Dear Ministry Partners,

After our recent election on March 4th 2013, it was followed with a petition by the opposition group. The country was divided and the people were anxious for the outcome. We thank the Lord for the court ruling and for the political calm. Truly, secular leadership faces many challenges as well as Christian leadership because of secular methodology borrowed from the world system. Since democracy or congregational rule could be challenging, particularly when dealing with people with limited biblical knowledge and with cultural bend, we must be vigilant. We praise God for peace and thank you all for prayers before, during, and after election.

There have been heavy rains and floods countrywide with some sporadic insecurity in various parts of the country but we trust God for our lives on a daily basis for His sake.

We are thankful to the Lord for the Church ministry progress as we continue to develop leaders among those that the Lord has placed under our watch. There is a great desire to be involved in various ministry opportunities by our members and this is an encouragement to us. Many are involved in Sunday school and the children’s, Ladies’, Men’s, and Youth ministries; Sunday services, church choir, visitation, etc. Please pray that the Lord will continue to fuel the fire in the lives of true believers.

Our church needs a van (Bus ministry) to facilitate transportation of our people from various parts of the city. This will also help as we keep our focus on building the permanent church facility. If you’d like to help, please direct your financial support through Baptist Mid-Missions. Please pray for God’s leading as we face ministry challenges that could spur growth and encouragement. We thank the Lord for salvations and membership growth and opportunities that God gives us in the community through various ministries. We are able to interact with various people in the community from different backgrounds, cultures, and professions.

Come help us to grow God’s work. We are very excited for this summer as we look forward to what God will do with and through those who will be visiting with us from the States. We will be hosting the Finke family and also a very dear sister, Ashly McMillan. We thank the Lord for these dear ones and we ask for your prayer for them and for us and the church ministries here. This will help us to set the pace for the church families planning to join us next year for ministry and building program.

Pray for our children as they are back to school until July 16th 2013.

There are different jobs to be done, different offices to be filled, but we as Christians are able before our Master.

In God’s Hands,
Stephen & Edna Muindi
Ian, Regina, Rena
Isaiah 65:2

This letter is in memory of my twin brother, James Keith Iles, who passed away on April 23, 2012. For those that have not heard my story of how God gave me a peace beyond understanding during this time, I want to share what happened one year ago.

A Disturbance In My Soul When God, In His Time, Showed Me His Grace

On April 23, 2012 I woke up very early in the morning. I felt a little panic. I was feeling I couldn’t get enough air. I got up and went into the living room (of our RV) and started walking the floor. I started talking to the Lord and let Him know that I felt like I was gasping for air. He said to me, “are you breathing?” I said, “yes, but it seems like I am struggling, and I feel panicky.” I continued to walk and pray and then felt like the walls were closing up in me. I asked the Lord, “What is happening?” He said, “Look at the walls.” I did and sure enough they were where they were supposed to be. I walked back and forth and prayed and then felt that I should sit down at the table and read my Bible. As I read my soul started getting more relaxed. And then I felt that I should write my brother, Keith, a letter. I then wrote Keith a four page letter letting him know what we were doing and how everyone was. I felt so close to him and really poured my heart out in the letter to him. Now I was beginning to have a more relaxed state of mind. I prayed some more and then went back to our bedroom and lay down with my eyes wide open. God wasn’t through talking to me yet…I still wasn’t sure what this early morning was about, but as I thought about the events that had happened, I just kept trusting our Lord and asking Him to help me know what He wanted.

I must have drifted off as I heard the alarm go off. I woke up and got ready for the day. I was very refreshed and amazed by the thought of so little sleep, but that I felt fine. Thank you Lord for the fellowship with you even though I am not sure what it was all about. After breakfast Lamar and I went to the devotional room in the kitchen of the camp. We all take turns with devotions. There are three other couples with us at this project where we are volunteering, and this morning was Lamar’s time for devotion. Lamar gave a devotion on what we have planned in our life and that sometimes God changes that plan. We try to do what we believe the Lord has us doing and then He sometimes leads us in another direction. Our plan was to finish this project then head for our next project in Indiana.

