Global Outreach 360 Degrees

Steve and Heather Pound, Hannah, Rachel, Aaron and Adam

PREPARING FOR INDIA

We can hardly believe that we’ve been in New Zealand for three months already! Time has flown and it’s been a blur of getting to know a new place and a different culture.

This summer we will be leading a number of short-term missions teams in New Zealand and speaking at churches. In October, we plan to leave for Kolkata (Calcutta), India. We’re learning Bengali in preparation for ministering to the city that is dedicated to Kaili, the Hindu goddess of destruction. The city’s population is 12.8 million and it has the lowest urban standard of living in the world. The population is only 6 percent Christian, and of those, most are nominal.

We will be working with a group in the notorious sex district there, working to free women spiritually and physically. The women are coerced into the trade, often at 11 or 12 years old. The group works by employing the women to work, and then the women share their stories with other women. It is against the law there to change your religion so when we are there, we won’t be using the “M” word.

As we've traveled in New Zealand and been in communication with people back in the States, we keep getting questions about the safety of our children in India.

When I was in Kolkata last year I asked a lot of questions. I spoke with other mothers who have raised or are raising their kids there. The responses I got were along this line:
-Even though we'll be in a prostitution district, it does not make our kids a target since it is only for Indians (no foreigner would go there). In fact, their skin color is really a protection.
-Follow basic safety rules like the kids don't go anywhere alone and are not out and about after dark.
-Their kids have done well!

We know that God has called us to do this and firmly believe that when He calls a family to do something that He has a plan for the whole family in it.

God's been working on our hearts individually specifically about India for years. About six months after the kids and I had moved to the States from Fiji, God strongly began to put on my heart that we would be back out on the mission field before the girls left home and that it was important for them personally in the people that they were to become.

We are tremendously blessed to feel be called as a family.

Please pray for our family for the following:

• Our time in Fiji and the ministry of the teams we will lead there.
• For our study of the Bengali language.
• For the start-up costs we need for Kolkata.
• That a small flat will be available in the area.

CCV supports the Pounds. Learn more about the Pounds at www.poundsprogress.blogspot.com.

Mission Partners Offer Great Help for Short-term Trips

Steve and Heather Pound share their experiences as short and long-term mission partners throughout the world in a Web site to help others interested in short-term trips.

At www.shorttermers.com, you will find everything from support letter samples and fundraising ideas to tips for parents and articles on leadership and missions.

The Web site is searchable, and articles are arranged by topics as well including preparing for a trip and what to expect after the trip. The Web site is updated daily with a missions scripture verse and news of missions around the world.

Steve and Heather Pound are supported by Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, AZ. They live in New Zealand as they prepare to move to India to share Christ’s love in Calcutta.

Mission Partners in Japan Celebrate End of School Year

Joel and Gail Anderson are CCV mission partners serving in Okinawa Christian School International in Yomitan, Okinawa, and they recently sent this about their end-of-school celebration.

Regular school for students ended on June 10.  At our final faculty/staff devotions on Friday morning, our superintendent urged us to boast—“He who boasts is to boast in the Lord.” (2 Cor. 10:17).  What a great time of boasting!

One teacher shared about two elementary brothers who put their faith in Christ.  They prayed together each night that their parents would become believers.  Recently, their parents started attending church with them.

A former maintenance director from the 1980s just returned to Okinawa for a visit.  He told us of a high school student from those days who contacted him recently to apologize.  “I mocked you behind your back because you were a Christian,” he said.  “Now I am one of you!”

Another student was incorrigible during his days at OCSI.  He eventually reached the U.S., where he was lonely.  He learned of a group of Japanese speakers who gathered regularly for a Bible study.  Desperate for Japanese conversation, he joined them.  There he accepted Christ.  Then he led his brother to Christ.  Next he led his parents to Christ.  And who knows how many more?

There were many more “boasts” of how God is changing lives.  We would love to claim the credit, but we can’t.  It is our duty to cultivate the ground, to plant the seeds, and to do our part to nurture the young growth. Each life is a miracle of God.  The Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways to draw people to Him. 

Our kindergarten, fifth-grade, eighth-grade, and twelfth-grade graduates include many success stories, but each of them faces transition challenges.  Please pray for these and for all of our students, that God who began a good work in them “will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  (Phil. 1:6)

Great Short Term Trip Opportunity !!!

by Larrie Fraley

John Burch from Christ's Church of Scottsdale contacted me the other day and he has a few openings for a great trip to Guadalajara, Mexico this August 15-22 2009.The cost is right !

