“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 6:9   C hristmas greetings to one and all in this the most joyous season of the year! 2021 has been a rather trying year.  You may have been like the character in the movie “ Dances With Wolves ” who, upon seeing the skeleton remains of an unfortunate traveler said, “Somebody back east is saying, ”Why don’t she write?”  Well, my silence has been because I have had a series of serious physical issues including a small stroke. But, Praise God, I am finally coming out on the backside of them.   And, despite them, it has still been a productive year.  I have used the time to upgrade the teaching material of several of the subjects we have written over the years, revising, and where needed, adding to them. My physical condition has also limited my participation in ...

  “…whatever things are of a good report…think on these things.” Philippians 4:8 G reetings in the wonderful name of Jesus, our Lord. Today I am thinking on the good reports I have received from my many friends in Louisiana and Texas who could be suffering from the devastation of Hurricane Laura but are not. I have received only good reports, and I am very thankful. To God be the glory. MY “ZOOMING” REPORT INDIA Teaching the precious women from the churches in India that Bhalchandra and Leena Kamble have established and oversee has been wonderful!  We meet every other Friday. It is 8:00 AM my time and 5:30 PM their time. Nine and one-half hours difference. But we can make it work!  Forty (40) women attended the first session. Fifty (50) in the second. Bhalchandra believes there will be more in our next session on September 4th. I teach in English, and Leena interprets in Marathi (the language spoken by about 60 million people in Maharashtra State (formerly known as ...

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” Philippians 1:3 Greetings!  I THANK GOD FOR YOU I always tell you that.  At the end of every newsletter. But today I want it to be the first thing I say. I want you to know that you are not an afterthought. Not at all. You have walked with me down the road called Missions Ministry for a long time, and that means the world to me. Thank you so much. I pray God enables us to walk together for a long time to come.    MINISTRY IN NIGERIA The routine goes like this. Zoom is launched, and the invitation is sent to Nigeria for them to  join us. Once the connection is made, we greet Chuwang Davoe and watch the students enter the room one by one, or two by two. Joy fills my heart with each new arrival. It is good to be “together” again.   The room is filled with a new generation of men and women of varying ages who are preparing themselves for the ministry God has called them to do. Some are just beginning their st...

“Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 Joyful greetings! Christ is born!  Thank you, God for sending your Son. Thank you, Jesus, for coming. I bless your name forever and ever.  1 SOMETHING NEW We have never reported the ways in which LTI has gifted others throughout the years. We have worked under the premise that our benevolence giving should not be spoken of. You know…do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. However, I was impressed a few weeks ago that I should at least let you know that a portion of all your general giving to LTI goes to bless others. Just as we have not believed we should explicitly broadcast our giving, we have also believed we are to give to others: that we are not to be a “Dead Sea” that only receives. We believe the law of giving applies to our ministry just as it does to us personally and to everyon...

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world…” Matthew 24:14 G reetings in Jesus’ wonderful name. The Lord is great and greatly to be praised. We are so blessed to part of the family of God.   LOUISIANA TRIP REPORT My first stop was at Family Worship Center in Leesville, Louisiana. This wonderful congregation has been hosting an annual missions convention for at least twenty years. Recently, they have chosen to call it their “Family Reunion,” and it truly is. I have attended these reunions since their beginning and have made many friends that have become “family” to me. Both church members and missionaries that labor in Mexico, Central America, South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, India and the US as well. We eagerly look forward to seeing one another again; catching up and rejoicing over all that has happened in the past year. Beyond that, we are loved on, fed wonderful food, encouraged and strengthened. Then the spiritual ministry of the wor...

 “Faithful is the One who calls you – and He will make it happen.” I Thessalonians 5:24 TLV Greetings in the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s a beautiful day in my neighborhood and I trust it is the same for you. A Thumbnail Review During the months of April, May and June of 1979, life for our family began to take a turn that would define us for the rest of our lives. In April, after 16 years of marriage, 3 children, and ministry as pastors and Bible college administrators and instructors, an invitation came to us from Ghana, W. Africa, to launch and establish a Bible training institute. We acknowledged the invitation and requested time to put it before the Lord as to what our answer should be. In May, we accepted the invitation, began the process of resigning our ministry positions and prepared to launch out into the depths of fulltime foreign missionary ministry. On June 20th, after selling all our belongings, we drove away from the pa...

