It has been a tense weekend here. I have been on Taiwan’s east coast speaking at the Eastern Amis Presbytery and preaching at the church of former students. The Amis tribe is the largest tribe numerically among Taiwan’s indigenous people. The pastor of the San Ming Church where I preached is Lisin, a former student of mine at Taiwan Seminary. Her husband, Kadzau, is pastoring a church about fifteen minutes away. Thirteen years ago, I officiated at their wedding.
Read MoreWe just received this prayer request from Lauren Scharstein, Deputy Director of Mission for the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) in Kenya:
Dear friends of PCEA,
Receive Christian greetings. We ask that you join with us in prayers for peace and security, as Kenyans go to the polls to elect a new president on Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
Read MoreDear friends,
It is good to write to Outreach Foundation supporters. Martha and I have been blessed by your ministry for over 30 years!
Hopefully, we are near the end of the COVID pandemic. The whole country of Mexico is most anxious that it be so. The burden it has placed on the church and society has been enormous.
Read MoreThank you for the prayers, gifts, and hands-on participation that have made 2022 a very good year.
Cisterns Built in 2022
March
Four cisterns in the Village of Felipe Angeles. It was our first time building there. We worked side by side with fantastic families who love the Lord and will not hesitate to break a sweat and get their hands dirty.
May
Four cisterns in the town of Xpujil for four families who live beyond the reach of the town’s water works system that only distributes water about once a week (if that).
It has been a heartbreaking season in the life of the world, but we worship the God who has journeyed through the depth of pain and heartbreak for us. Each year at Easter, we celebrate the promise that through Jesus Christ, God brings hope out of despair, abundance out of scarcity, and new life out of death. At Mother Esther School, we have certainly witnessed new life emerge from situations of despair, and we have experienced joy — fierce and defiant — in the face of hopelessness.
Read MoreMay the blessing of God the Almighty Father be upon each one of you. I praise God for the wonderful ways He has used each of you as instruments in His hands for the expansion of His Kingdom.
This year, despite the effects of the pandemic, God has been faithful to us, and everything seems to be returning to normal. Of course, we also realize that a great number of pastors still fear being exposed to the virus.
SARA ministry retreats are once more taking place. From April to June, we had 12 mentoring retreats with an average of 13 pastors per retreat for a total of 156 pastors.
Read MoreThe greatest joy for me serving in South Sudan these five years has been my students. I am always amazed by their curiosity, thoughtfulness, intelligence, good humor, hard work, and care for me as their teacher and brother in Christ. This semester has been no different. In Philosophy of Religion, we have tackled questions such as “Why is philosophy important?” “What is God’s central attribute according to many theists (believers in God)?” “What analogies help us better understand the Trinity?” “How can Jesus be both fully divine and fully human?” “What is the major weakness of Calvinism?”
Read MoreOften pastors call to invite me to preach and speak in their churches or in other youth or leadership events with the words, “please come and encourage us.” In these uncertain days, we all need words of encouragement. But as I return home after visiting these churches, I often find that I have been the one who has been encouraged by the way I see God at work in churches around Taiwan.
Read MoreThe South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SSPEC) recently collaborated with the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECSS) and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) to host a national Training of Facilitators and Training of Trainers in South Sudan. As a result of the collaboration, fifteen new facilitators were trained, and seven new facilitators were certified for the Healing Hearts Transforming Nations (HHTN) workshop. It was the first time that the training of new facilitators for this workshop was held in South Sudan.
Read MoreMay the grace and blessing of the good and mighty God be upon each one of you. I am thankful always for your faithfulness, generosity, and love towards us and our ministry.
Our lives have almost returned to normal from the pandemic. April was one of our busiest months. Mentoring retreats, church revitalization talks, and lay leadership training have resumed. This brings us great joy because we can be with the pastors again and help them in their ministerial journeys.
Read MoreParents the world over are concerned about meeting the needs of their children for love, shelter, food, clothing, and education. Whether in a church school in western North Carolina or under a tree in a refugee camp in western Ethiopia, preschools are helping to meet some of these basic needs.
Read MoreClean drinking water is a much sought-after commodity in East Africa. The Outreach Foundation and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) have partnered to bring water to thirsty villages. East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross recently sent a report on this life-changing partnership:
Water is life! Over 50% of Kenyans don’t have piped water. It has to be fetched, mainly by women and children, in 20-liter cans. The water may be up to 15 km (10+ miles) away, which makes this an all-day job, two-three times a week. Consequently, mothers are not at home and children miss school. In Maasai land, where water is far away in many villages, children and adults aren’t able to wash regularly and skin disease is common. Diarrhea and dysentery are also widespread diseases where water is either not available or not clean.
Read MoreNancy Warlick shared this note and information from the Madagascar Mission Network:
There is great need at this time for prayer for God's people and rebuilding in Madagascar following the devastation caused by Cyclone Batsirai in early February.
Read MoreStu Ross, East Africa Mission Consultant, recently sent this note about the dedication of PCEA Ndagara Church in Kenya. The church was built in partnership with First Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN.
Dear friends,
Today, February 6, 2022, we dedicated Ndagara Church in Laikipia Presbytery, which is about a six-hour drive from home. Although we have already built six churches in the Presbytery,
Read MoreTampa, FL / November 17, 2021 – Signalman Publishing is pleased to announce the release of Adventures in Faith: A Reflection of My Life in Africa by Nancy Warlick of Orlando, Florida.
Early in life, Nancy felt the call to serve God by serving the people of Africa – especially those in what was then known as the Belgian Congo. Upon meeting a seminary student, Bill Warlick, and discovering a shared interest in missions, they wed and set their sights on heading to the Congo as Presbyterian missionaries. Thus began a journey of service lasting over four decades – and not just in the Congo but across the African continent.
Read MoreMike Kuhn currently serves in the International Theological Education Network as a specialist and consultant. Mike’s ministry focus is discipleship and spiritual formation among both Arab Christians and those who have come to Christ from a non-Christian background. Read more about Mike’s work in the following update:
Read More“Lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great”
Many water projects build or deliver the infrastructure and then give it to the poor. Our cistern ministry takes a different approach. In Mexico, projects that give away materials and infrastructure tend to have an overall negative impact. In search of better outcomes, we trust skin-in-the-game partnerships between families, neighbors, and communities to solve the clean water problem in our region.
Read MoreDear sisters and brothers, partners in the work of expanding the Kingdom of God in this world!
May grace and peace from God our Father be poured out in abundance upon your lives. I am very happy, and I pray constantly for you, thanking God for your generosity and love for us. In this difficult time, His love is expressed through the efforts you make, sharing with us so that through you we can live with dignity and develop our mission.
The pandemic is still present in Brazil. But my perception, in general, is that we have learned to live with it and life here in Brazil is slowly returning to normal.
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