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August 29, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, ‘The righteous by faith will live.’”  Romans 1:16-17

Today both congregations, Good News & Eternal Light, will be having people present testimonies to God’s working in their lives.  We believe it gives our people an opportunity to bring glory to God as they share the power of the Gospel in their lives.  It also gives them and opportunity to practice sharing their faith.  Hopefully, they will be encouraged to share their testimony with an unbelieving friend.  Please join us in praying that our people will learn to share their testimonies with those who do not know the power of the Gospel in their lives.

The Kairos training was very good.  It is a training tool that any congregation could benefit from using.  We encourage you to speak to your leaders about looking into having a Kairos course at your church or attending one nearby.  Team Expansion offers it periodically at the home office and could be helpful in setting up a course.  Please pray that as we make plans for our people to take this course that they will be challenged to put their hearts into advancing God’s Kingdom around the world.

The ministry at His Hands is booming right now.  They have a new part-time worker, which is a big blessing.  They also have several new babies.  As we mentioned before, one of these babies we are now caring for in our home.  He is the adoptive son of Jeff & Michelle Michael.  His name is Malachi.  Please pray for God’s protection and empowering for the ministry.  Pray as well for the new babies and their adoptive families.

Thank you for praying for Kathy-Lu.  She came through surgery very well and has recovered well so far also.  We ask that you continue to pray for her recovery.

Thank you for your prayers.

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  Pray that God will be glorified as our people learn to testify about the power of the Gospel in their lives.

2.  Pray that through Kairos and the study of the scriptures our people will desire to advance God’s Kingdom around the world.

3.  Please pray for the ministry at His Hands as there are now several new babies and other challenges.

4.  Praise God for Kathy-Lu’s surgery going well and please pray for her continue recovery.

Posted on August 28th, 2010 by dunns
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August 22, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

“But she replied to them, ‘Don’t call me ‘Naomi’! Call me ‘Mara’ because the Sovereign One has treated me very harshly.  I left here full, but the Lord has caused me to return empty-handed. Why do you call me ‘Naomi,’ seeing that the Lord has opposed me, and the Sovereign One has caused me to suffer?’ So Naomi returned, accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who came back with her from the region of Moab.”  Ruth 1:20-22

How many times are we like Naomi?  All we see is how God is dealing harshly with us.  We are so caught up in the difficulty of the situation that we are in that we cannot see the blessing we are receiving.  Even though Ruth made a pledge to Naomi and walked right beside her back to Judah all Naomi could see was loss and bitterness.  When hard times come we need to learn to immediately start looking for the good God is working in our lives.  We need to pray for God to give us spiritual discernment.

Today, John will have the privilege of baptizing Sandy Lin into Christ.  She has been coming to the Good News Church since she was in jr. high.  She is now a masters degree student.  When John asked her why she wanted to be baptized tears came to her eyes.  She related her recognition of sin in her life that only Jesus could forgive her for and help her to overcome.  Join us in praying for Sandy as she gives her life to Christ.

John and Eugene are in the middle of taking Kairos, a training course that is similar to the course, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement.  Team Expansion has asked that all missionaries take the course.  Team Expansion also wants us to use it in our congregations as well.  Paul took Kairos training in June.  Now, John and Eugene are taking it.  Please pray that we will reap a good harvest from the material and have a renewed passion to take the Gospel around the world.  Pray as well for us to have wisdom as to how and when to provide this training for our congregations.

Please remember to pray for Kathy-Lu White as she has heart valve surgery this Wednesday in Canada.  It has been postponed from Tuesday.  Please pray for the surgery to go well, for the Holy Spirit to comfort the family, and for God to be glorified through their witness.

Thank you for praying for these requests.

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  Please pray that our Taiwanese brothers and sisters will learn to look for how God wants to bless them during the difficult times of life.

