End of Year 2024 Reflection

The year 2024 is coming to an end and before that happens, I FIRSTLY like to reflect on the open doors of opportunity for ministry and SECONDLY on some inspirational points how to reflect, but also how to listen.

At the beginning of 2024, ample situations came my way to see the flow of the love of the Father reaching various people. Those who came to gather in larger meetings, as well as those at cozy gatherings. Sometimes the one on one get-togethers seem to be the most amazing events. Certainly lives were transformed, hearts healed, believers equipped, and the Kingdom of God was expanded. Glory to God!

The global reach with “boots on ground” included four nations on three continents, named Africa, Europe and North America and the nations: USA, Tunisia, Switzerland and Germany.  I hope you received the detailed reports filled with God-kind of connections, signs & wonders, and outreaches, sent throughout the year 2024.

END OF YEAR 2024 REFLECTION 

AND LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025 

Have you had an opportunity to reflect on what has happened in your life during 2024?  

At the end of a year, I always carve out extra time, in a quiet space, to listen to God and reflect.  

During the time of reflection and on a daily basis, I like to start out with

THANKING: because thankfulness gives life and there are always blessings, special surprises and examples of God’s goodness and provisions. 

PRAISING & WORSHIP: Our heavenly Father is enough and He gives me ample reasons to thank Him, praise Him and give Him all the honor, exalt His holy name, worship  and glorify Him. 

TRUSTING:  Trust the Lord with all your heart (see Prov. 3) and give your hopes, dreams, fears or worries to Him.  If we trust Him, and giving our unfinished business or uncertainties still weighing on us to Him, then the end result can be a deeper peace, increased freedom in Jesus and a deeper connection with the Father.  

LET GO AND DON’T TAKE, EVEN UNCONSCIOUSLY, HEAVY WEIGHTS WITH YOU INTO THE NEXT YEAR! 

ENTER INTO HIS REST & LISTEN:    

As we enter into His Rest and Listen, we receive revelation knowledge on how to spend our time, how to deal with situations and how to go into our mission field, which can be our families and calling, the workplace, business, neighborhoods,  just to name a few.   
God spoke with Moses as a friend face to face (see Exodus 33:11)

ABIDING IN HIM – JOHN 15 “ABIDE IN ME, DWELL IN ME

As we make the Lord our home and abide in Him, we will be safe in His arms and rest under the shadow of His wings.    When we enter into the Holy Place facing Him, we are to be quiet and listen.  Many times, while in the presence of the Lord, our mind is busy thinking about many things, which means our soul has to be quieted, much like David said: “My soul is quieted within me, even as a weaned child.”  (see Psalm 131:2)

MY PRAYER FOR YOU:   

My prayer is, that you will receive a fresh download of God’s will and purposes for your life.  I pray that you will seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, that your focus will be on Jesus, your ears tuned and your heart quiet with eyes wide open!  AMEN

It’s true, when you receive direction from the Lord, it can give you clarity and resolve for years to come.  With the revelation of the Father’s will and purposes comes responsibility.  When the Lord shows us, it is so that we can make preparations toward it.   

THANK YOU!

Every gift you sow equips believers, and your “YES” to Jesus helps brings Heaven to earth. Your generosity creates opportunities for countless lives to encounter God in fresh and live-changing ways.

 Abiding in Christ,

Gabriele Gilpin

More Than Conquerors’ School

Graduation 2024

We are pleased to announce the completion of the 2024 school year! God did it! He saw us through one more year in Nicaragua. God is so good! We thank Him for His faithfulness.

This last week was our 18th graduation! How time has gone by. We have seen so many young people begin in the 1st grade and then to see them graduate from High School. What a blessing!

We want to give a special thanks to our staff in Nicaragua, who have worked countless hours to make this school year and graduation happen. Especially Pastor Carlos and Violeta Moncada. For the last 10 years, they have been such a huge blessing to this ministry. We praise the Lord for their faithfulness and their dedication. Please keep them and all of our staff in Nicaragua in your prayers.  

Urgent Prayer Request

We need another financial miracle. Please agree with us in prayer once again.

We urgently need $13,000 to make it through this month and finish the year.

Staff Salaries for December = $4,626

Yesterday we were supposed to pay our staff, but we didn’t have the finances to do so. In December not only do we pay our normal salaries to our teachers and staff, but in Nicaragua, by law, each employee is to receive an extra month of salary, which makes our payroll double this month. Which they more than deserve, but it makes it difficult for us financially.

Social Security = $3,425

We currently owe social security for our teachers and staff for September through November. This alone is over $3,000. Please agree with us for the finances to get caught up with this right away so that we can stay current with the government.

Utilities Bills = $1,483

Some of these are past due already.

Other pending Bills and Expenses = $3,470

Please agree with us in prayer for the finances we need to make it through this month. The majority of these finances we need before the end of this week, so we need a miracle!

I am standing and believing God for a miracle! Will you agree with us?

