~Suriname News Flash - August 2011

Suriname News Flash

August 2011

Please excuse the lateness of this report. Below are a few activities from the month of August.

August 2

Five people baptized in Paramaribo.

August 5

One person baptized in Paramaribo.

August 6

Ministers in Training meeting with two assistant pastors from the capital church.

August 8

This was a bigi jari for us as we celebrated our thirtieth wedding anniversary.

August 12

Signed papers for the purchase of property for the congregation in Nieuw Nickerie, pastored by Brother Edwards. This is the first property owned by the United Pentecostal Church of Suriname. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.

August 14

Leadership meeting for capital city church.

August 21

Planning session for central region youth camp.

August 25

Happy thirteenth birthday, Jason! Wow, two teenagers in the house!

Thank you for praying for our family and for the church in Suriname.

The Rhoads Family,
Missionaries to Suriname


Follow us on Twitter at username PhillipRhoads.

~Impact ASIA - September 2011

By Xenn   Something special is going on in Alexandria, Louisiana!! Recently, I returned from my second trip to The Pentecostals of Alexandria to  minister in special crusade meetings for Asian (Chinese)  people and my report is one of victory all the way! Bro. and Sis. Marshall are a beautiful Asian couple who reside in Alexandria, LA. They are originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and are now on staff with The Pentecostal of Alexandria under the leadership of Rev. Anthony Mangun. They hold the office of Evangelism and Prayer Directors and they are doing a phenomenal job in winning and keeping souls for the Kingdom of God! Brother Mangun contacted me in August 2010 to come and assist Bro. and Sis. Marshall in reaching a group of Chinese people whom they made contact with in a local restaurant. These people had come to Alexandria on a 4 month work and educational program for post- graduates.When I reached Alexandria, I was soon greeted by a group of more than 20 hungry youth. Bro. and Sis. Marshall were giving them Bible studies and as a result, most of these students gave their lives to Jesus and were baptized in Jesus name. After a weekend of teaching, preaching and fellowship,I am thrilled to say that all 23 of these precious souls received the gift of the Holy Ghost. They have since returned to China and are making contact with our connections there! Again, this year, another group of Chinese students came to Alexandria for the 4 month program. Bro. and Sis. Marshall taught them bible studies and 17 of these students were baptized in Jesus name. In mid August, we held a crusade for this new group of Chinese students and the whole group of 18 people received the Holy Ghost. WOW, this is a 100% harvest. Glory to God! It is amazing how our God works His plan out. This pattern is exactly what we have been planning and praying for. With such a vast population in China, it is a daunting endeavor to go and reach the masses with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead, these precious Chinese people have come to our shores, received the gospel, and have now returned home to spread this treasure among their family and friends. Please pray with us for these new converts in Christ. Many are making contact with our more seasoned saints in the underground churches, however, the conditions for becoming rooted and grounded in apostolic doctrine remain delicate due to religious oppression in China. Still, we hold fast to the truth that, "With God, nothing shall be impossible." He is more than able to keep that which we have committed unto Him against that day. The Pentecostal of Alexandria are planning to bring a team into China next year. One of our priorities will be to gather these precious saints together and minister to them and their families. They must not be forgotten and left to their own. We will pray, we will encourage, we will help to establish them. This is who we are - the family of Christ! Find more information about Impact Asia at www.impactasia.us www.globalimpactministries.us

Global Impact Ministries | xennseah@gmail.com | Modesto | CA | 95356

~Missionary Prayer Focus, Sept. 16th - Sept. 30th, 2011

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Global Missions

Friday Sept. 16th, 2011 - Jim and Linda Poitras/Ghana, GATS

Saturday Sept. 17th, 2011 - Mark and Mariann Starin/Middle East

Sunday Sept. 18th, 2011 - Joseph and Loretta Bir/Paraguay, Peru

Monday Sept. 19th, 2011 - Harold and Helen Kinney/FAITH PROMISE ministries representative

Tuesday Sept. 20th, 2011 - Charles and Charlotte Stovall/FAITH PROMISE ministries representative

~Faith Journey - REVIVAL is in full swing!

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Revival Is In Full Swing! Having just completed our first full month of public services, God has proven that He is working in miraculous fashion in the Riga area! We have seen five baptized in Jesus' Name and six have been filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost! Many miracles have taken place including healings and securing much-needed jobs! Each week brings new opportunities to share, witness, minister, and reach to the wonderful people of Riga!

