WWNTBM
June Prayer/Praises and Special Dates
Click the link above to download a PDF of prayer requests and praises as well as the birthdays and anniversaries for June. Note: You will need to login to SecureCloud in order to view this document. Once you have logged in, click on Files, Shared, then Headquarter Happenings, then scroll to the month you would like to view. This step protects people with WWNTBM in restricted access fields.
Every once in a while, we come across good articles that we’d like to share with our missions family. Some are meant to be an encouragement; others are more informative. We hope that these will be a blessing to you. If you have articles you believe would be a help or encouragement to the missions family, please email us and share those!
From Baptist Missionary Women:
Young Missionary Women’s Survey, Part One:
“I think deputation is God’s way of teaching patience, and it is an opportunity to work with and try to be a blessing to hundreds of Christians and other co-laborers you never would get to meet otherwise. So enjoy it! It shouldn’t be a time you look back on with dread. It is also a chance to see God work in ways you haven’t seen yet!”
Young Missionary Women’s Survey, Part Two:
“Practice being positive and making the best with what you have. We all have down days and struggles, but no one has to live there. There are always blessings and things to be thankful for in every situation and generally more than we realize. I believe a happy person and a content person is a thankful person.”
From one of our missionaries in Spain, Lou Ann Keiser:
“When God changes your direction, when He moves you, how do you react? Of course, if there’s loss or sickness, you’ll go through grieving, pain, and whatever trial is involved in sickness or disability. How will you react to your new situation, your new path? I don’t think anyone knows before he gets there. But, a Christian is prepared when it happens, even though he might not be aware of it.”
Where’s Home? The Question that Confuses Your Missionaries
“For the new missionary, the answer’s easy. It’s everything he left behind. It’s where he just left. It’s where family and friends are. But, for a missionary with ten years under his belt, he’ll say, “Home? We made our home here.” Or “Oh yes, it’s great to be home.” He’s moved on, his family back home has adjusted, too. And, he’s made new friends and family on his field of service. He’s into the language and culture, and from time to time, he forgets he’s a foreigner. He even dreams in his acquired language!”
From World Wide’s Missions.Today site:
Travel and Credit Card Tips by Gabriel Eiben
“Depending on your field of service, obtaining a credit card linked to an airline that services your field can be a real help with airline ticket costs.”
“The Ruwersma family (missionaries to the United Kingdom) has created a database of Guest Rooms in the Northeastern and Southeastern U.S.”
Some of you who currently serve, or plan to serve, in more restricted countries may find this article from Baptist World Missions a great resource to share with friends and family:
Handle with Care: How to safely communicate with missionaries in countries hostile to the Gospel
“Sending a missionary to a foreign country requires great care. Sending them to a Creative Access Nation—one which forbids missionary endeavor—requires even greater care, especially when it comes to communication. Here are some suggestions to avoid the ‘minefields.'”
Please note that WWNTBM does not necessarily endorse all of the contents of every site, nor would we necessarily endorse everything by these authors.
June 20-24 – the Office will be closed for Family Fellowship Week
July 4 – the Office and U.S. Banks will be closed for Independence Day
Family Week will once again begin with a relaxed meal and opening service. This is to alleviate the challenge of traveling all day and having to rush to prepare for a formal service. Please come in your modest travel clothes. Come early and enjoy the church’s activity fields and facilities! Registration will begin on Monday, June 20, at 4:30 p.m. It will be held at the Radio Station which is on the hill behind the church. Supper will be served at 5:30 p.m. in the picnic shelter next to the Radio Station.
Those who requested lodging will be staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites, located at 1150 Motel Drive, Woodstock, VA 22664. The hotel is off of I-81, Exit #283. Guests may check in as early as 3:00 p.m. Watch your email for important information about children’s activities!
Paul Zimmer, Jr. graduated from high school. Pray for him as he makes plans to attend BJU this fall.
John and Sarah Sinskie recently graduated from Baptist Bible Translators Institute in Texas. Pray for them as they have completed deputation and are preparing to move to the field in the near future.
We recently asked for your input to help a new missionary who will be teaching English. The information compiled has been published on Missions.Today, and is available by clicking here. Thank you for your help in contributing towards this. If you have more information to add, please let us know.
Spanish Books AvailableBro. Alejandro Sanchez has written two books for Spanish believers. One deals with the subject of divorce. The other deals with definitions of common Biblical words in an effort to make the Bible easier for new believers to understand. More information about these books is available here.
Family Fellowship Week always begins on the third Monday in June. This year, we are meeting with Pastor Chad Estep and the Valley Baptist Church in Edinburg, Virginia. I always look forward to these days. Since 1976, I have missed only one of these meetings. There is no doubt that they have changed over the years. The length has been shortened by one day, and the days that we do meet have been made considerably easier to attend. Is it necessary to meet every year? No, but it is very helpful. My heart is always blessed by the messages and by the fellowship.
None of us see each other often. Though Brother O’Malley and I lived beside each other for many years, it was rare that we spent time with each other. I have worked full-time with Pastor Wingard since 1985, but we spend far too little time together. Family Fellowship Week gives us the opportunity to fellowship, and I can hardly wait!
Fellowship is so important. The early followers of Christ continued in some very important things like doctrine, breaking of bread, and prayer. Listed among those things was fellowship. Every family needs fellowship. Every church needs fellowship. Friends need fellowship. You might do without it long enough to begin thinking that it isn’t all that important, but it is very important.
We are strengthened by fellowship. If you go long periods of time without spending face-to-face time with other Christians, you might start to think you are all alone in the battle for this amazing faith. We are made stronger when we have the opportunity to bind our hearts together with others of like precious faith. Will you have the strength to stand alone? I hope so, but you don’t have to stand by yourself when there are so many others that would delight to stand with you.
We are encouraged by fellowship. We are living in a very complex and ever-changing world. Discouragement has a way of creeping into our lives a little at a time. When we realize that there are so many others fighting the same battles that we are fighting, we are encouraged by finding answers in fellowship together.
We are challenged by fellowship. I suppose that everyone feels like quitting a few times in life, or perhaps a few times every day! When we share in fellowship our victories and defeats, we can challenge each other to press on toward victory and success.
Don’t wait for fellowship to just happen. So often it gets pushed into the background because it does not clamor for our attention like so many other things in life. Schedule fellowship. Make it happen! You might have to go out of your way. You might have to rearrange your schedule. But when you do make room for fellowship with other believers, you will come away thinking you should do that more often.
If you can make it to Edinburg, Virginia, this month I will look forward to your fellowship. If you cannot make it this year, please make sure it is in your schedule when you are in the States.
In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone