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October 21, 2012 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

 

“Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘My father?’  ‘What is it, my son?’ he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ ‘God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,’ Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.”  Gen. 22:7-8 NET

 

Today the sermon Chris Sanford preached, and his wife translated, was concerning the faith of Abraham, demonstrated in the sacrifice of Isaac.  The key to Abraham being able to sacrifice was His faith that God would provide.  God would give him the son of his promise even if it meant sacrifice and resurrection.  It was a faith of complete dependance on God’s power.  We need to display such faith in our lives and prayers.  Pray with us with a faith of complete dependance on God that He will use us to bring salvation to the people of Kaohsiung.

 

Our team, as well as a few other missionaries in Taiwan, will be taking Jonathan Training in November.  This training helps a team to prepare a detailed plan to make disciples of a target people group.  Join us in praying that this training will make a great impact upon our ministry in Taiwan.

 

Our co-worker, Paul, has been training students in a nearby land how to use story telling to teach children and adults alike.  He called this week saying that he was greatly impressed  by their ability to tell the stories from the Word.  The were going out over the weekend to put what they had learned to practice.  Please pray that they will have great results from their efforts in sharing the truth through stories.

 

There is one mom living at the House of Hope at this time.  She could give birth at anytime.  We ask that you pray for her to have a safe delivery.  Pray as well for her not to bee too anxious as she waits.

 

We certainly covet your prayers over all aspects of our life and ministry.

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

 

1.  Please pray that we will place full dependance on God to use us to bring salvation to people of Kaohsiung.

2.  Please pray that our team will be greatly impacted by Jonathan Training.

3.  Please pray for there to be continuing results from Paul’s teaching at the training school.

4.  Please pray for Wen Yi as she waits for the arrival of her child.

 

 

 

 

Posted on October 27th, 2012 by dunns
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October 14, 2012 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

 

And the Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”  So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”  Genesis 3:11-13 NET

 

Adam & Eve, just like us, usually look to put the blame on someone else.  We don’t want to own up to our wrong doing and accept the consequences.  They both knew that eating the fruit was forbidden, but they ate it anyway.  Because of their choice to sin all of creation has a judgement upon it.  Cheryl and Samantha recently shared the account of the temptation and fall of man with two of the mom’s staying at the His Hands’ House of Hope.  After hearing the account, they had some very good questions.  Pray that we will be bold as we share the gospel with the Taiwanese.  Pray as well for the moms at the House of Hope to accept the truth of the Gospel.

 

Tomorrow will be the second meeting of the discipleship class.  The class was given the assignment to share a portion of the Gospel message or part of what they had learned with someone that week.  Besides studying the Bible together we will be learning to share the Gospel and serve others together.  Pray that each person will desire to learn to be a true disciple.

 

This past week our children had fall break.  We spent part of the week at the beach relaxing and visiting with fellow missionaries.  We had good time swimming, snorkeling, searching out tide pools, eating together, and more.  We also spent some time discussing ministry together.  We always enjoy learning from each other.  Join us in thanking God for this time of encouragement and rest.

 

Your prayers are very important to us.  Keep up the good work.

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

 

1.  Please pray for our boldness in sharing the Gospel and for the mom’s at the House of Hope to accept the truth of the Gospel.

2.  Please pray for all those attending the discipleship class to desire to become true disciples of Christ.

3.  Please pray for the Sanford’s and Stiles as they reach out to their communities with the Gospel.

4.  We praise God for the time to discuss ministry and relax with our friends.

 

 

 

 

Posted on October 27th, 2012 by dunns
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October 7, 2012 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Gen.” 1:1 NET

 

The answers to so many of people’s questions concerning life begin in Genesis.  God having created us with a purpose of glorifying Himself through His creation is the basis for many answers.  When people realize that they have a creator and that their creator gave them a purpose for life many things come together in their minds.  Even we as Christians get off course at times.  It is this fact of our being created for a purpose that straightens us out.  Pray with us we try to live a life of purpose and teach others to as well.

 

The first night of the discipleship class had 14 people, including Chris Sanford & John.  It is obvious that getting most people to share will not be an issue.  We are praying for God to be glorified as the class seeks to become better disciples.

 

His Hands has a number of babies whose paperwork went to the courts under the old law.  Please pray that all of these little ones will soon be able to go home with their forever families.  Join us in praying for these cases to come to a close quickly and for God to prepare the hearts of everyone involved for the changes ahead.  Currently we have one baby whose paperwork is going in under the new laws.  Please help us pray that all will go smoothly and that God will show us how we need to handle the adoption process under these new laws.  We are praying that His Hands can work together with the Home of God’s Love to process these adoptions.  No matter what happens please pray that all that is done is to God’s glory!

