Aim Lower, Think Smaller, Give Up, and Go Have a Cup of Coffee

This very funny and challenging video is from The World Congress on How to Not Mess Up the Great Commission Too Much. It will make you laugh, but should also make you think. Watch it! Then think about what part you can play in reaching children and youth around the world.

Red Paint

Serving in missions is difficult. There are great sacrifices that one makes in order to serve. Sacrifices in time, sacrifices in distance from family, and sacrifices in earnings that could be made if the missionary pursued other work. There are also more significant sacrifices. In many cases, our missionaries are risking their very lives each day that they serve.

While we were in Africa, Tammy and I had the pleasure to meet a missionary couple from the USA and serving in Africa. We were also blessed to meet their two beautiful daughters. This family has been serving in Angola for several years. Angola is a difficult country to work in. It is just coming out of over 40 years of civil war and is facing the first free elections in its young history in a few months.

War for any country is a bad thing. In Angola, the war was particularly difficult due to its length and due to the fighting tactics that were used. One of the more sinister elements of modern war is the landmine. Angola is littered with landmines. On almost a daily basis, someone is injured or killed by a landmine that was left over from the war.

Our missionaries in Angola are tasked with planting churches in communities throughout the country. Their typical process is to go into a community, use movies and crusades to share the gospel message with the members of that community, introduce an Angolan pastor who is going to stay and become a part of that community, provide God's word in the form of the Book of Hope for the children and youth of that community, and then plant the church. At our meetings, we were able to equip them with copies of The GodMan in Portuguese. They will use The GodMan to begin an evangelistic outreach specifically geared to the children and youth of the communities where they are planting churches. With this process, they have been successful at planting churches all across the country.

A church planting process such as this requires lots of travel throughout Angola. Angola is not a big country. However, due to the years of war, there is little in the way of established infrastructure. Travel anywhere outside of the capital city of Luanda is very hard. As our missionary family travels throughout Angola, they must frequently stop wherever and whenever the needs arise and make life as comfortable as possible at that time. As they have traveled, they have coveted the prayers of their prayer partners back home. Prayers for effectiveness? Yes. But also prayers for safety.

As time has pass and the government has started to step up their efforts to rid the country of the risk of landmines, one of their first tasks was to work with the rebels to identify where landmines were planted. Together, these two previously opposing groups agreed to mark the area where they planted landmines by painting the side of the road red. Now, whenever travelers want to stop for a break, they know to look for places that do not have red paint on the side of the road. That is their sign that the location is a safe place to stop.

Our missionary family knew they had prayer warriors back home praying for them and specifically praying for safety. However, they never realized the impact of those prayers until recently. The reaction of the government and rebels to the call for identifying those landmine zones was swift. Almost overnight, red paint began to show up on roadsides everywhere. As our missionaries traveled, they began to see places where they had previously taken rest stops. Even places where they had made it their routine to stop for a break. At first they were horrified. Then they began to express praises to God for His divine protection. You see, many of those places that were once their stopping points were now painted red. They are places that are infused with landmines. Every step that these missionaries took off the road could have been their last.

In David's prayer recorded in Psalm 17, he says "My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not slipped." We are forever grateful that for this missionary family, their steps have held to His path, both in their spiritual walk and in their physical walk. Remember to lift these and all our missionaries up in prayer. As Psalms 119 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Pray for the Lord to be that lamp unto their feet, that light unto their path. Pray for God's continued protection as they bring the gospel message to a war-torn country that is desperate to hear the good news.

And Africa Will Be Saved

If You Believe and I Believe

And Together We Will Stand.

The Holy Spirit Will Come Down

And Africa Will Be Saved.

And Africa Will Be Saved.

And Africa Will Be Saved.

The Holy Spirit Will Come Down

And Africa Will Be Saved.

That was a worship song that we sang one night during our week in Africa. It summed up our purpose. Together, men and women from across the continent joined with brothers and sisters from the USA and Brazil to answer God's awesome call to be his witness even to the remotest parts of the earth. Even to the remotest parts of Africa.

When I say we had representatives from all across Africa, we did. There were pastors and lay leaders from French-speaking parts of North Africa, from English-speaking parts of West and Southern Africa, from Portuguese-speaking parts of Southern Africa, and from areas dominated by the numerous tribal languages spoken within Africa.

All of these brothers and sisters came together for a single purpose -- that Africa would be saved. There are many in this world who say that Africa is a fully evangelized country. There are facts and logic to back up those statements. However, in reality, Africa is no more "fully evangelized" than the USA is. Yes, there is a church presence in nearly every country; perhaps in nearly every community. However, there are still many who do not know Christ. And there is a new generation of Africans who are growing up in a post-modern world. Just like their counterparts in the USA and Western Europe, they are going up without a knowledge of God's plan of salvation for their lives. They are growing up lost. They need to be saved.

Please lift up Africa in your prayers. Ask God to prepare the hearts of the children and youth who will see The GodMan and who will received their own personal copy of God's word in the form of the Book of Hope. And pray for laborers who will come along side our national teams to reach the children and youth of their communities.

They Think They Are Predators

Chad and Jacques made the mistake of making some unusual moves while Tammy and José were around with a camera. Enjoy, as these two commentators attempt to track a strange new predator species in Africa.

New Photos on Flickr

I have added photos to our Flickr account from our trip to Africa. You can access the photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/75786630@N00/. Enjoy!

Experiencing Worship

Tammy and I are currently in South Africa, participating in a regional distribution seminar for our national leadership from throughout Africa. These are mostly pastors and some lay leaders who are responsible for distribution of the Book of Hope and The GodMan across this diverse continent. One component of each day's activities is the evening time of worship and ministry in God's word. The following is a movie clip of one of our worship experiences. I hope you find the movie as uplifting as we have found the personal experience.

Meeting Jesus Anew

Tammy, Rebecca, and I were blessed to visit with Living Waters Community Church for services last night and twice this morning. During these services, Pastor Winn gave his congregation a challenge. He challenged them to use the remaining 16 days in October to read all of the four gospels -- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Not to read them academically, but to read them as if they were getting to know Jesus for the first time. It was a powerful challenge and one that I am going to take up. I also felt the Holy Spirit's prompting to challenge all our blog readers to take up the same challenge. So, now the challenge is to you. No matter when you read this posting, make a promise to yourself to take the next 16 days to meet Jesus anew by reading all of the four gospels. You never know the impact that meeting one very special person, even someone you thought you already knew, will have on your life.

For an online Bible, check out Bible Gateway at http://www.biblegateway.com. They have multiple versions of God’s eternal word. One is sure to be a good fit for you.

Coup in Thailand

An interesting thing happened while I was in Thailand in September. The Thai military decided it was time to overthrow the government and stage a coup. I am a man of faith and I do believe that God is in all things. However, that Tuesday evening, while sitting in the cyber lounge of our hotel, catching up on email and talking to Tammy over Skype, it was a little unnerving to see a headline pop up on My Yahoo that said "Breaking News - Coup in Thailand." It was even more unnerving when all the broadcast TV stations suddenly switched to broadcasting old patriotic songs and showing pictures of the King. The final straw was when the live broadcast from CNN where the reporter was about to tell the viewers about the tanks and troops that were assembling downtown suddenly was replaced with a red screen and a message saying that there were unusual sunspots interfering with the broadcast. Yea...right...sunspots...at 11:30 at night. That was also about the same time that the Internet went down.

Nervous? Absolutely! Hopeless? Never! With God, there is always hope. I called my friend, Ruthie, who was staying just a few blocks from the government center. She confirmed the tanks and soldiers, but also confirmed that there was no shooting. That was good news. Then I turned to the one item of international communication that the military apparently forgot about. My cell phone. I was able to call Tammy, ask her to keep up with what was happening on CNN, and then to text me whenever anything new came on. Even in a so called "total blackout" of communications, God provided a loophole for us to stay informed.

