Issue 4

Missionary Ventures

UPDATE

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By So and So, Thingy

ContentsIntroduction� 3Uganda�News� 4Romania�Big�Things� 6Zambia�News� 8Macedonia�Miracles� 10India�Mission�Training� 12Cairo�A�Breakthrough� 13Russian�Missions�to�India!� 14

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Psalm 68:5-6 reads “A father to the

fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his Holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families; he leads forth the prisoners with singing”. I know these verses to be true. I have seen it with my own eyes.

Countless children have

lost one or more parents to

HIV/Aids or other devastating

diseases. I see God using His

people to provide care and

protect weak and vulnerable

babies and orphans.

Many wives have suffered

the loss of a husband through

sickness or desertion. As

they struggle to raise their

family in hard conditions,

I see the Lord stirring His

people to bring dignity and

hope to these widows.

Through different forms of

evangelism I see Him bringing

many lost and lonely people

into His wonderful family on

earth, the church. There they

are nurtured, strengthened

and equipped so that they

too can be used by God.

In crowded jails all over

the world I

see God’s

people

demonstrating

His love and

mercy to

prisoners

who through

sin and poor choices have

ended up losing everything.

He is truly the God of the Lost!

As you read this latest

Missionary Ventures ‘Update’,

about the wonderful things

God is doing through ordinary

people like you and I, please

be encouraged. Together we

really are making a difference.

Thank you for serving

with us as we join God’s

search party together.

Introduction

“He is truly a God of the lost”

By Rob Carter, Director

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Uganda News

Rex and

Melinda Guynn recently moved to Kitgum, an 8-hour

journey north over rough terrain from the capital Kampala. Following the Civil war over 2 million people in the region were left displaced from their land and lives. Their heart is to reach out to the Acholi people with the gospel of Christ. Initially they will continue to work with indigenous Pastor David and Christine Otto. Please pray that they will be able to settle in quickly and for favour on the ventures they have initiated including a tailoring school and a bee-keeping project.

Pat Crook, a new MV

Field Specialist in Uganda has quite a unique ministry. Through a programme she has helped

develop, through spending many years in African villages, she teaches local villagers all over Uganda to be healthy.

Due to a long history of receiving outside help with their health and medication many have forgotten the very basics of healthy living relying on ‘white medicine’ to solve everything.

Pat’s new program tries to show them that God has already provided them with many practical tools to help reduce disease and illness .

The Moringa tree, for example exists all over Uganda but it’s potential health

Nigel and Kathy Harding our field coordinators in Uganda, along with

their two children, Abigail and Emmanuel, have recently spent a year in the UK for

the first time in 6 years. They mainly came to spend time with friends and family, so Abigail could experience the culture in case she may have to return for education in the future and so Nigel could study at the University of London. They return now to a new house, to build on relationships they started, to grow their networks and to receive more teams. Please pray for them as they settle back down and begin their work again in earnest.

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Hallelujah! After a 2-year delay, full written approval to start building

the ‘Trust Children Centre’ has been received from the Ugandan authorities! Cost estimates are being updated and we are hoping that there will be sufficient funding available to construct the first two blocks. This should provide good, safe accommodation for around twenty boys who formerly lived on the streets. Nigel Harding and our indigenous partner Pastor Willy Tumwine wish to say a big thank you to all the donors for their patience during the delay.

benefits are not taught; the leaves of the tree can be eaten for an excellent source of vitamins, the pods are a natural water purifier and the oil made from the tree has amazing healing properties for skin. This one tree by itself can have a massive impact on the health of a village if they are simply shown how to use it.

On top of this there are plants that deter mosquitos, and therefore malaria, fly traps can be made from plastic bottles, to avoid diarrhoea. ‘Tippy-taps’ made for hand washing and so much more.

Pat has been working in Uganda since 2001 but she has now teamed up with Missionary Ventures and is excited to see where this new partnership will take her. She will be working closely with the Hardings which will hopefully see Pat’s work increase greatly across Uganda and beyond its borders.