 

From November 5th to the 16th our team as well as some other missionaries will be taking part in Jonathan Training.  We will work as a team to design a strategy to make disciples of the people God has called us to.  This training will challenge all of us to change our thinking about many things concerning church planting.

 

We are very grateful for your prayers.

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

 

1.  Please pray for us to live lives with the purpose of glorifying God as we seek to teach others.

2.  Please pray that the discipleship class will bring glory and honor to God.

3.  Please pray that the His Hands babies will be with their forever families soon.

4.  Pray with our team as we prepare for Jonathan Training.

 

 

 

 

Posted on October 27th, 2012 by dunns
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September 30, 2012 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

 

“In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory.”  Ephesians 1:11-12  NET

 

As Christians, we are God’s possession!  We belong to God.  Since we are His, He has a purpose for us.  He plans to use us for His Glory.  Whenever we choose to sin, we are abandoning God’s purpose for our lives.  That could mean that we choose our will above His.  We desire to learn to seek God’s will for our lives and to be obedient to it, so that we might live this scripture out before the Taiwanese.

 

John will begin teaching a discipleship class on Monday evening at the Good News church.  They will be studying the book of Ephesians.  Hopefully through this class those participating will learn to be disciples that will make other disciples.  Pray that those who choose to participate will desire to become mature disciples.

 

Thank you for praying for Sadie’s case.  There was some movement in the right direction this past week.  Please pray for the judge to write her first decree very soon.

 

Chris Sanford has been doing very well at learning Chinese.  As team leader, John has challenged him to use Chinese when delivering his monthly communion meditation, which he has done once already.  John also challenged him to be able to preach a sermon in Chinese by January.  We know he can do it.  Please pray for his confidence to build.

 

Philip and Bethany moved on Saturday.  They will be cleaning in the house they moved out of on Sunday and adjusting to their new home as they unpack.  Please pray for strength and endurance during the next few weeks when they have so many things to do.

 

Thank you for your prayers.

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

 

1.  Please pray for our witness before the Taiwanese shows our desire to glorify God with our obedience.

2.  Please pray for John to have wisdom as he begins to lead the discipleship class.

3.  Please continue to pray for Sadie’s case to be completed quickly.

4.  Please pray for Chris Sanford’s language learning.

5.  Please pray for Philip, Bethany, & Juliet as they adjust to their new home.

 

 

Posted on October 2nd, 2012 by dunns
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September 23, 2012 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

 

Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top.  Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” and they did.  When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom  and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!”  Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. John 2:6-11

 

This account is from Jesus’ first miracle performed at a wedding banquet. When some people look at this account they wonder why did use this as His first miracle?  There is not healing.  There is no walking on water or the quieting of a storm so no one’s life is lost.  Yet, the disciples saw this a proof that Jesus was worthy of following.  They believed in Him as the son of God.  Why?  They recognized the miracle of creation in what He did.  I wonder if sometimes we have missed God’s miracles in our lives because we were not looking for them.  Jesus disciples were looking for proof that Jesus was the Son of God and therefor recognized His actions as miraculous.  Later, having believed they anticipated the miraculous.  Do we?  Do we expect God to work in and through us.  If we live a life of faith before people anticipating God to do great things in and through us, we will be living out a life that becomes a great witness to others.

 

John will begin teaching an advanced English class again this Wednesday.  The format being used is story telling.  The class will learn to tell stories through learning Bible stories.  They first story John will tell teach them is Jesus’ first miracle.  After that, they will begin a set of stories that begins with Creation and goes through the early church.  This set of stories is designed to set a foundation for faith in Christ and therefore becoming a disciple.  There are two Christians that will be helping with the class.  Please pray that God will bring people to the class who have open hearts.

 

The Wednesday Ladies Group has started again.  Betty, the preacher’s wife, is leading the study.  It is obvious that some of the non-Christian ladies that attend are not willing to accept Biblical truth in many areas of their lives.  Please pray for Betty, Cheryl, and others as they speak the truth to these ladies.  Please pray for the truth to change all those who attend.

 

There is a young mom living at the House of Hope.  She will only be there a couple more weeks.  She is very guarded with what she shares with Cheryl, Samantha, and others who work the moms through His Hands.  Please pray that the love of Christ will break down the walls that she has built up in her heart so that healing can take place.

 

Sadie’s case has still not been resolved in the Taiwan courts.  Please pray that the judge will make ruling on her case that will be favorable and that her adoptive family will be able to come and get her very soon.  Sadie is adorable and we enjoy her a lot, but she needs to be with her forever family.

