Central Church Missions Ministry

Mission: Central Africa

Supervising Mission Organization: Firestone

How to reach them: Contact Lisa Conley at lisaconley@centralchurch.com or call at 901-255-8128 for information on how to reach Shawn and Diedre.

Overview of our ministry: We have been living and working in Southern Africa among an unreached Mus*lim people group for the past 6 years. We are a team of 2 families and one single living in our target people's villages doing church planting through discipleship and development. We believe in building kingdom directed relationships with people in order to build up the church in this area. We use development as a means for people to improve their lives and hear God's Word at the same time. We have started over in a new area but with the same target people group, the Y*ao.

Newsletter

Dear folks,

It's a rainy afternoon, again. This week we've had so much rain; is it trying to make up for lost time? We're not sure if this rain is in time to save this year's crop or not. Lord have mercy. Our family has certainly been enjoying the coolness and wetness, even though we've been mostly house bound. The weeds are going crazy!

This week in Barak's school we've been reading missionary stories. One of the stories is about the time when David Livingstone performed an emergency appendectomy on an important African chief's little daughter. Before he operated he agreed that if the girl died, the chief could kill him as well. That's faith! Anyhow, the little girl did survive and as a result, that chief was receptive and eventually received the gospel and became an evangelist. Well, we too are frequently given opportunities to bless, and the result is an openness that would not have otherwise existed.

This week we have been offered 2 such opportunities. The chief of our village asked us for help with a very large cyst under his arm, which has grown to the degree that he cannot use the arm well. We want to find out where he can get help for this, and assist him in doing so. He is worried that they will cut off the whole arm. The chief's uncle (who is arguably even more influential than the chief himself) has been sick for several months. Because he is a well-known herbal "doctor" and dispenser of medicine, he is reluctant to use the local hospital. In both cases we long for a "demonstration of the Spirit's power" (I Corinthians 2:4), so that their troubles would result in God's glory.

Will you pray with us for these 2 men? May God give us faith and power to do His will and be His servants here.

Love,
Shawn and Dierdre

(P.S., In case you haven't seen our team blog check it out at - http://mozteam.blogspot.com)

Mission: The Forsaken Children (stateside) and Children's Home Ethiopia (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

How to reach them: mrjoebridges@gmail.com or info@theforsakenchildren.org, or P.O. Box 381483 Germantown, TN 38183-1483. See the website at theforsakenchildren.org.

Current responsibilities: Joe is the director of The Forsaken Children and co-founder of Children's Home Ethiopia. Karyn is on the board of The Forsaken Children. They are also founders of Kota Ganate, an agricultural project under the auspices of The Forsaken Children. They are currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to oversee the further development of this ministry to at risk children in Ethiopia. Ministries include:

Children's Home Ethiopia, a drop-in center for street children that encourages new behaviors, education, and removal from the street and placement in families, which requires extensive rehabilitation
The SAFE Project, which helps poor families send their kids to school, preventing them from moving to the street
Kota Ganate agricultural project, which aims to financially support Children's Home Ethiopia from within Ethiopia, build the community, and heal the land making Kota Ganate and Children's Home Ethiopia a model of sustainability for Ethiopia

Children of Children's Home Ethiopia Singing from Central Church on Vimeo.

Prayer Report: Our trip back to Ethiopia was largely uneventful unless you count the fact that our original flight to Washington was canceled and our rescheduled flight arrived just in time for us to be the last to board the flight to Addis Ababa. WOW! We made it BUT our luggage did not! This would have really stressed me out IF the kids hadn't done so well.

Jack & McLaine were better than expected on the flights (thanks in part to our talks with Jack about what we expected AND Annie's fruit snacks). We suffered some jet lag upon return BUT we are over the worst of it and pretty much back on schedule.

Ethiopia feels more like home to our kids. They went right back to sucking down injera and eating all the spicy Ethiopian cuisine.

Mac just now started showing interest in baby dolls and the only way she wants to carry them is on her back-Habesha (Ethiopian) style.

Jack continues to be crazy about animals. He has now taken an interest in being photographed while acting like a mad gorilla, mad dinosaur, mad hyena, mad tiger-you get the picture.

Jon, Jess and Dawit made this trip with us. It has been fun being a family of 7 and watching the cousins play together. We'll have about 5 more weeks of family bliss before Jon, Jess & Dawit (the Chencha Bridges) head south to work on the agriculture project.

Joe and I are back to work too. We had a welcome dinner with the CHE Board on Saturday night, a General Assembly meeting on Sunday afternoon and have made our first trip back to the Drop-In Center together this morning. We have a busy 3 months ahead of us but we are looking forward to the challenge. Our focus will be organizing the staff and schedules for the children and doing as many home visits as possible. We plan to visit the homes of all the Drop-In Center kids and then try our best to see as many of the SAFE Project families as possible.