Before his father died

and his mother abandoned him, Dickson was left in the care of his Aunty. However it was

not long before his Aunty died as well and Dickson found himself in the care of his Uncle, Peter. It is obvious that Peter has a big heart and tenderness toward his nephew. However Dickson was not able

to complete the last term of school, he is a bright boy who needs to be able to get on with his studies without distraction (i.e. not worrying about school fees and being sent home due to non-payment).

Thankfully this was all before Missionary Ventures was able to help and now Dickson is progressing well in school. He is fully supported through our Child Support Programme and hopes one day to be a pilot. Thank God that he and many others now have a new chance in life.

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By Judy Parker Romania Big Things

Sighisoara (sig-ee-swari) boasts of being

the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, alias Count Dracula, but as a town it is simply beautiful in the late autumn with stunning mediaeval architecture, pastel-coloured houses, imposing buildings, and warm sun lighting the rich autumn colours of the trees. With a beautiful location to arrive in and a hotel that decided to upgrade us to 3-star without extra charge we decided this was definitely ‘Mission for Softies’!

We went to support a

missionary couple, Jill and

Sorin Mihai. They work from a

base in the town called Casa

Vietii (House of Life), and have

programmes and regular visits

into the gypsy villages around

Sighisoara. They offer a whole

range of support such as

practical food parcels, clothes,

transport to and from hospital,

education and practical help for

the women during pregnancy,

Bible study and prayer groups.

Our first plan was to take three

sub teams, but in the end five

teams evolved from the 18 of

us, and it worked remarkably

smoothly, with everyone fully

involved in their role on the

sub team and yet having

the diversity of the bigger

group to relate to at other

times. So, what did we do?

The DIY team worked

on the extension, which is to

house the new clinic, waiting

room, and bathroom. Nick

and I tiled the waiting room and

Ollie taught Tom how to plaster

walls and ceilings. Nick also

built a ramp outside the main

If you’ve ever thought ‘I’d like to go on mission but I could never cope with living rough’ this was a mission with a bit of a difference!Missionary Ventures recently sent a team of 18 adults and young people, from three different churches, to the heart of Transylvania in Romania.

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entrance, and Yvonne levelled

and pick-axed the cement

floors and sanded the walls.

Janet, the Pro-Life trainer

and midwife, held a series

of seminars for those on the

Pro-Life team to update and

train them in all aspects of

counselling and pregnancy.

Phil, Jean and Charlie

went out as the medical team

to provide one-to-one health

screening in the villages.

They took blood pressures,

monitored breathing, and

checked for undiagnosed

diabetes. But their highlight

was praying with certain

of those individuals.

The youth team – James,

Jamie, Francis, Sophie and

Lucy - went to the villages to

engage the lads and girls in

either football, frisby or just

a chat and some games.

The children’s team

- Bernard, Joy, Adele,

Hannah and Yvonne - used

parachutes, colouring,

songs, crafts, and a whole

range of activities to give

the younger kids a great fun

time as well as hearing the

message of the God who

made the world. They always

seemed to have children

around their ankles and had

enormous fun with them!

At the end of each

exhausting day we ate

together as a big group

and then shared some of

the amazing and moving

things we had seen during

the day. It was always

encouraging and humbling.

At the end of the week,

some of the team went out

into Sighisoara to do face

painting and

give out

invitations to

the outreach

service at

church that

evening. It

was led by

James and the youth team,

and the sense of praise

was fantastic, despite it

being Hallowe’en! We had

testimonies, a drama and

some wonderful worship,

then James spoke on the

story of the prodigal son.

Two people gave their lives

to Christ that night, including

one lady who had been

one of our cooks all week!

I don’t think at the end of

the week I could have found

words for all that I had learned

and received in our brief stay.

And the thing about mission

is that, like it or not, a bit of

your heart gets left there when

you leave. Then there’s the

sheer fun of living with other

Christians

for a week -

worshipping,

laughing,

getting stuck

in…well it

really is a lot

like heaven!

A brilliant week, and the effects

will stay with us for a long time.

