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Evangelical Friends Mission March/April Prayer Letter 2017

When we first moved to India, we had no idea where we were going to live. We had ideas and desires of what our future home and area would look like, and we had prayed for God to lead us to the right place, but it was all unknown to us. Within a short time, we found ourselves in an apartment in the middle of a village that had never had foreigners before. Not only had Goshal (the name of our village) never had foreigners, but we’ve been told that the village god does not like foreigners. We’ve fallen in love with our village! We love our neighbors and our home and have been abundantly blessed where we are.

Prior to us coming back to the States to deliver our twins (Hannah and Levi, who are just over 5 weeks old now), we were unsure if we would be able to return to our current apartment or even stay in the same village. Our lease was about to end, we had to leave, and one of the brothers in the family did not really want us to move back in. They never told us why, but most likely because he is more spiritual. We also had been told that they would have to have a family meeting and even ask their family god if it was okay. We had asked them months prior if we could continue to stay in their house, and now we found ourselves days away from leaving without an answer. Our landlady was talking with us and even told us that if her family decided the answer was no, then she would be very sad and that she would want us to come and stay in her house when she and her husband had their own place. So we just weren’t sure what would happen. Regardless, we had to trust that the same God that put us in this village that didn’t like foreigners and in the house of a family that is rather religious would provide. We talked about other options and considered other plans, which made us quite sad, but we just had to trust the Lord.

Then, just days before we were to leave, after everything was all packed and mostly stored, our landlady came back to us and told us we would have to formally ask her mother-in-law (pictured with Asher). So, we practiced saying it correctly and formally in Hindi and then set out to ask her. When we started asking her “formally,” she didn’t even let us finish and told us we were welcome to stay for another five years in their house! We were so excited, thankful, and blown away by the way that God had not only prepared the way for us in this village, but has continued to keep us there and soften the hearts of our neighbors to our family. We feel so blessed by him, and we are eagerly anticipating returning to our home in India and introducing the newest members of our family to those we love there. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB)

Praises: 1 - That God graciously allowed Kathryn to carry the twins to full term, there were no complications, and everyone is healthy and doing good. 2 - We’ve been able to stay in contact with many people from our village. 3 - The Lord continues to meet and supply all of our needs. Prayer Requests: 1 - For our family with all the changes two more children bring. 2 - For our village while we’re away, that God would continue to draw them to Him. 3 - For all the paperwork that needs to be done in order to allow us to return to India (for the new babies as well as for the business).

- The Linville’s

Our purpose and passion is to fuel a worldwide movement of people who seek first the kingdom of God, planting churches that

live and die to carry out the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment

AFRICA

Evangelical Friends Mission

Including Burundi, Congo, GLLT, and Rwanda

from David Thomas

Give Praise . . .

for his love for unreached people groups around the world!

Praise him for answering their need through Jesus (John 3:16)!

Praise Jesus for his work on the cross, that all authority belongs to him, and that he calls us to make disciples in these cultures (Matt 28:18-20).

Praise God we get to join Jesus in praying, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field (Luke 10:2)!”

Praise God for the young people we have among us throughout our Friends churches and in our communities here in North America. Pray for God’s name to be glorified in this generation, for his Kingdom to come among them, for his will to be done among them, and for many to be called to partner with him in extending his Kingdom throughout the world (Matt 6:9-10)!

Please Pray . . . for David as he travels with his Navigator Discipling for

Development team (Joe Fry and Scott Purser) to a South East Asian country to participate in facilitating some workshops and in coaching some of the leaders trying to start some local D for D teams.

Pray for a good connection with Friends missionaries the Swards whom they will visit. David will then travel to Chiang Rai Thailand to spend time with David and Marylin Kibbe and their wonderful Lahu colleagues (March 21-27).

Pray for safety, God’s protection and blessing, and for a sensitivity to hear what the Spirit is saying in each situation.

BANGLADESH

Evangelical Friends Mission

from the Albert and Metali Adhikari

Give Praise . . .

that our pastors and evangelists were able to take two important trainings during the first two months of this year: Great Commission Equipping and Pulpit Preaching.

that our son Steve is writing his School Secondary Certificate examination well.

that we were able to purchase the land for supporting our Village Church Planter.

Please Pray . . .

that we can develop lay leaders for two new ministry fields.

that Amio and Christina and Joy Biswas can go to seminary in the Philippines this year.

that God would provide all necessary money for our “Friends Discipleship Center” in Khulna.

ECUADOR

Evangelical Friends Mission

from Russell and Sarah Badgley

Give Praise . . .

for steady, faithful prayer and financial supporters during this season of recovery.

Please Pray . . .

for our children during this time of transition.

for Sarah's continued improvement with health. for remaining necessary fundraising to come in

smoothly and quickly.

EVANGELICAL FRIENDS MISSION

Executive Director: Dan Cammack

Associate Director: Matt Macy

Give Praise . . .

for God’s faithfulness in the midst of hard changes. for the Personal Evangelism Seminar that Dan, Matt,

and David Thomas were a part of at Barclay College during the last weekend of February.

Please Pray . . .

for John and Vicki Hinshaw, David Cordova, Laurie Mortimore, and Sue Jones as they adjust to no longer being part of the EFM staff. The office in Arvada, Colorado is now closed. Please pray for those who are looking for work.

for EFM as it continues to function with an interim staff. Pray for EFM board members, staff and missionaries as they participate in an organizational assessment that will help lead to some new structures for EFM.