As always, thanks for your prayers and interest in God’s work in Ethiopia. Continued prayers for ALL our kids are greatly appreciated.

Check out Joe and Karyn's updated report by clicking here and reading their latest blog. You may want to subscribe to this blog.

Mission: Evangelistic Projects International, Dover, Maine. Serving in China, Haiti, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nepal, India

How to reach them: phil@eagleprojects.com or www.eagleprojects.com, or P.O. Box 1, Dover, Maine 04426

Current responsibilities: Phil is the president of Eagle Projects International, a Christian ministry focused on the spiritual and physical needs of communities around the world assisting them in their development and expansion. With an emphasis on empowering indigenous people, Eagle Projects International has developed an extensive network of leaders who we assist with a long term community outreach plan. Since 1989, EPI’s approach has been to listen to the needs of national leaders and develop true partnerships. EPI revisits an area over many years producing long term lasting relationships. Eagle Projects International is unique in that we target unreached and underdeveloped communities. With a philosophy of "we go to them," EPI goes through great lengths to get to those people with the greatest need. EPI also feels called to reach harder areas of the world to spread the hope of Christ through service and word.

Christian ministry focused on physical and spiritual needs of international communities
Extensive network of leaders
Long term partnerships and community plans
Revisits areas over many years
Unique "we go to them" philosophy to assist those of greatest need
Feels called to reach harder areas of the world to spread the hope of Christ

Mission: North Africa, the Middle East, France

Supervising Mission Organization: Artists in Christian Testimony

How to reach them:northlinkg@gmail.com
or mail to 18 Boulevard Louis Lemelle, Apt 9, Poissy, France 78300; see their website at www.covenantgallery.org; phone 27 11 646 7742

Current responsibilities: Our purpose for working in France, North Africa and the Middle East is, by God's leading, to provide creative outreach resources, teams, discipleship/leadership training and partnership development so that the persecuted and struggling church can be strengthened. Our job is not to start new ministries, but to provide facilitation so that emerging national ministries and churches can build a strong foundation and can multiply themselves in other faithful men and women.

We desire to build and facilitate strong, encouraging relationships in arts communities knowing that the artists are the trend-setters and story-tellers in their culture. Through the process of visual story-telling communities can begin the process of healing and understanding the heart that God has for them.

Our Role in the Field:
Glenn: A coach and counselor who encourages workers that are on the field in strategic areas, but who may be going through traumatic or life events which may make their staying 'in country' difficult or impossible. He also facilitates and mentors workers who have a vision to start a ministry in a 'creative access' countries, but who may need help with strategic planning, networking and resource development.

Jennifer: A creative facilitator who helps workers in creative access countries to use the arts as a tool for ministry, prayer-walking and 'building bridges' with local people groups. She Provides workshops on "Finding your place in this world as a Christian artist" and "Bringing the Fine Arts into the local church as a form of worship". Jennifer is also involved in discipleship counseling of workers who need to grow deeper in their relationship with Christ and in their role as a Christian artist.

Ministry news:Our new association with Artists in Christian Testimony has been incredibly motivating and challenging as ACT seeks to fuse the cutting edge of the 'arts' with the bold mandate to reach a lost and dying world. We believe that God is busy raising up a new generation of artistic kingdom servants, and, what's more, he is sending some of them our way - with a vision to reach into post-Christian Europe, post-Colonial North Africa and post-PLO Middle East. We look forward to what God is going to do in these areas in 2007 and beyond.

Jennifer has been able to paint prophetic portraits of students and teachers in the Spanish school. It has been a wonderful way to communicate what is on God's heart to those not openly looking for spiritual truth. Glenn has teamed up with organizations involved in North Africa and has started counseling and coaching some of their members in need. Ideas and thoughts are being tossed around in terms of an "Inter-agency member care center" - stay tuned.

Current prayer request:
For a constant and intimate relationship with God, in the Spirit.
For Max, who has been involved in both home-school and full-time Spanish language school (he is the only child in the school) - also for connections for new friends
For Jennifer, for continued creative release and the Spirit's confirmation of various potential arts ministry projects in 2007
For Glenn, for wisdom in 'visioneering' what is on God's heart for coaching and counseling of workers in the region

Current responsibilities: Bert and Elaine have ministered in Niger since 1986 and are now working primarily with Hausa and Manga people groups.

