NPFCC - Missions

Single Moms Care Group - This is a supportive group for moms who are parenting alone. They meet every 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month for dinner, fellowship, support and fun. Childcare and dinner for the little ones are also provided. Call us to sign up, or for more information please call 805-373-1222.

Parenting Young Children - This group uses the book "Parenting for Young Children" as a guide. This book is designed for parents of children under the age of six. Parents will learn skills in child development, practical discipline, communication, bonding and attachment. Parents will also support one another as they discuss what has worked for them in the past. They will support one another as they put their new skills into practice. This class is one hour per week for 7-8 weeks. Classes are set up several times a year. Call us to sign up for the next class at 805-373-1222.

Earn While You Learn - Women are encouraged to learn about their pregnancy, fetal development, and parenting. They will receive a voucher for the Senior Concerns Thrift Store in exchange for one hour of learning. With this voucher, they can purchase maternity clothes, or infant clothing items. Call for an appointment at 805-373-1222.

Post Abortion Support Group - Did you know that 44% of all American women will have an abortion at some point during their lifetime? Many of these women may feel emotional and physical symptoms either immediately after the abortion or at some later time. These symptoms can include guilt, emotional numbness, nightmares, occupation with abortion date or due date, depression, desire to become pregnant again quickly, unable to relax, infection, miscarriage, or infertility. Healing is possible. This safe, understanding, small group assists women identify needs and process the past abortion so that healing can take place. This group meets once a week for 10 weeks and is offered at least twice a year. If you would like to talk with one of our consultants or sign up for a class, please call us at 805-373-1222.

Update: The Conejo Valley School District voted unanimously to require parental notification for students leaving campuses for medical services.

Sunday, January 24^th, Calvary Community Church is hosting a presentation for Sanctity of Human Life from 2 to 3 PM.

NPFCC gives $200 per month to support the work of the Women’s Resource Center.

Wednesday, October 28, Ken, Mark and I left the church at 5:10 a.m. for LAX airport. The next day, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. we arrived at Roberts Airport in Monrovia and were greeted by Steven Enoch and Mike Foday, Liberian pastors.

We met for devotions and breakfast in the hotel each morning at 8:00 a.m. Ken and Mark left with Milton, a Liberian pastor, to go house to house visiting with local people, telling them about the crusade in the evening and the good news of Jesus. I met my taxi driver at 9:00 and we left for an hour drive that took us on rutted, destroyed roads out to the country. Some of the children welcomed me in the main house dining room with song and scriptures that they had memorized. The grand tour began with the children following after me as they showed me the buildings on their four acres of property. The bedrooms had concrete flooring, old wooden bunk beds or 4" mattresses on the floor. Several children had to sleep on each mattress. I moved cautiously along the dark hallway. They have no electricity for lights. I did not see one toy in the children's rooms. I visited the chicken house, the kitchen, the water pump, and cut the ribbon to the Carol Arthington Computer Institute building. This building has an empty room to become a library, an empty stall to become a restroom when a septic tank is built, a room full of books that need shelving, and no ceiling tiles.

Next we walked 200' to the school. The buildings are brightly painted, but inside are very dark with mold on the walls, hard wooden benches, and old scratched blackboards. The only educational materials are composition booklets and pencils. There are no colorful textbooks or manipulatives. The students copy the information that the teacher prints on the blackboard. The 140 students were gathered in one room for an assembly. Some children performed and then I told a flannel board story about Jesus calling Peter and Andrew to follow him. The children had never seen a flannel board story and were very attentive and clapped wildly when the story ended.

Sunday, I worshipped with them at the Sweet Charity Church of Christ, where Steven preached. The service was three hours long with singing, dancing with instruments, preaching, communion and prayer.

I returned to the orphanage and/or church for eight days teaching the children, the women of the church and the fourteen teachers. They barely live on $40 a month.

I asked Steven to list their priorities as to their needs. Our church gave them $1620 USA dollars. They will purchase a generator ($600), sand and cement to finish the floor of the computer room ($520), timber to hold the ceiling tiles in place ($90), and ceiling tiles ($192.50). The remainder $117.50 will go for nails and transportation of the materials. They will do all the construction themselves. $100 went to the church for poles to support the roof. They were most thankful for the supplies.

They need materials for a septic tank, pipes, indoor toilets, a washing machine, floor tile for the computer room, a gas lawn mower, $50 a month for a lady to teach baking and sewing to the girls, and money for gas to run the generator ($25 per day) to run the computers for the children to use, and $20 more each month for the teachers to have a living wage. We can give of our abundance.

The Ninos Board of Directors has determined the most effective way to move the Ninos de Baja Mission into the future is to divide the present Mission Director's responsibilities into two positions, which has been designated as the U.S. Mission Director and the Mexican Mission Director. This change will divide the Mission Director's management tasks and responsibilities, making each position more responsive to the needs of the Mission and less stressful for each Mission Director.

The new U.S. Mission Director will be primarily responsible for promoting support for Ninos de Baja through visits to current supporting churches and individuals. They will also develop new bases of support, by expanding Ninos Mission awareness and by showing evidence of how effective Ninos is in changing the lives of hurting children. Those who visit Ninos de Baja generally become supporters, so working to increase mission visits will be an important aspect of the U.S. Director's role.

God sent Darryl and Judy Lloyd to the October 10th Ninos de Baja Board meeting for the purpose of investigating how they might serve. As we found out during the meeting, they were interested in learning about the U.S. Director's position. (In an email, Joe Nix had told Darryl that he and Rosie had resigned.) Judy and Darryl have just retired from their marketing communications business after 35 years, and have been feeling God's call to mission service during the past year. As active members of Newbury Park First Christian Church, a faithful Ninos-supporting church, they became aware of Ninos de Baja through their church's many short term mission visits and hands-on construction projects. Darryl, his grandson, daughter and son-in-law, first came to El Porvenir over two years ago for a mission work project, where he saw first-hand the needs of the children we serve and the work being done by Phil and Alison Drain.

