That’s why I found this article in the New York Times very interesting. You can read the whole article at this link http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/opinion/how-pimps-use-the-web-to-sell-girls.html?_r=3&src=tp

but please note this paragraph in particular.

While there are no reliable figures for human trafficking, the more we look, the more we find. The Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, says that in the year before he set up a sex-trafficking unit in June 2010, his office prosecuted no trafficking cases. Since then, the office has become a national model, indicting 32 people, with 10 convictions and no acquittals so far.

Please pray for HOPE918, One Hope Ministry and others at Springs of Grace who are seeking to be used by the Lord in this area for His glory.

I will be continuing our adult bible study on the period of Judah’s exile. There are many lessons for us who are now exiles and sojourners in a pagan land. Daniel lived in a foreign land and when he got there the king attempted to change his name – giving him a Babylonian name. After 70 years of service in a pagan land, Daniel 5:12 records the emperor of Babylon calling him “Daniel”. 70 years in a pagan land and they couldn’t change his name. He was still Daniel. He was still representing “the God who judges”. Call him whatever you like, he’s still Daniel. He was Daniel. After 70 years he was Daniel. He died Daniel.

Also – will be returning to our study of 1 Corinthians and begin the 2nd part of Paul’s letter. What important truths are taught in chapter 7! May the Lord help us as we open His Word this morning and think on marriage, singleness and the glory of God!

Below are links to two incredible tragedies. Please pray and act as the Lord directs.

The Three deadliest words in the world – “It’s a girl!”

http://www.dennyburk.com/the-three-deadliest-words-in-the-world-its-a-girl/#more-16830

Please pray for this young child

http://kimberlylsmithblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-more-opportunity-to-save-deimante.html

Hoping in our Peerless God to help powerless people like us who completely bank on Him.

SEX TRAFFICKING

Please pray for HOPE918 (www.hope918.com) and the ministry to those caught up in sex trafficking (The website has a resources link that can give you lots of information to help you pray)
Please pray for prostitutes and pimps in the area around the church that God might give us opportunities to express the love of Christ to them and speak to them gospel truth
Please pray for the children of those involved in sex trafficking that God might spare them and deliver them
Please pray for the rescue of children and young girls who are trapped in the sex slave trade both in our city and around the world
Please pray for ZOE Children’s Homes – an international organization that rescues and cares for children who are sold, or at risk of being sold, into prostitution slavery; orphaned, or victims of other heinous crimes and abuse-worldwide.
Please pray for others actively involved in rescue, prevention and aftercare.

HOMELESSNESS
Please pray for the Bible Study at the Day Center. Pray for Tyler Brown who leads the study and Larry and Sue Hopkins, Hannah, Lottie, Josh and others who are ministering there.
Please pray for those who are without housing that God would provide opportunities for them to get into good housing communities
-That the Spirit of God would use His word to produce genuine disciples of the Lord.
-That those going from SoG would have wisdom and love to know how to confront the heresy that is prevalent.
-That we would Love the Lord with all our hearts and depend upon Him as we minister to the residents there.
-That this Bible Study would open the doors to the lives of individuals who are wanting to follow the Lord.
-That the body of the church at SoG would seek to come alongside and use their gifting to reach those that are in need.
-That the Lord would use the resource of the body individually to seek to further Day Center residents to use the abilities God has given each.
-That there would be more relationships developed that would be able to speak truth directly into the chaos of some of the residents’ lives.
-That the Lord would begin to help the residents see the need to give back and that they would not seek to use people for what they can get.
-That God’s truth would be accurately and powerfully communicated to those that come.

FOR MINISTRY TO ORPHANS/ADOPTION/ABORTION
– For opportunities to be more actively pro-life as a church
- For teenage moms in this area to come be a part of our church body
- For Nate & Miriam’s adoption (please pray they would receive a referral soon and that the Lord would provide funds for their adoption and would prepare them to welcome the children He has for them into their family)
- For families who have already adopted
- For more opportunities to walk with and encourage families who have adopted

HUNGER AND POVERTY
Please pray for Springs of Grace and the churches living in prosperity to share the concerns and burdens of our brothers and sisters in need.
Pray that we might know how to share our resources and give demonstrations of love in ways that help the most and not in ways that only make us feel better
Pray that we might not be blind to the poor around us
Pray that the heart of the LORD who executes justice for the fatherless and the wido, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing might be in His people
Pray that the mercy we have been shown by Jesus who was rich becoming poor for us so that in His poverty we might be made rich impact the way we live
Psalm 41:1 – “Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him…”
Pray for ministries like Children’s Hunger Fund