Thanks to Missionary Ventures

for all they did to make this

trip possible, and thanks to

everyone who prayed for us

or gave us gifts to take out.

What about coming

along yourself next time?

“A bit of your heart gets left

there when you leave”

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Zambia News

Nine Pastors

from the Komena Christian Training Center graduated on 27 September, after three years of part-time studies!!! The graduates donned caps & gowns and proudly received their certificates in “Basic Pastoral Training”. Komena continues to impact the lives of it’s students, and we are trusting God for funds next year to build a large “assembly hall” which can be used for an additional lecture hall as well as Leader’s Conferences, plus another student dormitory to house more students.

When Theuns visited the UK in early 2008 he spoke in several

churches about the tremendous work God is doing amongst the Tonga people. After one meeting a man offered to donate a Land Rover. The good news is that it has now been successfully received along with some spare parts and many boxes of much-needed baby clothes, medical supplies and a sewing machine. A football coach also gave us several team strips and about thirty balls. The children at the Community schools in the valley will be blessed with ‘proper’ equipment for the first time!

Project NextGen is an exciting new program which will help orphaned

girls receive a better education in a safe, Christian environment! We have partnered with another mission organisation based in Lusaka who have a “safe-house” for street children as well as a small, private school. On this property we have started building a ‘dormitory’ facility which will house 10 orphaned high school girls from the Gwembe valley.

By Karin Engelbrecht

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Recently, Theuns

and Karin, were approached by the Chief, Senior Headman and the community lead-ers of the Mbole

area, who offered them a piece of land! On it are some cottages, a huge shed and a bore-hole with a handpump on it. The land is suitable for the Farming God’s Way project and it could be developed into a “sub-mission base” providing training of Community Health Workers, Community School teachers, Pastors Training etc. With facilities to house outreach teams and students who come for training. Please pray with us about this proposal!

Project NextGen is an exciting new program which will help orphaned

girls receive a better education in a safe, Christian environment! We have partnered with another mission organisation based in Lusaka who have a “safe-house” for street children as well as a small, private school. On this property we have started building a ‘dormitory’ facility which will house 10 orphaned high school girls from the Gwembe valley.

After 18 months of processing, Elizabeth Ratliff has finally been approved for working in the women’s

section at Lusaka Central Prison. In addition to sharing the Gospel and praying with the women, MV has provided several pieces of medical equipment & supplies to the prison doctor; started a Sewing Project in which 18 of the inmates are now enrolled which provides a means for supporting themselves and their families when they are discharged. The items they make while in prison are sold and provide money for various needs. Infant formula is also being provided for one of the babies unable to nurse because of the mother being HIV+. Clothing, nappies and children’s picture books are also being provided for the three babies currently in prison with their mothers. In the future we would like to set up a library and provide school supplies for those taking courses.

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Page HeadingBy So and So, Thingy

In Macedonia ten Churches have been

planted and the Mission Work is still going on with an increasing intensity; there are still many major cities without any protestant work at all.

The stories about young

people having been set

free from heroin addiction

and delivered from demonic

oppression are numerous.

Three quarters of the worship

team in Skopje are medical

miracles, living examples of

God’s marvelous grace. The

last Church planted came into

existence by one intentional

and one accidental healing.

One man having suffered

from a stroke was brought by

his friend to receive prayer.

The man suffering from the

stroke was healed and as his

friend “accidentally” touched

him he was instantly healed

from a stiff shoulder received

after falling off a horse cart

a few months earlier.

A medical clinic has been

started, it serves as a general

practice and frequently travels

to remote and extremely poor

villages to offer medical care.

Four second hand shops

have been started and are

employing fourteen people.

Good quality clothes are sold

for extremely

low prices.

The poor are

given a sense

of dignity

by being

able to buy

something

rather than

just receiving

hand outs.

Shutka, just outside

Skopje, is said to be the

largest gypsy settlement in the

world. We are running a very

successful pre-school there

and experts are saying that

they have never seen such

good developments in children

as they have seen in this pre-

school. The creativity level is

just incredible. The children are

also taught to read and write

as many of them may never go

to another school in their life.

