From our homes to yours,  We send tidings of joy and whishes to all for a wonderful Christmas Season. As you celebrate our Saviour’s birth, may your homes be filled with His presence. May each of us be filled once again with the wonder and awe of God’s most Precious Gift. 2014 is filled with promises, but for now, let’s take a moment just to reflect. We had just been in Ghana for one year, during which time we had learned the little chorus. The lyrics are simple. The melody is sweet. Yet the message is precious. It’s peacefully complete. As we entered the Christmas Season that year, the following poem was birthed in me. Reflecting on that reminded me that His birth truly was a miracle, a marvelous thing. Jesus – The Wonderful One Not only is “Wonderful”  one of his names,  But the truth of that name  is always the same. It means “miracle,”  “a marvelous thing.” When born of a virgin  this truth was proclaimed. Isai...

Greetings from the Great White North 5 degrees, followed by 18 inches of snow, followed by 35-40 degrees with rain and 40 knot winds. Typical Juneau winter weather. This is the time of year that one begins to question the sanity of living here. Ah, well, this too shall pass. Plans are moving forward on several fronts right now. You will remember that we introduced the idea of going to churches to help with the transition to a revival  culture. We’ve already had some positive response to this in the form of 2  invitations from churches! We’ve run this idea by several pastors and gotten the same response from all of them: “That’s something I could get behind. Could we get you to come here?” Thank you, Father, for giving us a vision! The plans for Romania are moving forward. The date is pretty well set for February 18th, so it’s fast approaching. We would ask that you pray for provision, for ministry opportunities, favor with church leaders, and relationships that will l...

“giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20 The first thing I want to say in this newsletter is, “Thank You” for praying with me concerning my left eye. I have been seeing better for about 3 weeks, so I have asked my doctor to postpone the surgery and to examine my eye once more to see what its present condition is. That will take place on November 4th. As it stands right now, I am able to read without glasses, so I am expecting a good report. Thanks so much for your prayers. I will update you next month. Last month, we had the pleasure of hosting one of our Indian pastors, Rev. Bhalchandra Kamble, for a few days while he was in the US itinerating among several churches. It’s always a joy to sit around and talk about the good things of the Lord and to hear all of the stories telling of the mighty things the Lord is doing. During our visit, Bhalchandra pulled out his digital photo album to show us some pic...

Greetings from the schizophrenic North From an early frost in late September to unseasonably warm and dry in late October. Weird! But that’s Southeast Alaska. The only thing we can depend on is lots and lots of rain! As I (Mark) write this I am struggling. I really don’t want to address what I feel compelled to address, but I know that Voice, so I’m going to go for it and trust that His grace and love will overshadow any failing on my part. No doubt many of you are aware of the StrangeFire conference that was held last week. For those that are not, here’s a brief summary. A well-known and influential leader hosted a conference for the (apparently) primary purpose of condemning those that believe that the gifts of the Spirit are still valid and active today. In the lead up to this conference, the leader stated, in no uncertain terms, that those in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement are at best heretics, and that, in fact, most of these are not even Christians. The fall-out fr...

“He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — He remains faithful forever. Psalm 146:6 Greetings in the wonderful name of Jesus. Our government has gone into shut down mode and many will experience some hardship because of this situation. But our God does not go into shut down mode. He does not sleep nor slumber. He is always watchful over His children and is ready to hear our prayers. Thank you Father, that you hear us as we pray for the leaders of our nation. We ask that you intervene on the behalf of the people and that you guide our leaders for the good of our country according to your will and purpose. Amen. In spite of the troubles among the nations, the purpose and will of God for this world continues to go forward. Jesus said that He would build His church and the counsels of hell would not be strong enough to prevent its growth. Praises His name! During the weekend of September 27-29 two wonderful missions conventions took place....

Greetings from the cold, blustery North. True story - earlier this week, we exited the house to discover a fine film of frost covering the car windows. Frost! Out came the scrapers; off went the ice, and then on to the adventures of the day.   The answer to your question is yes, you should feel very sorry for us. We have been anticipating this particular newsletter as we have several exciting developments to share. Over the course of the last several years, we have felt as if we were in a visionary holding pattern. With the delay in progress on the radio station, and circumstances of life, things just seemed stuck. While we’ve continued to keep the fires burning for India and Nigeria, we sensed there was more and have been seeking “The More.” About six months ago, on a Saturday, we were in separate parts of the house when the Lord began to share vision with us. Later in the morning when we began to share with each other, we were amazed to find He had been speaking the sam...

“He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — He remains faithful forever. Psalm 146:6 Greetings in the wonderful name of Jesus. As I am writing, I am also thinking about that wonderful name and the wonderful One who bears that name. Jesus - Son of God; Savior to all who believe; soon coming King; and the list goes on and on. All glory and praise be given to Him both now and forever more. Amen. Last month we enjoyed some R&R time, and it was quite nice. We still remained busy, but it was a different kind of busy. We were able to spend some time with friends and family that we don’t normally get to do, and it we really enjoyed it. Now, it’s back to the business of the Kingdom. Editing work on our book Introduction to the Bible continues, and is coming closer to its completion. If there were no other demands in life, and we could focus on this project alone, I’m sure we would be finished by now. But, you know that is not the case. So, we k...

