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International Missions |
In Acts 1:8 Jesus, before He went back to heaven, gave His followers instructions on how he wanted to spread the Gospel throughout the world. First, they were to begin in Jerusalem where they lived. After that, they were to move out to the surrounding area of Judea and then cross-culturally to Samaria. Finally, Jesus wanted them to go to the remotest parts of the earth to tell people the Good News of the gospel. Jesus' words now leave us with the mandate to reach the whole world. Further, it is important to note that Jesus intends a simultaneous process to witness where we live and among all peoples wherever they are, whether in our communities or on the other side of the planet (see To the Ends of the Earth, Jerry Rankin, International Mission Board, 2005).
"To the Ends of the Earth" -- The Great Commission (see Matthew 28:18-20) is the responsibility of every local church. Jesus' command instructs his followers to venture out "to the ends" of the earth to communicate the good news of the Gospel. At Crossroads there are opportunities for short term missions trips to places like Mexico, Costa Rica, China, Uganda, Bulgaria, Cuba, Brazil and many more. We provide prayer support and encouragement to families such as Bob and Suzy Livingston in Uganda serving with Aid Sudan. (Click here to email Bob and Suzy). When special needs arise, we seek God's direction in how the church should respond around the world.
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Aid Sudan Update
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December 22, 2011
Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel--'God is with us.' Isaiah 7:14
Merry Christmas to all of you! We are doing well here in Uganda, although this is always a difficult time of year for us being away from friends and family. It doesn't feel much like Christmas here, but we are doing the best we can to get into the Christmas spirit. We put up our tree a bit early (see pictures attached) and we have been playing Christmas songs relentlessly. We're also having a cookie party next week and are planning a big Christmas dinner with our Aid Sudan family on Christmas Day. We certainly miss the cooler weather and the beautifully decorated homes and stores, but we are doing our best to keep in mind the real reason that we celebrate Christmas, which is of course the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We praise God for the gift of His Son through whom we have now been reconciled to God!
This is the same message that we want our friends in South Sudan to understand and receive. As I mentioned in my last update, the Lord has worked in amazing ways this year to allow us to get the Word out to the Southern Sudanese people. Please pray that they will hear it and be transformed by it this Christmas season. And thank you all for being a part of this work through your prayers and giving this year.
On that note, I also feel I need to ask each of you to prayerfully consider a financial need that we have. Aid Sudan recently made a change to its website and any recurring monthly gifts that people had set up to support us were removed. We were not aware that a change had been made until two weeks ago when I received my financial report for November. In that report, our funding dropped off by more than half so I started asking some questions and found out about the change to the website. Since then, several people have re-established their monthly gifts, but our funding is still down by about $1700 per month. We are grateful that God has provided well for us this year, and we have some extra funds that can be carried into April or May of next year to offset the shortfall. Nevertheless, we need to close the gap soon if we are going to be able to remain here beyond the spring of 2012.
Please pray for this need that we have, and if you feel led to support us with a monthly or one-time gift, please go to www.aidsudan.org. Once there, click "Donate Now". Go to the bottom of that page and click "Choose a Family". You'll see our picture on that page with a button next to it that you can click to make a donation. Thanks in advance for considering this request. I know it's not a great time to be asking nor do I want to be doing it, but we do have a huge need that we are trusting the Lord to provide for by making it known to you all.
Thanks again to all of you for your support this year. May God bless you all and have a great Christmas!
Bob Livingston
Aid Sudan Logistics Coordinator
Kampala, Uganda
Email: bob@aidsudan.org
Mobile: +256 785 751327
Skype: rliving1
Website: www.aidsudan.org
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World Hunger
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What can you do with $60...take your family to the movie or McDonalds, maybe? In our culture it isn’t much money and it has limited purchasing power.
Allow me to share with you what $60 will do for a family in Uganda?
Here goes...
- Enough food for a family of 7 for one month
- The benefit of a national pastor to care for them and share Jesus with them
- Discipleship materials
- A Bible
- Hope
Wherever you live, that is a lot of good stuff for a small amount of money.
Here is how it works: We are asking Crossroads families to adopt 40 families from a slum in Uganda for 6 months. Our team to Uganda will meet the families while they are there and will begin the relationship building process. During the 6 months period, each family will receive all the benefits listed. It is our prayer that many of the people will come to know the Lord and a house church will be planted. If you would like more information about the ministry we are working with go to: www.imfc.me.
If you would like to adopt a family, simply write a check to Crossroads and put Uganda in the memo line. You can support the family for one month, but we would encourage you to support them for the full 6 months ($360). When the team returns, we will be able to share pictures with you, so you can put a face on the money you are giving. Our CRBC kids have already adopted 10 families by funds they contributed during Vacation Bible School.
If you have questions, please response to this email or call me at 936-273-5683
Morris Horner
Pastor of Missions and Community Outreach
missions@crossroadstw.org
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Baptist Global Response
IMB Africa
The 2011 International Missions Leadership Team is:
Loren Benson
Toby Corn
Harlene Dorman
Morris Horner
Makio Kawata
Inge Ortiz
Barbara Pachman
Bob Ream
Sam Zettle
Pastor Larry York
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