Global Partnerships

Friends Around the World Prayer Requests
December 1, 2010

This is the place to find information about the Friends Around the World we support at Stockton Covenant Church. Click on the links below to go directly to the Friend you want to find out about or just scroll through all.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 (NIV)

LEUNG
(updated December 1, 2010)
1.Pray for wisdom and discernment as we start this new position as the NW Regional Directors for OMF International. Pray that the Holy Spirit would move ahead of us as we seek to walk with individual and churches in this process of discipleship.
2. Continue to pray that David will find a medical position.
3. We are looking forward to a good time with family over the holiday season. We are not often in the US during this time, so we are excited to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas together. May it be for you and your family, also a wonderful time of giving thanks and celebrating Christ’s birth.

VILJOEN (HARLESS)
(updated December 1, 2010)
Praise items:
1) During our 10 week South Africa home assignment, the Lord has kept us safe over 4,000 miles so far – from potholes, and cattle, sheep, goats, and people crossing the highways!
2) The Lord has given us great visits with wonderful prayer warriors, supporters, friends and a few of Dale’s relatives. We have been greatly encouraged by so many people who have prayed for Dale for over 30 years, and now they are praying for us. Karen feels that she has been wonderfully accepted by all those we have met!
3) We are so grateful that the Lord is using us to be a blessing to the people we meet.

Prayer requests:
1) That we would have continued health and stamina for the remaining 3 weeks of our South Africa home assignment.
2) That the Lord would raise up new prayer and financial supporters from South Africa, especially amongst the younger generation. That our support will increase from 82% to 100%.
3) For the ability to get over jet-lag quickly upon our return, and for good interaction with Peter and Luke who will be living with us. We leave from Cape Town on December 14 and arrive back in Sapporo on the 17th.
4) On December 22, at 1:30 pm Japan time, we will have a meeting with Pastor Iguchi and two of our OMF colleagues concerning our continued involvement at Sapporo Bible Christian Church. Soon after our departure for home assignment in South Africa, we learned that what we thought were minor ministry and work/rest differences are seen by Pastor Iguchi to be major differences. Please pray that we will have the mind of Christ, be teachable and at the same time not give in to issues that we believe are very important to God and to His ministry.

LARRY & NINA THIEL
(updated December 1, 2010)
•Larry is doing a lot of teaching at IV area gatherings and is doing seminars at IV’s National Staff Conference in St.Louis in January. He just finished a teaching stint at our IV Regional Meetings in Folsom last weekend. Pray for his prep time and his teaching. IV Staff are very inspired by his stories of reaching out on campus.
•Pray for a good end to Larry’s 3 classes he’s teaching at University of the Pacific and for REST this holiday season and into January (juxtaposed with the above request).
•Nina is in rehearsals for a play at Stockton Civic Theatre which plays in January, a British farce, Run for Your Wife, with a lot of buddies and director from previous years and shows. A “salt and light” opportunity.
•Nina is also co-choreographing the musical Hairspray for St.Mary’s High School. Auditions are just after Thanksgiving weekend and rehearsals begin in January…for March performances. Yes, Nina is overlapping productions. Pray for her work among the HS students!
•AND after RFYW closes and before Hairspray opens, Nina will be traveling to Bucknell U. in PA to perform Always the Women, a collaboration between the IV group, the Classics dept. and Theatre dept. there. February 26. Pray for good rehearsal time, peace, and certainty of God’s presence as she goes to perform the Word in the midst of a busy performance and rehearsal season.
•For 48 hours, all of our kids will be home for Christmas. Nina’s mom and dad, too. Pray for us as we host and care for our family, loving them with Jesus’ love and experiencing his work in their lives as we celebrate together.

Thanks for holding us up!

