Missionaries Write

The summer is quickly drawing to a close. This is the last full week of ministry for the four American Nehemiah Teams, 33 college students who have been working in strategic areas with four different people groups, before they gather for debrief.

We are excited to be able to share reports from each of the teams in the coming weeks. Each team had its own “embedded reporter,” who updated the teams’ Web pages, and the “media men” have done a good job taking pictures and writing updates on each of the team’s ministries. Look at the Web site for individual team updates and pictures at www.peopleteams.org/agusanriverministries. Follow the links for Nehemiah Teams (American).

Jess and Wendy Jennings

Butuan City, Philippines

Warm greetings from the Dominican Republic. We are getting ready for our one-year stateside assignment (furlough). We will be living in Dothan and have posted our speaking schedule on our Web page at http://www.drmission.com/gunter.

We wanted to tell you what is going on with some of the church starts you have supported with your prayers, and some of you have helped us with as volunteers.

Canaan: This is our newest church start and is a daughter church of the Don Gregorio church. We have worship services each Saturday night and Bible study and English class on Tuesday afternoons.

Canaan has benefited from several volunteer teams: Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham; Hunter Street Baptist Church, Hoover; Englewood Baptist Church; and Germantown Baptist Church. There are a lot of new Christians attending services and growing spiritually. Pray for Canaan, pray for the men  — that they will allow God to change their lives — and pray for the teenagers as they desire to grow in their daily walk with Christ.

Don Gregorio: The Don Gregorio church is going well. Even though the Sunday night and Thursday night attendances are slim, Sunday morning worship is  strong. Pray for men to take leadership roles in this church. Pray for Edward’s mother, who is really sick. Pray for Melvin and Wendy Joaquin as they work, maintain their family, lead the church and build a new house.

John and Dana Gunter

Dominican Republic

On July 7, the Safari Ministry team arrived safely back in Atlanta. These eight students — plus a driver and interpreters — had a successful five and a half weeks of bush ministry. They cooked with fire and carried water on their heads, bathed in rivers and washed their own clothes in creeks. They taught about redemption and purity through interpreters and came face to face with poverty on a level they never knew existed before.

The very plane they got off of in Atlanta left again in a few hours, headed back to Africa, carrying 15 members of Lakeview Baptist Church, Auburn. This team did clinics in the Zoa area and saw patients for medical, dental and optometry.

Pray for the responsiveness of the Kokola people as they were shared with and prayed for by the team members. Pray that many will come to know Christ through this effort.

Pam and Bob Brownfield

Thyolo, Malawi

Praise God for the contact opportunities we have with many who are deceived with the Islam religion. Here is a report from a Cardiff/Bristol Beltway team member:

“When I first met ‘M’ — a disenchanted Muslim — he told me about a vision that he had had several times of a man dressed in white who came and offered him water, telling him that he would take care of him. He did not know who this man was. Last night, ‘M’ had a vision of the same man, knowing this time it must be Jesus. Jesus spoke to him and said, ‘You are Mine, come to Me.’ Jesus said this three times. ‘M’ said he had trouble sleeping, but when he finally awoke, it was (as) if there were no walls around him, only the sky. He had been set free. ‘M’ told me on the phone that he wanted to be a true Christian.”

Pray for “M,” he does not want to tell anyone at this point about his decision. (He lives in a building with other Muslim men.) Pray he will mature in his newfound faith and that God will richly bless him. Pray that he will be able to remain here in the United Kingdom.

Tom and Ann Espy

South Wal