News-From-the-Frontlines

News From the Frontlines

December 2011 - An extremely exciting development of our work was the preparation and sending out of 3 teams of local brothers and sisters during the summer months to partner with other like-minded believers in other parts of the country, reaching other unreached people groups and cities. The short-term projects have deepened our local believers’ understanding to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” They’ve not only come back with a passion to share, their newfound passion has been infectious with others. A special thanks to those who not only PR’ed for those trips, but also who contributed so that our local friends could go.

The week of Thanksgiving we had gatherings on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, celebrating with over 200 people!! We had students, pro athletes, actors, race car drivers, pregnant mothers, doctors, and many more gathered to enjoy this special holiday. For quite a few, it was the first time they heard about a God who loves them and who wants to have a personal and intimate relationship with them, the God for whom we give the greatest thanks. Suffice to say, it was a wonderful weekend of celebrations!

Those are just a few glimpses of the great things that Pops has been doing in and among us! We celebrate that He is moving in the hearts and minds of athletes and students around this country!

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Past News

September 2011 - I ended up in a parking lot while trying to sell a van - thinking it was a used car lot! One thing led to another and before long, two Chnese guys and two Mulsm guys had heard the Good News! One of the latter followed me back to the van. With an earnest look on his face, he declared "I want to have a clean heart!" Since that time, many within their relational network have heard the Good News as well.

Last Thursday evening I went to a place called, "grand central", a huge open market with many 'pirated' items. What a blessing for me at one point to have the stage and permission to share the Story - from beginning to end - to the dozen or so men there at 1:30 am. What greater a blessing to hear one of those driving the conversation to declare "this is really different"?

Why a blessing? While there were none ready to repent and believe, they UNDERSTOOD...and I am still "in the game" with an invitation to the Raya celebration following the end of the fast. DO PRAY that some of the "amen-ing" in relation to the final prophet/revelation was masking question marks that might not be shared in the group. The night before last I received a text at 4:30am (saw it the next morning) from one guy asking if I was still awake??? He was one guy whom I wondered might be pondering at the heart-level.

August 2011 - I have never felt such opposition in my life as I do now. Recently, when I returned from a trip, one coach who I deemed a colleague asked me why I returned. After some small talk, he asked me why I don’t coach in America. I felt that I should give an honest answer and so I told him that as a Christian, I believe the Lord has led me here to not only coach, but to help in telling others about Christ. With that, he reacted with outright hatred and anger. His comments portrayed the sentiment I often detect in the culture at large. He told me that we and our God are not needed here. He stated that I serve the Hebrew God and that he serves his god – the people of R. This friend, with whom I’ve had many excellent friendly conversations, exploded with a vile sentiment with which even I was taken back. This experience, as well as the countless others, has really helped to remind me that my citizenship is not of this world and that we are truly laboring in enemy territory.

The areas in which our frontline reps are working are the enemy's strongholds. It is a war. Please pray for them, their families, and those with whom they share Truth and Light.

May 2011 - “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9

One important part of our ministry is to bring the frontlines to us. We recently did this by inviting international basketball coaches to America for a high-level training course. By having the coaches on our “home court”, we were able to share our faith more openly and expose the coaches to the Gospel message through presenters’ testimonies and ministry partners’ functions.

While we certainly provide them with the high-level training they expect, we also want to show them something unexpected. We want to show them the love of Christ in a way that will break through any walls built up by false teaching or preconceived ideas. Our hope is that they will be touched by the presence of Jesus in such a way that they will not be able to return home in the same spiritual condition in which they came. That they will either leave with a personal relationship with the Father through Christ or at least a desire to know more.

Thanks to many prayers, this year one of the national team coaches (“Vladimir”) did except Christ! HALLELUJAH! Another coach (“Al”) came to the doorstep of the decision during a conversation, but had one important question that he couldn’t quite reconcile in his mind, “How can I become a Christian, when I am Muslim?” While he did not make a decision to follow Jesus during the event, the Father has continued to draw him to Himself by providing opportunities for more conversations.

Pray for our new brother “Vladimir” as he takes his new friend, Jesus, back to his country, family, friends, and team. Pray for him to stand firm on the Word of God and not be blown to the left or the right. Pray for strength in the face of persecution that is sure to come.

Pray for “Al”. Pray that the truth he heard would penetrate his heart. Pray that his eyes will be opened to that truth through dreams and visions. Pray that our upcoming trip to his country will provide opportunity for important conversations and that it will be the time of his salvation.

