Note from Valerie - The e-Ministry will be a little quiet for the rest of the month. My family and I are going to Oregon for Thanksgiving and will be home around the 29th. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
The things GOD WON'T ASK ....
God won't ask what kind of car you drove, He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation
God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.
God won't ask what your highest salary was He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it
God won't ask what your job title was, He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.
God won't ask how many friends you had, He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.
God won't ask about the color of your skin. He'll ask about the content of your character.
You see God's Value system is much different than our own.
His ways are truly not our ways....But we can try to make them our own!
Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if one stops the car, or is walking by, one will notice something quite amazing.
Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing.
Listening, one will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, one will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to her bridle is a small bell. It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her.
As one stands and watches these two friends, one sees how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she will not lead him astray.
Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.
He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.
Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by God and those whom he places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to see God.
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Lamentations 3:28 “Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him.” (NIV)
I went on a three day retreat called “The Walk to Emmaus” It was one of the most life changing experiences in my life. Before you go on your Walk you are told next to nothing about what will occur - you are simply told not to anticipate anything. I thought that was a little different, but friends had gone on the Walk and they had been really enthusiastic about it afterwards, so even though my middle name is “control freak” I went. I wasn’t anticipating what would happen - but I was most certainly anticipating having three days to focus on my relationship with Father. Due to a number of reasons - mostly job related - my personal time with God not only lacked quantity, it lacked quality. Big time. Now I had this wonderful opportunity to reconnect with Him. I was praying for a fresh encounter with my God.
We were concluding one event at the Walk, about to go to another event when our lay-leader made a startling announcement. “As you go out of here we would like you to practice the discipline of silence.” All of a sudden she had my total focus - what did she mean “discipline of silence?” She went on to explain that we were to maintain a period of silence in which we did not talk to each other. She gave us the period of time, and my jaw hit the floor. I even checked with the woman sitting next to me to make sure I was really hearing what I thought I was hearing. I was. I panicked. The period of time was excruciatingly long. Of course those of you who know me know that five minutes is excruciatingly long for me to be silent. If I am not talking to somebody - then I am talking to me. Stick me in a line of people and we are best-buds by the time we check out. It would not surprise me to find out that I talk while I am asleep. And the lay-leader wasn’t talking about a period of minutes of silence - oh, no, she was talking about hours of silence. HOURS? I CAN’T TALK FOR HOURS?!? As we left to begin our period of silence my mind was in a frenzy of denial. ‘I can’t do this! Does sign language count? Yeah probably. They are crazy to expect this! No normal woman can go this long without talking and I am hardly normal! What if I have an emergency? Okay, I can probably talk if there is an emergency - but what constitutes an emergency? Is pending insanity due to unnatural silence count as an emergency? Cause I am about to go nuts! Can we write notes? O for pete’s sake, Valerie, the pencil would make noise! I am a dead woman - I will not survive this!’ I cannot even tell you how much time I spent freaking out because I could not talk.
Have you seen the contradiction yet? I am ashamed to admit that it took me way too long to see it.
I had longed for, I had prayed for, time with God - a quantity of time - a quality of time. It was the reason that I was there! And I had been given that time - almost gift wrapped. A period of silence. Not only was I insulated from the stress of my life by being at the retreat, but now I insulated from the rest of the people at the retreat. I couldn’t talk to anybody - except God. I had been given quality time - time without outside interruption - with God. I had been given quantity time - HOURS - with God. Everything I had asked for - but I didn’t see it until it was almost too late.
Why did I almost miss this gift? I almost missed it because it did not come wrapped the way that I thought it should. I had lots of ideas of how I was going to renew my relationship with Father but believe me - not being able to talk to others wasn’t even on the radar scope. God is the God of the unexpected. The universe shows how endlessly creative He is and there is no reason not to expect that same creativity in our relationship with Him. I wonder how many times I have missed His creativity because I looked past the unexpected and looked for Him in the mundane?
