New Beginnings

An excerpt from Do You Believe…In New Beginnings?
By Laura Lea Sims, American Indian Field
October–December 2011

About eight years ago, I started attending All Tribes Church on the Gila River Indian Community outside Phoenix, Arizona. The pastor was an older Pima gentleman who led the church with the help of his wife. We worked together over the next three years. Most of our efforts were focused on one large family and some of their cousins and friends. God made me a part of this body. When I returned to the church after homeland ministry assignment in 2008, I didn’t know what to expect when I was informed that the pastor’s son, Tim, was now leading the church.

Our hope and prayer is that the seeds He is allowing us to plant will indeed take root in the lives of the children and the parents who are attending. The name of the church has been changed to New Beginnings because that is exactly what the Lord has given us.

ACT: Is God calling you to a new beginning? Be a part in breathing new life into the global church. Learn more at www.wgm.org/church.

Do You Believe?

An excerpt from Do You Believe?
By Brad Carter, Spain
October–December 2011

Have you ever come to a point in your life where you looked at the world and couldn’t find God? Perhaps you couldn’t believe in Him anymore. He let you down. He didn’t answer your prayer. He didn’t save your mother or your husband or your daughter. You were in a lot of pain and God was nowhere to be found. Perhaps somewhere along the way you began to question your faith.

Read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis. Have a discussion with your small group or Bible study. Share your own feelings, thoughts, and doubts. It is okay to doubt. It is okay to struggle and question. In fact, it’s a healthy part of growing in faith. I believe even Jesus struggled with this very same issue throughout His life and ministry, up to His last breath and utterance, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” Is Andy’s plea really that much different?

Perhaps if we take the time to understand human suffering and mourn for those who are suffering, we might do something about it.

Power of the Church

Do You Believe…In the Power of the Church?
By Andrea Williamson, Student Involvement, Ohio Christian University
October–December 2011

I want to tell you about the best Christmas story I’ve heard in a long time. It involves Steve (my dear friend in Kenya who is more like a brother to me) and my church family at University Church on the campus of Ohio Christian University in Circleville, Ohio. Steve’s teenage son, Tim, suffers from bilateral keratoconus, an eye disease that causes blindness.

Before learning about my 3-year-old daughter Rebecca’s arrival into our family, I was planning a trip to Kenya. After finding out I was expecting, my plans changed. Instead of raising funds for trip expenses, I was raising funds to help Tim receive his first corneal transplant. The Lord provided miraculously for him; he received the first transplant in 2008. I knew then that Tim was the reason God had me not go to Kenya.

On December 29, Tim received his second corneal transplant and had the sutures removed from the first transplant. He even walked out of the recovery room on his own.

Each time I talk to Steve, he can’t say “thank you” enough. God used His people at University Church to answer a father’s prayer for his son. “It’s as if a heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders,” Steve told me, his voice bubbling over with joy.

God can use your church family in missions this year. Ask your friends, your small group, or your pastor to partner with you in restoring sight to many more in Sudan in honor of Tim. Your gift of $150 will restore the sight of a Sudanese individual at an Eye Care Clinic and will give them a chance to hear about the One who opened the eyes of the blind.

ACT: Send your offering to WGM at the address listed below. Write project #25791-CALL on the memo line of your check. Thanks for blessing others like Tim with the gift of sight!

World Gospel Mission
P.O. Box 948
Marion, IN 46952-0948

God Works Miracles with Radio Equipment

Do You Believe…That God Works Miracles with Radio Equipment?
By Leon Amstutz, Volunteer Consulting Engineer
October–December 2011

I’ve been helping Radio Lumière in Haiti for over 30 years with various engineering projects. I was in Haiti in January 2010 when the massive earthquake struck. I was thrilled to go back in April 2011, but I sensed I was on the front lines of a great spiritual battlefield. We struggled with broken-down vehicles, lack of parts, missing documentation—more obstacles than I had ever faced before.

Signal coverage had been irregular since the earthquake. As I worked to diagnose and repair the two main transmitting antennas, I found many serious problems with the antennas, connectors, and transmission lines. My goal was to replace all the jumper lines with new cable and coaxial connectors. (For you non-radio engineers, these connectors attach the cable that carries the radio signal from the transmitter in the transmitter room to the antenna up on the tower.) In the process, we installed five new connectors, but we couldn’t find the last one needed to finish the project. We had begun with six, but the sixth was nowhere to be found. We hunted everywhere. It looked as if I wasn’t going to be able to complete this very crucial project.

On Wednesday, I asked the Radio Lumière staff to pray.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I hurried to the Radio Lumière staff—who had gathered once more to pray—and told them about finding the two connectors. They immediately praised God for this answer to prayer. Does God answer prayer in ways we can’t explain in natural terms? I must testify yes!

Please keep the Radio Lumière technical staff in your prayers as they fight these battles every day. The enemy knows the importance of the radio and fights it ferociously. But our God is more powerful!