An update from our Local director;
Today, one footing is done. We also bought 3 tons of lumber, plywood, and some tools.
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From our local director;
As we are actually experiencing, I just would like to share some disadvantages in doing building projects during rainy season. 1. Prices of building materials go up because most projects stop during rainy season and so importing of materials stop and the remaining materials are being priced. So, the prices are in the mouths of the sellers. There is no more standard price. 2. Because of the rain, the soil is too watery and so the foundation bankers collapse. Because of this: - My existing building, my house, can move, be stringed down, which is my most feared. - We need to buy extra lumber. We are buying 3 ton of 3"x2", 3"x1" and 20 sheets of 4'x8' 6mm plywoods and make the covering around inside the foundation (pictures attached). - Prices of those lumber and plywood go up. - Because of banker collapsing and extra works are exerted, ground diggers priced their labor fees more than the standard price. - We have to buy more tools for ground works including big tarpaulin and wall plugs because of extra kinds of performance needed. - Because of raining and wet, the builders cannot use power tools under the rain and so they are breaking hard objects manually my using harp iron big hummers. - When rains heavily, the workers need to avoid wetting so they stop to wait the rain stops and so the work is not fast yet we still pay daily wages. - The rain wash away the stored sand so there are some losses. - We have more stress doing the work during rainy season. We need to run around under the rain and can easily catch colds. What does that mean? Am I trying to outdo the candy company with one extra M? Do I stutter when I type? Is my keyboard stuck? No, no, and no. What it means is – officially -- May is Motorcycle month! And what do these three problems have in common? They are all problems that affect our national church planter's ability to evangelize more villages, train more preachers and start more churches. How? ![]()
Speed, time, and distance:
On foot, a preacher can only evangelize a small area. He doesn't have hotels to stay at. So he carries a bag of food and ventures out for the day. Soon, he has knocked on every door within his area. His radius on foot may be five miles, and with a bicycle, he can stretch it out to fifteen, but with a motorcycle, his radius of evangelism grows exponentially. -- If he has one. ![]()
Angry mobs:
It is common in some countries for a preacher to run into angry mobs of fanatic Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, or Animists. They are not content to scream, threaten and hurl insults; they want blood. They want to beat, cripple, cut off limbs and kill the messenger of God who has come to share the gospel with them. Many preachers have long been wounded and now limp and cannot run. Others can, but they cannot outrun every assailant that comes after them. On foot, they are helpless. On a bicycle, they stand a chance if they get enough of a head start. But they can quickly outdistance clubs, machetes, rocks, and flames on a motorcycle and return to preach another day. – If they have one. ![]()
An attacking bear:
We have often mentioned this threat, and as time goes by, it is becoming more of a problem. In India, it is tigers and bears; in Africa, it is hyenas (the only beast in the jungle that lions fear) and rhinos. There are dangers to our men, no matter the continent, that they cannot outrun on foot or escape on a bicycle. Their only hope of escape and survival is the speed and distance a motorcycle provides. As they travel further looking for that next unreached village, whether on foot or with a bicycle, they return home later and later. It's dark, and they can easily be seen as a meal or a threat because they unwittingly got too close to bear cubs playing in the brush on the side of a road or path. With a motorcycle, this problem is negated as the engine's sound would alert and frighten the wild animals of their impending arrival. – If he has one. ![]()
The Only and Obvious Solution:
Though you have often helped with this need, and though our next issue of the Progress Report will highlight it in greater detail, I wanted to get a head start and let you know that during May, our goal is to provide as many of our men as possible with a motorcycle. One group in Africa needs ten. One group in India needs more than fifty. And there are many groups of dedicated, worthy men like them worldwide. Globally, we can purchase a motorcycle for about $1300 (which can carry two preachers and a box of bibles or three preachers with no boxes). And though you can give any amount at any time, as the need will always be there, we have recently had so many requests that we decided to make May our Motorcycle Month. (M&M's &M) So, rip open a bag and enjoy yourself for a moment. Then give online below and send an offering so together we can evangelize more people, allowing them also to enjoy Heaven forever. I don't know how much “PLAIN-er” I can make it. Jon Greetings praying friends!
