|
On November 23, we heard from Pastor Shaukat Siddique in Pakistan. He informed us that he wanted to build a multi-floor facility to serve as the main campus for his Bible college. He asked if we could help pay for the facility, and all I could say was, we will try. I informed him that we were currently raising funds for Bibles, so it would have to wait until January. He thanked me and acknowledged that God would provide the funds for construction as He had already done for the land, which his church had paid for over the past five years. Then on December 1, he sent me some pictures of their groundbreaking and the beginning of several levels of the erected walls. (I could hear the admonition, “Oh ye of little faith,” echoing in my mind.)  A prayer as the foundation is being prepared.  Progress made in less than two weeks.
Last year, Shaukat began his Bible College and, within a few months, had opened half a dozen branches in the remote villages where he and his students were planting churches. In each new church, men and ladies are eager to learn more about their new faith and share it with others by evangelizing and starting more house churches. He wanted to have the main campus where the leaders could come for training for a week or two at a time, then return home to teach others what they had learned. This facility will house an office, classroom, several dormitories with bathrooms, and a kitchen and small dining area. (They eat while sitting on the floor.) Late last week, I talked with one of our donors from Texas. (Praise God for Texas!) God has incredibly blessed his business this year despite covid, and he had some funds he wanted to give. This brother is always looking to see where he can get the most accomplished with his gift. I shared with him several projects we planned to adopt. Among them was a need of $6250 to purchase five more motorcycles for one of our four groups of church planters in Kenya and $45,019 to build the Bible College facility in Pakistan. Today, about five days later, this brother called again to verify the need still existed, and of course, it did -- as I had determined not to load you all down with another project in the last week of the month. Not knowing how much he wanted to give, I had jokingly promised that if he would give the $45,000, I could handle the remaining $19. He took me at my word and today sent us a check for $51,250. So, the Lord chose to meet the need in its entirely through one man, without me even making it known to the rest of you. While I was thrilled to see this happen, I know that some of you will be righteously jealous that you didn’t get a chance to participate in this blessing. Well, hang in there. There are more projects to fulfill and thousands of more church planters to support. The current projects we have lined up for the first few months of the year will range from $1,000 to $43,000 and total nearly $90,000. And if you’re like me and think that’s a lot, keep this in mind --- in the last month, apart from the regular support you give each month, we have received nearly $200,000 extra for Bibles and projects. We stand amazed, by Him and His provision, by you and your generosity, and by these servants of God who don’t walk by faith -- they run by faith. What a joy and pleasure to serve Him by serving them. And by the way, much of that amount was made up of small gifts and large. God has room to bless and use all of us who give according to our means. God willing, in February, I will see the new bible college facility and give you a first-hand report. Until then, Happy New Year. Jon Nelms and the Final Frontiers team
0 Comments
As you know, because we are perpetually raising funds to print and smuggle Bibles in the Islamic world where they are forbidden, we felt that we also needed to give attention to the rest of the globe. After all, everyone should have a copy of God’s Word to read. So, in August, our home team scheduled which projects we felt we would concentrate on for the remainder of the year. That in itself is no small task, as we receive requests probably at the rate of more than once a day. We have criteria for making our decisions, and the need for Bibles met that criteria. However, I wanted to get the other projects fulfilled first, and as always, you rose to the call. In fact, every project we adopted in 2020 and 2021 was fully met. If that is not a miracle, please tell me what is.