In Christ,
Charity Ford

Praises

Thanking God for many things including the hard things in life. I wished our list was short on those but sometimes it seems long. But first some of the good news!!
At the beginning of November after several weeks of working with the FMLK Chapel children, 24 of the children professed Christ as their savior and that they want to live for Him. You can see these boys and girls at the bottom of the page here and that they were super excited.
That was on Sunday November 3rd. That was the Friday before we had a small celebration with the P7 children for their send off on the next week for sitting for the PLE exams starting with the familiarization on Monday and finishing up on November Thursday 7th.
And then on the 13th of November Bill & I just returned from Kampala to hear about some serious issues that the majority of the teachers if not directly were involved with, were indirectly involved. So again another end of year with too many stresses surrounding the school year end.
As mentioned before it can become so discouraging as we experience some of these things happen. BUT we are told in scripture these things will happen and it is not just here right?!! Just open up those news feeds and it floods in!! I’m sure I mentioned before that Bill joined BSF this year and of course that is my main grounding source.
This year if you remember we are in Revelation. This week we are in chapter 6 and it really points out this principle. This train we are all on is headed for a destination of judgement and we all have to choose which gate we are getting off on. That narrow gate or the wide gate.
Please continue to pray for our P7, and others that just accepted Christ, that they will be the change that this country needs, the world needs, and will choose that narrow gate. There are too many bad examples for them and yet they have been presented with an opportunity for being a new creature in Christ and a change for their country. It doesn’t mean that the time or destinations for getting off changes, it is just which gate!! They’ve been invited to continue to come to FMLK for truth teaching, pray they will be able to. Or to find correct teaching, it is almost impossible here!!

The FMLK children that accepted Christ in November. So many reasons to rely on Him and His ways in life, and especially in an environment like this!

More Praises & Challenges!

Another big disappointment is the teacher that Bill was training to take over the chapel at FMLK was in the thick of things with all the other teachers. Maybe he would be considered more of an indirectly involved but nonetheless involved. So at the start of the year it is back to the drawing board. The enemy certainly is rearing his ugly head. We view this as it is a sign of a challenge worthy of fighting for and continuing to persevere if we are getting such push back from the enemy!! And we shall persevere with His strength and power, because we can’t without Him. Makes me think of Moses, and this is how we feel.
Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Exodus 33:15
We are only able to carry on because of Him! What a relief that He is with us each step of the way!! I’m sure you must have to acknowledge this too!
Girls Dorm Fundraiser!
Starting out strong!! We will continue to send out the fundraiser until we hit our goal. Please be in prayer for the success and if able consider giving to this worthy cause! The Link for the fundraiser will be highlighted each time we send out the P&P and the continued effort to make the goal. We get weekly notifications so we will update every couple/three weeks or so on how we are doing in the early stages. Then as we get closer to our goal a bit more often will be the plan so we can have you see how your giving is bringing this to fruition! At least that is the plan for now.
I have to admit I often move with the rhythm of Grace and sometimes it takes a turn that I didn’t plan on. It often feels out of place or even foreign but I’ve learned and have gotten used to the change. Although I also have to admit I have to check myself often and not be moving with my own grace?!! We thank God for the direction He provides and know again we cannot do this without Him. So many times it feels impossible but we stand in His promise that He will bring with His power what, where & when we need!!
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Bill speaking encouragement and a message of hope to the P7 candidates as they celebrate with a good meal and prepare to start examines in a couple of days.

Prayers

 Please pray for FMLK as we address all the craziness that goes on here. Clare is reporting that there are many contacting to interview so that will start in January. Pray we get the right teachers according to His will and that He will give us wisdom and insight into this process and each of these that will be interviewed.
 Prayers for all the staff to be righteous and honest and that there will be another chapel leader in the near future.
 Pray for another couple of streams of funding for FMLK. This is an ongoing prayer. We certainly see God providing from these young Spanish volunteers.
 Pray for the fundraiser for the Dorm & Fencing needed as the requirement from the government.
 Please continue to pray as Bill teaches and shares and has these new opportunities to speak to not only leaders but the youth as well.
 Please continue to pray for the Muslim community that we (several of us believers) have communication and surface relationships with. Pray for the Lord to invite these friends into a deeper relationship with the Christian community, dreams/visions, and the Lord Himself.
 Pray for the Muslim woman I love and having great Spiritual conversations with and that it is all worthy of her considering Christ. We stay in contact and she is such a delight!!
 Pray as we serve to see with Spiritual eyes and for boldness in these days.
 Prayers we get rest in the second half of December and are rejuvenated and ready for 2025!

If you feel led to help the Howeths with their school dorm project you can give at https://www.tmciworld.info/donations.html and put Howth/Goonza in the missionary field.

And they were offended in him.

We have a man in our ministry who is a surgeon. One day we talked and he said that his mother had asked to call someone else to give her a shot. It was unusual to hear that she does not trust him to make a shot. He does more than just a shot at his work regularly but for his mother he was still a child. This portrayed to me the biblical truth when Jesus was saying that it is hard for relatives to accept how we have changed. For them we are still “my baby” or “my niece.” In this culture, it is especially difficult for non-Christian people from Muslim backgrounds to live with the thought that the person who was born again is different.

ESL

Our ESL students continue to attend the classes. We continue to grow in our relationships with them. And the word of God continues to penetrate their hearts. Some soils are hard for the good news and need a lot of prayer to soften it. Please remain in prayer for the hearts of our students, for the word of God will penetrate their hearts and bring fruit of repentance.

Featured Leader

This young man has known the Lord since he was in middle school. He is the son of one of our church leaders. He represents a very rare category in this field – children of Christian parents. Usually everyone around here is a believer in the first generation. He has recently been drafted for a one year compulsory army service. We prayed for his safety and well-being. Pray that the Lord would keep him in his hands through that year.

Friends and Family

Our young homeschoolers continue to move toward their half-year tests in both programs. Pray for the wise scheduling and stamina as we help them to be prepared. Continue to pray for Liliya’s father.
Thank you for standing with us in prayer for this land.

Please pray for our mission trip to the West Asia region on December 20-28. We pray for the remainder of the needed trip expenses will come which is $500.

You can make tax deductible contribution to Ufa Bible Ministries which is recognized by the IRS as a 501c3 non-profit entity. Make checks payable to:
Ufa Bible Ministries
PO BOX 1761, Columbia, SC 29202