 

Homes of Hope is a ministry of YWAM in which homes are built for the poorest of the poor. Many in Mexico live in substandard housing, and this is an opportunity to bless these people with something that they can't afford. When we say substandard housing, that means like 10 people or more living under a tin roof and no walls, or perhaps walls that are about to fall over. This is a ministry that allows groups to come in for short term missions to bless a family. It is also an opportunity to show God's love in a practical way, showing them through our hands and feet the love of Christ. The other purpose is to gain the family's trust, and later to start a relationship with them. With this open door we can share not only with our actions but with the Word and Hope of the Lord. This is an exciting opportunity to see how one or two weeks can really change the life of a family in need. We want to help, to disciple, to bring the glory and hope of Christ to everyone and everywhere, even through a new house.

Contact: John Bruch at 602-717-8415 or john.bruch@cox.net. They need to get airlines nailed down.

Read about YWAM at http://www.ywamguadalajara.org/read.php?id=29&lang=eng

 

 

Knock Knock... Who's There ?... God... what's up God? ... GO TO AUSTRIA !

CCV supports TCM in big way.TCMII is looking for a full-time, residential Director of Research and Learning Resources at the Campus in Heiligenkreuz, Austria. TCM International Institute prepares men and women for Christian leadership and provides benevolent assistance in Europe and Central Asia.

To accomplish its educational purpose,TCMI Institute offers one certificate and two graduate degree programs in Practical Theology and helps direct students in doctoral programs in theology in universities in Belgium, Czech Republic, and Romania.

Students who complete these programs should demonstrate progress in Christian formation, know essential biblical and theological resources for ministry, communicate their understanding of the Christian faith to others, develop a theology of ministry as an expression of serving Christ, and demonstrate skills in the various practices of ministry.

TCMII has two positions open---Academic Dean and Director of Research and Learning Resources.  Please pass along to any you think might have interest.

TCMII is looking for a full time, residential Academic Dean at the Campus in Heiligenkreuz, Austria.  The goal is have this person on board by spring, 2010.  Proven Christian character and exemplary Kingdom service are absolutely essential.  Cross-cultural experience and multi-language capabilities are a big plus.  Successful candidates will need a doctorate, experience in higher education administration (especially assessment and curriculum), ability to lead a team, oversee and conduct research supervision and teach.  Resumes and inquiries can be sent to Tony Twist (Tony@tcmi.org).

TCMII is looking for a full-time, residential Director of Research and Learning Resources at the Campus in Heiligenkreuz, Austria.  The goal is to have this person on board by spring, 2010.  Proven Christian character and exemplary Kingdom service are absolutely essential.  Cross-cultural experience and multi-language capabilities are a big plus.  Successful candidates will need a doctorate, have experience in distance delivery and learning resource management and be able to lead a team, oversee and conduct research supervision and teach.  Resumes and inquiries can be sent to Tony Twist (Tony@tcmi.org

Bigger Breasted Chickens

by Larrie Fraley

I spent five months as a vegan from January 2008 through May 2008. I read a book called the China Study and it changed me enough to commit to not eating any animal based protein for five months. No cheese, no eggs, nothing that came out of animal. I have always had high cholesterol (246) but low blood pressure. I won’t go into the book but I highly recommend it. I checked my cholesterol before I started. At the end of five months it dropped 40 points. I took no other medicine nor did I increase my physical activity. Why did I not quit?  Let’s not go into that other than to say human weakness. I am going to recommit to eating healthier. I did run across this soon to be released movie. It might stir your interest.

Games Pimps Play......

My name is Nicole and I’m interning with Streetlight this summer. Streetlight is a start-up non-profit organization designed to unite local churches to eradicate child sex slavery in Phoenix and then the rest of the nation. I thought I’d share a little bit about what I’ve observed after spending a little over a week with Streetlight. This last week I’ve read numerous stories about the victims that are in Phoenix and I’m amazed that this horrible injustice is happening in our own backyards. When we hear the words, “Child sex slave” we picture an Asian girl in the slums of Thailand who is too far away for us to help, but the truth is we drive by child sex slaves every day in the city of Phoenix.  I’m so excited that Streetlight is here in this city and is standing up against the injustice that is occurring in Phoenix. This last week I had the opportunity to go to a sentencing hearing for a pimp that exploited numerous girls here in Phoenix.  To observe this man doing everything in his power to intimidate was an experience unlike any other.  This man was handcuffed and being sentenced but that didn’t stop him from intimidating his victim.  This man was so skilled in intimidation and manipulation and it gave me a better understanding of what the girls being exploited have to deal with.  These children are under the impression that they are in love with their pimp, that they chose this life, or that they have no hope.  They have been brainwashed to the point that they don’t even consider themselves victims.  It breaks my heart that these children have no sense of self worth.  However, I’m so excited that Streetlight is devoted to helping these children only believe that which is truth. You can find more about Streetlight and partners at www.streetlightphx.com.