April 2011 - We sat on the floor in a half-circle, L’s chin resting on his palm, elbow to the floor. When L saw Jesus robed in white at the transfiguration, he said that he connected the depiction of Jesus with a white-robed figure he had often seen in his dreams…in fact this theme of the white-robed figure surfaced in our conversation at several points. Of course, I tried to bring him to recognize that it could in fact be Jesus! When we got to the Parable of the Sower, it was his turn this time to pause the DVD; he asked for explanation, saying he did not understand. Praise God, I had given him a contextualized Psalms and NT the visit before and now was able to demonstrate its value as I turned to the story and read it for him, together with Jesus’ explanation of its meaning. Satisfied, we returned to the video as I rejoiced in the rising stock of the Word in L’s heart and mind.

It was after 2am when the video finally wrapped up. L’s son R had joined us halfway through – and despite his having had fever, he remained glued to the story and his father didn’t seem to mind. The one room in their tiny house was walled off by a wall that did not even reach the ceiling…where L’s wife and three young girls slept. Knowing full well that his wife was probably not sleeping but listening in as well, several times I suggested that we might be hindering their sleeping…which L continued to brush aside. With the close of the movie, I summed up the essence of the gospel. With a sense that L was stumbling over the question of whether Jesus had in fact died (most would say God miraculously saved him from the cross), in faith I declared that we would pray (and I did) that 1) he would NOT have any more nightmares (this had been the subject of much discussion), 2) he WOULD have a dream confirming Jesus’ death (this was a real step of faith for me, but I related to him the recent story of the girl who had had such a dream…this came to my mind and I felt led to “go for it,” 3) that R would wake up well and ready for school and finally 4) that he would get a job (another subject of discussion).

Needless to say, after we retired for the night my friend and I prayed again…and first thing in the morning were eagerly anticipating the post-game report. Much to my disappointment, while L did have a good dream (about getting a job) he still had a bad dream…and no dream about Jesus AND R was sick in bed and not going to school! My friend and I ran the kids to school in the car, enjoying the shocked looks on the faces of parents dropping their kids off as three little head-covered girls climbed out of a vehicle manned by two white foreigners. On the way back to pick up L (and R) to go to breakfast, I expressed my disappointment with God to my colleague. “What’s wrong with you God? All we’re asking for is a single word from you…that’s all it takes! And for all we know, L and his family may be the only ones among the 90+% Muslim population of his county with access to the gospel.

Later with L, I expressed my frustration with God to him. I thought it would be good for him to see some transparency and the struggle of faith. Surprisingly, L wasn’t fazed reminding me that we need to continue to have faith. The thought occurred to me that this could be an opening to address his “emergency witch doctor practices” and so I quizzed him about the source of that power, reminding him that the Enemy can deceive us leading us to bondage. He agreed with me as to the need to reject those powers as I also encouraged him to get rid of the charms. I was already beginning to see God’s hand in the silence. As we began to wind up the visit, L once again pointed to the goosebumps on his arm, relaying his confidence that the goosebumps were a reflection of God’s presence and affirmation. In fact, he went on to say that with us he did indeed feel God’s peace. Later my friend asked me if I had seen a tear in his eye…I hadn’t.

The next day I noticed I had a missed call from L. That afternoon when I had a chance, I called him. “Good news!” L said. “I got a job!” “Alhumdullilah (Praise God)!” I responded. “I also did not have any bad dreams last night…in fact I had a GOOD dream. I saw the Man in White again…it was like a village feast at the end of fasting month. He told me ‘I’m freeing you.’” Wow! We talked a minute or two more as I was trying to process. He informed me that R was also back in school. Another “Alhumdullilah!” before I told him I was going to find a passage in “The Book” and then call him back. A few minutes later I called him back and we proceeded to read John 8:31-59…not sure how much he understood of some of it, but certainly the first few verses of Jesus setting us free seemed to connect.

After getting off the phone, I called him back, realizing the need to “strike while the iron is hot,” specifically the need to get him in the Word on a daily basis. All to say I gave him a bit of a formula that would connect with his Islamic background:

-Before reading to pray and ask God to lead him on the “Straight Path (their normal daily prayer from the first chapter of the Quran)” so that he would not be led astray. While I was trying to reinforce trust, it certainly is a great prayer.

-Secondly, I told him to ask God to give him a soft heart so he could understand.

