Thanking Him for His Goodness

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonders

Psalm 9:1

             Thanksgiving happens to be one of my favorite holidays. It is a time to reflect and give thanks to the Lord for the many blessings he has bestowed upon us. However, a wonderful surprise occurred today that made my heart soar with praises and thanksgiving. For weeks, we had been praying that God would grant us our first supporting church. “Lord, please bring us a church that will partner with us. Let one of the many churches we’ve contacted and presented, come alongside us,” was my heart cry during my morning prayers.

             How my heart swelled this afternoon when I received news that the very first church we ever presented our ministry to back in September was the one the Lord had chosen to be our first partnering church.

             It is not by chance that our partnership came to be. The Lord has been clearly working ahead of our present circumstances. Whittier Hills Baptist Church supported the ministry of the Good News Club at Sierra Vista Elementary since its inception in 2008. Although I was a trained Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) teacher and appreciated the support of WHBC, the Lord was orchestrating our partnership way ahead of anything I could have ever hoped or imagined. Little did I know that the church who had prayed and supported the ministry of sharing Bible stories with public school children at my former school, would in turn be the church who would share our vision to share the gospel with remote and isolated people.

             The amazing lessons that Tony and I are learning concerning God’ provisions and timing can only come about because of His great love and mercy. As we continue to process God’s marvelous deeds, let us give praise to the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness in every season of our lives.
-Laura

Matthew 25:14 - The Least of These

 

This is a short film shot by our Learning Technologies teammate, Brendan, in Costa Rica. Pastor Francisco is just one of many remote pastors that  MAF Learning Technologies partners with throughout Latin America. Laura and I thought it would be a good idea to share the story of one pastor, where he lives, and the types of responsibilities that he has beyond leading a local congregation. Through our partnership with pastors like Francisco (and your partnership with us), isolated church leaders have opportunities to access resources and training that will enable them to growth and lead strong healthy churches. 

                                                                                                                                                            

Mobile Missions

As Laura and I move ahead in our presentations,  people have asked us about the impact that cellular/mobile phone technology can have in missions. Currently, there is a mobile phone revolution taking place in the developing world (The part of the world where we will be serving.) Statistics show that 4 - 4.5 billion people have a mobile phone. By 2013, there will be cellular phones in the hands of 5 billion people. That is nearly 75% of the entire world. Most of that growth will be in the developing world where access to pastoral training and biblical resources is needed.  According to research, the reason mobile phones are growing so quickly, is because a mobile phone is an electronic device that has multiple functions, and it is easy to transport. At MAF - Learning Technologies, we are exploring effective methods for providing access to training and resources to pastors in the developing world through the use of mobile phone technology. One way that this is happening is through the use of an open source program called "Poodle". Poodle can be used to deliver distance learning courses offline. One way to deliver these courses can be through the use of the mobile phone. The phone delivers God's Word to remote locations and it can overcome many of the barriers that remote pastors face: geography, cost, and security. How great is that!  Looking forward to seeing more and more of you as the Lord leads us. Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement. It means the world to us.

Tony and Laura