I don’t want to say that we saved the best project to last, but we intentionally met the other needs before announcing our final project of 2021, with the prayer that it, too, would be met entirely before Christmas. In late September, Pastor Steve Ware at Tabernacle Baptist in Orlando contacted me, saying his church wanted to give $10,000 to buy Bibles for the rest of the world. To me, this was confirmation that we were clearly under our Lord’s guidance, so we accepted their funds as $10,000 of the $25,000 that we had targeted. As a result, I adapted our plan, asking you to donate only $15,000 -- and you did. In fact, you gave $15,416.00 -- two days before Christmas! So then, we have been able to provide the number of Bibles per our initial request with a surplus of $416. So, that too will be used to purchase Bibles. Over the next month, as emails and photographs come to us, we will share them with you. But, until then, I think we will let you rest for the final week of the year -- unless something changes. In the meantime, expect us to have another Bible Project before summer. I would like to see us do this at least twice a year until our Lord returns. Oh, and by the way, during the last month, we also smuggled more than 25,000 Bibles into various countries where the Bible is banned, and having a copy brings the death penalty. We also raised $120,000+ for more illegal Bibles. So, I think you will agree; it was time for us to turn our attention and yours to giving Bibles to the rest of the world—Thank you for enabling us to do just that. From Him the power to Him the glory! Jon Nelms and the entire global, Final Frontiers team If you would like a reminder of this project from its initial announcement, then please see below; 12/15/2021 For thirty-five years, I have been recruiting like-minded Believers to help me support national church planters. The blessings that God has showered on those donors and me are incredible as we have followed the light He shined on our paths. These gallant servants of God, who serve where we cannot and probably would not, live humbly. I sometimes refer to their "houses" and wonder if you know what kind of structure they live in. To be sure, it is a house, but it may be less than 100 square feet (10' x 10') and be made of mud and sticks or bamboo. Yet, they are thankful for their "house" and feel incredibly blessed by God. And they are. Sometimes they ask for help so they can perform their ministries more effectively. For example, they may need a bicycle ($125) or motorcycle ($1300). Others may request help for a necessary surgery or to help to pay a hospital bill. Others request travel funds to plant a church in a remote village or rescue them from imprisonment because of their faith. We even get requests to help bury a pastor, his wife, child, or a church member who has passed and had no provision for such. Once, we had to bury forty-eight young people who three men shot with machine guns as they were praying in their house church. Their needs are as vital to them as our needs are to us. As Americans, the difference is that our needs are often our wants, whereas their needs are precisely that, -- they don't even dream of acquiring a want. Yet, through all these years and in every country (the 90+ where we have served them), there is one item they all ask for, and they ask continually. That need is for Bibles. We expend a lot of time and effort to raise funds for Arabic and Farsi Bibles as we strive to cover North Africa and the Middle East with Bibles; in the last week, we took 25,000 Bibles into just one country in that region. Their response was, "When can we get more?" They are not trying to stack copy upon copy on their bookshelf. They are merely hoping to get enough so each family in their house churches can have one and to have a surplus to give to the new converts. Imagine turning from Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Animism, where you have been indoctrinated with the nuances of those faiths all your life. You have rejected them, and perhaps your family has rejected you. Yet, you have no Bible with which to learn about your new Lord and Savior. Therefore, we must provide these converts with a Bible. In August, we decided to dedicate our efforts to raise funds to purchase Bibles, not for the Middle East but the rest of the world. So I wrote to some of our national directors scattered globally, asking them the prices and number of Bibles they need. The prices range from $3 to $10, and they ask for thousands of copies. In this effort, we will be ignoring Latin America for the most part, as there are so many missionaries there who can get Bibles donated and shipped to them. So instead, we are going to concentrate on those regions where Bibles are available, but the people cannot afford one. $3 is not much, neither is $10, but when your average monthly income is only $4, you cannot afford to give a month's income to buy one. In addition, you may need six months' income to travel to the closest Bible bookstore. So, as a Christmas present to our Lord, I ask you to help us raise at least $15,000. You can donate online by giving through our donations page and selecting "Special Projects" and then "Christmas Bibles", or by mailing in a check and designating it to "Christmas Bibles". We hoped to raise $25,000, but Tabernacle Baptist in Orlando already gave $10,000, so we have already purchased several thousand Bibles for Kenya, Pakistan, and India. What will we do if you give more than the $15,000? -- We'll buy more Bibles. -- Personally, I hope you will give $50,000 for this project. When Christ was born, the angels declared that His birth would be good news for all nations. So, let's join with them and do what we can to declare that good news to those who have neither heard it nor had the opportunity to read about it. Imagine the tens of thousands of Believers who will this Christmas, for the first time in their lives, be able to sit and read the story of our Lord's birth in Luke, chapter two. They will be as amazed as the shepherds! Thank you for making that possible for them, and Merry Christmas! You may recall our request to help the new Believers in Afghanistan that we had to relocate after two of their numbers were publicly martyred. As a result, seven families were taken into a neighboring country, and our churches there took the responsibility to house, feed, clothe and assimilate them into the society. (They are among a people group – the Jews -- that span both sides of the border, thus the language and culture are the same.)
