From: Neville Muir

We are now working among the deaf in 20 countries.
 
 A recent clamp down by the authorities in Burma is posing a threat to our ministry there. Churches meeting in homes and apartments are being targeted. No permission is being granted for new church buildings and land lords are being told not to rent to Christian groups. Our deaf church meets in a private home which we own. So far no threat has been made but one complaint from a neighbor can cause us grief. Pray for Burma.
 
 A prefabricated building is on its way from Arkansas to Kampala Uganda to be reassembled as the central Deaf church and Bible school for DMI. A group known as TechServe is supervising this project and volunteers will arrive in Kampala in April to reassemble it. Pray for safe delivery and for the teams going to help the deaf in this way.
 

September 2008

Dear Friends,

Grades for the third term were handed in on September 9, and we enjoyed a short two-week break but fourth term starts tomorrow.  I taught Daniel to the third-year students during the third term and I will be teaching them Acts during the fourth term.  Both those books are filled with stories of dreams, visions and miracles.  One of my goals for those courses is to get students to believe that the God who did all those wonderful things in those days is the same God who rules over His church today.  I want them to believe that God can do anything through them, anytime, anywhere, just as He did with the believers in Daniel and Acts.  I flood them with contemporary illustrations and call them Daniel chapter 13 or Acts chapter 29 stories.  Here are a couple short ones.    

• Eight families in India’s Bihar province were ready for baptism, but the village leader – an unbeliever – wanted one believer, man named Sandhu, put to the test of standing on hot coals.  While other believers prayed, Sandhu calmly stepped onto the coals and stood there for ten minutes.  Forty-seven villagers accepted Christ that day.  Thank God for glorifying His Name by again delivering His people from the fire.

• One of the top pastors in Egypt and a Christian psychologist got together to tape the first show of a radio program called  “The Joseph Hour.”  Many in North Africa and the Middle East are having dreams and visions confirming the reality of Christ.  After one radio program reported that Jesus had appeared to many Muslims in a dream and said to them, “I am the Way,” the radio station received thousands of letters in which the listeners said they had suddenly understood their earlier dreams.  They wanted more information about Jesus.

• The lack of rain had almost ruined crops in Thailand’s Kalasin province when a village leader interrupted a worship service to ask the Thai missionary to pray for rain.  The leader pledged that all the village’s 134 families would accept Christ if the rains came.  The believers prayed and fasted for three days.  The fourth day brought an intense cloudburst that flooded the rice fields.  Praise God for those who came to Christ – and continue to come – as a result.

I have about 150 such stories which I have bound and hand out to the Acts students as required reading.  One of the third-year students named Mala, whose brother is a pastor and part-time lecturer at DBC, told me that their mother was saved through a dream in which Jesus revealed Himself to her.  When I did a survey of how Hindus in Durban had converted to Christ, 20 percent of them had come to Christ as the result of a dream, a vision, or a supernatural healing from God.  I’m always awed by the marvelous grace of God in saving undeserving humankind.

This is Joyce with an update on our family.  Kevin continues as Circulation Supervisor at the library on the Columbia International University (CIU) campus as well as being involved in a church plant and prison ministries.  Natalie has bitten off quite a lot this semester by taking two classes and starting her counseling internship.  She will be working alongside the Dean of Women and getting involved in hospice counseling.  She is looking forward to using all the head knowledge she has accumulated in real life situations. 
Please pray for strength to be able to do all of this since her fatigue is still a constant issue. 
Nathan went back to California in June and felt that he should once again become homeless so he can better understand and minister to the poor and needy.  Here is a quote from his blog in which he quotes a friend’s opinion of Jesus' grassroots method of transforming the world:

“Instead of taking the position of “good overlord,” He went directly to the bottom, to the people who were oppressed, and showed them how to be free. Not by changing the world around them, but by helping them to change themselves; by showing them the power of faith. So the poor and weak could face their oppressors without fear and refuse to beg from them or be controlled by their threats, obeying only God, their loving Father.”

Please continue to pray for his safety and that he would truly shine in this dark and lonely ministry.

My class is finished but what a joy it was to once again see the Bible from another cultural perspective.  We had a rousing debate over I Cor. 8 and both sides were sure they had the corner on truth! How many of you have struggled with the question of eating food offered to idols?  In the west we usually go straight to the principles of the weaker brother but in S. Africa the issue of eating or not eating food offered to idols is real.  Almost everyone has Hindu neighbors who offer sweets that have been prayed over and during feasts in rural African communities, goats are often killed and their blood sprinkled around.  These questions are valid and not easily put aside.  Hopefully after this course the legalists will be less judgmental and those who cry for freedom will show more love.

My 90 year-old mother was given new medication that resulted in her fainting and breaking her ankle in two places.  She has come through all of this wonderfully and is now temporarily living with my oldest sister and husband.  My sister gave up her job in order to be there for Mom so she is being a blessing to the whole family. 

Please continue to pray for my mother’s complete recovery which will be at least another six weeks
or so.

We are thankful for the VBS group who adopted DBC for a week this summer.  They featured all the students and staff, prayed for them, and sent a personal gift to each one.  We were all really touched by this unexpected and precious gift.

