Twenty-seven students from the Globalscope Canvas campus ministry in Birmingham, England, attended a retreat in Wales this weekend. The team was delighted with the turnout and team leader Robert Braden shared the exciting news in an update the next day. “What a weekend!” he wrote. “There were so many moments during our retreat to Wales when we exchanged knowing glances at fellow team members, whispering excitedly, ‘I can’t believe this is working!’ ”

As Robert points out, “It’s one thing to have students agree to go out for coffee with you, another kind of a thing to have them come dine with you in your home, yet still a slightly more significant acceptance to have students attend our weekly Tuesday night Bible study. However, it’s a fairly massive deal for these students to agree to come on a whole weekend away, under our trust, unknowing of what is to come.”

Of the 27 students who attended the retreat only six are Christians. The others are students with whom the GS team members have invested a great deal of time building relationships over the past year. “By inviting them into our lives, they, in turn, gifted us with an invitation into theirs,” wrote Robert.

The retreat used the theme, “Defining Moments,” and Caleb Mallard, the newest staff member, wrapped up the retreat with a final talk. Robert reports that you could have heard a pin drop in the room as Caleb shared these thoughts with the students: “God is gentle. He doesn’t force himself upon anyone; he doesn’t coerce or bully people into doing what he wants. He’s not some massive puppeteer in the sky playing with us, his toy people-ants. God gives us a choice, always. You can say, ‘Yes I want that defining moment, yes I want to explore something bigger than me’ or you can say, ‘No thanks; I’m not really interested.’ The choice is yours.”

“Observing the power, the reality, that took place this weekend brought me to tears more than once,” wrote Robert. “This was such a pivotal time in our community. Your prayers were with us. We felt them. Church in the truest sense happened this weekend, and it was a beautiful sight. Pray for these students, these friends of ours. They have heard and experienced the Gospel through community this week, and I feel sure from the feedback they shared that they have a lot to think about.”

Mark Taylor, Publisher and Editor of “Christian Standard,” Standard Publishing’s weekly magazine for church leaders, is visiting Kenya this week for the first time with Doug Priest and a small group of other church leaders. He’s learning more about CMF’s work in Nairobi and among the Masaai and writing about his experiences on the Christian Standard blog Write About Now, which is usually written by his daughter, Jennifer Taylor. You can read his insightful observations at http://writeaboutnow.christianstandard.com/

Westlink Christian Church in Wichita, Kansas, has been a partner with CMF’s work in the Ukraine for 20 years, and has enjoyed a 15-year association with CMF missionaries Cory and Janice Lemke’s church-planting ministry in Feodosia, Ukraine. Westlink’s Executive Pastor Larry Wren and Lead Pastor Todd Carter recently returned from a 10-day visit to Ukraine. Larry shares some reflections on his trip and the years of fruitful partnership below:

At the Training Center, the two men taught a two-day course on Howard Dayton’s book, “Your Money Matters,” and provided Crown Ministry materials in Russian to each of the 40 participants. “There were lots of questions, as this was the first time for many to talk about giving, saving, debt, etc. openly and how they can teach these important truths with the groups,” Larry noted.

On Friday night, February 26, the group enjoyed a time of thanksgiving and celebration for the Lemkes and their 15 years of service in Ukraine. “We also had a CMF-style ‘capping’ ceremony complete with ‘International Harvester’ caps for the members of the  leadership team (Alexi, Nicholai, Dima, Sasha, etc.), encouraging them to move forward in the next chapter of training church planters, however God leads. It was a great evening of joyful celebration and prayerful launching for the future,” said Larry.

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CMF missionaries Cory and Janice Lemke have been training church-planters in the Ukraine since their arrival there in 1995. As they recently looked back over their 15-year work, they shared this story about a fisherman named Victor that illustrates the change God can bring about in the hardest of hearts.

One morning, Victor decided to go fishing. He was a good fisherman and always caught many fish, but that day, his bobber did not even move. He tried all kinds of bait, but nothing worked. Such a thing had never happened to him before.

Before heading home, he decided to eat something. While looking for a knife, he found a copy of the gospel of John in his bag. He figured his wife Olya, a Christian, had put it there. He usually tossed out all Christian literature she brought home, but this time, he had no one to show off for so he decided to see what it said. When he began to read, he forgot about everything else. He forgot to eat and forgot it was time to go home. He read it from beginning to end.

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Lukas and Danielle Fortunato, CMF missionaries with the Globalscope El Oasis campus ministry in Santiago, Chile, were awakened by “intense shaking” at 3:34 a.m. Saturday, even though they live 200 miles north of the epicenter of the 8.8 earthquake that rocked the country.