Judy shared with the Board that they had been praying about how and where to serve. During a break at the Board meeting, Judy and Darryl talked privately and discovered that, as the meeting had progressed, they each strongly felt God was leading them to become involved with Ninos de Baja. They advised the Board that they would like to take on the U.S. Director's position as their mission call, and felt that their skills matched those outlined in the new job description. Hector Gutierrez, Ninos de Baja U.S. Board Vice Chairman, is also a member of Newbury Park First Christian Church. He told the Board that he highly recommended the Lloyds. If you would like to know more about the Lloyd's professional background, their company website will remain on the internet for the next few months. You can visit it at www.dlloyd.com.

The Board of Directors appointed Darryl and Judy "Acting" U.S. Directors, to be effective immediately, with full authority, and to extend until the February 6, 2010 annual meeting at the Griffith Park Christian Church. This will give the Lloyds time to thoroughly investigate Ninos' history and current needs, and to determine if becoming permanent U.S. Directors is what they are being asked to do for the Kingdom. During this time period, the Board will also have an opportunity to help them develop an operational "game plan." They will report to, and be supported by the Ninos U.S. Board.

This is a report about the Junior Camp this summer. Approximately 160 kids and their counselors came for this week. This year the camp teamed up with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to use their curriculum. They were the only camp on the west coast to do this. The theme this year was “Dare to be a Daniel”. The children were challenged to stand up for God just as Daniel did in the Old Testament.

I learned to be more like Daniel…read the Bible, go to church and pray. David M., age 12You should never be afraid to show your love to Jesus. John C., age 9

I learned that Daniel never complained or gave up hope so I should be more like him. Rachel, age 10

I’ve learned that God will always be right by my side and help me to make the right decision. Alyna,age 10

I learned to be honest and stand strong for God and what you believe in. Natalie, age 11

These testimonies and many more Christ-centered experiences are happening because of the generous financial support of the Christian churches in the Los Angeles area.

American Rehabilitation Ministries Prison Ministry

"Do not grow weary of dong good" 2 Thes. 3:13. We are sponsoring a mission ($200 per month) that is committed to reaching prisoners for Christ. ARM has over 22,000 inmates enrolled in the American Bible Academy and distributes in excess of 135,000 Bibles inside prison walls each year. They have installed more than 1,350 baptisteries in jail and prison chapels and baptized tens of thousands of prisoners over their 36 years of prison ministry.

Here are two testimonies of how the Lord provides joy as this ministry serves Him.

"My friend has been out of prison for almost five years. He became a Christian when first incarcerated -- about 32 years ago! Here's part of a letter he wrote to an inmate; it gave the inmate great hope.

'God loves you...He wants you in His kingdom. Prison is no joke. I know this from experience (over 28 years)! ...I gave my life to Christ and was baptized. I began studying His word through correspondence courses, all in prison. He became my strength, my hope, and my courage...if you're looking for answers, strength, courage, or just something to believe in, believe me, the Bible has it all...Don't give up. God hasn't given up on you and neither will I.'

Recently Joe Welch, who leads ARM's free Bible course program, learned that a prison inmate is using his sermon outlines to preach to the inmates at prison services. These outlines can be downloated at www.abarc.org. Joe received a letter thanking him for the sermons. The inmate said these sermons are truly a blessing to him and those inmates attending the services.

After a See Through the Bible seminar in Yakima, WA, one inmate commented, "you will never know the joy and appreciation for scripture I have received. This weekend has brought such pleasure, peace, and knowledge into my life. Now I am committed to reading at least one chapter in my Bible each morning before breakfast. I have grown so much in Christ. I do not know how to express my gratitude."

Joe Garman, the director of ARM wrote, "The best occurred Easter morning. I drove up to the prison under the cover of darkness. When I entered the prison lobby, Art Skinner, the chaplain, was there to greet me with a big smile. He said, 'The men are gathering in the courtyard.' It was cold but that did not prevent the men from participating in what was, for most, their first Resurrection Sunrise Service.

CMF International Missionaries to Mexico: Greg & Vicki Syverson:

Since 2002, Greg and Vicki have served the impoverished community of Cubitos and La Raza in Pachuca, Higalgo -- a city of

a million and a half people northeast of Mexico City. Their primary ministry focus is the community outreach center called CLAVE, the Spanish word for "key." CLAVE is a place where people can find hope and victory in their lives. The CLAVE building itself also serves as the Syversons' home, the center of evangelistic and cell church activities, and the base for the launching of a church in 2009.

New Life Christian Church. For the past few years, CLAVE has been the center for training leaders for home cell groups. Most of those in the cell groups have attended CMF's initial church plant, New Hope Christian Church, which is not in their community. Since New Hope relocated, many have not been able to attend because they do not have transportation or the means to pay the fare required for public transportation. The residents of Cubitos and La Raza need their own church as there is no vibrant Christian presence in their community. However, both the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are very active. But God has been preparing the Syversons and the cell group leaders to plant a church. They will launch New Life Christian Church in 2009, a New Testament church specifically designed for the people of Cubitos and La Raza. The church will be based in the CLAVE center, so that it can be easily accessed from anywhere in the area. The Syversons' prayer is that this church will be a bright light in this community to guide people to new life in Jesus Christ and a hope for the future.

Project Achichipic. God has been providing another opportunity for outreach. Many of the residents of Cubitos and La Raza come from smaller villages of indigenous peoples throughout Mexico. Animism and spiritism remain strong spiritual influences among these people. In 2007, two men from the La Raza/Cubitos cell groups returned to their home village, Achichipic, in Veracruz and began to share the Gospel. They also prayed for the sick and saw God do some miraculous healing. So far, 30 have been baptized through their ministry, forming a group that meets for worship under lay leadership. Greg has had the privilege of discipling and training these leaders, providing Bibles in their native language, and visiting the village as often as possible. God has given the Syversons a vision for a church-planting movement among the indigenous peoples of Mexico: Project Achichipic.

NPFCC provides $400 per month for this ministry. We have also sent special funds for a van, medical care and travel expenses over the years.

TCM has over 750 students and 321 graduates from twenty countries. TCM’s students and graduates are:

One pastor shared the example of two women who were sisters. They were in the city one day shopping and got on a bus to go home. As they began to sit down they saw that someone had left a book on the seat. It was a Bible. Being Muslim they had never read the Bible and knew if they were seen with it; they would be questioned.

