The Next Month Before We Travel to India Doesn’t Look Good!

Greetings Friends,

In a little over a month my wife, Margaret, and I are flying to India. We will visit the Love Children’s Home Orphanage and then lead Stand Firm pastors conferences. This is the fourth year in a row we have hosted and led pastors conferences in different parts of India. There will be many good things that happen on the trip. Yet based upon what happened the last three years, I recognize the next month will be difficult.

Three Reasons the Next Month Doesn’t Look Good

1. God will test my faith. I never imagined I would train thousands of pastors around the world. Each year we have raised the goal for the number of pastors we are training. This year we are trusting God for more than in the past. I know that each day that passes it will get harder and harder to trust God to provide. There will be times when doubts will flood my mind. There will be times when I assume I’m foolish to even think we could do such a task.  
2. The enemy will attack me. Satan often focuses his attacks on my faith, trusting God for His provision. The attacks are also accusatory thoughts. I’ve had them before. They will be thoughts like these, “You’re foolish to do this. God will not provide. You will fail and your failure will embarrass you. You’re nobody!” Throughout the next month these attacks will become more frequent and as exhausting as wrestling matches!
3. I will face many trials. I will not get enough sleep. There will be times I don’t feel well. There will be travel problems, and delays. The power will fail during a conference. Someone will forget to do something important. It will be hard, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

This sounds bleak, but it’s not. Here’s why.

Three Reasons I’m Good With The Next Month Not Being So Good

1. I believe God keeps His word. Psalm 37:25 says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” God empowers me through each test. God will stretch my faith and it will grow. It will be hard and I’ll pray even more. God will work and I will watch and give Him all the thanks and praise.  
2. This is something I have to do. I know I am doing what God wants me to do. One of my favorite verses is Romans 11:29. It says, “I also know the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” God gave me gifts for ministry. Years ago God called me to preach. Later He called me to develop and teach Stand Firm. You can’t give those back to God! God’s call includes the spiritual gifts, opportunities and provisions to do a task. I never expected God to take me to India over and over. It is with the Lord’s strength that I will resist each attack and have victory over the enemy. I’m living my dream. “The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24  
3. I want the benefits these hardships will provide me. Romans 5:2-5 says hardship produces perseverance, character, and hope. James 1:2-4 adds that trials make us mature, complete, and lacking in nothing. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 the apostle Paul delights in weakness, insults, hardship, persecutions and difficulties because it is through them that the power of Christ rests on me. I want more of God and His power in my life!

Everyone has a ministry. It’s the passion God put in your heart. God doesn’t call most people to minister across the world. God calls most of us to minister across the street.

As you fulfill your calling,

• God will test your faith.
• The enemy will attack.
• God will allow trials in your life.
• God’s gifts and calling are yours to keep and will enable you to do great things for God.

Are you good with that? I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.

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The Great Commission: Proclaim The Gospel

After Jesus rose from the dead He spent several weeks with His disciples. Just before He ascended to heaven He gave them what we call the Great Commission. Mark 16:15 records a simple and straightforward version of it.

There are additional aspects of the Great Commission but this is the essence of it. Proclaim the Gospel! This is the most basic thing Jesus has commanded all of us to do.

[Tweet “I was delighted with an unexpected opportunity to proclaim the Gospel on my trip to India.”]

This trip had been planned for some time. From the moment we arrived everything was planned out for 19 days. We officially had four events, two Stand Firm Conferences in India and two in Egypt. I had one other unofficial opportunity to preach in an Indian Church. In many places in India the local authorities object to foreigners preaching so even though I planned for this, it wasn’t on the schedule. I want to tell you about another event that happened that I hadn’t planned!

We arrived in Kerala on October 19th for our first Stand Firm Pastor’s Conference in the Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. It was late so Pastor Raja went to the conference center to make sure everything was set up. Caleb and I were still adjusting to the time change and went to bed early.

In the morning at breakfast Pastor Raja told me I was invited to speak that evening at a local businessman’s home. I was surprised and so was Raja. The businessman, Rabi, had heard I was coming for the Stand Firm Conference and invited his neighbors to come to his house that night to hear me speak. He hadn’t asked in advance. He didn’t know me or anything about me. I told Raja this had never happened to me before. He said it was a first for him, too. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel so I agreed. That evening when we got to Rabi’s house we couldn’t believe what we found. There were 200-300 men, women and children crammed into a small covered area behind his house.

