Pray For My Dad
Pray for my Dad as he received first and second degree burns from an explosion at work. I just finished talking to my mom on the phone and it seems that everything is going to be okay. Here is the latest update from my mom via Facebook:
“Update on Allen….he was involved in an explosion at work today and has first degree burns on his face and arm and three areas of second degree burns on forehead and arm. He is doing good now….they have his face wrapped like a mummy! He has to stay all night at MVH and hopefully will get to go home tomorrow. Continue to pray all goes good.”
I will try to keep you updated in the comments. Thanks for praying!
07.17.11
Missionary Wife Robbed at Gun Point
Please read the following from our Pastor about the Bush Family. They Bush family is a tremendous family serving in Argentina as missionaries (I as able to visit and stay with them back in 2005). I hope you will pray and consider giving to help this family recover the things stolen. Read the following:
Missionary Wife Robbed at Gun Point
I just got off the phone with missionary Jeff Bush in La Plata, Argentina. They were just robbed in their home at gunpoint. If you remember Mindy is pregnant. Two thieves met them as they opened the door to their garage and home.
They put a gun to Mindy’s head. They stole their wedding rings, engagement ring, both laptop computers, camera, cell phone, jewelry, all the cash in both dollars and pesos that they had, which was about $1,000.
The thieves went into the house. They grabbed the necklace around Mindy’s neck and were going to jerk it off but were kind enough to take it off as they held the gun to her head.
There were two men and with two guns. They were told that if they report this to the police that they will come back and steal the baby, Alexandra.
This is a horrible set back. They have lost down to their wedding rings. They have been held at gun point, they were threatened. The $1,000 was money that is needed for ministry needs this week and must be taken out in cash so it is gone.
They are ok. That is the good news. Mindy, Jeff, and the girls are all ok. But this will be a scare for the family as you know.
Will you pray for them? Would you consider giving a love offering to help get their rings, their computers, camera, etc.
If you want to send a special offering you can send it to
Jeff Bush
MWBM
P O Box 519
Braselton, GA 30517Their web site http://reachingall.com/main.html
If you would like to get more information you can call me at 770-500-8021.
I ask you to help. They are in real need!
Source: austingardner.net
06.21.11
My Wife is Expecting! Again!
My wife is expecting!
A few weeks back my wife asked to stopped at the pharmacy to pick up a few things. I joke with her about getting a pregnancy test, so she did for the fun of it! After we went home she took the test and found there were two lines! But the one was really faint. Though we know there is no such thing as a false positive, the faint line still caused doubt. Needless to say, I was sent out to buy more test. I looked up the words for “pregnancy test” in Chinese but apparently it wasn’t right because the pharmacist didn’t know what I was talking about. Therefore, I had to try to describe what I was asking for in Chinese. That was interesting! It worked out and after several test later, we decided to believe it was true!
The neat part of this is that we found out on Wesley’s birthday! (Read My Wife’s Post)
We decided to wait to announce our good news until we could have an ultrasound and found out exactly when the baby was due…since every ones first question is “when is she due?”
Today, we went to the Hospital and my wife had an ultrasound (no appointment needed). The medical care is definitely different than we are used to. Things aren’t as private and the care isn’t as personable. I was surprised, though, at how nice the medical facilities were…much nicer than I excepted.
Here is what it felt like when we went today. A multi-story nice hospital building, extremely crowded (like being at an amusement park on a holiday weekend), and the waiting areas felt like an airport (huge areas with the the linked metal chairs as everyone sits and waits by the door).
Finally, after waiting in line a couple times, first to register and then to pay upfront, we had to wait in the airport style waiting room before they called our number. I wasn’t allowed to go in the room since there were other patiences in there as well. After they were done (she didn’t get to see the screen or receive any pictures) we waited another 20-30 minutes until we received the results. When we received the results we walked to another level to let a doctor examine them. A doctor standing in the hallway looked at the paper confirmed that my wife was pregnant and that was it. I inquired about a due date and he calculated in his mind, somewhere around the beginning of February next year.
