~Impact ASIA - November 2011

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By Bro. Eugene Wilson

In September, 2011 I was approached by a lady in our church whose husband happened to be working in China at the time. She asked, "Are you ready to go to China?" Without hesitation I replied, "Yes!" Sixteen months prior, while listening to my professor talk about a recent trip he had made to China, the Lord quickened in my spirit that I would one day visit this country. The husband of the lady who approached me travels to China four times a year with his job. His company allows him to fly first class, but if he flies economy they will pay the air flight for a friend. As a result, on October 15, 2011, I left Memphis, TN for a thirteen-day trip to China. After a layover in Seattle, we boarded our plane for a twelve-hour flight to Beijing, China. As God would have it, the man in our church got bumped from economy seating to first class. I love how God works.

~An Incredible Journey - Doug and Nannette Elkins

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An Incredible Journey...
This is the only way to describe what we have experienced during our first six months in Riga. Knowing that we walked into a country where the spirit of deception has bound the people for centuries, and seeing a brand new awakening has been nothing short of miraculous! 

Another Awesome Month! It was hard for us to imagine that November could be more exciting than the previous months here in Riga...yet that is exactly what God had in store! Sadly, the month began with our son Korey, and another young man who had been here since late May, returning to the States. Both of these young men played a major role in the successes and impact that the team was able to make here in Latvia. we will continue to pray for them as they seek the will of God for their future. Following our House Church service one evening, a young couple was brought to us who were in desperate need of a miracle in their lives. Janis & Laura were an unmarried couple who were expecting the birth of their first child in a couple of months. You could see the devastation on their faces as they shared the scope of their situation. Laura had tested positive for HIV and there was a fear that the child would have it as well. Our House Church group rallied around them and as we prayed, a tremendous presence of the Holy Ghost filled our apartment. We made arrangements to meet with them a few days later to teach them a Bible study. Two days later, I received a report that Laura had gone back to the doctor for a second test. This time the results showed that there was NO SIGN of any HIV in her system anywhere! The joy on their faces when we met with them the following day was incredible. We taught them on the plan of salvation, we baptized them in Jesus' Name and Janis was filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost!

~Suriname News Flash - November 2011

Suriname News Flash

November 2011

Hello from the Rhoads family. Here are a few events from November.

November 10-13
The national conference of the United Pentecostal Church of Suriname took place in Paramaribo, the capital city. Below are a few highlights of the conference.

• Special guests, Pastor and Mrs. Kevin Prince, from Tyler, Texas
• Business meetings for national board and licensed ministers
• Leadership training sessions
• Three people filled with the Holy Ghost

November 19
Kristin celebrated her sixteenth birthday. (A belated Happy Birthday from the Western District Foreign Missions department)

November 25
Suriname celebrated the thirty-sixth anniversary of its independence.

November 27
The assistant pastor in Paramaribo baptized sixteen people at the central prison.

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

The Rhoads Family
Missionaries to Suriname

Visit our web page at www.RhoadsMission.com

Follow us on Twitter at user name PhillipRhoads.

~Happy Thanksgiving 2011 from WD Foreign Missions

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Thank you everyone for your faithfulness and support in every area of giving...working together with God we can and will accomplish the work He has given us to do.

God bless all of you today as you celebrate 'Thanksgiving' with your family and friends...may God's continued blessing be upon you and your household as you serve Him.

"In all things give thanks..." - it doesn't mean that every thing that happens in our lives is good but that no matter what happens we will continue to praise and worship God and give Him thanks for His goodness, mercy and truth. "For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting and His truth endureth to all generations."

Western District Foreign Missions Department

Michael Hanks, Director

John Thomas, Secretary

Jerry Powell, Promotion Director

Don Demyan, Director - Region One

Clayton Brown - Director - Region Two

John Thomas - Director - Region Three

Morgan Underwood, Honorary

~Missions Miracle in Nicaragua - Read How it has Happened!

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by Missionary Stephen Nix

It all started with two offerings!  In Bossier City there was a miraculous missions offering that was “looking” for just the right place to be invested in God’s Kingdom.  In Nicaragua, 150 pastors and wives were gathered together in the “Pastors and Wives Only” service during the Nicaraguan General Conference.  There was a need in the work, and an appeal was made to dig deep and give sacrificially.  All over the auditorium, precious men of God dug deep into their pockets and gave in a way that only the Lord could inspire.  In some cases, they gave money that they had planned to use to eat with on the way home … a trip that for some would mean eight to twelve hours on the road.  Regional Director John Hopkins began to lead the pastors and wives in worship as the offering was taken.  As they emptied their pockets to give, a mighty Spirit of rejoicing came over everyone present.  All over the auditorium, pastors and their wives came pouring out of their pews, and in front of the platform, began to dance before the Lord with all their might!  Some ran the aisles, others leaped up and down with the joy of the Holy Ghost, and various groups of ten or twelve pastors would link arms, forming a circle, and the circle would rotate as they jointly praised and worshipped the Lord of Lords and King of Kings … our Savior Jesus Christ!

