Month: April 2015

This update concerning the recent earthquake in Nepal is from GCI mission developer, Rod Matthews.

At about noon on April 25, a severe earthquake (7.9 magnitude) struck in the central part of Nepal. Its epicenter was about 50 miles northwest of the city of Kathmandu. I was immediately concerned about our ministry partner there, the Himalayan Gospel Church, led by Deben Sam. Deben was able to contact me by email, explaining that the quake struck during their Sunday morning church service. The wall between the children’s classroom and kitchen collapsed, but by God’s grace no children were injured. At Deben’s home, a wall collapsed and windows shattered, yet none of his family or any of the 16 orphans who live with him were injured.

New reports show significant destruction in Kathmandu, especially to older buildings that are largely constructed of unreinforced brick. Deben lives close to the old, historic area of Durbar Square, which has been featured on many news reports due to the collapse of many historic temples in the area.

I told Deben of our deep concern, and our prayers for the people of Nepal suffering in this disaster, especially his church members and extended family. The three-month-long Bible school he has been conducting in his church building for young leaders from rural congregations is drawing to a close. We hope that none of those attending have suffered loss.

On April 27, I received this update from Deben:

This afternoon we got electricity in our area. There’s not so much damage in our area, just cracks in the building and collapsed boundary walls. The news reports shortage of the food in the market, but I don’t think so because most of the shops are closed. My wife has already stored food for a month so we have no present shortage.

By the grace of God, my family, children and the whole congregation are fine. But it is very bad news that several other churches in the area collapsed with members trapped inside. Most of the people in Kathmandu are camped in the streets, stream-beds, or wherever they find an open place. We are distributing water and instant noodles to the people who are staying in the area surrounding our church.

Some people are still alive but trapped under collapsed buildings. In some areas the dead bodies are still not taken out and the whole area has begun to smell. You may guess how much need there still is here. Rescue teams are unable to reach many of the remote areas. Many have died and there is a lack of tents, food, etc. for those who are alive—most of the food and clothing was buried in the earthquake.

I have sent funds to four pastors in affected areas so they can buy foodstuffs from local markets and distribute it as emergency relief. Our team in Kathmandu is ready to do the same in the city and surrounding areas. We are negotiating about vehicles, food, tents and blankets as well as rooms for storing the goods. I have already sent the team into some places to determine the exact situation. Please pray for us and our relief efforts.

Deben mentioned that there are constant aftershocks in Kathmandu, numbering well over 60 when he wrote. One was magnitude 6.7, a major quake in itself. The photos included in this update were taken by Deben in Kathmandu near where he lives.

GCI is in the process of sending emergency funds by electronic transfer to Deben to give him a greater capacity to provide for the needs of those affected. Your prayers, love and concern are much appreciated by Deben, his family, church team, all the believers suffering in this catastrophic event, and surely by everyone who is a material recipient of the love of God expressed through the aid and service provided by these brothers and sisters in Christ.

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GCI Disaster Relief Fund

From time to time we’re contacted about helping members impacted by major disasters like the recent one in Nepal. If your congregation has a heart to help members in this way, probably the best way to do so is to send donations to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. The Fund was established to help provide members in disaster areas with emergency needs such as food, water, medicine, clothing, temporary housing, home and/or church hall repairs, temporary local pastoral salary expenses and other emergency needs. Monies received into the Fund that are not immediately needed will remain in the Fund to be allocated in future disasters.

In previous years, money from this Fund has been used to help members recover from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, storms and flooding in Bangladesh, an earthquake and tsunami in the Solomon Islands, typhoons in the Philippines and an earthquake in Haiti.

On behalf of all those who have been helped by the Fund, I wish to express sincere appreciation to the congregations and individuals who have generously provided financial assistance.

If your congregation would like to donate to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund, your treasurer can set up a one time or monthly donation through the GCI Online system (http://online.gci.org) by logging in and selecting Church Giving under the Treasurer tab.

If your congregation prefers to send a check, make it out to Grace Communion International, indicating on the memo line that the donation is for the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. The donation should be sent to:

GCI Disaster Relief Fund
Grace Communion International
P.O Box 5005
Glendora, California 91740

This update is from Rod Matthews, GCI mission developer in Asia and the South Pacific.

Bangladesh: A Work of Wonder

The work that God is doing in southern Bangladesh amongst the poorest people living in one of the world’s great floodplains continues to inspire. With Bengali Evangelical Association founder and leader, John Biswas, I visited the mission base at Sathsimulia, a village about 40 km from the city of Barisal, on March 18. Generous donations from congregations and people in many countries over the past years have enabled the construction of a fine facility (pictured at right) that provides meeting and lecture rooms, accommodation, and a secure shelter during cyclones and local flooding, which are prevalent in this area of Bangladesh.