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh…” Acts 2:18a  Greetings in Jesus’ wonderful name. This is another day that the Lord has made. I am rejoicing in it. I hope you are as well. A whole lifetime ago, when I was a preteen, a chorus was spontaneously birthed by the Holy Spirit (which was a frequent occurence during worship services in those days) that said: “God is moving; by His Spirit. Moving in all the earth. Signs and wonders; when God moveth. Move, oh Lord, in me.” He was moving all over the earth in that day. It was more than wonderful. It anchored me in my faith, and I fell in love with Jesus. All I wanted to do was totally surrender my life to Him and follow Him wherever He would lead me. Words cannot fully express how thankful I am to have been a partaker of that outpouring. The earth has needed a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit like that one for quite some time. I, and many others, have longed for it and praye...

“Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the message, to speak the mystery of the Messiah…” Col. 4:2 HCSB I’LL NEVER FORGET  I   will never forget the most surprising void I felt in my life after Bud passed from this earth and entered the presence of the Lord (This month is the 12th anniversary of his passing). You might be surprised as well.   While I most assuredly felt the tremendous emptiness created by his physical passing, this emptiness was something else altogether. I knew he prayed for me on a regular basis, as I did for him. But I did not know how M.U.C.H. he prayed for me. The Lord had given me a strong man as my husband, which I wanted, but all his strength was not physical. He was a man of much prayer.  I will also never forget one day when I went to be with him in the hospital. He was in ICU. As I approached his room, his nurse restrained me from...

“The steps of a good man (or woman) are ordered by the Lord.” Psalm 37:23 KJV  J ust a few days ago, I returned home from a time of refreshing, and a ministry trip to So. Louisiana. What a wonderful trip it was.   The 25th-27th were spent in the presence of the Lord with my dear friend, Pastor Lurie Dantin , and many others attending the Annual Women’s Convention at Lighthouse Worship Center in Galliano, LA. Sometimes, we need to separate ourselves from the pressures of life and gather with others who are seeking a refreshing from the Lord the same as we are. Good things happen for us when we do that; and this time was no exception. I went away very refreshed! On Sunday the 28th, I was blessed to be the speaker at Christian Fellowship Church in Larose, LA, with Pastor Scott Cheramie . This church is a long-time friend and partner with LTI, and I was so happy to be with them again; seeing familiar faces, worshipping the Lord together. As you might expect, I pr...

Greetings from Northern California!  W e hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving full of family, laughter and fun.   Joy has been a recurring theme for us in 2017. That theme just continues to be underscored as we move towards 2018. Of course there is joy to be found in this holiday season and in reminding ourselves of the beautiful mystery of the Incarnation. But that is not the joy I’m talking about. This joy specifically is His joy. In ruminating over this idea of His joy, I’ve been struck by the thought that just like God is Love; God is Joy. God is Joy…it’s not some fleeting emotional response to positive circumstances wholly. His joy is endless. It’s boundless. Why? Because joyous, joyful, joy filled is who He is. It’s His nature, His character, an indelible fragrance that surrounds Him and a hallmark that you’ve encountered the one and only true and living God. Joy.  In beginning to look at the subject of His joy from this perspective, I’m once again brou...

Greetings from the Beautiful Northstate, F all is here! Here in Redding the transition from season to season is remarkably, wonderfully abrupt. Temps are rolling along at 105, 110 and then, boom, 80, 85.   Literally overnight.   Ahh, blessed coolness.   And the beginning of the serious outdoor season.   Mark’s still getting the hunting and fishing in Northern California dialed in but there’s a truism: the worst day fishing (or hunting) is better than the best day at the office! KENYA Well, the trip has been delayed. The presidential election in Kenya was pretty heavily contested and a lot of people were dissatisfied with the finances needed would come in. process so they’re going to be voting again.  Since violence is unfortunately common during Kenyan elections and things are already tense, Gordon and Mark thought it best to postpone the trip. We don’t have dates yet, but Mark expects to go some time between now and Thanksgiving.  Please pr...