Month: July 2022

April 2022 Prayer Letter

35 Years and Counting!

35 years ago, on April 15th, Terry and I packed up our belongings in a small crate, tucked one toddler and a baby under our arms and headed to the Philippines!   The picture to the left was our FIRST prayer letter when we started language school in the Philippines!  Terry and I had no idea where God would take us over the course of 35 years, but we are grateful He has guided us through each step.  At times, those steps seemed way too difficult to take– more like a leap, BUT God is faithful! Thank YOU for faithfulness in prayer and your friendship along the way!

We have moved many times in the last 35 years. There was a time in our life, when I would get the “itch to move” when two years had passed!  Well, it’s been two years and we will now be moving our GCN office across the parking lot!

Letting Go of the Past…

A little over two years ago, we moved to Payson and set up a small office The first time I saw it, I questioned Terry’s choice!  It was dirty, painted mint green and lavender and run down.  Yes…the entire bathroom was lavender…

Before…

 

After…

 

Terry worked hard in painting the place neutral colors and it became a comfortable workplace. During this time, we have worked together with grateful hearts.  However, when people would come into the office and there would be no place to sit!

Looking to the future…

n the same complex, just across the parking lot, there was an office space for rent with more than three times the square footage of our little office.  Last year, we took a look at it and I immediately declined!  There were holes in the carpet and plastic decals on the bathroom walls, although, the walls were not lavender and mint green!  It was dirty and being used as the landlord’s storage area.

It remained empty for a year.

We would pass it each time we drove to our little office.  At the first of this year, Terry suggested we take a look once more.  He got opinions from people in local leadership. They said it was an amazing opportunity. I reluctantly agreed,

This week, as the walls were being painted, I was able to look beyond the externals, seeing the potential! God has provided a real blessing for the Global CHE Network!

The new site has an office for Terry and I AND a large space which can be used for training, something which will be a great asset!  We can easily have volunteers come and help and have a place to sit!

We would love to have you come up for a visit!

Here is how you can pray:
 
  1. Terry and I are filled with gratitude for YOU!  We are humbled to have friends who have faithfully prayed for us and our family for over 35 years.  Thank you!
  2. Praise God with me that after the two years in Payson, I truly am feeling better–no cough, no wheezing, no allergies and in the middle of allergy season! I truly believe God was moving me out of the hospital to work full time beside Terry.
  3. Praise God for the provision of this new office facility.  We pray it will be a blessing to our community in Payson and that people will be reached for Jesus around the world because of the work which takes place within its walls!
  4. We are grateful to God for bringing on a curriculum editor to work with Dr. Jody Collinge!  This has been a great need!
  5. Pray for the workday on Saturday, sprucing up the new office! We do not have the physical stamina we had 35 years ago, but we are plugging along!  We would love for you to come and help too! Just come to 200 West Frontier Street on Saturday, 8am-5pm.
  6. Our first training at our new office will take place on June 27-June 30.  Please consider coming for training!  You can find details at www.chenetwork.org or contact [email protected].

May/June 2022 Prayer Letter

What Would You Do to Reach the Unreached?

I’ve been receiving reports from various CHE leaders around the world and have thought about the sacrifices made to bring transformation in the lives of the poor in a million villages.  Here are a few of the stories which have come across my desk:

Have you ever considered going to school, not for your own profit, but for another’s profit?  Maybe you might be able to say that your degree is of benefit to your employer, but I was astonished at a recent letter from a CHE coordinator who informed Terry and I that he recently received his Doctorate in Human Development.  He wrote, “This degree will help me reach the closed areas as a human consultant.  God is so good to me.”  This man will continue to bring God’s word, but he knew that having these credentials would give him better access in a difficult area.  He did his studies while coordinating CHE programs in closed areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another CHE Coordinator has served faithfully for years.  In a recent meeting with Terry, she shared that her teams have been working in 12 provinces in her country which have been hit economically because of the pandemic.  There are communities within these provinces where Christians are vulnerable to falling away from their faith and converting to Islam because of the gravity of this situation.  These Christians, as minorities, do not have the same access to resources available to the Muslim community.  This CHE trainer, a small woman in her seventies, is focused on changing this situation.  Pray for this trainer and her teams as they enter these communities, teaching people to fix their eyes on Jesus and survey what they can do with the resources which are in their own hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our brother, Lovemore Zulu, was taken home to be with Lord in 2018. Lovemore was sold out to bring the gospel to the poor in Zambia. The work which was being done around the country came to the attention of the President of Zambia.  He was actually offered a position on the President’s cabinet but refused.  It would be a secure source of income and a quite prestigious, but he said, “I would not be able to teach the people about Jesus”.  Lovemore began to have serious stomach pain and tremendous weight loss. He was seen by several doctors, but eventually he succumbed to this illness.  I recall his wife, Mavis, saying she believes he was being poisoned.  In our Western minds, this seems incredulous, yet this is a reality in some of the places where Community Health Evangelists work.

 

Prayer Requests:
  • Please pray for the CHE Coordinator who recently received his doctorate
    • Pray that God would heal his heart as he grieves over the loss of his father
    • Pray that the people group he is seeking to reach would have its first convert
    • Pray for God’s provision for him and his family
  • Please pray for the “small CHE Coordinator” 
    • Pray that she would have physical strength and wisdom as she goes into these communities with her training teams.
    • Pray that people in these vulnerable communities will be strengthened in their faith.
    • Pray that God would provide in miraculous ways in which only HE would get the glory and surrounding Muslim communities will take note of the One True God.
  • Pray for Mavis, the widow of Lovemore. Pray for God’s continued care over her.
  • Pray for our CHEs worldwide as they often go into difficult places to bring the good news to the poor.