We were blessed in that there was no violence associated with this coup. Church services on Wednesday night were canceled, and that did alter my plans a bit. However, since our meeting to plan the new version of The GodMan was taking place in our hotel, we were able to continue our work without disruption.

My thanks go out to our prayer partners around the world. Through Tammy's phone calling, and Victory Church's email prayer network, we were able to get word out to hundreds of prayer partners. I truly believe that it was the action of these faithful prayer warriors that helped us to complete our work with absolutely no disruption. Thank you to all who prayed.

September Travels

September was an adventurous month. It started with a trip to Moscow on the second. From there, I traveled to Manila on the ninth and then to Bangkok on the seventeenth. I finally arrived back home on the twenty-second, having successfully circumvented the globe.

In addition to being adventurous, it was also a very productive and rewarding month, with ministry training in Moscow and Manila, and planning a new version of The GodMan in Bangkok. There was lots of work involved in these activities. But it was very rewarding work. The next several posts will provide stories related to these travels. I hope you enjoy them, and I also hope that you will take away a heart of prayer for the needs expressed.

September Moscow

September is an interesting month to be in Moscow. The summer has ended, but the cold of winter has not yet arrived. It rained some each day we were there, but there was also some beautiful periods of sunshine. Comming from hot and humid Florida, the weather was a refreshing break.

In Moscow, I had the privilege of participating in the Regional Distribution Seminar for Book of Hope the CIS region. The CIS region comprises those countries that made up the former Soviet Union and many of her aligned countries. While these countries were closely aligned during the soviet era, today there is fervent nationalism with strong feelings between many of the now independent countries and Russia. In one way, this is a positive. Each country feels fully empowered to engage in the work of evangelism in a way that best fits the needs of her people. However, there are also negatives to this attitude. This fervent nationalism can also result in resistance to direction and an attitude that says I will not do something, simply because they do it that way in Russia. This is an important issue to be in prayer about. As we work with ministry leaders from throughout the CIS region, we need each of them to think in terms of how to reach their children and youth, without regard to how some other country does it.

In many ways, this issue of pride is like when Naaman was told to wash in the Jordan River to be cured of his leprosy. The story, as told in Second Kings, chapter 5, tells how pride, nationalistic pride, could have prevented his healing. Pray that the nations of the CIS can put aside their nationalist pride and, like Naaman ultimately did, receive their healing.

The exciting aspect of the Moscow meeting was that many of the individuals who serve on our various ministry teams in the region were there. This was not just a meeting of leaders, but also of those who are daily putting their faith into action to reach their the children and youth in their country. It was wonderful to see the members of the Perm team whom I had ministered with back in May. It was great to be able to meet the members of the Izhevsk and Chita teams and to hear their ministry stories. Throughout Russia, we have team members who every day are traveling from village to village to bring the good news to a lost and dying world. Pray for their safety and effectiveness in their ministry.

September Manila

From Moscow to Manila, we spent almost 24 hour in airplanes or airports getting to our second destination. Manila is a fabulous city – especially so because there seems to be a Starbucks on every other corner. There is actually one place in Manila, near the Greenhills Mall, where you can stand in one spot and see a Starbucks, no matter what way you are facing. This week was filled with formal meetings during the day, and informal meetings in the evenings. My name became know as Wayne “Meet me at Starbucks” Brown. It was the perfect atmosphere to put the meeting participants at ease while we talked about the ministry opportunities within their countries.

The meeting in Manila was a gathering of ministry leaders from throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This included people from Southeast Asia and from the islands scattered between the Asian peninsular and Australia. It was a wonderful mix of people, all focused on taking the good news to every child and young person in their country or collection of island countries. Those many meetings at the local Starbucks were informative events. Many of these ministry leaders, such as those from the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Oceania area, are reaching into areas that include thousands of individual islands. The concept of jumping into your car or truck to go to the next village for ministry simply does not apply here. In many cases, movement from one place to another requires a boat or an airplane. This makes ministry slower and more costly in these areas. It also requires more people to effectively carry the gospel message forward.

People, laborers, harvesters, all are words used to describe the worker who takes the gospel message forward. Oceania needs laborers to partner with our leadership to effectively and aggressively take the gospel message forward. The books are ready, the students are there, and the access is available. But the laborers are few. The Philippines, a nation divided across many islands, a nation that has seen a Christian presence for hundreds of years, is a nation that has grown indifferent to the need to spread the gospel. However, that indifference is being faced down by a dedicated group of local evangelist; evangelist who are taking the gospel message into the schools and communities throughout the country. However, as hard as they work, they cannot work alone. They need partners. They need dedicated believers who will stand beside them to distribute books and to do The GodMan in every school and every community. There is the potential for four million children and youth people to receive the life-changing message presented in The GodMan in the Philippines in 2007. However, without the necessary laborers, only a small fraction will likely be impacted by this presentation of the gospel. Pray for the Lord of the harvest to call up laborers from Oceania and the Philippines to reach the children and youth of these island nations.

Almost every country represented at this meeting in Manila shared needs similar to Oceania and the Philippines. In almost every case, they need laborers to bring in a harvest that is ripe. One very exciting fulfillment of this cry is coming from Singapore and Taiwan. Churches and believers within both of these countries have recently begun to send missionary teams from their own lands into other countries. While they are aggressively taking the gospel message forward to their own people, they are not totally inward focus. They are truly living out an Acts 1:8 existence by being witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Join us in prayer for God's blessings and anointing to be with these dedicated labors has they follow His call to the ends of the earth.

September Bangkok

With the conclusion of the meeting in Manila, my mode had to shift from one of educating and training to one of gathering information and understanding. The next leg of our itinerary took us to Bangkok. Bangkok is an interesting city. It is large and continuing to grow rapidly. No matter which way you look, you are likely to see a large construction crane. And you are just as likely to see an old Buddhist temple, the old and the new coexisting in the same area. What impressed me the most about Bangkok was not the architecture or the layout of the city, but it was the people. These are a people who value service to their fellow man. I have never been anywhere in this world where I felt better cared for, or more sincerely cared for, than in Bangkok. It is a part of who they are.

This spirit of service is not just applicable to a bellhop or waiter. It is also applicable to those doing ministry work within Thailand and her neighboring Southeast Asian countries. Each person we worked with, either a ministry leader or an expert in Christian children’s media, had a sincere heart for reaching the lost in their communities. This heart shone through as they talked about the greatest needs of the children and youth in their country.

I was especially touched by the missionary from Cambodia who joined us. He is a missionary from the Southern Baptist Convention who is there to do a “good works” ministry, but for whom God has opened the doors to do great evangelism through media. His stories of difficulty in Cambodia echoed what I had heard the previous week in Manila from our Book of Hope Cambodia national coordinator. This is a country with very little in the way of infrastructure. It is also a country whose people have very little understanding of the Christian world view. To them, Jesus is just another one of the “pick of the day” gods that they can call on. The concept of one true God and redemption from sin are totally foreign to most Cambodians. This missionary’s approach to the issue is through one-on-one evangelism. We hear the term one-on-one evangelism used frequently in closed countries, because it can be done quietly. However, Cambodia is not a closed country. It is open and there are many opportunities to minister to the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs of her people. The greatest impediment to effective ministry is not the lack of a message – the Word of God is the greatest message. It is not for lack of desire – the people of Cambodia are open to hearing and understanding the truth. No, it is a lack of laborers; laborers from both within Cambodia and from other countries. Cambodia is a difficult place to live and work. After years of killings and oppression, relationships have to be nurtured before the message of love and acceptance from Jesus Christ can be received. Please pray for Cambodia. Pray for the Lord of the harvest to call up laborers from this nation, from this region, and from around the world to come to Cambodia to bring the good news to a people who desperately need to hear it.