Please pray for:
- new people in women and men departments of the Center if God is willing;
- repentance of those who are already in the Center;
- spiritual growth of persons undergoing rehabilitation, for peace, unity and mutual understanding;
- unity in the team of ministers;
- new people who would be ready to minister in the Center, for assistants;
- finance and thank God for providing it;
- health of our pregnant sisters and successful birth of new babies;
- people who stepped away from the Lord, for the Lord to give them wish and strength to come back;
- salvation of our friends and relatives;
- God’s protection over those who are in the third stage of rehabilitation;
- preparation for baptism of those who have finished their rehabilitation;
- for God to widen the frames of our ministry and give us new perspectives;
- God’s blessing ministry in a local narcological clinic, for people ready to visit it on a regular basis;
- wisdom in ministry for people with alcohol addiction;
- God’s blessing and protection of those who have finished rehabilitation and went back home, for their spiritual growth, wisdom and personal prayer needs: for Anton Sumlenniy, Sergiy Motko, Yevgeniy Ryndyk, the Podlovkins, Iryna Roznatovska, Nadya Goncharova;
- rehabilitation Centers in Kuznetsovsk, Molodogvardiysk, Volodymyr Volynskiy.

PRAY FOR Vanessa Fry in South Korea

Pray for outreach into North Korea and potential work with refugees.

Pray for Vanessa’s studies, her personal walk with the Lord and her church there.

PRAY FOR Mixe Region of MEXICO
Los Valles

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15
Even with 4-wheel drive and in low gear it was a tense and slippery drive into Los Valles. On the 28th of November 2011 our team of 9 brethren pulled up to the house of Guillermo and Sofía, the young couple from last month’s letter who were so excited to hear the gospel. They soon gathered their family and in a few minutes we had a group of about 15 people who were excited about our arrival.
Sofía’s father wanted to invite all the people in the village. As he raised the megaphone up the pole he explained to us that even though they don’t have any electricity he has a solar panel on his roof and charges old car batteries. The crisp, cold, Canadian north wind all but drowned out his voice so we decided to go door to door and invite the people. This small village has only about 50 houses and the people are open and friendly.
We spent the rest of the daylight hours attending the sick and giving out medicine. Ibuprofen soon became the most popular pill in town. Most people in Los Valles speak Spanish, but have only a very limited vocabulary and I could tell that they hardly ever use it. Their Mixe language is a little different from where we live so communication was interesting… “What about emergencies?” I asked. “We tie a hammock on a pole and carry the sick 3 hours uphill to the nearest town” was their unbelievable response.  
María was the only woman in our group. When she finished translating for me the young ladies soon pulled her aside. One of the ladies cried as she told María how her 2 year old baby had died earlier this year. “We were in the hospital (8 hour away) and I ran out of money and hope. A Christian family, who were strangers to me, invited me into their house and gave me food and money. Then I knew that God does indeed exist because nobody would ever be so kind if God had not worked in their heart.” She asked María to tell her more about this “real” God in her own language…
As shadows began to fill the valley we set up the electric generator and the projector to see the movie of The Gospel of Luke in Mixe. Almost all the people in town showed up to listen to the words of Jesus. Just when we saw the part where Jesus gives his life on the cross for our sins and the sun darkens a large meteor crossed overhead and exploded into a series of blue and yellow streaks. It made quiet an impression.
As we got ready to leave the next morning the family made us promise that someone would come each week to share more about Jesus. The Lord touched 2 of the young preachers´ hearts in our group and the pastors commissioned them as missionaries to Los Valles. See photo below.
As the weeks have gone by the group who gets together to hear the preaching of the transforming Word of God in Los Valles has steadily grown and so has the number of men who feel the call to minister in this village. Pray that God would continue to expand the Kingdom of Heaven in this village.
Jim, María, Hannah and Katie McCarty

PRAY FOR FACES FOR HOPE – TANZANIA
Please pray for Jack and Holly Stagge who head up the ministry in Tanzania as they are headed back right now. Pray for a breakthrough with the men of the villages who determine most of the village life of the Massai. Pray for seminars for women as they deal with FGM and the sexual “training” of young girls in arranged marriages = rape and abuse. Pray for the education programs and for the training of indigenous pastors. Pray for Team missionaries Heidi and Nick
Pray for teachers who would come and help. They are in need of men to come encourage the men. We are in a need of teams coming over BUT especially be in prayer for a team of Journalist and Media that are headed over right now in hopes of producing a documentary that might get out a lot of information broadly.