My wife is about seven weeks along and we definitely appreciate your prayers over the next 34 weeks or so. We are excited that Lord has allowed us to have another child. Our next appointed won’t be until August when we visit Beijing.
Thanks for your prayers!
| Posted in Amazing Journey, China Life, Family, Prayer Request, Wesley Allen Wei | 6 Comments »
Special Report: Ethnic Riots in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia
The following is a letter that I received from a friend working in Inner Mongolia China. Please read and pray for this family as they have to deal with these riots in that part of China. We haven’t seen anything like this where we are, but they are in the middle of it and can definitely use your prayers!
Ethnic Riots in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia*
Clashes that left two ethnic Mongolians dead in mid May have triggered riots across the Inner Mongolia region of northern China that resulted in quick and decisive action from the government, including the deployment of riot police and hundreds of paramilitary officers, the closure of public squares, the lock-down of high schools and universities, and even the cancellation of a national holiday.
Inner Mongolia, one of five autonomous regions of the People’s Republic of China, runs across northern China, and boarders the independent country of Mongolia. Although traditionally occupied by ethnic Mongolians, members of China’s Han majority have long trickled into Inner Mongolia, often fleeing famine and poverty. After the founding of the communist state in 1949, the flow of Han Chinese increased dramatically and has turned into a flood in recent years due to the abudance of coal and rare earth minerals in the region.
Today, ethnic Mongolians make up less than 20 percent of the region’s population of 24 million people. It has become the leading producer of coal, China’s main energy source, and one of the most rapidly developing regions in China, seeing an annual economic growth of nearly 20%.
Although Inner Mongolia has long escaped the tensions that have plagued other autonomous regions such as Tibet and Xinjiang, riots began last week after a coal hauler drove his truck into a crowd of Mongolian herders who were blocking a road in protest of the destruction of their grazing lands. A few days later, after a group of Mongolians went to a coal mine to file similar complaints, a fight began in which a Chinese miner rammed a forklift into one of the Mongolian men, killing him.
News of the incident seemed to have spread slowly over the course of a few weeks, but by Friday, scattered riots were occurring in nearly every major city with demonstrators sometimes numbering in the thousands. The government’s swift action, both to address the concerns of the protestors and to suppress any further demonstrations, seems to have thwarted greater escalation of the unrest.
In Hohhot, riot police were deployed and a curfew shut down commerce at 7 p.m. Access to the public square was completely blocked off with fences and paramilitary forces, and all university students were confined to their campuses. At some universities, observance of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is a public holiday held on June 6th, was cancelled, preventing students from returning home.
These events have been particularly concerning for us because the Chinese government traditionally turns a wary eye towards foreigners during times of social and political unrest. Knowing this, we were careful to avoid anything that would draw undue attention to ourselves. Nevertheless, we did not get through the week without raising suspision.
At the height of this conflict, while {my wife} and I waited for our bus outside of the campus of Inner Mongolia University, we noticed two police officers watching us intently. As soon as we boarded, the officers ran to an unmarked, black car and began to follow us home. We watched out of the back window of the bus as they trailed closely behind all the way to our stop. It was the longest, most unnerving bus ride of our lives! Not knowing what to expect when we got off the bus, we determined not to look behind us and quickly crossed the street and walked to our apartment complex. Fortunately, we were not stopped and did not see the police officers again.
Although the situation seems to have already normalized, we are taking extra precautions this week so as not to compromise our long term goals in China. We would also ask you to pray for our family. Pray that the Lord will give us favor in the eyes of those who are in authority. Pray that He will keep the door open for us to see many years of fruitful service and furtherance of the Gospel in Inner Mongolia. And, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you” (2Th 3:1)
Sending the light,
The VR Family
*Posted with Permission.
05.17.11
First Bible Study
Last Saturday I was able to have my first attempt at a Bible study with two Chinese guys in their 20’s. They came to church on Wednesday and I was talking with them after the service. I ask them if they were Christian and one said that he was and the other said he wasn’t, he was just this guys friend. Great! I told them if they want that I could teach them the Bible and they could help me practice speaking Chinese. They agreed and we choose to meet on Saturday afternoon.