It’s an administrative base for a number of outstanding programs which reach into the surrounding communities – schools for children, goats for disadvantaged families, nurse’s aides to conduct village clinics, gospel workers to conduct home Bible studies and establish congregations, and the discipling of those with whom God is working. We conducted a mid-week meeting of nearly 400 people packed into the hall on the ground floor (pictured below), where John and I spoke on biblical topics with the upcoming celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection in mind. Of course, I needed a translator so my English could be understood by all of these Bengali-speakers. Jacob Biswas, John’s brother, provided that service. Bibles were distributed to those who still didn’t have one.

Afterwards, everyone ate well with a meal provided by the staff. We walked around the compound, appreciating the blessings of such a fine secure facility in this rural area, and seeing the latest project – a fish-breeding pond (pictured at right). It’s amazing that the work that God is doing in this area comes from a mission centre than cannot be reached by a 4-wheel motor vehicle – you have to walk nearly a mile along tree-lined paths on raised banks between rice fields and ponds and past homes and yards with tethered animals to reach the centre.

Back in Barisal, where we stay, a meeting of nearly 60 workers (pictured at right) was held on Friday, March 20, where I addressed the group before a series of reports were given on the progress of the range of activities under way. It’s inspiring to see the enthusiasm, dedication and involvement of these core servants of God in a country of significant social challenges, lack of resources, widespread poverty and not uncommon opposition.

In March 2016, the church is planning a major conference in Dhaka inviting international speakers and guests so the rural and urban Bengali people who have responded to God through BEA’s work may fellowship together, hear a range of speakers to enhance their spiritual education, and help the Bengali people feel more a part of our international fellowship. Everyone is welcome to attend in support of our work in Bangladesh. The trip will include seeing the real Bangladesh during the day’s drive south to Barisal and a visit to the mission base at Sathsimulia.

Sri Lanka: Teaching the Teachers

The Colombo Theological Seminary (CTS) again requested Perth (Australia) pastor, and Sri Lankan National Director, Mohan Jayasekera (pictured at right), to be a guest lecturer, this time on the subject of the Life of Paul, focusing on his understanding of election and eschatology. Mohan taught over four days in March. The students included 31 pastors from all over Sri Lanka. His presentations made a great impact, so much so that the senior founding pastor of the Calvary Church in Colombo, Rev. Dr. Tissa Weerasingha, remarked that he had not previously heard such an enlightening approach taken and requested a copy of Mohan’s notes.

Colombo Theological Seminary has been directly involved in the translation and printing of a number of GCI publications, starting with our Discipleship 101 course, which was translated into Sinhala and Tamil and is used as a text in the first-year Bible class at CTS. Later they were involved with the translation and publication of our booklet, “The God Revealed in Jesus Christ” in both languages. Subsequently the series of articles by Dr. Gary Deddo entitled “Scripture, God’s Gift” were compiled into an English-language booklet and published by CTS and now this, too, has been translated and printed in both these Sri Lankan languages.

Karen Refugee Church Update

Southeast Asian Senior Pastor, Wong Mein Kong, and I went to Maesot, Thailand, to visit our Karen brothers and sisters in Christ who are in one of the refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. Since their pastor, Lah Shi, died about two years ago, we were wanting to encourage them and reassure them that they had not been forgotten. However, on arrival we found that a governmental agency had put a temporary seal on the camps for the purpose of conducting a census. We were not permitted entry, and that was a big disappointment. However, whenever our agenda takes a hit, it seems God has something else in mind.

But first, let me explain that upon the death of Lah Shi at the age of 73, we wondered how we could serve these people, few of whom speak English, and who were now without a bilingual pastor. The group has a good relationship with several other denominational groups within the camp, and there have been exchange visits of musicians and children’s singing groups, so I thought that perhaps God might provide leadership from sources we were not so familiar with – perhaps a succession plan beyond anything we could arrange. But surprises are the name of the game in Asia! Several individuals and families have been able to find a way to live outside the camp. One gentleman (pictured at left) is named Goro. He is a quiet man and I had thought his English was poor, only to find later that he was shy and simply didn’t want to risk showing up his lack of practice in English. Goro has stepped up and now fills the pastoral role of looking after the welfare of the congregation through visiting and taking Bible studies as he is able. I should mention he is 83!! I guess succession planning from God’s perspective isn’t quite as limited as ours.

