"But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners."--Romans 4:5 NLT
PRAISES: God’s Glorious Provisions*
•South America: National NMI leaders challenged districts to give the equivalent of US$1 per month for the WEF. All participating districts doubled their WEF offerings.•Eurasia: Three Bangladesh districts gave $2,190 for disaster relief efforts in the U.S.A. and Caribbean islands after Hurricane Sandy. Despite recession in the British Isles, the Erskine Church raised more than their goal to support Croatia and Ukraine.
•Southeast U.S.A.: 7 of 12 districts gave at least 5.5 percent for WEF; the Georgia district gave 119 percent of their WEF goal.
•East Central U.S.A.: The West Virginia North district responded to needs in South Africa: a layman donated $1,000 for pastors’ Bibles, a pastor used five weeks of sabbatical to teach there, and a church paid for their pastor and wife to equip leaders.
•Northwest U.S.A.: Alaska has given the WEF in full for 62 years. Two districts collaborated to collect and deliver 1,174 Crisis Care Kits.
•North Central U.S.A.: Four churches gave WEF at 319 percent, 244 percent, 217 percent, and 216 percent.
•Southwest U.S.A.: Multiple teams across multiple years helped build a training center in India. All districts strongly support compassionate ministry, nationally and globally.
•Canada: A Nazarene compassionate ministry center in Victoria assists many needy people around the world. Canada West sponsored a Work & Witness project.
•Central U.S.A.: A church in Vassar, Michigan, raised enough money to purchase 150 Tagalog Bibles and to purchase and prepare 120 bags of rice and other provisions.
(*From Global NMI Director Daniel Ketchum’s annual report to the General Board, February 2014.)
Wilmar and Jessica Rojas, serving in Argentina, share the following praises:
•We praise God for three great months of traveling. The Lord supported our tour in a great way. He provided safety, provision, fun, friends, a good message of encouragement and challenge for the people in all the churches that we visited..
•We had a car accident last September. People said that we would have problems with the insurance, but we prayed and put everything in the hands of our Lord and He took care of all the details. He provided us a brand new car.
PRAY FOR: GLOBAL MINISTRY REQUESTS
Sealands RequestsFrom the Sealands Field (Indonesia, Singapore, Timor-Leste) on the Asia-Pacific Region:
•Pray for a special Nazarene team on the island of Sumatra working among several unreached people groups.
•Pray for an area on the Sealands Field that is working in an area where there are many refugees. There has been some success, and we desire to see more God- called workers be able to find ways to get visas to help in this exciting work.
Pray for the Indonesia Nazarene Theological College on the island of Java as it faces many challenges while preparing young men and women for service in the church. Pray for more students who are called by God to become ministers and leaders in the church. The current enrollment of 40 students must expand in order to meet the opportunities that are opening up.
CIS Update
Thank you for praying for the people of Ukraine and surrounding countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On-going unrest raises the need for continued prayer. May God’s peace and reconciliation be evident soon throughout the region. Missionary Scott Rainey, field strategy coordinator for the CIS, shares reflections on the recent days of unrest in Ukraine and Volgograd as well as how the church, our pastors, and laity have prevailed and ministered in the midst of the upheaval. Click here to read the blog.
Missionary Prayer Focus
Please pray for the requests below from missionaries who are part of the March 2014 prayer focus:Hermann and Brigitte Gschwandtner, serving in Germany
•Pray that the Lord will provide a South Asia partnership coordinator.
•Two of our districts in South Asia need a new superintendent. We pray for the Lord to bring people that continue and deepen the integrated ministry, people whom God can bless and make a blessing.
•I (Hermann) need the Lord's wisdom for special leadership training on various fields.
•We are grateful for our fourth grandchild and trust the Lord will continue to bless our children and their families.
Tomo and Ceny Hirahara, serving in Thailand
Please pray for:
•Evangelism and discipleship ministries in Phang Nga villages
•Growth in faith of key Christian contacts in the villages
•Easter events with contacts/families in communities including people living with HIV (PLHIV)
•Bible lessons with the family of a PLHIV key contact
•Expansion of “Nazarene Superkids”** participants in Bible competition.
•With permission from parents, more kids want to join the competition.
•Wisdom in teaching the book of Luke to children/families by showing JESUS Film, sharing stories and playing games related to Luke.
•Visitation/relationship building with parents/family of “Nazarene Superkids”
•Preparation for furlough to Japan on July to September 2014
•Good health
•Pray for the country of Thailand
**Nazarene Superkids are children and teens in Phang Nga villages that participate in Bible quizzing competitions, sports activities, Bible teaching, and other activities. Through Nazarene Superkids, the Hiraharas build lasting relationships with the children and their parents (some of who attend the activities). The gatherings offer ample opportunity for the missionaries to share the Gospel. Super Kids began with 9 children and currently has 42 involved.
