Click the link above to download a PDF of prayer requests and praises as well as the birthdays and anniversaries for January. 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.
From the Memo Board: January 2015
January Income
During a typical month, we close out the books on the 25th, and any checks received after that date are posted to the following month. Due to receipting requirements, we cannot do this in the month of December. As a result, please be aware that the December support may be higher than normal, while your January support may be lower than normal. Please be sure to plan ahead for this.
Housing Allowances for 2015
Housing allowances previously in place have automatically rolled over to the new year. Missionaries who are ordained are eligible to have a housing allowance in place, which can provide certain tax benefits. If you did not have a housing allowance in 2014 and would like to have one for 2015, or if you have questions regarding this, please contact our office.
New Excel Template
A new Excel template for the year 2015 will be available during the first week of February. This will give us time to review the need for any possible updates. January financial reports will be due on March 1. Should you wish to complete your report before the new template is available, you are welcome to submit it on the 2014 template.
New Mileage Rate
Beginning January 1st, the IRS mileage rate has increased to $0.575 per mile for business/ministry miles. This change will be reflected on the new Excel template for 2015.
New Baby!
Elena Lisa Germano was born to Timothy and Stephanie Germano on November 29. She weighed 7 lb. 13 oz. and was 20.5″ long. The family is doing well and Elena has already been traveling on deputation! The Germanos are on deputation to go to the Dominican Republic.
New Engagement!
Nathan Fry and Hannah Joyal were engaged on Christmas Eve! Nathan will soon be returning to Pohnpei, where he will continue to assist Ruth Ann Arthurs with the radio station until the Eibens arrive and are trained. Pray for this couple as they make plans for their future together!
New Graduate!
Michael Deatrick completed his missions degree in December from Ambassador Baptist College. Now that his schooling is completed, he and his wife Nora have moved to Missouri, where they will base the remainder of their deputation. They are planning to go to the Solomon Islands.
From Our President: January 2015
Psalm 104:33-34, “I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.”
Are you terribly busy right now? Could you possibly find a quiet place? Is it possible to go to a room with no electronic devices to be seen or heard? If so, I would like to challenge you to go there and read Psalm 104. Do not speed read. Perhaps even read it aloud to yourself. Then, ask yourself if there is any wonder why the Psalmist would then write verses thirty-three and thirty-four.
Have you ever gotten so caught up with the Lord that you just broke out in song to Him? Sometimes the songwriters are able to capture our thoughts in a few words that we can sing to the Lord. The overflow of the heart cannot be easily explained, and too often its importance is overlooked. Maybe no one ever compliments your ability to sing, but I have every reason to believe that it is a blessing to our God when it flows from within.
Why does it not happen more often? It could be that the answer is in verse thirty-four. “My meditation of Him shall be sweet.” We are engaged with so many things. Even when we pillow our heads to rest, it is difficult to arrest the spinning mind long enough to get a peaceful night of sleep. Be still! Be still long enough for Psalm 104 to really register in your heart and mind. Believe it or not everything can do without us for a few minutes. Very soon we can get back to the race of life. However, for a moment let us think on Him. Oh! Isn’t it sweet? Just for a little while we are not asking Him for anything. We are simply immersing ourselves in His divine presence. Psalm 34:8, “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
We cannot by thought or deed bring the whole world to a standstill, but we do have the power to call a timeout! Is it possible that we could emerge from this sweet moment of meditation saying, “I will be glad in the Lord.” To be glad is to be joyful. It means to brighten up. We can face today, and we can face it joyfully. However, we must prepare for it by spending time with our Lord. “My meditation of him shall be sweet.”
As we face the challenges of the New Year, let us commit ourselves to time with the Lord. It will be the oil that lubricates everything else in our schedule. It is my sincere prayer that the Lord will use each of us to glorify His name.
In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone
Featured Article: Shine Forever!
“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)
When he first heard these words Daniel was an old man, well over 70. He had served his Lord faithfully for nearly sixty years, which in itself was a rare testimony.
Add to this the humiliating details of his circumstances and some of the reasons he is a hero of the faith surface quickly. Yanked out of his home and country as a teenager, made a eunuch and forced to serve pagan kings, he still gave his life to God’s service. Somehow he embraced this graciously as the will of Jehovah for him.
Perhaps as a reward for his special faith, the elderly prophet received some of the most important end time prophecies in all of the Bible. The last one, spanning more than two chapters, ends with this interesting promise: God’s wise children will shine as the stars forever.
By itself that would be a very odd statement. How in the world are faithful believers going to shine as stars? Fortunately, the Holy Spirit gives a number of complementary passages that can shed a little light on the meaning. One of these is in the grand resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15. As the apostle is explaining the glories of resurrected bodies, he makes a interesting observation, that at first glance hardly seems to fit the context.