So one of them put it in her bag and they took it home. Over the next several weeks and months they began to read and study it on their own. They came to the conclusion that indeed the God of the Bible was the one true God, that Jesus was indeed his only Son. So together they prayed, "God we believe you are true and Jesus is your Son; but Lord, where are your people?" They didn't know anyone who was a Christian.

After earnestly praying together, that night Jesus appeared to each of them separately in a dream. He took each of them and showed her a street in their city and then walked her down the street to a specific house. The next morning each of them told each other about the visitation of Jesus and set out to the street and house. When they arrived they knocked on the gate. A student went to the gate to see who it was. He was afraid that it might be someone from the government since he did not recognize any of the women. He asked what they wanted and they said, "We are looking for Christians. Do you know any?" He said, "Why do you ask and why did you come to this house to ask?" They responded, "We found a Bible and have been reading it. We now believe Jesus is God's Son, but we do not know any Christians. Last night Jesus visited us in our dream and led us to this street and this house." It was Sunday morning and the student was leading a service inside. He said, "We never meet in the same place twice since it is not safe to do so." He heard their story and invited them in and the whole church rejoiced and praised God for His wonder and power."

Newbury Park First Christian Church gives $600 to TCM each month to be used where it is needed the most. Pastor Jim will be teaching on Marriage and Family at Haus Edelweiss and in Bulgaria in August.

Ventura County Jail Ministry:

Once or twice a month on Sunday, the jail volunteers from our church meet at the church parking lot at 7:30 a.m. to leave for the jail at the courthouse in Ventura. They have been previously approved for this ministry by filling out papers that allow a background check to be done. They take their Bibles and some of the volunteers take devotional material. They sign in at the front desk and Chaplain Bob assigns them to a unit in the jail. Next they are “wanded” as a security check similar to the process at the airport. Someone prays in the hallway and they walk to the elevator. Prayerfully the Holy Spirit begins to move in the hearts of the volunteers. The elevator opens and the volunteers move through usually locked doors to report to the deputies, who look at the list of people who want to come to church. Then the volunteer is assigned to a small room with a table and chairs. Sometimes, when there is a large group of inmates that want to come to church, they go to the classroom where there are many student desks.

The volunteer opens with prayer and leads with a short devotional or asks if there are requests for prayer. Sometimes the volunteer writes done the requests to continue to pray for the needs when they return home. The inmates often open their hearts and talk about their problems and ask for strength to carry on and to become closer to the Lord. Some of them have experienced horrific home lives, and many recognize that they have made bad choices. They are always so appreciative that someone has visited them.

Before Christmas, our church donated $100 to help provide stamps (two for each inmate) to put on envelopes to mail out Christmas cards to family members or another loved one. The volunteers, from our church, participated with other church volunteers in distributing them to the 1400 inmates. They were passed through a slot in the wall to the inmates that lined up to receive them. The inmates waved through the windows and thanked the volunteers. Some tearfully were thankful that someone had remembered them.

Church volunteers also met on a Saturday before Christmas and packaged “goodies” in little bags for the inmates to have a Christmas gift. Little devotional books were wrapped in the bags. These were greatly appreciated by the inmates.

The volunteers rely on the Holy Spirit to give them words, remind them of scriptures, and guide them to be sensitive to the inmates. The volunteers have seen inmates witnessing to each other and encouraging others to remain faithful and positive within these walls of negativism. The volunteers share that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that he forgives and loves each of His children. The volunteers tell of the blessings they receive from reaching out to others with Christ’s love and peace. Those interested in participating in this ministry may contact Don Punaro.

White Fields reports 6,369 people were immersed into Christ during 2008. They assist 310 native evangelists in 33 different nations. Since their organization, they have built 168 churches. Last year, they traveled to Cuba, Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nepal, and India to preach and encourage local preachers.

They had one hundred and seventy-five church leaders attend in Battambang, Cambodia. The churches in Cambodia have continued to flourish in the seven provinces of Northwestern and Southwestern Cambodia. This leadership training provides a foundation of sound doctrine and church leadership principles. The people, then return to their churches and teach what they have learned.

Almost every family has had members murdered by the Khmer Rouge government leaders during the reign of terror in the 70’s. The people had false gods and little hope of a better life. The average income per day for a family is two dollars. Unfortunately, many Christian pastors had to seek other work and some had to go to other countries to earn a living wage for their families. The result was that we were losing pastors. We became aware of this and became greatly concerned. The elder of our committee, Mark Bodehamer, visited Cambodia, as did Edgar Mello. They saw first hand the living conditions, the Institute compound, the church houses, and witnessed the faith and new hope of the people. Pastor Jim and his wife, Glenda taught lessons concerning marriage and visited many church houses.

Our church people and other donors supported these mission trips prayerfully and financially. A plan to contact other supporting churches about the needs of the Cambodian churches is in place, so that the work of the Institute can go forward, reaching the country for the Lord.

This past year the Women’s Resource Center, formerly known as the Crisis Pregnancy Center, helped more clients than ever before. Our church gives $200 per month to this ministry. 1448 women were counseled and given supportive services through November. Sixty-two new babies will be celebrating their very own first year of life.

In addition to this, the abstinence program, presented in the area high schools, reached thousands of youth. Other related services are counseling for those who have had an abortion and testing and awareness about sexually transmitted diseases.

The numbers are in! 90% of abortion-minded patients, nationwide, decide to carry their babies to term after counseling and viewing an ultrasound of their baby. Check out www.heartlink.org for more information. When the term “abortion-minded” is used, it refers to women who have stated that they intend to have an abortion. What has changed their minds? Seeing their very first photo of their child on the monitor makes the baby undeniably real. Focus on the Family offers a grant to crisis pregnancy clinics, which covers a large portion of the expenses of an ultrasound machine. Because of this grant and YOU, their much-appreciated supporters, they are saving lives through this technology. 100% of WRC abortion-minded patients decided to carry their babies in 2007. Statistics are not in yet for 2008, as this is being printed.

Our church has a “SewWhat” group that meets every Thursday in room F 15. They help the Women’s Resource Center directly. This year they sewed twenty layette outfits consisting of a gown, onesie, knitted cap, booties and beautiful baby quilts. The new mothers use them to take the babies home from the hospital and then

are given to them.

