INTERNATIONAL UPDATE MAY 2012

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Dear partners in prayer,

Greetings in Jesus. I have just returned from our ships office in Florence, our USA office in Atlanta and the office of a foundation which has been enormously generous in supporting key areas of development of our ministry. It made a very significant gift towards the Logos Hope Power Up project and a second significant gift to further the development of our ministry internationally. Don’t forget that every dollar or equivalent given becomes $1.50 through a challenge grant. Please pray that we can see this vital project completed. We are so grateful to all who give so generously and sacrificially.

It was exciting to see the major literature ministry in Florence sending out literature almost equal to what would be distributed from a second ship. Thank God for the exciting growth of this ministry.

Our team in the USA is critical to all that we are involved in worldwide. How I thank God for faithful men and women, some in ministry for decades, who support and resource the ministry worldwide. Please pray for Field Leader Andrew Scott and the whole team who play such a significant role in OM’s ministry worldwide.

Please pray also for Kenny Gan, who continues to struggle with cancer, and for his family.

Mali: Christians are in desperate need after being forced to flee their homes when Islamists rampaged through the north as part of a violent rebel takeover. Boko Haram, the Islamist group waging war against Christians in Nigeria, have been involved. All churches were destroyed in Gao and Timbuktu; all believers had to flee towards the south. The heavily-armed rebels ransacked and looted homes, vandalised churches and occupied a Bible school in Gao. Ansar Dine, with links to al-Qaeda and wanting to turn Mali into an Islamic state, is imposing sharia law on the region. More than 215,000 people have been displaced from their homes, many crossing into Burkina Faso and Mauritania. We urge you to pray for our brothers and sisters there. More country info: www.operationworld.org/mali

Critical jobs: Cooking Assistant (Germany)
Join OM Germany’s motivated team to serve guests from all over the world. Working with a master chef, you will provide three meals each day for visitors and the OM Germany team. A 200-year-old Mill in Mosbach has been converted into a conference centre which is home to OM and hosts GO conferences for new recruits, various leaders meetings and training events. Contact your national OM office.

Worth a visit:
www.mislinks.org is an excellent web portal to quality resources on virtually anything connected to mission and mission life.

ships

Philippines: During three weeks in Subic Bay, Logos Hope welcomed over 67,000 visitors. From children’s programmes in fishing villages, to gardening and playing with children at a local hospital, crew members reflected God’s love and compassion. On board, the Save The Last Dance event let local hip-hop groups compete for prizes. Aline Muenzenmayer (CH) invited two transvestites to hear Blair Keeble (Australia) tell of how God had rescued him from drugs, alcohol and promiscuity. Later they prayed with Aline and put their hope in Jesus.

Dry dock work is progressing well. One main project is replacing much of the emergency bilge system piping. Continue praying for God’s help and protection during dry dock and for good communication with the shipyard.

Critical jobs: Logos Hope is able to accommodate plumbers, pipe fitters and welders for two weeks or more from May to mid-June. If you are skilled in these areas or know others who may be willing to serve, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

On land, 14 ministry teams are sharing their lives and hope in Christ through Vacation Bible Schools, practical work, HIV and AIDS training, prayer walks and youth camps. Pray for divine encounters and lasting fruit from their ministry.

relief & development

China: OM’s first one-week organic farming class commenced at their new agricultural school on 14 March. Of the 12 participants, five will extend for two weeks to gain firsthand experience in working with pigs and chickens. Four participants are non-believers from a nearby village, while others live a two-day train journey away; some have years of farming experience, while others do not. The group aims to raise 500 pigs and 4,000 chickens this year. As the weather warms, a roof, storage shed and small house for the person in charge of the pigs will be built. The second stage of the project will be a new chicken coop. The group hopes to start breeding in early April. Pray that God works through the hearts and minds of those involved in this training, and for growth and sustainability of the work.

Ukraine: Australian Wayne Zschech has worked here since 1993. One in three people live in desperate poverty, and the little country town near Kiev that he moved to 12 years ago was a ‘dead end’.

He explains, “People were jobless, with no hope for the future. After four years we had enough people to register a church (10). But when our pastor went back to Australia, I had to become what I never wanted to be: a pastor! I looked into the eyes of my congregation: all unemployed and all in desperate need. So we started a very simple Bible School and along with that, bio-diesel and mushroom-growing projects to generate jobs."

