Thank you for praying for my time with FBC Midland, TX and Humble Area's FBC.
Our training time with the 5 mission teams in Midland was great. Our main focus was learning about becoming an effective cross cultural witness. We spent 6 hours learning, discussing, and seeking to apply our new understanding to the different peoples the teams will be visiting. We discussed worldviews and culture, along with a fast overview of some basic mission team keys to being prepared. We focused on the importance of seeking to understand the influences that worldview and culture have on how we share the gospel with people from different worldviews and cultures. It was fun to grow together as we all seek to become the witnesses and servants God wants us to be.....so that we can make Jesus known to the ends of the earth.
I flew back into Humble Sunday morning to speak to the Life Groups. I spent time with a ladies group that has adopted me and HSI. It was great to be with them again and to catch up. It was awesome to hear how God is working among them and using them to minister to one another. It was great to share with them all that God is doing in Mali as well as how God is calling out volunteers to go. Of course there is always the challenge to join God...smile!
I spoke to another Life Group at 10:50. It was great to be with them and make them aware of the mission of Harvest Seekers International and how God has partnered our mission with their church to evangelize and plant churches among the Dafin people in Mali. Again...a challenge to join the laborers in the harvest.
Please pray for the teams from Midland who are in the planning and preparation phase before they embark on their different adventures. The first team will leave for Belize in about 1 week. The other teams will leave at varying times through the summer, traveling to: Mali, Central Mexico, Vietnam, and Costa Rica.
Pray for the Life Groups of Humble FBC to pursue their place among the nations and to take seriously the great commission for their own lives.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
For now...it is time to walk out the work God has for me here in the USA as well as in Mali. Please pray for me today as I go to lead a training conference in Midland, TX. We will be talking about becoming culturally effective witnesses and servants for Jesus. First Baptist Church has volunteer teams going to Mali, Vietnam, Costa Rico, Mexico, and Belize. We will all be meeting together to prepare for the task of going out into the harvest fields and making Jesus known. Praise God for all of these volunteers willing to walk in faith to make Him known to those who need to know of His power, grace, and salvation.
I will also fly back to Houston early Sunday morning to join Humble Area's First Baptist Church for a day of emphasis and awareness of missions. I will be speaking to 3 Life Groups and sharing with them all that God is doing among the nations. Pray for them to be open to joining God in the harvest.
I will also fly back to Houston early Sunday morning to join Humble Area's First Baptist Church for a day of emphasis and awareness of missions. I will be speaking to 3 Life Groups and sharing with them all that God is doing among the nations. Pray for them to be open to joining God in the harvest.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Living Water
As we arrived in the Pana village at the end of January and talked with the chief and elders of the village, they shared with us the difficulties they were facing. We asked about the harvest and how it had been. Their response was, "It was bad." They went on to tell us about how the birds had come and devoured their the millet they plant for their daily food. My heart broke as I listened because I have seen the vastness of a flock of birds like they were describing and my heart immediately felt the desperation that must come over them when they see the birds coming. Within moments these birds can eat an entire field of millet. My mind understood the devastation of their situation.
Then the chief went on to say how their water was bad. That made me curious since I had been there just a month earlier and helped the women pump beautiful clear water from the well. The next morning I went out to see the women at the pump but there were none. Everyone was drawing water from the well with ropes. I asked one of the women about the pump and she said it was broken. With that response, I thought that must be what they mean when they said the water was bad. NO...that was not it. Later that afternoon, the team split up to prayer walk through the village. That is when God showed us the true meaning of the chief's statement...Our water is bad.
We met many who were sick and had strange infections. We prayed for them believing God to answer us with healing. As we approached the well, we stood and prayed for those drawing water. Then our attention was drawn to the water that was being poured out of the well and into their pans, buckets, and animal troughs. It was a thick, black liquid sludge.
