Indigenous Ministries

Indigenous Ministries

Beyond the Map

Family’s Story of Grace in Christ

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Resty and Mel, right, featured Jonalyn’s story in their latest newsletter, Bamboo Journey. Her story embodies the race we are all in, which the Apostle Paul talked about in Phil. 3:13-14:

The Philippines – Jonalyn is a young lady with three children; the 2nd child was diagnosed with ADHD; and a toddler. They live in a shanty in Payatas Dumpsite with her in-laws and another family with kids. Her husband is a scavenger and occasional construction worker. Their meager income is further strained by the need to send the second child to a special education school for better opportunities to learn.

Most often, her son gets reprimanded by the grandparents who are not knowledgeable in dealing with his special needs; Jonalyn as a mother will comfort him with the best she’s learned by attending and observing at the Special Ed school.

Jonalyn still has a broad smile despite her life circumstances. She says God made her resilient and is determined to pursue her goals. She loves studying the Bible and being actively involved in church life. In her early adult life, her love for the Lord waned; she enjoyed the night life and used drugs. Yet the Lord kept watch over her and protected her. She met her husband, a Christ follower, who reminded her of who God is in their lives.

Together, they went back to obeying the Lord. Though they struggle financially, it keeps them dependent on the Lord to provide for their needs. The Micro Loan Entrepreneurship Program we introduced at the Payatas church helps them stay afloat with an additional income for the family, applying biblical business principles and practice. She is one of the ladies that paid off her loan within six months instead of 12 months. The mentoring she got from facilitators and the community spirit forged amongst the ladies of the Entrepreneurship group in church encouraged her to be steadfast in the Lord.

To support this ministry, you can donate online to IM Southeast Asia.

– Resty and Mel Enguerra, email: resty@IndigenousMinistries.org

Young Refugee from Mosul Seeks Jesus

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As I was finished speaking last Sunday evening, a young woman, dressed completely in black (obviously a Muslim) entered the church as people were beginning to say their goodbyes. The main Sunday service is on Sunday Night here in Iraq as it is the first day of the work week.

She started to ask questions and people called the pastor’s wife to come and speak with her. I could hear that she was asking for a Bible. I later found out that she was also saying that she wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ. She kept saying, “I want to know about Jesus.”

They got her a Bible and also the “Story of Jesus” on audio player and she was so happy; she actually didn’t want to leave. Then on Tuesday night when the Church holds its Discipleship Bible Study and Prayer Meeting, she showed back up and sat listening to the words of the Pastor as they were working through a course called “Discovering Who Jesus Is.”

This is one of our pastors that we support through our “Global Church Planting Initiative.” I could not help but be thankful for a couple who have committed themselves first to the Lord and then to their country of their birth, Iraq.

All of this is taking place as the battle for Mosul is raging not 60 miles away, which is where this young Muslim woman is from. Every 30 or 40 minutes, two to three helicopters from the US base fly overhead on their way to and from the battlefield, yet in the midst of all this crisis, God is at work reaching those responding to His call.

Again, I would ask, how does a pastor serve or even be supported in a war torn country? For those who are participating in the Global Church Planting Initiative, I want you to know that since we have taken this pastor and his wife on, I have seen them as a couple settled in their hearts and a renewed peace has come over them knowing they have support and security. The Lord and you through IM are their security. Because you help sponsor a pastor, this Muslim woman has a fellow Iraqi who will share with her the way of Christ, the way of forgiveness, and the way of redemption. Pray for her, won’t you?

We have many pastors waiting in the Middle East, India and South Asia to be part of our Global Church Planting Initiative program. If you would be willing, help us with your commitment to Global Church Planting Initiative at $100 or $50 monthly so that we can support them and give them a platform of reaching their own people with the Gospel.

Transformed Lives

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This is the goal of IM Southeast Asia; transformed lives physically, economically and spiritually.

Two parents stand out as models for the scavenger community. Esmeralda is a mother of six. Prior to the skills and entrepreneurship training programs she attended, she could only afford to buy an egg or two per day to feed her family. Now that she is a manager/hairstylist, she is able to give each of them an egg for breakfast. The children are better nourished and able to attend school regularly.

Esmerelda uses her new-found skills

Angel and his four children were abandoned by his wife. He accepted Christ and is now actively involved in church. He took part in the ministry’s Skills Development Training Program and, as a result, has a steady income as a hair stylist. Along with supporting his children, he occasionally has the ability to give money to a family, friend or neighbor in need because he knows, “I was once there with nothing to feed my family.”