Raja told me that the Rabi built the roof and put up the lights just for this meeting! There was a time of worship and then I proclaimed the Gospel! Some of the people were his family and some from his church. Many were neighbors who were Hindus who don’t know the Lord! What a joy it was to proclaim the Gospel like this. I felt like the Apostle Paul on a missionary journey!

Raja is from that area and was my translator. The truth of Jesus’ sinless life, death, burial and resurrection for our sins was clearly proclaimed! Please thank God with me for Rabi who arranged this. Also pray for those who heard the Gospel that they might yet believe in Jesus.

What a wonderful and unexpected opportunity to proclaim the Gospel! Thank you for your prayers for us. This was clearly a “God thing!” It is something I will never forget.

The post An Unexpected Opportunity To Proclaim The Gospel In India appeared first on To Every Nation Ministries.

My Introduction to One Orphan Ministry

In February of 2014 I made my first missionary trip to the Andaman Nicobar Islands of India. A good friend, Ray Montonera, approached me about going with him and a small team to minister there. He planned a trip to visit an orphan ministry and do some community outreaches. I was in the process of starting To Every Nation Ministries and even though I knew it was a worthy mission, I was hesitant. I didn’t know how going there would fit with the ministry God called me to do. He was persuasive and I’m so glad he was. I had no idea that a wonderful friendship and bond and partnership of ministry would develop between me and Raja and Sheba. 

When we arrived our team met Pastor Raja and Sheba. Over ten years before God had called Raja as a missionary to the Andaman Nicobar Islands. God had blessed his ministry in many ways. He arrived knowing no one with the equivalent of $10 in his pocket. The early years were very hard. God honored his faithfulness. When we arrived he was pastoring a church with around 200 members and had an orphanage with 75 children.

It is both encouraging and amazing to talk to Raja and Sheba about how God has worked in their lives. They never planned to start an orphanage. The tsunami of 2004 changed all that. Weeks after the tsunami they saw children living on the streets. When they discovered their parents were missing, they took them in. Over the years, with no regular support from anyone other than God, they have seen their ministry grow. God raised up one man who has regularly raised funds for them. They have been able to purchase land and build an orphanage. It is amazing to speak with them and hear story after story of God’s miraculous provision.

Caleb and I were blessed to spend time with the children and see how God continues to provide. Since my first visit in 2014 God provided the funds for a security fence for the building, a well for clean water for bathing, the funds to finish off the boys dormitory and money to plant an orchard. Here is a collage of all 70 children now living there.

James 1:27 says,

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Would you pray for Raja and Sheba and their Orphan Ministry? They have many needs. An immediate need is 20 bunk beds. At the same time they have regular needs for food and living necessities. As I said, they do not have any regular monthly support. If you would like to help out in some way email me at wa**@***********on.com.

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God’s Goodness Was Evident Everywhere We Went!

It’s great to be home. It was also great to have the opportunity to teach and preach God’s Word in some unexpected ways. This was quite a missionary journey for us! Here is a map of the different locations where we ministered.

God’s goodness was with us protecting us as we traveled.

• We traveled for 21 days.
• We flew 12 different times covering over 25,000 miles. We were in Cairo when the Russian Jet Liner crashed in the Sinai Peninsula. A few days later we flew over the general area where it crashed.
• We drove over 600 miles. We were in a car accident in Cairo with no injuries. If we spoke Arabic I think we would have learned some new words from our driver (who was not at fault).
• We ministered in two countries, India and Egypt. We also spent a lot of time in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates with four layovers but never left the airport.
• We ministered in five different cities: Port Blair, Parassala and Nellore in India; Cairo and Minya in Egypt.

God’s goodness was evident throughout our ministry.

• We taught the Stand Firm Seminar four times.
• I had the opportunity to preach twice in India. Once in a church on a Sunday and once at an impromptu (for us) neighborhood meeting.
• We had the opportunity to pray for many individuals as they shared their needs with us.
• We trained over 450 pastors and leaders in India.
• We trained over 60 pastors, leaders and Christians in Egypt.
• Our teaching was enthusiastically received everywhere we went.

