MARTIN, RUSS & MEREDITH (Singapore; Power to Change) PRAISE: Meaningful conversations and connections with non-believing neighbors. Good opportunities to equip believers to share their faith using social media. Good response from our financial partnership team to help us finish the year strong. PRAY: For skin and allergy issues/challenges that continue to fester with our youngest, Heath (4). For grace in continuing to navigate a conversation with the person living in our home in the US that lost their job and is struggling to pay rent. For more opportunities to have spiritual conversations with the non-believers at our condo complex. For a meaningful Christmas spent far away from friends and family.
Robert & Susan - December 2020
MARTIN, ROBERT & SUSAN (Kingston, ON; Kingston Prison Ministry; MSC) PRAISE: Millhaven is the second institution that has opened up for me to go in for visiting. Our senior friend D was falsely accused with assault charges and after 2 years went to trial and the judge exonerated him. P is doing well in the halfway house, connected with a church, found temporary employment. He will have to find his own housing in the next week. J has informed me that the men who were threatening him have been moved off his range. He sees this as Divine protection. PRAY: I has his parole hearing Dec 23. If he is successful he will be deported to his home country which is not stable. He has made connections with a Baptist mission that he would like to be a part of. G, P, H have serious health issues and are in their 70s and 80 years of age.
Gord & Heather - December 2020
MARTIN, GORD & HEATHER (Waterloo, ON; Vision Ministries) PRAISE/PRAY: My friend Indy is still stuck in Burma – since March due to Covid. One of the great projects on his heart is the development of modern agricultural methods for his very poor home state. He has been trying to get official permission to develop this program on 1000 acres of land. He doesn't have official permission but a highly placed official and friend told him to go ahead and drill a well on the land. That is what they are doing. Pray for good progress and for Indy’s well-being. Peter and Deborah Johnson arrived in Toronto last night. They are originally from Nigeria, he has been studying in the US for the past seven years, they are planning to start house churches among Nigerians and other West Africans in Toronto. First they will have to be quarantined for two weeks. Pray for Peter, that he will be able to discern his next steps well. In Kenya the VMK team has conducted four of their intended five regional conferences. My understanding is that these have been most encouraging. They have one more event to go this coming weekend, pray that the Lord will give them stamina and capacity to deliver in this remaining region, where they have never conducted an event before.
Charlotte Martin - December 2020
MARTIN, CHARLOTTE (Guelph, ON; Power to Change) PRAISE: November was a good and busy month. Our extended team meetings were unifying and productive. Our virtual missions night Nov 29th was visionary, informative, and interactive. We have our 50 global missions boxes ready to mail, we are just waiting on one more item that goes in the boxes to arrive. Going into November my heart was feeling unsettled remembering the stresses and challenges of Nov 2019, but God quickly replaced that uneasiness with optimism and hope. PRAY: Pray that the last item of our boxes would arrive ASAP, and that the 50 boxes would all make it where they are supposed to go before Christmas. Pray for our team as we reimagine how to run mission trips for students in 2021. Pray for a restful Christmas break Dec 19-Jan 4.
Ray & Carol - December 2020
JONES, RAY & CAROL (Guelph, ON; Itinerant Preaching/Teaching Ministry) PRAISE: We are thankful to the Lord for all that we have; for relatively good health; for a busy ministry - I am booked solid through January with just one Sunday free-; for the safety of our family through these times; for the Wallenstein prayer group; for our assembly at Wallenstein; for a nice home to see the winter and this present crisis through. Praise the Lord for a report from a remote tribe in Papua New Guinea where dear friends -who were once our students- told of eighteen believers being baptized!! PRAY: For an effective witness in sharing the real message of Christmas. I have ordered more of my tracts and also have a booklet that explains the meaning of Christmas and Easter. Pray for guelphbiblecc.com. These are tough days and we look forward to things getting back to normal next year, Lord willing. Please pray as I try to encourage believers here in Guelph, and other individuals.