At the same moment, we each groaned and realized just how bad their water was. We stood with our water bottles of clean, pure water and a sense of humility came over us. The questions pounded in our hearts..."How can we stand here with this water and drink it while our friends are drinking this sludge? How can we see this, know the desperation of the situation, and do nothing about it?" We knew without good water sickness would overtake this village and the people would die...and die without the knowledge of Jesus. We began praying and talking as a team asking God for wisdom and discernment about how to best come alongside our chief and our village to see that the pump was fixed and life giving water was restored to this village. With the help of the Malian missionary who was with us, God revealed His plan. Together this team, the Malian missionary, and the people of the village-- each doing what they could--partnered to fix the pump and bring clean life giving water to the Pana.
As we left the village, each of us on the team knew that God had just worked to lay the foundation for His Spirit to reveal to the Pana that Jesus is the Living Water. God was working in the physical world to bring Spiritual Truth to the Pana so that just like the woman at the well...they too can hear Jesus say to them "...those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life."
I received text messages from the Malian missionary saying that the pump was fixed. Fresh clean water was flowing again as the women went to the pump. The village held a celebration thanking God for helping them.
Please give PRAISE and THANKS to God for providing all that was necessary to restore to this village water that will bring life instead of disease, infection, and death. PRAISE God for the barriers that HE broke down in this village so that the Story of Jesus can become a spring of living water that leads them to eternal life. PRAISE God for calling out His children to go live out HIS Presence and HIS love among the Pana.
Please pray for our Pana friends and family.
Ask God to ready their hearts to hear His message about Jesus, the Living Water.
Ask God to bring health and healing to their bodies as they drink the clean, pure water flowing from the pump.
Ask God to call and send out more servants to go and share His Story with the Pana.
Thanks for your partnership, your prayers, and your love for the nations...especially the Pana!
drinking deeply from the Living Water...
lori
Then the chief went on to say how their water was bad. That made me curious since I had been there just a month earlier and helped the women pump beautiful clear water from the well. The next morning I went out to see the women at the pump but there were none. Everyone was drawing water from the well with ropes. I asked one of the women about the pump and she said it was broken. With that response, I thought that must be what they mean when they said the water was bad. NO...that was not it. Later that afternoon, the team split up to prayer walk through the village. That is when God showed us the true meaning of the chief's statement...Our water is bad.
We met many who were sick and had strange infections. We prayed for them believing God to answer us with healing. As we approached the well, we stood and prayed for those drawing water. Then our attention was drawn to the water that was being poured out of the well and into their pans, buckets, and animal troughs. It was a thick, black liquid sludge.At the same moment, we each groaned and realized just how bad their water was. We stood with our water bottles of clean, pure water and a sense of humility came over us. The questions pounded in our hearts..."How can we stand here with this water and drink it while our friends are drinking this sludge? How can we see this, know the desperation of the situation, and do nothing about it?" We knew without good water sickness would overtake this village and the people would die...and die without the knowledge of Jesus. We began praying and talking as a team asking God for wisdom and discernment about how to best come alongside our chief and our village to see that the pump was fixed and life giving water was restored to this village. With the help of the Malian missionary who was with us, God revealed His plan. Together this team, the Malian missionary, and the people of the village-- each doing what they could--partnered to fix the pump and bring clean life giving water to the Pana.
As we left the village, each of us on the team knew that God had just worked to lay the foundation for His Spirit to reveal to the Pana that Jesus is the Living Water. God was working in the physical world to bring Spiritual Truth to the Pana so that just like the woman at the well...they too can hear Jesus say to them "...those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life."
I received text messages from the Malian missionary saying that the pump was fixed. Fresh clean water was flowing again as the women went to the pump. The village held a celebration thanking God for helping them.
Please give PRAISE and THANKS to God for providing all that was necessary to restore to this village water that will bring life instead of disease, infection, and death. PRAISE God for the barriers that HE broke down in this village so that the Story of Jesus can become a spring of living water that leads them to eternal life. PRAISE God for calling out His children to go live out HIS Presence and HIS love among the Pana.
