To celebrate birthdays in Sudan, we have parties. All of the team comes. We have cake and treats, we open presents, we do some fun stuff, we play games, and we eat lunch together. We love chocolate cake. Sometimes our Moms make special desserts, like crepes or glazed doughnuts. We don’t have any ice cream. The gifts that we get, we buy in Nairobi and bring here and save them till the birthday. We even get some cards from people in America. One of us (Samuel Ward) got so many cards when he was turning 3 that we couldn’t even hang them all on the line.

One reason I am even willing to do this right now is because of something I read in a recent issue of IJFM (International Journal of Frontier Missiology). It was a transcription of a talk given by Jamie Winship. While he was in Indonesia a fellow kingdom worker said to him, “Here’s your problem. There’s not a technique to this. Now you’ve got the tool, the problem is, you keep telling God what he can do and what he can’t do. Stop telling him that. Ask him what he wants to do and do whatever he says.” (25:4 Winter 2008 – 196) Also recently finished reading through Joshua. One of the passages that really struck me was 13:1-7. I won’t quote the whole thing here but in part it says God told Joshua, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess… I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel. Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance…” I’m ashamed to say that often I am telling God what he can and can’t do with these tools he’s given me. I am going out to “possess the land” thinking God needs me to do it for him. But if I am really not able to do it he can do it without me. But he loves to use his people to expand his kingdom. Willingness is what he really wants from me. And his might shines in my weakness.

So, with fear and trepidation, I agreed to something today that 2 years ago caused me to dry up. But today I agreed to do it. Not because I can do it, but because I believe God can and that he wants to use me. Pray with me that God will use this tool that he has given me and that I will listen to him as to how he wants me to use it.

Heather

Mother and Peyn have been gone for two months and the five-year old son is having a very hard time being separated from his mother and brother.   Pray for strength and endurance for all of them.

 On Thursday,  November 25th, the husband is to appear before Immigration officials to have their case reviewed.  One office has told him that they can be granted a visa for a year but his wife must be present.  Her delay in Athens complicates matters.  Please pray that the Lord will provide a kind and fair person to approve the visa.

Together with the family we praise the Lord for His mercy, protection, and provision for the number of operations that Peyn has had. His parents are very aware of the fact that had they been in their own country they would not have received any help and their child would have grown up as an outcast.  They praise His Name for His kindness and mercy to them.  Amen!

 In His Love,

Kalli Sterrett

 Here are some highlights for the coming week as a matter of praise and prayer:

 1) Launching our first 30 minute radio program: 

This coming Wednesday,  Weer Bei FM (Redemption FM) will be broadcasting it’s first program called “Ramda ke baai” (Our meeting with the community).

 Sorry the radio signal will not reach anyone of you but you () can rejoice with us that we have reached this point of planning our debut.

Lecku Banyda!  (Let us praise our Lord!)

* Please pray with us for a smooth broadcasting of our first program.  John, the presenter, still has to hone his skills in live broadcasting in between the pre-programmed segments which include: announcements, testimonies, interviews, songs & psalms, gospel teaching and prayer.

 2)  Examining the students: Thomas, Karlo and Karibino After nearly 2 years of training, the three church planters/theological students will be examined this Saturday.  The exam consisted of 3 parts:

Head (Knowledge of the Bible/Theology); Heart (Personal godliness); Hands (Practical skills in Evangelism, Preaching and Counseling).  They did reasonably well in their practice exam this past Saturday.  If they pass the ‘real’ exam we will ordain them as Teaching Elders the following week..

*Pray that the Lord will confirm His calling on their lives and that it will

be a good example for the 4 new students that will be observing.  

 Each prayer is heard and answered.   Thank you for praying.

 In prayer with thanksgiving,

Vince for the Sudan Team

From my window I can see blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Yesterday evening the sky was dark with heavy rain clouds as we waited apprehensively for Typhoon Melor to reach land.  If I read the chart correctly, it was on a par with a Level 4 Hurricane, so the danger of severe damage was very real. The storm made landfall in Aichi Prefecture which is about halfway to Tokyo from Kobe, so Kobe escaped a direct hit.  We experienced fierce wind and a lot of rain, however, as the typhoon moved up the Pacific coast of Japan.  So far, though, only two deaths have been reported in the whole country and fifty-some injured people, with property damage, power outages, and transportation problems.  Given the heavy loss of life and destruction experienced in other Asian countries in the past two weeks from typhoons, we certainly thank God for sparing Japan so far from that kind of devastation. As the wind shook my building last night, I thanked the Lord for His control over His creation.  I also prayed that such demonstrations of God’s power through nature would cause people in Japan to seek the God of Creation.

The annual Fall Conference took place on September 23rd.  Thank you for your prayers for that. The Lord answered the prayers by giving a time of warm fellowship and good teaching about the Psalms, both their content and about how and why we use them in worship.  (I  made a file with photographs from the conference but it is so huge, I don’t think I can send it as one file. I’ve broken it into four separate ones and will send those one by one.)