 

Thank you again for praying.

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

 

1.  Please pray that we can live in faithful anticipation of God acting in our lives so that we can become great witnesses for Him.

2.  Please pray for the new evangelistic English class beginning on Wednesday.

3.  Please pray for the ladies in the Wednesday Ladies Group to be changed by the truth of the Word.

4.  Please pray for this young mom at the House of Hope to trust the ladies of His Hands.

5.  Thank you for continuing to pray for John as he slowly gets back to normal.

6.  Please pray for Sadie’s case and for her adoptive parents as they wait for the time to come and pick her up.

 

 

 

Posted on September 23rd, 2012 by dunns
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September 16, 2012 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

 

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.  For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will – to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.  Ephesians 1:3-8

 

God chose to freely give us the blessings of His grace, redemption and forgiveness.  These were given to us through the cost of the blood of His son, Jesus.  This was also done through His wisdom in order that He might receive praise and glory.  We are, therefore, the beneficiaries of all God’s grace and wisdom as well as the sacrifice of Jesus.  We should then live in awe and thanksgiving of our benefits in Christ Jesus.

 

Today at Eternal Light we rejoice with a new sister in Christ.  Shu Mei has desired to be baptized for some time, but has been waiting for her mother-in-law’s approval.  She, like many others in Taiwan, wants her baptism to help bring others in her family to Christ, not to be a hinderance.  Please pray for Shu Mei’s witness in her family as she makes her commitment to Christ.

 

The ladies Wednesday Bible study started up again this week.  There were some very good questions asked by some non-Christians that attend.  One lady asked, “So are you saying that Satan arranged all these other religions?”  Wow!  Please pray for more good discussion that will people to discover the truth in God’s Word.

 

Several people have asked about John and Holly.  Holly continues to do well.  Please pray that she can get sufficient rest in order to stay healthy.  John is doing better little by little.  It will probably be a slow process to get all the feeling back in hand as well as to get rid of all of the pain.  Thank you for praying.

 

Thank you for praying for Philip and Bethany as they prepare for their twins to arrive.  Bethany is doing well health wise.  They were also able to find a larger place to live this past week as well.  Please continue to pray for them as they pack, move, and look for a different vehicle.

 

Please continue to pray for Sadie’s paperwork to be completed.  She is now 13 months old.  We hope she is able to go to her forever family as soon as possible.

 

We are grateful for all your prayers.

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

 

1.  Let us pray that we live in recognition of our great benefits in Christ.

2.  Praise God for Shu Mei’s baptism.  Please pray for her witness.

3.  Please pray for these ladies who are seeking truth.

4.  Thank you for praying for John & Holly’s health.

5.  Praise God that Philip and Bethany found a larger apartment.

6.  Please continue to pray for Sadie’s paperwork to be completed soon.

 

 

 

Posted on September 20th, 2012 by dunns
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September 11, 2012 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

 

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.  For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will – to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.  Ephesians 1:3-8

 

We see God’s great love for us in this passage.  He chose to adopt us into His family.  Paul says that this pleased Him, even though the cost of our adoption was the life of His only son.  That was the most costly adoption of all.  We need to be grateful for our adoption daily by telling others of God’s desire to adopt them as well.

 

Thank you for praying for Holly.  She is much better.  They are not certain what caused all of her pain, but she was having gallbladder issue with what was probably a migraine headache.  Please pray that she be able to get enough rest to stay healthy.

 

We spent the weekend with the Bogard and Smith families, two adoptive families from His Hands.  Both of these families will be having their visa interviews with the US government this Thursday.  Please pray that all goes well.

 

Sadie’s paperwork has not come through yet.  Please pray that her case will be settled soon so she can go to live with her forever family.

 

Thank you for praying for John.  He is getting better each day.  He still has some numbness in his hand and arm as well as pain, but both are better.  He has to be careful how much he does with his right arm.  Please keep praying.

 

We continue to pray for men & women of peace to begin new participative Bible study groups.  We hope to start a new group in our community this fall.

 

Thank you for your prayers.

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

1.  Praise God for adopting us as His children.

2.  Praise God for Holly’s healing.

3.  Please pray for the visa interviews for the Bogard & Smith families.

4.  Please pray for Sadie’s case to be finished soon.

5.  Praise God for the progress John is making.

6.  Please pray that we find men & women of peace.

 

 

 

Posted on September 20th, 2012 by dunns
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September 2, 2012 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

 

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.  For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will – to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.  Ephesians 1:3-8

 

Since God chose us in Christ, He sees us as holy & blameless!  Let us rejoice in our holy state in Christ.

