Author: WWNTBM

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The Homegoing of Isamo Welles

January 19, 1941-June 15, 2017

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Isamo Welles played an integral part in the founding of WWNTBM and in the spread of the Gospel throughout Micronesia. Bro. Wingard first met Bro. Welles around 1970. Bro. Isamo heard him speak on the radio and wrote asking Bro. Wingard to visit Pohnpei. During that visit, the Calvary Baptist Church of Kolonia was founded and began meeting in the Welles’ home. Under Bro. Isamo’s leadership, Calvary went on to start five daughter churches on Pohnpei, as well as a TV ministry, Christian school, Bible Institute, and radio station. In addition, works in Kosrae, Yap, Majuro, and Jaluit grew under the sponsorship of the Calvary Baptist Church.

Isamo Welles was born on January 19, 1941. He attended school in Canada, where he graduated in 1968. He married Esther Joel on June 7, 1969. Together, they have six children: Kenneth, Glenda, Gordon, Shirley, Bruce, and Annette.

Bro. Isamo worked for a time with the Juvenile Delinquency Office, as well as for the US Post Office. In 1972 he was officially accepted as a missionary with WWNTBM. Due to his extensive influence throughout Micronesia and the Pacific Islands, Isamo Welles has become known to many as the “Apostle Paul of Micronesia.” In recognition of his efforts to assist the cause of missions, he was made an Honorary Member of the Executive Board of WWNTBM in June of 2002.

If you would like to contact the family, you can email Mrs. Esther, or mail cards to her home:
P.O. Box 2179
Kolonia, Pohnpei, FM 96941
MICRONESIA

As a tribute to Bro. Welles, we are including the words to the song At Home In Heaven. Click below to listen to the Calvary Baptist Church choir sing.

At Home In Heaven

Right here I travel through this world of trouble and sorrow,
And sense I’m a stranger everywhere.
But up to heaven I will go some happy tomorrow,
And I’ll feel at home when I get there!

I know I’ll feel at home in heaven,
Abiding in a mansion of my own!
I’ll be no stranger to the angels,
For I shall know up there as I am known.
Sometimes I feel so sad and lonely,
Can’t seem to be contented anywhere –
But someday soon I’ll move to heaven,
And I know I’ll feel at home when I get there.

I often read of heaven and of its beauty, I ponder
And think of its treasures rich and rare;
For if I know about the things awaiting me yonder
Then I’ll feel at home when I get there.

Each day I praise the Lord for blessings that He has given,
And thank Him for all His tender care.
I want to stay in tune with all the glory of heaven,
So I’ll feel at home when I get there!

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From the Memo Board: July 2017

Dates to Know

July 4 – The Office will be closed for Independence Day.

New Board of Reference Member

We would like to welcome Pastor David Fulp as a new member to the Board of Reference of WWNTBM. Pastor Fulp and his wife, Lisa, are from Madison, NC, where he has pastored the Good News Baptist Church for 19 years. They have been in ministry for over 30 years, serving in several locations in VA and NC. Mrs. Fulp teaches at the Gospel Light Christian School in Walkertown, NC. They are parents of our missionary, Stephanie Germano, as well as a son, David II, who is also in ministry.

 New Baby!

Congratulations to Nick and Lindsey Stelzig on the birth of Elliana Joyce Stelzig. Ellie was born May 31, and she weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. The Stelzigs are on deputation to church plant in Boston, MA. They have one older son, Gabriel, who is 2.

Mark Your Calendars

Now is the time to begin planning to attend next year’s Family Fellowship Week. We will meet June 18-21, 2018, with Pastor Barry Goodman and the Faith Baptist Church of Shelby, NC. If you are planning a furlough in 2018, please be sure to arrange your schedule so you can attend this meeting. It is truly the highlight of the WWNTBM year.

Europe Encouragement Conference

You are invited to attend our WWNTBM Encouragement Conference in Germany. We will hold this conference August 20-24, 2018.

This conference is open to all World Wide families. We anticipate board members and missionaries from North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East who may come. There will be time for leisure, preaching, shopping, and fellowship.

The meeting will be held an hour and a half north of Munich, close to the area where Lisa Kendrick and Keith and Julia Klaus are serving. You will be able to fly into Munich and take a train to the conference location. More details will be available as we get closer, but we want you to begin making plans now to attend this unique event.

 

Reformers Unanimous

Memorial Baptist Church has a thriving RU ministry, seeking to help individuals break the chains of addiction. This week we heard testimonies from several in their church who have been impacted through this outreach and some quotes from their testimonies are included below. Further information about RU is available on their church website.