Now as the men left for work we ladies went back to our RV’s and got busy. I soon received a phone call from the New Orleans Police Department. They informed me that my brother, twin brother, James Keith Iles, had passed away. I hoped I thanked them for their tenderness in the way they let me know but there was a blur of emotions. This was so unexpected. I called Lamar and he came home right away and a flood of tears began. I was so thankful that Lamar was there for me. After accepting the truth about what just happened we started making plans to close up the RV and head to New Orleans. Keith may be gone but we believed we had responsibilities to do in taking care of his stuff in his apartment and prepare to have a memorial service in his front yard and most of all share the Gospel with friends of his in New Orleans. What an opportunity we had there. We did this a couple of years ago when my younger brother Michael passed away in the same apartment.

Arriving in New Orleans we helped, cleaned and invited the people that knew Keith to his memorial service. It was held Saturday the 28th of April, 2012, in Keith’s front yard.

Thanks for your prayers and if you are still awake reading this long note Lamar and I thank you for taking time to read it and we do appreciate all of you. We are doing fine and just want to be used of the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6.

P.S. How wonderful it was for the Lord to get my attention, the panic stage, and talk to me and let me have that special time with Him and my brother early in the morning. I believe Keith was telling me good bye and he would see me later in Heaven. I thank God for this time. God is our Comforter in times like these. What more can I say. I am blessed with a peace beyond measure. Though saddened much by losing my brother I believe he is in Heaven. It was his time. One day those of us that know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior will meet again in Heaven. We hope you know Him. The Bible says in Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”

Greetings from Korea,

We do appreciate the beautiful cards you have sent to us and your faithful prayers for our work and family. It has been almost ten years since we came to the field but we never had a chance to leave for a furlough. Many souls have been saved and baptized and serving in various places. Richard McAllister is one of the US soldiers stationed at Camp Howze here in Korea. He was saved and baptized at our church and now serves at Camp Campbell, KY. He is faithfully serving the Lord at Cross and Crown Baptist Church. Please do remember him in your prayers so that the Lord might call him to come to Korea as a missionary in the future.

The Lord willing, we are praying that God will open the door to start another mission church in the near future. It seems like the burden is growing each passing day. What a privilege it is to see some souls saved and baptized through new mission church. Please pray also for the Way Baptist Church which was established about four years ago with Bro. Yang Jae Ik who was sent out of our church. They need your prayers as they are trying to baptize new converts. They asked me to come and preach the power of resurrection on the Easter Sunday morning service. Pray that God can use me as His tool in reaching out to the unsaved souls with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray for our church that it will continue to stay faithful, steadfast and unmovable in His work with new souls being added to the church.

Pray for Jennifer who came to know me through Bro Keith Cullers. Jennifer is trying to visit her mother here in Korea. Jennifer wanted to make sure her mom is saved before it’s too late. She just had cancer surgery and now stays at nursing home. We went to visit her mom about a month ago and I explained the Gospel of Christ. She accepted Jesus as her personal Saviour. I asked her where Jesus is now and she said, “He is in Jerusalem.” But later she understood my question and said that He is in my heart. Praise God she is on the way to heaven by His grace.

Pray for Cathy for her health problem and the physical and spiritual strength she needs as well as for myself. Pray for Joseph, my son, and his family as well as Pearl, our youngest daughter, as she is planning to move back to the States in the near future.

Thank you again for your thoughtfulness and concern for our family and the work here in Korea.

We humbly do appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for our work. Without your help and prayerful support, it is impossible to continue our ministry in this region and beyond.

Because of Calvary,
Young Ho and Cathy Lee

1 Chronicles 16:25 tells us, “For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.” This is a truth that we have been getting hold of more and more. The Lord is always great, always.

Bible Institute. We have started a new semester in the Thai section of Bible Institute with two Thai pastors teaching on-line courses. I am hoping to expand this ministry to include more Baptist churches across Thailand, but presently there is a lack of students. The English portion of the Bible Institute is coming to a close in a few months. I have just finished teaching Acts and will teach the Prophets and Life of Christ to round out the curriculum. Lord willing, we will have our second graduation ceremony in July or August. One of our students, Tom, is preparing to go to England to plant churches. Being sent from a small mission’s church in Thailand and going to a gospel barren land will present many challenges, but with God’s help, he will get there. Please pray for him as he makes plans and preparations.