Goro informed us that while we couldn’t go to the camp, we had a baptism to conduct— the son of a member family living outside and some miles beyond the camp. The family had requested a communion service as well. So we drove for about 90 minutes north up a good road, past the town of Tha Song Yang. Their home is a very basic wood and bamboo construction. We sat on mats on the floor, and talked about the meaning of the bread and wine, with Goro translating into the Karen language.

The river was a short walk away, and we found a depression in the river bed deep enough for the baptism (see picture above). The family (pictured at left) watched, as did two water buffaloes with whom we shared the stream. They were up-stream from us, so I could only hope they had been in the water long enough to use the stream for all their needs well before we joined them in the water!

Wong Mein Kong and I felt privileged to have celebrated the commitment of this young man to a life of walking with Christ as one of his disciples. He has grown up in a refugee camp and it is still uncertain as to what opportunities will be open to him – but only in this world.

Last month a milestone in GCI-Philippines occurred when the First Baptist Church of Nabong in San Juan, Batangas became an affiliate GCI congregation. To read about this development, go to http://my.gci.ph/first-baptist-church-in-batangas-affiliates-with-gci/.

This update is from Lorenzo Arroyo, mission developer for GCI-Mexico and GCI-USA regional pastor.

On April 3-5, GCI Mexico held its annual Equipping Conference in Guadalajara, Mexico. Attending from the U.S. were Gary and Cathy Deddo, Heber and Xochilt Ticas, and Lorenzo and Rita Arroyo. Approximately 65 pastors and other congregational leaders traveled from various states in Mexico to attend. In addition to plenary presentations, workshops and small group sessions were provided for pastors, ministry leaders, men’s and women’s groups (pictured below) and emerging leaders. Alfredo Mercado, GCI Mexico national leader, coordinated efforts with local churches to provide conference transportation, lodging and meals.

A particularly inspirational event during the conference was a special service held Saturday evening at GCI-Mexico’s newest mission outreach in Santa Rosa (near Guadalajara). A bus was chartered for conference attendees to travel there for a community outreach service. The group was welcomed by a procession of children and over 100 people attending. There was lively worship, dynamic preaching and great fellowship and food. The highlight was a blessing of children conducted by visiting pastor and church planter Heber Ticas (pictured at left), who lined up the children in pairs then anointed, prayed over and blessed each one. As over 30 children were blessed, tears were shed by parents and friends. Though economically impoverished, the children received the gentle touch of Jesus, present through the Holy Spirit.

Pastors Alberto Luis Soto and Humberto Perez, along with Deacon Jose Rodriguez oversee this new mission outreach, which was planted about nine months ago. Though the building where it meets has no floor and a partial roof, the evening gathering felt like meeting in a cathedral. During the lively worship, many “Hallelujahs” were expressed with great joy (see picture below).

During the main conference in Guadalajara, Gary Deddo gave a plenary session entitled “Union with Christ and the Kingdom of God.” Cathy Deddo (pictured at left), Rita Arroyo, Xochilt Ticas and Selena Soto gave talks for women’s breakouts. Heber and Lorenzo led group discussions on implementing next steps toward community outreach. Their presentation emphasized Trinitarian evangelism, participation in mission and church renewal. Heber also worked with the younger adults on leadership development, including making plans to hold the next GCI-Mexico youth camp over the New Year holiday, possibly in the area of Cuernavaca. Heber and Xochilt will be camp instructors.

At the conference, Alfredo Mercado announced that a congregation in Chihuahua, Mexico, recently joined GCI. Its pastor, Jose Luis Cruz Flores, after checking out our website, contacted our home office, resulting in Alfredo’s visit. The congregation has about 60 members. We look forward to their involvement in future conferences and camps. God is good!

On Sunday, over 100 people enjoyed an uplifting Easter celebration. Cathy Deddo presented “Receiving the Self-giving God” from John 13. Her moving plenary talk focused on the Triune God’s unconditional love that knows no bounds except those we make for ourselves. Like Peter, we need to learn to let go and let God love us extravagantly.

Next, Gary Deddo (pictured preaching at right with his interpreter) gave an inspirational sermon entitled, “Don’t Cry for Jesus.” His message emphasized that Jesus was not a victim of fatalistic circumstances leading to a pitiful death as is so often portrayed. Rather than a victim, Jesus is the victor, who of his own choosing laid down his life for our redemption. Natanael Cruz led Easter worship with a dazzling arrangements of spiritual songs. Those in attendance were moving and clapping to the music!

Thanks to individuals and congregations in Canada, Washington, Oregon, California and elsewhere for the generous gifts that made this conference possible. Donations to the GCI home office help fund events like this and are very much appreciated.