“My freedom no longer belongs to me, it belongs to others, so I can help them as I was helped.” Bill Davis

“Turns out, God knows what He is doing in our lives!” Jessica Davis

“I asked God if I could make myself vulnerable to Him, and found that I could.” Chloe Loring

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Prayer & Dates: July 2017

July 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 July. 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.

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Family Fellowship Week 2017 Quotes

“God hold us to that which drew us first, when the cross was the attraction, and we wanted nothing else.” Amy Carmichael

“God evaluates not our failures but our faith.” John O’Malley

“God does not wait for us to be qualified before He calls us to His service.” Barry Goodman

“See how Providence, in dispensing its gifts, observes a proportion, to keep the balance even, setting crosses and comforts one over-against another, that none may be either too much elevated or too much depressed.” Matthew Henry

“Death is never the last word in the life of a righteous man.” Fred Daniel, Jr.

“Too many Christians are like porcupines – they have many fine points but you can’t get close to them!” Mike Renfrow

“What I need to know most is Him, and when I know Him, it will cause me to judge Him faithful.” Michael West

“If we think God is late, we are in too big of a hurry.” Dwight Williams

“The reproach of Christ is honorable, but that does not make it easy to bear.” Bill Wingard

“When you know you have been dispatched by heaven, it takes a lot to stop you.” Danny Whetstone

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Prayer & Dates: June 2017

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.

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From the Memo Board: June 2017

Dates to Know

June 19-23 – The Office will be closed for Family Fellowship Week.

July 4 – The Office will be closed for Independence Day.

August 20-24, 2018 – Encouragement Conference in Germany.

Encouragement Meetings

Have you joined one of our encouragement meetings yet? We have had some great feedback from those who have attended, or who have listened to the recordings. We invite you to join in and be uplifted!

Weekly meetings, geared primarily towards those on deputation, are held each Friday at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time). Meetings geared primarily towards those in a field-based ministry are currently being held twice each month. These are scheduled for 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on the second Tuesday morning of each month, and for 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on the fourth Tuesday evening of each month. Questions about how to join one of the meetings may be directed to Laura Cmaylo.

The upcoming schedule of meetings is as follows:

Tuesday, June 13th – 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday, June 27th – 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 11th – 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday, July 25th – 9:00 p.m.

Uplift Podcasts

Last month we announced our newest website – uplift.wwntbm.com – where we publish podcast of our weekly and bi-weekly meetings. We have finished uploading all prior podcasts, and have streamlined the site. Check us out and subscribe to these podcasts to be encouraged and stay connected. Users will need to log in to the site in order to protect the content, so that any material shared in meetings will be confidential within the World Wide family. The username is wwntbm. The password is gospel. Be sure to check back frequently to be edified and uplifted!

New Baby

Congratulations to Stephen and Charity Jenney on the birth of their newest baby, Noah Charles. He was born on May 1, and weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. The Jenneys are on deputation to go to the Southwestern United States. Noah is their 3rd son, and joins his brothers Judson (2) and Samuel (1).

 

 

 

 

New Missionaries

Stephen and Anelly Villarreal have been accepted with World Wide as our newest missionaries to Mexico. They are sent out of the Temple Baptist Church in Laurens, SC, with Pastor David Johnston. Bro. Villarreal grew up in Mexico, where his parents are missionaries. Anelly (pronounced Áhnalee) is also from Mexico. They graduated from West Coast Baptist College and had their civil wedding ceremony this past month. They will have their religious ceremony in August. Their plans are to go to Mexico to serve as furlough replacements for his parents for one year, before returning to the US to begin deputation. Pray for them as they begin their new life and ministry together!

 

Smothers Wedding

Congratulations to Joel Smothers and Noel Ring, who will be married on Saturday, June 10! Joel has already been traveling on deputation with World Wide. Noel grew up in Brazil where her family continues to serve as missionaries. She has been teaching at the Puerto Rico Baptist College for the past two years. Please be in prayer for this young couple as they begin their life together, and as they raise support for their future ministry in Brazil. They plan to work with the Dickens family.

The God of the Impossible

“The Israelites could not conquer Canaan if they could not get to it, and getting to it required taking an impossible path–across the raging Jordan River. We too are sometimes called in our ministries to do what seems impossible. We must prepare to walk the impossible path by clinging to God’s promises. His presence makes the impossible path a road you can take.” Author unknown

If you today are facing a seemingly impossible task, meditate on these words by Frank Garlock:

I don’t know how God hangs the world on nothing,
Or how He keeps the planets each in place.
I cannot count the sands upon the seashore,
Nor can I count the stars that float in space.
But God can do what seems impossible;
God controls eternity.
My mind can never comprehend it,
But God in heaven cares for me!