Angel leads a Bible study in his community

To help more adults like Esmerelda and Angel learn new skills and lead productive and inspiring lives, click the Donate Button and select Southeast Asia in the drop-down menu.

Iraqi Church Rises from the Rubble

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National church-planting pastors in the Middle East praying for their churches and each other

For the past two months, we’ve focused on the rubble ISIS has left behind in Iraq and Syria. As I stated in my last article, the devastation is indescribable and the toll taken on lives is unknown to the fullest extent.

Jesus gave assurance that His body, His Bride, the Church, would endure through centuries of suffering and emerge as the greatest change agent for His purposes on earth. Humanly speaking, many look at the rubble left behind as hopeless, yet we are asking the Lord for the impossible. That out of the debris of war the Church will bloom again and thrive in former ISIS-held areas of Iraq and Syria as a testimony to God’s power to transform lives and heal. Christian Iraqis are praying for a God-fearing Iraq.

National Iraqi pastors are already identifying areas to plant churches as refugees will begin to move back to their former homes in the next two years. Indigenous Ministries will partner and assist with this through our Global Church Planting Initiative.

Over the next few weeks, our US team will be in Iraq working in these areas:

  • Church planting; working with existing and planning for new churches
* Bringing continued aid to refugees; visiting refugee camps
  • Assisting more refugees with micro business start ups
  • Launching IM’s new Iraq Child Sponsorship Program for 2500 Yazidi orphans at the request of the Kurdish government in northern Iraq. Sponsorships will be available in April @ $35/month
  • Launching IM’s new Beautiful International Program for Yazidi women at the request of the Kurdish government

God bless you for your prayers and financial support as we minister to these precious souls.

 

Iraqi refugee children attending school in a tent

Walking Through ISIS Rubble

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Dr. John and Dee ministered in Iraq in November 2016. This is a continuation from December’s issue of John’s visit into recently liberated Qaraqosh and Karamles.

Dr. John with Nineveh Protection Unit soldiers. These Christian men fled ISIS, along with 60,000 other Christians.

People were walking behind me as I stood staring at the enormous, burned and desecrated church. I turned to see two Nineveh Protection Unit (NPU) soldiers.

The NPU is made of exiled Christians who have volunteered to serve under the Peshmerga Fighters. Under the guidance of Iraqi police, they have been able to push ISIS, or Daeesh, forces out of Karamles. 

The two men were from Qamishli, Syria (I ministered in Qamishli in 2011). When it was announced that any Christian could volunteer for the NPU, they were both tired of running and decided to join the unit. As Christians, they went to Iraq to find protection from ISIS in Syria. They and their families settled in Qaraqosh and felt reasonably secure. However, ISIS entered their city, and again they had to flee to Erbil for safety, along with 60,000 other Christians from the Nineveh Plain. 

I saw a cross hanging from one soldier’s ammo pouch. I took the men in my arms and prayed. Walking to the command center, I found two generals from the NPU. They shared amazing stories, stating if the Lord had not been with them, they would have been overrun by a superior force. They seized weapons from ISIS, and in just a few hours moved as a unit clearing streets, tunnels, houses and cisterns of hidden ISIS fighters.

Unfortunately, ISIS fighters rigged many homes with tires fashioned into explosive booby traps, leaving streets filled with the acrid smell of burning rubber. What amazed me was hearing the general speak with genuine humility that not one of his NPU soldiers was killed in the fighting. Some were wounded, but no one was killed. He said Jesus Christ was watching over each of them in the battle, and God strengthened their hand to overcome those who sought to destroy Christians in this city and other cities on the Nineveh Plain. 

The goal of Daeesh forces has been to wipe every Christian from Iraq and build their “caliphate” upon the seized wealth of homes and businesses. I could not help but think of the work Indigenous Ministries has done to help these Christians through protection, encouragement, food and daily needs. I thank God for your prayers and gifts to bring them aid relief.

Many of our supporters have asked, “What can we do about ISIS?” There are several things to understand as we look at this crisis. You have helped in a very real way to battle ISIS by caring for the people they sought to destroy. It gave people time to think of what is truly valuable and many have put their trust in Jesus Christ. They were Christian, but now many know the true Christ. Please hear me when I tell you we have overcome evil with good, just like the Lord told us to. Next month we will explore how the church will rise from the rubble in Iraq.

