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 Our first album, containing pictures of Wayne's trip to Peru, has been archived there.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.