Macedonia MiraclesBy Tommie Naumann

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Even though the children come

from a Muslim background

this is a clearly a Christian

school with a clear Christian

curriculum.

The result

has been that

many of the

children even

go home and

pray for their

parents and

grandparents.

On at least

one occasion

this led to a dramatic healing

of a sick grandfather.

In this part of Skopje we

are also planting a Church.

Over the years working here

our hearts have been moved in

relation to this poverty stricken

area haunted by witchcraft,

and in the grip of Islam. As a

result we have

launched a

project that is

big scale for

us. We are in

the process

of developing

a place for

the pre-school to have their

own housing in order to be

able to develop and extend,

a place for the Church to

meet but the intention is

more than that. We want to

develop a community centre,

to include facilities for sports

activities and an educational

centre; illiteracy is big out here,

especially among women. It

is our desire to meet needs

like this and many others

present in this community.

We are also involved

in Church planting in the

city of Thessaloniki. The

Church there has recently

seen quite a number of

people coming to the Lord.

In the Middle East, in the

last few years, we have been

involved with

some hard

pressed

Churches

in Jordan

and Syria.

We have

started Bible

Schools for the purpose of

training leaders and conducting

national conferences

aimed at equipping them

to have a greater impact

for the gospel of Christ.

With Tommie and Gunilla Naumann joining MV a new field of Missions has opened up for us. The Balkans and the Middle East, some of the most unreached regions in the world for the Gospel, are ready to explore. This is a challenge, this is exciting.

“we have launched a

project that is big scale for us”

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By So and So, Thingy India Mission TrainingMissionary Ventures has

been privileged to be able to help train, equip and support hundreds of church leaders in India. We see this as a fantastic investment for the kingdom of God.

This continues and

grows as we partner with

the ‘Nava Jeevana Sahavasa

Samajam’ (NJSS), which is

Telugu for ‘New Life Fellowship

Association’ in the state of

Andhra

Pradesh.

At the time

of writing

Viv Penfold,

accompanied

by two other

experienced

Assemblies of God pastors,

Bruce Millar and Clifford

Beasley, are in the middle of a

busy teaching mission. They

will be hosting a conference

for around 400 NJSS church

leaders and potential leaders in

Eluru. The theme will be ‘The

Church in the 21st Century’.

The conference will then

be repeated in Mumbai in

partnership with Abundant Life

Ministries under the direction

of Jerry and Bella D’Souza.

Sandwiched between the

two conferences will be the

wedding of the chairman of

NJSS, Joel

Abrahams

and his wife-

to-be Mevis

and a gospel

concert

‘starring’

Viv himself.

However the highlight of

the trip promises to be the

annual graduation in Eluru of

students from the three training

centres that MV has helped

to establish and support.

Ten married couples will

graduate from the Missions

Training Centre (MTC) in

Visakhapatnam, where the

principal is Pastor Prabakkaroa.

Twelve men will also graduate

from the MTC in Pakala led by

Pastor Adams. The aim of the

MTC’s is to equip and enable

these leaders to be church

planters amongst some of

the least-reached tribes in the

region like the Konda Dora

and the Yanadi. Finally, the

first fifteen students through

Pastor Enoch’s fledgling

Bible School in Tanaku will

receive certificates. These

occasions are always joyful

celebrations as these men and

women are commissioned

to serve the Lord in India!

“This is a fantastic

investment for the kingdom”

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Cairo A BreakthroughI�am pleased to tell you

that the Lord has made a way where there seemed to be no way! Permission to open the facility that several teams have worked on over the past 3 years was consistently rejected.

However Pastor W has

been able to take a five-

year lease on an existing

but redundant pre-school

(kindergarten) facility; and

the amazing part is that

the facility comes fully

complete with a licence to

operate as a pre-school!

All the furniture and

equipment constructed and

donated by visiting Missionary

Ventures teams has been

moved to the new facility,

teachers have been recruited

and we are thankful that this

Christian-run Kindergarten

has finally opened.