-Thirdly I told him to read a chapter each day, starting with Matthew 1

-Finally I challenged him to obey God when God “put a light in his heart” (equivalent to us saying “God spoke to me about…”)

While I don’t think L is in the Kingdom, it does seem safe to say he’s moving in the right direction. IF YOU HAVE READ THIS FAR, YOU CARE ENOUGH TO PRAY. DO PRAY FOR L AS THE ENEMY IS CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO WANT TO EASILY RELEASE L AND HIS FAMILY FROM HIS GRASP.

Just imagine pitch dark – the blackness of night in the middle of nowhere. No moon, no stars. Now imagine a light. How bright would that light be? What impact might it have?

March 2011 - "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Cor.9.8

In Dec 2009, God gave me this verse specifically in regards to my girls’ basketball program. Today I continue to claim that promise of His provision. Over the past 3 years my national staff and I have faced countless opposition as we have run the program. Through those many mountains and valleys, God has only proven faithful to sustain and provide for our every need, such that the program has been a huge success! While our sports work here began with girls’ basketball in the North, God has blessed and expanded our work to include various other sports throughout the country... basketball, soccer, volleyball, paralympic... throughout the country. With the blessing of growth comes transition and change, and at the end of March I will be moving to the country's capital.

In the desire to finish well, one thing He has heavily impressed upon my heart is the importance of visiting each of my girls in their homes before I leave. During these visits, I want to seize the opportunity to encourage and affirm the girls in front of their families, share more of the Way, the Truth and the Life with them, as well as present them with a gift of the NT in their language. I am also writing a card to each girl, encouraging, affirming, and expressing my love for each of them.

February 2011 - I am now working with the Country’s national TKD team as an athletic trainer. This is great for me because it uses my previous career which I am much better at than coaching soccer. The federation does not have enough money to pay me so they do not expect a lot from me. I am currently trying to work with them one morning per week which leaves plenty of time for main thing activities. They are trying to get permission for me to travel with them to the All African Games in September. They are not likely to get that permission, but I appreciate the attempt.

Please pray for doors to continue to open for our rep in N. Africa, and that he is shown favor with the TKD federation.

January 2011 - From a rep in SE Asia - I am 0 for 3 so far in trying to connect "K" with someone who can mentor/disciple him nearby. This last attempt failed because I hadn’t factored in that this expat worker’s language might not be up to speed. He happens to teach in a setting where he just uses English. PRAY that God will give me wisdom and my next effort will bear fruit. In the meantime, I am going to try to do a bit more over the phone, etc. He DOES profess faith in Jesus…but I still think time will tell."

Please join us in praying for our rep and his continued "plowing" of the hard soil in SE Asia. Although our God is sovereign, the enemy has strongholds in many areas of the world and, consequently, thousands are blinded by his lies. This current reality requires perseverance, faith, and commitment; believing the Lord of the Harvest will bring it in His divine timing.

November 2010 - A prayer request from a rep in Central Asia:

"Please pray for me, as I seek the Lord's direction in my personal life as well. I've been really struggling with discouragement lately. I sometimes feel like nobody here wants to hear anything I have to say. I'm seeking the Lord and trying my best to obey Him and keep pure. In spite of this, I feel really despised by some here because of my faith perhaps. Realistically, I'm wondering if my time here may be coming to a close, but I don't want to bail out until I know for certain that the Lord is leading me somewhere else. I have learned that "home" is where the Lord is!!! America or any other place would be no better. I need to be walking with the Lord! Thomas asked Jesus, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way?"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by me." (John 14:5-6)"

Please join us in lifting up the needs of this rep. It is important to support them in prayer as they struggle to walk with the Lord while living the the enemy's strongholds.

September 2010 - A testimony from a long term rep in Central Asia about a new believer in his area:

"With dear believers like these, we must pray for strength, stability, and courage. And where possible, drink tea with them and encourage them as we receive encouragement. When drinking tea, we can help them process 'life' with deep questions like "what's been easy/hard for you these days?"; "what can we pray about for you as you approach these next days?"; and "can we work on a good local language spiritual song together that you can sing to yourself when you are all alone and not too happy?"

Please pray for continued discipleship and new fruit in the war torn countries of Central Asia.

August 2010 - A testimony from a short term project volunteer during his trip to the Middle East:

"I had a chance share the Gospel to a girl named Alice (edited for security) during a softball playoff game here! Often I will watch the games in the evenings and pray for God to open chances for me to talk to people in the stands. I know my friends and family must have been praying that night because of the way this opportunity came about. Earlier that week I misplaced my Bible and so the night of the softball game I walked over to find it and bring it back with me. I think she must have seen me carrying it on the way back. I hadn't originally planned to stay for the entire game, but when I got to the softball field I felt a strong urge to stay in the stands.

