunderstood and even rebuked for "ignoring the other valid and
necessary" ministries available. I am well aware of
the existence of other gifts and callings but I agree with Oswald J.
Smith, when he said, "No one has the right to hear the gospel twice,
while there remains someone who has not heard it once."
So, in case there is SOMEONE reading this who is
trying to avoid the call to missionary service, let me share the
following with you. It is not my own. It was compiled by
someone else but I felt it was quite accurate in articulating what
is too often the reality. If you are struggling against the
call of the Lord, then let me help make it easier for you to resist
the will of the Lord. (I trust no one will miss the
tongue-in-cheek sarcasm intended there!)
10 Ways To Avoid Being A
Missionary
- Ignore Jesus' request in John 4:35 that we
take a long hard look at the fields. Seeing the needs of
people can be depressing and very unsettling. It could lead to
genuine missionary concern.
- Focus all your energies on socially legitimate
targets. Go after a bigger salary. Make your primary focus a
job promotion, a bigger home, a more luxurious car, or future
financial security.
- Get married as soon as possible, preferably to
somebody who thinks the "Great Commission" is what your employer
gives you after you make a big sale. After marriage, plunge
into the socially accepted norm of settling down, establishing a
career and raising a family.
- Stay away from missionaries. Their
testimonies can be disturbing. The situations they describe will
distract you from embracing whole-heartedly the materialistic
lifestyle of your home country.
- If you happen to think about missions,
restrict your attention to countries where it's impossible to
openly do missionary work. Think only about North Korea, Saudi
Arabia, China and other closed countries. Forget the vast areas of
our globe open to missionaries. Never, never listen to talk about
"creative access" countries.
- Think how bad a missionary you would be based
on your own past failures. It is unreasonable to expect you
will ever be any better. Don't even think about Moses, David,
Jonah, Peter or Mark, all of whom overcame failures.
- Always imagine missionaries as talented,
super-spiritual people who stand on lofty pedestals.
Maintaining this image of missionaries will heighten your own
sense of inadequacy. Thinking that God does not use
ordinary people as missionaries will smother any guilt you
may feel about refusing to even listen for a call from God.
- Agree with the people who tell you that you
are indispensable where you are. Listen when they tell you
that your local church or home country can't do without you.
- Worry incessantly about money.
- If you still feel you must go, go out right
away without any preparation or training. You'll soon be home
again and no one can ever blame you for not trying!
Inspired by Stewart
Dinnen's list in How are you doing? (Bromley: STL
Books, 1984)
Sincerely,
The Akers Family
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