Bert is the regional administrator for SIM serving 22 missionaries who are involved in various ministries like literacy, a leprosarium and health clinic, agricultural development, Bible translation, and Bible education. Bert disciples several young Christian men. He also works with the local association of evangelicals who work together on community programs and relate to the Nigerien government. Bert is involved in mentoring short term missionary men.

Elaine is involved in the lives of women both inside the church and outside in a ministry of encouragement and discipleship. Some are single mothers and some have co-wives. Her ministry includes varied things from praying together or teaching skills like making a cake or doughnuts so that they can earn extra income by selling things. She is also teaching English to the son of a friend who died. Elaine helps with orientation and mentoring shot term young women missionaries.

Prayer Update:

The coup started about 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18. BBC reported heavy gunfire and a plume of smoke coming from the Presidential Palace. The news reported that a coup was underway. We didn't have clear news for a couple of hours.

At 4:30 p.m. I went to visit the Maradi State Treasurer and he informed me that the coup was over and the President was safe. He said the President had been taken to a safe place. While I was with the Treasurer he called the First Lady Hadjiya Laraba and told her that I had come by and that we were praying. She said "Alhamdulale" (Thanks be to God). She said that they were all well and the President was safe. He had been taken to safety when the coup began. About 5 p.m. we heard on the BBC that the President was being held along with his cabinet ministers by military at a military camp outside Niamey and he was asked to resign. It appears he has not done so and the news this morning says he is still being held.

The Worldwide Fistula Fund had their surgeons and OR team planning to leave yesterday to come to Niger for 2 weeks to operate on 10 women with obstetrical fistulas. Dr. Steve Arrowsmith flew from AZ to Atlanta. By that time it was about 7 p.m. here. Steve Schmidt, our area director, called and asked what I thought the WFF team should do. Given that things were still in limbo, the airport and borders were closed, and we are not sure our mission plane could receive authorization to bring the fistula team from Niamey to Maraid so I said the safest thing to do would be for them to postpone the trip by a couple of days.

This morning we received an email from Dr. Steve Arrowsmith that due to the turmoil they have decided to postpone their trip and try to work up a later date. They had planned for their next trip to be in August 2010.

The committee of soldiers who took power are calling themselves the Council for the Restoration of Democracy to Niger. They say their goal is to have free, democratic elections and to annul the change in the Constitution that President Tandja passed in August granting himself more power and no limits to terms.

Our guard said he had heard on the radio that the two First Ladies and children had taken their things from the White House to their homes in Niamey.

We are deeply saddened by this turn of events. President Tandja was for the development of the country and he championed help for the poor.

There have been no demonstrations or any tensions here in Maradi. We feel safe and secure here. We think many of Niger's citizens will be disappointed and sad that President Tandja is no longer in power.

This does give rise to what will happen with the fistula work. It is estimated there are around 100,000 cases of obstetrical fistulas in the country with about 6,000 being added annually. There are plenty of women who need help and two hospitals working full time are not enough to help them.

Please be praying with us for peace and stability, for the safety of President Tandja, and that we would be able to continue the fistula project. Thank you for your prayers for us and for Niger.

Blessings, Bert

Current responsibilities: Pastor Paul and his wife Milka evangelize, plant churches, disciple, train and minister to the Maasai tribe and even other tribes in Kenya. There are 29 churches among the Maasai tribe that are under their care.

Current prayer request: Beloved Family;
Greetings in the Wonderful Name of our LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST from whom all the blessings flow.We trust and pray that you are all doing well.

Praise the LORD with us for a wonderful blessed week that we spend in Uganda.We have just returned back this afternoon from Uganda.We visited the childrens' orphanage in Kampala for one day. It was a great time with all the Children and the care takers. Keep Praying for the orphanage and the needs.We had had a wonderful Ministry in a place called Kisoro in Western Uganda 5 days.This time we did alot of Evangelism and we give GOD all the glory for the 57 people who gave their lives to CHRIST during our time there. We also planted a new church in the area.This is the first church.In that area we saw 4 Mosques for Muslims.Pray that the church will grow in that area and also pray for our brother George Mboye who is a local person from there who is taking care of the church.

Thanks so much for your Prayers and support while we were there.It's a long trip but it is very much worth it.PRAISE THE LORD. From Kenya to Kampala is 13 hours by Bus and there from Kampala to Kisoro by Bus is 7 hours one way. The LORD is working both here in Kenya and in Uganda.

This week the rains have started again and we hope that the rains will continue may be for the next two months.Praise the LORD.

The Ministry over here in Kenya is going on very well. Keep praying for us for strength, wisdom and the Annoiting of the HOLY SPIRIT as we continue serving HIM.

We love you all and we are praying for all of you.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL RICHLY
Pastor Paul and family.