KEITH & MARGIE BROWN
(updated December 1, 2010)

1) Pray for Margie & Marissa as they re-adapt to Bulgaria as well as work in their ministries during the holiday season here.
2) Please pray for the Roma kids at Tulovo. Specifically pray that they finish the Andi Bible Study program by early Jan.
3) Praise for a safe journey in, to & from the States for Margie & Marissa.
4) Kindly pray for us as we do special Christmas ministries during this busy time of year-Margie at the Rodilnia Dom & Keith w/ a Christmas play w/ the Roma kids in Toplochanea.
5) Praise as the Sunday school program at the various villages are doing very well.
6) Please pray the Jon-Erik, who plays music for the Sunday schools, is able to get sponsors in Norway for his ministry here.
7) We would appreciate prayer for Pastor Jimmy Luchev as he has a benign tumor on his thyroid gland that must be removed. He is in prayer & fasting now and if is not healed will go into surgery w/i the next 2 months.

STEVE & EMILYJUNE WONG
(updated December 1, 2010)
1. We have 8 new believers and students who have returned to their faith this year! Please pray for them this advent season as they celebrate the birth of Jesus with new eyes.
2. Pray for our student leaders who have served God on this campus tirelessly and passionately. Pray that God reenergizes their spirit and reorients their heart on Christ and his mission as we finish out the semester and begin the next one.
3. Pray for the many non-believers who have been involved in our ministry through Groups Investigating God, Small Groups, and Large Groups. Pray that their hearts will continue to soften and be drawn by the love and truth of God.
4. Pray for our family as we pray and discern our next step in life as I finish out my commitment to the University of Pacific.

CHERYLL CLARK
(updated August 13, 2010)
Greetings from Guayaquil! I trust all is well with you! We’re pretty busy these day, per usual. I’m coming up on the end of the semester at the Alliance seminary, where I took one regular class and one intensive one. Last week I attended a 4-day CE seminar, which was great!
Prayer requests for this month are on the Ecuador Covenant level, two weekend events, to be specific. Aug. 13-15 is the annual Covenant Scout camp (the Swedish Cov. Church has had a Boy/Girl Scout ministry for many years with the Covenant Church of Ecuador). Aug 27-29 is the annual Covenant Women “Convention”. Prayer requests for both include journey mercies for all who attend, safety at the camp (it’s on a river, and, although the river should be fairly low at this time of year, I always pray for safety wherever water is involved!), that people may be sensitive to the Lord, and that God be glorified in all that is done. The Scouts will be between 9 and 16 years of age.
We don’t have any campers going this year to that camp, but several women hope to go to the convention. So I will add a request for God’s provision for those who would like to attend.
Please continue to pray for our church — the 25th St. Covenant — that God would help us be unified and that we may be sensitive to His leading.

DON & LILLIAN DWIGHT
(updated May 10, 2010)
Please bring these requests before the Lord. Lillian and I are leaving for a year of home assignment this July. We are in the process of arranging for a coworker from the Philippines to come to Taiwan and pastor the Filipino Church while we are gone. Jun Bongenay was here in Taiwan for several years and has now finished Bible school in the Philippines and we would like him to come back for the coming year. His visa application is currently in the government office. Please pray that the paper work will go smoothly on that and he will be approved for a visa. Also pray for other details such as his housing and financial support. Our daughters, Megan and Olivia, are in their last month of high school. Megan is planning to attend Biola University. Olivia is planning to attend North Park University. Please pray for them as they deal with transition issues and say good bye to their friends and life long home.
Thank you for your prayers. We do appreciate it.

YOUTH FOR CHRIST
(updated December 1, 2010)
We are thanking God for even more opportunities to make a difference with students throughout San Joaquin County, with gang outreach, substance abuse, and anger management classes taking place in high schools and middle schools in every school district. Along with the prevention classes and counseling we have already provided 28 high school workshops and 7 middle school assemblies this school year. Also, pray that we continue to find openings to share God’s love with the students and ask God to give us strength… working in prevention and intervention can be an emotionally draining job.

We are also praying that people might consider YFC/Point Break in their end of the year donations so that we can move in to 2011 on good financial footing.