"Words mean nothing in Ukraine. It takes putting faith into action, day in, day out, so that finally people see our words do mean something: that we won’t change, and neither will God. Church planting involves changing lives on the inside and seeing faith projected into the community. Any money we make with the businesses goes back to creating more jobs and reinvesting in the community.”

Please pray for Wayne and others who are seeing churches planted in Ukraine, using Business 4 Transformation. Ask God to help them find investors to link with local entrepreneurs to maximise community development.

world faiths

Myanmar: Dictators, rebels, drug barons and militia governments oppressed the Burmese people for over half a century. On 7 November 2010, the first polls in 20 years transferred power to a military-backed, nominally civilian government. Less than a year later, Aung San Suu Kyi left Rangoon on a political visit and a human rights commission was established. 200 political prisoners were freed and new laws allowing unions were passed. “Change has been very rapid,” reports the OM leader, “and people feel more freedom in the media, in the streets and in the church. No one is sure of the extent of that freedom but we thank God!” He adds, “Under the old regime, there was a certain level of protection from human trafficking, drugs etc. Could this new freedom be used in the wrong way? Significant inflation from increased foreign investment has made life very expensive for locals. We struggle to make ends meet as a team.” Since 1997, OM has worked among students, children and the 1.5 million members of the ‘forgotten church’. Pray that God would give OMers wisdom in the midst of the sudden political, economic and social changes.

europe

Russia: In March, OM sent 20 students in five teams to different corners of Siberia for ten days of practical mission experience. One team visited poor villages on the Kazakhstan border as well as a hospital for drug addicts. “The place was like a prison with steel doors locked to keep patients in place,” related Azamat. “They were either there voluntarily or had been sent by desperate parents or the police. We gave an HIV/AIDS/drug abuse seminar, shared our testimonies and sang.” Azamat, himself a former drug addict, said “Drugs lead to death very quickly, but God freed me.” The students invited patients to pray with them; three prayed in repentance. A nurse felt God’s presence in the room, and another left in tears. Praise God for those three as they grow in relationship with God.

emerging mission movements

Argentina: Team members in Buenos Aires recently journeyed to the indigenous Mapuche people in the province of Neuquén where they led Bible studies for children, repaired the local primary school and provided sports activities and English classes. They also discipled new believers. Conner Frank (USA) found serving these people to be rewarding: “This community was extremely warm and inviting, showing wonderful hospitality and openness to the Gospel. It was important to ensure that those who came to Christ had the resources and accountability to grow.” Bibles were given to those interested in the Scriptures. Many team members have connected with the Mapuche people through Facebook and email and look forward to developing these relationships.

Lake Tanganyika: The longest freshwater lake in the world was first visited by David Livingstone, whose plea to the London Mission Society launched the first mission boat, the SS Good News which brought aid and hope to villagers on its shores from 1895–1908. Almost a million people live around the lake, most spiritually destitute and subsisting on fishing, with little access to health or education facilities. Hundreds die each year, unable to reach clinics. Others perish through lack of basic health care knowledge.

In 2000, Coen and Suria Scholtz visited the lake and had a vision to re-launch a Christian boat ministry. In 2008, OM purchased an abandoned shell of a boat and volunteers worked to restore it. The 42-foot medical boat Good News II became a reality in May 2011. Each of its two-week trips covers 11 villages along 230 km of shoreline. Three nurses lead three teams of six; when one team is dropped off at a village, the boat proceeds to the next one. A smaller boat, towed behind, is often required to take emergency cases to the nearest clinic. The team is praying for a faster speedboat which could make all the difference between life and death for patients.

Good News II isn’t the only lifeboat on the lake. After two villages were transformed by the gospel, new believers wanted to share it with others. “We bought them a boat, nets and hooks; they go out fishing,” says Field leader Christopher Kasale. “20 km from home, they fish in groups for eight hours and talk to other fishermen. We’d love to get more audio Bibles for them to play as they work. They have so much passion—they never thought they could be trained to witness in their own language! We are training 12 couples. While the husbands are fishing, the wives are knitting or rug-making in groups, so we train them to share their faith too!”