I have already been reading through Galatians, translating and understanding it in Chinese. I read through it completely once in Chinese and figured it would be a good place to start.
We studied the first five verse, commentary style, and then we read the whole book together each taking turns verse-by-verse.
I know it was kinda rough, but they said they understood me. I hope to meet again and continue to study the Bible with them. They said they will be at church again this Wednesday, since they had a test on Sunday.
Please pray for these two men!
| Posted in Amazing Journey, Discipleship, Evangelism, Prayer Request | 5 Comments »
How To Pray For Your Missionaries
I came across these post from a Missionary friend, Aaron Vance. They were an encouragement to me as I read them over. I hope these thoughts will help you be better prepared to pray for missionaries. I summarized the list below with the correlating verses but encourage you to visit and read the full articles with his comments. Here are the links to the three articles and a short summary of all three:
How To Pray For Your Missionaries: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
- Get To Know Your Missionaries! (Philippians 1:3-8)
- Pray For Laborers! (Matthew 9:35-38)
- Pray For An Open Door! (Colossians 4:2-5)
- Pray For Wisdom! (Ephesians 1:15-23)
- Pray For Boldness! (Ephesians 6:18-20)
- Pray For Protection! (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3)
- Pray for Help In Trials (2 Corinthians 1:8-11)
- Pray For A Fruitful Ministry! (John 15:16)
- Pray For A Missionary’s Personal Battles!
“So how do we put all of this into practice?
Well, as I mentioned in Point 1, you have to connect with your missionaries to know what’s going on in their lives and ministries. After you know these things you can more efficiently pray for them and their families.
Get a burden for their ministry. Make it your ministry! Put yourself in their shoes and pray for their family as if it were your own.
Set aside time to pray for your missionaries. Make a list of missionaries to pray for and pray for them. Pray for them individually. Pray for them as a family. Pray for them with friends from your church. Pray for them continually!
Pray for missions collectively and specifically. What do I mean by that? Pray for the missionaries as a whole, but then also take time to mention them by name. Then, beg God to do a work in the world as he raises up laborers for His harvest.”
| Posted in Articles, BCWE, Mobilization, Prayer Request | 2 Comments »
Slums – Jesus – Church
This past week we visited the slums. It is located right in the middle of the city. It looks out of place since everything around it is fairly nice. The church has gone there a few times before and have built relationships with some of the people. They planned a small outreach and we took clothes, notebooks, candy, and tracts to give out to different people, kids, and families.
It is always hard to visit a place like this. Their physical conditions are so poor that it is hard to focus on other things. You wonder how it is possible to stay warm in the harsh cold winters here. You wonder how often they are able to eat and what life is like digging through the trash. We saw kids, who know no other way of life, happily playing outside jumping on an old used dirty mattress sitting on top of garbage and mud. Another house had buckets sitting on the ground collecting water running off of the roof from the melting snow. The houses were pieced together with different kinds of materials (bricks, mud, metal) and the inside living conditions weren’t great either.
As hard as it is to go visit a place like this, we need to keep in focus what they need the most is Jesus. Yes, we desire to help them in their physical condition and surround them with good works, yet without Jesus, all of our efforts towards them will be in vain. Many of them may never leave the slums their whole life, but if they have Jesus, they have everything. If they receive Christ, He doesn’t promise them an easier life, a one way ticket out of the slums, or prosperity in this life, but He does promise to make them family, forgive their sins, and make Heaven their home. What could be greater!
Good works and evangelism is great, but how much greater would it be to see our good works connected with a local church in that area! Pray that we would be able to start churches. Pray that more men would surrender to start more churches!
| Posted in Amazing Journey, China Life, Chinese Culture, Church Planting, Evangelism, Missions, Mobilization, Prayer Request | 2 Comments »
Exciting Things are Happening!