I also ask that you pray for Myanmar, also know as Burma. This country has existed under decades of military rule, with fierce oppression to anyone who advocates democracy. It is a predominantly Buddhist nation, but with a growing Christian and Muslim presence. Evangelism is difficult and is strongly discouraged by the military junta. Therefore, our labors in this land must take other creative approaches to presenting the gospel. They must work in areas that meet the social needs of the youth of this country in a way that does not raise undue attention by the government. And they have been very creative in doing so. For obvious reasons, I will not detail those ways here. However, I do ask you to keep our laborers in Myanmar in your prayers. Pray for their safety and protection. Pray that their public work gives them favor with the leaders where they work and with the youth with whom they interact, so that their private work can move forward undeterred.

Our team members from Indonesia were a joy to work with. They really helped to bring to bear the special focus that needs to be in place when ministering in Indonesia. This nation of over 17,000 islands, located south of Thailand and the Philippines and north of Australia, is home to over 120 million children and youth. It is also the most heavily populated Muslim country in the world, with 88% of her 245 million citizens being Islamic adherents. This makes doing ministry in Indonesia very different than anywhere else in the Asia-Pacific region. In fact, as we were doing our planning work, the phrase most frequently spoken by the participants was "Except Indonesia!" As we reviewed the issues and discussed the needs for Asia-Pacific, many of the ministry options would work in every country, except Indonesia. However, in spite of the difference in approach that must be taken in this very large country, the heartfelt needs and social issues that her children and youth encounter were very similar to those in the other countries throughout the region. And the bottom-line answer was the same. They need to know Jesus and the hope that comes by way of salvation through faith. Pray for our laborers in Indonesia. Pray for effectiveness as they reach out to all the inhabited islands. Pray for their safety as they reach into some of the more difficult areas. And pray for strength as they carry out this very difficult work, often times with little in the way of outside support. Finally, pray for laborers from within Indonesia who will go into every island and every village and every neighborhood to take the good news to all the people.

There were other countries represented at this meeting. However, due to the political situations that exist in those lands, they will not be mentioned here. Nevertheless, I ask that you pray for them. God knows who they are. Pray for their safety and for strength to carry on with the work that the Lord has given them. And pray for laborers to come along beside them and support them.

September 2006 Newsletter

Our September 2006 newsletter is now available online. Click here to go immediately to this newsletter. You can also find this and all our previous newsletters on our website at http://www.YourWorldMissionaries.org/. Click on the "Update" tab and look for the links to all our newsletters on the left side of the “Update” page.

New Photos on Flickr

I have added photos to our Flickr account from my trips to Moscow, Manila, and Bangkok. For some reason, they posted in reverse order within each batch. I'm not sure why that happened. Anywhy, you can access the photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/75786630@N00/. Enjoy!

Affect Destiny - A Day in the Life

Ryan Smith, one of the Missionary Associates working with Book of Hope, has created a fantastic 15-minute video that captures a day in the life of an Affect Destiny Team trip. You can find it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3wwNSbm3xw. Although it may take a few minutes to download, it is a great investment of time and will give you a clear understanding of what it means to reach thousands of children and youth in a day with the good news. If you are interested in being a part of a future Affect Destiny Team trip, please contact Affect Destiny Teams at teams@bookofhope.net or (877) 411-WORD.

STEP International

Our dear friend, Ruthie Lilyquist, has formed a ministry called STEP International. Step International is focused on bring God's Word and the love of Christ to children, young people, and families in the 10/40 Window through teaching, personal evangelism, leadership training, and childcare. You can read more about Ruthie and her work at http://www.stepintnl.org. Be sure to check out her blog at http://www.stepintnl.org/blog/.

August 2006 Newsletter

Our August 2006 newsletter is now available online. Click here to go immediately to this newsletter. You can also find this and all our previous newsletters on our website at http://www.YourWorldMissionaries.org/. Click on the "Update" tab and look for the links to all our newsletters on the left side of the “Update” page.

Training Camp

One of the regular activities that Rebecca participates in each week is a visit to the physical therapist. Recently, Rebecca has been working out in a mobile device that helps her to stand. Once she builds up her strength in her legs, she will start learning how to perform walking motions on a treadmill. Many years ago, before Rebecca developed problems in her hips, she used a walking harness to help her walk, mostly uncontrolled, across a room. She could also ride a special adapted bicycle, although she could not steer it. We are believing that God has opened the door to this new therapy for Rebecca in preparation for some dramatic improvements in her mobility. Please believe and pray with us for Rebecca to have all the mobility that is possible.

Together

Here is another look at Dick & Rick's story. It is called TOGETHER and can be found on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D52rJd9GX10.

I Can Only Imagine

There are a few items on the Internet that help in expressing the love a mom or dad can have for their disabled child, along with the joy that such a child can find from simply being there with their mom or dad when something spectacular is done. Sports Illustrated did an article last Summer on Dick & Rick Hoyt and Dick's unending love for his son and his desire to help Rick feel a little less handicapped. A church we visited near Father's Day this year ran the video of their story. It is set to the song I Can Only Imagine. Watch it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjPrL3n63yg.
As God opens the doors for Tammy and I to travel the world and have Rebecca accompany us, we are believing that many families who are struggling with disabilities will understand that God has a plan and a purpose for everyone. All we need is faith that He is there with us and courage to do something with our lives -- regardless of our physical abilities or limitations. That is one message we believe God will allow Rebecca to bring to the nations.

Having Fun At The YMCA

Rebecca's summer vacation from school is drawing to a close. She has spent many of her days this summer having fun at the YMCA. Rebecca has been involved with the YMCA through their after-school program since we moved to Tamarac. During the school year, that program is located at her school; a special school specifically for children who have serious handicaps. But, during the summer months the YMCA program from her school is integrated with the program that takes place at one of the area middle schools. Rebecca gets a whole summer of fun and play interaction with other kids, disabled and able-bodied.
One of her favorite YMCA events is bowling. Rebecca even has her own bowling shirt. Yesterday, the YMCA took all the kids out for a day of bowling. She loved it as was demonstrated by her squeals and smiles when I got home and asked her about her day.
When Rebecca bowls, she uses a gutter guard, but rarely has to rely on it. Since she cannot walk, she used a ball launcher that is positioned next to her wheelchair. She then uses her right hand to push the ball down the launcher and toward the pins. Rebecca lands strikes, spares, and all kinds of combinations. And like anyone who is excited about their sport, she squeals and screams with satisfaction and delight when the pins fall down.
Next time you are at a bowling ally and you hear some high-pitched squeals, check it out. You never know, it may just be Rebecca enjoying a day at the ally as she travels with her parents.

July 2006 Newsletter

Our July 2006 newsletter is now available online. Click here to go immediately to this newsletter. You can also find this and all our previous newsletters on our website at http://www.YourWorldMissionaries.org/. Click on the "Update" tab and look for the links to all our newsletters on the left side of the “Update” page.

Photos from Ukraine & Russia

New photos from Ukraine and Russia have been added to our Flickr photo blog. Click Here to view these photo archives, as well as our first album from Wayne's January trip to Peru.

May-June 2006 Newsletter

Our May-June 2006 newsletter is now available online. Click here to go immediately to this newsletter. You can also find this and all our previous newsletters on our website at http://www.YourWorldMissionaries.org/. Click on the "Update" tab and look for the links to all our newsletters on the left side of the “Update” page.

The Draper Family - Missionaries to Sebira-Montenegro

Good friends and fellow missionaries Buddy and Kristi Draper and their daughters have a new web site. Check out their site and their ministry to Sebira-Montenegro at http://www.thedraperfamily.org.