We enjoyed singing them together, too. One special treat for us was to learn how to sign as we sang some of the Psalms. Mrs. Yuko Endo has learned Japanese sign language and she taught both the adults and the children how to sing some of our favorite psalms while using the gestures. We were all delighted at the way it added to our understanding and expression of the words. We got to hear the new RP Chorus sing, and we joined them in singing some verses of the Psalms they performed.

One part of our Presbytery joint events is to share matters for thanks and prayer requests from each congregation, followed by a time of prayer.  I would like to share the requests that were made, many of which are things that you have been praying for in past months as I reported them in this newsletter.

1. All the congregations asked for prayer for various ministries that reach out to non-Christians for evangelistic purposes.  These requests included Bible studies, either in Japanese or using English (Mukonoso, Higashisuma, Kasumigaoka, and Kitasuzurandai); children’s ministries (Kitasuzurandai, Keiyaku and Kasumigaoka); a pastoral visitation program (Mukonoso); special Fall evangelistic programs (Higashisuma and Keiyaku); regular evangelistic worship services (the fourth Lord’s Day of each month) and an instructional class after the morning worship service (Mukonoso); and community work through volunteer English teaching in the elementary school (Kitasuzurandai, where Pastor and Mrs. Endo both use their English ability in this way.)
2. Kasumigaoka gave heartfelt thanks for God’s answer to their prayers for a pastor in the acceptance of their call by Rev. Charles Leach, to begin in the fall of 2010.
3. Kasumigaoka gave thanks for the baptism of three high school boys in May and Higashisuma gave thanks for the public confession of faith and acceptance into communicant membership of Kazuki Sakai, also a high school student, the son of Pastor Sakai and Mrs. Reiko Sakai.
4. Each congregation gave thanks and/or asked for prayer for various aspects of their congregational life, especially  the preaching and teaching of the members.
5. Keiyaku also asked for prayer for a special congregational meeting called to deal with financial matters (on October 11th, this coming Lord’s Day.)
6. Pastor Endo gave thanks that he was able to complete the translation of Dr. Wayne Spear’s book, Faith of Our Fathers, and asked for prayer for it to be published so that many can read it in Japanese.
7. Higashisuma thanked God for the lives of two elderly members who died in the past half year: Mrs. Hirao and Mrs. Onishi. Keiyaku asked for prayer for one of its elderly members, Mrs. Shinoda, who was in the hospital, and also for the health of its youngest member, Ko Takiura, born in July, the daughter of Mr. Dempei Takiura and his wife Mrs. Ritsuko Takiura.
8. The attendance at the Fall Conference was lower than in some past years, and, although there are many reasons why people who usually attend were unable to do so, it brought to my mind two requests for your prayers for the church here that are fundamental and ongoing requests:    (a)  The first is that the  annual Presbytery events  would be joyful events for all the members of the Presbytery and that they would make them a high priority in their lives.  (b)   The second is  to pray for an outpouring of God’s love in our hearts for one another in the congregations and in the presbytery that will lead to an open and unmistakable witness to the reality of  Jesus Christ. Pray that we will fulfill the words of Jesus in John 13:34 and 35: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you that you love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

On a personal note, I would like to thank you for your prayers for me as I took personal vacation time in the US.  I was able to see most of my immediate family members and spend very good time with them. I was not able to see so many friends this time, though I enjoyed everyone whom I did get to see. I was very touched by the number of people who told me how they pray for the work of the Lord here in Japan and for me specifically.  That was hugely encouraging. Thank you!

In Christ,

Patricia Boyle

We are one step closer to the top of that high mountain where we will be enabled as strong-voiced heralds of good news to proclaim to the Lord’s people, “Behold your God!”  He has been so good to us and has answered our prayers and yours.  We have been granted a frequency by the government of Southern Sudan.  Not only that, but we have been granted a frequency without cost.  And, though it was not the frequency we requested, the Lord empowered us to be able to make all the appropriate adjustments to the antennae and transmitter to make them able to work with the frequency we have been granted.

Truly this is a day of rejoicing!  So much work and effort and prayers have gone into this.  Though we’re not broadcasting ‘on-air’ yet, this was a very significant milestone that was out of our hands.  We  were made to trust in the Lord God to bring about this great blessing to us, and He has not disappointed us.

We’re currently working hard with a number of Dinka workers and volunteers to get a collection of recordings made and edited and ready for broadcast.  By the end of this year we hope to be broadcasting some test slots before the official opening of the radio station in January.

The station is called ‘Weer Bei’ in Dinka, which means ‘Redemption’.  Like the picture in Isaiah 40, we long for the Good Shepherd to use this instrument of proclamation in the gathering of his lambs – lambs which were once held by the bondage of sin, redeemed by the love of the Shepherd.  We also hope to call the sheep already in the fold to greater understanding of, greater faith in, and greater service to the King of kings and Lord of lords so that the church of Jesus Christ will continue to grow in depth as well as in numbers.  May the Gospel of truth be proclaimed in a voice of strength to the people of Aweil through Weer Bei, 99.9FM!

Stay tuned as the Lord continues to answer your prayers for our radio ministry and our church planting efforts here in Northern Bhar el Gazal, Southern Sudan. 

Proclaiming Christ is King,

Heather Huizing

for the Cush4Christ team

P.S. More about the new radio ministry can be found in the upcoming January 2010 issue of the RP Witness.