...except after "C"

For those who are acquainted with me, my involvement in short-term missions has become common knowledge by now. I have been priviledged to be used by God in support, ministry, leadership, and training roles with teams going to the Philippines (1980-82), Mexico (1988), Ocean City (1989), Alaska (1990), Japan (1992), Minnesota (1995), Kenya (2000), Peru (2001), Mexico (2002), and Russia (2003-05). By His grace, He has granted me another opportunity with the team planning to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007.

In preparation for that journey, Bethel’s student ministries pastor and I will be traveling to Africa next week on a scouting mission. We depart from Philadelphia on Saturday, September 2 and return on Sunday, September 17. An AIM missionary couple from our church will meet us in the airport in Entebbe, Uganda, to take us to Bunia, Congo, where we are planning an English Bible Camp for next summer. The purpose of our trip will be to gain first hand experience of the culture, meet the leaders we will be working with, and provide encouragement to the local believers and missionaries.

The people of Congo have been through such tragic times, and I am looking forward to hearing their testimonies of God’s sovereignty and grace in their lives. We hope that our ministry would be a blessing and will have eternal impact, not just on them, but on the team of students that goes next year, on the church that sends them, and on all those who join their support team. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us to see what God will do through our ministry? Here’s how you can help:

• Pray regularly for the Congo team members as they anticipate the trip in the summer of 2007, that they would continue to be diligent in their language study, Bible memorization, and support raising.
  
• Pray for the other team leaders, Kelly and Joanne, particularly for the new opportunity they have to make a similar visit to Uganda in October.
• Pray for Alex and me, specifically for safety as we fly on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and again on Friday, the following Wednesday and the next Sunday.
• Pray for the wives and children we leave here in the states, that they would rest in God's perfect peace, they would be protected and comforted, and that the body of believers would step in to meet needs as they come up.
  
• Pray that we would gain a better understanding of our goals and plans for next summer as we scout out the possibilities for a ministry team.
• Pray that we would encourage the local church leaders and missionaries, and specifically for the ongoing ministry of Gregg and Karen Lewis with AIM in Kampala. Their latest prayer letter can be downloaded at: http://www.bethelbaptistde.org/missions/lewis.pdf
• Pray for the people of Congo and Uganda.
• Contribute toward the expenses of my trip. I have already received about half the airfare cost of around $1600, but I hope to continue to raise support in the coming year to defray the cost for both trips. Please let me know if you need more information about making tax-deductible donations.
• Check the Congo 2007 blog for more detailed and up-to-date prayer requests.
  

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