Combined Newsletter Editions

Due to a heavy travel schedule, the May & June editions of our newsletter will be combined into one edition that will be published in late June. Thank you for your understanding.

find the forgotten

A fellow A/G missioinary and friend, Nate Sanow, has created a blog called find the forgotten. He is an wonderful man with a great heart for winning the lost for Christ. Check out his writings at http://www.findtheforgotten.blogspot.com/.

Ministering in Russia

Internet access has been difficult to get, so my communications have been less than I desire. I am now in my second week of work in Russia, having spent a week in Moscow and now working in the Perm area. It is very cool here, much more so than in Florida. But the people have been very warm. I am really enjoying my time in Russia.

My work started in a small community north of Moscow. We stayed at a country hotel that was all decked out in USA western stuff. It was really kind of strange to see all this stuff from the old west and having no one who could speak any English or Spanish. Our meetings went well and we will have a wonderful new version of The GodMan that will minister to children across Eastern Europe and the CIS region.

I had my first day of ministry with the Book of Hope traveling team from Perm on Saturday. We went to a little community called Ust-Bub. It is about a 2-1/2 hour drive from Perm. We did The GodMan and distributed copies of the Children's Animated Edition of the Book of Hope. This is the second time that Book of Hope has ministered in this small community. There are about 120 children and youth living here and almost 50 of them came to the movie event. Dozens indicated a desire to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord.

I left Ust-Bub with mixed feelings. I was very happy with the way the movie event went. Technically, everything was perfect. Functionally, our traveling team from Perm are experts in children's ministry and did an outstanding job. Nevertheless, there was a sadness upon leaving. You see, there is no Christian witness in this community. It is miles from any other community and many more miles from a church of any type. Most of the residents have no means to travel the hours it would take to get to church. As we were packing up to leave, they asked if I could stay and live with them and be their preacher. It was heartbreaking. I am called to take the gospel message to children around the world. But someone out there is specifically called to minister to the people of Ust-Bub and the surrounding communities. Where are they? When will they answer God's call and purpose for their life? How much longer must the children of Ust-Bub wait for someone to come and be a constant witness of God's love and plan for salvation to them?

Ministering In Ukraine

Although I am just on my first full day in Ukraine, already the work has been productive. Today, in addition to getting acclimated to the time difference, Tom and I had an opportunity to spend several hours with Pastor Sasha at his church. Pastor Sasha is one of our major partners with Book of Hope and has been a leader in initiating our new movie ministry with The GodMan. It was a thrill to be able to spend time with him learning how the work of doing The GodMan is getting done in Ukraine. Please continue to keep this work in your prayers. Tomorrow and Saturday, we will join Pastor Sasha once again, this time visiting outlying villages where we will do The GodMan in community-wide outreaches.

April 2006 Newsletter

Our April 2006 newsletter is now available online. Click here to go immediately to this newsletter. You can also find this and all our previous newsletters on our website at http://www.YourWorldMissionaries.org/. Click on the "Update" tab and look for the links to all our newsletters on the left side of the “Update” page.

Photo Archives

Click Here to view our photo archives on flickr. Our first album, containing pictures of Wayne's trip to Peru, has been archived there.

Prayer Request - Rwanda

Please pray for our team in Rwanda. They have spent the last few months setting up ministry points, training indigenous leaders, and distributing the Book of Hope. Starting tomorrow, they will begin using The GodMan as a central part of this important ministry project - 100 Days of Hope. Pray for the team members as they take the Word of God to every child and youth in this country. And pray for those children and youth, many of whom will learn about Jesus in a relevant and way that impacts their lives when they see The GodMan. Pray that the movie will be effective in communicating who Jesus is and why they need Him.

A Day At The Races

When we visited First Assembly in DeLand on April 12, 2006, we had the great pleasure of meeting Pastor Mike Modica, Tim and Marie Kuck of Nathaniel's Hope, and Bob Minotti of Joey's Gift. While we were talking about the new outreach work to the special needs community in DeLand that First Assembly was embarking on, Pastor Modica started discussing the upcoming events for the Easter weekend. Among those events being discussed was an event called "Keep 'm Smiling Day at the Races." As Pastor Modica started to explain all that was going to happen with this weekend, Rebecca went from being passively engaged with all that was happening in the office to being an active listener. She actually squealed at one point. She was, in her own special way, making it clear that she was interested. When I told Pastor Modica that we had an open weekend due to a service cancellation, he immediately invited us to attend. I thought Rebecca was going to jump out of her chair.

That was Wednesday. By Friday, Rebecca was very sick to her stomach. She was up at 3AM crying over her sickness. We finally settled her down about 6AM and she slept until early afternoon. A day at the races was not looking good. That night, as our activities for the day were drawing to a conclusion, I asked Rebecca about the races. She clearly indicated that she wanted to go. So I made a deal with her.

Now remember, Rebecca cannot walk and cannot talk. Nevertheless, she can understand everything going on around her and she can communicate her expectations through squawks and squeals. The deal with Rebecca was that she was to go to bed now and when I came to wake her up at 5AM, she had to be a happy camper about getting up that early. Any of you with teenagers understand that last part and how hard it can be for someone of Rebecca's age. So we all went off to bed, resting up for the next morning.

As frequently happens, I woke to a very quite house a few minutes before the alarm clock went off. There was not a sound from anywhere. I expected that when the clock buzzed, I would go try to wake Rebecca and she would turn me away with a grumpy shout or cry. I would then be free to reset the clock for a more reasonable hour and return to bed.

The minutes passed and the buzzer on the clock went off. I climbed out of bed, walked across the room and reached for the snooze button. I expected a continuation of the quite I had heard before the alarm went off. However, my expectations were interrupted by the sounds of a 13-year-old girl's giggles coming from across the house. I knew I was in trouble. I walked to her room and sure enough, there was Rebecca, wide smile on her face, gentle giggle coming out of her mouth. She knew it was time to get ready for her very first day at the races.

You have got to understand, we are not a racing family. However, Rebecca has seen the major races on TV. She knows what racing is about. And she is as excited as can be to be going to a day at the races. Even more so, to have an opportunity to see the cars up close and to meet the drivers. She is just bubbling over with excitement.

That excitement continues as we make the nearly four hour drive up to Daytona. Along the way, I had the nerve to pull off the interstate to go through a Starbucks drive-through. She let me know that I was risking her plans for the day. It was as if that one cup of coffee was going to cause her to miss something significant. Did I ever mention that Rebecca is very impatient. If she could be assessed on the proper scales, I'm sure she would come out as a classic "Type-A" personality.

In spite of Rebecca's doubts and impatience, we did arrive at the speedway on time. We registered and went on to our first stop -- Victory Lane. This is the same Victory Lane where the winning race cars on the televised races come so the drivers can receive their trophies. There we were, on Victory Lane, standing next to an actual Daytona International race car. It was an exciting time for both of us.

In addition to Rebecca and I, this event drew about 200 special needs children and their families. After a briefing by the founder of the Continental Historic Racing Association, we heard from one of the race car drivers about safety on the track and on our visit to the track. That was followed by the first leg of a two-segment race. Each segment is a timed hour of racing, with a break in between. At the end of the first leg, and during the break, we stopped to eat a box lunch. Once all the cars were parked in the garage, we were then allowed into the garage area to see the cars, met the drivers, and take pictures. That is where Rebecca had her most enjoyable time.

There are many things that will excite Rebecca. However, there are two things that really excite her -- Pastors and fast cars. She had both with her in the garage. While Rebecca and I were reviewing the cars, she bumped into Pastor Modica and greeted him with her classic smile. He stopped for a minute to take a photo, then Rebecca went about her task of finding the best of her second love -- fast cars.