Newbury Park First Christian Church gives $500 a month toward the growth of new churches. $250 of this is for the LifeSpring Christian Church of Merced, Ca. The pastor, Bruce Logue, recently wrote that he was involved in a conversation, explaining the ministry of the new church and its approach to non-churched people. The woman expressed an interest and her approval of their goals and said, “I need to come to LifeSpring. I used to have a church home where I was very involved, but now I don’t.” Bruce was expressing his gratitude for our church’s contributions. What we give to LifeSpring is vitally important. It helps to fund supplies and lessons for their growing group of children. It purchases supplies for their weekly Lord’s Supper. It underwrites the advertising they do on the radio. They thank you for making all this possible.

Ninos de Baja

Are you interested in being involved in one of these children's lives? Would you like to let them know there's someone out there who thinks they're special and who cares about them?

- It's about demonstrating your love to a child
- Support a child through regular prayer
- And monthly financial support
- Consider becoming a sponsor

New Orphanage Opens:
Thirteen months after breaking ground for the new orphanage, after hundreds of hands helped dig, pour cement, raise walls, tile floors, paint, move truckloads of dirt and fertilizer, (and all those many steps in-between), our new children's home was finally ready. On May 1, 2008, we opened the doors of our new, 24-bed facility, which will be used to house orphaned, abused and neglected children from ages 6 - 12. For now, however, the children from our smaller house, Casa del Pastor, are living and thriving in the new facility.

School Assistance Programs:
While the cost to attend public school kindergarten in Mexico is minimal, there are a number of families too poor to afford even the small fees charged or provide the required school aprons and daily nutritional snacks. Because Ninos de Baja helps families cover the fees through our Kindergarten Assistance Program, children who would otherwise be unable to attend kindergarten, now begin first grade with the same kindergarten experience and knowledge as their peers.

Las Brisas Day Care:
The Las Brisas daycare center opened in March, 2005, and cares for up to 30 infants and toddlers, operating five days a week. We are blessed with a highly-qualified staff who understands their work is not just labor, but a Christian ministry to the children and their parents. Our priority is to serve single mothers who must work to support their families. In Mexico, there is no welfare system, so single mothers must work to feed and care for themselves and their children.

Our next mission trip to Ninos de Baja is November 7-9th. Newbury Park First Christian Church gives $600 per month to this mission in El Porvenir, Mexico. Additional money from the children in Kidz Church is also given.

Newbury Park Christian Church supports this mission work with $700 monthly. It is funding mission work in Chile, Ecuador, Peru. Many of you are aware that a mission group from our church spent time this summer in Ecuador working primarily among the youth, but also drawing many people to learn about Christ through street ministry. The following are reports from some of IAM’s mission fields.

Hope International University

Our church supports the Hope International University in Fullerton, CA with $450 each month. Hope graduated over 350 students this past year. These graduates are assuming positions of influence in their churches and communities. Currently more than 600 Hope students serve around the world in locations such as Cambodia, Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia and Zimbabwe, where their faculty travels to teach principles of Christian leadership.

Ninety percent of Hope's students receive financial aid and most could not attend college without it. Our own Cameron Benton, Breann LaMont and Lindsay Lucas are presently attending.

Hope is a national leader in distance education, and they are witnessing significant growth as more people find this an effective way to prepare for careers in ministry and various other fields. Dr. Joe Grana, Chair of their Ministry Department, informed us that in addition to the students enrolled in their many degree programs, they have 468 students working on a church leadership certificate in eight countries around the world.

Last fall, Hope launched the School of Advanced Leadership Training (SALT), a program designed to partner with churches to prepare emerging leaders for new ministries. This innovative approach allows students to take classes uniquely developed for specific needs in the local congregation, and to do so for audit, undergraduate or graduate credit. Hope is the only Christian university in the country to provide ministry preparation in this manner, and they are finding an overwhelmingly positive response from our churches.

We are fortunate to be associated with and able to support such an outstanding Christian university.

A Word From Rapha House, Cambodia...
Stephanie Garman Freed, Rapha House U.S.A. Director

Dear Christian Friends,
It has been said that children who have been severely abused forget how to play. They forget how to be a child. The girls at Rapha House certainly fall into the category of severely abused children.

Recently, a partner church, Indian Creek Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, decided to sponsor a swim party for the Rapha House girls. A new pair of shorts and a new T- shirt was provided for each girl to swim in, and beach balls and water wiongs were introduced for the first time.

I stood in the searing heat and watched the girls play and scream with laughter. It sounded like heaven to me. I watched two sisters, who were sold and rescued together from the same brothel, have a very long and loud splash fight. I watched as four of the littlest girls linked arms again and again and fell laughing into the shallowest end of the pool. This is what healing sounds like. It sounds like the laughter of children.

There was a time, in the not so distant past, when there was no laughter in the lives of these girls. Today, they have a safe place to live. For the little ones, it is an opportunity to have the childhood which Satan tried to rob them of. For the older girls, it is an opportunity to plan for their futures. For all of them, it is an opportunity to know Christ who is their only hope. I cannot thank you enough for making this possible for the Rapha House girls. Thank you for meeting their physical needs, and for allowing them to remember how to play.

Blessings to you!

Besides our regular monthly mission support, our church met some desperate needs of brothers and sisters in Christ. The children are doing their part too, by giving their Kidz Church offering of $63.83 to Ninos de Baja, the orphanage in Mexico.

CMF (Christian Missionary Fellowship) notified us that some of their missionaries on site in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa have seen many Christians suffer due to the uprisings and burning in their neighborhoods. We sent $400 to aid toward purchasing emergency supplies.

On Memorial Day, each year, we give an offering to the Chaplaincy Endorsement Commission. We have had a navy chaplain, Perry and his wife Debbie Haagen, as members of our congregation when he was stationed at Point Mugu. Perry is stationed on a ship with Marines now. We gave $1,000 for the chaplains.

Four thousand dollars will be going with Mark Bodenhamer to Cambodia to help with the expenses of housing and feeding the 175 leaders that will be coming to the Leadership Training Institute for fourteen days.