PRAY FOR INDIA

Please pray for missionaries Matt & Leanne Wilkinson who are headed to India with “To Every Tribe” ministries. The Wilkinsons spent the night at the Blankenships home this week and are preparing to head to India in the coming weeks. They have 5 precious children (Jaycee 8, Julia 6, Tabitha 4, Seth 2, Caleb 2 months)

PRAY FOR The Aceh of Indonesia

• Population – 4,132,000
• Percentage of Evangelicals – 0.00%
• Primary Language – Aceh
• Primary Religion – Islam

The Aceh people live on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra in Aceh province. Their provincial capital of Banda Aceh used to be a stopover for Southeast Asian Muslims traveling by ship to Mecca. For this reason the city is sometimes known as “The Veranda of Mecca”. The Aceh people, also known as the Akhir, A-Tsing, and Urueng, are the majority ethnic group in Aceh. Known throughout Indonesia as devout followers of Islam, they are very proud of their Muslim faith. Their lives are strongly influenced by Islamic law, and Aceh province even has special autonomy to apply Islamic law instead of Indonesian national law in certain cases. The Aceh speak their own language, and most also speak the Indonesian national language. The Aceh are a blend of many races, which might explain why the Aceh in some areas are taller than most Indonesians. Most Aceh are either farmers or fishermen. Women typically run the households, while men tend to stay out of domestic affairs, including child rearing. All children, even the youngest, are expected to help with the family work. Inheritance is settled according to Islamic law with men receiving a double portion, yet houses and land are always passed down to the women. The Aceh people are strict Sunni Muslims and have been very instrumental in spreading Islam throughout Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. It is often stated that “to be Aceh is to be Muslim.” The Aceh people have strongly and even violently opposed other Aceh people who converted to other religions. Because Aceh was the first province in Indonesia where Shari’a Islamic law was formally instituted, other strongly Islamic provinces are also seeking to implement Shari’a law. The law requires all women, even non-Muslims, to wear head coverings. Sources – Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net), Operation World 2011

• Pray that local believers will be bold to answer God’s call and reach out to their friends and families even though the cost is high.
• Pray for the workers among the Aceh to have many opportunities to build relationships and engage the Aceh people so the gospel can be shared.
• New believers are often persecuted. Pray that these believers will be bold and courageous and for God to make them steadfast as they grow in their faith.
• Pray for workers who are growing weary in the task of sharing the gospel with little response.
•

PRAY FOR Croatia

• Population – 4,409,659
• Percentage of Evangelicals – 0.4%
• Total Number of People Groups – 32
• Number of Unreached People Groups – 3
• Language Spoken – Croatian
• Major Religion -Christianity (Catholicism)
• Human Development Rank – 51

A land of 4 million people, Croatia sits as a centerpiece in Europe as a place in recent history, marked by conflict and ethnic strife. Long-Term Communist mismanagement and the war with Serbia undermined a previously solid economy. Though recovery is in process, there are still challenges with high unemployment and low wages among Croatia’s citizens. Politically focused in the 1990’s on the Balkan war, Croatia’s transition from nationalist politics to liberal democracy, anticipates their complete entrance into the EU for 2013. The profound impact of historic and recent hatred among Croat, Serb and Bosnian could continue to hamper the affected nations for generations to come though. The iron bond shackling ethnicity to religion hampers progress and stifles spiritual breakthrough. The Catholic Church is highly influential in Croatia. It has one of the highest active Catholic populations in Europe and enjoys an unofficial favoured status though Croatia is a secular state and freedom of religion exists. Evangelicals are one of the few groups straddling the ethnic divide that exists between Bosnians, Croats and Serbs. Many people from all ethnicities have become Christians and brought into fellowships together. Therefore Evangelical churches are spreading. Still relatively small in size and number, new fellowships are popping up around the country and need prayer for unity, leadership and theological training.

• Pray for true reconciliation and for the religious and ethnic bondages to be broken that can only happen through the power of Christ.
• Pray that all Croatians would move beyond empty rituals to a living relationship with Jesus.
• Evangelicals are one of the few groups that straddle the ethnic divide. Pray that evangelicals would continue to demonstrate the boundary-breaking, love of God.
• Pray for the effective, relevant and affordable training to help develop church leaders in the Croatian church.
• Pray for the church to grow as more Croatians come to know Christ as Lord and Savior.
PRAY FOR Indonesia

• Population – 242,968,342
• Percentage of Evangelicals – 4%
• Total Number of People Groups – 680
• Number of Unreached People Groups – 182
• Language Spoken – Bahasa Indonesia, English, Dutch, local dialects
• Major Religion – Muslim (86.1%), Protestant, Roman Catholic, Hindu
• Human Development Rank – 111
• Persecution Index – 48