New Life Baptist Church. We are making preparations for a special Easter service this year that will culminate in a church picnic at a local river after services. Additionally, we have made plans for a church sports day at the end of April which will hopefully be an encouragement to the members to bring many friends that we can follow up with in the future. We have been encouraged by an increase in the number of students coming to church from the university. Several of the new freshman have started coming and one young lady, Nookie, was saved recently. She sent me a Facebook message while I was meeting a new missionary, asking how she could become a child of God. She is the result of a true team effort as Atalie (the young lady working with us) has been teaching and encouraging her, another Christian student witnessed to her, and we had the privilege of reaping the fruit. Lord willing, she will be baptized when she returns from summer break in June (our summer/hot season is from March to May). In order to give our church more autonomy and pave the way for its true independence in the future, we started the process of establishing a foundation more than a year ago. Praise the Lord it is finished! We can now have accounts in our church’s name, buy property, etc… As a result, I will transfer my current visa to our foundation and will need to take my family to Malaysia the week of March 18^th to get a new visa from the Thai embassy there.

Prayer Requests: The professors Mike works with: Aom, Ying, Noh, Nueng, and Daeng for salvation; Mike’s students for salvation and spiritual growth; the Bible school students: Tom, Matt, and Dtom. Pray for Nin and Nookie for spiritual growth. Also pray about our finances; the dollar is slipping again, and several churches have dropped our support. You can sign-up for updates at our web site: www.thaimissions.org.

We pray God’s blessing as you continue to serve the Lord!

For Christ in Thailand,

Mike & Francis Frederick

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am sorry again that our prayer letter is late. Once you read it I think you’ll understand why I am running behind. It seems like the New Year has come in like a roaring lion. And things have not settled down as of yet. At least it has been a very busy year with different meetings and many miles traveled. God has richly blessed us during this time and it has been a joy to be in the different churches. What a wonderful opportunity God has given Louise and I to continue His ministry in the churches speaking on missions and what God is doing around the world. No one could ask for more exciting ministry.

So far this year has been a year of sickness for Louise and me. First I came down with bronchitis. We started an 1100 mile trip to North Carolina and Virginia. Just before we started the trip Louise had hurt her knee working in the yard. We thought that she was in good enough shape for her to travel with me. But this was not the case. The knee gave way and she took a hard fall which damaged the knee even more. Once we got her to the doctor he said the bone in the knee was not broken but it was just as bad as a break. She has not been able to walk on it since then and will not be able to for a few more weeks. Next she came up with a problem which she had to have surgery. I was able to get her out of the hospital yesterday. Now she is resting and looking forward to getting on her feet and back on the road visiting the churches again. You never know how much a woman does in the home until you don’t have a woman in the home to do it. Between being in the meetings, on the road, and keeping house I am very thankful for my wife.

Please pray for the independent Baptist churches that are in the area where we live, Live Oak Florida. One pastor has retired after 26 years of service in the same church. At present there is only one independent Baptist church in the area which is growing and doing very much for God. Three of the churches attendance is about 35 people. It will be hard if not impossible for these churches to continue unless God gives revival in this area.

Thank you always for allowing us to continue to serve God as He desires. Without your love, prayers, and support it would be impossible.

Dr. Robert W Johnson

Thank You for Your Prayers

Dear Friends,

After spending some time in the Amazon jungle I’m back in the concrete jungle of Rio. The trip was joyful and heartbreaking. It’s evident that the Lord is working in some amazing ways in the hearts of many Brazilian Indians. Their love for the gospel was humbling. But it’s evident, too, that Satan isn’t content to watch gospel seeds being sown without trying to snatch them up. As we traveled, we saw villages that don’t have any gospel preaching churches. One village had a church building and willing people, but no pastor. We saw other villages where cults, selfish attitudes, and false doctrine are running rampant and destroying lives. Pray for the lives of these precious souls! And pray for our friend Pastor Rober (the first missionary our church in Rio voted to support financially) as he strives, together with his family, to reach his own people with the gospel.

