Troubled on every side yet not distressed

Of all the letters Apostle Paul wrote to his churches, 2 Corinthians is probably one of the most personal. There the Apostle described what he had to come through to nurture the new believers and establish new churches. In chapter 4 he stresses that he was pressed on every corner yet not stranded. Scripture says that God does that so that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. That is how we often feel in our ministry. Being a simple man and woman of God, jars of clay, through whom the exceeding greatness of God’s blessing flows.

“For All Club”

We have had two clubs already since the beginning of fall. Both times the hall was full. Many said that they missed our meetings during the summer months. Both times we have come very close to direct gospel preaching. Most of the time, though, we have had to build relationships with the people to be able to share the gospel with them.
Continue to pray for the hearts of those attenders to feel their spiritual hunger through these meetings. These are mostly young people. Pray for us as we are trying to preach the gospel creatively. In those meetings we build a bridge to Christ.

Winter Plans

We are going to travel to the region of West Asia in December. There we are going to hold meetings with local believers. We plan to hold workshops in Tbilisi, Georgia and in Yerevan, Armenia.
Please pray for us to be able to cast the vision of the disciple making efforts and house churches. Pray for all the necessary funds to come. We need $1500 to raise in a short time for the trip.

Friends and Family

Tim is going to participate in a regional tournament in November. He is going to play basketball with his team. Christina loves to sing Christian songs from Sunday school to her friends. It is her way of sharing about Jesus with them. Pray for the hearts of those youngsters and their parents. That they may make a next step to come to our Sunday school class or to our for-all club. Thank you for your prayer and your love!

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

In Matthew 12 Jesus teaches that “you cannot be neutral with regard to me”. We are either with Jesus or against him. Either gather with him or scatter abroad. Today many people expect Christians to visit orphanages or help those in need. But as soon as we try to talk to them about their need of accepting Jesus as a personal Savior, they turn away from us. Social services are important but their purpose is to support the spreading of God’s word. We must stay on the course bringing everyone to salvation in Jesus. We are ambassadors of Christ and God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead – “Reconcile with God!”

ESL students

We had a very warm welcome with our students last week. Many said that they missed our meetings during summer break. We mentioned earlier that several students had rejoined us after the pandemic. Praise the Lord for keeping these souls for several years. This is a true answer to prayer. Continue to pray for the hearts of our students to feel their spiritual hunger through our classes with them. There are young as well as older students. Pray for us to teach ESL classes and preach the gospel creatively.

Fall Plans

Some of you have been praying about the camp and follow up. Three individuals came to our Sunday service! Also, several men expressed a desire to come to our “For All Club”. For this we also praise the Lord.
Please pray for our Harvest Festival this year. It is one of few times a year that we have special services, along with Christmas and Easter. So, this is another opportunity to invite our friends to a special service.

Friends and Family

Tim is now in high school. This year He entered 9th grade. Pray for wisdom and a good understanding in these two programs. Pray that we will organize things well this year.

Thank you for your prayer and support!

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

Greater than the temple

In Matthew 12 Jesus revealed to the Pharisees that He was greater than the temple. This indicated another turn, a type-fulfilling turn from the temple to a person. There was a turn from the temple to a person who is greater than the temple. Jesus is the new temple. That means authentic worship is no longer attached to any place. It is attached to Jesus. Now we, Christians from all the continents, make up this universal-wide Temple of the New Covenant. That is what marvels a person here in this mission field, the thought that you can freely come to God, no special places or special people needed.

ESL classes

We start to gradually resume our classes after the summer break. One good sign – we are starting to see some of our previous students whom we have not seen since the pandemic times. This is an interesting work of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for a good beginning of the classes and creativity in the process. Pray for us to preach the gospel creatively.

Summer Family Camp

The camp has become a blessing for us this year, though we had some rough time with the flooding. As the river was rising we had to move our tents on to safer grounds. We had to finish the program and disassemble the tents one day earlier due to the rising levels on the river. This year we are experiencing a great amount of precipitation. It rains constantly everyday. The rivers are full and many roads are washed out. A few bridges have collapsed. So we thank the Lord of Hosts for letting us conduct the camp in the midst of these raising waters. Now pray for the word sown in the hearts of the people. That, with the help of the Holy Spirit, in the proper time it may ripen.

Friends and Family

We are in a planning mode for the next school year. Please pray for wisdom and a good planning outcome. Tim had some special time to spend helping with his Muslim grandmother. She is not perceptive to the gospel but since he is her grandson she had to listen to him. Pray that she would come to Christ.

Thank you for your continuing prayer and support!

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