Indonesia gained its sovereignty in 1949 after centuries of Dutch colonization and years of Japan occupation during World War II. Indonesia’s first parliamentary elections however did not occur until 1999. Indonesia is the world’s third largest democracy. Over 200 million Muslims live in Indonesia making it home to the world’s Muslim population. In recent years, Indonesia has tried to solve issues such as widespread poverty, corruption, and terrorism from Muslim militants. The World Food Programme states that, “52% [of Indonesians] live on less than US$2 per day with an estimated 35 million poor people who live on less than US$0.65 per day”. Indonesia is also made up of about 680 people groups spread out over its 6,000 of its over 17,000 islands. This archipalegic structure of Indonesia adds to the difficulty of spreading the Gospel. Of Indonesia’s 680 people groups, 182 of them are considered unreached. These 182 people groups account for over 170 million people. On top of the terrain, Indonesia is considered a “hostile nation” which means Christians experience widespread persecution due to their faith in Christ. Native believers and Christian missionaries alike must face many hurdles and dangers for the sake of sharing the good news of Christ. (Sources: CIA World Factbook, World Food Programme, IMB Global Research, Open Doors, Operation World, Joshua Project)

• Pray that the gospel will spread vigorously in a country so grounded in Islam.
• Pray that God sustains our brothers and sisters living in Indonesia and gives them grace to persevere.
• Pray for God to work in the hearts of the peoples of Indonesia and draw them to saving faith in Christ.
• Ask God to sustain those taking the Gospel of Christ to the remote portions of Indonesia.
• Pray that God would raise up a strong and beautiful church in Indonesia for His glory.

Let’s leverage our influence as children of God by asking of our Father.

TUESDAY EMPHASIS = PRAYING FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

For the initiation of ministry and the joy of ministry in the hearts of God’s people.
For the continued raising up of leadership
For wisdom in advancing courageously in the ministries God gives us
For the disappointments and pain of ministry not to cause us to shrink back from biblical love.
For the Lord to allow us to minister for His name and honor and not for results.
For the saints to minister their gifts to the saints and help bear the load of ministry.
For the ministry to those temporarily without housing and the Bible Study at the Day Center
For getAhead tutoring program and its possible expansion
For the One Hope Academy and God’s provision and direction
For wisdom in developing a long-term vision

- For more laborers in our tutoring program (as tutors, classroom helpers, and van drivers)

- For outreach opportunities to parents of kids in getAHEAD program

- For whole families in getAHEAD and OHA to turn to Christ

- For wisdom to walk alongside children who are being sinned against by their parents and struggling to understand what it means to love and live for God in the family He has put them in

- For encouragement for the One Hope staff, particularly those who have left their families and hometowns to live and serve here

- For the Lord to begin raising up summer interns and funds to bring them here
For God’s provision to pay off our loan on the church building so that more money could be invested in the ministries to the neighborhood and nations
For our hearts to be filled with missionary zeal and make us all goers and senders.
For those in the “In His Image” residency program.
For a proper, God-honoring association with other believers and the recruitment of laborers from other churches for the ministries God has given us
For God’s provision of interns and funding for the summer ministry
For wisdom and resources to address the sex trafficking in our area (8 out of the top 10 prostitution sites in our city are within 2 miles of the church)
Pray for ministry opportunities with prostitutes and pimps
Pray for opportunities with gang leaders

PRAYER WEEK 2012

God is PEERLESS; we are Powerless – our powerlessness is demonstrated by how and whether we pray.

Let’s leverage our influence as children of God by asking of our Father.
Monday-Friday, Jan. 9th-13th
MONDAY
Praying for One Another: Pray for the selected families or singles of Springs of Grace that you drew out of the box or pick a family and pray for them. Below are some helps for what to pray.

Pray for your assigned family/single. Some of the following requests may apply to this family.

For continued spiritual growth and love for God.

For turning away from sin daily.

For regular devotional time with the Lord.

For regular church attendance with a heart ready to worship.

For the salvation of each family member.

For obedience in stewardship of this family’s resources of time, money, and talents.

For parents to be committed to the spiritual nurturing of their children.

For children to be trained to honor their parents and the Lord in attitudes as well as

actions.

For the husband to make it his priority to selflessly lay down his life for his wife and love her as Christ loves the church.

For the wife to love her husband and children, to be gentle and submissive to her husband, and to be passionately devoted to Christ.

For the ministries of love and discipleship to others in and outside of our church family

For other needs for this family of which you are aware.

Pray the “one anothers” of Scripture for our body of believers.

