Because you GIVE to International Missions we are able to GO

This past year God has stretched us and allowed us to see His hands at work in our little corner of Africa. We appreciate so much everyone who prays for us and the work that we do.  We could not do all that we do if it were not for you holding the ropes for us in prayer.   Here is a video about why we go and what we do.  Please feel free to share with your church.   

Click here to see our video: https://www.facebook.com/suzie.mannrodgers/videos/1019743074736237/

Why I go...

 Today I went with my friend Rose to visit a patient named Joyce.

 Joyce is 40 years old and is HIV positive.  She doesn't want to eat or drink anything because she says she has lost her appetite and it hurts her throat.  She has diarrhea and some vomiting probably because of the medicine she is taking.  She was so excited to receive the BGR bucket.  She kept rubbing one of the face cloths to her face and touching the sheets.  

Joyce has never been a church goer.  Today as I shared the gospel and a bit of my testimony she said that nothing like that had ever happened to her.  She had never repented of her sins but that she wanted to today.  In her hoarse voice she prayed and repented of her sins.  I'm sure it was music to HIS ears!

 She has 6 children and this is her youngest with her baby doll.

 

When she saw that there were nail clippers in the bucket she said she needed hers cut because they were so long.  Her friend cut them for her.  

I'm praying she will sleep well tonight on her new sheets after she gets all cleaned up and that she will eat her food.  Will you join me in praying for Joyce?

Our Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas!

Baptism

North of Lusaka, Kabangwe Baptist Church meets each Sunday with about 150 church members.  Many of these are kids who all sit together in church with an usher assigned to that area to try to keep them quiet.  Men sit on the left and women sit on the right each week.  The church is small and has  a tin roof which makes it very hot with that many people in it.  Then add singing, dancing, choirs, and a microphone it can be quite loud as well.  This past Sunday we were invited to go to Kabangwe Baptist Church.  When we got to the church we then walked 2 ½ kms to the river so Kevin could help baptize the 18 people who had prayed to receive Christ this past year.  Zambians are generally scared of the water because most of them do not know how to swim.  As they timidly walk out to meet Kevin in the water the church stands on the bank and sings choruses.  One by one, Kevin baptizes these new believers.  

We then walked back to the church in the hot sun.  As soon as we get back to the church we go into the church and begin worship.  Kevin preaches the main message on the Lord’s Supper and then we partake of it as well.  They ran out of communion cups so I gave Kevin mine so he could proceed.  After those who had had the cups drank they collected them quickly and then filled them right back up.  Then passed them back out to those who didn’t get it the first time.  As we exited the church we shook hands with everyone there and they continued on until a big circle was made.  We then joined hands and sang the Baptist anthem.  It was a long day but so very worth it to be able to rejoice with these believers as they were obedient to follow Christ in baptism.

Retirement

 

French artist, Bruno Catalano, has created sculptures that he says represent world citizens.  He says that every time a person lives in a place and then leaves, he leaves bits of himself behind, bits he can never retrieve. As many missionaries are retiring and leaving their home of 20, 30, and even 35 years I'm reminded of this picture.  As they are leaving Africa they are leaving chunks behind.  Another way to look at it is that as these servants leave Africa they are also taking with them bits or chunks of Africa with them.  As a  missionary, I know that once you come and stay in Africa for even a short time it kind of gets in your bones.  The more I live here the more I know this is true.  As these missionaries leave I know that they leave something of themselves in Africa, but I'm glad they also take a bit of Africa with them back to the US.  

In our cluster, we had 7 units take the VRI (Voluntary Retirement Incentive) and then one couple who had already planned their retirement for this time.  Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of all who left but I did want to share a little from those I did have.

 Betty and Dwayne Mitchell leaving after 30+ years.  They served in Malawi and Zambia.  

As they left we formed a small pathway and cheered them on as they walked through to the airport.  We also gave them high fives!  I hope they will remember they were loved and appreciated as they served here among us.

 We prayed for them before they boarded the plane.