Visit omafrica.org/lake-tanganyika for a 30-minute documentary, Light the Lake.

muslim peoples

Sudan: A 76-year-old man visited the team bookshop declaring, “I started to believe in the Holy Bible and I believe Jesus is the Truth.” He came across the bookshop by accident. Ten years ago, he walked past Christians doing an outreach programme outside a church that handed him a Bible, which he proceeded to study. He also found a Christian radio channel. Through daily reading of the Bible and listening to the radio, he came to faith. The team member gave him books to help grow in his relationship with God. Pray for another visitor to the bookshop, a lawyer, who is seeking the truth.

Afghanistan: “A woman’s place is at home or in the grave,” claims a Pushtun proverb. Although life for women and girls has made some progress in the last decade, 87% of women are illiterate and only 30% of girls have access to education. It’s still common to see women begging by the side of a road.

An OM-supported relief and development organisation is addressing Afghanistan’s maternal and infant mortality rate—the second highest in the world—by providing pre- and post-natal care and midwife training. The team also works with adults and children who are marginalised because they are deaf, visually impaired or otherwise disabled. “What we do affects life and death,” states a leader. The mentally and physically disabled may never leave their house their whole lives, never go to school. It’s easy to get visas for professionals who can make a difference to thousands of lives. Pray for more men and women who will rise to the challenge of caring for the marginalised people of this war-devastated land.

UK: Hayley works in an area of Birmingham that is 95% Muslim. She reaches out to Muslim girls and women in friendship, building relationships over coffee, sewing, cooking and conversation. “We made Pakistani food with two girls,” she says. During the meal, both shared how they had travelled to Mecca, but it was not a real pilgrimage—a real pilgrimage takes longer, and your life should change in some way because Allah has forgiven all your wrongdoings.

Tells Hayley, “The girls asked what we have to do for God to forgive our sins when we are Christians. We had a great opportunity to share why we celebrate Easter and tell the gospel openly. More questions were coming!” The girls asked about Jesus’ return, the Holy Spirit, and how a person goes to heaven. “One team member shared her testimony. Her family is not Christian, and the girls were amazed at how she became a Christian.”

Stories like this are a lifeline, a sliver of hope in the midst of weekly ministries that sometimes seem to have little impact. Trust takes time: embracing Christianity would be leaving all they know behind to embrace something totally different. Please pray for the work of Lifehope amongst Muslim peoples in the Birmingham area.

Germany: Shortly after Amir’s* birth in Iran, an Islamic government came into power. “What Islam taught and what I saw in practice wasn’t in agreement,” said Amir. He served in the military and was forced to take part in religious meetings. “Through the daily exercise of violence in my life and in the lives of others, I recognised a great fear,” he said. “The pressure was so heavy for me, that I left and went to Norway.”

In Norway, Amir heard the gospel for the first time, but his mind was still very much in Iran. Supporting politically like-minded people, he went back to Iran and was put in prison for six months. He pretended to have psychiatric problems so he would be put into a mental institution.

The doctors asked the courts to send him home and Amir was released. He soon applied for and received asylum in Germany. But God had plans for Amir. At the asylum seekers’ home, Amir met Darius*, a worker with OM’s Xenos team. Also from Iran, Darius visited the home every Tuesday and held a Bible study. He prayed for Amir, asking God to provide Amir’s passport quickly. The next morning, after nearly seven months of waiting, the officer phoned Amir and said he could pick up his passport. “That was an answer to prayer!” said Amir. “I realised that God answers prayers spoken in the name of Jesus. When I prayed later with Darius, I gave my life to Jesus, who is now my Lord.”

Prayer 4 Muslim Peoples • www.pray4mp.org
(May)

• 1–6: Kazakhstan
• 7–13: Bangladesh
• 14–20: Netherlands
• 21–27: Tajikistan
• 28–3.6: Turkmenistan

next generation

Moldova: A child of missionaries is certain to possess a children’s Bible, whereas many Moldovan children have never held or owned one. When OM devised a project to bless hundreds of children with a Bible, the kids of the OM team got involved with great enthusiasm to raise the needed funds. Some made video clips; others wrote to the Sunday school group of their sending church; others sold handmade Christmas cards. Later, they distributed the Bibles to children in villages who usually have no access to literature.

Hanna, 11, said, “We went to a village called Ialpug where we talked to over 50 children at their school. Each family was given a Russian children’s Bible, because everyone in that village speaks Russian.” On the Orthodox Christmas, they visited another village to give out Bibles. “Lots of people squashed into someone’s house and we had a service with songs and poems and preaching,” said Hanna. “We gave out Bibles, Christmas presents and sweets to the children.” Praise God that so many received Bibles. Please pray that these people will find hope in Christ as they read it.

