An excerpt from...

Prayers Answered before Even Spoken

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By Jennifer Bennett, Missionary, Nigeria
January-March 2015

“For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8 NKJV)

God answered prayers even before I knew to ask. This has never been clearer to me since the night of July 17, 2014, when my co-missionary, Shelley Chapman, and I were assaulted and robbed at gunpoint. While locked in a room, not knowing the fate of Shelley, I felt an indescribable peace. “I wonder who is praying for us right now,” I pondered. Since that traumatic evening, we have become aware of how unspoken prayers have been answered:

• Ikenna Izoke, chief protocol officer at West Africa Theological Seminary, drove up right in front of Shelley as she drove to the campus to find help. He immediately contacted the police and found me locked in a room.
• God provided a safe shelter for us even before we knew of the need. Weeks before the robbery, we had made arrangements to stay the weekend with Edmond and Becky Poon, friends from our church in Nigeria.
• The day after the robbery, Wally Adeleye, friend and church member, immediately left his home and drove to us (about an hour and a half) as soon as he heard about our situation and provided transportation for us to Edmond and Becky’s. We were able to stay at his guesthouse while improved security measures were put into place by WATS.
• Dave and Susan Hackney, friends from church, provided an iPhone and tablet so we were able to connect with our families after the event.
• Ned and Marlene McGrady, Member Health counselors from World Gospel Mission, flew to minister to us in person. God provided them with a smooth entry through customs and immigration while carrying our replacement electronics.
• Pastors Gary and Emma Lou Maxey provided their home for us to use for debriefing with our WGM counselors and a computer to use while we waited for our replacements.
• Lynn Chapman, Shelley’s daughter, packed a suitcase of goodies from our families, and Ned and Marlene brought it with them. She even included several bottles of hand sanitizer for the clinic, not knowing it would be needed later as precautionary measures against Ebola.
• New Beginnings International Church raised the funds needed to replace our electronics.
• Jon and Vera Steury, Africa regional directors, arrived two weeks after the McGradys. This trip had been planned even before our arrival in Nigeria.

God hears and continues to answer our prayers.

“From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:2 NKJV)

MORE: God has answered many prayers on WGM’s behalf through the years. Burnis Bushong has written some of those accounts in his book The Best of the Story. Purchase this book at www.wgm.org/thebestofthestory.

Answer to Prayers in Time of Crisis

An excerpt from...

Answer to Prayers in Time of Crisis

By Shelley Chapman, Missionary, Nigeria
January-March 2015

It never entered my mind that armed thieves would burst through my bedroom door about 8:30 in the evening, that they would physically harm me, or that they would take all my means of communication. But, they did. Worst of all, I feared they had kidnapped my co-missionary, Jennifer Bennett.

Thankfully, Jennifer was found locked in a room downstairs along with three other people. She immediately tended to my injuries and then wrote an emergency email to our regional directors, Jon and Vera Steury, who were at World Gospel Mission headquarters in Marion, Indiana, at the time.

Almost as soon as Jennifer hit the send button for that email, Jon and Vera responded, as did the entire WGM community. A request for prayer was sent out to missionaries around the world; our family members in the U.S. were contacted; and most strategically, Member Health staff began to minister to us.

Ned and Marlene McGrady, pastors to missionaries, connected with us frequently in those first days after the traumatic event. As a licensed counselor, Marlene knew exactly what to do for us since we found ourselves in the middle of acute post-traumatic stress. In the middle of trauma, it is hard to think about next steps or to know where to turn for help. I was heartened to hear Ned and Marlene say to us that they wanted to see us face-to-face. We were blessed that they traveled half a world away to minister to our needs.

Once our counselors were here on the ground with us, we were able to take our time and deconstruct what happened and how it affected us cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and spiritually. This paved the way for the healing process to begin. We even went back to our apartment with them and processed how we felt about spending our first night back in the house. Ned and Marlene were an answer to prayer for us. They met us where we were in terms of our stages of grief and loss, prayed with us, shared helpful scriptures, facilitated important meetings with national staff members (who were also hurting), and slowly helped us move along in the healing process.

Our faith was buoyed by the prayers of so many people around the world. I felt as if the spiritual part of my life was ministering to the emotional part of my life. As Ned shared scriptures, they were like balm on my emotional wounds.