 

Thank you for praying for Holy Muir this week.  Holly is still in the hospital.  They believe the cause of her trouble is too little spinal fluid.  Please pray that she can receive ample rest and the correct treatment so that her level returns to normal soon.

 

Thank you for praying for John as well.  The MRI on John’s neck came back showing no problems with his discs.  While that is good news, it does not give us a reason for all of his pain.  The physical therapists believes that it must be muscle tissue that is extremely tight pinching nerves.  Please pray for the pressure on the nerves to be relieved soon.

 

Today is Cheryl’s birthday!  Join us in wishing her a great day!

 

(Sorry for the brevity of this note.  It is difficult for John to type.)

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

 

 

Posted on September 20th, 2012 by dunns
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August 26, 2012

Dear Family & Friends,

 

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.  For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will – to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.  Ephesians 1:3-8

 

This is one of those passages that we really enjoy to read and meditate on.  Just think God so desires to bless us that He chose to make it possible through Jesus even before the creation of our world.  Please join us in praising God for the His great love for us and His plan to bless us in Christ Jesus.

 

Today during worship at Eternal Light, the youth group will share about their experiences during their short mission trip last weekend.  Pray that they will be inspired to continue to share the gospel with others.

 

Thank you for praying for volunteers to help lead the moms that stay at the House of Hope.  Cheryl had a few good meetings this past week and is on the way to having a group of ladies that will commit to spending time each week with the mom’s.  Please continue to pray as they work out their methods of building relationships and sharing the truth of of God’s Word.

 

Thank you for praying for Philip and Bethany as they prepare for the birth of twins!  Because their family will be growing so quickly they need to find a larger house and car.  As you know, this means making changes in the family budget.  They would really like to move sooner rather than later due to Bethany’s ability to pack and for there to be less stress later in the pregnancy.  Please pray for them to have wisdom as they look for the right place to move as well as the right car to buy.

 

John will soon be starting a discipleship class with the brothers and sisters at the Kaohsiung Good News Christian Church.  Please pray for John to have wisdom as he teaches and trains.  We hope to always be training disciples that will disciple others.

Thank you for praying.

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

 

 

1.  Let us praise God for the blessings with have in Christ Jesus.

2.  Please pray for the youth group as they share today during worship and for them to develop a desire to share God’s love with others.

3.  Please continue to pray for the developing ministry to the mom’s at the House of Hope.

4.  Please pray for Philip & Bethany as they look for a house and make plans to trade cars in the near future.

5.  Please pray for John to have wisdom as he works at developing disciples at the Good News Church.

 

 

 

Posted on August 25th, 2012 by dunns
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August 19, 2012 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

 

So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly praying to God for him. … Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.  The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” Peter did so. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”  Acts 12:5, 7-8

 

This is part of the scripture from today’s sermon that Chris Sanford will be presenting.  The emphasis is on prayer.  In this passage we see God acting as the people brought their petition before God.  Peter was not just brought out of jail by the Angel, but was actually kept from being killed as well.  When we pray in faith believing God will act.  Pray with us as we try to establish prayer as the basis of ministry within the churches we work with.

 

Cheryl will be meeting Monday afternoon with a group of possible volunteers to work with the moms at His Hands.  Developing this part of the ministry is Cheryl’s largest responsibility at this time.  This includes determining what material and methods they will use to teach them the Bible. Please pray that there will be a team of workers that will be committed to helping lead these women to Christ and disciple them.

 

We continue to wait on Sadie’s paperwork to be completed for her adoption.  We have not heard anything for several weeks.  Sadie turned one year old last week and she is almost walking.  We would like her forever parents to enjoy as many of these milestones and joys as possible.

 

Thank you for praying about the inspection at the Home of God’s Love.  The inspection went very well, although we won’t know if the home passed until late September.  We are still waiting on the permit to build the new building, so keep praying for the permit to arrive.  Thank you as well for praying for Bev this past week.  She is doing much better now.

 

Your prayers are a blessing to us.

 

God Bless,

 

John & Cheryl

 

1.  Please pray that we will live an example of lives built on prayer as we seek to develop a ministry of prayer within our churches.

2.  Please pray for there to be a team of volunteers committed to helping lead the moms at His Hands.

3.  Please pray for Sadie’s adoption paperwork to be completed soon.

4.  Thank you for praying about the inspection at the Home of God’s Love and for Bev’s health.

 

 

 

 

Posted on August 18th, 2012 by dunns
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