Celestial bodies, he says, are very different one from another. Their individual glory varies immensely, a fact that modern equipment has only helped to confirm. Apparently, no two planets, stars, or galaxies are the same! This, of course, testifies to the infinite wisdom and power of our Creator.
But it does more than that. It also illustrates something about our heavenly future. Just as the expanse above us displays a vast army with different purposes and levels of shining glory, so will the future, eternal universe, teeming with redeemed souls. The Bible clearly teaches that the Lord will determine our eternal ability to shine according to our faith and works in this, our brief stay on earth.
We will all shine! Believers, no matter to what degree they influenced others for righteousness, will glow as stars . . . eternally!
I do not know exactly how this will happen, but God does. He will define it perfectly and make it happen.
But it is also significant that not all will shine with the same radiance. Our proper and never ending reward will be linked to our faithfulness to God right here, right now.
Most of us are familiar with “The just shall live by faith”, and each of us has been given a measure of faith. But do we live by it? Or do we give in to doubts that distract us, waste away our time, and neutralize our spiritual usefulness?
How much of my daily life is really lived by faith in the God I cannot see? Daniel obviously did a pretty good job with his, and he is an inspiration to me.
Dear Father, You have given me so much. You have blessed me in every direction I look. Please help me shine for Your glory here, so I can also be a bright testimony to Your grace for all eternity. Amen.
Ministry Milestones 2014
We would like to recognize several ministry milestones that were reached during the year 2014. We are grateful for these individuals who continue to serve faithfully.
Prayer & Dates: December 2014
Click the link above to download a PDF of prayer requests and praises as well as the birthdays and anniversaries for December. 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.
From the Memo Board – December 2014
Upcoming Dates
December 16
Please contact us by this date if you will need funds in your account before Christmas or before the end of the year.
December 16
If PrayerLetters.com sends your first-class prayer letter, please have it to us by this date in order to meet their printing deadlines and guarantee that your letter is received by Christmas.
December 22-26
The Office will be closed in celebration of Christmas.
January 2
November financial reports will be due.
January 9
Missionaries will receive their emailed statements of December Support Received.
January 12
All Missionaries will receive their final December support on this day, regardless of the day that they normally receive support.
January 15
December financial reports will be due along with any remaining receipts or financial paperwork for 2014.
Christmas Letterhead Templates
Did you know that we have professionally designed Christmas Letterhead templates available for your use? These are available to all missionaries whether the Office assists in sending your letter or not. For more information, contact April at [email protected].
December Support
Please contact us by December 16 if you would like funds in your account before Christmas. Final December support distributions will be made on January 12th for all missionaries regardless of their regular pay date. Contacting us by December 16 will enable us to schedule your funds around bank closings and holiday hours. Should you have an emergency need after December 19, you may contact our staff at the following numbers:
- John O’Malley 704-974-6108
- Kim O’Malley 704-974-1008
January Income Totals
During a typical month, we close the books on the 25th, and any checks received after that date are posted to the following month.
Due to receipting requirements, we cannot do this in the month of December. As a result, please be aware that your December support total may be higher than normal, while your January support total may be lower than normal. Please be sure to plan ahead for this!
Retirement Accounts
WWNTBM currently offers our missionaries the option of participating in a 403(b) Retirement Plan, the non-profit version of a 401(k) plan. We encourage all of our missionaries to participate in some type of retirement planning. If you do not currently have a 403(b) account and would be interested in opening one, please contact our office for a listing of vendors and more information.
Due to IRS regulations, we are required to use a Third Party Administrator (TPA) to handle all 403(b) accounts. The administrative fee is $50.00 per year, which will be deducted from Support each January or February for those who contribute. The TPA assists us by administering our plan and keeping us in compliance with the Department of Labor and IRS codes.
Please note that loans and hardship withdrawals are no longer allowed. Regulations require that individuals inform the Office before taking any distributions of funds or making any changes to their accounts. We need to know in advance in order to avoid our own liability and to help insure that the account holder is provided with the most recent information.
Please see the file in SecureCloud for the latest information on contribution amounts and limits for 2014 and 2015.
New Missionary
Joel Smothers has recently joined our World Wide family of missionaries. Joel graduated from the Gulf Coast Bible Institute in 2013. He is a member of Trinity Baptist Church in Milton, FL, which is pastored by former World Wide Missionary Paul Woody. Joel served in Honduras on a short-term basis. His plans are now to begin deputation to go to Brazil, where he will work with Joel and Cynthia Dickens and their family.