Missionary Nathan Patefield and I had the privilege of preaching at a three day conference for church leaders and members of six or seven local Ticuna Indian villages situated by the great rivers that flow through Brazil’s Amazon Region. Many people traveled by canoe or boat to come and hear the Word. Later, we visited several villages and were often invited to teach. After the messages, Pastor Rober would often open up a time for questions and answers. The questions were penetrating and we spent hours in discussion and mutual sharing of experiences. We also spent hours listening to the local church leadership express their burden for the future generation and their desire to have a seminary for further training in their language. They also asked for the collaboration of Brazilian pastors to hold annual conferences there for the purpose of treating major doctrinal questions that are arising. We are pondering their requests and preparing to present their needs to pastors and churches in Brazil and in the US. Please pray for wisdom as we consider these things. We desire to help in a way that doesn’t harm in the long term. In other words, we desire solutions that will be indigenous.

Thank you for your prayers for safety. One day we were visiting villages when the boat motor stopped working and we were stranded. Thankfully we had just arrived at a village and a kind pastor’s wife took us in and fed us, though she had three children sick at home with malaria. The next day the boat was repaired and we were able to catch our flight back to Rio. While I was gone, Melissa had a scare with our daughter Myla. Myla got very sick and the doctors suspected Dengue Fever. Thankfully blood tests came back negative and she is well now.

Since my arrival in Rio I’ve had the opportunity to give reports of the Amazon trip in two different churches and preach two other times on the death and resurrection of Christ. There is definitely no lack of places of service here in Brazil. Pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send forth laborers! God has given us the opportunity to make an 8 week trip to the US for me to try to complete my final course assignment in the ministry program I’m enrolled in. Please pray for a profitable time of study. Thank you for your constant encouragement and prayer.

Love in Christ,
Brendan Holmquist
Melissa, Myla, Ellie, Daniel, Flavia

P.S. On a personal note, Shannon, BJ’s youngest sister has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She is undergoing chemotherapy and needs our prayers.

©2013 Brendan Holmquist – BMM | P.O. Box 308011 Cleveland, OH 44130-8011

Dear Friends in Christ,

I will sing of my REDEEMER, and His wondrous love to me. On the cruel cross He suffered, from the curse to set me free. Sing, oh sing of my REDEEMER, with His Blood He purchased me. On the cross He sealed my pardon. Paid the debt and set me free.

The work in Nicaragua has been blessed of God. The Ladies Conference had souls saved and many hearts changed.

The Men’s Conference at Skylark Camp was great with a number of young men surrendering to full time Christian work.

The Bible Institute has opened with 43 new students. We pray with them that God will give a burden for the place of service while they study.

Thank you for your faithfulness with God’s work in Nicaragua through each month as we are laboring together with Him.

Here a very personal note: The end of November 2012 I returned from Nicaragua to have knee replacement surgery on December 3. All of it resulted very well, therapy and all. The doctor cleared me for the trip of February 3, 2013, to go back to Nicaragua. The second day there, I felt some swelling in the knee and thought that I had tried to be on it too much. By five days later I knew something was not right and went to a doctor there. He told me that I was in serious trouble and to get back to the USA to my doctor.

The Lord opened the only seat available for me, and I got back to my doctor that day in the emergency room. They took me straight to the operating room. I now have a temporary spacer until the infection clears from my knee. The staph that was present was that which showed up in my pre-op tests. I took the treatment procedures in prep for surgery, but all of it did not clear from my body. What a shock after having such fantastic healing!

As of now, the projected new knee replacement should be in April, the Lord willing. As you can see, I need your prayers as never before. Please pray with me for God’s mercy in this. I am keeping my eyes upon Him, my Redeemer.

To the Amazon

Dear Friends,

Lord willing, early tomorrow I will board a plane with fellow missionary Nathan Patefield and we will fly to the Amazon region of Brazil for a ten day trip to visit our friend Rober Guerreiro, a Native Brazilian pastor. Pastor Rober has invited his tribe and other tribes along the river to attend a three day conference which his church is hosting. Between Nathan and me, we will have the opportunity to preach about 8-10 times and hold question-and-answer workshops with pastors and leaders of several tribes. Pastor Rober has also set up opportunities to visit other villages along the river’s edge.

Our goals for the trip are the following:

1. We hope to use this trip as an opportunity to encourage Pastor Rober and his family as they have just completed their first year of ministry and have faced many difficulties (malaria, rejection, delays, etc.).

2. We want to give a series of biblical messages in areas that will be helpful to the growth and edification of the churches there.