Please continue to pray for our accreditation.  We had a meeting with a lady today who knows all the ins and outs of how to put together an application.  She seemed to understand immediately what our application lacked and is willing to help.  We will have to pay for this service but hopefully there will joy at the end of this long, hard road.  She admitted that there have been so many recent changes which make it very hard for each college to understand what is required in order to qualify.

May God Bless and keep you as you live for Him.
Love in Christ,
Brian & Joyce

Dear family and friends,

I was greeted with the words, “Happy Christmas, Happy Crisis!” by one pastor at our annual Christmas luncheon.  They were strange words but rang true to the current situation facing many in Kazakhstan and in the USA. 

We have only seen Internet reports about the situation stateside, and we pray for many economic and political concernss.  Here in Kazakhstan this kind of economic crisis signals unemployment and a dramatic rise in crime.      

We are very happy about the response to our request for Christmas cards.  Two churches in the USA participated this year.  The response was a blessing to our pastors.  To those of you who sent Christmas cards, thank you very much.  We received a total of twenty five cards with $10 in each one.  These were distributed to the pastors at Christmas.  We were able to give two cards to a few of them who were in particular need.  Each pastor was given
a 2009 daily planner with the Christmas card.  We told them that they are being prayed for and asked them to pray for their brothers and sisters in the USA too.

On January 6, our seminary building was featured on the evening news in Almaty.  It wasn't good news at all. 
The village leaders were talking about how they had just confiscated a building up the street that had been used
by another mission group.  They now hope to take our building away from us and give it back to the village. 
(note:  our building is a former school building that we bought at auction some years ago when the village needed money.)  Of course our building is worth much more now than when we bought it.  We are shocked that this kind of thing can happen in a civilized world. 

Please pray for us to do the right thing in this very difficult situation. 
The president of Kazakhstan has not signed the new religion bill into law.  That is good news.  Nevertheless some missionaries are having difficulty renewing their ministry permission.  On the other hand, one good friend just received his permission and subsequently renewed his visa for another year.  We are in the process of renewing our permission now too.  Please pray for our permission to be renewed.  The ministry permission is required in order for us to renew our visas. 
 

Seeing things in perspective, all of these difficulties are not unusual.  Missionaries in many countries deal with similar issues.  We have full confidence that if God continues to keep the door open for us to stay here, we will stay.  In fact, during crisis times such as the present, we notice an increase in fruitful ministry opportunities. 

Some current ministry opportunities include:  Rev. Bob and Suzanne Warren will be speaking this month to our south region pastors and their wives.  Their thirty years in ministry will surely provide much wisdom and practical advice for our village pastors.  Another opportunity came to Sarah through a local orphanage where she now teaches English and Bible lessons on Saturdays.  Please continue to pray for more fruitful ministry opportunities. 
We continually remember all of you with gratitude for your prayers and financial support.  You are making it possible for us to continue this important ministry in Central Asia.
With Love in Jesus' Name,
Kris and Sarah Kappler

From: Paul & Kathy Schimdt
Wycliffe Bible Translators

When I arrived I was assigned to the Hona language team. It has four members, two teachers, a school administrator and a retired evangelist, who doesn't speak English, but is their "expert" in the language.
All members will work on the project part time. The Hona team told me that the majority of their people are Christians, but they also have a large Muslim minority, so there is some sensitivity to their work.

During the workshop, we instructed them in translation principles, namely the translation is to be accurate, natural and concise.  The will be using English versions and the Hausa Bible to translate from. They also have a copy of the Translators Notes for Luke that our team here in Dallas has been working on.  

During the workshop they translated the Good Samaritan Story from Luke 10 and printed it in booklet form.
They also translated the healing of the leper in Luke 5. They will test these two passages among their people for readability as they are also testing their writing system. They have been assigned to translate chapters 2 - 5 during the next four months as well as test their passages and begin training others to read and write their language.  
My assignment is to act as their project adviser and translation consultant as well as continue teaching them basic translation principles.

The next major workshop will be held in mid September and I have been invited to attend to help with teaching and consulting for the Hona team.  I consider it a privilege to help with Bible translation in Nigeria, where there still remain so many languages without any Scripture.

Thanks for your continuing encouragement and support!

Sincerely,
Paul & Kathy Schimdt

From: Helen Sheperd

From: J & M

Prayer requests:

1) Please to pray for spiritual breakthrough among the faculty and staff members at the university where J & M teach. There are over 5000 faculty and staff, but we only know of about 6 who are believers. 
Some faculty members attended church while they were abroad, but when they returned home, they don’t have much time for their spiritual lives. Some struggle with doubts, while others feel that the cost of following Christ is too great. We’re praying that there will soon be a group of faculty and staff meeting together regularly for worship and teaching.

2) J&M help with a university student fellowship. During the meeting, the students divide into Bible discussion groups. Most of the students are seekers or very young in their faith. Ask God to provide mature leaders who can facilitate the discussions and help young believers grow.

3) The Dean of the Foreign Language Department at our university recently told staff members that students were not allowed to take part in church activities.  We don’t know if this policy will be enforced, but it is a reminder to ask God to protect the student fellowship. Pray that students (believers or those with spiritual interest) would not be intimidated by their teachers’ threats or negative comments.