Today is the beginning of 85 days of war. It is still so hard to wrap our minds around this horrible statement. We never dreamed that war would be a part of our lives, ministry, or everyday vocabulary. We were overwhelmed by the emotions and problems it heaved upon us until we came to a place that we could truly rest in God's care and provision for TODAY. "Give us this day our daily bread, Do not worry about tomorrow for today has enough cares of its own, Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you" have been passages of Scripture that have carried us through. We do not know what tomorrow will bring but we rest in the fact that He has carried us thus far and will continue to do so! Holy Trinity is continuing to accept and care for war refugees. Everyday new people arrive and others leave on their way to more permanent living arrangements. Working with refugees is trying and emotional. Please keep the church volunteers and all the people working to care for refugees in your prayers. Pray for them to be able to deal with their own grief, pain and worries properly as they give so much to others. We have several praises to share. 1, One of our biggest new expenses caring for refugees is the electric bill. In Ukraine, non residential property has an extremely high tariff for electricity. We heat and cook with electricity. We were able to collect all the necessary documentation to apply for and be approved for a new government program that drastically reduced our electric bill. This program will last until one month after Marshall Law ends at the end of the war. This is a huge answer to prayer. It will allow our relief fund to stretch even further! 2, Ukraine is experiencing a huge fuel crisis. The lack of gas/diesel fuel due to Russia bombing refineries all of the country has caused huge lines, extreme prices, and rationing at the gas pump. We were able to sign a contract with a national fuel chain to purchase fuel in advance with a coupon system and given priority to not wait in 4/5 hour lines. This will enable our church to continue to transport humanitarian aid to partner churches in areas with little food, water, etc as well as servicing the needs of “our” refugees in Mukachevo. 3, We received another big load of food, cleaning supplies, Bibles and, beds from EveryNationEducation this week and the men who brought the aid stayed on for Sunday worship. They were a real encouragement to our people and their testimonies were powerful. Most of our refugees in residence are unchurched but attend worship on Sundays. 4, We have several new volunteers from the community who come on a daily basis to help. The Lord is building a team of displaced Ukraine/Russia missionaries in Budapest to start a war time ministry with the 400,000 refugees in Budapest. Please pray for this ministry to be a tool for Kingdom advancement! As our participation in this ministry advances, we will keep you updated. Thank you for continuing to pray for Ukraine, for our family and, for supporting our relief efforts financially. You are providing life changing and life sustaining support for vulnerable and scared war refugees who do not yet know Jesus Christ as their Savior. You are helping us Shine His Light brightly in Mukachevo and all over Ukraine. Sincerely, The Enskyys Mukachevo/Budapest An update from our local director;
Today the sun was shining the whole day to our gladness. An update from our Local director;
They started the work today. Pictures attached. Because of their belief, they canceled to work on Monday, yesterday, so they started today under the rain. Week after week, you put up with us, sharing projects with you. I apologize if we go overboard, but we have learned over the years that some will give for one thing but have no interest in another. (Personally, I am that way. Some things don’t move my spirit, and others move me to do all I can.) Allow me to give an analogy that applies to myself -- food. If I owned a steakhouse, you might come and visit me once a month, but if I owned a Golden Corral, you could come three times a day and not eat the same thing twice for a month. (And if you don’t know what a Golden Corral is, you need to come to Augusta and experience it. I’ll gladly be your guide!) Usually, when we present a need, it is supplied in full within one hour to three days. That’s why I said you amaze me. But every now and then, I must drop the ball in explaining the need because your interest doesn’t seem to be there. By the way, we don’t do projects for the sake of doing projects. We do them because of the significant needs that come to us from our roughly 1,500 directors in nearly 80 countries. They present needs to us they feel are worthy and needy, which they cannot fulfill. Then we try to pick those that we think will interest you, benefit them, and will visibly and physically display the love of God to their unbelieving neighbors. Recently, I presented you with two such projects -- but not yet completed, though both came close. So today, I want to ask you to reconsider helping with these so we can move on to others. (And you don’t have to eat steak again.) Right now, we are preparing some fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn on the cob with some apple pie, and a scoop of … I digress. The first need was supplying funds for the Vacation Bible Schools in Tamil Nadu, India. The plan was to have one triumphant VBS in each of the 38 districts of that State. Our strategy was not only to bless the 150 children in each location but also to use it as training for the other churches in the area. Pastor Thomas wrote me yesterday and told me that some of the VBS classes had finished and that he has sent the local church leaders along with hie Bible College students to serve in the others. He also told me that they would do even more if they got enough funds. The request was for $5,700 to do all that, and you gave $3,562, so we have an outstanding need of $2,138. Click here and select "Special Projects" and then "India VBS" to give online. Otherwise you can mail in a check and designate it to "India VBS" but please let us know it is coming. The second need was to repair the house of a widow and her children in Pakistan. She works as a maid and is, of course, uneducated with few opportunities. Her believing husband died unexpectedly about five years ago. She has asked for nothing during all that time and remained faithful to her church. Her three oldest are studying God’s Word at our Bible College and serving almost daily on evangelism teams. Several months ago, heavy rains caused her roof to collapse and destroyed their belongings. Her family of five lives in a two-room “house” with their neighbor’s family of five. We want to share God’s with her from God’s abundant provisions to us, demonstrating our great God’s love to her unbelieving neighbors. We want to repair and refurbish her house. The amount we need to do this is only $3,272, of which you already gave $2,638. (Obviously, her house is not like mine or yours.) We need only $634 more to give this family a new house.