“The worst that we experienced was a few items that fell off shelves and some furniture that fell. Once things had stopped we quickly got out of the apartment to wait for things to settle, along with several other rather alarmed Chileans,” writes Lukas. “A couple hours later we were back in bed fast asleep, only to find out in the morning the enormity of the night’s events. Praise God, the entire team and all of our exchange students are completely unharmed. Some of us went without electricity and water but nothing worse. Our neighborhood looked nearly untouched.”

The Fortunatos spent the better part of the day trying to get in touch with as many El Oasis students as possible, and so far, all are fine. But now, what next?

“As we were putting the apartment back in order, taking stock of the situation, we began to think about what to do next,” said Lukas. “It’s somewhat of a helpless feeling to be so close to people in need and not know how to help them. In the coming weeks we will figure out what we can do, how we can help rebuild, where we can pitch in. The stories of those who lived closer to the epicenter are, of course, much more horrific than ours and there will certainly be plenty of work to do.”

Meanwhile, Doug and Shelly Kallestad, former CMF missionaries who now serve with Iberoamerican Ministries in Santiago, had similar experiences. Their family is fine and their home has no structural damage. However, one couple from their team and some church members had to evacuate their apartments due to building collapse. “They basically got out with the clothes on their backs and their computer and guitar,” wrote Doug. The church buildings have withstood the damage for the most part, although there will be some repair work needed. And some team members who live in the southern regions, including Concepcion, epicenter of the quake, have not yet been accounted for.

“Please keep the people of Chile in your prayers,” added Doug, “and pray that the love of Christ will be spread throughout the country.”

CMF Executive Director Doug Priest is a busy and well-traveled guy, with insightful thoughts on a lot of topics. Now he has bravely traveled into the world of blogging so he can share those thoughts with the world. Doug describes his new blog as “my take on missions, missiology, creation care, ministry, and anything else of interest.” You can read and reflect on his comments by clicking on wanderingpriest.com. At the very least, you have to check out his birthday dance video!

David and Teresa Fittro, CMF missionaries in Nottingham, England, were recently invited to attend an annual civic awards dinner hosted by the Mayor of West Bridgford (Nottingham suburb) to honor those who contribute to community safety and citizenship. David was nominated by two local policemen for his work with local young people. A few days later, they were also invited to an informal lunch with local “councillors” (borough and county politicians) as well as the local Member of Parliament (congressman). David describes these events as “a bit more ‘shoulder rubbing’ for more influence in the community’s thinking.”

The Fittros are members of CMF’s Great Britain team. The team’s goal is to plant churches in a country where only a very small percentage of the population ever attend church. Nottingham, a rail center in the Midlands, is part of the fastest growing region of the UK and needs new churches. The Fittros’ growing relationships with adult leaders in the community and ministry efforts among the city’s young people will eventually result in a new church plant.

Ivory Coast, an independent republic in West Africa, has been divided by a civil war that began in September 2002. There has been relative peace for the last few years, but the situation is beginning to escalate once again, according to Andy and Stephanie Gable, CMF missionaries to Ivory Coast. The Ivorian president’s term expired five years ago, but he has continued to delay the elections. He recently announced that he is dissolving the government and electoral commission. There are demonstrations and rumors of another coup d’etat.

“What will happen? I have no idea,” writes Andy. “What I do know is that Ivory Coast needs a lot of prayers in order to avoid some real serious problems, including violent ones.”

The national leaders of the Christian churches in Turkana, Kenya, have recently initiated an outreach program focusing on literacy and evangelism in 24 unreached areas of the country. The church in Napusimoru, for example, is making plans to reach out to three new areas. The church leaders will take responsibility for the evangelistic efforts in the new areas, while the CMF missionaries concentrate on literacy work. The leaders expect that some of these teaching points will eventually develop into new churches.

Alan Ahlgrim, Lead Pastor of Rocky Mountain Christian Church, led a team from the church on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, recently to see some of the results of their partnership with Missions of Hope in the city’s slums. Here are some of the thoughts he shared with the folks back home as the team returned to Niwot, Colorado:

“We’re on our way home. Our heads are spinning, and our hearts are full. We’ve seen a lot. It’s summer in Kenya, and everything is in bloom. Our hosts took us through the Maasai Mara game preserve with its abundance of elephants, giraffes, wildebeest, hippos, lions and cheetah. No one was tempted to leave the vehicle!

“But life in the slums is far from beautiful; it’s beyond belief. Sewage flows freely down the rutted pathways near where the children play and the meals are prepared. We visited shanties barely 8 X 10 feet, and in one we watched as a woman fried chicken feet over a smoky charcoal fire and sold them to her neighbors for their lunches.
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