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Egypt Child Sponsorship Program

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Three new additions to the Egypt Child Sponsorship Program

Because of extreme poverty present in the villages where we work, many children have lost at least one parent. We have been ministering the love for Christ to these children and families through our Child Sponsorship Program. It is designed to provide for the needs of the child, as well as lighten the burden for the surviving parent. Our program provides for the daily needs of each child and places a strong emphasis on consistent Bible exposure. Our team reports the children’s grades are improving and they love memorizing Bible verses!

Through our micro business opportunities available to their mothers, our team also reports an increase in the mothers’ openness to receive the message of the Gospel.

Education Alleviates Poverty

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Children enjoy a healthy breakfast through a partnership with Promise Land Christian School of Payatas in The Philippines.

This month we continue the story of the Payatas Dumpsite from December’s The Liaison issue. The Lord invited Resty and Mel Enguerra to participate with Him in the transformation of lives through Promise Land Christian Church. The church has been ministering in Payatas since 1988 through the leadership of Pastor Erlindo and wife, Esterly Ganiban. Their initial involvement was, and still is, in providing scholarships to scavenger elementary school children at Promise Land Christian School (PLCS).

Through this program, the children not only receive better/excellent academic education, but most importantly, learn and internalize Godly Christian values. The family is exposed to the Good News through the church. Eventually the children and families come to the saving knowledge of Christ and become positive influences in the church and secular community.

Our Philippine partner, PLCS of Payatas, currently has 250 students enrolled in Kindergarten through 6th grade, with eight teachers and five classrooms. Since 2015, 50 of these students are in the Scholarship Program. Tuition, school uniforms, shoes, books and breakfast are paid for. The students stay with their families. The cost/student is $35 per month or $420 per school year.

Sponsorship of these children will be available in April. To support the ministry in Payatas, please click the donate button and in the dropdown menu select Southeast Asia.

Beautiful International Ministry Events

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This refugee attended our Beautiful Int’l April 2016 Iraq conference and loved creating her bracelet.

I will be leading women’s conferences in India, Egypt and Iraq in February and March. Each conference provides an opportunity for education, encouragement, fellowship and creativity. Special craft kits, which the women really enjoy, have been assembled that will provide a meaningful memento of the event.

For the first time, we are making these kits available so you can experience the joy of crafting and participate with the women in thought and prayer. For a donation of $25 or more, you  receive a kit, just like the ones being made across the globe. Quantities are limited.

Thank you for your continued prayers and gifts. Please visit our new website, BeautifulInternational.org, for more information. We would be honored for you to join us and become a vital Beautiful Partner in 2017 with your prayers and financial gifts.

Giving a Gift of Love

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There is an urgent need for child sponsors. For just $35/month or $420/year, you can bring love, joy and hope to a precious child across the globe.

Below are two children in our Egypt program we’d like to introduce. Please prayerfully consider blessing one or more needy children with hope and eternal life in Christ. To sponsor a child, click the Donate Button on the right and choose “Child Sponsorships” in the dropdown menu.

 

Youssef is nine years old and lives at home with his widowed mother and two sisters. He is hard-working and enjoys reading, music and playing. His best subject is reading/writing. Youssef’s favorite verse is Psalm 23:1. He would like to be a doctor.

Mariam lives with her mother, two brothers and three sisters. Her mother is a widow and unemployed. Mariam is hard-working and her best subject is social studies. She has an ongoing minor heart problem. When she grows up, she would like to be teacher.

Beautiful International Ministry Events

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Significant Beautiful International Women’s Ministry events in November:

  • Dee led a Beautiful conference with 45 pastors’ wives in Egypt.
  • Dee spoke to women in Erbil, Iraq following up with the women’s conference held there in April.
  • John and Dee met with a member of the Kurdish government who pleadingly asked for IM to further engage in working with refugees; specifically with women and children. In 2017, we will be ministering to Yazidi women and children.

Thank you for your continued prayers and financial gifts to Beautiful International. Please visit our new website, www.BeautifulInternational.org for more information. We would be honored if you would join us and become a Beautiful Partner; your prayers and gifts are vital. Let’s make 2017 the year we bless more of the very ones who have the most impact on the family and communities – WOMEN!