A Busy Month... August proved to be an extremely busy month! We began by spending a couple of days in Tallinn, Estonia where we lived and worked for three months last fall. We were excited to be able to show Korey some of the sights of the city, as well as introduce him to some of the wonderful people who impacted our lives so immensely. We were thrilled to hear the mighty reports of revival that God is pouring out on the work there in Tallinn! Upon our return to Riga, we were thrust full throttle right back into evangelism efforts to reach the people of the city and the surrounding communities. As you can see by our schedule, our weeks are filled with activities aimed at building relationships and making new contacts. God has truly blessed us with two wonderful locations in which to hold our Sunday services. In Pinki every Sunday morning we meet in a very beautiful Lutheran church. On Sunday evenings, we meet in downtown Riga in a centuries old Anglican Church. We are learning each week more of the amazing history that this building holds. It is currently undergoing a major renovation and we look forward to seeing the finished product and sharing it with you! Above all, God's Spirit is so rich in both of these buildings as we gather to worship and minister. We have already met many wonderful people in both of these venues, and are excited to see God touch their lives! Saturdays are another exciting day. We gather in two different areas of town to sing, worship, and connect with people. Even though by the end of the day we are all physically spent, when we see someone come into the service on Sunday that we have invited and ministered to the day before, it makes all the work seem so worthwhile! We have witnessed such a change in the atmosphere of the places we hold evangelism regularly as we continue to claim areas of the city in Jesus' Name! A milestone for us was receiving our Latvian Residency Permits in mid-August! Law only allows us to stay in this region of the world for 90 days at a time. Obtaining these permits now allows us to stay indefinitely and they are good for four years! Thank you to all who kept this situation in your prayers. The entire process went very smoothly and now enables us to focus more on the work at hand. Sadly, the past month has seen several of our team leave Riga to return to the States. Several were only scheduled to be here for three months, some left to prepare for further work here in Latvia and raise funds. Regardless, we are feeling the loss of the team members, but are also still benefitting from the positive effects that each of them has had on the work here. We excitedly anticipate their return! Heartfelt Thanks!

Last month we shared with you a very real need that we are facing financially. The reality is that unless our financial support base begans to build we will be forced to cut our time here in Latvia short. God's call upon our lives here is long-term. Aside from the work we are doing in the local assemblies, we are preparing for the launch of Bible Schools all across the region. Training is already being scheduled and curriculum prepared that will aid other missionaries to follow the organizational structure that is being put into place here in Latvia. We are excited about this wonderful opportunity that God has given us!

We want to say thank you to those who have already responded to our call for help. We have received a few offerings, and added a few monthly partners! You have been a tremendous blessing to us, and are helping us to reach souls! However, the need is still great and we would welcome your coming on board and being an integral part of the team! We know that God has called us to this work, and we know that He already has a plan in place to sustain us. It could be that He is talking to you about that right now. God bless you as you prayerfully consider becoming a Faith Journey partner!

Douglas and Nannette Elkins/Riga, Latvia

~Mission Latvia - Michael and Christine McKinnies family

 OLD RIGA on the DAUGAVA RIVER

Mission Latvia  To Our Partners in Missions  We will be returning to the States for a short period of time.  Due to our decision to stay in Latvia on a long-term basis to work with Missionary Mark Shutes, we will need to spend time "tying up loose ends" at home.  We will be in Michigan on September 1 and will be returning to Latvia on November 15. While we are in the States we hope to have many new churches, pastors, ministers and saints partnering with us in missions  to reach the country of Latvia with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are interested in having us come and share our burden and vision for Latvia, please facebook us, email us or call us to schedule a time.  We look forward to being with many of you in the weeks to come. Praise Report What God's Doing!  Since early July God has filled five with the Holy Ghost and  six have been baptized in Jesus Name!  There have been many healed and delivered by the power of God.  Everyone who has come to seek God for a job has found one.  It may not seem  like much to you, but to them it is most definitely a miracle.  Latvia is in an economic crisis and many are leaving the  country to find jobs, yet God is providing! He is truly great!  We are believing for 50 souls in Latvia to be added to the Kingdom by the end of the year.  We have only begun to experience all that God has in store for us. We would love for you to be a part of what the Lord is doing in Latvia.  Please consider partnering with us with a monthly pledge or a one-time offering.  If this is not in your budget, then please help us by becoming a prayer partner for Mission Latvia. THE TEAM First and foremost we give God all the glory for what has happened in Latvia during the past couple of months.  What you have seen reported during the last five months would have been difficult to achieve if it were not for the combined efforts of the incredible team assembled by Missionary Mark Shutes.  Over the past couple of weeks we have had to say goodbye to some wonderful team members.  More will be leaving in the next couple of months and we pray that God will richly bless them in their ministry in the future.  We are looking forward to those who will be returning next year and to the many new faces we will see. Credit to Whom Credit is Due The Team: Kim Middlestadt, Luke Havens, Doug Elkins, Nannette Elkins, Rachel Zehm, Kyle Christian, Alexandra McKinnies, Rebekah Kline, Korey Elkins, Michael McKinnies, Preston McKinnies, Christine McKinnies, Nathan Miller.  (Not Pictured: Brian and Kaleb Roberts, Mark and Robin Shutes)