 

 They left Thanksgiving Day so there were lots of missionaries in Lusaka already so several of us were able to go to the airport to see them off.

 I will really miss Betty!  She has been a friend and prayer partner for many years.

 

Van and Mary Thompson also lived in Malawi and Zambia for 35 years all together! They had already planned their retirement before the VRI came out. 

 At this last graduation at the seminary they were recognized for their years of service and given a beautiful copper clock. 

 

 Those who were in Lusaka were able to go and see off the Thompsons as well.
They will be missed as well.

 Kevin and I traveled to Malawi to say bye to the Polglases and Browns who are both taking the VRI.  I just love these two godly women!  They will greatly be missed!

 Several of us missionaries took them out to an Indian Restaurant and then had this wonderful cake.  We shared different stories or memories we had of these two couples.  

 

  Jeff and Mary Polglase are on the left and Claudia and John Brown are on the right.

They all served as journeyman many years ago and have served in several countries in their many years of service with the imb.  They will all greatly be missed!

Celebrating 15 years of life

 Started the day off with breakfast in bed.

choc. chip pancakes

 This afternoon a few friends came over for cake.

I made a red velvet ice cream cake.

 Julie

 Emma and Sarah came too

 Sweet 15!

 Hannah and Sadie

 Misty can't be left out!

 

 Kevin gave her some flowers!

 We went to the Horse Shoe Restaurant for dinner.

 

It was  a good day!  Happy Birthday Hannah!  Hope this next year will be special for you!

Week of Prayer Day 8

Because of Who He is

 God deserves the worship of all people, and that is why we send to the nations.
Redeemed and made new in Christ, we have a missionary identity which compels us to do all we can to see God exalted. Christ commanded us as a church to reach the nations. In a beautiful partnership, IMB helps your church send ordinary Christians, empowered by God’s extraordinary presence, to proclaim His Word.  

This gospel is the only hope for the billions of people who haven’t yet heard His name. Most of them live in hard places — like cities, jungles, deserts and war zones — with no access to the gospel.

We each have a part in fulfilling God’s commission to reach these people if we are faithful to live out our missionary identity, if we are faithful to pray, give, go and send to plant churches around the world for the glory of God. How do you fit into God’s creative global plan? How does your church fit in?

“Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3, HCSB).

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PRAYER POINTS

» For the Lord’s guidance in what He would have you give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

» For guidance on how you fit into God’s creative global plan and how your church fits in.




Click here to see other links and pics.

Day of Prayer Day 7

Training the next generation in the Philippines

 

When someone shouted, “Your uncle is coming,” everyone in the Philippine village knew it was the secret code that really meant “run and hide.” Neighbors disappeared into small concrete homes until IMB missionaries Dave and Ivette Daggett had come and gone.
A few, including curious children and teenagers, stuck around to hear what the foreigners had to say.
The Daggetts led Bible studies, and some youth came against their parents’ wishes.
Now, 11 years later, a church meets here, led by some of the same children and youth who met with the Daggetts years ago. They have even seen God use them to help start several Deaf churches.
“It’s the younger ones who have stepped up in leadership,” Dave said. “They share the gospel and are going with us to evangelize in other areas.”
Through weekly training sessions and Bible studies, Dave and Ivette continue discipling youth in the Philippines to go out and train others to lead. They give them opportunities to lead and to share their faith through events such as medical and dental clinics, anti-smoking and dental hygiene seminars, and True Love Waits seminars.
“The more fruit we see, the more joy we have,” Dave said. “We don’t want to slow down or hold back.”

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PRAYER POINTS

» Pray young leaders will grow in their faith and disciple more youth who are ready to become leaders.
» Pray the Daggetts will see more churches, including Deaf churches, started in the Philippines.


Click here for pics and links.