I almost missed it because He called me to meet Him in unknown territory. He called me to leave my comfort zone. And although with my mouth I obeyed His call to a period of silence, in my mind I rebelled. That was what my freaking out was all about. I didn’t give my period of silence a chance. I didn’t give God a chance to reach me. I simply refused in my mind. I set myself up for failure, I tried to find ways around it. I even threatened insanity if I was not allowed to go back to my comfort zone. I acted like a spoiled child not getting her way. I wonder how many times I have missed something new with God because I have refused to leave what is comfortable in our relationship?
I almost missed my gift from God. But the time came in the frenzy of my mind when I called out to Him, “You have to help me! I can’t go much longer without talking to somebody!” “Talk to me!,” He said, “I thought that’s what you wanted.” Well, duh! He was right. (Of course)
There were two sets of sounds in my silence. The first set was discordant. The sounds of panic and rebellion. The second set of sounds in my silence was the sounds of praise, of worship, of silent words spoken to the One that I needed most to talk to.
LORD God, thank You for the gift of silence. Help me to recognize You in the unexpected opportunities, help me to not rebel when You call me to come out of my comfort zone. I want to dance on the waves with You.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org
No one can know what secret inner ripening can come from suffering and sorrow. All we know is that every individuals life is priceless - that each is dear to God. Christoph Probst
Fawn’s surgery was supposed to take 45 minutes. Because of complications it took 1 ½ hours. By the time the surgeon came out I was a mess. Her recovery is much slower than anticipated.
Doug Clapp’s brother-in-law is much improved following surgery. They think they got it all - and he will be able to return to work shortly.
Please pray for Wendy Martinez who is scheduled for cancer surgery.
Donna and John McCormick (He is the son of my friend and sister-in-Christ, Georganne) are both facing health concerns. John is facing valve replacement surgery on three of his heart valves and Donna has serious asthma and sinus infection.
We received the following update from Virginia Martin about George Martin - “George has been under Hospice care for a couple weeks; they say he has 5-6 months left. He was not eating and looked thin, but he is eating better and looks better the last time I saw him. He cannot walk but gets around in his wheelchair, likes to sit in the yard, spends his time reading books. The pain seems to be managed quite well as he doesn't seem to complain.”
Denise is in a rehab facility and continues to improve. Her children get to visit her and she may be home by Christmas!
We continue to pray for the following: Frieda Kennedy & recovery, Debra’s recovery from a car accident, Mac Harris who is borderline autistic, Karen Callahan with a kidney infection, Roberta with a brain tumor & cancer, Christina & liver cancer, Dan Hansen & job training, Bobbi Rumsey’s recovery from surgery, Haskell Spikes & his back, Gary Miller & surgery, Bob & Geri Kinnish & his health problems, Kathy & Fletcher Anderson & recovery from Valley Fever, Tony & treatment for prostrate cancer, Mike Joos & radiation treatments, Liz & stress from ill family, Michael, Merle Rush & recovery from a stroke, Walt Couch & prostate cancer, John Rodgers with cancer, Stan Reed & cancer
Pray for our missionaries -Dr. George Pe Myat in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, Laurie Bethall in Prague, Judy, Faye & Miisaw at the New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, SeaFM in Southeast Asia, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
Alpha & Omega,
If we could use words from every language ever spoken they would not be enough to describe Your glory, it would not be enough to praise You as You deserve, it would not be enough to thank You for what You have done. It just wouldn’t be enough.
We praise You, LORD of Lights, for the good news for Doug’s brother-in-law after surgery and ask that You continue to heal him. We thank You for the miracle of Denise’s continuing recovery and pray that she will be able to go home soon.
Great Healer, we lift up before You the names of those who are in need of Your healing touch. Please speed Fawn’s recovery from surgery. We ask that You be with the surgeons as Wendy is operated on. Be with Donna and John as they face this one-two punch of poor health for both of them. We ask, LORD, that You provide for these needs, confident in You.
LORD of Mercy, we pray in agreement for George as he enters this time of his life. We pray that You ease his pain and help him feel Your love surrounding him.
