Robert & Susan Martin - Kingston Prison Ministry

Dear friends,
 
We are rejoicing in the splendour of the changing of seasons and the new life springing up around us.
Of greater splendor is the sacrificial death of our Saviour that brings newness of life to each and every believer in Him. Furthermore, Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of ours!  What an incredible hope we have because of Him.

"But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died."
1 Corinthians 15:20 

The Lord is continuing to provide opportunities to have meaningful contacts with those whom society has rejected because of their unfortunate choices. 

A recent contact is Kevin. He was raised in a faith-based family and was involved significantly in his church. His parents taught and lived the example of what it means to be honest and hardworking. In his twenties he had a serious accident, which caused him to doubt God’s goodness and it was at this time that he allowed the world to squeeze him into its mold. 
 
His lifestyle steered him in the direction towards crimes, which eventually brought him to prison and this has humbled him immensely.  He has acknowledged his errors and sin. Through Bible study he is seeking God’s wisdom and strength to honour his senior parents and reconnect with his adult children. 
 
Kevin values our attempt to understand and support him on this journey. One on one visits and prayer times together are often bathed with tears.
Kevin is one of several individuals in similar situations. We know God loves and cares deeply for men like Kevin and we have seen the lifechanging results of the gospel in the hearts of men who have humbly repented and come to trust in the Saviour. 
 
Thank you for praying for us. We are grateful for your interest and support of our ministry to men in prison. We need His grace and wisdom to accomplish His will for His glory. 

May God bless abundantly in each of your lives as well.

With love in our Saviour,
Robert and Susan


Our mailing address is:
Prison Minstry, Kingston
PO Box 20051
Kingston, ON K7P 2T6

J&R (South Asia)

Dear Wallenstein Bible Chapel,

Thank you for faithfully remembering us & the work here. We're grateful for your support -- especially in the busy & often hectic life of boarding school!

We've just begun a new term and would appreciate your prayers in a few ways over the next 6 weeks or so.

Sending our love,

J&R the boys

PRAISES:

  • PRAISE the Lord for a restful week last week. We were able to get some good quality time in as a family. The campus is nice and quiet in these times!

  • PRAISE for new opportunities to shepherd hearts on campus. R has taken on the Prayer Breakfast Coordinator role. Students gather each week on Tuesdays to pray together for the school. The committee meets over lunch on Wednesdays to share life & plan for upcoming events. It's wonderful to see a new generation engaging in the discipline of prayer. 

  • PRAISE for a few of our key staffing needs being met already for next year. Pray for more answers to prayer as we look to fill spots for August 2023.

PRAYERS:

  • PRAY for many of our expat colleagues who are navigating Indian tax season. It's a bit daunting to say the least. Pray for wisdom and clarity as they navigate all the legislation.

  • PRAY for the term ahead. This is the last term of the school year. Many students will write important exams this term & our Year 13s are preparing to leave & begin their journeys elsewhere at university and abroad. Pray that all they've learned and have had sown into them over their years here would grow in their hearts. May God's Word produce fruit.

  • PRAY for the groups of women continuing to meet to hear stories each week from the Word. We press on in hope that they will give their whole hearts to Jesus. This month is Ramadan, so many are seeking answers to prayer. May the Spirit move in hearts.

Top Left: J spent 4 days camping with the Year 7s. It was a great time to connect with a new year group.
Top Right: M sporting a medal on Sports Day.
Bottom Left: The Fiddler on the Roof production was a big success!
Bottom Right: We did quite a few family hikes & bike rides over the break.

Charlotte Martin (Power to Change)

In just over 2 weeks our 2023 mission trips will be starting. We have about 33 students and 21 staff going on four different trips. Although we didn't hit our goal of sending 50 students, we know that God has a different perspective on numbers and that he can do mighty things through small numbers.

In a season where it feels like we are getting small results or little return for our efforts to mobilize students on mission trips, the following story is especially meaningful to me.