Week of Prayer Day 6

Called as a church family in Mexico

“Wherever you go, we go.”
First Baptist Church in Oxford, Mississippi, made this commitment to Jeff and Liesa Holeman long before they began serving as IMB missionaries in 2008.
Investing in young lives has come full circle. The Holemans now mentor dozens of students and young adults from across the United States each year, many who return to the missions field for extended terms of service.
“That’s who first invested in me — my church,” Liesa says. “We want other churches to do the same. … God called the church to do this. And we as missionaries have a responsibility to help our churches touch, feel and understand our stories … to help them understand the importance of going to the nations.”
In the three years since the Holemans began serving as cluster strategy leaders in Oaxaca, Mexico, the Oxford church has adopted the Tlacolula Valley Zapotec.
“We have a huge support group behind us … they don’t let go of us,” Jeff says. “That’s a two-way street. We value our relationship with one another. Just because we’re out of sight, we’re not out of mind. We know this because of the way they love us.”

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PRAYER POINTS

» Pray for the Holemans as they reach people groups in Mexico, some who have no access to the gospel.
» Pray for more churches to send missionaries to the nations, and thank God for the Holemans’ partnership with the Oxford church.


Click here for pics and links

Week of Prayer Day 5

Church takes gospel to unreached in Southeast Asia

Old Town Baptist Church had no idea their prayers to take the gospel to an unreached people group would lead them from North Carolina to remote Southeast Asia villages.
The church already participated in international missions by going on missions trips and supporting missionaries by giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
But knowing billions without hope in Christ is intolerable, they wanted to do more.
“We have an ongoing commitment to supporting the missions offering,” said Mark Harrison, Old Town missions pastor. “We also have a deep commitment to come alongside our IMB partners and work with them on the ground.”
As the church prayed, God led them to the “T” people. Most are Buddhist and have never heard about Jesus.
Missionaries helped Harrison learn about the T people and Southeast Asian culture. Since then, Harrison and Old Town members have made multiple trips a year to help take the gospel to the T people.
“The T people have been very isolated for a long time and it’s difficult to get where they are,” said Harrison. “But they have welcomed us and are in the process, many of them, of beginning to understand what it means to follow Jesus.”

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PRAYER POINTS

» Pray for the T people who are coming to faith in Jesus to stand firm in the face of opposition and persecution.
» Pray for more churches to partner with missionaries in reaching people groups who have yet to hear the gospel.

Click here  to see pics and other links

Week of Prayer Day 4

Syria’s hope

It’s hard to imagine anything but a continued descending darkness closing in on Syrian and Iraqi refugees, victims of a rebellion being fought against the Syrian regime and brutality caused by ISIS and other Islamic extremists.
While images and reports of beheadings, cruelty, and pure evil continue to shadow refugees — numbering in the millions — from any light of hope, there is hope in the good news of Jesus Christ.
Only a loving God Who cares deeply for all who are fleeing violence can push back that darkness. Christian worker Peter Matheson* works tirelessly to bring refugees God’s shining hope. But his work comes at great cost to the many he serves and to him, personally, as he ministers in the midst of tremendous suffering.
“The hardest thing in this ministry is just sitting down and listening to their hurts,” Matheson says. “They come, they arrive with little children just with the clothes on their back, because back in Syria their homes are destroyed, their businesses are destroyed … women have been raped … real torture goes on among men and young men in Syria.”
Through the support of Southern Baptists, Matheson is able to work along the Syrian border, distributing boxes of food and other critical necessities.
As more Syrians flee the violence, Matheson hopes he can provide a way out of their current condition and give hope through Christ — a message they have never heard.
*Name changed

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PRAYER POINTS

» Pray for open hearts among hurting Syrian refugees as Matheson tells them of God’s love.
» Pray for strength, boldness, and wisdom for Matheson to minister in the midst of overwhelming needs.

 

For other info., pics, and links click here.