A desperate letter arrived in May from Francilus in St. Marc, Haiti, pleading for money for food for the poorest of the church people. Eighty percent of all Haitians live on less than $2 per day. And it’s getting worse. Higher oil prices have pushed the cost of fertilizer, irrigation, and transportation. Two cups of rice, a main staple, cost 60 cents--up 50 percent in the past year. For many Haitians, food has become prohibitively expensive. Now, some are eating mud. The Associated Press says dried yellow dirt is mixed with salt and shortening. Some of the poorest are eating the concoction, called “mud cookies”, as often as three times a day. It fills the belly and reportedly is high in calcium. We sent a thousand dollars extra over the normal $400.

Cambodia Hosts Religion Conference
By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khymer, Washington

More than 200 participants from seven different religions joined a conference in Phnom Penh earlier this month, in an effort to better understand each other.
Leaders from the Anglican, Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Lutheran and Muslim faiths gathered to discuss interfaith understanding and conflict resolution.

Cambodia is predominantly Buddhist, but it is home to people of many other faiths.

"We have to have tolerance among all religions and help build morality in society," Min Khin, secretary of state for the Ministry of Religion, told VOA Khmer, quoting a speech by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Though Cambodian Buddhists are generally tolerant of other faiths, Min Khin said, it remains unlawful for groups to use propaganda and improper coercion to convert others.

"It is prohibited to use money, food, and other materials to convince people to convert to another religion," he said.

Christopher Lapel, a pastor for a Cambodian congregation of the Golden West Christian Church in Los Angeles, Calif., said participants of the April 3 conference adopted an action plan to promote interfaith understanding and conflict resolution.

"Cambodia gives freedom to its people to participate in other religions," he said.

Keo Vimuth, an Abhidhamma teacher at Wat Damnak, in Siem Reap, said Christians visit people's homes, knocking and saying, "The Lord has arrived."

This was not always effective, he said.

"It's not easy to convert Cambodian Buddhists who have had a deep belief in Buddha for many generations to another religion," he said.

About 95 percent of Cambodians are Buddhist, 3 percent are Muslim, 1 percent are Christians, and another 1 percent comprise other faiths, he said.

"The rebirth of Khmer culture and society depends to a great extent on the renewal of Buddhist Sangha," he said. "The Western concept of 'church' is meaningless in Cambodia."

Meanwhile, new freedoms, the introduction of drugs and the sex industry, and much material assistance by the international donor community have brought great changes to Cambodia and, in the view of some, have seemed to help foster a growing climate of greed, corruption and moral and intellectual paralysis.

Note from the Mission Committee: Pastor Jim & Glenda Buckley will be traveling to Cambodia in June. Jim will be presenting messages on the family at the 15th Leadership Training Institute at Hope Bible Institute in Battambang, Cambodia. We support this mission with $300 per month, plus special offerings.

The mission of Ninos de Baja is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Mexico through the development and operation of homes and schooling for children in need...to provide outreach and benevolence to those ion need...to evangelize through youth activities, bible study, and worship...and to provide mission experience and Christian development opportunities for youth and adults from the U.S. and Mexico.

Over Easter break, our mission team of approximately 50 individuals headed to El Porvenir, Mexico to complete the work on Casa de la Cruz orphanage. This facility will soon house an additional 24 children, adding to the Casa del Pastor orphanage nearby where up to 14 children and infants are being lovingly cared for. Another facility is in the planning stage for 12 to 18 year-old kids.

There are so many children in Baja in need of our help. These children have been abandoned, abused and neglected - and rescued from life-threatening conditions or from impoverished home conditions. The children are provided a safe and loving home in a Christian environment. The facility is staffed with well-qualified, caring Christians who really want to make a difference. The kids are provided with a clean and comfortable place to recover and thrive in a non-threatening environment.

In addition to the orphanages, Ninos de Baja provides help to the impoverished families around them. An Orphan Prevention Program provides free day care services for up to 30 children of farm and factory workers. The parents do community service in exchange for childcare and a safe environment for their kids. This enables them to keep their children in their family unit and not have to give them up to an orphanage.

Rural School Lunch Program prepares and delivers 50 sack lunches every day to kids at two rural schools in the area. For many of these kids, it is the only substantial meal they have each day.

The School Supplies and Playground Equipment Program provides books, pencils, notebooks, crayons and other school supplies to three elementary schools, kindergarten and the local library.

School Tuition Program currently provides tuition for five college students and several local children whose families are unable to pay the fees for kindergarten.

You may pick up a brochure at the Hub on Sundays for more information on making a difference for children in Baja.

This letter came in January from Steven S. Enoch, the director of the Anna Enoch Orphanage.

We thank you for the help and support that you continue to give our kids and us. We cannot just thank you enough because we don’t have enough words, but the Lord will greatly reward you all.

The increase in our support these few months is a miracle because prices have doubled up these days. A bag of rice is now $30 to $50, while gasoline is going to $3.75 per gallon. A bag of cement is now close to $15 per bag. We pray that the Lord will be helping us through your prayers and support.

We lost a caretaker January 11^th. She died in childbirth. We need your prayers for the six children that were hers. She was the one who fixed the little girls hair for school. Her husband is in real distress and needs your prayers.

All of our kids that went for the National Exam passed. They are the first group of students to represent Reggie Thomas Academy. We pray that the group that will go this year will pass also.

We have begun fixing the concrete blocks for the foundations for the warehouse that will host the garage, washing room, and two bedrooms. We will also have the computer school above it when completed. The children will be doing their sewing in the garage. We will need more steel rods, sand, and rock.

We have begun the church building again with the little amount that we have raised. We pray to do this work before the rains if the Lord provides the funding. Please, join us in prayer.

We continue to pray for you and all our donors that the Lord will bless you and give you long life. We pray that the children will grow up being good Christians and good citizens.

Thanks again and may the Lord open more doors to you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Kindest regards,

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

Brother Steven S. Enoch

Our church supports this mission with $580 a month, including $280 to fund their teaching staff.