2.  Please pray for Sandy Lin as she is baptized today.

3.  Please pray for John, Eugene, and the others that are taking the Kairos training course.

4.  Please pray for Kathy-Lu White and her family as she has heart surgery on Wednesday.

Posted on August 21st, 2010 by dunns
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August 15, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

“Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!”  Acts 28:28

There are times that we wonder if the “Gentiles” truly listen, but then we realize that we must be sharing the Good News for them to listen.  Of course not everyone will listen, but those who will, must have an opportunity to listen.  Join us in praying for the courage and boldness to speak often to those who will listen of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

This afternoon Jim Thurber will be returning to continue the One to One Evangelism seminar.  These sessions will be more specifically about learning to train others in this method.  Please pray that John and the Stiles will be able to complete this training and then have opportunity to use it.  John has been trying to practice and use it both in English and Chinese.

We have enjoyed our summer with Nathanael, but it is time for him to return to the States and back to college.  His flight leaves on Tuesday morning and arrives in Evansville Tuesday evening.  Please pray for he and many other MK’s that are leaving family and traveling to college.  Tabitha Atkin returns to the States on Monday.

Please remember to pray for our son-in-law’s family as they prepare for Kathy-lu’s heart valve surgery.  The surgery is scheduled for the 24th of August.

We are now caring for an infant again.  He is the adoptive son of Jeff and Michelle Michael.  Jeff & Michelle minister in Effingham, IL.  They have been good friends of ours for around 20 years.  Please pray for the adoption procedure to move smoothly and for our family, especially Cheryl, as we adjust to a newborn again.

Thank you again for being such wonderful prayer warriors.

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  Please pray for courage and boldness to share the Gospel often.

2.  Please pray for the evangelism training and opportunities to use it.

3.  Please pray for Nathanael and others that will be traveling because of schooling.

4.  Please pray for the White family as they prepare for Kathy-lu surgery.

5.  Please pray as we begin caring for another infant.

Posted on August 21st, 2010 by dunns
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August 8, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

“And now I advise you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost.  For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve came to me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before Caesar, and God has graciously granted you the safety of all who are sailing with you.’  Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be just as I have been told.”  Acts 27:22-25

This passage will be used at both Good News and Eternal Light today for the sermon text.  In this passage we see the faithfulness of both God and Paul.  God promised that Paul would preach the Gospel in Rome.  Here God renews that promise.  Paul then, being faithful to that promise, encourages those with him to keep courage and not give up.  God’s promise to keep all those with Paul safe also shows how God’s blessings flow through the faithful to others.  Paul was the conduit for God’s mercy and blessing to the others on the ship.  We should learn from Paul’s faithfulness and live in faith believing the promises of God.  God will then use as well to bless others.  Please pray that our people will learn to be faithful like Paul.

On August 15th, John and a few others are going to continue to be trained to use the one on one Gospel presentation we mentioned last week.  John’s intention is to become a trainer.  The training materials are presently being translated into Mandarin.  John has been working on how to give the presentation in Mandarin as well.  Please pray that this tool will become very useful to bringing the Gospel message to many different people.

Eugene has been busy getting to know the situation at Good News.  John has also been involved some with cell groups and visiting people.  There are some changes that need to be made in the cell groups as well as where there will be emphasis put on ministry.  We are trying to get people focused on serving others within their gifting and interests.  These areas of ministry will also be focused on those outside of the Church.  Please pray for us to have wisdom as we proceed.

Next week on Monday, Andrew and Moriah will begin a new school year.  Please pray for them as they make adjustments and meet new classmates.  Nathanael will be heading back to the states on Tuesday of next week as well.  This will be an adjustment for all of us as well.  Please pray for safety as he travels and for a good school year.

Please be praying for the White family as they face transitions and Kathy-Lu’s surgery.  Bethany’s sister-in-law will be heading back to Taiwan this week to begin her senior year of high school.  Kathy-Lu’s heart surgery will be less than two weeks later.  Please pray for the whole family as they prepare for the surgery and separation.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and congratulations concerning our 25th anniversary.  We did have a good time with our children at the beach.

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  Please pray for Paul and John as they preach and for our people to learn to be faithful to God’s promises.

2.  Please pray for the continuing of the evangelistic training the usefulness of this presentation in evangelizing the lost around the world.