There are currently seven

children attending on various

days of the

week. Pastor

W and the

Kindergarten

team are

now busy

promoting

the facility

and one special feature

is that the care includes

regular visits to the children

by a qualified Doctor.

In a country that is

overwhelmingly Muslim this

project will demonstrate the

love of Jesus in a community

that has been very difficult to

reach with the gospel. It will

also help to model best-

practice educational methods

where the norm is tradition

and will give Pastor W and the

church increased credibility

in government circles.

However, there are

still very

significant

financial

challenges

ahead so

please pray

and if you

are able to

help please contact the office.

“The Lord has made a way”

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By Sandy Meier Russian Missions to India!Who would have

thought a decade ago that the Russian Church would be reaching the nations? Yet in 1855, Hudson Taylor, the English missionary to China, had a vision from God of this very thing. He stopped preaching his message and told the congregation in London what he saw - two world wars, other conflicts, Russians experiencing a spiritual awakening to spread the Gospel beyond their borders, and finally, the coming of Christ.

Step by step. By God’s

grace, we at Missionary

Ventures are doing our part

to help the Russian Christians

fulfil this vision. It began in

1994 when we began the

first church-based leadership

training centre called New

Life College. Year after year,

graduates began planting

churches in their regions.

Then we established other

church-based colleges

located in Volgograd, south

western Russia, and most

recently, in southern Siberia.

God takes a little and

makes a lot. When Luther and

I taught in these colleges, we

spoke of our experiences in

Africa and India. In the early

days of Russia’s economic

hardships, one class was so

moved by a story told about

a rural Ugandan church that

they sacrificed eating their

lunches to give us an offering.

They labelled it ‘from Russia

with love’. We took that

meagre amount to Africa and

bought chickens and rice for

a communal meal. Those

Ugandan Christians, living in

dire poverty, shared the meal

with their Muslim neighbours

and many came to Christ as

a result. A little was given, but

with a big heart God provided

much! And God planted seeds

of compassion for the lost.

A Breakthrough. This

year we saw a breakthrough in

Russian missions. We received

word that New Life College in

western Russia was taking a

short term team to India to visit

Russian missionaries whom

they support. They asked us

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to come and help prepare the

class and staff for their first

foreign short term mission. On

April 24, 2008 for 10 days,

a team of seven from the

college staff and graduates

ministered the gospel in New

Delhi and the surrounding

area. We texted each other

during that time and to our

delight they reported 20 souls

saved during their first service.

When the team returned

to Russia they sent us this

report. “…And we strongly appreciate all the experience we received from you during many years of our friendship. It’s you who taught us to preach the Gospel, pray, sing songs (“Oh, Lord I

want to sing Your praises” was very popular). Thank you for sharing the advice with us when you were here in Pskov. All was very helpful. We thank God for this awesome time, for this step into missions. Our hearts are still there in India though our bodies are back home…”

In February 2009, Luther

and I will be the keynote

speakers for the annual 4-day

Youth Conference of Western

Russia. Two hundred youth

are expected to attend. The

theme chosen is “Mission

Possible” to challenge and

inspire involvement in world

missions! We will also teach at

New Life College on missions.

Emmanuel Church desires to

send more teams abroad to

spread the Gospel and partner

with Missionary Ventures to

help them. Could this be

a prototype for hundreds

of Russian churches in the

future? Only God knows the

significance of these events.

Please cover

this in your

prayers. If

your heart is

stirred to be

involved, you

can sponsor

a Russian

Christian

or a team to go to India

or Africa. What wonderful

opportunities lie ahead for

many to hear the Gospel!

“Only God knows the

significance of these events.”

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By So and So, Thingy

Address:

Missionary Ventures

Suite 3, Champness Hall

Drake Street

Rochdale

Lancashire

OL16 1PB

Telephone:

01706 639 333

E-Mail: info@mvgb.org.uk

Web:

missionaryventures.org.uk

Contact Details

Part of Missionary Ventures Internationalwww.mvi.org

Missionary Ventures is a UK-registered charity, number

1067612, and a member of the Evangelical Alliance.

The printing of this newsletter was part

sponsored by donations.