Update - June 2019

Dear Family of God givers and prayer warriors:

My apologies for such a long silence.  It certainly hasn’t been for a lack of appreciation.  God has used you to carry on the work.  Thank you so much.  I wrote a letter in August, 2018 which never got sent.

I arrived in Canada just a few weeks before the hurricane in September 2017.  My stay lasted until March, 2018 when I returned to still see much of the damages done.  We praise the Lord for the people he has sent our way to fix up the camp which was hit heavily.  This summer they plan to have 3 weeks of camp in July.  The chapel had minor damages on the roof and entrance gate.  Some homes of the Christians were damaged, but these are back to normal.

Emmaus office:  All of the federal prisoners were sent to the States and municipal inmates moved around, so it was difficult to get the courses to them.  We are still receiving letters from those who have reached their final destination and are anxious to continue their courses.  An ex-inmate is now using the courses in his work place to study with his co-workers.  He has a group of 20.  Sonia continues to correct the exams, and Magda writes a lot of the comments. Yolanda was helping with the computer work, but has been diagnosed with bone cancer so is getting chemo and unable to continue.

You have noticed a Canadian address above.  I returned March 30 to comply with OHIP medical requirements.  Brian Array is taking care of the Emmaus office, living in my house, and using my vehicle.  Please pray for him as he looks to the Lord for confirmation about his future ministry.  He enjoys the work, but would need financial support.  Lord willing, I return in September and Brian will go to Florida to get a job.  He is a teacher by profession. 

In March a young couple serving with Word of Life has come to Puerto Rico.  They will help our assembly with the youth.  Please pray for Ramon and Lavinia Ibanez.  They have one son and their second boy is to be born June 13.  At present they are living in my apartment which I had prepared for selling, but we will wait on the Lord’s leading.  I’m now living in a house which was given to the chapel, a wonderful provision. 

So please continue to pray for my future decisions.  I reached 80 and want to serve as long as I am able.  Great is His faithfulness!

In His loving care,

Esther Frey

Thank You for Praying for Me

A Good Monday morning to you,

I know this will be impossible for many of you, but I will be giving a report at Lincoln Road Chapel at 7 PM on June 16 on my recent trip to Kenya. If you can come, I’d love to see you there!

Since I have been home, I've been writing on our experiences in Kenya, changes we’ve made along the way and the future that we anticipate. All of that will be a part of the report on the 16th.

The trip home was a very long one. But I returned home full of thankfulness for safety, health and fruitful times in both regions and with the board of VMK. On the last day that we were in Kenya Dave and I went with Ishmael and Moline his wife, to the national game park, a 29,000 acre game park right on the edge of Nairobi. We met this healthy -looking specimen there!

Thank you again for your support and encouragement!

Gord Martin

Your Prayers are Needed This Week

Indigitous Serve 2019 Participants

WBC, your prayers are needed this week. As the Lord brings our family to mind, here are a few things that you can join us in prayer for.

1. Hosting an internship program
We are currently hosting 3 Filipinos and 1 America for a two-week internship program. I (Meredith) am running point on pulling all the details together. Pray that Billy, Howard, Sam and Ian would have a transformative experience and catch a vision for digital missions. Pray for our family as our regular rhythms are disrupted as we serve the participants.

2. Transition Stress
Five months ago today, we landed in Singapore. We have adjusted well, but the honeymoon period is definitely over. We've noticed in the last few weeks that we are all on edge as the reality sets in that our family is now based in Singapore. Overheard recently:
Wyatt: "We barely ever eat Western food...."
Gwenyth: "When are we going home to Orlando?"
Heath: "When can we fly in an airplane again?"

Pray for our family to count our blessings and all the things we love about Singapore, while also giving each other grace as we miss family, friends and food from North America.

3. Kids School
Our kids have been accepted to start at an international school in August, but we are on a waiting list for the East campus. Being at the East campus would make our lives much easier. Pray that the Grade 2 waiting list clears. We've been told we'll hear back in 2 weeks.

Your prayers are a vital part of leading the next generation of digital missions. Thank you for partnering with us.

Flora Found Hope in the Middle of the Night

Online Responders at Singapore’s Celebration of Hope.

Just as I was closing my laptop, Flora's chat message caught my eye. Her message literally said, "Hey, I would want to know more of Jesus..."

Last weekend, Singapore's churches had rented out the National Stadium, with a capacity of 50,000 people, for a series of rally events called the Celebration of Hope. Broadcasting the event online was a strategy we helped pitch to event organizers in February.

Flora's message arrived at midnight, just as the team of 80 volunteer online responders I had helped to mobilize was dispersing.