And Rebecca has a good eye for fast cars. There were several Porsche cars in the race, but she was taken by this very brightly colored one. I could see the plot forming in her mind. She found a pastor, she found a fast car, now all she needed to do was to get the two together and she might get a ride around the track. Unfortunately, her bubble was quickly popped when I pointed out to her that while the seat in the car had a five-point restraint system, much like her car seat, it only had one seat. And that seat was reserved for the driver. There was no way she could get Pastor Modica or anyone else to take her for a high-speed lap around the track.

Was she disappointed? If so, she never showed it. Once our garage time was complete, we all gathered for a group photo around a very large, very green, very fast car. For those of you who have heard the story of Manuel in Honduras, the wheelchair was this same kind of green. That story, based on wheels, was a miracle that made everyone involved smile. This green car today belonged to a man who lent his name and status to help hundreds of children and their families to smile for a day.

You may be wondering, where are the deep spiritual lessons from this day of fun. There may be a message that comes out of this some day. For now, the only lesson is that we should all take time to give our children special days. This was a very special day made possible by many very loving and giving people. Perhaps that's the lesson. Take whatever God-given talents you have and put them to work to brighten the day of someone else. When you do, you may become a hero to someone very special. As for Rebecca, when she looks at Pastor Modica, Mr. Tim, Mrs. Marie, Mr. Bob, all the drivers, all the helpers from CHRA and Nathaniel's Hope, she sees an army of heroes. Thanks for all you did to make her day a special one.

Never Let Work Get In The Way Of Fun

I work hard. However, I also enjoy playing hard. In Peru, while Elmer made sure our days were filled with 14 or more hours of work, he also allowed us sufficient down time to have some fun. One of my favorite diversions during my stay in Peru was to play table football. Surprisingly, I actually gained some proficiency at this sport. But only when defending the goal to my left and firing on the goal to my right. I guess that made me a one-way hero.

While several of us focused on improving our hand-eye coordination with the table games, others took to the water. The pool at our conference facility had a unique feature. A Plexiglas portal that allows those who are in the dining patio to watch from below those who are swimming. Or, as in this case, to allow those who are swimming to peek in on those who are dining.

As much fun as the sports were, they were nothing in comparison to the final evening send-off. If you have been on many missions trips, you know that your last night at the ministry location is usually filled with some type of thank-you celebration. Thursday night was our celebration night. This was the night when the leadership team in Peru presented me with my very own bronze lama. I have it on full display in my office. It reminds me every day of my first official trip with Book of Hope as the International Director of The GodMan. However, every time I look at it, I cannot help but to let out a little giggle and grin. You see, although I've been to many countries and attended many closing ceremonies, I've never experienced one like this one. A ceremony equipped with everything I expected, and one thing I didn't -- dancing girls.

These were not just any type of dancing girls. These were God's dancing girls. They were like David is described in 2 Samuel 6:14, "And David danced before the LORD with all his might." These young ladies were dancing for God, in traditional indigenous Peruvian dress and with dances that represented the various regions of the country. It was a celebration of praise to the Lord through spirit-filled dance.

While there was a lot of work done in Peru, there was also sufficient fun and enjoyment. I hope these pictures give you a small flavor of the week. And, if you happen to see any pictures with me up there dancing with the ladies, please destroy them immediately.

Hey...Where did that picture come from? How did it get on my blog? What is going on here? Just ignore that really tall Peruvian in the traditional gold shirt and green pants. Besides, he doesn't look anything like me!

Sincerely, it was a week of great fun. Lots of work, but also lots of fun. It is one that I will never forget.

The Worth of One

There is a great series of articles in the April 2 TPE. You can read them at http://tpe.ag.org/Coverpages2006/4795_WorthofOne_cvrpg.cfm. The theme reflects one that I preached in Peru, and have incorporated into my messages in the USA several times since the Peru trip.

While we may love to talk about the hundreds, or thousands, or even millions who are being reached through our work, in reality, our task is to reach one more for Jesus. Just one more for Him. One more every day, every hour, every minute, every second. Every believer reaching out to touch the life of one more, then moving on to the next. For some, God has given a mature harvest on fertile land. For others, the ground is just being conditioned. The harvests that come, come through great effort. However, without regard to ease or difficultly, all believers should be doing their part in winning one more for Jesus. Why? Because there is great worth in one!

GodMan Airing Throughout U.S. Over Easter

The GodMan will be entering the homes of millions of viewers throughout the U.S. this Easter. It is the animated Book of Hope and tells the life story of Christ in a relevant media format for children and youth. When The GodMan made its USA debut on Christian TV Easter weekend, 2005, a four-year-old girl was the first to accept Christ because of it—although she could not read God’s Word, she saw the film and believed in Jesus!

These are the stations airing The GodMan movie throughout this week and on Easter Day.

Christian Cable Ministries, Channel 20 Aberdeen, WA

City Twelve, Time Warner Cable, Rochester, NY

Cornerstone Network - 78 Channels in the following states:
NM/PA/OH/GA/NY/LA/MO/AL/WY/MI/
AR/WI/AZ/CA/OR/UT/SD/IL/TX/FL
Faith Channel 19, Louisville, KY

Faith TV-Sky Angel (3 million households!)

TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network)

Family Net, Fort Worth, TX

Familyland TV Network - OH/NY/PA/TX

Inspiration Networks - Charlotte, NC

The Liberty Channel - Lynchburg, VA

Pappas TV - Fresno, CA

TCI 27 - Evangel College TV – MO

TLN - Chicago/Las Vegas/San Francisco

TCT Network – IL

WAY Channel 49 – AL

WAGTV 44 & 68 - Living Faith Ministries VA

WBCF TV – AL

WBGN TV – PA

TV2 – MI

WFGC TV 61 - West Palm Beach, FL

WGGS TV - Greenville, SC

WHUT - Washington, DC

WICZ TV - Vestal, NY

WIWU TV - Marion, IN

WJAL TV - Chambersburg, PA

WJJA TV – WI

WLBU TV - Lexington, KY

WLCB TV 45 & 52 - Orlando, FL

WLLA TV - Battle Creek, MI

KCHF TV - Santa Fe, NM

KEJB TV - Monroe, LA

KECY TV - Yuma, AZ

KFAM TV - Crowley, LA

KHIZ TV - Victorville, CA

KIDZ/KIDZ/KXVA/KIBZ – TX

KHMT - Billings, MT

KMBH TV - Harlingen, TX

KPAH/KMAH TV – WY

KPVM TV – NV

KQTV - St Joseph, MO

KRLB TV - Richland, VA

KWWO TV - Walla Walla, WA

KSBI TV 52 - Oklahoma City, OK

KSBN TV - Springdale, AR

KSCB TV - Sioux Falls, SD

KTMW TV - Salt Lake City, UT

KVBI TV - Life of Victory TV – ID

KVOS TV - Bellingham, WA

KWHE TV 11 & 14 - Honolulu, HI


If you would like more information about The GodMan, please contact Book of Hope USA at 877-798-HOPE (4673).

Prayer Card

We have had many people ask about the pictures on the front of our prayer card. Some will ask if the two children on the right are our older children, and did we adopt them from some foreign land. Others will ask if the girl in the wheelchair on the left of the card is one of the many foster children we have cared for. Still more will ask about the children in the background of the card.

When I set down to design our prayer card, I wanted to do more than just communicate about us. I wanted people who saw our prayer card to remember that there are many ways to be involved in missions and that we are all called to be involved. For that reason, our prayer card contains pictures of children from around the world. That is not unusual. I've seen many missionary prayer cards that use pictures of children. However, each of the pictures used on this prayer card has a specific meaning. A meaning related to ways that God can call each of us to missions.