We ask, in full assurance of Your grace, that You be with those who are on our prayer chain. We know that Your hand is in each situation. Be glorified in each of these lives.
LORD Jesus, at this weekend retreat is was said, “I don’t want to go back to the real world.” and although I can understand the sentiment of not wanting to leave - I think the terminology is wrong. You are everything that is real. This world is almost an illusion, a vapor that quickly passes. It is not real - it is not lasting. And when it passes into obscurity You, O LORD, will still remain. Sovereign over all that was, all that is and all that ever will be. Sovereign God
Abba God, we pray for those You have called to serve You in positions of leadership. We pray for our missionaries that You will keep them safe. We pray for our pastors - that they will know that they make a difference in our lives. For the leaders and ministries of our community of faith, that their focus will always be on You. We pray for the Church, that she stay strong and pure until You come for us.
Be with our country and our President. Grant him wisdom to lead us in these troubled times. We pray for all of our countries leaders that they seek Your guidance. We pray for those who serve our country in the military.
Triune God, You are the wonder and the miracle of our lives. We love You forever.
Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? Corrie Ten Boom.
There will be no devotional this weekend because I will be gone on the “Walk to Emmaus” retreat. Three days of quality and quantity time with Jesus. I can’t hardly wait. If you look out your windows this weekend and see a glow coming from Hanford - it’s me.
Freida Kennedy was in services this past Sonday. What an amazing recovery from her hip surgery on Oct. 25th! Thank You for Your mercy to Freida, Father.
My daughter, Fawn, is scheduled for surgery to remover her gall bladder. The surgery will take place on November 14th. She is dealing with it better than I am.
Karen Callahan was in emergency with a kidney infection. She is home now - getting some rest.
Please pray for Mac Harris - a two-year-old from New Jersey who is borderline autistic.
We have received a prayer request for Debra Schaffer in Decatur, Ill. Debra is in critical condition after a car accident in which a boat came off it’s trailer and went through the windshield of the car she was riding in.
Kassel Coon, Doob & Jean Jessup’s grandson, has returned from Afghanistan where he was serving our country as a medivac pilot. We praise You, Father, for his safe return.
Roberta, Jennie Coronado’s daughter, has a brain tumor and may have breast cancer as well. Jennie’s niece Christina has liver cancer.
Denise continues to improve and may be able to go to a rehab facility in about a week.
Geri Kinnish’s husband, Bob, now has pneumonia along with the emphysema.
Gary Miller will undergo hip surgery next week which will include bone grafting.
Haskell Spikes is not doing well after a fall that hurt his back.
Bobbi Rumsey had surgery. Please keep her in prayer for full recovery.
Dan Hansen had an interview with Workforce about getting training, but his worker did not have his paperwork ready to go - so the interview has been put off for a few weeks. Not good news.
We continue to pray for the following: Kathy & Fletcher Anderson & recovery from Valley Fever, Tony & treatment for prostrate cancer, Mike Joos & radiation treatments, Liz & stress from ill family, Michael, Merle Rush & recovery from a stroke, Doug Clapp’s brother in law & prostrate cancer, Walt Couch & prostate cancer, John Rodgers with cancer, George & Margie Martin and his cancer, Stan Reed & cancer
Pray for our missionaries -SeaFM and in Southeast Asia, Dr. George Pe Myat in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, Laurie Bethall in Prague, Judy, Faye & Miisaw at the New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, The Reaching Hand Society in India, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
Before we go to God in prayer, I want you to close your eyes and see the throne room with me. See all the flashes of lightning and colors. Feel the rumblings of thunder shake you. Be in wonder at the emerald rainbow that encircles the throne and the crystal sea before it. Over there see the 24 elders dressed in white and above the throne see the seraphs flying as they cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, LORD God Almighty” Feel the joy of being part of the multitude of every tribe, tongue and nation that enthrones Him on our praise. Lift your hands towards Him and see Him in all of His glory. This is not the baby in the manger, this is not Jesus, meek and mild, this is not the sacrifice. This is God, Who was and is and is to come. This is God, powerful and triumphant over all of eternity. This is God Whose glory is so bright we almost cannot look at Him. We are in His presence, humbled to be here, awed to be here, exhilarated to be with Him.