Greetings from the “it can’t be fall already” North! Yep, here it comes! Fall. Temps are dropping, cohos are in the streams, deer season (bucks only) is open and duck hunting is right around the corner. Love it! Do you mind if I (Mark) get a bit personal? I want to tell you a bit about my three girls. Hannah, our oldest, graduated this spring with a degree in Biology. She’s taken the MCAT (standardized test for medical school) and is in the application process for medical school. Ellen is at Western Carolina University in the musical theater program. She just got a lead in an original production. Claire, our youngest, is a junior in high school. This summer she was the worship leader for a week long teen retreat. I’m sure by now you’re wondering why I’m sharing this other than to brag on my kids. And, yeah, I’m proud of my girls, but that’s not the point. This is “the point.” At 13, Hannah was working in operating rooms in Nigeria with Christian Medical Fellows...

“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children,” Psalm 103:17 By now, you have noticed that the newsletter is late going out this month. That’s because right in the middle of production, the “media department” was urgently called out of town. As many of our Facebook friends know, Jennifer’s first grandchild (and my first great grandchild) has arrived. The firstborn of my firstborn’s firstborn, Master Asher William Groth, was born on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 5:05 PM, weighing in at 6 lbs 6 oz at 19 inches long. Needless to say, Jennifer dropped everything and headed to South Florida for his arrival. Mama had a quick and fairly easy delivery, little man is healthy and happy, and daddy is a proud papa. I will get to meet him for the first time in the next couple of days. Oh, the blessed joy that babies bring! We have had the most pleasant weather this summer that we have ever had in th...

Greetings from the incredibly dry and sunny North! This borders on the miraculous. Still sunny, warm and wonderful here in Juneau. Thank you, Jesus! What a wonderful summer. Fun in the sun , lots of great fishing and just enough rain to keep the dust down and the streams full. NIGERIA We just wanted to give you a brief update on Nigeria. As far as we know, our friends and ministry partners are doing fine, but things are still tense, and the violence continues. We’re praying about another trip to Jos, but we need to hear a loud and clear “go” before we can commit. Please pray for the Lord’s leading in this. INDIA We heard from Bhalchandra and God is moving! We are beginning to make plans for the next trip and the expectations are sky high. We are planning on several youth meetings and a village outreach in addition to the conference. If you have ever wanted to go to India, this might be your chance. We would like to put together a team of eight to ten for this trip. Let us kn...

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”  John 8:36 Happy 4th of July! Celebrating our Nation’s 237th Birthday! It’s that time of year for hot dogs, home made ice cream and fireworks. Thank you, Lord, for our freedom, for those who have been willing to give their lives for it, and for all those who still defend it today. But more importantly, Lord, thank You that regardless of the political state of this nation or this world, we know that our freedom is in You, purchased at Calvary. Intro to Bible Update The Second Edition of our Introduction to the Bible, Student Manual, is no longer a Student Manual. It has grown in such proportions that it has now become a book. Last month, Jennifer and I completed our first round of edits on the text, and in a few days, she will have completed the layout and graphic design work that is still remaining. At our Board of Directors Meeting later this month, we will be presenting a Draft Copy to each Board...

Greetings from the Still Warm and Sunny North! Well, not quite true. We have clouds today (forecast says more sun tomorrow) but we’ve had nearly a month of sunshine and warm weather. Unusual for Juneau to say the least.  Actually, we’re glad to see the rain as long as it doesn’t overstay its welcome! Progress in Pune God is moving in Pune, you can feel it, sense it, see it. The desire for revival has taken root and started to sprout. There is a fresh, deep hunger for more of God and a willingness to pay any price for that “more.”  We saw this in the meetings and it was amplified while spending time with the leaders of several of the churches we ministered to. The hearts cry for “more” was clear and loud, heard in the willingness to  risk, to deal with the messes that revival creates and the willingness to re-examine long cherished cultural and religious beliefs and practices. Please, Lord Jesus, let this grow to maturity and bear fruit. Now, about the teaching ...

Amen, Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom, thanksgiving and honor; with power and might be unto our God forever and ever, Amen. (Taken from Revelation 4:11) ANNIVERSARY MONTH June is the Anniversary month for LTI. This year marks our 34th year of ministry, and the writing of our 408th newsletter. A few days ago, a chorus we learned in the early days of our ministry in Nigeria, began ringing in my spirit, and it reminded me of all the wonderful years of ministry that God has allowed us to have in the many parts of the world that He has sent us to – both prior to and since those days. Sometimes I am asked if it were possible for me to live my life over, would I live it differently. My simple answer is “no.” There are some things in the process that I would do differently, but I would still answer the call and I would still go wherever God would choose to send us. It has been a wonderful 34 years, and I thank God for all of them. In addition to that, we most certainly thank...

Greetings from the Warm and Sunny North, Nope, not a typo, we are having a nice spring/early summer here in Southeast Alaska. Well, we are now. It snowed several times in early May but yesterday we were into the 70’s. That’s HOT for Juneau. Shorts and t-shirts and hit the swimming hole hot. It can get pretty funny, too, watching the tourists in their jackets and hats and the natives in sandals and shorts. Jesus did it again. We had a great trip: lots of fun with our brothers and sisters in India, as well as a wonderful time of ministry. But let me tell you about the few days before we left. Just 3 days before I left, I was still $1500 short of the need. Praise Chapel, the church we are now attending here, had a Friday night worship meeting (we call it Face to Face). Pastor Brian asked me to share about the trip and a bit of the message that I was taking to India, and then we would take an offering. Worship was fantastic, the presence of God was powerful, a truly wonderful time. I...