Lets start with the easiest picture, the picture of Tammy, Rebecca, and Wayne. This picture represents The Brown Family, the newly appointed missionary family. The itinerating missionary family who will be joining with Book of Hope to take the gospel message to children throughout the world. This picture reminds people of who we are, buy name and by face. It reminds them that we have taken a radical step of faith in leaving a stable and predictable life that came from 19 years as foster parents and 16 years at Publix Super Markets, and stepping into the unpredictable world of international missions work. This picture reminds them to pray for us and for the children to whom we will minister. This picture is the picture of a family who has given up one lifestyle to adopt a new lifestyle that God has specifically called them to adopt. This picture is the picture of full-time missions.

The picture to the left is a picture of a child in Bolivia. Daniela is an elementary school student at the Latin America ChildCare school in Cochabamba. Daniela was born with a birth defect that prevents her from walking. Her mother carried her in her arms each day to and from school and stayed at the school to carry her from place to place on the campus. As Daniela grew, her size and weight increased, thus increasing the burden on her mother.

Prior to traveling to Bolivia, Tammy had contacted AGWM Missionaries Steve and Lori Potutschnig. She told them of the sources for disability-related supplies and equipment that we had developed in providing for Rebecca's needs. And she asked if there was anything they needed in Cochabamba. They immediately thought of two students who needed help, one of them being Daniela. Tammy was able to get specific sizing information concerning Daniela and passed that on to Rick and Bruce, Rebecca's wheelchair providers. They offered their professional services to secure and configure a chair that would specifically meet Daniela’s transportation needs at her school and in her community.

As a result of Tammy, Rick, and Bruce being willing to take their professional skills and give them to the Lord, Daniela now has a wheelchair that she can use to transport herself to and from school and from activity to activity at the school. Her mom now has the freedom to get more involved in other church and community activities, since she does not have to worry about how Daniela will get from place to place on her school campus. This picture of Daniela represents the skills and knowledge that every person has. Skills and knowledge that they can use to share the love of Jesus with others, even with children in a far away land. While Tammy was able to travel to Bolivia to personally meet and minister to Daniela, Rick and Bruce are also missionary heroes in this story. Their sacrificial giving of their skills and knowledge to the service of the Lord has given this little girl and her mom new freedoms that they could previously have only dreamed of.

The picture to the right is a picture of two children from India. These children were won to the Lord by a short-term missionary who came to spend a month in their village. By dedicating a month of her time, this short-term missionary was able to commit the time necessary to develop a relationship with these children. Just days before her departure from this village, these two young children gave their hearts to the Lord. This picture represents missions on two fronts. First, is the significant impact of short-term missions. The missionary in this story is currently unable to commit to full-time service on a foreign missions field. However, she can take what little available time she has and she can commit that time to service for the Lord. This is a picture of short-term missions. Additionally, this is a picture of the significant impact of giving to missions. The short-term missionary in this story lacks the finances to travel to and from India and to stay there for a month. However, she knew that God had called her to that ministry opportunity and she shared that call with others. Many people came together to give to this missionary as God directed. As the deadline for this trip approached, this missionary received all the funds needed to allow her to commit to the trip. This picture is the picture of the harvest that comes when we each hear of a need and are willing to hear from God concerning giving toward that need.

Finally, there are the pictures in the background of the prayer card. These are pictures of children and youth at various international ministry activities. This picture represents the heart of the great commission -- to take the gospel message to a lost and dying world. It represents the heart of the ministry at Book of Hope -- to take "God's Word" to "Every Child." This picture represents the heart for missions that every believer should have and should demonstrate, either through giving, through going short-term, for through taking the radical step of faith to commit a lifetime to bringing in the harvest.

And there you have it, different pictures representing different ways that you can be involved in missions. The scriptures tell us that the harvest is ripe, but he labors are few. Ask yourself today, how is God calling you to be engaged in the harvest? Is He calling you to give so that someone else can perform the labor on the harvest field? Is He calling you to commit a portion of your time to missions, here at home and throughout the world? Is He calling you to set aside your ambitions and pursue His ambitions on a full-time basis? Are you being open enough to hear from Him? He is calling you to one or more of these areas of involvement. Are you willing to answer that call?

Update from Peru

Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to Peru. The purpose of my trip was to minister to and provide training for the Book of Hope leadership team from that country. The training I provided was related to how to use The GodMan most effectively to reach the children and youth of this country.

In Peru, the responsibilities for executing the ministry objectives of the national Book of Hope program are divided among 18 coordinators. Each of these coordinators is responsible for a region of the country. They live in that region and preach at a church in that region. Many of them have broader responsibilities for groups of pastors and churches in their region of the country. These men are leaders within their region and within their church denomination.

While my purpose in Peru was to provide ministry and training to these pastors, the reality of this trip was that they ministered to me and taught me far more than I ever could have provided to them. First, although I am an outsider who can speak the language very weakly, these men accepted me into their fellowship without restriction. They welcomed me warmly and made me to feel as if I were one with them. For four days, we worked side by side learning from and teaching each other about new ministry tools and the reality of ministry in Peru.

One of my favorite experiences was being able to bring the Word of God to these men and the support team from the Book of Hope Peru office. For three mornings, I was permitted to share a message from God's word. My focus on the three day series was acknowledging that our call to ministry required work, work that was hard, work that required courage, but work that would reap a great harvest. The first day's message - Your Faith Will Be Shown - taught me that verbal images that may work well in the USA, do not always transfer well to other countries and languages. Nevertheless, in spite of my missteps and errors on that first day, the series went very well. The series was very well received; with the focus of the second day's message relating to the courage required to do what God has called us to do, and the third day's message focusing on defeating the attacks of Satin as we pursue God's call to ministry.

My Spanish language skills are good enough that I could set down at the dinner table with these pastors and spend about 80% of our conversation time without the assistance of a translator. However, when preaching the Word and teaching, my skills are not nearly strong enough. I was blessed to have the aid of two translators in Peru, Daniel and Debra. The picture here is of Debra helping me to share the testimonies from The GodMan as we tested it around the world in 2005. One of those testimonies was from Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires was the location of our premier of the Spanish dub of The GodMan. Tens of thousands of copies of The Book of Hope were distributed throughout the city during the week preceding the premier. Thousands of those books included an invitation to the movie premier. On the night of this first showing, our ministry team in Buenos Aires was unsure how many would actually show up. They church they were using could hold 3,000, but they truly had no clue about the number of children and families who would attend. You see, Buenos Aires is spiritually a very cold city. While many people claim to be Christians, very few of them have any kind of personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you ask them why they are a Christian, they will answer that they are one because their mom was one or their grandmother was a Christian. However, they most likely have never taken a step toward accepting Christ as their Lord.

I shared this with the pastor's from Peru. I shared that over 600 children and parents had given their hearts to the Lord that evening. I shared how thousands in the Philippines had accepted Christ in schools and on playgrounds. I shared how tens of thousands had accepted Christ during evangelistic outreaches centered on The GodMan in Africa. Then I showed them this picture. I pointed out eight-year-old Anael Carryzo. Anael is the girl in the red jacket with her hands cupped over her mouth. I shared with the Pastors how Anael had never been in a church in her life and that this was a fact for her mother as well. I shared that Anael watched the entire movie intently, expressing shock when Jesus was being punished for our sins; shock to the point of tears just after this picture was taken. Then I shared how she was one of the 600 who gave her heart to the Lord at the close of the service.

This story of Anael became the focus of my closing message on Friday morning. I had not planned to deliver the closing message. This was something that Sylvia Walker, our regional coordinator for all of Latin America, was planning to deliver. However, Sylvia had become very ill the day before, so the closing became my responsibility.