3. We want to learn from the people and discover practical ways that we as the body of Christ can help them with theological training, construction projects, etc.

Please pray for wisdom and strength and that God would be glorified there among the people of the Amazon Rainforest. Please pray for the safety of our families while we are away,  too. More when we return……………

Love in Christ,
Brendan Holmquist

 Where did all these dishes come from?

 The Ladies cleaned the guest house, stuffed more than 3500 pieces of mail, stapled papers together, sealed envelopes after stuffing them, learned to operate the printing machine and the folding machine, kept coffee made for the group and brought goodies for the breaks.

The men cut wood for use on the sheds and burnt wood what was unused, cleaned and remodeled the tobacco sheds that were donated to the camp and made them into paint sheds. You could hear the sawing of wood, banging of the hammers, the ouches, and, oh yes, there was work on a truck engine, too, hopefully to get it going again. Also the men took unused medal to town and collected monies for the camp.

Are these clean yet???

 Show and tell

 How does this work??

While Marie poses I think Wauneta is wondering where all these dishes are coming from!!!

I’ll work till Jesus comes

I’ll work till Jesus comes

I’ll work till Jesus comes

      Then I’ll be traveling home…

Dear Friends,
We count on your prayers and we are encouraged and thankful that you are willing to uphold the ministry here in Rio before God in prayer. Tomorrow I will be leaving for the Annual Youth Retreat. It occurs during the famous Carnival of Rio which is like Mardi Gras on steroids. Sadly, many lives are deeply scarred from the sins committed during these days. Also, the raucous partying often turns violent. The retreat offers the youth a chance to get together in a good environment to hear the Word. Melissa and the kids will be staying at home because of space limits at the camp. I’ll be travelling back and forth between home and camp during the retreat. Please pray for safety and for the Spirit’s work among the hearts of the youth of the churches of Rio- specifically for salvation and spiritual growth.

Five of the youth of Rio have chosen to go to Bible College this year. This is a real step of faith for them because most don’t know how they will fund the tuition. Several have had to overcome some real obstacles just to get to this point. When one young lady expressed her desire to go to Bible School, her unsaved father’s first reaction was that he’d rather that she said she wanted to be a prostitute than to say that she wanted to go to Bible School. Another young lady became serious about following the Lord after her father was bitten by a mosquito carrying dengue fever and died suddenly. Each has their own incredible story of how God has brought them to where they are. Pray for the Lord’s provision for these Bible school students (Leo, Flavio, Debora, Flavia, Sueny).

On March 3, we will celebrate the first anniversary celebration at church. Last Sunday we announced that at the end of March we will be leaving the church under the direction of our colleagues the Patefields, and searching for the next place God where wants us to labor in Rio. There are some possibilities open but we are still praying about the specifics and looking to God to lead. One of the highlights of last year at church was the opportunity to baptize Debora, the first fruits of the church plant. A man named Roger has been coming regularly and has begun discipleship classes for baptism. It’s exciting to see his hunger for God. He got a new study Bible recently and has already been sharing with us some things that he’s learned. Please pray for the people of the church, the Anniversary Celebration and our future ministry plans.

About six months ago a man entered the church (under the influence of something!) and his loud and foul language was such a distraction that we had to ask him to either stop or leave. We ended up having to forcefully escort him out. At that point, he cursed us and threatened to bomb the building when we left. We wondered what would become of the situation. Well, recently a homeless woman named Tania has been attending our services. One night she came in with serious burns covering her left arm. The church provided her with food, medication and antibiotics. We discovered that apparently her boyfriend is the man who entered the church six months earlier. When he saw the care and love that the church showed to her, he approached the deacon of the church and apologized profusely for his actions. I invited him to come back. We hope that he might return to church in a sober state and that God would transform his life. Sometimes things happen and you don’t ever know why, but it is satisfying to be able to have a glimpse of how God can turn something that man or the Devil meant for evil into something good!

Love in Christ, The Holmquist Family

P.S. We were able to get tickets for the trip to the Amazon for March 12-22. Thank you to those who contributed. Please pray for a profitable time among the tribes there.

©2013 Brendan Holmquist – BMM | P.O. Box 308011 Cleveland, OH 44130-8011