And we're off!

On Sunday to the Middle East. Tune in on Tuesday for a post from the region.












Here's a prayer Calendar that you can click on
to enlarge. We always appreciate your prayers.

Dead Saints II

At breakfast this morning two weekly breakfast/Bible study friends and I talked about those two verses in the post below.

Who are some of the "saints?" David? Solomon? Did they recognize others? How long did they "live" again? What did they say? Did they say anything?

The Bible is boring?

Raised From the Dead

Ever notice this?

52The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

Can you imagine this scene? I could easily recall the earthquake the veil splitting, but this part I guess I've just read right by every time. Wow.

Matthew 27:45-54
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

45Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.

46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

47And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, "This man is calling for Elijah."

48Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.

49But the rest of them said, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him[c]."

50And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

51And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

52The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

53and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

54Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

Afghan Update

His case is getting all kinds of attention.

Persecution By The State

In Afghanistan

From VOA News

An Afghan man who recently admitted he converted to Christianity faces the death penalty under the country's strict Islamic legal system. The trial is a critical test of Afghanistan's new constitution and democratic government.

The case is attracting widespread attention in Afghanistan, where local media are closely monitoring the landmark proceedings.

Abdul Rahman, 40, was arrested last month, accused of converting to Christianity.

Under Afghanistan's new constitution, minority religious rights are protected but Muslims are still subject to strict Islamic laws.

And so, officially, Muslim-born Rahman is charged with rejecting Islam and not for practicing Christianity.

Appearing in court earlier this week Rahman insisted he should not be considered an infidel, but admitted he is a Christian.

He says he still believes in the almighty Allah, but cannot say for sure who God really is. "I am," he says, "a Christian and I believe in Jesus Christ."

Rahman reportedly converted more than 16 years ago after spending time working in Germany.

Officials say his family, who remain observant Muslims, turned him over to the authorities.

On Thursday the prosecution told the court Rahman has rejected numerous offers to embrace Islam.

Prosecuting attorney Abdul Wasi told the judge that the punishment should fit the crime.

He says Rahman is a traitor to Islam and is like a cancer inside Afghanistan. Under Islamic law and under the Afghan constitution, he says, the defendant should be executed.

The court has ordered a delay in the proceedings to give Rahman time to hire an attorney.

Under Afghan law, once a verdict is given, the case can be appealed twice to higher courts.

This is the first case in which the defendant has admitted to converting and is refusing to back down, even while facing the death penalty.

If convicted, the case could ultimately force President Hamid Karzai's direct intervention.

The president would have to sign the papers authorizing Rahman's execution, a move that could jeopardize Mr. Karzai's standing with human rights groups and Western governments.

So far, President Karzai has not commented on the case.

But political analysts here in Kabul say he will be under significant pressure from the country's hard-line religious groups to make an example of Rahman.

Rwanda Follow-up

Remember my trip to Rwanda last December? You may recall that Robert Mutijima, one of our national leaders in Rwanda organized our training and equipping of 230 pastors and leaders. We'd planned for 150, yet the Lord brought more. Late last month, Robert sent us a report on what the Lord had done through some of the 230 and some others that he trained as well. I thought you might enjoy reading of the fruit of the work:

- 52 trainers trained 11,019 others to use the Evangecube, Plant Churches, or both.
- They distributed 4,150 Evangecubes.
- They presented the gospel 60,069 times.
- Of those presentations, 26,780 made professions of faith. (Hallelujonga Indeed!)
- They distributed 321 First Steps (church planting Curriculum) manuals.
- The Lord used them to plant 50 churches.
- They Worked with 534 existing mother churches.

Uh, clearly it is not about us. Understatement alert. Wow, I'm just amazed by what the Lord is doing in Rwanda.

Middle East
We're coming up on our Middle East Trip at the beginning of April. From February to early March, the pastors we work with in the country we're heading to shared the gospel with 250 people, six made professions of faith. They also passed out 320 New Testaments and 285 Jesus Films. (Campus Crusade is a wonderful partner!)

Please pray for our trip. Pray for:

- Dependency on upon God - 2 Cor. 3:4-6
- Open Hearts - Mark 4:8,20
- Spiritual Security - 1 Peter 5:6
- Unity - Phil. 2:2
- Worthy Speech - Psalm 19:14
- God's Truth - 1 Tim. 2:4
- Glory to God - Rom. 16:25

Here is a great story of how technology is penetrating that region in a way we might not be able to otherwise.

Another Email From The Field

Below is an email that Dani, our national leader in India, wrote to our Asia Strategy Coordinator, Steve Cretin. I put a note in brackets.

Dear Steve,
We had a good time in Andrapradesh on 11th of March.
120 people attend evange cube training and 80 of them pastors. 105 people make the commitment with evange cube. [This commitment means each one will share Christ via the cube twice a week for a year.]

After the training programme we made an out reach programme. 40 people accept Jesus as their personal saviour and Lord.

On the same day evening we conducted an open gospel meeting in a village school ground ,where nearly 500 people attend the meeting.120 people dedicated their lives for jesus and come forward to prayer.I prayed to all.It was 11.30 night while we stop the ministry there.Eventhough we were tired in body we are happy to do such a great ministry for the Lord.It was the first time in that village a open gospel meeting conducted and preach Christ.Evange cube ministry got that chance to do for that.