At the closing message, I challenged the pastors not to be complacent about reaching the children in their region of Peru. I challenged them to be aggressive and creative in their work. I then challenged them not to think of this as a task to will 10.5 million children for Jesus. Although that is how many children and youth this team will attempt to reach over the next few years. My challenge for them was simpler. I challenged them to win one more for Jesus. I challenged them to find an Anael in their community and win her for Christ. I challenged them to wake up each day and say, "Today, I will win one more Anael for Jesus.” I challenged them to recommit to this each hour, to pour themselves into winning just one more every minute, to contemplate how they might be a part of winning one more Anael for Jesus each and every second of every day until all 10.5 million children in Peru have been reached. And I challenged them never to forget that no matter how hard the work may become, no matter how successful they may become at doing that work, their task is a simple one...to take the love of Jesus to one more child…to win one more Anael for Jesus. And if we all do this together, we will be successful at winning the country of Peru for Jesus, and not just this one country, but the entire world.

I want to challenge you in this same way. Will you join with us to win one more Anael for Jesus? Will you accept the challenge to commit a day, an hour, a minute, or even a second to bringing in the harvest one Anael at a time? Will you commit your time? Will you commit your money? Will you, like these pastors in Peru, commit your life to this work?

Don't Get Stuck in the FUD

I've posted one of my messages on Christian Podder. It was delivered at First Assembly of Spring Hill, FL, on Sunday evening, January 22, 2006. Visit http://www.christianpodder.com/episode/index.cfm?episode=42647 to hear this message.

March 2006 Newsletter

The following link will take you to our March 2006 newsletter: http://hqmail.agmd.org/~Wayne.Brown/TheBrownFamilyChroniclesv2n3.pdf

Now Booking – The GodMan Teams

The GodMan is now in use throughout Latin American, Africa, Asia/Pacific, and Europe. We are adding countries regularly. The Affect Destiny Teams at Book of Hope are now ready to start booking trips where the focus is on using The GodMan as a key component of our ministry. These trips will give your church team the joy of doing The GodMan with national church teams in their culture. Please contact us if your church is interested in being a part of this new ministry work or contact Affect Destiny Teams at 954-784-1111.

Hitting A Milestone

We hit another milestone today. As I was driving down the Florida Turnpike, returning from one of nine sectional councils that are taking place in the Pen-FL district, I was passing the time by making follow-up calls to churches we have previously visited. One of these calls went to a church plant on the west coast of Florida. As with many church plants, this one has experienced some ups and downs that, given its size and newness, made for some challenging days over the past eight months.

As those eight months passed, the pastor and I have talked on several occasions. We have shared the struggles that each of us has faced. And we have agreed to lift each other up in prayer. Today's call was a two-sized praise report. Pastor asked about our progress. I was able to share how God had already opened the doors to allow me to travel to Peru to assist in the training of our national ministry team in that country. I also shared how God was opening the doors for us to transition from itineration into full-time ministry with Book of Hope. How that transition was going to make two trips to Eastern Europe possible over the next few months. But how we were going to have to step out in faith concerning our budget in order to see those trips come about.

Pastor was sincerely excited for me. I then asked how things were going at the church and he began to share his own praise report. He shared how God was prospering their work and opening doors to minister to more children in their community. He shared how blessed he felt to have many people praying for his ministry.

Pastor then dropped the big news. He shared that the as the blessings have been rising, he has been focused on reestablishing his missions commitments. Then he said that he would be adding us as new missionaries starting with next month's missions check to AGWM.

I cannot begin to express in writing how excited I was. You see, this commitment from a new church was the commitment that put us over the $4,000 mark. I work from goals and this has been a significant goal for us. Does that mean it is time to relax? No way! However, it does show that church size and church age are not everything to be looked at. In many parts of the district, it is our small churches and our new churches who are stepping up and stepping out in faith with us. That does not mean the big and established churches have not been there for us. They have and they make up the bulk of our budget. Nevertheless, tremendous blessings can flow out from anywhere. We simply have to trust God, do the work He has given us, and know that He will provide for all our needs, even from some untraditional places.

February 2006 Newsletter

The following link will take you to our February 2006 newsletter:
http://hqmail.agmd.org/~Wayne.Brown/TheBrownFamilyChroniclesv2n2.pdf

Be Strong and Courageous

Throughout the Bible, we can find passages where one person is admonishing another to "be strong and courageous.” Why are they making such a statement? Where does their confidence come from? We find such a statement in First Chronicles 28:20. In this passage, David is instructing Solomon on a very difficult task. He tells Solomon to be strong and courageous. He tells him not to be afraid or discouraged. Where does David get his confidence? The passage goes on to tell us the answer. It reads, "...for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you..."

The Lord God, the God of David, the greatest king of all time, is with you. These words came to my mind yesterday as I talked with an old friend on the telephone. I was driving from our home in Tamarac to a church service in Plant City. As I frequently do, I spent that time in prayer, praise, and meditation on the Lord. As I was driving through some of Florida's undeveloped landscape on the Ronald Reagan Parkway, the Holy Spirit began to burden my heart for an old friend.

Ken and I have known each other from my early days at Publix. He was part of a workplace Bible study that I participated in early in my career. He and I were on the same senior management team later in my career. Several years ago, Ken's wife, Debra, was diagnosed with cancer. Ken and I prayed over that situation and believed God for a complete and total healing. They have remained on my prayer list since then, but now the Holy Spirit was bringing them to the forefront.

I called Ken as I continued to drive through central Florida. We talked for quite a while, discussing life at Publix, the prospects for a higher stock price, and about Debra. It was while Ken was telling me about Debra's current struggles that the verse form First Chronicles came to my memory. I have preached this verse many times and was planning to preach it again that night. However, Ken's attitude put it in a new light.

Ken is living out the concept of being "strong and courageous.” Ken is a walking and talking example of someone who is not "afraid or discouraged.” How can he be this way in the face of all that he and Debra are going through? It is simple, because the Lord God, the God of David, the God of Wayne, and the God of Ken and Debra, is with him.

Ken's attitude reflects the attitude of Christ when He faced His greatest challenges. Is he struggling? Yes, every day. However, he knows where his strength comes from. It was my privilege to pray with Ken and for Debra as I continued my drive. When the call ended, I felt blessed. It is a blessing to have a friend like Ken, who shows how to live a life that is an example of being "strong and courageous.” I hope his example is one that I can follow whenever difficult days come my way.

Jeremy and Ashley West

Jeremy and Ashley West are Missionary Associates with the Assemblies of God World Missions. They work with Book of Hope International to train and equip believers around the world in effectively reaching children in their communities for Christ. They are an awesome couple whom we met at School of Missions in the summer of 2005. They have completed their itineration and are on the field. You can keep up with their work on their blog at http://www.westwithjesus.blogspot.com.

January 2006 Newsletter

The following link will take you to our January 2006 newsletter: http://hqmail.agmd.org/~Wayne.Brown/TheBrownFamilyChroniclesv2n1.pdf

The GodMan Movie Ministry Resource Kit is NOW AVAILABLE for Churches!

The GodMan Movie Ministry Resource Kit is NOW AVAILABLE for Churches! Specifically designed to create a powerful outreach event, this kit provides everything your church will need to impact students in your community.

Your Event Package includes:

• The GodMan DVD Movie with Promotional Trailer
• A Promotional CD that lets you create custom posters, flyers, tickets, postcards, bulletins, and eBlasts, and
• 220 copies of the Children’s Animation Edition Book of Hope.

All of this for $299.00 plus free shipping!

For more info on how you can order for your church or ministry, please call:
1.877.798.HOPE

info@bookofhope.com
http://www.bookofhope.com/

The Value of One Soul

Missionaries in the Assemblies of God have a somewhat unique obligation. They must raise all of their own support. While there are some general funds to help offset expenses incurred in the application and training processes, the budget of a missionary must be secured by the missionary.

In the process of meeting their financial obligations, AG missionaries go church to church. They sometimes preach for a full service, but other times are given a smaller window in which to present their call and vision for ministry. It is very easy for the itinerating missionary to become overly focused on the objective of raising support. Sometimes, this focus comes at the expense of hearing from God and maintaining a focus on Him. Yes, missionaries have this problem, just like everyone else.