3.  Please pray for wisdom as changes are made in the cell groups and other areas at Good News.

4.  Please pray for our family as we prepare for a new school year and as Nathanael returns to the States.

5.  Please pray for the White family as Elyssa returns Taiwan and Kathy-Lu prepares for surgery.

Posted on August 7th, 2010 by dunns
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August 1, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

“Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?’ Paul replied, ‘I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.’”  Acts 26:28-29

In this short excerpt we see Paul is once again witnessing to people.  He expresses the desire of his heart to King Agrippa, that all those who hear the gospel will accept the message and become Christians.  This is what Paul desired above his freedom, above all else, because this would bring glory to God!  Eugene will be preaching at Good News today from this passage.  Please join us in praying that all Christians who hear the message will respond with a desire to share the Gospel.  Pray, as well, that all non-Christians will be challenged to change their minds about Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Thank you for praying about the services last week at Good News.  Everything went very well as Peter & Angel Ho were sent off to begin a new church plant, and as Eugene & Tina Tzai were handed the torch as such.  Please pray for the church and the Tzai’s as the transition continues.  Pray for understanding and wisdom for everyone involved.

On Saturday, Jim Thurber came to Kaohsiung and presented a method of witnessing that can be used with strangers or people you know. Dave & Jeanay Stiles, a Taiwanese Christian named Lynn, Nathanael, Cheryl, & John were in attendance to learn how to personally share this presentation of the Gospel.  Jim also hoped to receive feedback on how to adjust the method in order to be more effective in Taiwan.  John and Jim are now praying about whether they should invest the time for John to become trained as an instructor for this method.  Please join us in praying about this, and for all of us to have God- appointed opportunities to witness to non-Christians.

His Hands is getting busy again.  There are two expectant moms living at His Hands at this time.  They are both due in late August.  There have also  been several phone calls lately from hospitals about babies.  They received one baby last week and will most likely receive two more soon.  Please be praying for all the adjustments that must be made as these new babies arrive.

We praise God for a good week of VBS.  It just so happened that it rained every day, but the children came anyway.  We had a barbeque after we finished our VBS program on Friday, and many parents  attended.   We now have the responsibility to follow-up on all these families.  Please pray that we will put our hearts into the work and that God will send an abundant harvest.

Thank you for your prayers.

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  Please pray for Eugene as he preaches today.  Pray as well for message to affect both Christians and non-Christians alike.

2.  Praise God for the blessing of a good send off for Pete and Angel Ho.  Pray for wisdom & understanding for Eugene & Tina as well as the congregation as they transition continues.

3.  Please pray that the God will direct us how to proceed with the gospel presentation that we were trained in this weekend.

4.  Please pray for the nannies, new babies, and the expectant moms at His Hands.

5.  Praise God for a good week of VBS.  Pray that our follow-up will be done well and will bear fruit.

Posted on July 31st, 2010 by dunns
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July 25, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

“After some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let’s return and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord to see how they are doing.’  Barnabas wanted to bring John called Mark along with them too,  but Paul insisted that they should not take along this one who had left them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.  They had a sharp disagreement, so that they parted company. Barnabas took along Mark and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and set out, commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers and sisters. He passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”  Acts 15:36-41

The passage above is part of the text John will be preaching from today at the Kaohsiung Good News Christian Church.  We see through this passage and others related to it that God can and does use situations and people that men often believe to be unusable.  We pray that God will use the situation at the Good News Church to bring glory to His name and growth to his church.  This Peter Ho last Sunday.  Eugene Tzai will be preaching next Sunday.  Please pray for the transition to go well.

Please continue to pray for our VBS, which starts tomorrow and runs through Friday.  There are over 50 children signed up at this point, so we can still accept a few more.  Please pray that God will use this week as a way to open the door to many families in the Ba Gwa area.

This coming weekend we will be hosting Jim & Mary Thurber.  Jim was one of the main speakers for the missionary conference we attended earlier this summer.  Jim will be training the Stiles, Nathanael, a few others, and the two of us in an evangelistic presentation that he has used in many places all around the world.  We ask for wisdom as we consider how this presentation may need to be adjusted to be best suited for Taiwan.

We want to update you on Bethany’s in-laws, Lorne & Kathy-Lu White.  Kathy-Lu now has a surgery date that is set for August 24th.  This is a praise that they now have a date, but it is after their daughter, Elyssa, will have already returned to Taiwan for school.  Also, this summer Lorne injured his leg and has been recovering for the last few weeks.  Please pray that he will be fully recovered before the surgery date.