Please pray for our Pana friends and family.
Ask God to ready their hearts to hear His message about Jesus, the Living Water.
Ask God to bring health and healing to their bodies as they drink the clean, pure water flowing from the pump.
Ask God to call and send out more servants to go and share His Story with the Pana.
Thanks for your partnership, your prayers, and your love for the nations...especially the Pana!
drinking deeply from the Living Water...
lori
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Harvest Pray-ers....
Thank you so much for praying for my time in Alabama, SC, and Louisiana! The journey was long--Texas to Alabama to SC to Louisiana and on to Texas-- but our God was faithful! He continues to amaze me as He watches over, protects, and guides us along His best pathway. He continues to call out servants and witnesses--His church--to join in the work of the eternal harvest of people brought to eternal life. He continues to connect His people and to bind us as one for the sake of His name among the nations.
At the Sub-Saharan Crossover Summit in Alabama, we had a great time connecting with missionaries and churches. HSI was able to connect with several missionaries to encourage and come alongside them for the purpose of training volunteer teams who come to partner and serve with them. We were also able to connect with some churches who are interested in beginning their work in the harvest of West Africa. Please continue to pray for these connections, for the training and mobilization of volunteer teams to walk among the unreached peoples and tell God's Story.
While in SC, I visited with the new pastor of my parents church. It was so nice to meet him face to face, to greet him, and to talk with him about missions. He gave Lori Price and I time to share with those at the prayer lunch about all God has been doing in Mali these last few months. During my time with him, he told us that he had spent time in Haiti as an agricultural missionary. Our conversation led us to talk about the possibilities of taking some agricultural savvy Christians to Mali to talk farming--cultivating the land, planting, and harvesting--as well as to do a little spiritual farming--cultivating, planting and harvesting of spiritual seeds.
Little did I know that God would do His own cultivating, planting, and harvesting in my heart and mind through that conversation. From SC Lori P and I drove to Louisiana for the On Mission Celebration. As we entered Louisiana we drove for over 55 miles through the fields. On either side of us were acres and acres of farmland. Some fields were being prepared and others still had the remains of the cotton crops that had been harvested last year. Then we arrived in Jonesville, LA to celebrate missions with the churches in this area for the first time. This was the first On Mission Celebration ever hosted for these churches--16 churches with an interested in knowing what God is doing among those who do not know Him.
Most of the people in this area are farmers. As I visited with the churches and shared with them what God has been doing in West Africa, most of the people were farmers or knew about farming. Their eyes lit up as I talked about how the West Africans farm and what kinds of crops they plant. As I considered God's purpose for opening the door for me to participate with these churches, it became clearer and clearer...God wants to use His farmers in the harvest fields of West Africa. My spirit has not been able to rest because of the excitement I feel when i think of Christian farmers coming to walk, live, and share Christ with the farmers of West Africa who have never heard about Jesus. God has called ALL of us to be Farmers in the Field...YET He has specifically prepared some to use their knowledge and skills of farming to reap a spiritual harvest of people brought to eternal life.
Pray with me as we continue to seek God's direction for taking volunteers teams of farmers, agriculturalists, and spiritual harvesters into the fields that are WHITE!
declaring His glory....
lori
Thank you so much for praying for my time in Alabama, SC, and Louisiana! The journey was long--Texas to Alabama to SC to Louisiana and on to Texas-- but our God was faithful! He continues to amaze me as He watches over, protects, and guides us along His best pathway. He continues to call out servants and witnesses--His church--to join in the work of the eternal harvest of people brought to eternal life. He continues to connect His people and to bind us as one for the sake of His name among the nations.