GIANT STEP
(updated December 1, 2010)
1. Pray for the families we are working with. Many of them are going through tough times – job loss, losing homes, etc.
2. Pray for our work in the high schools in the Delta Area – Anger Management, conflict resolution, and small counseling groups.
3. Pray for Mike Areida as his leg is still swollen and he has some other health issues as well.

GOSPEL CENTER RESCUE MISSION
(updated August 20, 2010)
God has heard and answered our prayers in the way we hoped, although sometimes His ways and timing are a mystery to me;not a complaint, but exalting His Sovereignty!After at least a year of problems amidst staff, unity has been restored with the departure of a couple of staff. consequently the unspoken request by a staff member has been thankfully answered. Another praise is Joseph and Vanessa have returned after relapse! Also we have received a large Grant from Kaiser to further support the staff and clients! We’re hoping for acceptance from one other large Grant to further refurbish of an old building on campus for women’s on campus temporary living living. Letha, the Dir. of New Hope Family Shelter has had a mastectomy and will begin chemo or radiation treatments soon.Please pray for God’s peace to envelope her, healing, and as The Lord leads. Brian, Jeremiah, Kim and Tejuana have left the mission, Please pray God would meet them at their deepest point of need and restore their relationship with Him. As we all do, the staff AND clients all need to surrender,receive and walk daily in the plan our loving God has for us. A wonderful follow up to Letha’s story is that MediCal will provide 2 bras and a prosthesis! AND she now has an Oncologist who told her does NOT need Chemo or radiation; only Tomoxifen for the rest of her life which is common. She’s elated and praising God!

ALASKA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
ACC has reached its highest full-time equivalency in our history – 39.5 students up from 30 a year ago this time. More students are taking our second year full program of biblical and general studies and some are still taking courses at Kenai Peninsula College next door to us. We are grateful for that continued partnership. We are also excited to have two foreign students this year, one from Russia and one from Oman in the Middle East. Both bring a differing perspective and are teaching us much about their cultures. Pray our students continue to be faithful for the remaining nine weeks of the semester.

Faculty
God has provided us with a new chef – Mr. Daniel Galindo from Stockton, CA. He joins Helen Gulledge in the Food Services Department. Pray for Helen as she undergoes shoulder surgery and Daniel’s need for volunteer support in her absence.

We continue to seek the Lord for a second Maintenance/Facilities person as the snow comes and work increases. One faithful worker in this department (Harvey Lundquist) cannot keep up with 13 buildings and roads once the snow comes! Do you know of anyone who might help us in this area for a few months or longer? Contact Linda@akcc.org for more information. This is our only current opening and we pray the Lord will fill it!

We also welcome Ted and Kate Mole and their family who have come to us from Wheaton Graduate School. Ted is an adjunct faculty member and serves as a master’s level counselor at New Hope Counseling Center on our campus.

Facilities
Speaking of New Hope Counseling Center, we are 90% completed! Thanks to eight work teams and the financial backing of one our charter member churches, we opened the doors to both the community and our students/staff on Oct. 1st. We now have five total offices, a kitchen, storage, and a full basement (not finished). We are also $6,000 in deficit to finish this project before the winter comes. Would you consider a gift today? We are having an open house on Oct. 24th at 5pm at NHCC for all who wish to come. This is followed by our annual fundraising dinner on our campus to raise funds for the students so that they may receive free services. RSVP to DebHamilton1@aol.com if you can attend one or both events.

Finances
We also have the Ninth Annual ACC Fundraising Banquet in Eagle River at Community Covenant Church on Friday, Nov. 13th at 6pm. The Governor of Alaska has been invited, along with our student speakers, choir, Native dancing, and sharing what God is doing at ACC. You won’t want to miss this incredible event! Table hosts are still needed (no financial obligation) and you may come yourself by rsvping to Jonathan@akcc.org. Last year, this event drew 250 guests and approximately $35,000 was given to support our ministry. If you cannot attend, but wish to participate financially, please go online to www.akcc.org, or make a gift by credit card over the phone (907-260-7422). Also, many churches across the country are participating in our Annual Christmas Ornament Scholarship Tree fundraiser. They will be displaying our student ornaments on their Christmas tree this year. This supports our scholarship program for all students who come and need support to graduate. Thanks in advance.