Lamplighters World Ministries in Sri Lanka

PRAYERS AND PLANS FOR THIS NEXT YEAR

This is kind of an expanded prayer list with which we usually have in the newsletter. These are some of our concerns and what we would like to do depending upon God to provide everything necessary.

1. Of course our top concern and priority is to continue in the work ourselves along with our preachers and other workers to establish more churches and see more people accept Christ in our present churches.

2. More faithful workers to reach other villages with the Gospel.

3. We are praying and searching for a single young man who will serve God with us here and be a mate for Nona. In this culture she is somewhat limited by being a single young lady. In spite of this she continues to reach out to adults older than herself with the Gospel along with teaching 2 Sunday schools in Periya Kallar. But it is not easy or safe for her to go out by herself.

4. A lady who can come to help us with the kids in our home and look after them when we return to the States later in the year.

5. Remodeling of our home with more very much needed bedroom and kitchen space along with a garage to keep the van. We've already begun this but it will stretch out awhile as God supplies the finances.

6. A church building and preachers house in Periyaneelavanai where Vijay and Ananthy minister. We have a property already which has an old building which was a bakery on it. We've been using this since the tsunami of 2004 which destroyed our previous building. The building is literally falling down; it is beyond repair and must be replaced. Also in this culture people look for a "church building" both Christian and non Christian alike.

7. A property and church building in Onthachimadam where Asirvatham and Grace minister. We are using a property and have built a temporary building on it but it is too small and the property is not a good location for a church in that people have to walk too far and in monsoon season, which is right now, walk through standing water mid calf deep to get to the building for services.

8. A property in Periya Kallar for future church building and preachers housing.

9. God's direction as far as a children's home. This has always been one of our concerns over the years. The government has just instituted even more regulations which will make it even more difficult for us to operate a home. We've found this out from homes which are currently in operation in our area. Even though there is a great need for homes the government doesn't have finances to build and maintain them but at the same time they don't want church sponsored homes either.

10. Most of all God's leading and direction in everything we want to accomplish that it will be according to his will and that He alone will be glorified through what we do.

Women's Resource Center:

January is specifically designated as "Sanctity of Life" month.

This past year the Women's Resource Center, formerly known as the Crisis Pregnancy Center, helped more clients than ever before. Our church gives $200 per month to this ministry. Because of the continued support of the community, 3,064 lives were touched through this ministry. Sixty-five lives were provided with material goods. Two hundred ninety-eight people received hope and counseling. Fifty-two new babies will be celebrating their very first year of life.

In addition to pregnancy-related services, the WRC offers counseling to those who suffer silently from an abortion, and also testing and awareness with regard to sexually transmitted diseases. This fall they sponsored an educational seminar where Dr. Miriam Grossman talked about the real truth on "safe sex" and what is being taught (and not taught) on college campuses.

The new director of the Women's Resource Center, Michele Reithmayr, tells her story: "This particular ministry is especially close to my heart. Over a decade ago, I walked through the doors as a scared sixteen-year-old. When most girls my age were dreaming about the prom, I was thinking how I was going to support my child. Coming to the Women's Resource Center, I found guidance without judgment. I found hope. I received the counseling I needed to decide what was best for my child. I realized that for me adoption was the best option.

In 1996, when he was one day old, I lovingly relinquished my son to a family that could not have children of their own. I believe I am an ordinary person, who was given the opportunity because of extraordinary people who were faithful to God. I am a life that was changed through hope."

STADIA!

Stadia is a term of measurement referring to Heaven in the Book of Revelation. STADIA is an organization that specializes in planting new churches. Having planted nearly 100 new churches in the past decade, they have learned the process that helps make planting new churches more effective.

Today the United States ranks as the third largest unchurched nation in the world, with over 200 million unchurched people. Meanwhile, churches all across North America are closing at an alarming rate. As many as 3,500 congregations shut down each year in the United States alone.

One exciting aspect of planting new churches is that they are very aggressive in reaching the lost. Most of the growth in these new churches reaches the unchurched. While existing churches nationwide baptize an average of one new believer every other year, new churches planted in partnership with Stadia baptize an average of thirty people each year during the early life of the church. And the number of converts increases as the church matures.

Consider just one example of the lives that are changed when new churches are planted. Brian had just come out of a divorce, during which he lost custody of his son, when a friend invited him to Impact Community Church. In just 28 years, he had experienced drug addiction, alcoholism, homelessness and three cocaine overdoses. But at Impact, Brian experienced the love of Christ, and "not a single person judged me for my past." Within six months of his first visit to Impact, Brian was baptized as a believer in Christ.

A study completed for the North American Christian Convention showed that Stadia had played a significant role in 82 of 151 independent Christian churches planted between 2000 and 2006.

Stadia has ten more new churches scheduled to open before the end of 2007, and they have an additional 34 potential church plants in various stages of partnership formation. Please pray for these opportunities.

We support STADIA with $500 per month. $250 of this funds the outreach of the Lifespring Church in Merced, California. They meet in a playhouse and their goal is to reach the unchurched.

God bless you so much, we are a bit late with the news. We are very sorry for the delay, we are really busy, but we have very good news for you.

We are developing Vocational Course, we finished with 35 children who received some notebooks and pencils to help them with the school. We were very satisfied with the work the teachers and children did. On March we started Sunday school and the number of children we have are growing slowly, we are doing football championship with them and other special activities.

Also we went to the Spiritual Retreat in March, ion total we were 18, 16 girls and Lupe from Samborondon and I who went as leaders. It was a great blessing for their lives and for the church because there has been a special joy in the Spirit among the younger and go on working, we are going to do a Via Cruci (Passion of Christ in the Street), so this is an opportunity to preach the gospel to others. Four baptisms we have last Saturday and it was so special. Also we have had a special dinner for young people and some girls who were apart from the church returned. On the other hand, Marcelo was very busy making wooden chairs and tables for children for the Kinder Garden in Samborondon that it will start next Monday. We thank God and all the glory is for Him.

Via Cruci for catching new souls.
For all the young people and God gives them more and more strength
For us and our proofs
For our Ministry in general
For a False Doctrine "Creciendo en Gracia" (Growing in Grace) which is growing in a great way in Samborondon. People are believing that sin and Satan don't exist and they are guided by Paul's letters of the Bible.
Thank you for all your help and prayers and be our Lord is in your hearts."