If you read to the bottom of our prayer note last week you probably noticed that we left out a couple of paragraphs.  I guess that is testimony to how tiring the camp week was.  In the summary section, we had asked for prayers for transitions at the Good News Church and for the family of Don Bickers.  You know about the situation at Good News, but probably not the Bickers family.  Don Bickers passed away not long after Cheryl’s Great-uncle Wesley.  He was a long-time friend of Cheryl’s parents and ours.  He too is now beginning to enjoy his reward.

Thank you again for supporting our ministry and us through your prayers.

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  Please pray for God to be glorified through the transition of leadership at the Good News Church.

2.  Please pray for our VBS to bring us into relationship with many families in  the Ba Gwa area.

3.  Please pray that this evangelistic training will be useful for bringing Gospel to many people around the world.

4.  Please pray for the Whites as they prepare for transitions and surgery.

Posted on July 24th, 2010 by dunns
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July 18, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:1-2

This was the theme scripture for Sports & English Camp this past week.  We were all challenged this week by this passage of scripture whether camper or faculty, Christian or non-Christian.  We are all on a journey in this life.  We must decide whether to journey toward God or not.  We choose to follow Jesus or not.  We must choose to face the challenges on the narrow road that leads to salvation or not.  These and other questions were placed before those at camp this past week.  At the end of the week there were at least 20 decisions made a few of them were by Christians, about issues in their lives, but most were by non-Christians wanting to become Christians.  Nine of those that made a confession of faith were allowed by their parents to be baptized at camp.  Join us in praying for all those that made decisions during Sports & English Camp.

We ask that you continue to pray for our VBS, which starts on July 26th.  We have several tasks to accomplish this week as we finish preparations.  Please pray for our teachers and group leaders as they prepare to teach lessons and apply them.  Please pray that all our workers will prepare their hearts to be loving and accepting of each student.

Today, Steve Skaggs will be preaching at Eternal Light.  John will be translating.  Steve is a former missionary to Africa and is now on the faculty at Cincinnati Christian University.  He brought a team from the States to help with Sports and English camp this past week.  We truly enjoyed having them.

Please pray for the teams that were here for Sports & English camp this past week as they will be traveling back to the States this coming week.

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  Please praise God for all those that made decisions at S & E Camp and pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen them.

2.  Please continue to pray for our workers as they prepare for VBS.

3.  Please pray for the transitions at the Good News Church.

4.  Please pray for the family of Don Bickers as they grieve.

5.  Please pray for Steve Skaggs as he preaches and John as he translates today.

6.  Please pray for the teams as they travel back to the States this week.

Posted on July 17th, 2010 by dunns
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July 11, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

“While Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.’”  Acts 24:25

Felix became frightened as he was convicted of his own sin.  He was frightened of the judgement to come because he did not have a savior.  This happened because Paul knew that for a person to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ he had to first come face to face with his own sin.  As we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ let us not forget to that a person must have a reason to accept Christ as Savior, their sin.

Today we are already in Taichung preparing for Sports and English camp.  We are expecting 120 campers to come in this afternoon.  Seventy percent of our campers are not yet Christians.  Please pray for their hearts to be open to hear the gospel & for safety as they travel.

We now have over 50 registrations for VBS!  We are praying for 60.  Please pray that we will be able to minister not only to these students, but also their families.

Please pray for Cheryl’s family.  Cheryl’s great-uncle, Wesley McKenzie, died this past week.  He is now home with our Lord.  Please pray that through his death others in the family might come to know Jesus as Lord & Savior.

Thank you for praying faithfully.

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  Please pray that we are effective in presenting the whole gospel of Jesus Christ.

2.  Please continue to pray for this week of camp.

3.  Please pray for the VBS at Eternal Light  to have a lasting impact on the families of the students that attend.

4.  Please pray Cheryl’s family as they grieve.

Posted on July 11th, 2010 by dunns
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July 4, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family and Friends,

“He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross!  As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:8-11

This past week at the Taiwan Missionary Fellowship conference, we received both encouragement and challenge from each of the speakers.  One of the greatest challenges we received was not to forget that all things were to be done so that God might be glorified.  We were also challenged to believe that  God is most glorified when people of ethnicity are unified together in Christ Jesus for God’s global glory.  The above passage of scripture was presented by our fellow Team Expansion missionary, David Atkin, as support for this view.  We often teach and preach from this passage, but we tend to run out of steam by the end of the passage.  More emphasis is placed upon the humility and obedience of Christ leading to His exaltation, and then our responsibility to follow in His steps.  Please join us in having more of global mindset of making God’s name known to all people everywhere.