“And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27

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Featured Article: Questions God Asked Hagar

Bro. Keith Klaus (missionary to Germany) shared this devotional on Uplift, our weekly podcast. We trust it will be a blessing to our entire missions family. It is taken from a series of messages he has recently preached in his church on “Questions God Asks of Man.”

God always asks questions not for information, but to get mankind to respond to Him. (Genesis 16:1-6)

The story begins with a promise from God to Abraham. Initially, Abraham simply took God at His Word and believed that He could and would do something special. However, as time went on and they had no son, Abraham and Sarah did what most of us do. We think on God’s promises and identify the “problems” with His plans. There is no indication that Sarah believed God as Abraham had. So as she thought of the “problems,” she also presented her own solution. From a human perspective, her solution worked – at least initially. God often does allow our solutions to work, even if they go against His plan. But, those solutions often have consequences that we are not prepared to deal with.

As trouble grew between Hagar and Sarah, Sarah chose to blame Abraham. Abraham put the responsibility back on her to find another solution to the current crisis, and Sarah chose to respond with harshness. The result was that Hagar fled from home.

Enter God. He finds Hagar in the desert and asks her two critical questions. “Where are you coming from?” and “Where are you going?”

The first question God ever asked Adam was, “Where are you?” But here, He already knows where to find Hagar. He knew she was in a place of turmoil. God asked Jacob, “What is your name?” but here He called Hagar by name because He wanted to have a personal conversation with her.

There are two other instances in Scripture where God asks, “Where did you come from?” Both times He was addressing Satan in Job 1:7 and 2:2. A similar question is recorded when Christ met Nathanael, and Nathanael asked Christ, “Where did you find me?” Of course, Christ knew where Nathanael had come from–Christ had seen him before Philip had called him.

These two questions are applicable to those on deputation or in missions! We focus often on where we came from, whether we list our home country, or our home state, or the last meeting we were in before we arrived at the current location.

The second question, “Where are you going?” is equally important, but notice that Hagar did not answer the second question. She focused on the first. There was much she could have said. She focused on the pain. She was engaged with the current problems she faced and was overwhelmed with the burden. Perhaps she intended to return to Egypt. If that was the case, there is good chance she did not even know how to get there. There was a slim chance she, as a pregnant woman alone in the desert, would survive the trip.

We too must identify where we are coming from. Think of where God has brought you. Understand the history of how He has led you to this point. But then, as with Paul, you must look forward. Put the past in the past and press forward.

Hagar did not answer the second question. All she knew was that she decided to leave her troubles behind. Every decision brings results. Her decision put her in a desert alone, perhaps unaware of where she actually was at the moment. Abraham and Sarah’s decisions had affected her plans. Our decisions will affect others as well.

We may find ourselves, like Job, in a situation where we don’t know what is happening. Yet God always knows! (Job 23:10) Job was comforted when he realized that he didn’t need to know the answers, so long as he knew that God knew! God takes an interest in you as well!

Notice the angel’s response to Hagar: “Return. Submit.” Probably nothing He could have said would have been more discouraging. He told her to go back to a place of difficulty and humble herself before her harsh authority.

God does call us to go. Those of us in missions focus on always going and moving towards future ministry. But now came a call to go back, and stay in a hard place. Plant your feet. Obey. Let God use the time to sand off the rough edges and work His plan. Yet, that call did not come without a promise!

The Lord had heard Hagar. He promised to bless her! Even though the long term, still ongoing consequences of Abraham and Sarah’s decisions has resulted in much turmoil throughout the world, we must not lose hold of the fact that Ishmael’s birth was a blessing from God to Hagar and a fulfillment of God’s promise to her.

We can rest in knowing that when God calls us to stay in a difficult place He promises to be with us, and He will keep His promise and use those difficulties to perfect His will in our lives.

If this devotional has been a blessing to you, please contact Bro. Klaus and let him know!

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From the Memo Board: May 2017

Dates to Know

May 29 – The Office and all US Banks will be closed in observance of Memorial Day.
May 30 – Revised Pay Date for those who normally receive their support on the 29th.
June 19-22 – Family Fellowship Week in Ocala, FL.

Uplift Podcasts

World Wide has launched a new website–uplift.wwntbm.com–where we will publish podcasts of the weekly Deputation Meetings, as well as the bi-weekly Field Meetings. Users will need to log in to the site in order to protect the content so that any material shared in meetings will be confidential within the World Wide family. The username is wwntbm. The password is gospel. Be sure to check back frequently to be encouraged and uplifted!