In Jesus Christ,

Marcelo and Sandra Puentes
Missionaries in Ecuador

Our Mission
John 4:35 "Do you not say, There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest? Behold I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields that they are white for harvest.

Luke 10:2 "And He was saying to them, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

White Fields Overseas Evangelism has accepted the challenge of John 4:35 and Luke 10:2 and is attempting to answer that prayer.

Profile
In the spring of 1966, Reggie Thomas was serving as the Minister of the East Point Christian Church in Atlanta, Ga. He resigned this ministry dedicating the remainder of his life to overseas evangelism. Taking John 4:35 and Luke 10:2, he named his ministry White Fields Overseas Evangelism.

Reggie's main objective was to travel to every nation of the world in obedience to the Great Commission of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20. To date he has preached in 80 different nations of the world.

When he first began this work he never envisioned that it would grow as it has. Today there are 16 American evangelists and 1 Australian evangelist associated with White Fields.

White Fields evangelists pray daily for the 12,000 unreached people groups of the world, that they might have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and be saved; that there will be a church planted where they live; and that God's Word in their language might be in their hands. White Fields has also designed a World Prayer Map. This map shows the reached and unreached nations of the world. Spreading the Gospel to every nation continues to be the goal of White Fields. To accomplish this task, White Fields gives financial support to 310 native evangelists in 33 foreign countries. White Fields began an orphanage ministry in 1978 with the leading and inspiration of Esther Thomas. In 1990 Lori Thomas became the Director of the orphanage ministry and it has grown greatly under Lori's leading and is now supporting six orphanages around the world. There are 2 orphanages in Haiti, 3 orphanages in India, 1 in Liberia, Africa. The White Fields Orphanage Ministry is now under the direction of Lori and daughter Lacey.

White Fields work teams have built 157 church buildings throughout the world.

During the year 2006, God has used White Fields evangelists in baptizing 5,674 souls into Christ.

Statement of Faith
My family and the staff of White Fields Evangelism believe without any doubt, that Jesus is the Christ (the long awaited Messiah from the Father), the only begotten Son of Almighty God! We believe that God asked us to live the rest of our lives by faith in His Son (Jesus) and to obey His commands (showing our love for Him) as we are buried with Him in Christian immersion for forgiveness of our past sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!

Our church provides $1,530 to White Fields monthly: $400 is for Francilus' orphanage in St. Marc, Haiti and $630 is for the Anna Enoch orphanage and school in Liberia.

Greg & Vicki Syverson

Pachuca, Mexico

In May, Ken LaMont, Mario Gonzalez, and Devan Bumstead from our church visited Greg and Vicki in Pachua, Mexico. Pachua is located forty-five miles northeast of Mexico City. They made the trip to see the work there and to make plans for our church to get more involved in their ministry. The men helped with Kids’ Club and other ministry events. Most of the Syverson’s programs are in CLAVE, which is their family life center.

In June, a group from Lexington, Kentucky came to mix cement, haul blocks, break rocks, etc., to help in the building of a block wall to enclose the property. This will enable them to use the court without disturbing the neighbors.

Some of their regularly scheduled activities are:

Leadership meetings on Monday nights
Women’s exercise classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings
English classes in CLAVE taught by Greg on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons
Greg discipleship with Simon on Tuesday evenings
Women's cell group led by Vicki on Wednesday mornings
Greg's discipleship with Gregorio on Wednesday evenings
Adult (family) cell group led by Greg on Friday evenings
Kids Club (about one Saturday a month)
Free haircuts at CLAVE (about one Saturday a month)
Sunday church service at New Hope Christian Church (Nueva Esperanza)

One of their greatest needs now is for materials and workers to tile and finish the downstairs work of the CLAVE building. This will cost approximately $3500.

Greg and Vicki have visited our church several times and their passion for the poor of Mexico is very evident. As they serve the Lord, they are rearing their two small sons as bi-linguals.

Our church supports them with $400 per month.

TCM International, Inc. prepares men and women for Christian leadership and provides benevolent assistance. TCM began in 1963 to provide Bibles, literature, training and other assistance to Christians in communist-controlled Eastern Europe. In 1982, “Summer Seminary” was launched to provide Biblical, theological, and practical training for groups of Eastern European church leaders who were invited to study at Haus Edelweiss, an hour from Vienna, Austria.

In 1991, following vast political changes in Eastern Europe, TCM created the Institute for Biblical Studies. A cooperative venture was formed with Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary. This allowed TCM to become a graduate degree granting institution in Europe offering the Master of Arts degree. The Master of Divinity degree program was inaugurated in 1995. The Institute’s 700 graduates currently serve as pastors, educators, church planters, missionaries and parachurch leaders across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Since Angeles Crest was founded, more than 100,000 young people have been challenged by the Gospel message through the camp's ministry. Of this number, well over 7,000 made their initial decision to accept Christ while at camp. Several hundred of these young people were baptized in the camp swimming pool, while the rest returned to their churches to baptized in the presence of their friends and family. Today, former Angeles Crest staff members and Angeles Crest "alumni," are helping to extend God's Kingdom by serving as missionaries, Bible-school teachers, youth pastors, choir members, etc. throughout Southern California and in many parts of the world.

Our emphasis at Angeles Crest is young people. We host our own youth camps where children/youth can participate. Some of these are...

Our church supports the Golden West Christian Church of Los Angeles with monthly funding of $300. This is a Cambodian congregation. Members of this church, including Christopher LaPel and Victory Heng (picture at right), return to Cambodia twice a year. Our financial support supplies resources to fund two training sessions, primarily in Battamberg, Cambodia. The sessions are attended by hundreds of pastors and lay leaders. They spend three weeks at the Training Institute per session. Then our leaders spend the rest of their time visiting churches in neighboring provinces.

Also, this year, 56 students were trained by Cambodian pastors, as Hope Bible Institute's first class. This is an extension of Hope International University, our Christian university in Fullerton, CA. In the last fifteen years, 300 Christian churches have been planted in the northwest area of Cambodia. This is the notorious area where the "Killing Fields" of the Khmer Rouge existed during the Vietnam war during the 1960's and 1970's. Now thousands are followers of Jesus, even former officers of the Khmer Rouge. Pictured at the left are the core leaders of the training institute.