CCV Holy Land Tour June 5 - Petra - Lorrie Yoakum Arrested in Petra

Here Lorrie poses before the Bedouin police take her to jail. It is reported that the Bedouin jail is a tent wrapped in steel cables. Kevin, her husband said he will have to pray about whether he should go and get her out. She was charged with exceeding the speed limit on a camel.

One of the best known groups from Jordan’s population is the Bedouin. As they are known in Arabic, the Bedu, or “desert dwellers,” endure the desert and have learned to survive its unforgiving climate. It is difficult to count Bedouins, but it is generally known that the majority of Jordan’s population is of Bedouin origin.

Most of Jordan’s Bedouin live in the vast wasteland that extends east from the Desert Highway. All throughout the south and east of the country, their communities are marked by characteristic black goat-hair tents. These are known as beit al-sha’ar, or “house of hair.”

Bedouins are often stereotyped as constantly wandering the desert in search of water and food for their flocks. This is only partly true. Only a small portion of Bedouin can still be regarded as true nomads, while many have settled down to cultivate crops rather than drive their animals across the desert. Most Bedouin have combined the two lifestyles to some degree. Those Bedouins who still practice pastoralism will camp in one spot for a few months at a time, grazing their herds of goats, sheep or camels until the fodder found in the area is exhausted. It is then time to move on. Often the only concession they make to the modern world is the acquisition of a pick-up truck (to move their animals long distances), plastic water containers and perhaps a kerosene stove.

We left early this morning for Petra. Petra was inhabited by the Edomites  which was the descendants of Esau. We walked through the “Siq” which is a big crack in the sandstone. All of a sudden we walked into a valley only to see the immense carving in the stone called the, Treasury,  or Kazneh.

 Petra was chosen as the capital of the Nabateans because it was located in a valley surrounded by sandstone mountains. There are many ways to get into Petra, but none of them are easy, and if the valleys are sealed, it is almost impossible for anyone to enter. The main entrance to Petra is called the Siq; it has sides as high as 650 ft.  This gorge and the temple at the end of it (the Kazneh) were popularized in American culture in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Knowledge of Petra was lost to the Western world until John Lewis Burckhardt tricked his Bedouin guides into leading him there in 1812.

Of the 800 carved tombs in Petra, the Kazneh is the most famous. Its name Kazneh means "treasure" and comes from the Bedouin belief that the Pharaoh chasing the Israelites hid his treasure in the urn at the top of the Kazneh. Tomb facades were built from the top down. Scaffolding was built and then grooves were carved into the rock. Into these grooves were inserted pieces of wood, which when made wet, expanded and cracked the rock.

As many as 30,000 people may have lived in Petra during the 1st century A.D. It is a misconception that Petra was a city only for the dead. A large earthquake in 363 A.D. destroyed at least half of the city. Petra never recovered from this destruction.

The Monastery is the largest tomb façade in Petra, measuring 50 yards wide and 45 yards high. Despite its name, it was built as a tomb monument and may have acquired its name from the crosses inscribed inside.  Like the Kazneh, the structure consists of two stories topped by a magnificent urn.  The architectural detail of the Kazneh is not evident in this building.

Tomorrow we leave for home never able to read the Bible the same.

Sea of Galilee Dancing with the Stars

CCV Holy Land Tour June 4 - Beit-Shean, Jordan - Out of Isreal

Today we went to Beit Shean, south of the Sea of Galilee. It must have been familiar to the first believers in Jesus, as it was the capital of the Decapolis cities, through which word of Jesus’ miracles and teachings spread (Matt. 4:25, Mark 5: 20).

It has also been a scene of tragedy: more than a millennium earlier, the Philistines hung the body of Saul on the wall. (I Sam. 31:10). Beit Shean, with its 5,000 years of history, sits on the ruins of the Roman and later the Christian city that took shape below.

We wandered around the ancient streets, amazed by columns toppled in the earthquake of 749 AD; an impressive theater that has returned to use; a bathhouse, which has been reconstructed to show visitors the pastimes of bygone days, and later contained a baptistery; and the churches that graced its suburbs. The fertile surrounding countryside, from Gilead to Jezreel and Gilboa is all around us.