“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 G reetings to you today. And what a day it is! COVID-19 is still with us. In Florida we are dealing with Tropical Storm Isaias. Life is restrained, to put it mildly. But I join King David in saying, “I believe that I/we shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” Ps. 27:13 ESV How about you? I believe you believe it as well.  Our Lord will see us through. MY “ZOOMing” REPORT INDIA   On August 7th, I will be adding India to my Zooming ministry. For many years Bhalchandra and Leena Kamble have wanted me to return to India for specific ministry to the women in their churches. And I have wanted very much to go. You know the reasons why that has not been possible for me. But ZOOM  is with us now,  so we have been working on ZOOMing me to India for their desired purpose. You can be certain that I am excited about this. • We will meet twice a month on Fridays. • The value of w...

“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...

“…a great (wide) and effective door of ministry has opened to me…” 1 Corinthians 16:9 NKJV G   reetings in the wonderful name of Jesus. The name above all other names. I trust everything is well with you and yours; that God has and is taking you through COVID-19 successfully; showing His love and care for you in every way. He has and is certainly doing that for me and my family. Praise His name. No FEAR. A New Door of Ministry Has Opened to Me An unexpected additional door of ministry has opened for me. It really is a great and effective opportunity. I am going to Nigeria again!  And I won’t have to board an airplane to get there. I’ll just “Zoom” over on the internet and the next thing you know I will be there. Thank God for ZOOM! As one of the most popular marvels of internet communication, ZOOM makes it possible for me to “go” again. I am truly thankful. Six weeks ago, David Smoot and I “Zoomed” to Nigeria to begin weekly teaching sessions with some of Chuwa...

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7  G reetings in the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who watches over all those who have put their trust in Him. A WORLD I’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE Today is Sunday, March 15th and the churches are closed. Did you ever think you would see a day like this in your lifetime? Neither did I. But, it’s here.  The coronavirus - COVID-19 – is with us on a worldwide scale, gripping men’s hearts with fear.  I am amazed at how suddenly and universally our world has succumbed to a spirit of fear. The virus is everywhere. There seems to be no safe place for any of us. PANIC has replaced reason on two fronts: our physical health and our economic health. The worldwide economy may, in fact, be the most infectious of the two. As individuals, we cannot control either of these problems. And we humans don’t like being out of control.  If we have truly com...

“…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” Hebrews 12:1b NKJV H APPY NEW YEAR everyone. I am expecting many good things to happen in 2020: for myself, my family, my friends, and for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. I intend to keep running my race until the Lord comes or He calls me home. Regardless of which occurs in my life, I want to be found faithful when that time comes. I believe you want the same thing. Holiday Time for my family is the time when, as many of us that can, get together. Unlike many families, we are scattered to the far corners of the globe. Almost literally. Florida, Colorado, California, NYC, New Jersey, and England. Next year, if all goes as planned, some of us will be living on Maui in Hawaii. Nevertheless, we cherish our times together, and the 2019 holidays were no exception. I hope you also had a wonderful holiday time. NEWS FROM OVERSEAS India – Members of the churches under the leadership of Bhalchandra Kamble, took adv...

“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...

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I Thessalonians 5:18 Here it is again. November. And we have just rounded the corner toward the close of this year. King Solomon said, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun.” (Eccl. 3:1) November on our calendar is the season and time for giving thanks. We call it Thanksgiving Day. I am thankful that our country still celebrates this holiday. I am most thankful that it’s original celebration was for the purpose of giving thanks to God for all His goodness in bringing them safely from England to this new land of opportunity we call America. Not just thankful for a day off from work. Part of my family will be with me again this year to celebrate, but all of my family will be “together” in remembering the goodness of God in each of our lives during this past year. I am certain the same thing will be happening at your house, as well. For those of you who m...

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3 G reetings to you today. I thank God for you and trust you are enjoying the richness of His blessings in your life every day. A Very Busy Month The Blog At some point in every day I sit at my computer to write on my blog apassionformissions.org, becoming more and more skilled in doing this project. There are still a few more “construction” things that need to be done before the site is finished. I think everything will be accomplished by the end of this month. I am very happy with it and thank the Lord for this tool that will allow me to cast the net for new generations of full-time missionaries until He comes again. Some of the topics that are, or will be written about are: the vision for the blog, including Casting the Net with details;  The Need, The Call and The Preparation for ministry as a missionary; God’s ...

“…though the vision tarry, wait for it.” Habakkuk 2:6,7 Greetings! I hope you had an enjoyable and blessed July 4th celebration. For most of LTI’s history, we have sent our newsletters out so that you would receive them on or about the first day of the upcoming month. You know I have not always been able to do that in recent months. In fact, it has only been three weeks since I sent my last newsletter. However, I am working diligently to get back to the old schedule, and that goal will be accomplished at the end of this month. You will be receiving your August newsletter on or about August 1st. Thank God for restored health. Answered Prayer Quite a while ago, I began asking the Lord to send helpers to me so that I will be able to perform the job He put in my hands to do.  Since the beginning of LTI, our daughter Jennifer has been our IT person for graphic designs, newsletter publications, and much more. She has been a most willing asset to us, and we cannot thank her ...

 “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...