"Pearl, can you take Flora?" I asked a fellow online responder. "Sure," smiled Pearl as she sent a message back to Flora and then quickly headed to catch the last subway train home, continuing to chat with Flora on her mobile device.

The next morning, I checked my messages and was thrilled to learn that Flora and Pearl chatted online until 2:30am when Pearl helped Flora commit her life to Christ. Flora had watched the event online, God's Spirit was working and used Pearl to answer Flora's questions and calm her fears.

WBC, because of your partnership in digital missions, Flora has found new life in Christ!   

P.S. The events have now been viewed online more than 500,000 times. Here's where you can find some highlights. 

Family Snapshots: Spring 2019

Easter Sunday - photo taken near church in Chinatown

Kids waiting for public transit

Meredith escaped to Paris to see her family

How long will you stay in Ghana?

Some final words from Ghana!

"How long will you stay in Ghana?" This is a question we have answered many times over the years. Our usual response was, "Until God tells us it is time to leave." Now we know the answer is 19 years. We arrived in Ghana on April 13, 2000 and we expect to leave on June 5, 2019.
It is very hard to say goodbye, but we do so knowing that God has made it abundantly clear that now is the time.

The last few months have been very busy. We have spent time in South America for Phil to assist the Bolivia team with a strategic review and also to spend time in Paraguay with Dan & Christie, the couple we are mentoring, to see them in their context. (An added bonus was stopping to see Kieran and Liam for a few days enroute.)

Phil also visited North East India to visit the churches and families of our 5 colleagues from Mizoram, India. It was a blessing for Phil to see where our colleagues come from and hopefully be an encouragement to their churches and families. Following India, Phil spent some time with several of our other Asian teams as part of his role as ministry focus consultant.

Andrea was delighted to be able to support one of our North East Indian families as they were in Accra for the birth of their second child. They were blessed with Mercy, a lovely baby girl on March 19.

Mercy's arrival on the 19th meant Andrea was able to join Phil in the UK for the start of the Integrated Mission Leadership course we are taking. It is a 4 module course with the remaining modules in June, September and January.

We were also privileged to attend the Middle East/North Africa team conference. Our colleagues there work in very different contexts compared to Ghana. It was a great opportunity for Andrea to once again spend some time with her Middle East team, and a blessing that provision was made for Phil to attend too. 

"Where will you move to after you leave Ghana?" This continues to be a very common question and our response continues to be, "We don't know yet!"  We expect to be in Canada for at least 9 months, being close to our kids and connecting with family, friends and supporters. During this time Andrea will also continue her Middle East role and Phil his global role as we wait for God's direction as to where we will be based and what Andrea's role(s) will be in the future. Once we know where we see God leading us in 2020, we will be sure to let you know!

The last week of April we spent with our friends and colleagues at our annual team conference. We have been at every one since 2000, except for 2015. It was a great week with Malcolm & Liz, our mentors, teaching on Connecting Our story and God's Story. We also enjoyed lots of time to connect with our teammates, including Bev, our new personnel coordinator, and Graham and Trudy, business manager and treasurer. We were also blessed with a very nice farewell dinner. It has been an incredible privilege to be part of this amazing team - a team that is very diverse but also very united. The difficult side of the week was saying goodbye to many of our colleagues who we won't see again before we leave Ghana.

Top: Bev Howell, new Personnel Coordinator
Bottom L: Sherri Paulson - colleague and friend

Top: Malcolm & Liz, our mentors and speakers
Bottom: Showing off our book of memories

Whats on the horizon?

We need to pack and then leave Ghana. But before we do that we have one other very important visit to make - to visit Sahel Academy in Niger to attend Cara's graduation on May 30th.

We value your prayers as we continue to say good-bye!

Prayer Fuel!

Praise Items

• Kieran has finished his degree and will graduate June 11.

• Liam has finished his co-op placement.

• Cara has almost completed her final semester and she has been accepted to study Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo.

• For a good strategic review with the SIM Bolivia team.

• For the opportunity to visit Dan and Christie in Paraguay.

• That Phil was able to visit Mizoram, India to meet the churches and families of our North East India colleagues.

• For a good Easter break with Cara.

• That Bev has come as Ghana Personnel Coordinator.

• For Graham's willingness to be the Ghana Business Manager.

• To be able to attend the Middle East/North Africa team conference.

• For a wonderful final Ghana team conference and a lovely farewell celebration.

Items for Prayer

• For Cara as she writes exams, graduates and transitions to Canada in anticipation of university.

• That we will be able to pack up and say good-bye well.

• For a good transition to some months in Canada.

• That God would give us and our leaders wisdom as we consider where we should locate and clarity regarding Andrea's future role(s).

• That we would benefit from the Integrated Mission Leadership Course.

Thanks for your interest support and prayers. Andrea and Phil