As this awesome wave of the Spirit swept over the ministerial body of Nicaragua, and we worshipped with all our might, I borrowed Bro. Hopkins’ camera and captured a few moments of this unforgettable time of praise and rejoicing in the Spirit.  Sometime later, Pastor Jerry Dean of the Pentecostals of Bossier City was sharing the news of the victorious offering, wondering how to best use it.  Bro. Hopkins played the video clip of the Nicaraguan brethren worshipping after having given so sacrificially.  Something “clicked” and a bond was made with a people never met, yet known -- through the Name of Jesus and the power of his Holy Spirit that unites believers of like precious faith all over the world!  Bro. Hopkins shared that Missionary Supervisor Steve Nix and Nicaraguan UPC President Eduardo García had been praying for fifteen years for the Lord to bring to pass their vision for the Church to have a Bible School and National Offices on its own property.

From this conversation, the miracle for this vision began to unfold, and the William H. Dean Memorial Bible School Project was born!  The Bible School and National Offices of the United Pentecostal Church of Nicaragua would be a memorial in honor of a great man of God, Pastor Jerry Dean’s father.  While some miracles are instantaneous, others are a work in progress, which unfolds, little by little, exactly when the need is greatest.  The story of the project in Nicaragua is one of perseverance through a series of victories and sacrifices and one of an incredible commitment that has been ongoing and unwavering on behalf of the wonderful folks at POBC.  While it would have been exciting to wave a “magic wand” and watch everything leap into place overnight, this did not happen. What has happened, however, is that we have faced a series of events, challenges to be met, problems to be overcome, sacrifices to be made, and a whole lot of just plain hard WORK!  At every turn, God has provided and brought us through, and with each successive victory, He has taken us just a little further toward the end goal … dedication of the William H. Dean Memorial Building, and renewed Bible School operations.

~Suriname News Flash - October 2011

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October 2011

As someone once said, "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get." We are definitely behind, as November is over half gone and we are just sending out our October update. Here it is, hopefully better late than never.

October 2
Back to School Sunday with special program and prayer for students.

October 5
Three people received the Holy Ghost at Open Door Group Gonggrijpstraat.

October 6
Happy birthday, Sandra! (And, a belated Happy Birthday from WD Foreign Missions)

October 9
One person received the Holy Ghost in Paramaribo.

October 11
Happy birthday, Phillip! (And, a belated Happy Birthday from WD Foreign Missions)

October 16
Leadership meeting for capital city church.

October 23
Assistant pastor preached in Paramaribo service. One person received the Holy Ghost.

October 28-30
Trip to Barbados for the Caribbean Conference of the United Pentecostal Church.

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

The Rhoads Family
Missionaries to Suriname


Visit our web page at www.RhoadsMission.com.
Follow us on Twitter at user name PhillipRhoads.

~Kenneth F. Haney - A Word from J. Mark Jordan

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On December 8, 2009, I wrote this letter as a response to the administration of Kenneth Haney after eight years as General Superintendent.  Little did anyone know that we would attend his funeral less than two years later.  As I re-read this letter, I felt it said everything I would have said in a written farewell.  Hopefully, it will add something unique to the hundreds of other expressions that his passing has inspired. 

Dear Brother and Sister Haney, 

Leadership at the highest levels requires a special dispensation of the grace of God.  “All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”  Of all the things will be said about both of you during your farewell season, this quote from John Kenneth Galbraith seems most appropriate to me.  Your ability to identify the major anxieties of our time, and the courage to address them, will forever define your place in the history of the United Pentecostal Church, International.  

Thank you for bringing integrity, transparency and kindness to the position you held.  Thank you for your determination not to politicize your office.  Thank you emphasizing a realistic approach to our operations, even though it necessitated difficult decisions.  Thank you for leading us again and again to unity and brotherly love, pouring in the oil and balm of healing.  Thank you for reminding us of our glorious oneness Pentecostal past, in both formal and informal ways while continuing to show us an even more glorious future that remains within our reach.  Your irrepressible optimism set the tone for the many leaders under your influence, like me, and you constantly gave us a sense of purpose in our collective vision. 

You accomplished all of the above without diminishing your ability to personally touch our lives.  You took the time to shake our hands, call our names, compliment us on our achievements and listen to our grievances.  You conducted yourself in your official capacity with exemplary humility, never showing the effects of any private burdens or difficulties of your own.  You accepted the will of the brethren as the will of God, and you demonstrated to us all tremendous grace and dignity as you relinquished your position to another. 

I am confident that you will venture into the next phase of your life and ministry with great faith, but there will be moments of reflection on the past eight years.  As you look back, always remember that you engaged in greatness, not pettiness; that you were a force for the positive, not the negative; and that you always chose the right way, not the convenient way.  You did not choose the climate or context of the times in which you were thrust into leadership, but you did not vacillate under the stress and demands of the circumstances.  Truly, you were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this.  

We are a better people, a better organization and we are better equipped because of your eight years at the helm of the United Pentecostal Church, International.  You have our undying gratitude. 

With great love and respect, 

J. Mark Jordan

*Note!  Reprinted with permission of the author, Bro. J. Mark Jordan.