God’s goodness was evident in our ministry partners.

• Pastor Raja and Sheba Wilson in India are our ministry leaders in India. They have a vibrant growing ministry in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and provided excellent leadership in scheduling and coordinating the pastors’ conferences. They worked with local volunteers that put in many hours to bring these about.
• The Middle East Leadership Training Institute (MELTI) in Cairo and Minya was our ministry contact in Egypt. It is made of a large team of dedicated servants of the Lord. Ester William and Wafaa Zaky coordinated and provided the leadership for our ministry there. It was a joy to work with them and to learn how God is using them.
• We were blessed with excellent translators in each place. We have learned that good translation is a vital element of the ministry.

God’s goodness was evident in taking care of our wives when we were away.

Both Caleb and I got colds and had some intestinal issues that come with eating foreign food. Our wives were fine and had no emergencies when we were gone. We generally had access to the internet and so we were able to talk and frequently video chat with our wives.

Over the next few posts I’m going to share some individual stories of things that happened on the trip that will reinforce how God’s goodness was with us all the time!

The post Rehearsing God’s Goodness On Our Missionary Journey appeared first on To Every Nation Ministries.

Day 20 Mission to Minister to the Persecuted Church

Prepare to Depart Cairo, Egypt

Time: November 2, 2015

Traveling Home

Today is our last day in Cairo. We hope to finish up some sight seeing and then head to the airport at around midnight to begin a long journey home. Please pray for us over the next two and half days as we travel home. It’s fun to go new places and wonderful to minister to those eager for the teaching of the Bible. Traveling is part of the ministry. We are grateful for technology that allows us to get from one side of the world to the other with relative ease. We were fascinated to see that some people in Egypt still travel in simple ways.

Would you pray for our safety and for grace and peace especially for our wives, Margaret and Emily. If you have been following the news you no doubt saw that a Russian Airplane crashed over Sinai. Isis claimed responsibility although Russia and Egypt say that it was an accident. Who do you believe? As it turns out we will be flying over the Sinai Peninsula twice in the next two days.

Thank you for your prayers for this traveling portion of our journey.

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Day 19 Mission to Minister to the Persecuted Church

Cairo, Egypt

Time: November 1, 2015

We Are Blessed In So Many Ways!

We finished the Stand Firm Conference in Minya, Egypt yesterday and my heart is full. It was such a joy to spend time with brothers and sisters in Christ who are hungry to know and understand God’s Word. I don’t remember any conference where those attending were more diligent than these in taking notes and asking questions.

The Stand Firm Seminar is all biblically based. It challenges many long held beliefs people have about spiritual warfare. It was a challenge at time to work through some of the concepts and we had many lively discussions. In the end it was clear that God worked in hearts to teach how to recognize and resist satanic attacks on our minds.

Many Egyptians speak a little English, some quite a bit. This enabled Caleb and me to get to know quite a few of these dear brothers and sisters.  They blessed and encouraged us as they talked about living in a country that is openly hostile to Christianity. Everyone in the room had experienced some kind of persecution in their lives. Unlike Christians in America, they assume that persecution is part of their lives.

• Almost everyone got beat up as a child by Muslim Children just because they are a Christian.
• Several told of Muslim teachers in schools giving lower grades because they were a Christian.
• One man was openly denied a job as a professor because he is Christian.
• A business man is harassed by the local government officials which hurt his business because He is a Christian.

In spite of this and much more they were full of joy and hope in the Lord. They worshiped with energy and enthusiasm. They were almost all involved in some kind of ministry.

Let’s remember how blessed we are to live in America where this kind of persecution is rare. It does happen but not as openly as in Egypt.

Today and tomorrow we are going to see some of the ancient historical sights of Egypt. May you be blessed today as you enjoy the love and grace of God!