Wilmar and Jessica Rojas, serving in Argentina
•Pray for our work in Argentina Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and NMI.
•Pray for our family, especially our two boys, who are going back to school. Israel will be a couple weeks late because of our deputation schedule. He is going to start second grade.
•For our vision to make disciples, locally and everywhere we go.
•Safety as we travel.
•Pray for pain relief in Wilmar’s back.
Click here to read the Engage magazine profile on Wilmar and Jessica in English; click here to read their profile in Spanish.
Timothy (Byung-Gi) and Lydia (Hyun-Soon) Kim, serving in the Philippines
•Timothy will accompany pastors and lay leaders of Metro-Manila District (about 28 people) to SangAmDong Church in Korea late March into early April for the Exploring Urban Ministries and BAND Ministries in Korea. This will be our fourth trip since 2011. They are waiting for the visa approval from the Korean Embassy and we appreciate prayers for a safe trip to Korea.
•Lydia has been working at Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS) as a temporary accountant since October 2013 and she needs God's wisdom and strength to do the responsibility.
•Timothy and Lydia’s firstborn son, InnGee, is preparing for a military officer test. Every healthy Korean young man must serve military for 21 months, but InnGee wants to be an officer and it requires a test. If he is accepted he will need to serve three years.
•YongGee is the Kim’s second son and he is graduating this May. He is not sure what he will do after graduation. May the Lord lead his future.
Jon and Shirley Fischer, serving in Ecuador
•Please pray for us, as we need to replace both of our vehicles after a 20,000-ton truck came onto our property last year causing significant damage. We are selling the truck to help with the cost of the purchase of a new car. Jon will buy a used but dependable vehicle to get back and forth from work. We know God is already working on this but we need your prayers that God will guide us in making wise decisions and also finding the right vehicles.
•Pray for our summer of working a full schedule of Work and Witness teams. We pray that hearts will be changed and that all the short-term missionaries will be open to what God wants to do in and through their lives. Some of the groups are high school, college groups, and then a mix of all ages.
•We have two Mid-America Nazarene University intern girls, Krista, our daughter, and Sara, and our nephew, Austin, from Olivet Nazarene University coming to help with the teams. Please pray for us as we take on the huge task of mentoring their tender lives.
•We would also ask that you would pray for Venezuela churches (not just Nazarene), that they would be able to reach out to people who are desperate for hope. Also please pray for the unrest for the whole country. They are a country of strong hope and courage and it saddens us to see what is happening. We lived there for 15 years and left a little bit of our hearts there.
Click here to read the Engage magazine profile on Jon and Shirley.
Mario and Irma Martinez, serving in Guinea-Bissau
•Pray that we find the right 4x4 vehicle as the roads are bad and God is opening doors in the interior of the country.
•Pray for the presidential election in Guinea-Bissau next month. A transitional government has been in place since a coup last year.
•Pray for the construction of a functional church building that will also serve as a school and provide additional community services.
•Pray for new Nazarenes who have accepted Jesus as Savior.
•Pray with us and the goal to have three congregations organized this year.
David and Sylvia Potter, serving in Vanuatu
•Pray for David as he teaches students Theology of the Holy Spirit, Church, and Last Days at South Pacific Nazarene Theological College. Ask the Lord to make this teaching transformational for the students.
•Pray for Sylvia as she prepares to teach Pastoral Care to Vanuatu pastors and students. Ask the Lord to make this class powerful and effective for his Kingdom sake.
•Please continue to pray for the safety of Vanuatu families during Cyclone season (November–April).
•Please pray for the Potters in the development of architectural plans and the completion of applications for Work and Witness (W&W) teams. These W&W teams would, with the Lord’s help, come and work alongside the local people in building a new Vanuatu District Center.
Click here to read the Engage magazine profile on the Potters.
Board of General Superintendents
Please pray for the ministry and safety of the General Superintendents as they travel this month: Jerry D. Porter
J. K. Warrick
Eugénio Duarte
David W.Graves
David A. Busic
Gustavo A. Crocker
BEREAVEMENT
Family of Floyd PoundsFloyd Pounds passed away in the early morning hours of March 17. Floyd was a Nazarene pastor who ministered in Wausau and Menomonie, Wisconsin, USA, and was married to the late Carol Pounds. Carol served the Lord through Nazarene Missions in several capacities including Northwestern Illinois NMI District President, Global NMI Council member, and was NMI’s 1998 Global Convention coordinator. Please pray for the Pounds family during this time of earthly loss. Funeral arrangements for Floyd are pending.
Thank you for praying.
Only he who can say, "The Lord is the strength of my life" can say, "Of whom shall I be afraid?"-—Alexander Maclaren, British minister and Bible expositor (1826-1910)-------
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