Please click here to help this widow and her family, select "Special Projects" and then select "Pakistan Widow House". Otherwise you can mail in a check and designate it to "Pakistan Widow House". An update from our Local director;
Good morning sirs! This morning we commit the whole kitchen works into God's hand. The workers will start the work tomorrow for they are finishing their work at another site. 3 of our boys are sick because of the bad weather. Ruesan, one of our girls, is doing teeth repair at a charity clinic in our area because her 4 teeth need to be filled. The dentist does not want to pull them out. Please continue to pray for these things. Thank you and God bless. An update from our Local director;
I have bought 3 kinds of building materials. (Pictures attached) 1. Gravel: 20 square feet. 2. Bags of cement: 100 bags + 2 plywood (we don't have the place to store as it is rainy season so we bought only 100 bags initially.) 3. Deform Bars: 6.3 tons + 6.5mm coil of 1 han. Sand, bricks and other associated materials will be bought tomorrow and so on. I hope the workers can start the work by next week. Thank you and God bless. Bibles:
Before I get started, allow me to update you on our current Bible project. Two weeks ago, I told you that we are attempting to raise $150,000 for 25,000 Bibles. We have already received over $8,000 towards that goal. Thanks so much to all who gave and prayed. Our preachers and their congregations are so effective that it has increased the need for more Bibles, which are illegal in their countries. Because of our numerical growth, all 25,000 Bibles will be targeted -- for not a region but one single country! Please consider helping us with this need by clicking here, or mailing in a check and designating it to "Smugglers". A Widow in Pakistan: In Pakistan, there is a widow in great need. Her situation is so dire that I wanted to share it with you. Our Lord gave us instructions in the Book of James to take care of widows and orphans. This command is emphasized with the admonition that while we seek to take care of others, we should concentrate on helping those of our "household of faith." So, let me share her need with you. This widow's name is Zerina Sarvar. Her husband, also a believer and faithful church member, passed away five years ago from a heart attack at the age of thirty-five, leaving her with no means of caring for their four children. Her kids range in age from ten to fourteen. To feed them, Zerina took a job working as a housekeeper while her three oldest children study in our Bible Institute and work in the ministry. (Like timothy, we train them and put them to work as early as possible.) Unfortunately, her salary is only $80 a month. Arzo, age twelve, is her oldest daughter. She works teaching the children in Sunday School and doing outreach and evangelism with the other students and is particularly effective at door-to-door evangelizing. Her two sons, Sahil and Sajeel, ages fourteen and thirteen, are good students but are also on the church planting teams. When I was there in February, they both went along with us from house to house and village to village, helping in any way they could. All her kids are bright, energetic, happy, and eager to serve in any capacity. The youngest daughter, Eshewa, is ten years old and is learning by the example of her older siblings. She eagerly serves Christ by helping mothers with their babies, helping in the kitchen, etc. Recently, during the heavy rains in March/April, their tiny house was destroyed. It was only a one-room house where they slept and lived while cooking on stones outside. The rains caused large cracks in the wall and roof, which have collapsed and are irreparable. As a result, they moved in with neighbors in their tiny "house" with two rooms, having a "kitchen" corner inside. Ten people are living in this confined space. Pastor Shaukat tells us this widow needs and deserves our help. He is asking us to provide the funds for building materials so he and the men in the church can build them a new house. Here are some incredible details that might lead you to help them. The entire budget to build this family a new house is only $3,272. It will be equal to or a bit better than what they previously had and will be built of better materials to survive future rains. In addition, they will have an indoor "kitchen" like their neighbors (but better) and electricity and running water. We are even giving them their own bathroom. (Usually, these communities have an outdoor bathroom that five to twelve families share.) We can do all this for $3,272. Isn't' that incredible! What a blessing for them and what a testimony to the Muslims living around them to see how Christians take care of their own. Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see YOUR good works, and glorify your FATHER who is in Heaven." This is an opportunity for us to do so without straining our resources. You may wonder how we can do this for such a low price. That is the blessing and advantage for us, working in developing countries, where our dollars are multiplied in value. It is incredible that the cost of a dining room set or living room set here -- can build an entire house there. But, like Jesus feeding the 5000 from a single child's serving of bread and fish, we can take a little and do a lot. But consider this, had the lad, when asked by the disciples, not been willing to give Jesus all he had – what then? The willingness of that young boy will prevent us from ever knowing the outcome. As His disciples today, we are always thankful for you, who willingly, sacrificially, and eagerly give us your "bread and fish" for the benefit of others. You must undoubtedly have abundant rewards waiting for you in Glory. Please click here to help this widow and her family, select "Special Projects" and then select "Pakistan Widow House". Otherwise you can mail in a check and designate it to "Pakistan Widow House". |
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