On February 18, we informed you that our men in Pakistan needed five motorcycles (see the original email here). Then, after our email was sent to you, we were told that their need had grown to seven. Rather than send out a correction, we waited to see what you would give, and by February 23, we had received enough for all seven motorcycles. Our marvelous, all-knowing Lord moved in your hearts even though you did not know the entire need. Serving Him keeps getting better and better.
It takes time to process your giving and wire it to the receiver’s bank. Then it takes a few days for them to clear the international wire and release the funds. So, about a week ago, we received a photo of the five motorcycles for the Lahore church planters, and last night Pastor Shaukat sent photos of the two given to desert church planters. Along with the photos, Pastor Shaukat sent this message:
Please keep praying for us because it is a very hard task for us to reach more lost souls and win them for the Lord Jesus Christ.
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As promised in the previous debrief video, I wanted to send you a video of our trip to Pakistan showing more footage and photos, and another important story that was very dear to our hearts. Please enjoy! As promised, I wanted to send you a video of our trip to Pakistan. This video is more like a blog explaining the strategic ministry value of evangelizing Pakistan and assisting the national preachers. Soon, Joshua Martyn will follow up with a more cinematic presentation of where we went and what we saw. Be sure to watch it as it will blow you away. Most likely, I will attach his video to notify you of our upcoming projects in Pakistan. You will see what we have already done and what more we want to do. In the video, I mention that we purchased some motorcycles for them since returning home—seven in all. Four have been purchased, and the other three should be this weekend. When we get a picture of them all, I will send that out as well.
Enjoy what your offerings produced! Jon As of this morning, the entire need was met. When we informed you about their request, we were told they needed five motorcycles, but several days later, Pastor Shaukat informed me that the number should have been seven. So rather than inform you all, we waited to see what you would give, and as of this moment, the entire balance has been pledged and is on the way.
Thank you all for giving. Your generosity will launch their ministry range incredibly, allowing them to evangelize and plant churches in hundreds of villages previously out of reach. It will also save them a small fortune each year from renting vans when they travel. Each trip costs well over $500. That will be a savings of thousands of dollars a year they can apply to other needs. I am working on the video I promised you. I got home from Pakistan sick and left for a several days conference. Nolin and I returned home about midnight last night. I took some medicine and slept for twelve hours! I'm doing light work today and will jump on the video tomorrow. When my part is done, Joshua Martyn will add photos and maybe video to the presentation, which will take a few days. I expect we can get it to you next Friday and give you a product you will enjoy and learn from. See you then. Jon
Thank you for your prayers; the Lord answered them remarkably. Even before leaving, we saw His protection as we barely missed being involved in an accident on the way to the Atlanta airport. And apart from difficulties trying to leave Pakistan, the trip was smooth as butter. (I should say silk, but I think more about food than clothing.)
In a week or so, I will have a video Debriefing available for you to watch, including photos and probably a little video. My heart was changed on my first trip to Thailand in 1986. God touched me in an unnatural way, and I have been faithful to His calling since then. When I returned, my wife Juanita asked me several days later, "Who are you? You are not the same man I married." The change in my life was radical. But not since then have I felt that touch, and I believe I have been changed again. (New heart but unfortunately the same stomach.) We saw the glory of God before our eyes. I can't wait to tell you all about it. For now, I wanted to let you know that I am home, safe, and finally well, and eager to serve His servants worldwide. But before leaving, I saw a need that I think you will want to know about, which I will discuss more in the Debriefing. Pastor Shaukat is perhaps the most remarkable preacher I have ever met. He was born the year Final Frontiers began and has produced scores of disciples doing ministry -- while training for ministry. Among them are leaders, some in their final year of study who have already helped him plant half a dozen churches, and others already serving full time, though without income. These men are each training others to do likewise. But they are hindered in their transportation and have no funds to travel to the desert churches. One of them, a young man of twenty-five, has polio and struggles to walk, but what a ministry he has. I feel they can benefit greatly from each receiving a motorcycle. They can travel and take one or two men with them or carry their wife and a box filled with Bibles. This tool would enhance their ministry incredibly. The motorcycles (Honda) cost $1,300 each, so for five vehicles, we need to raise $6,500. Can you purchase one for them? If not, can you give an offering to help? Together we can provide the tools, they will provide the labor, and our great Lord will provide the harvest. What a team! Donate here or mail in a check and designate it to "Pakistan Motorcycles". Thanks so much for your partnership with this and be looking for our Pakistani Video Debriefing. This is something you will want to share with your friends and church. Until then … Jon Our team (Jon Nelms, Josh Martyn, Roy Harris) have arrived in #Pakistan! Please share and keep them in prayer as they travel the country.
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
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! Each day Pastor Shaukat sent photos and videos of the camp, starting with teaching sessions for the 30 workers from his churches. Many of the photos were of them eating (I guess he knew what was important to me) and many of the services. One night at 11:30 PM, I hooked up with them via Zoom and preached (talked) to them from scripture. It was a blessing to see how they received the Word, though the 5-second delay was a little hard to get used to. Shaukat wrote this morning to tell us that 50 of the campers (from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds) accepted Christ during the four-day camp, and 70 campers committed to join his team as co-laborers. He has selected from among them to attend his youth seminar this Sunday to begin their training. Michael and Daniel thought it would be good to have Joshua Martyn (our videographer) make this short presentation for you using the photos and clips Shaukat sent us. I know it will be a blessing to you. (BTW, the next season of Ernest Livingstone is in the final stages of post-production, so get ready to re-join him in his missionary adventures.) In about 5-6 months, he will have his winter camp. So if you want, you can give now in preparation for that or wait for our notice. Enjoy the short video, filmed entirely in Pakistan |
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