Love one another. (Jn. 13:34)

Serve one another. (Jn. 13:14)

Be intricately involved with one another. (Rom. 12:5)

Edify and encourage one another. (Rom. 14:9)

Receive and greet one another. (Rom. 15:7)

Admonish one another. (Rom. 15:14)

Consider one another. (Eph. 4:2)

Bear one another’s burdens. (Gal. 6:2)

Submit to one another. (Eph. 5:21)

Forgive one another. (Col. 3:13)

Teach one another. (Col. 3:16)

Comfort one another. (I Thess. 4:18)

Confess to one another. (Jas. 5:16)

Pray for one another. (Jas. 5:16)

Have compassion for one another. (I Pet. 3:8)

Practice hospitality to one another. (I Pet. 4:9)

Minister spiritual gift to one another. (I Pet. 4:10)

6:30-7:30 AM – Prayer Time in Auditorium

11:30-12:30 – Prayer Time in Auditorium

Monday-Friday, Jan. 9th-13th
Praying for One Another: Praying for selected families and singles of Springs of Grace

6:30-7:30 AM – Prayer Time in Auditorium
11:30-12:30 – Prayer Time in Auditorium
Monday Emphasis – For One Another in the Church Family
Tuesday Emphasis – Neighborhood
Wednesday Emphasis – Nations
Thursday Emphasis – For HOPE918; Day Center Bible Study; Orphan/Adoption
Friday Emphasis – For Marriages, Youth and children, College Ministry

Friday Jan. 13th
8:00 pm – Midnight – Secret Church/Prayer Time

Sunday, January 15th
10:45 – Worship Service
5:30 – Youth Bible Study
6:00 – Men’s Prayer Time for families and children in our ministry
7:30 – Preacher School

Below is a link to a review of the book by a friend of mine, Denny Burk. It is way more than enough to keep you away from the book. Below that is my comments on Denny’s blog regarding Driscoll’s book.

http://www.dennyburk.com/my-review-of-mark-driscolls-real-marriage/#comments

Denny,

I have been praying for you and others that would review this book. Thanks for your review. I believe you have accurately addressed the core issues. I know you are in a difficult position and I appreciate your words of caution very much.
However, I do wonder if it is a failure to not recognize that the Driscolls follow a very common pattern of false teachers. They preach enough truth to get their perverted doctrines a hearing. Satan is very clever and often subtle. Driscoll does share a lot of truth. It is no surprise that a book that is a “recipe for marital disaster” would contain a lot of good stuff that would make it more widely read. The enemy knows that if it was only full of this pornographic nonsense presented by a couple whose sexual baggage “caused significant problems for many years” – very few people would read it. Driscoll’s consistent and absurdly perverted preoccupation with distorted views of sexuality, in my mind, clearly mark him as someone who has “gone too far” 3 John 9. How messed up is someone who has sexual images of his wife making love with someone else as though watching a film and claims it is a vision given by God? Okaying male sodomy? What does he have to say or write that is too far? I see Philippians 1 referenced in light of the Driscolls often where Paul says he was grateful wherever the biblical gospel is preached. We should be. But when is it time to be like Paul in Acts 16? Where he was annoyed by the demon possessed servant girl following him around saying some good things. I am “annoyed” by the kind of confusion Driscoll is bringing to young pastors? There are a lot – A LOT – of men who are seriously giving themselves away missionally to transform a sexualized culture with a biblical gospel AND are pursuing and calling others by the grace of God, to a holy life. PLEASE YOUNG PREACHERS – FIND ROLE MODELS WHO PREACH THE TRUTH, LOVE THEIR WIVES AND LOVE HOLINESS. “Without which no one shall see the Lord”. Would to God young preachers would be like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress going through Vanity Fair and would simply plug their ears and not listen or read such filthy nonsense – even if it has some good stuff mixed in. My heart breaks to think of marriage – such a beautiful and gracious picture of our union with the Beloved Jesus – being so marred. May God keep us holy.

Charles Spurgeon on December 24, 1854:

Feast, Christians, feast; you have a right to feast. Go to the house of feasting to-morrow, celebrate your Saviour’s birth; do not be ashamed to be glad; you have a right to be happy. Solomon says, “Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.”

“Religion never was designed
To make your pleasures less.”

Recollect that your Master ate butter and honey. Go your way, rejoice tomorrow, but in your feasting, think of the Man in Bethlehem; let him have a place in your hearts, give him the glory, think of the virgin who conceived him, but think most of all of the Man born, the Child given.

From left to right: Erica, Lottie, Malachi, Aaliyah, Miriam, Rosa, Nate, Amy, Joe, Tyler, Hannah (granddaughter to come (hidden)), Annie, Samuel, Jerusha, Glory

Merry Christmas from the Blankenship Family to all of you who name the name of the Lord Jesus. What a glory to be a part of our Savior’s family forever!

Merry Christmas!

Joe, Rosa, Miriam & Nate, Hannah & Tyler, Lottie, Malachi, Jerusha, Samuel, Glory, Erica, Amy, Aaliyah, Annie and at least one grandchild to be named soon!