At the Sub-Saharan Crossover Summit in Alabama, we had a great time connecting with missionaries and churches. HSI was able to connect with several missionaries to encourage and come alongside them for the purpose of training volunteer teams who come to partner and serve with them. We were also able to connect with some churches who are interested in beginning their work in the harvest of West Africa. Please continue to pray for these connections, for the training and mobilization of volunteer teams to walk among the unreached peoples and tell God's Story.
While in SC, I visited with the new pastor of my parents church. It was so nice to meet him face to face, to greet him, and to talk with him about missions. He gave Lori Price and I time to share with those at the prayer lunch about all God has been doing in Mali these last few months. During my time with him, he told us that he had spent time in Haiti as an agricultural missionary. Our conversation led us to talk about the possibilities of taking some agricultural savvy Christians to Mali to talk farming--cultivating the land, planting, and harvesting--as well as to do a little spiritual farming--cultivating, planting and harvesting of spiritual seeds.
Little did I know that God would do His own cultivating, planting, and harvesting in my heart and mind through that conversation. From SC Lori P and I drove to Louisiana for the On Mission Celebration. As we entered Louisiana we drove for over 55 miles through the fields. On either side of us were acres and acres of farmland. Some fields were being prepared and others still had the remains of the cotton crops that had been harvested last year. Then we arrived in Jonesville, LA to celebrate missions with the churches in this area for the first time. This was the first On Mission Celebration ever hosted for these churches--16 churches with an interested in knowing what God is doing among those who do not know Him.
Most of the people in this area are farmers. As I visited with the churches and shared with them what God has been doing in West Africa, most of the people were farmers or knew about farming. Their eyes lit up as I talked about how the West Africans farm and what kinds of crops they plant. As I considered God's purpose for opening the door for me to participate with these churches, it became clearer and clearer...God wants to use His farmers in the harvest fields of West Africa. My spirit has not been able to rest because of the excitement I feel when i think of Christian farmers coming to walk, live, and share Christ with the farmers of West Africa who have never heard about Jesus. God has called ALL of us to be Farmers in the Field...YET He has specifically prepared some to use their knowledge and skills of farming to reap a spiritual harvest of people brought to eternal life.
Pray with me as we continue to seek God's direction for taking volunteers teams of farmers, agriculturalists, and spiritual harvesters into the fields that are WHITE!
declaring His glory....
lori
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Greetings,
Lori Price and I arrived in Jonesville, LA late this afternoon to join 16 churches in what we believe will be the beginning of God's Spirit bringing a revival of missions to His people in this area. We are excited to be here with 20 other missionaries from overseas, the USA, Louisiana, and this local area. They are excited about this opportunity to hear about what God is doing and how they can join Him. We spent the evening talking with members from each of the 16 churches and connecting with them personally. Tomorrow we begin speaking and sharing the story of God's work among the nations. We will each be speaking in 5 different churches beginning tomorrow morning. We will speak twice tomorrow and then each evening Monday through Wednesday.
Pray for:
God to speak to hearts and call out individuals and churches to join Him in the work He is doing in West Africa.
God to make the connections He wants to make between Harvest Seekers International and the churches who are interested in sending volunteer teams overseas.
God to develop a partnership between HSI and the Louisiana Baptist Convention to mobilize and train volunteers sent out by churches to join God in the harvest fields.
God to call out churches to partner with Lori Price and HSI to reach the Samogho people.
God to call out churches to join HighPoint Fellowship and HSI to reach the Pana people.
God to speak His words to each church as we HIS Servants give testimony to His hand at work among the peoples of West Africa.
Thank you for your faithfulness to pray!
declaring HIS Glory...
lori
Lori Price and I arrived in Jonesville, LA late this afternoon to join 16 churches in what we believe will be the beginning of God's Spirit bringing a revival of missions to His people in this area. We are excited to be here with 20 other missionaries from overseas, the USA, Louisiana, and this local area. They are excited about this opportunity to hear about what God is doing and how they can join Him. We spent the evening talking with members from each of the 16 churches and connecting with them personally. Tomorrow we begin speaking and sharing the story of God's work among the nations. We will each be speaking in 5 different churches beginning tomorrow morning. We will speak twice tomorrow and then each evening Monday through Wednesday.
