Update from Caleb & Aimee Dunn, MTW-Monterrey, MX

Dear Ministry Partners,

We are coming to the end of a full and exciting semester, as the Theological Institute continues to develop its "discipleship style" of ministerial training, with its focus on the power of the gospel of Christ to radically transform lives. 

We are seeing amazing growth through trial and suffering in Northern Mexico. The economic and security situation here, while improving, is revealing the profound need of an anchor and strength that can only come from outside of the person. The foundations of our society are being shown to be faulty, and the gospel is being shown to be the solid ground that Mexico so desperately needs.

Our family continues to grow, and little Samuel (almost 5 months) is nice and chunky. It has been fun to see his personality begin to emerge as he laughs at his older siblings. Abigail has just finished her first violin book, and Andrew is now using the bow on his cello.

Please pray for us in this very busy time, as I wrap up the Seminary semester, and begin planing for next year. I am very thankful for my Mexican ministry partners. God has blessed our MTW team with unity of purpose.

Please pray for Andrés Garza, Jorge Alemán, Rafael Rodriguez, and me, as we plan for training and church planting this next academic year. Please also pray for Aimee in this intense time, as she home-schools and cares for three kids and one husband. And, please continue to pray for our church planters, who are constantly bombarded, not only with their own needs, but also with the almost overwhelming needs of our churches.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support. 

Your co-labourer for Christ,

Caleb Dunn

Instituto Teológico Ministerial

Theological Institute of Ministry

of Mission to the World

Monterrey, México

(904) 322-8746 (Office from U.S.)

caleb@mtwmex.net

Update from Luke Smith, MTW-Cambodia

Greetings from Cambodia,

The Cambodian New Year started yesterday. It is a three day celebration where most people return to their hometowns to celebrate with their families. The first day of the celebration is used to welcome new angels who will come for one year periods of time to take care of the earth. People often go to the temple to get blessed or mediate at home in hopes that an angel will stay with their family throughout the new year. The second day is a time when gifts are exchanged and donations are given to the poor. The third day is filled with more ceremonies at the temple centered around forgiveness for misdeeds against the elderly and blessing for the new year. Many businesses are closed and the city looks a bit like a ghost town, since most people return to their hometowns in the countryside. I am enjoying a few days without language school and trying to keep cool as we are now in the midst of the hot season. 



Speaking of language, last week I started my second class at the Institute of Foreign Linguistics. Here is the course description of the class I am currently taking: “Students review consonants, vowels and consonant feet, and construct sentences. Topics include shopping, going to the restaurant, going to the post-office, family, school, housework, and seeing a doctor.” I have learned much in the past six months, but still feel like I have just begun the process. 
I recently had the opportunity teach an intensive one-training session on the Gospel of John in another country in SE Asia. While I was teaching one group, Lloyd was teaching another group of students the Synoptic Gospels and Acts. Lloyd is the team leader for Cambodia and currently he and his family are completing the last few months of home missionary assignment before returning in June. I took several intensive one week classes in seminary and now have a new appreciation for the work that is involved in preparing an intensive course and the energy it takes to teach a compact course. My translator had learned most of his English in Singapore. I had a good laugh when he told me part way through the week that it was getting easier for him to understand my accent. It was encouraging to be around church workers in another country that are growing in their understanding of the doctrines of grace and desire to have their teaching founded on the Word of God. 


My roommate, Daniel, has helped me make a blog. I have posted the previous updates there as well as a couple photo albums.http://lifeincambodia.org . Also, Here is a video Daniel made of traffic in Phnom Penh: traffic video 


Thanks for your prayers and support,
Luke

MTW StreetChild Seminar

MTW StreetChild Seminar

Saturday January 9^th 9  11:30 A.M.

Fort Worth Presbyterian Church

6251 Oakmont Trail

Fort Worth, TX 76132

817-731-3300

Take advantage of this opportunity to meet Tom Stewart Director of MTW s StreetChild Ministry and Jamie and Monse Contreras National Directors of Sobre el Puente drop- in center in Acapulco, MX.

