Greetings and welcome to the back side of the year,
Wow, where has the time gone? I suppose the last 3 months flew by since we were balancing working in Swampscott (Boston area) and spending time with Mike and Rachel and the grandkids. Then Arron and Megan and their two came up for a week in early August. What a joy to have been able to see them all and enjoy the seaside and little towns around Boston.
We arrived back in ABQ Sunday the 15th and straight away Shirley got busy weeding and gardening. We had someone checking on the house and cutting the grass but pruning and weeding went by the wayside for 3 months. It ‘shirley’ looks better now! Next trip is in a few weeks, to the west coast for a week or so to see Rico and Meg, and Olivia and Luke. How blessed we are, thank You LORD!
Most of my time in Swampscott was spent connecting with graduates in our Alumni Coaching Program, working on development of our online discipleship program and facilitating our Biblical Foundations and Geography of Israel classes. What a blessing to be able to encourage graduates and students to be involved in missions to unreached people groups in this way. Praise God, two of the graduate families I’m working with started Ethnos360 Training (ETR, used to be called MTC for Missionary Training Center) this month. We have about 40 new students there joining the returning students/candidates, all focused on learning how best to function in remote places on the earth. Being trained to learn a language and culture, develop an alphabet, teach literacy, work on a team openly and honestly, handle conflict, develop Bible lessons, plant a church, train church leaders, do Bible translation…these are just a few of the topics covered at ETR. May the Lord give staff and candidates a great year of preparation as they all look to the Lord for ministry direction and provision.
Some very exciting news out of West Africa…our co-workers are in the beginning stages of establishing a new training center that will focus on Bible education and church planting skills such as those listed above. We have a few families working together to see this dream become reality. Here is a 3 minute video describing it more fully. Shirley and I worked with some of these families in MI. We’re so excited as they labor to see African believers established in their faith and prepared to take the Word of God to many language groups in that area who are without knowledge of God and hope for eternity. Your prayers for the team and for more students are greatly appreciated.
Gracia Burnham is coming to ABQ next week!!! Praise God, we have a pretty full schedule, including a TV interview, a large church luncheon, a tour of Faith Comes By Hearing, a Friday night public event (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/165418030783), and two speaking times at a church Sunday morning. We’ve been praying for this for a few years and grateful that God has worked out Gracia’s first visit to ABQ. Lord willing it will be just the first and we can do it again in a few years. She is available to come to your church too if you’d like to suggest it to your Pastor/Missions team. Her website is Home – Gracia Burnham. We greatly appreciate your prayers that her visit will encourage many in their faith and challenge many to consider getting involved with missions to unreached people groups. Most of all, that it will bring great glory to God.
Thanks for your time and prayers. We are so grateful for your ministry and love for the Lord and give thanks at every remembrance of you
For those waiting to hear,
Rex and Shirley
Eph. 3.16-19 our prayer for you…”that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
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