Once again, on behalf of the OM family of ministries, with 6,100 workers representing over 100 nations in more than 110 countries, I thank you for your prayers and support.

Your brother in Christ,

Peter Maiden

* names changed for security reasons

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Think again: Bridging the communication gap

• D A V I D  G R E E N L E E •

What do words mean? Some of us find out the hard way (or the humorous way!) that words don’t always mean the same thing in different countries—even if officially a common language is shared—and that good intentions don’t always cover up missed meaning.

Not long after we were married, Vreni and I witnessed a collision between a motorcycle and a car. Later, giving a report in my still-developing German language, I told the policeman that the car driver had moved her car back two metres from the point of impact (a factor affecting who was deemed to be at fault) because she was so begeistert. Vreni intervened to correct my German: while excited in English correctly describes her nervous behaviour, begeistert, the word I had chosen in German, only carries a sense of pleasure!

I keep learning that, while there is importance in what I think I said, what you were able to understand is the measure of our communication.

Speaking enough, listening enough

Good communication and good leadership go hand in hand. Tinashe, a Joshua Journey participant from Zimbabwe observed that “Leadership requires a person who can clearly communicate with others within the organisation in everything regarding the work of the organisation.” But it is not a one-way street, he continued. “A leader should embody good listening skills, because it is not always him telling others what to do; he should also listen to his subordinates’ suggestions and ideas.”

Another African leader wrote that “Communication is one of the most important skills of a leader, in the sense of knowing the right balance between communicating too much or too little. I have seen many team members very frustrated with leaders from whom not enough (or not timely) information flows. OMers have a strong urge to feel ownership of what is going on in the ministry. Over-communication is also very bad: either people tune out what is being said because there is too much of it [or] too much sensitive information is shared. Unfortunately, that seems to breed mistrust in team members.”

Hugo, in the French-language region of Switzerland, links communication skills of leaders to sensitivity to the various cultures represented on the team. A Korean in East Asia develops that thought, writing that a leader should be “able to communicate to different types and levels of people, ensuring that they understand.” This involves being “culturally sensitive—knowledgeable about cultures and able to behave appropriately in the different cultures where work is being carried out.”

Michael, from the USA, adds that “Because of the vast cultural diversity, cultural sensitivity and awareness cannot be staffed around or delegated…Business and work used to primarily be with a plow, seeds, and cultivating crops. Our tools of today relate with people and ideas. In our next leader, we need a person who has crafted these skills well: someone empathetic, wise, prophetic in the sense of speaking life into a person or situation, observant, listening and helping others feel valued.”

Island hopping or intending to stay?

Often I hear people speak of what I would term cross-cultural communication. To me this is like tourists on a cruise ship who use a phrase book and awkward gestures in their well-intended attempts to make up for their lack of vocabulary. Even if people smile as they walk away from such an exchange, ‘communication’ is limited and understanding superficial. The expression ‘cross-cultural communication’ also suggests a one-way process, rather than an exchange involving both leaders and followers (or writers and readers).

Whether speaking of leadership or of mission in general, I much prefer to speak of intercultural communication. This involves not a visit, but the intent to stay. In the case of our relationships within OM, all partners in the communication process take steps out of their comfort zones, adapt, and try to listen from the other’s perspective. It may be that we will never communicate perfectly across cultures, but we can understand, and we can learn to do so at a level that goes much deeper than merely ‘sufficient’ understanding.

Mind the g a p

Gaps in communication, whether due to culture or other causes, needn’t make us stumble, just as the various versions of our languages need not isolate us from our neighbours. A bit of thought and careful observation—and a helping hand from the other side—can help me ‘mind the gap’ and step in the right place (and not put my foot in my mouth!)

Good leadership and good communication go hand in hand. Rather than silver-tongued orators who entertain an audience but leave hearts empty, our leaders must communicate content, the messengers themselves both matching and embodying the spoken message, even as a “jar of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Dr. David Greenlee is OM’s Director of International Ministry Services. This series is built around comments from recent participants in OM’s Joshua Journey, a process to help identify and develop the potential of younger OM leaders. Comments are welcome care of This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

OM’s role in the Church is to mobilise people to share the knowledge of Jesus and His love with every generation in every nation. OM pioneers and leads initiatives to redeem lives, rebuild communities and restore hope in over 110 countries.