Special Guest Speaker:

MTW StreetChild Director: Tom Stewart

Tom will be giving an overview of StreetChild ministries around the world. In addition, he will share the vision for the future as we seek to minister to the least of these.

Special Guest Speakers:

Acapulco, MX

Sobre el Puente Ministry National Directors: Jamie and Monse Contreras

Jamie and Monse will speak specifically of the ministry at Sobre el Puente (Over the Bridge) in Acapulco. Their drop-in center has 10-15 children coming each day and 7 boys living at the home.

To register just send your reply to

cynthia@fortworthpca.org with your name, church and how many attending.

Map to Fort Worth Presbyterian:

http://fortworthpca.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=1&tabid=15

Update from Rick & Pam Box, MTW-Colombia

Dear Fellow Pilgrims,

Yes, it has been quite a while since you have heard from me. No, I don’t have any “real” excuses to offer other than succumbing to the tyranny of the urgent which isn’t a ”real” excuse in the purest sense of the term. Since I last wrote, my mom came for a month-long visit for the first time since we left for Colombia. That was in answer to years of prayers, so you can only imagine how excited I was that she was coming! Since returning to Texas, she has taken up an intensive study of Spanish in order to not have to have a translator (me) in tow on her next visit this coming spring!

After mom left, it was once again time for the revolving door syndrome at United Church. A few of our committed families had finished up their tour of service here in Colombia and were being sent off to other exotic locations around the world or were returning home. In any case, that is always a bittersweet time for all of us. Unfortunately for me, our music leader and his family were also leaving to vacation in the States for the summer, so he left me in charge of the music for the 8 weeks he was out! And that left me totally out of my comfort and skill zone, but as God is ALWAYS faithful, He saw me through and the 8 weeks are over and as far as I can tell, no one left the church as a result, so I count that quite a blessing!

Rick and I have recently returned from a whirlwind trip to Argentina and Chile. We were sent to Argentina to meet some pastors there who are interested in coming in under the Colombian presbytery until they can organize one of their own. We stayed in La Plata, which is about an hour and a half outside of Buenos Aires. Pastor Gabriel kept us running the entire three days we were there meeting various pastors and members of several different churches. The Argentineans are very warm and friendly folks, well, the ones we met anyway. Sunday, we drove to Platanos where we attended a worship service brimming with young people. It always encourages me to see that: gives me hope for a healthy future Church. After the lively service, we were invited for a traditional Argentinean cook-out called an asado. Everything we had heard about the meat there was absolutely true. Wow! How delicious! And all cooked over a wood-burning fire!

Monday morning, we flew on to Santiago, Chile where we met with the team of missionaries, since Rick has been asked to help with the leadership there until MTW finds someone to take it full-time. As usual, we had a wonderful time with the team. The highlight for me was the trip to Vina del Mar on the pacific coast. We drove down there to see the ministry that the Ruggs have started for the “differently abled”. John is blind and has been working in full-time ministry with MTW for many, many years in church planting. I remember the last time we were in Chile, visiting the Renaca church on a Sunday morning and there was John, leading worship in Braille! I am constantly amazed at how God equips each of us according to our needs! John and his wife, Cathy have recently started a church in Vina specifically targeting people with all kinds of disabilities; or “different abilities”, as they would say. While we were there a blind couple sang us several Chilean songs they had composed. How can I ever think that I “can’t” do anything God calls me to do? Below is a pic of the Ruggs (on the right), Rick in the middle and Sam and Lois Mateer (current country director,on the left) while we enjoyed a seafood lunch in Vina del Mar. There were also a group of pelicans roosting on the roof that I wish you could have seen. Pelicans are proof to me that God has a great sense of humor!