Jesu Mapru,
Holy, Holy, Holy, LORD God Almighty! Your glory fills every iota of eternity. You are above all that has ever been or ever will be.
Thank You, LORD God, for bringing Kassel home safely. We praise You for Frieda’s wonderful recovery from surgery. We thank You for Denise’s continued improvement.
Father Above All Others, we lift up Fawn and ask Your protection be over her as she undergoes surgery. We ask that You heal the kidney infection that Karen is suffering from. We pray for little Mac - that he not become autistic. We ask Your healing be on Debra as she recovers from the car accident. LORD God, be with Roberta and Christina as they fight cancer. We lift up Geri and Bob and ask that Your mercy and healing be put on this situation. Guide the hands of the doctors as they operate on Gary Miller. Comfort and heal Bobbi as she recovers from her surgery. We pray for the healing of Haskell Spikes back. We lift up this employment situation for Dan Hansen and ask that You provide for their needs.
Breath of Creation, life without You is simply not worth living. You are the wellspring of Joy that is within us. You are our hope that comes with each new day. You are more beautiful to us than we can ever tell You.
Spirit of the Living God, we pray for those who continue to be on our prayer chain. We don’t always understand how You move in these situations, but we know that You work to the good. Our faith is fully in You.
Thank You, LORD Jesus, for those men and women who are willing to go and serve You in places all over the world. Protect them, LORD. Meet their needs.
We pray for the Church, LORD God, and for those You have put in place to lead her. We pray for Your abundance to be poured on our pastors. We pray that You will provide for our ministries and for the leaders that You have placed over them.
Show us ways to show You to the world even better. Let us being living examples of Your love, Your life and Your joy.
God bless our country, her leadership and the brave men and women who serve us all over the world.
Triune God, to be called to follow You is to follow opposite of the world. When we die to this life You give us a life in You that is beyond compare. When we desire to be Your slave - to have no other will except for Yours - then we find freedom that we could never imagine. We gladly give up the tarnished riches of this world to find Your riches in heaven. When we give up this worldly life You give us eternal life with You. Blessed be Your name, LORD God. We love You.
Some people understand life better, And they call some of these people "retarded"...
At the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back......every one of them. One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will make it better." Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story... Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course. If you pass this on, we may be able to change our hearts as well as someone else's. "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle"
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human and
enough hope to make you happy.
Valerie Rae Hanneman
Philippians 4:5 (KJV) “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand”
One day I brought a tray of vegetables to share at my morning Bible study. Another woman brought a box of donuts. A third woman had brought a freshly baked cake. About mid-way through the study we took our break, got some food and came back to the table. As we sat there, we laughingly commented on the contents of our plates. All of us had some vegetables and at least one of the sweets on our plates. On each plate was a different combination of the different foods. Some had a big helping of veggies with a little bit of the sweets, some had more sweets than veggies, some were 50/50. We talked about how good we felt about taking the veggies, knowing that they are good for our bodies. We all felt a little guilty about the sweets. But in reality, the sweets are not necessarily bad for us. We agreed that it was a matter of moderation. If we overindulge in the sweets we will harm our bodies, but if we are careful with the amount of sweets that we eat, then we can enjoy the pleasure of them without harming ourselves.
I simply love the diversity among Christians. Because of our life experiences and where we are in our walk with Christ each of us are in a relationship with Him that - although firmly anchored in His astonishing love for us - is as unique and diverse as we are. My relationship with God may be very similar to yours in many ways, but I know that our relationships with Him are also very dissimilar in even more ways.
Just as the vegetables that we eat are good for our bodies, there are spiritual vegetables that are good for our spiritual body. To be in the Word of God regularly, to have time in the presence of our Father, to be in a community of faith with other believers - these are just some of the vegetables that build up our spiritual bodies. So what are the sweets? The things that do not build up our spiritual bodies, but also do not harm us - unless they are taken to excess.