In 2020 Sarah was excited to go on our Desert Rain (DR) mission trip. She had almost finished raising her funds to go and then the pandemic hit and all our trips were cancelled. For two years we couldn't send in person mission trips. We hosted digital mission trips that allowed students to learn about the countries and cultures we work in internationally and engage online with students from those places. Sarah participated in our digital mission trip two years in a row and God continued to grow her heart for DR. In that time Sarah graduated from her undergrad and started a teaching degree. This summer Sarah is finally getting to go to DR. Here is her journey in her own words: 

"During undergrad, I prayed and longed for an opportunity to serve and partner with God in global missions. Three years ago, God answered that prayer by opening an opportunity to go to Desert Rain. While an opportunity to go in person was canceled due to the pandemic, God still provided me with an opportunity to reach his people virtually in 2020 and 2021. Little did I know that God would also break my heart for a nation and for people that I had never even met. During that time God has helped me to understand that being on missions is not weighed by trips or ministry but is a kingdom centered lifestyle. As I continued to pray for the nation, learn about the people and their faith, I felt a growing burden and the leading to go in person."

Thank you for your partnership in the work of mobilizing students to care about God's global work and to go. Praise God that it is not in our own strength that we mobilize students but God is always at work and what a pleasure to be a part of what he is doing. 

The last 8 weeks have held a lot of travel for me. Here are some of the different groups I got to spend time with.

Supervisors meetings at the end of February

Crisis Management Training in March

P2C Leaders Hub later in March.
The picture at the start of my update is also from this time when I went on a hike to a beautiful lookout with some women.

Russ & Meredith Martin

Inviting The Global Church Into God’s Mission

How do we invite the global Church into God’s mission? That is one of the key questions our team asks every day as we seek to resource and equip followers of Jesus with simple and easy to use tools to reach their world.

In our work with the Lausanne Movement, our team has been busy creating content along the lines of the fourfold we champion:

  • The gospel for every person.

  • A disciple-making church for every people and place.

  • Christ-like leaders for every church and sector.

  • Kingdom impact in every sphere of society.

In 2022, our devotional plans on the YouVersion Bible App increased 129%. We now have over 100,000 subscribers to guide and journey with, including subscribers from all continents!

Our plans are for you and are found here: https://lausanne.org/devotional-plan 

With family life stabilizing and the kids in school, Meredith has joined our team in a part-time capacity doing work on our websites and providing project management for design work. She’s a bit nervous getting back into professional work, but doing a great job.

WBC Friends, without your faithful partnership guiding people at this scale could not happen. Thank you for the part you play in leading the next generation of missions in a digital age.

Recent Highlights
A. Our two Student Council reps
B. Our blond footballer
C. April Fools + Birthday surprise for Russ

Phil & Andrea Bauman

Thank you for your interest and prayers.
As we come to this Easter weekend we'd like to share this video with you (click the picture above) from colleagues around the world.

Apr 2023

Also here are some items for prayer
Praise God:

  • For a great Global Assembly of mission leaders around the world.

  • For good Board of Governors meetings.

  • That we have enjoyed safe and uneventful travel.

  • For the opportunity to spend time with a colleague from Europe as we joined European Christian Mission for a few days of their biennial conference.

  • That we get to be together with Andrea's colleagues from the Middle East for a time of spiritual renewal and refreshment.

  • That Andrea and colleagues have seen a relatively smooth transition to a new people management system.

Please pray 

  • That we can be an encouragement to our colleagues who live and work in challenging Middle East contexts.

  • For Phil as he and a colleague facilitate a review of SIM's global sports ministry this month.

  • That we can have good face-to-face time together with Phil's Executive Team colleagues at our retreat in a couple weeks.

  • For continued uneventful and safe travel.

  • For wisdom in our various roles and responsibilities.

Thanks for praying for us
Phil & Andrea