How thankful I am that God has called us to sojourn in such a marvelous place! I constantly find myself awed that He would be so good to me, when I fail Him so miserably on a daily basis. His grace still amazes me after all these years! I hope this much-delayed letter finds you all basking in His marvelous grace as well. Until we meet again on the road………

Blessed beyond words,

Pam

Update from Howard Shelden

Dear Friends,

Summer is a time for travel and, although we don’t plan any, once in a while we reminisce about the countries we’ve lived in. But it’s interesting that each person in our family tends to miss a different culture.

Deidre misses the people in Galela communities. She did most of the actual Bible translation and spent countless hundreds of hours immersed in discussing nuances of meaning with Galela friends. How are they doing? What happened to so-and-so?

Howard thinks of living out of Indonesian hotels for a week or two at a time. We didn’t do that very much, but that’s how we finished up during the last year or two. There had been religious civil war in the Galela area, so a large Christian city was about as close as we could get. Galela colleagues would meet us there, staying with their own shirt-tail relatives.

Robert thinks of Ambon, Indonesia, but has only vague memories. This provincial capital with Pattimura University, which sponsored our visas, was his most consistent “home” from age five through 10. He’d like to reconnect somehow someday, but the war changed it so much that none of us would recognize it.

Esther thinks of Manila and Davao in the Philippines. These were her pre-teen through mid-teen years. As she viewed American fads and pop culture from an international perspective, she saw through the shallowness and developed more altruistic values. She wouldn’t really fit into Philippine culture, though, so she’s what is called a third-culture kid.

Reminiscence wouldn’t be complete without recalling that our family was fully supported financially and in prayer. Since returning to the U.S., we have been below minimum support levels, even with the children grown and living on their own. Each of us continues to hold full-time assignments with Wycliffe Bible Translators, Howard as Corporate Communications Publicity Writer and Deidre as Strategic Training and Assignment Consultant.

Howard and Deidre Shelden

Howard_Shelden@WBT.org
Dee_Shelden@WBT.org

Preparation for Cambodia Update from Luke Smith

Dear friends,

This is my first update that I am sending to everyone. Since the time is getting closer for my departure to Cambodia, and I have a busy summer ahead, I'll plan on sending out updates once or twice a month. For the next two weeks, I'll be focusing on support raising and studying for ordination. Currently, I have 68% of my monthly ongoing support pledged, and 100% of my one-time support has been raised. Here are the places that I'll be traveling this summer:

-June 7-12 – I will be at Ridge Haven, North Carolina for Living in Grace. It is a "grace-based discipleship course that guides attendees in understanding and applying the gospel of grace to their own lives and ministries."

-June 12-14 – I will be at New Life Mission Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Fullerton, CA. I will be speaking in their services about the mission work, and I will be meeting with their session (elders) and missions committee.

-July 1-31 – I will be at pre-field training in New York City. The time will be spent in the field and classroom studying language acquisition techniques, church planting and evangelism, and team building skills.

-July 31- August 3 – I am tentatively planning on being in Illinois and seeing my family and possibly speaking at their church.

Reflections on graduating from seminary

On May 9th, I graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary. Four years and 120 hours later, the degree is finally complete. It is nice to be done, but in many ways it doesn't mean much. A seminary is one of the few places that when you complete your degree you really have nothing. Sure, I learned many things that will help me in the gospel ministry. But according to Paul in 2 Corinthians 2-3, no one is sufficient for the work of the gospel. No degree, no award, no refined speaking or writing skills, or other human ability gives us the qualifications necessary for the work of the gospel. Paul's answer is that the sufficiency for the task of ministry and for that matter all of the Christian life only comes from God's grace. And so may our boasting be only in the cross of Christ for that is all we have and that is fine for that is all we need.

Newspaper article

The Alton Telegraph interviewed me for a story that ran in last Sunday's paper. Alton is located north of St. Louis on the Illinois side of the river. Here is a link to the article: Newspaper article

Thanks for your prayers and support. Feel free to send me a note to tell me how you are doing.

-Luke

May, 2009 Report of MTW Missionaries from North Texas Presbyery

Note: this report has been redacted to take out information from our missionaries in sensitive ministries.

