News and Notes from Our Missionaries
From Brian and Margery Van Zante, serving with the Navigators in Japan
B.E.S.T. Club students gather at VanZantes’ home for noodles and Bible study.
This year, God has brought many new university students to our B.E.S.T. (Bible, English, Sports, and Travel) Club.
On Tuesday nights, we cook dinner together—one evening forty-six students showed up for BBQ noodles! We have started reading the parables of Jesus with them.
“This guy isn’t praying—he’s bragging,” remarked Yu-kin, a freshman economics major with bleached blond hair and oversized glasses. Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector (see Luke 18) was getting interesting! Eyes
opened wide among the twenty Japanese students packed into our living room, many of them reading a Bible for the first time in their lives.
Considered one of the least–reached people groups in the world, most Japanese are starting at “zero” in terms of biblical background. It takes a long time to build foundations of truth! Thank you for standing with us to see the Gospel advanced in Japan.
From Cesar and Grace Cubas, serving with South America Mission in Peru
Pictured at the baptism: Yomi, Cesar, Andrea, Grace, Esther, and Meri.
As an outgrowth of a new discipleship study, we celebrated the baptism of four new believers: Esther, and her daughters, Andrea and Yomi, and also a single mom, Meri. A number of Esther’s extended family came from a town fifteen miles up the coast. They’ve invited us to start meetings in their home. Thank you, Father.
From Randy and Nancy Capp, serving in Egypt with the United Bible Societies
For the first time in Egypt’s 5,000-year history, Egyptians have chosen their president. We know that the formation of a democracy is messy and takes time. Egypt’s crash course in democracy has been particularly chaotic. Please pray with us for stability, for leaders who will truly serve the people, and that Christians will joyfully stand firm in their faith regardless of the outcome.
From Brad and Susan Rhoads, who serve with Mission Aviation Fellowship/Learning Technologies
Mzia Comes to Christ in Central Asia
In our last letter, we asked prayer for the Telemensahe, the new dial-a-devotional ministry in Central Asia. Because of your prayer and financial partnership, we can now ask you to join us in thanking the Father that, in His plan, Mzia* has become a follower of Jesus. Pray for her growth, for the team in Central Asia, and for this phone ministry to expand around the world.
A letter from a Russian-speaking team member tells the story:
“Mzia was watching TV and saw our call line. She called and twice listened to the eight-minute salvation message in order to remember the words of the prayer. Later she called us directly, and after a long conversation with one of our team members, she became a believer! Praise the Lord! She wants to go on in fellowship with us, and we are going to help her build a foundation in Christ. By the end of this week,the mother of the person who spoke to Mzia on the phone will visit her.
“That was such an encouraging beginning of the telephone ministry. She even said, while talking on the phone, she’s observing a huge rainbow behind the window. We told her that a rainbow is a biblical symbol of hope, and she was so satisfied.”
Please continue to pray for this new ministry and the follow-up that’s needed for new Christians to become fully devoted followers of Christ.
* Not her real name.
