Phil & Andrea - December 2023

BAUMAN, PHIL & ANDREA  (Canada, International roles with SIM) PRAISE: For the opportunities for rest and reflection during this brief sabbatical period. For the face-to-face time in November with the International Leadership Team as Joshua, our current International Director prepares to hand over to Phil.

For Liam's new job. PRAY: That God would continue to guide us and grant us his peace as we move into this transition period. That Phil can make wise use of his sabbatical time to reflect and realign. For both of us as we desire to allow God to show us the ways that he wants us to lead and minister in this next season. For God's care and protection over us and our kids.

Russ & Meredith Martin (Singapore)

Dear WBC Friends,

We're in an intensive season and value your prayers for our family and ministry.

Family & Health
- The challenges with Meredith and Gwenyth's skin have largely stabilized and are mostly a daily discomfort at this time. Thank you for all who journeyed with us in prayer on this topic.
- Russ' work pass is in renewal, which we expect to be approved, but we live with a lingering reality that it's possible we would have 30 days to pack up and leave Singapore.

Life in the local church
- God has blessed us with rich relationships and many opportunities for personal ministry and discipleship which give us a lot of life and opportunities to bless others.
- We are also journeying with a number of people through broken/strained marriages, relationships and mental health challenges. There is lots of room for God's grace to abound but also a spiritual intensity as we care for those in our sphere of influence. 

Work & Ministry
- Recently Russ spent about two weeks solving a major issue with the finance & registration process for the Seoul 2024 congress. Trips had to be canceled and other priorities put on hold to deal with this issue affecting thousands of people and large sums of money. The technical aspects of the problem were interesting but the time pressure and coordination challenges were stressful.
- Overall our task lists seem to be about 3-4x longer than we have capacity for and there's a daily reality of always needing to disappoint people.
- Meredith's computer seemingly had a literal meltdown, with some sort of overheating issue and it suddenly wouldn't start, leaving us scrambling to get equipment for her to carry on her critical design tasks.

Please join us in praying for:
1. The successful renewal of Russ' work pass
2. Wisdom in journeying with people through challenging relationships, allowing God's grace to work.
3. The focus to work only on the most important projects and for God to provide capable men and women to help carry the load.

Thank you for your friendship and partnership in bringing the gospel to new people, places and spaces.

Russ (for Meredith, Wyatt, Gwenyth, Heath)

Photos below:
1. Attending Gwenyth's speech at a student council ceremony. 
2. Hosting a German colleague for a local breakfast experience - Kopi + Kaya Toast
3. Co-organized a youth event after church to foster friendships

Hope of Bastion School (Raul & Jessenia Espinoza)

Sponsor/Donor Appreciation Morning!

You are cordially invited to our Sponsor Appreciation Morning

Saturday, November 25th at 10:00- 11:00 am EST on Zoom!

Click the link below to join the day of!

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87477775399

Dear sponsors and donors,

We are excited to invite you to our 2023 Sponsor/Donor Appreciation Morning on Zoom! We really enjoyed our time with you last year and we wanted to do it again because we have so much to share from this school year. 

"Why?" You may ask.

Let us thank you!

 

You are part of our school community even though you live half-a-world away. We want to give you as much of an "in-person" experience of the school as we can. In the zoom meeting you will see video footage of the school. We hope that this will make you feel closer to the school and that you will be encouraged by knowing what you have been making possible.  

Content

  • Our students showing off their English skills.

  • Teacher interviews and meet our new principal!

  • Clips from school events this school year.

  • Hear from our students about their hopes and dreams.

  • report on school finances, security achedemics.

  • Q/A time.

 

Want to Attend?

Please send us a quick "Yes" in response to this email so we know how many to expect. And if you know of anyone who would be interested in learning more about the school feel free to invite them. Lastly, if you have children, include them in this event! We love when children establish connections across cultures!

 

We are excited to interact with you "in- person." Last year we were encouraged to see everyone and put faces to names of those we haven't met in person. We look forward to seeing you again!

 

The sponsorship team,

Jessenia, Rebecca, Carolina, and Esther

Jenn Brubacher - Youth for Christ (local)

PRAISE: I’m thankful for the training opportunities I’ve had this month, graduating from the Arrow Leadership program and attending the Youth For Christ International conference in the Netherlands, being a part of the Young Leaders track. 850 staff and volunteers from 100 nations gathered together to worship, learn and pray, and it was a small slice of what heaven will be like. PRAY: Please pray for M and C, both former students who don’t know Jesus and have experienced significant mental health issues over the last couple of months. Pray for me as I walk with them.