I have a Christian friend who will not go to the movies because she thinks all of them promote a sinful lifestyle. I, on the other hand, love to go to the movies. But I am choosy about what I go to see. I seldom go to an “R” rated movie particularly if they are heavy on the violence and/or adult themes. I figure that I get enough of that from the newspaper. Then I have a friend who will go to any movie as long as it is not rated “X”. He says that it is all play-acting and he takes it with a grain of salt. So who is the “right” Christian in their beliefs on movies - and who is the “wrong” Christian. In my humble opinion, none of these views on movies is wrong. All of them are within the context of each individuals walk with Christ. All three of us are eating our spiritual vegetables and maintaining a healthy relationship with our God.
The Amish are a unique community of faith. Their lifestyles reject anything modern. For them, Pampers are a sin - along with everything else that has come since the 17th century. When I was 12, I accepted Christ in a hard-core fundamental community of faith. We were convinced that anybody who did not believe exactly as we believed - including baptism, music, communion, dress styles, hair length, politics and so on - were not going to make heaven. As far as we could tell - Heaven was not going to face an over-population problem. These days I am a member in Jesus’ Church, serving Him through my membership and participation in an American Baptist Church. My pastor told me that American Baptists are considered to be a more liberal community of faith. Compared to the church I was raised in - I can agree with that. And yet, I know of and have attended community of faith’s who make the American Baptists look conservative. So who is the “right” community of faith and who is the “wrong” community of faith? None of them are wrong. Their vegetables are the same - a belief in a Triune God, a belief in heaven and hell, a belief that the Bible is God breathed and inspired, a belief that salvation is only through Jesus, a belief that satan exists as the sworn enemy of God.
The key to living within Your relationship with Jesus, as a person or as a community of faith, is moderation. Movies are not bad for our spiritual bodies until they start to harm our bodies. When the movies begin to take the place of our time in the Word or our time in the presence of our Living God, then we are in excess - just as we would be if we made cake and donuts our major food group. It may be okay for awhile - but pretty soon, we are going to be really, really sick. Same for our spiritual bodies. And I also realize that although there are lots of things that we can do in moderation within our personal walk with Jesus, there are some things that simply unacceptable at any level. We cannot murder in moderation, or steal in moderation, or be sexually impure in moderation.
In a community of faith, as long as the salvation issues are correct, the rest of the issues are more flexible. Some community of faith’s practice full immersion baptism, others practice sprinkling baptisms. Baptism is the public confession of a heart’s change to Christ. If that is what the baptism is symbolizing, then I don’t have a problem with how it is done. But when baptism is made a condition of salvation then it has gone past moderation and into excess. The practices of the individual communities of faith within the Church allow for diversity as long as the core belief in salvation through Jesus Christ remains the foundation.
So how am I supposed to react to the diversity of individual practices within a relationship with Jesus? As long as the individual practices are not harming the individual or the Church then I am to keep my lips shut and my nose out of it. The same is true for individual communities of faith. As long as another community of faith’s practices are not harming the community of faith or not contrary to the foundation of Jesus Christ, then we should keep our lips shut and our noses out of it.
Jest as every plate at our table was a different combination of cake, donuts and veggies, every relationship with Jesus is a different combination of practices. Jesus created us to be diverse. He rejoices in the uniqueness of each of our relationships with Him. He did not create cookie-cutter Christians or cookie-cutter churches. And if He didn’t create them - we had better not create them either.
LORD Jesus, I am glad that nobody else has quite the same relationship as You and I do. I am glad that our relationship is unique. Help me to maintain a healthy balance in our relationship - and help me to never judge another’s relationship with You.
Note from Valerie: This story was on todays Crosswalk - Religion Today Summaries. It is no wonder that Jesus loved the children so much.