HONG KONG Evangelical Friends Mission- Eastern Region

from Dave and Cindy Aufrance

Give Praise . . .

for several baptisms coming up in April. Pray that those who will be baptized will continue to grow in their relationship to the Lord.

Please Pray . . .

Remember Cindy as she plans and starts another course for the Elijah House prayer ministry. RiverGrace needs more space and thus the church is looking to become independent and find another location. It’s a challenge as Hong Kong is one of the most expensive places in the world in terms of rent and space.

INDIA

Evangelical Friends Mission

from D.K and Choity Sarkar

Give Praise . . .

for the Advance Bible Training course for our staff and youth. Their interest to know the Word is very good.

for our Uttarakhand ministry. A new evangelist named Sushil Masih was appointed because the work has really grown there.

for the new born baby girl of our evangelist Dibiram Hansda. Both of them are in good health.

Please Pray . . .

for the wives of two of our staff who are pregnant and in advanced stages.

for our leader Biplab's son who is about to start school. for the Bible class of this month. The subject is Islam.

Evangelical Friends Mission- Eastern Region

from Arun and Shobha Massey

Give Praise . . .

for the Day of Blessing at the Christian English College on February 12 when we prayed for each of 118 students who will appear in March for their high school examination.

for the blessed time at the Karbi Baptist Association conference February 3-5. Many people were blessed by Gabriel’s preaching.

Please Pray . . .

for the Lent meetings at Chhatarpur church and in different homes.

for God's help as our students write their Board and Home Examination in March.

that more patients may come to Christian Hospital Chhatarpur for treatment.

IRELAND

Evangelical Friends Mission

from Kathi Perry

Give Praise . . .

We (the women of our Bible study) are planning a family gathering in March with stations for the children and a meal together. The theme is, “Light.”

for many new women attending the Little Friends Baby Group, and some new and unexpected helpers.

Please Pray . . .

for us as we plan and invite other families to join us at our first family gathering in March. Pray that we would be a light in the darkness.

women would have the openness and courage it takes to walk into our Bible study for the first time

from Molly Morton

Give Praise…

that I've passed 50% funding and have left my full time job at Azusa Pacific University to fundraise full time.

for good visits to EFC-SW’s Annual Conference and Friends Chapel Spring Valley.

that my best friend Becky McBee is home in California on furlough from China and fundraising right now too. This might be the last time we're back in California together for a very long time.

Please Pray . . .

for continued favorable response from potential prayer and financial partners.

for my family and I as we anticipate my going to the field soon.

for continued balance of self/soul care and working on fundraising, that I would recognize how much is enough and how much is too much.

NEPAL

Evangelical Friends Mission

from Bob and Debbie Adhikary

Give Praise . . .

Many new Hindu converts have been persecuted but they are standing strong.

for two new church plants that have started. Please Pray . . .

that new converts will continue to be strong in The Lord.

for more boldness against opposition from the Hindus.

from Dr. Samson and Priscilla Retnaraj

Give Praise . . .

for the planning and strategy meeting held in Chitwan in February. Many churches have approached us again to work with us in the CHE Ministry

for two more churches in Salyan where adult education classes were started taking the total to six so far this year

for the women leaders in Sampmara Church in Salyan (Jamuna, Bishnu Maya and Mina) as they show exemplary leadership and help reach out to many communities on the hillsides of Salyan.

Please Pray . . .

for the hands-on Agriculture and Farming workshop to be held in Bardia. Wabash Friends Church is sending trainers to train a group of 15 leaders from Far West districts

for the Bio-Sand Filter training in Bihar, India, which will help introduce the use of stainless steel bio-sand filters to Nepal in remote villages. These will be lighter to carry up the hills.

for our search for an appropriate place in West Nepal to use as a training center and the future of the Friends' CHE Internship Program site.

ROMANIA

Evangelical Friends Mission- Eastern Region

from Voicu and Ana Marian

Give Praise . . . for a wonderful time at camp. The theme was, “A Pure

Heart.” Fifteen youth, ages 12-17, from traditional Orthodox families were very open to the message.

The new principal in Gura Riului just invited us to teach at the school again. The door to this opportunity had been previously closed due to pressure from a local priest.

Please Pray . . . for approval from the school administrative council in

Gura Riului and renewed trust from parents.

for wisdom and clarity in ministry decisions and for

protection of the Word planted in kids' hearts.

for safety for the boys working in the shop with various

tools.

UKRAINE

Evangelical Friends Mission- Eastern Region

from Abraham and Diane Bible

Give Praise . . .

The February church planting conference went very well. Included this time was talking privately to teams from six provinces to find out exactly where they are working. They could substantiate about 30 groups taking place and 19 projected church planting sites. Good progress!

Those coming to the conferences are now referred to as the Obukhovites (based on the name of the city where the meetings are held). Their reputation for fervor and action is spreading.

Please Pray . . . for the church planting conference to be held in March.

The emphasis now will be on how to help and encourage the unbelievers to draw in their friends and families.

Abe has been asked to expand his ministry with church planting into more provinces, and also to continue and expand his training with the provincial superintendents. The idea is for the superintendents to bring younger men with them so they begin to build bridges between the generations.

for all the planning that needs to be done to make all of this happen, and to be in tune with Spirit as decisions and priorities are made.