I hope it is a blessing to you. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Joe

Faces for Hope
Back in the states now, planning to head back to Tanzania, around the beginning of January. Thank you for your partnership in funds, spreading the news, prayer, or just listening. We appreciate all involved in the people’s lives in Tanzania.

During the last part of October and November, Jack was home teaching, while I remained in Tanzania, being busier than ever. Below is a list of highlights of where we left off, with our plans of returning the beginning of January to return until March.

The primary school in Engikaret was completed, ready for students for the new school year starting in January. They are in need of teachers, as they are opening 2 new classes.
Working more with HIV and AIDS victims. Medication for HIV/AIDS is free, but food is not. Medication needs to be taken three times a day with food on your stomach. We have begun interviewing some of the widows for loans.

Monthly women’s seminars are exploding, with FMG teaching beginning, along with human trafficking in. So far, it has been well accepted.

The newly constructed community water tank still has a lot of excitement built around it.

The Maasai children are being taken on field trips once a month, so I was able to join them on one….was so blessed to see their faces as they got on the bus and went to the airport.
Gave the second loans to the senior group of women.

Secondary girls are at the base staying for rescue, and are getting tutoring. There will be a camp with approximately 100 students in December.
A new group of young people are going to be coming up in January, so will need more sponsors.

Medical clinics are continuing to take place every other week.

The training center will be holding another registration in the new year.

We are in need of teachers. We are in need of men to come encourage the men. We are in a need of teams coming over.
BUT, we do have a team of Journalist and Media coming with us, sp please pray that a documentary may be able to be made to get out to many people.

ALSO, it is Christmas Time. If you would like to give that someone who has everything a special gift this year, please go to http://facesforhope.com/store.html and go shopping. All proceeds go to help the people in Tanzania. Then you can print off the picture and show them what you bought them. It is easy shopping, and is tax deductible.!

Anyone who has children who they are sponsoring through us, if you have something to send over, please get it to us by December 15th….we have to pack early. Thanks you.

Nick and Heidi are adjusting well, and seem to be doing much better.

Bless you all and please let us know if there is anything we can be praying for in your family.

Holly Stagge

McCarty Update – Mexico

Dear Springs of Grace family, 19 October 2011
Each time we think about you we thank our Lord for using you in our lives. The last few months have been busier than ever, but we thank God because he has given us even greater opportunities to serve him.
We are thankful to God for his faithfulness. Tomorrow we celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. The girls are enjoying school and they love to play together. María is doing well and has her hands full with Katie studying in the morning and Hannah in the afternoon. María is leading a new Bible study Monday afternoons and teaching the women´s Bible study on Wednesdays.
Jim has a busy practice with patients coming from ever farther communities to find relief. Communication is still one of my largest obstacles. About half of the patients speak Mixe mixed with a little broken Spanish, but the greatest difficulty is the culture. Let me give you an example; A young women came into the office and said “my skull is open and lets air in. Then the air blows into my chest and pushes my spirit out, through my throat. Sometimes it changes into a burning heat in my stomach and flows out of my body as diarrhea or it goes into my feet and paralyses them so I can’t walk. Do you think it is serious doctor?” I asked “How long has this been going on? A day, a month, a year?” “I don’t know, for a while” she answers. After about 45 minutes I come to the conclusion that she has bronchitis and give her an antibiotic.
The next week she came in with a frustrated look on her face and told me that she hasn´t gotten any better. I asked her if she still had a headache, cough, fever, stomach pain, or diarrhea (the only objective complaints I could find). She answered that all those symptoms had gone away, but that the “bad air” had not left her body. “The medicine only pushed it into my left knee which now hurts badly”.
Her argument is that last week she had pain and now she still has pain and no lame explanation from the doctor will change her mind. Pray that God would give me the ability to understand these people´s world and paradigm. After all, the point is not so much to cure disease as it is to communicate the gospel in a way that reaches their mind and heart.
At the beginning of this month the Lord allowed me help with a work team and medical caravan in Rancho Juárez for 3 days. One of the men donated his wood house to be converted into a church building! It was a tense 3 days because the Catholic Church had threatened to run us out of town- violently if necessary. On Sunday morning we worshiped our Lord with joy, though we couldn’t all fit into the new building! What a good problem to have. Some of the opponents of the church stood outside the building yelling obscenities, but they eventually left on their own.
Pray for the new believers in Rancho Juárez. Since their conversion they have had a lot of ¨bad luck¨. Everyone in the town knows that if you turn your back on the Catholic Church you start to have accidents, sicknesses, your crops don´t grow etc. The unbelievers don´t want to have anything to do with the Christians so they don´t ¨catch¨ their bad luck. The case in point is Carmen. Remember I delivered her baby in July. Because I am a ¨Brother¨ the baby died four days later and the mother has been sick in bed ever since. When we went to visit them there was a witch doctor in their small house trying to undue the curse that had come upon their family for having received the Christians. We thank the Lord that when they saw us they asked the witch to wait outside and allowed us to share the life giving gospel to them afresh. Pray that the believers may stand firm and that others like Carmen and her family may be delivered from the domain of darkness and be transferred to the kingdom of his beloved Son. Col 1:13
Our next challenge is to take the transforming gospel to the nearby village of San Antonio. There are many other things to rejoice in like the pastor training, youth training, the growth both in numbers and maturity of the church in Mogoñé, but we will save them for the next letter.
Jim, María, Hannah and Katie McCarty