Christian Children in China Refuse to Deny Jesus
Open Doors USA
China allows for "belief" in a religion, but the Chinese constitution does not guarantee the right to practice that religion. Adults often face severe consequences for religious actions, but generally are not required to deny faith. With children, however, officials attempt to weaken their faith by encouraging them to deny Jesus altogether, such as in this recent situation when Public Security Bureau officers burst into a Sunday School room and herded 30 children into a van. Despite the scary situation, one child started singing. Soon the van was filled with song. Upon arrival at the police station, the children marched bravely into the interrogation room still singing to the Lord. Threatened with having to write "I do not believe in Jesus" one hundred times before they would be released, the children instead wrote, "I believe in Jesus today. I will believe in Jesus tomorrow. I will believe in Jesus forever!" Exasperated officials called the children's parents, some of whom denied Christ. But when a widowed believer came to pick up her twin sons, she refused to deny Jesus. The officers threatened her: "If you do not deny Jesus, we will not release your sons!" The widow replied, "Well, I guess you will just have to keep them, because without Jesus, there would be no way for me to take care of them!" With no avenues left open to them, the officials said, "Take your sons and go!"
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Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work. -Oswald Chambers
Our Harvest Party/Trunk-or-Treat was a great success! I passed out about 400 flyers about Care Fresno Kids Klub and had about 10-15 families who seemed interested. Please pray that Father will speak to these families and that the children will come to Kids Klub. Please also pray that with increased numbers of children, Father will send us more people to work in the ministry.
Norm Baird is having some problems with his throat and his voice. He is working with the men’s Walk to Emmaus this weekend and really needs to be able to talk.
I spent most of last night/this morning in the emergency room with my daughter Fawn. She was in horrible pain that the doctors think is caused by her gall bladder. They couldn’t pinpoint it so they shot her full of pain medication and sent her home. They will be running more tests. Please pray that the doctors can find the problem quickly.
Karen, Fran Regier’s daughter, is home from Stanford and it does not appear at this time that she will need the liver transplant. Praise You, Father!
We continue to pray for the following: Frieda Kennedy & recovery from hip replacement, Kathy & Fletcher Anderson and his recovery from Valley Fever, Denise’s continued recovery, Tony & treatment for prostrate cancer, Michael & recovery from bypass surgery, Mike Joos & radiation treatments, Liz & stress from ill family members, Danette Joos mother fighting depression, Baby Logan’s recovery from surgery, Bob & Geri Kinnish Merle Rush & recovery from a stroke, Doug Clapp’s brother in law with prostrate cancer, David & his heart, Helen & Harvey Wilmot, Walt Couch & prostate cancer, John Rodgers with cancer, Brandon & leukemia, George & Margie Martin and his cancer, new employment opportunities for Dan Hansen, Stan Reed & cancer, Kassel Coon in Afghanistan
Pray for our missionaries -The Reaching Hand Society in India, SeaFM and their work in Southeast Asia, Dr. George Pe Myat & the hospital in the Congo, Bounkham & Khamla’s mission to Laos, Gospel For Asia, The Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria, Laurie Bethall in Prague, Judy, Faye & Miisaw at the New Life Center in Thailand, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, and all the missionaries worldwide.
Pray for our pastors, our leadership, our ministries, and Father’s provision for His Church. Pray that we recognize opportunities to share our faith with others
Pray for our country, her leadership and our military.
Alpha and Omega,
You are everything to us. We live and breathe and move only because of Your life within us. We love to sing Your names in praise, we whisper Your promises with faith and hope. Our lives and our hearts are held safely within Your hands.
Thank You for the neighborhood response to our Harvest party. LORD God, we pray that our words and deeds during the party would reach our neighbors and help to turn their hearts to You. Abba, I ask in particular for the children, that they will want to come to Kids Klub and learn about You.
Faithful and true Witness, we thank You for Norm and his lifelong commitment to serve You. We ask that You heal his throat and restore his voice so that he can serve You as fully and completely as hi heart longs too.
Almighty God, we place Fawn & her doctors in Your hands and ask that You guide her doctors to a diagnosis. We ask that You continue to work Your healing touch in Karen’s illness.
