Phil & Andrea Bauman - SIM

We were delighted that all our kids could join us for the Commissioning.

4 International Directors

Dr. Jim Plueddeman, Malcolm McGregor, Phil Bauman, Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko
Photo: John Dudeck

Thank you so much for praying for us over the last few weeks and particularly for Phil's commissioning as the new SIM International Director. The pictures above were taken after the commissioning service.

We plan to send a fuller update soon. But in the meantime, over the coming weeks please join with us to: 

Praise

• For a great weekend back in February celebrating Joshua as the outgoing International Director and Phil's commissioning. 

• For the many notes of encouragement and support we have received as Phil has taken on his new role.

• For safe and uneventful travel as Phil spent time at the Sports Friends global gathering in Thailand. Sports Friends is a ministry of SIM.

Pray

• Please pray for the Flourishing People Workshop taking place in Kenya this week. The theme for the week is “Working from a place of grace.”

• Our vision as an International Personnel Team (Andrea is a part of this team) is to glorify God through the care, management and development of the people entrusted to SIM by God. Pray that the Lord would be glorified in all that we do this week.

• Pray for all those travelling to Kenya to arrive safely, stay healthy and enjoy the workshop. 
  Pray for Andrea's colleague Helen, running the workshop and speaking in various sessions and elective workshops. And for another colleague, Anzel, as she manages logistics. 

• Please pray for the two elective workshops Andrea is leading, that they would be helpful to all participants.

• For wisdom for Phil as he connects with the different leaders he will be meeting during the time in Kenya.

• For guidance as Phil prepares for a time together in April with the SIM Executive Team.  

Thanks for praying for us
Phil & Andrea

Gord & Heather Martin - Vision Ministries

Thanks to the brothers and sisters at Wallenstein for the financial gift forwarded to VMC for our support.

Last weekend Heather and I went to Ottawa. We stayed for the weekend with our son Chad and his family. We always enjoy our time with them!
But it was also a time for ministry. On Saturday afternoon I met with a group of eight pastors at the Pine Grove Bible Church. Among other things we talked about how to understand people. It's a lesson that I wrote for the Kenya leadership training. They were very responsive!

The  Ottawa Persian Church then conducted a baptism in that same church facility. They baptized eight people, all from Muslim backgrounds. They were excited! It was such a time of rejoicing.

On Sunday I spoke at Chin Church in Gatineau. It was very good to reconnect with them, they are very dear people. They were telling me that they had given a gift of $5,000 each to the food banks in Ottawa and Gatineau. The community in Gatineau responded by coming and decorating the front of their church with Christmas lights as an expression of appreciation.

Then I went to speak at the Persian Church which is on the opposite side of the city. The room they are using was packed out. They were so eager to hear and to listen, It's exciting to preach at a place like that!

In a few minutes I will be joining a zoom call with Persians who are living in Iran, Turkey and Georgia. This is kind of a desperate group who have fled their country and are unwanted in the countries where they are currently staying. We talk to them every two weeks to provide encouragement and support.

Thank you again for your generous gift,

Gord Martin

Raul & Jessenia Espinoza - Guayaquil, Ecuador

Espinozas in Ecuador

Dear WBC family,

We are excited to be writing to you again. There's been so much going on, it's been hard to sit down at the computer to write, but here we are to try to get you caught up on the last few months. 

Looking back on Christmas we can see how God used it as a growing experience for our family. Jessenia grew up in a home with strong Christian Christmas traditions and has been struggling with how Christmas is viewed only as a children's holiday, even by the Christian community. She had hoped to recreate her Christmas traditions here in Ecuador, but is finding it is hard to do alone. As she basted the turkey Christmas Eve, she prayed that God would use her desire to have a meaningful Christmas to somehow His kingdom forward.

We saw that prayer answered as we had very special time with Raul's family that day. Raul's step-dad's nephew was here with his family and we had a deep spiritual conversation with them. Since then we have continued to develop a friendship with them. One of our youth leaders who comes from a non-Christian home was also with us and her eyes filled with tears as she took in a way to celebrate Christmas that she had never seen before.

After Christmas we had a rude awakening when a news station was invaded by gang members and the news anchors were held hostage on live T.V. What ensued was a few days of chaos as the government declared war on the drug cartels and employed the military to regain control of the prisons (which were basically under the power of the inmates) and began arresting many criminals known to be connected to the gangs. We are grateful that our immediate circle of friends were not horribly touched by this, but Bastion is home to many involved in illicit affairs and so the community around us did feel the chaos. 

Things have calmed down quite a bit now since January and life has returned to "normal". Jessenia's parents were able to come down for a couple weeks. The school year came to a close in February and reflecting back we are happy to see the progress that was made this year in the organization of the school. 

Recently our church put on a VBS and we were encouraged to see all the youth who came out to help. Two of our youth leaders directed the week along with a team of youth who energetically sang, danced and played with the children and kept them quiet during lesson times. Tiago was old enough to join this year and he absolutely loved it. 

Church leadership was so encouraged by the youth group's maturity and responsibility during the week that when an American missions group offered to help in Bastion the next week, it was decided we would put on a "mini" vacation Bible school for the youth.  We took them to a water park one day and the next spent the day at the church playing games and reflecting on the VBS week and what it means to be part of the church and to have God as a priority in one's life. The youth enjoyed the time and many expressed how they feel the church has become a second home to them. 

We thank you for your continued prayers and support for the ministry here in Bastion. 

God bless you as you continue to serve Him,

The Espinozas (Raul, Jessenia, Tiago and Danilo)

Prayer requests:

• That the momentum felt in the youth group would continue up to and through camp in April. That the group would continue strong and that more would make the decision to invite Christ into their life at camp.

• For safety for our family and community as the country continues to grapple with the cartels. Please pray for abundant wisdom, safety, and integrity for the officials as they try to deal with the corruption that is embedded in the politics and streets alike.

• That the staff at the school would have a refreshing "summer" break.

Robert & Susan Martin - March 2024

MARTIN, ROBERT & SUSAN (Kingston, ON; Kingston Prison Ministry; MSC)  PRAISE: I met Ben for the first time this week; he is new to the prison system and nervous.  He has no church background but has started doing Bible correspondence courses and is showing sincere interest.  He  would like to meet with me regularly for spiritual conversation. Chapel service attendances have been up at three different institutions over the past several weeks.  PRAY: Pray for unity among Christian inmates.  Several men shared with me how one man is attempting to dominate in the different areas including the chapel area. May the grace of God provide help for all who are entangled in this situation. Pray for patience as men have to wait for access to programs and then to successfully complete them before they can move to lower security or apply for parole. Many times the local institutions do not follow the mandates put in place by Ottawa.  It can seem very unfair and is understandably frustrating.

Phil & Andrea - March 2024

BAUMAN, PHIL & ANDREA  (Canada, International roles with SIM)    PRAISE:  For a great commissioning service on February 24. That our kids and other family and friends could be present. For good handover and continued conversations with Joshua, Phil’s predecessor in the role. That we could visit a retirement village in Florida that houses 100+ SIM retirees. PRAY: For wisdom for Phil as he continues to learn and adjust to his new role as SIM International Director. For safe travel and good connections for Phil as he joins 75 sports ministry workers from around the world as they meet in Thailand. For Andrea as she prepares for a Flourishing People workshop in Kenya Mar 18-22.