Michael and Christine McKinnies and Family Directors of Evangelism for Latvia Facebook: michael n christine mckinnies Email: juniorquizmaster@yahoo.com Phone: 269-978-1965

~Help - Our Church Family is in Need of Assistance

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Ministerial family,


Drought, wind, and fire have made life extremely difficult for many of our brothers and sisters. In Bastrop alone, 600 homes have been destroyed.  The fire is still burning largely out of control.


Charles Stephens, our presbyter for the Austin/Hill Country, is coordinating an effort to assist those families and churches in need.  Please see the email below he sent to the ministers of his section.  


Let's join in helping those in need. And, let's pray that God will extinguish these fires.

Ken Gurley

STX District Superintendent  

  

Dear Austin Hill Country Ministers,

I greet you in the glorious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing you with a very urgent request. 


As I am sure most of you know there are huge fires all around Austin and Bastrop. We have many of our Pentecostal people that are displaced from their homes, and some who have lost their homes. Bro Chandler has people connected to his church that lost their homes. Austin First Church has people displaced, and I am sure other churches in the area have people displaced. 


Bro and Sis Holguin, who are on a missionary tour in Spain, have lost their home, car, and a life time of things they have collected. Bro Holguin is a licensed minister and part of our section. They will be landing at Austin Bergstrom Airport tomorrow, Thursday, at 10:40am. If you or your spouse would like to meet them at the airport, I know they would appreciate the support. I have talked to Bro Grady Chandler and he and I are trying to co-ordinate an effort to get help to these people who are so desperately in need. 


If you or your church can help in any way please respond as soon as possible. You can make your checks to Austin Hill Country Section and send it directly to Bro Delano. If you want to respond with other items, please feel free to do so. The greatest time for us to show that we are real Christians is when other children of God need our help. I want to thank you in advance for all of your help. 


I know of only three of our families at this time that have lost their homes. If you know of any of our people who are affected by this, please call me and let me know. We want to make sure these people in need, know that we stand with them, both in finance and in prayer. If you will, please ask your churches to pray and hold these families up. 

You can reach me at 512-844-9470 or the following: cstephens6@austin.rr.com  


May God's grace keep you and protect you.

Charles Stephens
Presbyter -  Austin Hill Country


*Note! If there are any of you that would like to help financially it would be much appreciated. Follow the instructions above to make a contribution. Thank you so very much and may God reward and bless you more than what you could ever think or ask.


No one ask me to post this on behalf of the South Texas District brethren but the Bible teaches us to care one for another.


God bless,
Jerry E. Powell

~Summary of the World - Interesting Facts

Summary of the World

If we could shrink the Earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this:


81 would be from less developed countries with a gross income per capita and year of US$ 3,580, 19 would be from developed countries with a gross income per capita and year of US$ 22,060.


There would be 61 Asians, 12 Europeans, 13 Africans, 9 would be from South America and the Caribbean, and 5 from North America including Canada.


75 would be non-white, while 25 would be white.
60 would mistrust their own government.
   (No wonder, that the governments mistrust their people).
60 would live within 62 miles of a coastline.
50 would be female, and 50 would be male.
50 would rely in some manner on coastal and marine habitats for food, building sites, transportation, recreation, and waste disposal.
48 would live on less than US $2 a day.
48 would lack access to basic sanitation.
47 would be urban dwellers.
   (The world's urban areas are expected to surpass rural areas in population around the year 2005)
29 would believe in witchcraft.
25 would live in substandard housing or have no home at all.
20 would live on less than US $1 a day.
17 would be under 18 years old.
16 would lack access to safe drinking water.
16 would be unable to read and write.
14 would suffer from malnutrition.
10 would live in least developed countries.
8 would have Internet access from home.
4.5 would be citizens of the United States
1 would be infected with HIV/AIDS.
1 would be near death, and 1 would be near birth.
Only 1 would have a college education.

Half of the entire village's wealth would be in the hands of only 6 people, and most of them would be citizens of the United States.

When one considers our world from such an incredibly compressed perspective, the need for cooperation, tolerance and understanding becomes glaringly apparent.

And, I might add, the need for missionaries is greater today than it has ever been. Pray that men and women will answer the call of God. The fields are white ready to harvest...the laborers are few!

"Go ye into all the world...and preach the gospel"