“Bless the Lord”

Going home is a wonderful thing.

And that's what we are doing right now as I write this from over the Atlantic Ocean - not far from Nova Scotia - on the way home from ministry in Nepal and India.

These have been historic days and significant anniversaries. Just in the past 3 weeks, we have given thanks for:

105 years of ministry at Achilles, Va. Evangelical Friends
50 years of ministry together in Taiwan
10 years of ministry in Nepal

Separated by thousands of miles, different languages and cultures, we are nonetheless united - strongly and deeply - by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

As I concentrate today on remembering "all his benefits" (Ps. 103: 2), here are just a few reasons to bless the Lord:

• All across Evangelical Friends Church - Eastern Region, God is empowering Christ-honoring, week-by-week, faithful ministry to people (Pastors John and Judith Downs at Achilles, Va., are just one trustworthy example. In addition to pastoral work, Pastor John daily drives a school bus in a bi-vocational model of cheerful service!)
  
  
• When missionary work in mainland China became impossible in the late 1940's and early 50's, EFC-ER moved rapidly into church planting in Taiwan. Now, 50 years later, the Gospel has spread miraculously to millions in Mainland and Taiwan. Our Taiwan Evangelical Friends Church continues to shine like a beacon of hope across that island nation. Russ and Esther Zinn are our Missionaries to Asia, Resident-in- Taiwan, and they regularly lead teams of Taiwan Friends in leadership training missions to Nepal, India, the Philippines and other parts of Asia.
  
  
• Our Evangelical Friends Church - Nepal officially began in 1994 and now includes 36 or more churches. John and Sanghi Vanlal lead our work in the Kathmandu and northern areas; Bob and Debbie Adhikary lead the southern area. Nepal Friends are reaching out in missionary concern for the nearby but closed country of Bhutan, an official Buddhist country.
• As we gathered in northern India this past week for the Evangelical Friends International - Asia (EFI-A) triennial meetings, we witnessed with our own eyes so many remarkable answers to prayer.
  
  
  • In fact, a majority of the 175 or more delegates were from the Garwahli peoples who live in the Himalayan Mountains not far from Dehra Dun, the conference site. A year or so ago, we counted approx. 150 Garwahli families as believers; now there are more than 400 families among this people group which for generations has been virtually unreached with the Gospel.
    
    
  • Also at the EFI - Asia meetings were representatives from ministries in 4 different places in India, from all across Nepal, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Cambodia and Indonesia. (Reps from these last 2 countries waited for almost a week in Bangkok before they were issued visas.)
    
    
  • We welcomed four new works - from the Calcutta area, from Kerala, S.India and in the countries of Bhutan and Myanmar (formerly Burma). The new ministries to Bhutan and Myanmar flow from the missionary vision of our Asian Evangelical Friends. Both ministries are prayed for and funded by Asians reaching out to Asians in the name of Jesus Christ !

I am so thankful that Pastors Howard and Mary Evelyn Moore, Mark and Terri Engel, Denny and Pam Peters and Samuel Huang were able to represent us at the Taiwan 50th Anniversary April 25. Our current missionaries to Taiwan, Russ and Esther Zinn, along with Denny and Michele Craker, report that God remarkably blessed the celebration.

Our videographer daughter Christy, nearly a college junior now, traveled with me to the anniversary celebration in Nepal and to EFI - Asia, held in the simmering heat (100 + degrees, daytime) of India's northern plains. What a joy to have Christy along! She shared her testimony in Nepal and encouraged so many in India. (Christy will be producing some video clips of these ministries for us to share across our churches in a few weeks.)

We were both deeply moved by what God is doing to change lives and extend His kingdom in some of the most unlikely places and people groups.

Thank you for believing and following Jesus' commision in Acts 1: 8 to live as his witnesses in Jerusalem (our home areas), Judea (our region), Samaria (cross-culturally) and the uttermost parts of the world.

By God's grace, we are making a difference around the world - through prayer, giving and caring !

Jaimaisee ! ("Praise be to the Messiah", in Hindi)
JPW