It seemed like no more than twenty minutes had passed before God had her come my way and, when she did, I shot up a quick prayer for God to give me wisdom during the conversation. She was writing some sort of paper for her school on different denominations in religions, and she opened with the question, "Can you tell me about the Baptists?" It seemed like God was directing things the whole way. I wasn't even pushing for chances, but the conversation allowed me to share the Gospel three different times! In the end I was able to tell her that what is important is an individual's relationship with God through Jesus."

Please pray for effective follow up with Alice and more opportunities to share the Truth.

July 2010 - The Lord is currently doing a powerful work in the Middle East through our youth and adaptive sport camps. Through these camps, our representatives have built relationships that are paving the way to future projects in this area and more opportunities to share Christ!

As we move forward with the relationships formed and doors opened, we ask you to consider how you can help. There is a real need for wheelchairs in war-torn countries, particularly where we currently work in the Middle East. We can put one wheelchair where it is needed most for about $150.00. If you would like to partner with us in this way, please call or email our office directly for further instructions.

Join us as we praise the Lord for His continued favor in these closed countries and pray for our representatives as they spread the light of the Gospel through SPORT!

June 2010 - The following is an excerpt from an email we received from one of our US-based reps who was able to attend a meeting with several of our reps from the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa:

"Please pass along my thanks to all who helped organize the meeting and make it an invaluable experience. What an amazing team (staff and reps). I am humbled and honored to be associated with you all. I sat among obedient, risk-taking GIANTS and was humbled. It is time to "get in the game" 100%."

May 2010 - The following report is from one of our sports workers - a National who is also a Muslim Background Believer - living and working in his home South Asian country (edited for security and readability):

"The ongoing wave of displacement in a certain South Asian country is the single largest population movement recorded in the country since it was created. Under pressure to tackle the militancy which has taken root in the country, the government has launched successive military offensives in the past months across several districts of the country.

Recently the government decided to move all the Internally Displaced Peoples into one camp. There are more than 25,000 families and 107,000 people in the camp with the majority being women and children. There is a great number of orphans, child-headed families and woman-headed families in this camp.

In an effort to engage the youth and provide an avenue for recreation to them, we partnered with the local government and other humanitarian organizations to conduct sport camps. The camps were a tremendous success! There were 100 boys and 100 girls involved in the program. In addition to the sports activities, all 200 children were provided with food and hygiene kits at the end of the program.

This inaugural event has laid the foundation for many more similar camps. If we work together we can continue to bring smiles to the faces of hundreds and thousands of these disadvantaged children and ultimately impart the Gospel Message to them through Sport!"

April 2010 - Last month, we were given the opportunity to go to an island of a Southeast Asian Nation that is unreached and hostile to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the past few decades, the local government of this island prevented foreigners from even traveling there; however, due to a change in government, these restrictions have recently eased. That being said, five "intentional" families were recently deported from the country because of their affiliations with "M" organizations and/or motives. Praise God for the avenue of Sports that allows us access to these areas of the World!

At the invitation of a high-ranking official, we took a team to conduct a sports camp for at-risk youth on the island. Our goal in doing this was that by conducting an excellent camp, respecting their culture, and expressing our interest in their country, the island officials would not only invite us back, but allow one of our sports workers to live on their island. Praise the Lord, this invitation HAS BEEN GIVEN - both for more short-term teams as well as long-term workers!

Please join us in asking the Lord to raise up long-term workers to live on this island for the sake of His Gospel.

March 2010 - Our rep in East Asia has seen the Lord work in mighty ways during his time there. He knows first-hand the unique ability that sport has to penetrate normal social barriers and jumpstart friendships which ultimately lead to sharing opportunities. The following is an excerpt from one of his emails:

"The Father is moving in the hearts of some of the weightlifters who live in this city. Two of them have recently decided to start walking with Him (one called me late last night, wanting to share the news of his new-found freedom), and we are hoping that they will have an influence in their teammates' lives."

February 2010 - Our rep in East Asia has seen the Lord work in mighty ways during his time there. He knows first-hand the unique ability that sport has to penetrate normal social barriers and jumpstart friendships which ultimately lead to sharing opportunities. The following is an excerpt from one of his emails:

"Taking the Word to the Uttermost Parts of the World Through Sports"