For several months now, God has blessed us with an abundance of offering support. It has allowed us to meet our day-to-day cash flow needs. Additionally, it has enabled us to build up a cash reserve that is required by the Assemblies of God World Missions. We have truly been blessed in this area throughout the second half of 2005. However, that has changed in a big way as we have entered 2006.

Although the month of January is only a little more than half complete, it has already presented significant challenges. For the first time in many months, we had two service slots that remained unfilled. No service means no offering. Twice this month, Rebecca or Tammy have been sick on service days. This has prevented them from traveling with me. Frankly, the best part of the family gets left behind when that happens. Every service we have had this month has involved a significant commute. In many cases, our gasoline expenses were greater than the offerings we received -- eating into those cash reserves we had started to build. It has been a troubling start to the new year.

I was sharing these troubles with a friend at Book of Hope and he helped me to put it into prospective. His take on it reflected the words of wisdom that one of the Pastor's I've met with this month shared. God will frequently take us through a season of fire, pruning, and testing in order to refine, reshape, and prove us. These times are difficult. However, if we remain faithful to His call and His purpose for our lives, He will give us the ability to see it through.

The difficulties of this month all faded away last night. No, there was no huge offering that wiped away all our deficits. However, there were five lost souls who's names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Five individuals who made a decision to accept Christ as their Lord, as their personal Savior. Was it great preaching on my part? No way. On my best days I am only a so-so preacher. What made the difference? God gave me a word for this church. He told me to minimize my focus on our ministry and maximize my focus on His message.

In the end, just like every other service this month, I spent more than I received. However, at least on this one very special Wednesday, it wasn't about an offering. It wasn't about a budget. It wasn't about a target date for completing itineration. It was all about the power of God's word to deliver someone out of the darkness of sin and into the light of His eternal love and grace. It was about the value of one soul. A value that goes beyond any economic measure.

No Fear

Today was another great day in the life of Rebecca. It did not start the way she wished, as the clock went off at 3:00AM. And there may have been a few times during the day when she was not totally happy. However, all in all, it was a day of adventure that she truly enjoyed. Today was the day that we flew to Chicago for two services this weekend. Rebecca has flown before and always enjoys the experience. Today was no exception.

Rebecca is the type of person who simply looks certain fears in the face and laughs at them. We saw that today during our flight. There was a point in the flight when the pilot had just turned off the seatbelt sign and said it was safe to get up. In less than a minute we hit some very serious turbulence. While those all around us were "white knuckled" as they grasped their seats and arm rests, Rebecca was looking to Dad and then to Mom and laughing. Where others saw fear, she saw excitement.

In First John 4:18, we get a little bit of insight into the source of Rebecca's attitude. In the King James Version, it reads "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." Rebecca, setting there between Mom and Dad, two people who love her dearly, and knowing Jesus in her heart, was able to look at an event that was inducing fear in all those around her and laugh it off. God continually amazes me at the life lessons that I am learning from a 13-year-old child who cannot walk or talk, but who is at perfect peace with her Lord and about her life.

A New School

Today marked a major milestone in our new hometown. This afternoon, Mom and Dad took Rebecca to register at her new school - Wingate Oaks. Wingate Oaks is the home of the Roaring Lions. It is a K-12 public school that focuses on meeting the educational needs of children with complex mental and physical handicaps.

Recall that in yesterday's post, we discussed Rebecca's laugh. Well, we got another laughter experience as we approached the school. We had visited Wingate Oaks in October as we were planning our transition from Lakeland to Tamarac. Rebecca was with us on that visit. Rebecca loves school and we expected her to have some anxiety about leaving Doris A. Sanders Learning Center, her school in Lakeland, and going to a new school. However, Rebecca quickly expressed that she was happy about our trip today. As we turned down the road to her school, even before the school was within sight, she began to giggle. This was her "I'm extremely happy with my life" giggle. It is a giggle that she saves for those most outstanding activities that bring her great joy.

The giggles did not stop with our arrival at the school. Once inside, we were met by her new teacher, Mrs. Nancy, and her guidance counselor. They were quickly joined by the school nurse, the YMCA after school coordinator, and several others. Mrs. Nancy is wonderful. She immediately engaged Rebecca in conversation, asking her questions as she was asking us about Rebecca. And Rebecca loved it. She knew right away that she was going to be treated like a teenager and was going to have an opportunity to be directly involved in planning her own education activities, generating another round of giggles. Mom and Dad were really excited about this as well.

Isn't it wonderful how God enables us to find great joy in the simple, even the mundane tasks of life. How easy it would have been to have viewed the process of signing up for school as something that Mom or Dad did and that Rebecca had no place in. We thank God daily for our little girl (sorry, our young lady) and we rejoice with her at the great joy she receives form the most simple activities of life. Perhaps there is something we can all take away from Rebecca's new school experience. Are there little things in your life that God is trying to use to show you the great joy that He has made available to you?

Rebecca's Voice

One of the greatest challenges that Rebecca faces is the lack of a voice. Her disabilities leave her unable to speak and unable to use her hands for signing. The only recourse she has is to use the few sounds she can make to communicate her current needs and feelings. She can grunt, she can squeal, she can hoot, she can cry, and she can laugh with joy and laugh with anxiety. We heard that last communication sound on Friday night.

In our home, we have one and only one TV. Rebecca loves the TV, since she can enjoy the entertainment on it and not be required to perform any kind of therapy work. It is her form of simple diversion. She enjoys VeggieTales and other cartoons, as well as more "teenager" type of entertainment (i.e. comedies like Cheaper by the Dozen). The one and only TV in our home is one we purchased the same week that we adopted Rebecca. It was over 13 years old and in very poor condition. It did not survive the move to Tamarac and she was very disappointed. Nevertheless, she did not express any frustration. After all, there was more than enough comedy going on in her new home as Mom and Dad went about the task of unpacking all those boxes that got moved on the big yellow truck.

Well, Rebecca is not the only one in the family who enjoys TV. Mom is an avid viewer and Dad enjoys his share of sports programs. We were all somewhat disappointed that the old set did not survive, so we went off as a family to our local Circuit City in search of a TV deal. We found one that met everyone’s satisfaction as well as fit within our budget needs.

About now, you may be wondering what the purchase of a new TV has to do with Rebecca's anxiety laugh. Really, you had to be there, but I will try to explain. The TV is larger than our old set and somewhat heavier. Also, it had to be placed into a cabinet that was just about the same size as the TV. In other words, there was not much room to navigate getting the TV into the cabinet. Rebecca laughed with pleasure as we purchased the TV. She laughed with comic relief as we fumbled with the box and all its stuffing materials. That was somewhat egged on by Dad's over exaggeration of the unpacking process. However, as Mom and Dad struggled with the TV in trying to get it into the right place in the cabinet, Rebecca started with her anxiety induced laughing. She was so worried that she almost got to the point here she was going to cry. You see, even though Rebecca cannot walk, cannot talk, cannot deliberately use her hands, she has a clear understanding of her parents priorities. She knows that there was a 13-year gap between the last new TV purchase and this one. She heard Dad say that this new TV would have to last 20 years. From her prospective, if Mom and Dad got clumsy with the task of installing this TV, she was going to be without a TV for a long, long time.

Happily enough, Mom and Dad were able to get the TV into the cabinet without any mishaps. Rebecca's anxiety laughter immediately converted into her happy laughter. A few minutes later and the cable TV and DVD player were hooked up to the TV and life in the Brown home was once again looking good.

Isn’t it amazing how God has gifted us all with our own special and unique way of communicating? The challenge for each of us is to be open to listening to others in ways that may not be easily understood initially, but will yield great understanding if we are willing to invest the time.