Field Encouragement Meetings

We have started bi-weekly conference calls to provide a time of fellowship, encouragement, and prayer for our missionaries on the field. Our desire is for this to be a time of connection and strengthening as we seek to build each other up in the ministries to which the Lord has called us. We currently have meetings scheduled for 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on the second Tuesday morning of each month, and for 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on the fourth Tuesday evening of each month. Hopefully, this will give a variety of individuals in different time zones the opportunity to participate. The meetings typically last approximately 30 minutes, and they include a brief challenge from Bro. O’Malley and from one of our Board Members, as well as a time of prayer. If you have questions about how to join one of the meetings you may email Laura Cmaylo. Audio of past meetings is available by clicking here.

The upcoming schedule of meetings will be as follows:

Tuesday, May 9th – 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday, May 23rd – 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 13th – 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday, June 27th – 9:00 p.m.

REAL ID: New Travel Documents May Be Needed Soon

Please be advised that US airports may potentially begin enforcing new policies regarding the use of driver’s licenses as forms of accepted ID for flying purposes starting January 22, 2018. The issue termed “The REAL ID” originates from the REAL ID Act passed by Congress in 2005. In effect, state driver’s licenses may no longer be valid for travel within the US unless the issuing state complies with the new federal regulations. Though passports will continue to be acceptable forms of ID, it is important to be informed on the matter and how it may affect you in the future.

Click here to find out more about the REAL ID Act and how your state is handling these new requirements.

Click here for additional information from TSA.

New Baby

Congratulations to Fred III and Brittany Daniel on the birth of their newest baby, Jedidiah Daniel. He was born on April 9 and weighed 7.4 pounds. The Daniels serve in Mexico. Jedidiah is their 7th child.

Graduations

Several in our missions family are graduating this spring. Please be in prayer for them as they make transitions in their lives and seek the Lord’s will concerning future plans.

John Bergman will graduate from Eagle Heights Christian School in Kansas City on May 25. He is still praying about future plans.

Kody Boylston will graduate from high school this spring. He plans to work for a year before attending ABC next fall.

Jeremiah Estep will graduate from Valley Baptist Christian School in Edinburg, VA. He plans to attend PCC this fall and pursue a degree in secondary education.

Sandy Hanna will be graduating from high school. She plans to move to the United States to study nursing at PCC.

Priscilla Milgrim will graduate from Kauai Christian Academy on June 2nd. She plans to begin working on requirements to become a Flight Attendant.

Josh Quinlan recently completed his degree from the University of Guam. He continues to assist in his parents’ ministry in Guam.

Rachel Quinlan graduated some time ago; she is planning to go to PCC this fall.

Stephen Quinlan recently completed his degree from the University of Maryland online. He continues to assist in his parents’ ministry in Guam.

Angelina Zimmer will graduate from BJU with a degree in health sciences. She is praying about pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health.

Jacob Zimmer has graduated from high school and plans to attend BJU this fall.

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Featured Article: Paul’s Motivation for Ministry

Pastor Mike Renfrow (Trinity Baptist Church in Wilson, NC) shared this devotional in a recent weekly deputation meeting. We pray that it can encourage our entire missions family.

2 Corinthians. 4:1-18 “Therefore we have this ministry as we have received mercy.”

Paul said they weren’t going give up, let up, shut up, or slack off. The Bible has much to say about the matter of fainting.

Luke 18:1 “Men ought always to pray…”
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Proverbs 24:10 “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.”

Paul suffered a lot of opposition, yet he stayed faithful to the task.

Five Things That Motivated Paul:

  1. He was entrusted with a ministry and with a message. 2 Cor. 3:6 “Who also hath made us able ministers, not of the letter but of the Spirit.” Paul realized he had been entrusted with a great task. 2 Cor. 4:5 “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” Paul realized his responsibility and accountability to God.
  2. Truth needs to be expounded and error needs to be exposed. 2 Cor. 4:2 “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” Paul realized the need for this. If we faint, truth won’t be expounded and error will prevail.
  3. Every man is a sinner and needs a Savior. Every man needs to be evangelized. 2 Cor. 4:3 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:” Paul said I’m not going to faint because sinners need to be evangelized.
  4. He realized his enablement came from God and not from himself. 2 Cor. 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” His strength came only from God. Our enablement is not from ourselves. That is an encouragement.
  5. His focus was not upon the material but upon the eternal. 2 Cor. 3:16-18 “For which cause we faint not…yet the inward man is…look not at the things which are seen…” Paul knew that this world was not his home. He was focused upon eternity.

Paul kept on keeping on for the Lord. We may have setbacks along the way, but we can stand up, speak up, and look up-keeping on for the Lord. As we keep these things in mind, we can be encouraged and motivated in the ministry.

Audio for this devotional can be found here.