Burgess Road Baptist Church

July 2015

Dear praying partners,

The Lord is always good, always. I am reminded of this truth as I reflect on the ministry that God has given us in Thailand and the wonderful partners that have joined with us to reach the Thai people with the Gospel. My wife and I are truly thankful for each financial partner and prayer supporter that has a part in this ministry.

Bible Institute is finishing our first term. Unfortunately we had our first drop-out. Our only man studying will be opening a business in another part of the city and will not study further. I am disappointed, for sure, but the ladies that are studying are enthusiastic students and eager to learn more about the Bible. Thai men are in very short supply in Thai churches, and men willing to sacrifice to preach the Word of God are even fewer. Please continue to pray for men who will get saved and have a desire to be used of the Lord.

Outreach.
We have been passing out tracts in markets several times a month. We have not had any responses but know that the Word of God is going forth. It can sometimes be frustrating, but many of our current members were reached through tracts, so we continue to make the effort.

In June our church members went to a local market and set-up a blood pressure booth. We were able to directly witness to at least 20 people, giving them a very clear presentation of the Gospel. Blood pressure checks seem to be our best method for engaging people with the Gospel. Many were eager to listen and none rejected the opportunity to hear about how they can be free from their sins.

Please pray for Nuey, Niran, Pom, No, Aom, Ying, Dtuy, Saeng-Tong, Jan, Ohy, and Mike’s students for salvation. Pray for the men of the church to be faithful. Please pray for other locations to show movies in various neighborhoods. Also please pray for our daughter Hannah, as she finishes her second semester at Christian College, that she will continue to make the transition to the USA and college life and for her tuition (for which we are falling further and further behind).

We pray God’s blessing as you serve.

For Christ in Thailand,
Mike & Francis Frederick
www.thaimissions.org

May 2015 

 
Dear Ministry Partners,

I truly agree with the statement by Kevin Bauder that “Planting a Baptist church does not require genius, but it does take dedication and hard work. The labors of planting a church are far more difficult than pastoring an established church…. Every step is a first step as the members realize that they are shaping a work that may endure for generations.” But I also add the fact that “planting a church is different from planting a Baptistic church in accord with the New Testament Scriptures.”

It’s our prayer that evangelism and visitation programs this year would be effective and productive as we reach out to our neighborhood children, youth, adults, etc. We have continued to receive new faces on a  weekly basis due to this, as well as our radio program “The Bible in Your Hand.” Pray for musically talented people, teachers in the area of music, expansion of our study groups, committed study leaders and Sunday School teachers. We praise the Lord for the RBP materials which are being used in all our Sunday School classes and the study groups.

Church growth, both in numbers and spiritual maturity, is our desire for Elgon View Baptist Church and the Kenyan ministry at large. We have had so much to do with family counseling, particularly for a very dear family in the church that is on the verge of either separation or divorce. This is one of those moments that pastors do not desire. Please pray for us as we do our very best to assist biblically.

In March we had engagement negotiation for dowry between the family of David Ouma and the family of Lucy Nandasaba, followed by pre-marital counseling and finally the wedding on April 25, 2015. Janet Koech was also engaged in February and the wedding is to be announced sometime this year. Please pray for spiritual wisdom when dealing with family counseling, youth ministry counseling, pre-marital and family life counseling.

Besides our praise to have all our legal documents, the government has an ongoing debate with intent to regulate religious groups by asking churches to form and register associations or organizations to oversee their institutions. The cultural challenges and government policies could hinder ministry progress, i.e. church registrations using the name “Baptist” have been denied. Catholicism, Pentecostalism, New Evangelicals, and the endless list of liberals seem to be vocal and on the forefront of this. Missionary ministry in Kenya could be limited or hindered as they limit work permits to 2 years that can only be renewed once, and that with American Embassy recommendation. We might be demanded to find other Baptist groups to form an association and this brings in other challenges in regard to doctrinal beliefs and practice. Pray for wisdom in this process which has been tiresome, time consuming, traveling to Nairobi many times, financially costly and very engaging.

Pray that the Lord would provide us with about $2,000 for new tires for our vehicles. Tires on our pick-up truck have been in use since 2007 without change. We will truly appreciate any help in regard to this need. As a family we sincerely need some time away to get enough rest. We have truly spent ourselves with limited time, if any, to take days off. The church building project is very demanding, training of others requires sufficient time with closeness, pastoral ministry is a daily call with many demands toward our own family, church family, and the community outreach. Please pray for us to approve ourselves as ministers of God and to give our very best to the ministry here.

In His Care,

Stephen & Edna Muindi
Ian, Regina, Rena
2 Corinthians 6:3-4

The Divaker’s Latest Update

(March 2015)
Greetings in our Lord’s name.

We want to thank you for being so faithful in praying for us as well as giving to the work in India for so many years. I am sorry we did not get a chance to visit your church on this furlough. As I mentioned in my last prayer letter, we have to go back to India early because of different issues, some political; however, I am sending you a short DVD presentation of the work we are currently involved in, as well as what we plan on doing in the near future as the Lord wills.

Please pray for us, Lord willing we will be flying to India on the second of May, we are looking forward to returning to India and seeing what God has in store for us there as we plan on the church plant in Sikkim and all that is involved in that process. Please pray for the children’s home in Mysore, each one of these children have a story to tell, but we thank and praise God that He loves each and every one of us and does not want any to perish. Please be in prayer for the Bible Institute, which will resume classes a few weeks after we arrive back in India.

Lord willing in July, I will be making a trip to Melbourne, Australia where we worked in 2011 trying to see people saved, not only from India or South Asia but anyone who would hear the gospel. Melbourne has a large immigrant population, many of whom have never heard a clear presentation of the gospel even once. I try to go there for a couple of weeks every year and minister any way I can, there are several budget flights to Australia from India, which makes travel a little cheaper. I plan on going there in july and teaching a module on Bible Doctrine for two weeks at the Victoria Baptist Bible College in Melbourne. This Bible College is in close association with Calvary Baptist Church in Melbourne who helped sponsor us into Australia back in 2011. For the first few days of my stay in Melbourne, BlMI’s South- East Asia director: Steven Maldoff will be there. He and I plan on going visiting in the evenings; we plan on visiting the people who we hope will come to the Lord and join the fellowship of believers. We will also be preaching on the weekends. Please pray for this time, that it will be fruitful, there is such a need and really no one qualified who is staying there full time and ministering to these people, we try to help them all we can and send material and be an encouragement to them over the phone or on Skype, but there is only so much we can do long distance, from India to Australia. If there is anyone in your church who is seriously considering missions, we ask that you pray about Australia. The harvest is truly plenteous, but the laborers are few.

Once again, we thank you for your part in the ministry in India and Australia, and we pray that God will bless you, as you serve Him in your part of His field.

ln Christ,
David Divaker