 

Week of Prayer Day 3

Trading karma for compassion in South Asia

Karma. Its meaning goes beyond “what comes around, goes around.” For Hindus, karma means undergoing a cycle of actions and consequences. To them, being saved from it would rob them of paying the price for their deeds and hoping for a better future through reincarnation.
That’s why the neighbors of a wounded man crying out in pain also cried out — not for help but in complaint that he was too loud and unaccepting of his fate, especially since he had lit himself on fire in a fit of drunkenness and dissatisfaction over his dirt-poor life.
It would be easy to call those neighbors crass, but many of them don’t recognize any other way to believe. And yet God desires and deserves the worship of all people.
Donald and Helen McKinney* have reached out to the downtrodden in South Asia. Helen has used Lottie Moon Christmas Offering funds to distribute food and school supplies to women and children.
Through Helen’s outreach to these families, the wounded man’s wife believes in Christ. A local pastor whom Donald helped train in discipleship led the wounded man in a prayer to Jesus before he died. But there are so many more who need to hear that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
*Names changed

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PRAYER POINTS

» Pray the McKinneys will not be overwhelmed by the sheer number of needs and people who need the Lord there.
» Pray for Hindus to hear that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life — and the only hope of a better future.

Click here to see pics and other links. 

Week of Prayer Day 2

In the mountains and valleys of a Muslim Central Asian country, Christian aid worker Gary Warrior* and a team of Christian aid workers and national believers help meet people’s physical and spiritual needs.
In a desire to do their part to fulfill the Great Commission, the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists and the Mountain State Association sent Warrior, 51, and his family to exalt Christ through meeting human needs.
In 2009, Warrior’s team began digging wells to provide clean drinking water for Central Asian villages. It is satisfying to “have the opportunity to make the connection between clean drinking water and the Water of Life,” Warrior says.
In this area, it often takes a long time for someone to come to know Jesus, and those who do face persecution from their family and community. But slowly, Warrior is seeing Muslim people come to Christ and become excited to share the gospel.
He is grateful for the faithful givers to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering who have “stuck with him” for his 17 years overseas. Warrior and his team have planted five house churches that still meet today.
“God has done that because we’ve been faithful, and the people in the pews back in America have been faithful to keep giving and to keep sending … and the result is there’s a church here and there wasn’t when I came,” Warrior says.
*Name changed

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PRAYER POINTS

» Pray for more opportunities to share the gospel and for the country’s key leaders to accept its truth.
» Pray for protection for the Warrior’s team and for the Warrior’s family members separated by distance — their four children live in four different countries.

 Click here for pictures and other links

Week of Prayer

November 29th-December 6th is the week of prayer for international missions.
You can see this link for pictures and other links or just read the story below.

Day 1:

When Jim and Teresa Flora think about their life and ministry in the mountains of Lesotho, two needs come to mind: the support of their children and support from Southern Baptists.
They rely on the prayers and encouragement of their three grown sons and their families in the United States, but daughters Gracie, Anna and Rebekah are a part of each day’s work in Africa. Whether they are preparing meals for volunteer teams, playing with children or telling Bible stories, the girls consider themselves fully committed to the task of sharing the gospel with unreached Basotho people. They know every believer has a part in God’s mission.
The Floras’ work is an extension of Southern Baptists’ dedication to reach the nations. They are grateful for long-term partnering churches such as First Baptist Church, Perryton, Texas; First Baptist Church, Clarendon, Texas; and River Oak Church, Chesapeake, Virginia. They thank God for faithful giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the continued prayers of hundreds of churches.
“It’s going to take a joint effort, all Southern Baptists joining together to make sure the gospel is accessible to all the people in these mountains,” Jim says.
He explains that more than mountains trap the Basotho. They are captives of extreme poverty, epidemic HIV and AIDS rates, and a long tradition of ancestor worship.

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PRAYER POINTS

» Pray for more churches to commit to joining the Floras by sending teams of workers.
» Pray the Flora family will be protected and God’s glory will be revealed in Lesotho.

Thanksgiving

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. — Psalm 100:4-5

 Betty and Dwayne who are retiring

 I am going to miss her!

All the missionaries in Zambia come in to Lusaka for Thanksgiving.  It is a time we look forward to all year long!  Of course we miss our family in the US but it is such a blessing to have mission family that we can get together with each year!