For the approximately 700 remaining, we had to relocate them in their own country but far enough away to a city where none are known. We saved the lives of nearly eight hundred new Believers by doing this. After they were successfully relocated, I asked you to give so that we could provide them with food, clothing, medicines, etc., as they had to leave behind all their belongings. We took your funds and rented fourteen apartments to house them, putting nearly fifty people in each apartment. The funds secured their housing for three months but left precious little for food. So, again I asked for your help, and as usual, you responded. But because it was you who prayed and you who gave, it was not we but you who saved them all. How does that make you feel? With certainty, when you stand before God, receiving the rewards He has laid up for you, you will revisit this event and be thankful you played a part. This morning I woke to an email that arrived while I slept. Our director for the region had sent some of our church members and pastors back into the country to preach and teach the struggling new Believers, encourage them, and verify that their relief had arrived. Here is his brief report: Our 700 Believers have received the help, including milk, flour, oil, rice, some types of local cheese, tea, sugar, eggs, chicken, clean water, and oil containers to use to heat their homes. Those will help us for the next couple of months. Thank you. In a few months, when the funding has been exhausted, if they have not been able to find employment, I will let you know, and we can once again bring aid to these children of Abraham who have become Believers in the Messiah. Jon If you want to review the entire story, you can read all the related correspondence through the links below. Beginning with the first and ending with this update. September 4th; https://conta.cc/328bbR0 September 11th; https://conta.cc/3E78ts6 November 9th; https://conta.cc/3p0EjCF November 17th; https://conta.cc/3dYzvYc
For thirty-five years, I have been recruiting like-minded Believers to help me support national church planters. The blessings that God has showered on those donors and me are incredible as we have followed the light He shined on our paths.
These gallant servants of God, who serve where we cannot and probably would not, live humbly. I sometimes refer to their "houses" and wonder if you know what kind of structure they live in. To be sure, it is a house, but it may be less than 100 square feet (10' x 10') and be made of mud and sticks or bamboo. Yet, they are thankful for their "house" and feel incredibly blessed by God. And they are. Sometimes they ask for help so they can perform their ministries more effectively. For example, they may need a bicycle ($125) or motorcycle ($1300). Others may request help for a necessary surgery or to help to pay a hospital bill. Others request travel funds to plant a church in a remote village or rescue them from imprisonment because of their faith. We even get requests to help bury a pastor, his wife, child, or a church member who has passed and had no provision for such. Once, we had to bury forty-eight young people who three men shot with machine guns as they were praying in their house church. Their needs are as vital to them as our needs are to us. As Americans, the difference is that our needs are often our wants, whereas their needs are precisely that, -- they don't even dream of acquiring a want. Yet, through all these years and in every country (the 90+ where we have served them), there is one item they all ask for, and they ask continually. That need is for Bibles. We expend a lot of time and effort to raise funds for Arabic and Farsi Bibles as we strive to cover North Africa and the Middle East with Bibles; in the last week, we took 25,000 Bibles into just one country in that region. Their response was, "When can we get more?" They are not trying to stack copy upon copy on their bookshelf. They are merely hoping to get enough so each family in their house churches can have one and to have a surplus to give to the new converts. Imagine turning from Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Animism, where you have been indoctrinated with the nuances of those faiths all your life. You have rejected them, and perhaps your family has rejected you. Yet, you have no Bible with which to learn about your new Lord and Savior. Therefore, we must provide these converts with a Bible. In August, we decided to dedicate our efforts to raise funds to purchase Bibles, not for the Middle East but the rest of the world. So I wrote to some of our national directors scattered globally, asking them the prices and number of Bibles they need. The prices