MTW MISSIONARIES

FROM NORTH TEXAS PRESBYTERY

Rick & Pam Box #010519 Bogotá, Colombia

Christ Presbyterian, Flower Mound

Rick is working with the Colombian leaders in churches and church plants in four major cities of Colombia. He and his wife, Pam, are working with the growing reformed Presbyterian Church in Colombia, South America. While the primary task is church-based training of Presbyterian pastors and elders (through church planting), ministry opportunities extend far beyond to other evangelical churches and leaders who are hungry for the Word of God.

Andrew & Rebecca Bronson #010731 Thailand

Park Cities, Dallas

Andrew and Becky are in their first year of seminary work at Covenant in St Louis. Andrew is working part-time for MTW while in school, continuing to support the work of MTW Thailand from the States assisting in fund-raising and administration. They plan to spend two months this summer in Thailand.

Ruth Dinkins #011718 Brazil

Christ Presbyterian, Tulsa

The new school year began March 2nd. They have 28 in the 3rd year (graduating class), 28 in the 2nd year and 26 in the 1st year. Ruth has added to her full schedule a music class (flute) and an elective English class (translation) for the guys that plan to go on to seminary. So many of the books in the libraries at the seminaries are in English and they need to know the content of these books. Of course, the girls are allowed to take the English class too.

Peter Dishman #011731 RUF-UNAM, Mexico City MTW/RUM

Town North, Richardson

"We are past the midway point of the semester, and God is at work in the lives of UNAM students. Pray for the group to continue to grow in Christ as I preach through the 10 commandments, small groups knit students together around the word, and we work through individual issues daily. Praise the Lord for a fun and transformative Holy Week retreat in Guanajuato on "a precious faith, a promised future" taught by TE Marc Schiebe - pray especially for the many seekers who heard the gospel clearly there. Praise the Lord for our first RUF couple, whose wedding I co-officiated this weekend! Pray that their marriage will be firmly established in Christ as they finish their majors and move into the work force. Please continue to pray diligently for a ministry location and for the ministry team for next semester."

Caleb & Aimee Dunn #011783 Mexico Church Planter Training

Park Cities, Dallas

In Monterrey where he grew up, Caleb continues ministering as the Director of the Theological Institute of Ministry in partnership with RTS Charlotte. The institute currently supports church planters and lay leaders with a B.A. in Theology, and also offers continuing education for presbyteries. He also continues to work toward his D.Min in Pastoral Counseling at WTS Philadelphia.

Ben Graber #012803 East Germany

Fort Worth PCA

Well into his second year, Ben is starting up a third round of English courses and preparing for summer English camp. His support is now enough to last through the summer, and he is exploring the possibility of continuing his work with the church plant through the end of the year.

Chris & Julie Koiner #14017 Monterrey, Mexico

Heritage, Oklahoma City

Chris and Julie (and 5 children) are in the support-raising phase of the MTW process. They plan to join the church planting team in Monterrey and assist in the areas of finance/administration, evangelism and mercy ministries, short-term team support, training church leaders on financial stewardship, and women’s ministry.

Scott & Mary Ann Nelson #015418 MTW/Wycliffe SIL Support

Trinity Presbyterian, Plano

Based in North Carolina serving translation teams around the world, Scott provides computer support for Bible translators working in Africa, Europe, South America and parts of Asia. He maintains the servers and services to provide email, language/scripture text version control, remote collaboration and other tools used by translators and support staff. Mary Ann serves as a counselor for missionaries and their families with the stresses and issues they face.

Howard and Deidre Shelden #016816 MTW/Wycliffe

New Covenant Presbyterian, Dallas

Deidre directs personnel administrators in the Dallas office of Wycliffe USA, helping with the difficult decisions needed to care for and deploy Wycliffe missionaries. Howard writes promotional and publicity materials about Wycliffe missionaries' achievements and milestones to enhance credibility in academic circles and in foreign government relations.

