Women meet for Conference in Egypt Jan 2009

EGYPT – It’s cold in January near the Nile.  It’s a damp cold that goes right down to your bones.  Even so, most of the windows were wide open and a steady breeze blew through them in the room that 35 Egyptian women gathered together in.  We all layered on extra clothes and carried on - the Egyptian women in the room were wonderfully warm with smiles and hugs and a blessing to be with. 

Kris S. from Wyoming and I were there to speak to the women in this one day conference.  What a joy to see their faces as we sang together, prayed together and studied Scripture together.  They were hungry for the teaching of the Word of God and also for the fellowship. 

One woman in the back of the room, a heavy set woman with a large dark shawl over her head, nodded furiously when I spoke about how the Lord understands how difficult lonliness is.  How He has given us Hebrews 13:5 – and He will NEVER leave or forsake us.  Another group of about 15 young women gave us a clear picture that many young people are seeking for a relationship in the Lord and that the Church of our Lord is growing in Egypt. 

Kris brought a beaded bracelet project which was a huge hit - proving once again that we all enjoy fun times (especially when beads spill on the floor) and that language isn’t a barrier when hearts are united in God’s wonderful love.  - Dee A. Cook, Director of “Beautiful International Women’s Ministry,” an IMI Ministry.

Medical Ministry in Indonesia

Indonesia – The weekend of January 20, 2008 was the first meeting together with the Church medical team , which IMI partners with.  It was a very informative and encouraging meeting.  The Church already had conducted two medical outreach clinics in 2007 and one on January 22 while we were there.  Together with my husband, Resty, and John and Dee Cook, I was privileged, as a nurse, to not only participate in the meeting, but also in the medical clinic held in one of the village churches while we were in Indonesia.

At this clinic, it was the team concept at work -  and we all saw that together as team members, we can accomplish this.  It was awesome to see the team members sitting with the village men and women after they received medical attention, sharing Christ, praying with them and giving each one a Bible.  

Their medical team is composed of two doctors, one nurse and three pharmacists.  It is a newly formed outreach of the church with a goal of reaching villagers (primarily Muslim) every six to eight weeks, coupled with a team of Evangelism Explosion (EE) trained members who are sharing the Gospel and praying with the people at the clinics.  On the last two clinics that were conducted, they were able to see 168 villagers with 68 of them accepting Christ as Lord.  In the clinic they held while we were there, they saw just under 200 people in four hours.

IMI, who partners with the Church, commended their passion and fervor to reach out.  IMI shared key concepts and principles such as:  1) The advancement of the Gospel is the central outreach of the clinics; meeting the medical needs of the people is a means of meeting the goal.  2) For the medical outreach to be effective it needs to be strategic in its approach.  This will avoid a drain in resources both financially and with personnel in the local church, therefore, the outreach begins with the church and ends with the church.  3)  Central to the heart of the ministry is a) a commitment to prayer before during and after b) humility to serve to reflect Christ’s compassion and caring to those who are physically ill and hurting.

Medical outreach has a dynamic outreach in proclaiming the Gospel throughout the world. The indigenous church, because of its very nature, can reach out effectively to their fellow nationals.  As our God opens doors in the hearts of the nations, you, our friends and supporters can continue to partner with us in the ministry to “think globally and work locally.”  - Mel Enguerra

Indonesia

Indonesia

The sides of the volcano rise up through the level of clouds until the top breaks out as if piercing through a barrier to the open sky. The green lush hillsides are covered in bamboo and teak trees. Ridgelines run down hills past fields of tea plants, stalks heavy with plump ears of corn, verdant rice paddies, yards with livestock in village after village  fill the senses until the land reaches the sea.

This is the land sitting upon the Ring of Fire, and there is a power that burns far hotter than the lava which causes the smoke to rise on the tops of these mountains almost 9000 feet into the air. From these shores come prayers from broken hearts for the people of this land.  Believers labor in prayer and reach out to their neighbors; Hindus, Muslim, followers of Confucius, traditionalists, conservatives, and people following nothing at all who make up this beautiful land.

IMI is helping to provide scholoraships and book sfor children of lower income families.  Each child sponsorship is $25 per month.  Currently there are 25 children needing sponsors. 

India’s Changing World

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