He writes:
“…I am reminded as we go into tomorrow that the initiative for adoption obviously resides with a parent, not with a child. A child does not choose to initiate adoption; instead, a parent chooses to adopt a child. The same is true in spiritual adoption, as well. The Word is clear that in our sin, we were once children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), alienated from God (Colossians 1:21) and totally unable to save ourselves from our sin in order to become His sons. Talk about special needs. Our minds were blinded (Romans 1:21-23), our emotions were disordered (Romans 1:26-27), our bodies were defiled (Romans 1:24-25), our wills were distorted (Romans 3:10-12), and our relationships were broken (James 4:1-4). We were slaves to sin (John 8:34), lovers of darkness (John 3:20), morally evil (Genesis 8:21), and spiritually lost (Luke 19:10). And the good news of the gospel is that God saw our need and initiated our adoption:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:3-10).

Understanding this biblical foundation of spiritual adoption is critical for understanding the proper motivation for physical adoption. We have a tendency in our day to romanticize adoption, envisaging cute children around the world (both domestically and internationally) just waiting to be adopted. Obviously, they are all cute in their own ways, but they are also needy…and many of their needs are great.

As a pastor of a church that is, by God’s grace, captivated by an adoptive culture, I have talked and prayed with countless parents who have fostered and/or adopted children with challenging needs. And the only sustainable motivation for these parents is the glorious reality of the gospel. What do you do when the child you adopted has fetal alcohol syndrome and can’t ever seem to sit still without throwing a tantrum? What happens when that child’s birth mother was addicted to crack cocaine and as a result, he or she has permanent brain damage that affects their behavior for the rest of their life, and in turn their teenage years turn into a living nightmare for you, for them, and for your entire family? What happens when the years that child has spent in an institutional orphanage by themselves causes them to not know how to even begin to receive love, so that every time you try to show love, they resist it? What happens when the child you adopt is dangerous?

Mere altruism will not sustain you in situations like these. Only the gospel will. Because in the gospel, you are reminded on a daily basis that there was a day when you were a child of wrath, filled with evil desires, totally unable to control your sinfulness, and desperately in need of Savior, and God reached down His hand of mercy past the depth of your wickedness in order to adopt you as His own. When there was no initiative to draw you to Him, He initiated a relationship with you. So now, when you see a child with minor or major needs, you reach out to that child, simply because you realize you are that child. I can’t improve here upon the words of my friend, Russell Moore, who wrote a wonderful book called Adopted for Life. He wrote:

Imagine for a moment that you’re adopting a child. As you meet with the social worker in the last stage of the process, you’re told that this 12-year-old has been in and out of psychotherapy since he was three. He persists in burning things, and attempting repeatedly to skin animals alive. He “acts out sexually,” the social worker says, although she doesn’t really fill you in on what that means. She continues with a little family history. This boy’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all had histories of violence, ranging from spousal abuse to serial murder. Each of them ended their own lives. Think for a minute. Would you want this child? If you did adopt him, wouldn’t you watch nervously as he played with your other children? Would you watch him nervously as he looks at the knife on the kitchen table? Would you leave the room as he watched a movie on TV with your daughter, with the lights out?

And then Dr. Moore writes:

Well he’s you. And he’s me. That’s what the Gospel is telling us.

My goal is certainly not to paint a grim picture of adoption, and many children in foster and/or adoption situations are perfectly healthy. But adoption is not easy, and children are indeed needy. It’s important to realize, then, that we adopt not because we are rescuers. No, we adopt because we are the rescued. And in this way, the gospel uniquely portrays, compels, and ultimately sustains adoption.