Pray for:
God to speak to hearts and call out individuals and churches to join Him in the work He is doing in West Africa.
God to make the connections He wants to make between Harvest Seekers International and the churches who are interested in sending volunteer teams overseas.
God to develop a partnership between HSI and the Louisiana Baptist Convention to mobilize and train volunteers sent out by churches to join God in the harvest fields.
God to call out churches to partner with Lori Price and HSI to reach the Samogho people.
God to call out churches to join HighPoint Fellowship and HSI to reach the Pana people.
God to speak His words to each church as we HIS Servants give testimony to His hand at work among the peoples of West Africa.
Thank you for your faithfulness to pray!
declaring HIS Glory...
lori
Hey Partners!
It is so nice to be connected to you again and able to share with you the
things God is doing and know that you are praying alongside me!
Last week I spent several days in Alabama at the SubSaharan Africa Peoples
Crossover event. This was an opportunity for churches who are interested
in partnering and engaging with missionaries and peoples of West Africa
came to find out what God is doing. They came seeking God's direction
about their place in His work there. It was great to be there with
missionaries serving on the field as well as representatives from churches
who are seeking. Praise God for the time we spent together and for the
partnerships that were made.
Praise God for the connections He made between HSI and missionaries with
whom we can partner to train and prepare their volunteer teams!
Praise God for the churches with whom He connected HSI to come alongside
them to get started in the work God has called them to do!
Pray for me and HSI as we follow up and follow through with the
opportunities God has given to us through this conference.
I have been enjoying a few days with my family in SC...playing in the snow
and building snowmen. God made it possible for my sister and niece to be
out of school because of the snow so we got to spend extra time
together...a gift for which i give Him thanks.
I will be leaving here on Friday and traveling with Lori Price to another
On Mission Celebration in Louisiana. We will spend Saturday through
Wednesday night with different churches sharing about all that God is
doing in West Africa.
Please pray for us as we travel.
Pray for us as we declare God glory.
Pray for God to draw these churches into partnerships with us to reach the
peoples of West Africa with the story of God and His salvation through
Jesus.
Thanks again for your prayers and your partnership with Harvest Seekers
International.
declaring HIS Glory...
lori
It is so nice to be connected to you again and able to share with you the
things God is doing and know that you are praying alongside me!
Last week I spent several days in Alabama at the SubSaharan Africa Peoples
Crossover event. This was an opportunity for churches who are interested
in partnering and engaging with missionaries and peoples of West Africa
came to find out what God is doing. They came seeking God's direction
about their place in His work there. It was great to be there with
missionaries serving on the field as well as representatives from churches
who are seeking. Praise God for the time we spent together and for the
partnerships that were made.
Praise God for the connections He made between HSI and missionaries with
whom we can partner to train and prepare their volunteer teams!
Praise God for the churches with whom He connected HSI to come alongside
them to get started in the work God has called them to do!
Pray for me and HSI as we follow up and follow through with the
opportunities God has given to us through this conference.
I have been enjoying a few days with my family in SC...playing in the snow
and building snowmen. God made it possible for my sister and niece to be
out of school because of the snow so we got to spend extra time
together...a gift for which i give Him thanks.
I will be leaving here on Friday and traveling with Lori Price to another
On Mission Celebration in Louisiana. We will spend Saturday through
Wednesday night with different churches sharing about all that God is
doing in West Africa.
Please pray for us as we travel.
Pray for us as we declare God glory.
Pray for God to draw these churches into partnerships with us to reach the
peoples of West Africa with the story of God and His salvation through
Jesus.
Thanks again for your prayers and your partnership with Harvest Seekers
International.
declaring HIS Glory...
lori
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