In India and in America, a great season of prayer preceded the victorious soul winning meetings in India. We give all glory to God and realize that what happened was His work and that it happened with His blessings.

Brothers: T. John Samuel, John and Ezra Devapiriam, N. Salthyandan, E.K. Duraj, and Robert Devadoss were the Indian area coordinators of the campaign. They were joined by approximately 92 Brother Indian Preachers. These Indian preachers welcomed our American Team of Evangelists and put us to work preaching in the villages. Each American Evangelist preached three meetings per day.

There was a good crowd and they listened well at first. Then I sensed I was losing them because three ladies got up, one by one, and wandered away. So I quickly shifted gears and went into the invitation. Over 100 accepted Jesus and we baptized them. It was 1:00 p.m. by the time we got them all baptized. They were so happy and then we gave each one a new Bible, which made them happier.

We started for the second village and saw a great big cobra snake. It was unafraid and crossed the road right in front of us. We went on towards the second village. The road ran out and we began driving over the sand and rocks. We were only one kilometer from the ocean. Finally the truck would not go anymore and we had to get out and walk. We walked about one mile and reached the village. It was the poorest, most desolate village I've ever seen. The people were all living in grass huts. We learned that the great tsunami had totally wiped out this village. Nothing was left and so they built the grass huts. Meantime the government of India is building them permanent brick houses, but they only have the foundation poured after two years. The people were very grateful to us for coming with the Gospel and about 40 accepted Jesus and were baptized.

January 20, it is Saturday afternoon, 5:00 p.m. here - I just got ion from preaching my three meetings for today. I am almost totally exhausted. Each day I have had to travel two hours each way plus preach the three meetings and conduct 3 baptismals and hand out Bibles to each convert and pray for all the sick people. I am really, really tired.

But, I am so happy. Today in the first meeting there were 42 baptisms, 2nd meeting 63 baptisms, and 3rd meeting 31 baptisms. A wonderful day!

There was an old, old wrinkled man who was skin and bones and all bent over. This was in the third meeting. I asked him his age and he said he did not know? maybe 70!!!! I laughed and told him I was 78. I said comparing us you must be 100. He said YES, THAT IS TRUE. I got a photo of me handing him his Bible.

There was an old, old woman in the third service. Maybe she was his wife. The old lady started shrieking and screaming and really disturbed my preaching. Sathya just ignored her and went on. I could not do this. So I stopped preaching and walked over to the old woman and I said, "Peace be unto you in the name of Jesus." She immediately stopped shrieking and became as calm as could be. She listened and accepted Christ and was baptized. It was quite a nice experience.

January 23 - Today has been my most difficult day here. I had very small crowds and only about 25 baptisms. But they were wonderful people and I loved being in the villages even though small.

Lamp Lighters World Ministries, Sri Lanka - Steve & Shanthi Bycroft, missionaries:

Elections: Elections were held here in Sri Lanka the first part of November. To our disappointment the gentleman elected is a Muslim and is a supporter of the Anti-Conversion Law. Please keep the government and us in your prayers because this could potentially make our ministry very difficult.

Problems Abound: Not far south of us is the town of Akkarapatth. This is a town with both Tamils and Muslims. On November 19th, two LTTE boys had gone to a Muslim beef shop, the owner turned them in to the army and they were killed. In retaliation the LTTE threw a bomb into a Mosque killing 20 people and wounding more. So the Muslim community began attacking any Tamil they found in the streets. They even chased Shanthi's brother down the street, but the police intervened before they caught him. So the entire area is on edge right now. Reports of more violence came to us, so we call Shanthi's brother almost daily. On top of that, our masons, who live there, had gone home for the election and as yet cannot return. So we have lost two full weeks of progress on the Koddai Kallar church building.

Building Stalled, But Church Grows: We have been having all our services in the new building as we were out of space in our house. We have run extension cords to operate fans and temporary lights. The building has no doors or windows and needs painting. Despite these things, we're having great worship services. This last Sunday we had 50 adults and 45 Sunday school-age kids. Some of the new people are ones we have been working on for five years! Our building, which we thought would be adequate for some time, is already growing small. Praise God for problems like these! We've already been talking of going to two services on Sunday as God blesses us with more souls.

Explosion Rocks Village: In the village of Onthachimadam there has been an explosion, but not from a bomb. Pushpa Logini, known to us as Nona, has been working there for about three months now. She started with three kids who wanted her to come and have a Sunday school there. I was more than a little hesitant to start anything else ion another village, but God had other plans. Nona has been living with us since two weeks after the Tsunami. She lost her mother, an older sister, a nephew, and a younger sister in the Tsunami. She had attended nine months at the Gospel for Asia Bible School which was destroyed in the Tsunami. At only 17 years old and on her own, by God's grace, began this work. It has grown from three to over 35 in three months, and now she has started a Sunday afternoon worship service a few weeks ago with six adults. God's hand is at work in and through this young lady!

Prayer Requests: 1) Christmas programs to reach out to the communities; 2) Those working with us presently and God to send more workers; 3) Completion of the building in Koddai Kallar and temporary meeting place in Mahaloor and Onthachimadam; 4) God's grace and care over us as we minister here.

The WRC's abstinence education team "Plan A" is teaching our youth the importance and value of remaining abstinent until marriage, and the teens are getting the message. Check out the results from Westlake High School.

A total of 348 students attended three separate presentations, 341 students of whom participated in the survey:

In 2006, the WRC had some great victories. They were able to hire a full-time "Plan A" team leader (Abstinence Team). They are now doing presentations in more junior and senior high schools than ever before. They added more medical services, and they are seeing greater numbers of women and now men who are being tested, treated and educated about Sexually Transmitted Diseases. And last but not least, they have been chosen by the Community Conscience Group to move into their "Under One Roof" building at 80 E. Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks. This is an extraordinary opportunity for the WRC. They will be more centrally located in a complex with which many of our clientele are already familiar. It is also right next door to the Planned Parenthood clinic located in the Village Medical Center on Moorpark Road.