New Staff Member
Bekah Cmaylo joined our Office Staff on November 3rd. Bekah is a recent graduate of Ambassador Baptist College, and she also works at the college part time in their financial office. She lives in Lattimore, NC and attends the Bread of Life Baptist Church in Shelby with Pastor Ed Kuykendall. Bekah is from Williamstown, NY and is the youngest of three siblings. Her brother, Emil, is married to our World Wide staff member, Laura Cmaylo. Bekah’s tasks include processing support checks. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
From Our President: December 2014
Let the reflections begin! Each year the unwritten item on our schedule is to look back over the past year. We had some ideas about what we would like to accomplish by the end of the new year. Actually, I think that it is a good thing. Some folks are so hard on themselves if they do not meet their own expectations it ruins the first quarter of the following year, but for most of us it helps to gauge ourselves. When we evaluate maybe we find areas that we spent much time on last year that would be better for the overall life and ministry if we shortened that activity for the coming year. Paul had a strong desire to mold Timothy into a soldier for Christ. Paul told him that he could not afford to get entangled with the affairs of this life if indeed he wished to be a good soldier.
Let’s pause for a moment and call to remembrance the things that were very important to us this time last year. Now, sit back down! How did we do? Can you look back and see how the cares of this life swallowed up your good intentions? We can now conclude that whatever it was was not really important anyway, or we can place some safeguards around that activity so that we can do better in the coming year. We need God’s Word every day. Were we faithful to read, study and pray over it last year? How about meditation? Do we take time out of our busy schedule to be still and know that He is God? Everything is clamoring for your attention, and if we do not establish some very strict lines of priority we will soon be reflecting with even greater disappointments.
Set aside time for Bible reading, study and prayer. When you look at your schedule do you find that your family is represented on the calendar as you claim they are in your preaching? Where does your outreach to the lost fit in your schedule? Are you witnessing to sinners on purpose? Perhaps there are a few things that accepted far to much of your time this past year. You know very well that those little time robbers have not retired from their activity. They know that the new year brings new challenges for them. You are determined to do better at getting important things done, and the little time robbers are equally as determined to bind your hands with unnecessary activities.
Set aside some good books to read this year. Take the most productive time in your day to read the Bible. Mark out significant time to communicate with your Lord. Don’t just spend time with your family, but enjoy spending time with them. Convince them that they are important to you and God.
Let’s, by the grace of God, have a wonderful 2015 in the service of the King.
In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone
Featured Article: City Seekers
“Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” (Hebrews 13:12-14)
Various cities in the Middle East fuss over which is the most ancient. Among the contenders are cities like Jerusalem, Byblos, Jericho, and Damascus. The debate often spars over definitions involving the claims of uninterrupted habitation, the presence of the oldest ruins, and so forth. Some argue with archeology while others dig up their evidence from the writings of age old historians.
The writer of Hebrews would not have taken sides in this squabble. He had his sights much higher than any earthly city. He had read the Biblical record of city builders like Nimrod, Pharoah, and Nebuchadnezzar. He was not ignorant of the glories of Niniveh, Pithom, and Babylon. However, he was not too impressed with their splendor and power.
All of that dazzle was now sealed and useless in the coffins of history. Yes, they had risen, and they had shined. But, their glory had forever fizzled out.
It was a different class of man and city that caught the author’s eye. These were Old Testament heroes who had shown a distinct aversion to sinking their roots into earthly soil. In one way or another, many of them forfeited temporary homes in favor of deeds to heavenly mansions.
Enoch simply walked away and disappeared.
Noah built a boat and said goodbye to every place he had ever known.
Abraham turned his back on Ur of the Chaldees and headed for the Promised Land, only to keep on living in tents when he arrived.
Moses had grown up in the luxurious palaces of the Nile, yet he voluntarily chose to leave that all behind and take off for the desert with a multitude of complainers. Why? He had discovered that the reward for bearing Christ’s reproach was worth infinitely more than all the treasures of Egypt.
Even Rahab the harlot came to set her priorities by this rule. With no hesitation that we know of, she exchanged her house on the wall for the fantastic, but unknown, inheritance with the children of God.
Yet all of these examples were mere shadows of the Perfect One who would descend into the manger at Bethlehem. This Man ministered for three intense years with less of a home than foxes or birds. At the end of His ministry, He walked right into the heart of Israel’s most important city to be cruelly beaten and shamed . . . but not to die.
He would not even die inside an earthly city.
The anonymous writer of the epistle wants to emphasize his point. Those who name the Name of Christ do not seek permanent residence on earth. They don’t expect to or want to continue here.
So, what do I look for? Are my eyes focused on the stuff of this world? Do I quietly yearn for the stability of the visible, tangible things of this earth? Do I get antsy if others have more, or better, or prettier?
Then maybe I am still seeking a city down here.
Dear Father, open my eyes to see your city. Tune my ears to hear its music and prepare my heart to worship its Builder.
Prayer & Dates: November 2014
Click the link above to download a PDF of prayer requests and praises as well as the birthdays and anniversaries for November. 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.