Holy Spirit, we call out the names of those who continue to be on our prayer list - Frieda Kennedy, Kathy & Fletcher Anderson, Denise, Tony, Michael, Mike Joos, Liz, Danette Joos mother, Baby Logan, Bob & Geri Kinnish, Merle Rush, Doug Clapp’s brother in law, David, Helen & Harvey Wilmot, Walt Couch, John Rodgers, Brandon, George & Margie Martin, Dan Hansen, Stan Reed, Kassel Coon. We ask that You move, heal and bless in each of these situations.
LORD Jesus, we lift up the missionaries that are on our prayer chain and we lift up the missionaries that we do not know. LORD, we read increasing persecution of those who serve You and although we worry for them, we cry “Hallelujah” for their strength as they continue to serve You against all that comes against them. We pray Your abundance upon all that they do.
Triune God, each of us have been blessed with gifts and talents to be used in furthering Your kingdom. Help us to make the most of our gifts so that we can show Your love to this hurting, dysfunctional world. You are our only hope, You are the world’s only hope.
Forgive us for when we fail You. Help us learn from our mistakes and to grow stronger in You.
Bless our pastors, Father of lights. Help us to be faithful to our pastors in prayer. Bless the leadership of the church and bless the ministries we are involved in.
Bless our country, LORD God, as we humble ourselves before You. Heal our land. Guide our leaders
Holy One, the whole creation sings praise to You. The wind as it whispers through the tree that has it’s branches upraised in praise, the song of a bird as soars in the freedom of the sky, the crash of the waves as they fling themselves in joyous abandon on the rocks, the dances of the flowers as they bloom. You alone are worthy of their praise. Help us to see, hear and feel creations praise of You and help us to join in on the song - for You alone are worthy of our praise. We love You, LORD.
Larry and Jan Martin
International Ministries,Ban Luang Thailand.
November 2005
Dear Partners in ministry,
Can we change our “rat” stories to “cat” stories? We are now the proud owners of two cats who are both earning their keep. We got them as kittens and they are no more than 6 months old but one has already caught 6 rats (3 in one night in our bedroom). The other had just produced a parade of frogs, lizards, and insects brought into the living room for our inspection, but last week redeemed itself by bringing in a small rat. The cats are still smaller than the field rats but big enough to catch the smaller ones in our house. So once again we are entertained by watching small mammals run around in the house at night but the kittens are much more comforting to watch than the rats.
October was school break here and so we grabbed the opportunity and did some short English Camps. It was also an opportunity as we had Larry’s niece staying with us for a month and have 3 volunteers from Australia staying with us for 2 months. They are young Christian women from 18 to 26 and the students enjoy having teachers closer to their own age. We had English lessons, sang songs, did crafts and made snacks together. They were mostly the same students that study with us during the school term but this was a chance to deepen the relationships.
In the break we also went to a missionary conference for 4 days. It was good to meet missionaries from other missions and exchange ideas and strategies. There were missionaries from at least a dozen other countries including large groups from Germany and Korea. This reflects the mix of missionaries in Thailand.
In November we will have a festival where the people make small floats and put candles on them and float them down the rivers. It is one of the major festivals in Thailand and we are trying to work out how Christians will participate in the festival in a way that will witness to their relationship with Jesus Christ. There are elements of forgiveness, cleansing and hope for the future in the symbolism of the festival, all things which come from a relationship with Jesus.
The rice harvest is starting. We have been out a few times to help neighbors with their corn but the rice is just starting to turn yellow. A few families have harvested but most will do it later this month. It looks to be a good year and we can thank God for his generous bounty to our community. We look forward to a time when the people here will know and worship the Lord of the harvest.
May we all know the joy of living with Jesus and sharing Him with others.
Thank-you again, for your partnership
Love
Larry and Jan
Prayer points
Give thanks to God for the rain and pray for a good harvest.
Pray for 3 interns as they come to the end of a 2 month practical experience with us. Pray for God’s direction to be made clear in their lives.
Pray for discernment as we look at how to use the Float Festival for God’s glory.