We have three training programme next month as we planed early.
Thank you for all the support and prayer to accomplish our ministry.
Thanks.
Dani.India.

The Heavenly Man

Read this book this week. The Heavenly Man, by Paul Hattaway. Absolutely amazing, it was like reading a modern day book of Acts. While the entire book from cover to cover was rivetting, I can't shake his observations of the Western church.

Jewish Feasts and Panama

Ray, my Messianic Jew/pastor/IP Network guru friend, continues to post on Jewish Feasts. Check out Purim, it was on the 14th of March so you barely missed it, and the latest on Passover.


Todd is blogging from Panama where he's leading a team that has a medical element to it. It's the first time his entire family is with him on an e3 trip. Good stuff.

An Email From The Field

Below is an email from Michael Omega. Michael lives in southern Kenya and often works in Tanzania. Again, an honor to consider him a colleague.

Brethren,

There is a price on every good accomplishment.

Travelling to Rwanda-Kigali on the 19th January 2oo6 begins with the bus being delayed for two hours.On the way as we follow another bus,bandits had blocked the road with an elecric caable.The bus a head of us hit the cable loosing control,breaking the fron screen and all the side mirrows.As the bandits come with thier machetes,pangas,stones and arrows,they stoned the emergency screen as the driver struggled to control the bus.As we approached, they fled into the bush.This was in Kenya,near the uganda boarder.

At the boarder,instead of taking an hour to cross,it took another two and a half hours,as the drivers explained what exactily had happened on the road.

Now in uganda,along the highway an army lorry had collided with a trailer and two army officers had died on the sport.The re was no movement from the scene of the accident to or from Kampmala.Another two hour delay.Now at the Rwandan boarder all the bags were inspected as we waited for another two hours.Arraiving in Kigali on the 20th was alraedy late in the night(9.00pm)As I telephoned my host whowas supposed to have been waiting for me,he tells me he is already in Butare University.I did not like the experience of looking for an alternative acccommodation.But that is exactily what i did.

Leaving for Butare on the 21st as at 5.00pm made me to arrive at 8.00am when the meeting had already begun and even my host who had gone a had of me was not in the meeting.Without breakfast and even changing of my cloths i begun the Training Seminar,when it was already 10.00am.This was a very ineresting day.It was a public communal day,where everybody including the president is involved in the coommunity work from 10.00am-1.00pm.There is no business whatsoever.This was quite an experie nce to me.

But in all i trained over 120 students.They have begun the in-reach at the University on the 5th-19th February 2006.I am expecting prayerfully a very great harvest from this ministry.

I desire that as I pray for them,please will you join me and pray that as these students reach out to over ten thousand students in the university,the lord will draw manby men and women to himself.They expressed another desire that after this in-reach,they want to begin a sunday service at the university.It has never been there.Pray that it eill come to pass that there shall be an interdenominationalsunday service.

I sincerely express my thankfullness for your prayer,encouragement,love and support.

May my God richly bless you in all ways.

Thank you.

Michael Omega

E3Partners Ministry

Cultural Issues on the Field

I've linked to Keith's posts before. He recently wrote an intriguing three-part series on the challenges of multi-culturalism in Burkina Faso, where he labors. I generally have avoided the "emerging church" issues and debates, but this is a great example of the practical realities of differing cultures, evangelism and discipleship. I haven't read every inch of Keith's site, but what I've read, I've liked. These three are worth your time:

Multicultural 1
Multicultural 2
Multicultural 3

Bonus read of Keith's: Biblical Advice for Bloggers

Cambodia

More from Bruce Carlton's visit. I wrote the following in an email to some partners of ours who have a heart for Cambodia.

When Bruce and his family arrived in Cambodia, he was the first IMB missionary in post-Khmer Cambodia. He discovered a few house churches, one had a group of Chinese immigrants. It just so happened that he has spent the previous few years in Hong Kong learning Chinese so he began to teach them and teach English as a cover. Many times while teaching English, he presented the gospel. After about a year, he went back to the U.S. for a year, then returned to Cambodia, this time determined to reach the Khmer people that the Lord had laid on his heart.

A man sought him out and asked Bruce if he remembered who he was. Bruce didn’t, so the man told him he was one of his English students. He’d accepted Jesus and had about 12 others he was discipling. Problem was, he didn’t know what to do next, but he wanted to start more house churches like his.

Bruce had an English copy of a church-planting manual. He took that manual and got with his language tutor and translated the first chapter. Then he taught this man the principles in the chapter. The man took the chapter and the principles and taught the 12. On and on this went for 12 weeks. Then they worked to figure out how to replicate the learning and the Cambodians began planting house churches. Bruce worked with the leaders, discipling and teaching them.

Over the course of six years they planted 43 churches. At that time Bruce and his family went back to the U.S. for a year. The entire year, they wrestled with being in the U.S. and with thoughts of being “needed” back in Cambodia. Then he got a letter that said the 43 had become 76.

He spent the next year in India. His wife was ill all year and they, again, wrestled with whether they should be in Cambodia. He got a letter that year, the 76 had become 123.

And on and on it has grown. He’s actually written a book about it. Amazing, huh?