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Day 16 Mission to Minister to the Persecuted Church

Minya, Egypt

Time: October 29 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm Egypt time (10:00 am – 2:00 pm CDT)

Minya Egypt Stand Firm Conference

We have arrived safely in Minya, Egypt and got a good night’s rest. We are enjoying all of the wonderful sights and sounds and smells of Egypt. Yesterday we had the opportunity to stop at the Nile river. I had to go down and put my foot in the water of the Nile! As we stood on the shore there were boys casting nets and fishing like people have done for thousands of years!

Please pray for us tonight, tomorrow and Saturday as we teach the Minya Egypt Stand Firm Conference to Pastors as well as to Christians from their churches and the MELTI staff. This is set up like a typical church conference we would have in the US, with one meeting tonight, three tomorrow and one on Saturday. By the way, the weekend here in Egypt for most people is Friday and Saturday!

Please pray for us to make the message clear and culturally relevant.

Please pray for healing as both of us have colds.

Most of all please pray God speaks to every heart and that these dear brothers and sisters in Christ learn to Stand Firm in the face of satanic attacks on their minds.

Thank you each one for praying for us. We know God is blessing us because of the faithful prayers of the saints!

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Day 15 Mission to Minister to the Persecuted Church

Travel from Cairo, Egypt to Minya, Egypt

Time: October 28 10 am – 4:00 pm Egypt time (3:00 am – 9:00 am CDT)

MELTI Stand Firm Pastors Conference Update

MELTI is the Middle East Leadership Training Institute in Cairo. It serves the church in the Middle East and North Africa, equipping pastors and Christians in the faith. We had an intense day of training today on Stand Firm. Due to the various factors the conference for pastors in Cairo was one day instead of two. We had around 30 pastors and church leaders as well as MELTI staff, most of whom are shown below.

Even though we had less time than normal to teach the material we had the benefit of having all of the training material, handouts and PowerPoint in Egyptian Arabic. The significantly cut down on some of the translation time. We were blessed with an excellent translator which also made the time more productive. Overall our first MELTI Pastors Conference was enthusiastically received by all who attended. It was a joy to meet and talk with some Sudanese pastors living and serving in Cairo.

Today, Wednesday October 28th, we’ll be driving from Cairo to Minya in Upper Egypt. There we will be having a three day Stand Firm Conference for pastors and Christians living in that area. The conference will begin on Thursday evening.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Caleb and I have been fighting colds as well as having some difficulty in adjusting to the very delicious but very different food in Egypt. These are just trials and things we rejoice in being able to endure to do this ministry.

Please pray for our safety as we drive about 170 miles tomorrow and for the preparations for this conference. God has protected and blessed us throughout our journey. Please join us in giving thanks to Him for that!

I don’t know if I will have internet in Minya. If not I’ll post again over the weekend when we get back to Cairo.

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Day 13 Mission to Minister to the Persecuted Church

In Cairo, Egypt Preparing for our next Pastors Conference

Time: October 26 All Day

Pastoral Testimonials

Rather than try to tell you how the Stand Firm Seminar was received by the pastors in India, I decided to let them tell you themselves. I asked some of those who speak and write English if they would write a note for you to know what it meant to them. Below are a few of the notes I received.

I thank God for the opportunity to teach this material to these men and women! It’s a little hard to read their writing but trust me, it’s easier than reading Telugu!

Please continue to pray for effectiveness as we teach two Stand Firm Seminars in Egypt this week!

Thank you!

The post Pastoral Testimonials from Stand Firm Seminar in Nellore, India appeared first on To Every Nation Ministries.

Thanks You For Your Prayers

Day 12 Mission to Minister to the Persecuted Church

Travel from Chennai, India to Cairo, Egypt

Time: October 24 at 6:20 pm – October 25 6:10 am CDT (October 25 4:40 am – 4:50 pm Egypt)

Caleb and I are at Chennai Airport waiting to board a 4:40 am flight to Abu Dhabi and then transfer later today to a flight to Egypt. We are quite tired but rejoicing in God’s blessing and favor. The men and women in Nellore were grateful for our teaching. It is a joy to pour your life into those who are serving the Lord in such difficult circumstances.

Please pray for us to be able to get rested before our next conference. We have a time change so there will be some adjustment to that.

Thank you for your prayers. There have been many answers to prayer. I will write more later, our plane is boarding.

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