Monday, October 17, 2005

Peterson's October Prayer Guide

“So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” Galatians 6:9

* Friends of ours working with SIL in Indonesia are preparing for the dedication of the New Testament for the people they work with. It is scheduled for Oct. 5th. Often there is real spiritual warfare at the time the Scriptures are finally getting into the hands of the people. Please pray for protection for these friends and the Christians in their community. They have already had some huge obstacles to overcome, but God is greater!

* Last month we asked you to pray for fruitful contacts for Gary and his colleague as they visited some Bible colleges. God heard and they had a very positive reception. As a result, Gary has been asked to speak in the Chapel of Hobe Sound Bible College on Oct. 14th. Pray that God will lay His message on Gary’s heart and use him to challenge the students there to get involved in Bible Translation.

* We asked you to pray for wisdom as we considered three possible short-term overseas mission opportunities in the coming year. God has given us clear leading regarding the first one (Gary only). He won’t be going on it. Now we need to make a decision about the other two. Please continue to pray that we will hear God’s voice regarding these.

* We are very encouraged by the things God is doing in the small group that we lead. But it involves a lot of time and work to maintain the kinds of relationships we want. Pray that we’ll do better at sharing the responsibilities so that we don’t burn out in this role.

* This is Missions Month at our church here. As part of the mission’s team, we have a number of extra responsibilities to help make this happen. Gary will be speaking on the 16th to the elementary aged kids about missions, and then to the pre-school kids on the 23rd. Pray for wisdom and creativity as he prepares for those opportunities, and that God will work in their hearts. The average age a person gets called into missionary service is ten, so this is a crucial time in their lives!

* Thanks for your prayers for us as we work through the backlog of paperwork that has bogged us down. We have completed some big projects this week, so are feeling better about the load. Keep praying that in the midst of tasks that need to get done, we won’t lose God’s perspective on the important relationships we also need to put time into.

* Esther has applied for a part time job near where we live. So far we haven’t heard anything back. Pray that God will open the way for her to earn an income (we could use the help with her car insurance!) and gain experience in the work force that will be valuable for her future.

* Gary’s dad is having further health challenges. Please pray with us for grace for Pop in these difficult days, wisdom for the medical personnel dealing with him, strength for Mom as she supports him and wisdom in decisions they need to make.

* Robyn’s sister, Jenny is expecting a baby this month. Please pray for a safe delivery, and a healthy baby for the Bleases.

* We have found ourselves financially short since our return from the summer trip. There have been some unexpected expenses and there are routine needs that we need to take care of that we currently don’t have the funds to cover. Please pray with us for God’s provision of these needs.

* Gary was given the role of Director of Training for Missions in our church here. It is just getting started in its mission involvement, and there is a lot going on already. Gary has been unable to give this role the time it requires, due to his current workload and plans on stepping down after this month. Please pray that God will raise up the right person to take this important role, or provide the kind of help Gary needs to be able to do it justice.

* I was in the office yesterday and met a gentleman who often sees Gary giving the Wycliffe tours to groups who come to visit. He spoke of what a great job Gary does, sharing with passion about the work to every group. Thanks for praying that Gary would continue to have that fresh passion as he speaks to many different groups about the needs of the Bible-less peoples of the world.

John Dudeck update

Greetings to all our friends.
I'm writing this on Saturday evening, Oct 15th. Tomorrow afternoon I will be leaving on a quick trip to Europe, and I wanted to let you know about it so that you could be praying for me and my colleagues. The first part of the trip will be with three colleagues who I was on a ministry trip with in July 2004. This trip was with a group of young musicians of French heritage from North America (Quebec and Louisiana). The ministry is called La Clef, which means the key. Our premise is to use music and the arts as a key to the French heart. We went to the South of France and gave several concerts in support of the planting of a new church in a town called Trèbes. We are going back now to meet with the leaders there and discuss whether we should plan another similar trip in 2006.
The biggest outcome of the 2004 trip was the way that the Lord lit a fire among the Canadian young people who went with us. These young people have continued to stick together and pray about what they Lord wants them to do.
They were overwhelmed by the realization that the Lord was calling them to serve Him, especially to minister in France. French-speaking Canada has only 0.4% evangelical Christians. My friend, Greg Hardee, who is the leader and organizer of La Clef, believes that the Lord is going to bring a revival to the French world, starting among these French-speaking young Canadians.
Greg's son, Brendan, has settled in Montreal and married a girl there, and is working full-time in youth ministry.
The La Clef ministry has lots of vision for what the Lord is doing, but we are very small and have very few resources at this point. Please pray for us as we attempt to establish a base of support for the ministry. You can read more about it at http://www.laclef.org/. If you should have any interest in the French world, please get in touch with us.
The second part of the trip I will be branching off from my colleagues, and meeting with other people in France and Switzerland concerning other projects that I am involved with.
One project is a web site for a French-language Bible study magazine. This quarterly magazine has been published since 1967, and is a treasure of Christian articles written in French by French-speakers, not translated from English. We have a project to put the entire archives of the magazine on line. So far we have eight years' worth on the web site. It is already getting a lot of response, particularly from French-speaking Africa. I will be meeting with the other people that I am doing this project with, in France and Switzerland. To see the web site go to http://www.promesses.org/.
(It would help if you can read French!)
You may have heard Pam and me talk in the past about our desire to spend time in French-speaking Europe again on a new assignment for perhaps two years. I will be meeting with two or three organizations while in France and Switzerland, exploring whether there are any viable options for us. I am interested in finding an Information Technology project that would be of strategic value to the French-speaking evangelical world. Our desire at this point is to be based in French-speaking Switzerland. We have found a few possibilities, but so far the Lord has not brought together a definite plan for us to pursue.
Pam and I both turn 55 this year. We basically have ten prime years remaining in our missionary career. It is our prayer that the Lord will use us in the greatest possible way for these remaining years. Because we know French, having started our ministry in French-speaking places, we think the Lord may want us to focus on the French world. While it is true that there is plenty that I can do where I am now, I am aware how much greater the needs are in the French-speaking world. Thanks for all your interest and prayers. Please keep in touch.
John Dudeck
jdudeck@zenia.simcsg.sim.org Charlotte, North Carolina
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"A hurried glance at Christ snatched after lying abed too late will never effect a radical transformation of character." -- J. Oswald Sanders