Please continue to pray for the transition of leadership at the Good News church.  There will be a meeting today with the leadership.  John and Eugene will both be attending.  There will be some discussion concerning the sharing of responsibilities and preaching schedules.  John will be assisting Eugene as he learns to serve a congregation full-time.  We are trying to be sensitive both to the needs of the congregation and the potential problems of a missionary becoming too involved with a “planted church”.  Please pray for wisdom as we work out these details.

Sports and English Camp is just a week away.  This has become an annual outreach event that our missionaries on island work together to have.  This year there are 140 campers.  Many of these youth are not Christians and do not attend youth groups or church services.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit will use this week to convince them of their need for Jesus.

Our VBS is the last week of July.  Our people are preparing crafts and lessons at this time.  We are also in the middle of our registration drive.  Last year our goal was 50 students.  We registered just over 50 students and had a daily attendance of about 45.  We hope this year to register 60 students.  Please pray that God will provide these students and that He will prepare our hearts to minister to them.

We pray that God’s name will be glorified globally through our efforts!

We hope you have a blessed and happy 4th of July!

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  We thank God for a great week at TMF and ask that you work and pray toward God receiving global glory through all peoples of the world coming together as a body in Christ.

2.  Please pray for the transition of leadership at the Good News church.

3.  Please pray for our upcoming Sports and English Camp, July 11- 17th.

4.  Please pray for our VBS that is the last week of July.

Posted on July 3rd, 2010 by dunns
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June 27, 2010 Prayer Note

Dear Family & Friends,

“Paul looked directly at the council and said, ‘Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day.’”  Acts 23:1

Wow!  Are we able to say the same as Paul?  Can you say that you have lived according to God’s will for your life daily?  I believe that Paul’s words challenge us in more than one way.  First, Paul’s words challenges us, as Christians, to view ourselves as forgiven by God of our sins.  Secondly, his words challenge us to daily pick up our cross and follow Jesus.  Satan often uses guilt of past sin to cause us to give up before we even begin to pick-up our cross.  Let us learn to believe in our forgiveness that we might daily live for Jesus.

This coming week we will be in Taichung attending the annual Taiwan Missionary Fellowship (TMF) conference.  We will have an opportunity to participate in workshops and hear challenging messages from God’s word. We will also be able to visit with other missionaries.  Please pray that the conference will bring both challenge and encouragement to all the missionaries that attend.

The meeting concerning the possible training center in Taiwan was well attended and brought about some good discussion.  There will probably be another meeting later this year.  There has not been a final decision made, but everything looks favorable at this time.  We will keep you posted as things move ahead.

John will be preaching today at the Good News Church.  He also met with the leaders this past week concerning transition of Peter leaving and Eugene coming.  Eugene will begin working full-time at the Good News church in August.  John will continue to train Eugene in certain areas as well as to assist he and the church as they learn to work together.  We will give more details later.  Please pray for all of the leaders as well as the congregation.

Sports & English Camp is only two weeks away.  Our VBS is only a month away.  We have been preparing for both.  Please pray that the faculty and teachers for both S & E Camp and VBS develop a heart to serve these children and youth.  Please pray that those attending will have hearts that are ready to receive the Word of God.

Thank you for your prayers for the work here in Taiwan.

God Bless,

John & Cheryl

1.  Please pray that the Church in Taiwan recognizes the forgiveness of God and takes up the challenge to truly follow Christ daily.

2.  Please pray for those attending the TMF conference to receive challenge and encouragement.

3.  Please continue to pray for God’s direction regarding the training center in Taiwan.

4.  Please continue to pray for the leadership transition and training at the Kaohsiung Good News Christian Church.

5.  Please pray for our upcoming Sports and English Camp as well as our VBS.

Posted on June 26th, 2010 by dunns
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