November 6th – Orphan Awareness

November 13th – Foster Care/Foster Adoption

November 20th – International Adoption – fellowship meal following morning service with guest speaker on adoption

November 27th – Crisis Pregnancy Intervention – Abortion Awareness – Prayer for Orphans

October 2011 Update

The definition of “rape” with the Maasai is “training”. Some forms of “training” are more brutal than others. Maasai close their eyes to what it really is, as it is part of their “culture”. They are said to be training the girls to be wives…How does a Christian father give his 13 year old daughter to a 50 years old man who, not only has AIDS but has 6 other wives? How does this father allow her to go through this “training” time, so she is ready? How does a father force his daughter to marry so young when she wants to continue in school? Her mother will get a beating if she speaks on her behalf. The father fears a curse will be put on him if he doesn’t give her to the man she was promised to at birth. In the meantime, she is in “training”. My stomach turns as I realize more and more the life of these girls Lord, save these children. If we help too much, the entire tribe will withdraw or we will get kicked out, but there must be more to do. The Maasai culture is so strong. “Women’s Rights” has a much stronger meaning now, as these precious girls have no freedom or choice in their life. They are so young and so innocent and so helpless in their culture. Pray for these girls’ protection.

Been spending more time in Maasailand this week. An amazing pastors’ conference took place for 3 days, with over 140 pastors and leaders, men and women. Thank you CTK for sending these three Godly men to teach the Maasai. Pray God’s word is hidden in their hearts, men and women. Pray for change.

Thank you to those who donated for clean water. The newly constructed 25 gallon community water tank is now completed and bringing water from the mountain to the tank to the troughs for the cattle and for the people. There is much excitement about the tank. But … no rain, means no grass. No grass means cows are taken far away where there is some grass. No cows mean no milk for little ones…Malnutrition is beginning. Pray for Rain.

Our stay in Arusha during this first month (helping Nick and Heidi and Hannah and Hailey adjust to missionary life in Tanzania) has allowed us to meet with the local NGO’s and also, World Vision. Second meeting with World Vision this coming week with the Child Advocacy director…pray we ask the right questions and there are answers.

Today, visited Faces 4 Hope’s first college student. Elisa is so thankful to be in college, instead of the young 3rd wife of an older chief. She is making history and will have a story for her people. Her story will be a great encouragement to other girls.

Jack returned to America for some teaching, as I am staying another month to carry on some projects.

Thank you for all your prayer and support. We could not be here without knowing there are people in America supporting what we are doing here.

May God Bless you,
Holly

www.faces4hope.com

Brother Joe

Our Children at Hope for Sudan are Under Machinegun Fire Right Now
Posted: 28 Sep 2011 12:54 PM PDT
Over the last month, the entire stateside staff of MWP has been dispersed from MS to CO to Sudan to Peru, and to Romania. Today was our first day to all meet back at our headquarters, the Mission House, in Alabama.

I was so excited to be reunited that I’d planned a special day of celebration to be woven in and through our frenetic attempts at catching up. I couldn’t have planned a more perfect start to our day than the one the Lord gave us by announcing Hannan’s freedom from the Nuba Mountains to Juba…and tomorrow onto Hope for Sudan.

This morning our staff convened early for a time of reflection. We often celebrate the Lord’s Supper on such occasions, but this morning I led in a slightly different manner. Rather than thirstily gulping up the Chalice of Forgiveness without much reflection, I asked each person to consider the mysterious contents of that Cup. How it was not the Roman soldiers’ nails, or Judas’ betrayal that crucified Christ, but rather our sin.

As a symbol of our hearts’ examination, we each poured a bit of wine into the Chalice—representing our remembrance of how our sin pierced the Body of Christ, spilling His Blood and filling the Cup we would drink with His Blood. Then left it there while we went about our days work…often passing by, reflecting upon the Chalice and its mysterious contents.

After we broke bread (actually pizza) together at lunch time, we reconvened around the Chalice and saucer to behold the miracle of mercy and forgiveness that seemed to start as our sin.

Just as our circle gathered, Matt’s cell phone rang. It was Romano, our director at Hope for Sudan, where Hannan is waiting to go to in the morning.

He told Matt that right at this very moment a large team of raiders were running through our orphanage property unleashing heavy machinegun fire. At least two locals are dead, maybe more. Our guards were quick thinking and were able to round up all of our children and close them into their dormitory, where all are safe for the moment.

It seems tension has continued to rise over these months and one group wrestled a herd of cattle from another. The raiders are killing each other, and anyone who gets in their way. Child trafficking often gets included in these raids so our children are very vulnerable tonight.

Kevin Massie, who served two years at Hope for Sudan, said, “One of the biggest problems in this is that once such raiding is set off, it usually goes on for days or weeks before things settle back into place.”

Just an hour ago, we were praising God for Hannan’s release. We are STILL PRAISING GOD! And, we are also asking Him, “Please extend Your Mighty Hand of protection once again, and protect all our orphans at Hope for Sudan!”

I will let you know as I receive the live reports.

Love, your sister along the journey,
k