range from $3 to $10, and they ask for thousands of copies. In this effort, we will be ignoring Latin America for the most part, as there are so many missionaries there who can get Bibles donated and shipped to them. So instead, we are going to concentrate on those regions where Bibles are available, but the people cannot afford one. $3 is not much, neither is $10, but when your average monthly income is only $4, you cannot afford to give a month's income to buy one. In addition, you may need six months' income to travel to the closest Bible bookstore. So, as a Christmas present to our Lord, I ask you to help us raise at least $15,000. You can donate online on this page, or by mailing in a check and designating it to "Christmas Bibles". We hoped to raise $25,000, but Tabernacle Baptist in Orlando already gave $10,000, so we have already purchased several thousand Bibles for Kenya, Pakistan, and India. What will we do if you give more than the $15,000? -- We'll buy more Bibles. -- Personally, I hope you will give $50,000 for this project. When Christ was born, the angels declared that His birth would be good news for all nations. So, let's join with them and do what we can to declare that good news to those who have neither heard it nor had the opportunity to read about it. Imagine the tens of thousands of Believers who will this Christmas, for the first time in their lives, be able to sit and read the story of our Lord's birth in Luke, chapter two. They will be as amazed as the shepherds! Thank you for making that possible for them, and Merry Christmas!
Join Missionary Ernest Livingston as our Season 2 saga continues. In Episode 3 we find our accident prone adventurer journeying back to civilization, where he will be stalked once again by his Black Rhino antagonists. We also get to meet his brother, who is a famous prosperity preacher in California. Will Ernest be able to reconnect with society and his ministry, or will he be swallowed up by his depleted finances? It’s that time of year when many of you will be purchasing gifts at Amazon.com. Would you please join our other partners and register at smile.amazon.com/ch/58-1721535 This is the same Amazon you usually use, but by registering, they will donate a portion of their profits to the registered charity of your choice when you shop. Final Frontiers is a registered charity, and we already receive a few thousand dollars extra each year because of those who have already registered. This extra funding allows us to help ministers worldwide with their needs.  After you register, which will take maybe a minute of your time, each time you begin to type in amazon.com, it will ask if you would like to be redirected to smile.amazon.com. You simply click “yes.”
Throughout the year, as you make purchases, whether gifts, appliances, or food, each time you place an order, Amazon will give us a fraction of their profit. It will be an automatic donation that you never have to think about again. Once done, it’s done. Thank you for your consideration and help. Would you please go there and register now before you forget? Jon Nelms PS Merry Christmas from all of us. I wanted to send a letter of gratitude to those who gave to help the Indian pastors buy seeds for their farms. As we neared the end of this project, we were still short by 1/3 of the amount, but a family who knew about the need offered to pay the final $8,500 so that these 31 pastors’ families could have a better life.
It is incredible to realize that these servants of God have to pay monthly interest of up to 40%, and it is no wonder that because of this, they often fail to make their payments and lose their land. Tragically, they sometimes lose their children as debtor-slaves, and even though they use the word servant rather than slave, the result is the same. The children are separated from their families for several years to pay off the debt, working in the house and the fields, feeding the livestock, and being sexually abused, when they should be in elementary school. Because of you, they now will be in school. Through of your concern and generosity, you have given their lives back to them, and they give great praise to God and thanks to you. I just wanted you to know the result of your giving. Keep up the good work. Jon |
Archives
March 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
|
|
|
© 2024 Final Frontiers Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. Final Frontiers is a registered Trademark of Final Frontiers Foundation, Inc.
All donations are tax-deductible and non-refundable. Your donation gives Final Frontiers Foundation permission to use the gift for any exempt purpose.
Learn more about our financial polices in our policy section.