On of the exciting things that I get to do is work with a team of missionaries stationed all around the world. It is exciting to see the Lord bless and work in their ministries as well as get to have a small part through friendship, prayers, and giving. If you have been following our updates for awhile, hopefully we have communicated that our desire is not to only see China but the whole world reached with the Gospel.
Here are some of the exciting things that are happening. You should pray and see how you can be involved!
Plans for Africa | Watch the VIDEO
Austin Gardner, my pastor, is working on plans to reach groups of people no one else is reaching. Watch the video to see his heart and plan. Here is a small excerpt from his blog:
“I am begging God to give us a man to take over some projects for Africa that we have. It means a man that will help us get materials and media to a needy continent. I see this need in India, Indonesia, Thailand, and many other places. We are asking God to allow us to be used in that!
More Info: austingardner.net
Church Building in Peru | Watch the VIDEO
Jeremy Hall is raising funds to help be a blessing to a church and pastor. Below is some details from his blog.
“The video above will show you what it is for. This church is working so hard at raising money, and they will continue to go forward with or without our help. They have never asked for help, I just want to be a blessing. I want to see if we can raise …. the remaining amount needed to finish their project, $15,000. This Church has been saving for quite a while and has managed to raise s/.9,000 from their own people. That is a huge amount for them, just over $3,200. There plans were to finish this project in years to come. I would like to see them in their new building
Okay, I have some really exciting news. We have had an incredible response to the video these past couple of days, so far sixteen different individuals, a group of business men, and one Church (Vision BC) have donated,totaling $5,380. Also, another surprising thing happened, someone has decided to match what ever is given over the next two weeks up to $6000.
This match will go through March 27. If you are going to give, now is the time. ”
More Info: jmhall.info
Vision Baptist Missions
It is exciting to watch our mission board send out new missionaries. We have had three guys that have recently started and are out on the deputation trail. I know each of these guys personally and I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do through them! They are:
- Scott Newton – church-planting missionary to Spain. Video | More Info
- Philip Bassham – church-planting missionary to Thailand. Video | More Info
- Chris Waye – church-planting missionary to British Isles. More Info
If you are looking for missionaries to have into your church, look no father!
Get involved in missions this stuff is exciting!
| Posted in BCWE, Missions, Mobilization, Prayer Request, Teamwork | No Comments »
Sunday’s Service
We had a great day Sunday! As many of you who have been following our updates, you know that Sunday was a big day for the ministry here. We had a great service, everything went smooth and we were excited to have a few visitors.
What is so different? Here are some of the bold steps the church has been making:
- On Monday and Tuesday the church passed out about 1,000 invitations & tracts to the neighborhood. We tried to hit every door in the neighborhood.
- Renting a daycare on Sunday morning because we need more space. The church rented one big room and openly had service.
- This Sunday was the first week for Sunday school. The church is excited about reaching all age groups!
- As people walked by the church many looked in to see what was going on. There were greeters at the door inviting them to come in. After the service, and throughout the week, the church members gave out business cards with the churches information, inviting people in person to come visit the church.
Continue to pray in the weeks ahead as the church seeks to evangelize the following neighborhoods and communities.
Click Hear to for a list of Prayer Request.
| Posted in Amazing Journey, Boldness, Chinese Christianity, Church Planting, Evangelism, Praises, Prayer Request | 2 Comments »
Pray Request for Today
As some of our friend’s from our home church are organizing prayer meetings for our service today, they sent out the following prayer prayer requests on an email ring:
1. Boldness in Believers.
2. People Will Respond to Hand Out Given.
3. Police Will Not Interfere.
4. Gospel Will Take Root in Hearts.
5. Church Leaders Will Assimilate New Believers Into the Church Through Discipleship.
I thought these prayer requests (from our Student Pastor) are a great guide to how you can specifically prayer for the ministry here, TODAY, and in the upcoming weeks as we step out in faith.
Thanks for you prayers! And thank you Vision for all you do for us!
| Posted in Amazing Journey, Boldness, China Life, Chinese Christianity, Missionary Life, Mobilization, Persecution, Prayer Request, Project China | 2 Comments »
| Posted in Family, Prayer Request | No Comments »