I am reminded of the ten lepers in Luke 17 who were “healed as they went.” We are carrying on, with the love, support, and prayers of all the WGM family. We will continue to be healed as we go. Thank you for all your prayers in our time of crisis.

PRAY: The Prayer Lifeline email sent every Tuesday shares critical requests and praises from WGM’s fields of service. To be an active participant on this list, sign up at www.wgm.org/lifeline.

Prayer Calendar: January 25-31, 2015

It's the start of a new week! Time for a new missions prayer point inspired by The Call magazine:

PRAISE God for protecting Shelley Chapman and Jennifer Bennett during a break-in. 

In times of crisis a missionary's prayer support is vital. If you partner with WGM missionaries through prayer we thank you. 

Praises from Prayer Lifeline

An excerpt from...

Praises from Prayer Lifeline

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By Tracy Dubois, Support Staff
January-March 2015

Do you ever wonder if your prayers make a difference? Well, the short answer is yes! Here’s a look back at how the Lord has answered your prayers through this year’s Prayer Lifeline.

JANUARY

Texas/Mexico Border Ministries:One of Christina McBride’s students accepted Jesus, and Christina prayed with another student who recommitted their life to the Lord.

FEBRUARY

Haiti: Radio Lumière turned 55 on February 20.

Honduras: Honduran Holiness Church celebrated its 100th anniversary.

South Sudan: Mango Ministries helped give physical sight to 527 people during cataract clinics in 2013 and brought healing to more than 100 patients during five weeks of other clinics.

MARCH

Kenya: Tenwek Hospital’s annual children’s Bible quizzing season began in January with more than 300 children from several schools and two orphanages studying 1 Samuel.

Sensitive Area: Lives were changed, freedom experienced, and inner healing started as church leaders and seminary students opened their hearts during 98 one-on-one meetings.

APRIL

Honduras: Small agriculture projects established in different communities around Choluteca are beginning to multiply as Hondurans realize the potential of growing their own vegetables and raising small animals to provide for their families.

Kenya: Ministry partnerships have enabled plans for the Eye and Dental Care Center at Tenwek Hospital to progress smoothly.

MAY

Kenya: Africa Gospel Church Baby Centre is caring for 53 babies, and 15 babies have already been adopted this year.

Ukraine: The Lord has opened the door for Bill and Oksana Browerto do more service projects in local orphanages whose government funding has been decreased.

JUNE

Spain: Nathan and Kenzie Vitatoe praise God for the salvation of a church member who comes from a Muslim background.

Uganda: A Muslim woman who was cooking for a Community Health Empowerment training group accepted Christ, while several others went forward to be prayed for.

JULY

American Indian Field: Students at American Indian College are taking the lessons they have learned from Laura Lea Sims and using them to minister in their communities and churches.

Bolivia: More than 60 people and several youth prayed to seek God’s presence in their lives during Nathan Schmidt’s church visits.

Honduras: Escuela El Sembrador celebrated 60 years of ministry.

Uganda: As a group of students from Asbury University (Kentucky) partnered with the University Discipleship Movement, an Asbury student led an African student in the salvation prayer.

AUGUST

Hispanic Ministries USA: Hispanic churches throughout the United States graduated their first class of church leaders, and these graduates will be plugged into ministries in Wisconsin, Georgia, Ohio, and Massachusetts.

Hungary: Ten teens accepted Christ during summer English camps.

Mexico: The Vacation Bible School program at Pan de Vida (Bread of Life) Church led to 25 children accepting Christ.

The Center (Stockton, California): The Center staff provided hungry kids with more than 2,250 lunches in just six weeks and was able to help 10 youth attend adventure camp. One 14-year-old boy who comes from a generational gang family said camp taught him that he can trust.

PRAY: Keep praying for WGM missionaries, causes, and locations at www.wgm.org/lifeline or www.wgm.org/praycal.

Prayer Calendar: January 18-24, 2015

Your missions inspired prayer point from The Call magazine for this week is:

PRAISE God for answering the prayers of His people. 

This praise is inspired by Prayer Lifeline. Every Tuesday WGM sends the most urgent requests and praises from the fields through email. In this issue you can get a look at some of the most significant praises we have seen over the past year.  God is good!