Doug & Masha Shepherd #016819 Ukraine

Christ Presbyterian, Tulsa

Doug and Masha are continuing to make contacts in L’viv in the hopes of planting a church in this influential western Ukrainian city. The Shepherds are active ministering to university students, working with families, orphans, teammates and interns. “We have recently returned to L’viv after visiting churches in the States and are busy meeting with many young families and students. Please pray for conversions and a core group of believers.”

Dawn Brady Sparks #010572 Ukraine

Fifth Street Presbyterian, Tyler

Dawn and her husband, Steve, are living in Austin. Dawn is continuing her financial and administrative duties from the U.S. supporting the Ukraine team from here, freeing the resident team members for other duties. Steve has almost completed his first distance course from Covenant Seminary and is feeling more confirmed in his desire to pursue his degree there.. You can keep up with them on their ministry blog www.sparksministry.org.

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NEWS FROM BEAMM

Border Evangelism and Mercy Ministries

• Steve Milvain, Village Seven PCA, is the Chairman of BEAMM Partnership.

Next Partnership Meeting – May 14-16 at Catalina Foothills Church (PCA), Tucson, Arizona. The meeting will be preceded by and followed by Vision Trips to Nogales, Sonora (May 15) and El Centro/Mexicali and Tijuana (May 17-18).

Contact Gene Bowman, (915) 838-3747 or glbowman@BEAMM.org, for details.

BEAMM Partners NTP Are: 5^th St., Tyler, Ft. Worth PCA, Redeemer, McKinney, and Westminster, Gainesville. steve@milvain.com

• GREAT NEWS!! The land purchase for a community center in Juarez was completed last Friday, April 24. The Community Center in the city of Ciudad Juarez will become home to Gracia y Paz Church, the San Pablo Seminary, a place to house the short-term teams, and a place of outreach to the nearly two million people in the city.

• Dan Young chosen as Eastern Region Director (Rio Grande Valley border area).

• The donated 14,000 sq. foot building for Dios Soberano (Sovereign God) Mission, Mexicali, Western Region has been dismantled and is being stored at El Centro, CA, in preparation for being exported to Mexicali.

• Missionary Units or Church Planters now headed for the border: Charles & Bonita Davidson have arrived and are settling in to life in El Paso; Ray & Michelle Call are in language school in Edinburg, Texas; Rick & Sharon Marooney, Julio & Arlette Navarro, Gary & Kay Whiting are in various stages of support raising.

• Personnel Needs: English Language Trainers: Intern, Two-Year, Career:

Seminary Instructors: Two-week, Two Year, Career:

Contact Gene Bowman, 915-838-3747, glbowman@BEAMM.org

Summer Interns to host Summer Mission Trips – 2009,

Contact LuAnn Bowman, luannbowman@BEAMM.org

• Special Note to Summer teams – don’t finalize any plans until you have communicated with LuAnn luannbowman@BEAMM.org Circumstances are different this year.

• Check in at www.BEAMM.org to keep abreast of events on the border.

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AROUND THE PRESBYTERY

Planning a vision trip? Other plans to develop mission work in your church?

Notify John Butler. okcalvin@gmail.com

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OUR FEATURED MISSIONARY THIS QUARTER

LUKE SMITH #17118 - CAMBODIA

NEW ST. PETER’S, DALLAS

Luke grew up on a farm in west central Illinois. He went to college planning to pursue a career in agriculture. Through a couple of short-term missions trips with a campus ministry while in college at Western Illinois University, he started thinking about missions. Toward the end of graduate school at the University of Missouri, he was impacted by the missionary biography Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, and his burden to be a missionary continued to grow. After completing graduate school, Luke went to Dallas Theological Seminary to further prepare for the mission field. While in seminary, he began to have a vision to serve in an area that was unreached and poor. He has continued to prepare by working with refugees in Dallas and serving in his church, New St. Peter's Presbyterian. Luke has been called to work in rural Cambodia training pastors. The majority of the country's population of 13 million live in villages spread throughout rural areas. It is a country struggling to recover from years of famine and civil war. Currently, fewer than 1 percent of the people are considered Christian. He is at 46% in his support raising.

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