I love to tell the ACC story. Today I had the privilege once again to tell it to one of our supporting churches. If YOUR church would like to have me or one of our staff or students come to tell you the story, we would be honored to come. Just ask! Together we are seeing the Kingdom of God extended through lives impacted by Jesus Christ and the ministry of ACC.

MOEHL
(updated December 1, 2010)
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Can you believe that Marty is engaged now? (note – he is their youngest) He and Tammy announced their engagement at our Thanksgiving dinner and got everybody cheering for them. The whole time prior to this, I was wondering why Tammy kept the sleeve of her sweater pulled so far down over her hand. When she showed off her sparkling ring I finally got it.

Prayer requests:
1. Praise for two of our church plants that are in the midst of an Alpha-Course.
2. Dorothy and I miss Germany. We were so hoping to make it over there for the national fall church planters conference, but couldn’t go because of insufficient finances. Having a “free” flight because of all the frequent flyer miles is apparently not free any more. Each of us still would have had to pay 375 dollars for taxes and fees.
3. Pray for the December outreach of our sister church, “dreisam3″ in Freiburg. They completely decorated the old St.Paul’s Cathedral in Freiburg to make it look and feel like going back in time to Bethlehem. Kindergarten and School classes, as well as tour busses come from far and near to see and experience this “Time Travel”. They have the fellowship hall all set up for guests who are waiting for the guided tours. And while they are waiting they get free coffee and Christmas goodies, as well as a Gospel tract and invitations to up-coming events. Dreisam3 is the fastest growing church plant in our network. Please pray for much fruit from this, which would bring glory to God.
4. The JesusTreff in Stuttgart is also gearing up for a month of special outreaches. They will start a new course on Dec. 1, which is something like Christianity 101.
5. Our own Evang. Reblandgemeinde is doing the Alpha-Course and are giving us encouraging reports of this. The young people in the church are hitting the various Market Places in the area, passing out invitations to the Christmas play they are putting on on Dec. 12. They will be performing Leo Tolstoy’s Papa Panov’s Special Christmas. The evening will also end with a time of fellowship and food in the fellowship hall, along with good talks about the Lord. Please pray with us about all of that.
6. Finally, my friend Rainer Katzmann, pastor of Bartholomaeus in Halle is preparing for a special Christmas program. In case I haven’t mentioned it, Bartholomaeus Church is the place where George Frederic Handel was baptized. His mother grew up in that church, and the Handels eventually were married there and had little Frederic. Who would have guessed that their little Frederic would some day compose the Hallelujah Chorus?

SORENSON
(updated December 1, 2010)
Please pray for Pacific Islands University as a situation has brought to the fore the issue of Scripture versus culture. Sadly, generally speaking, our students will choose culture over Scripture. When there is a conflict between the two, it is very difficult for them to see Scripture as the authoritative Word of God. Instead, they conclude that it has been Westernized in some fashion. Presently, the staff is diligently working with students as they grapple with this issue, and those who are choosing Scripture over culture are paying a high price. (Our latest update explains this situation more thoroughly).

SWENSON
(updated December 1, 2010)
Life got a bit complicated last week when we took Baxter to the ER with chest pains. Long and short, the cardiologist decided to do an angiogram since it was the day before Thanksgiving. It may have saved Baxter’s life. One of his arteries was 99% blocked. We got to see the images. Amazing. a stint was immediately put in and now Bax is resting. He came home on Thanksgiving. We celebrated with family and friends on Friday. God is good. Thanks for praying for a complete restoration of Baxter’s strength.

Feel free to check out these other Friends Around the World:

Covenant World Relief
Covenant World Mission
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship