Medical Journey of Pastor Raymond, Director of MTM

For the past 5+ years I (Ps Raymond Burkholder) experienced pain in both my knees as I traveled globally for the cause of making disciples among many Nations for MTM. Then approximately 1-1/2 years back I finally went to see an orthopedic surgeon in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He thoroughly investigated both my knees (with many x-rays) and informed me that I have Osteo-arthritis (also sometimes called degenerate Bone disease) in both knees with little to no cartilage remaining. He informed me that I will need surgery sometime soon to replace both my knees and that the Orthopedic department at RAM hospital at Chiang Mai, Thailand is well equipped to perform this surgery.

MTM Personnel Transitions

These are just a few of the questions that make it difficult for us to say “farewell” after 7 years of following the Lord Jesus through South East (SE) Asia on the Macedonian Teaching Ministry trail. Judy and I thank God for His abundant grace to us through SO MANY of you during our time with MTM. We always knew that since the call was clear to go, we had nothing to fear about going. By God’s grace and your prayerful support, we always found that to be true. HALLELUJAH!!

For Such A Time As This

From the beginning of MTM more than 12+ years a-back MTM has been equipping and training native pastors and church leaders to reach-out and minister to their own physically & spiritually gospel unreached. Little did we know that MTM was preparing these dear brothers in Christ for such a time as this in 2020 when…

MTM Team Update & Prayer Request

Greeting in the Name of Jesus Christ our precious Saviour. The MTM team has been residing in the United States of America since the beginning of COVID-19 related lockdown and border closures. It is unsure at this time when MTM will be able to resume operations in Asia. However, this has given MTM the opportunity to do teaching and PR work throughout the USA, including the states of Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio.

MTM Team Update & A Spiritual Message from the Word

All of us are keenly aware of all that has been happening globally due to the pandemic caused by the Coronavirus. The way that this pandemic has spread all over the globe and has affected most of us is staggering and all but unbelievable. But nevertheless, my encouragement to all at such a time as this is to rest in the all-wise sovereignty of our blessed Good God.  Within this MTM update you will find an update in behalf of all the MTM team. As a pastor as well as the director of MTM I also want to seize the teachable moment as well as encouragement to the believers. Therefore, I have included a current events Spiritual message from Psalm 68 entitled “The Christians Response to Calamity”. The Bible says wisdom cries from the street. Therefore, we want to learn how Christians should respond at a time such as this. 

Living Water for the Sons of Ishmael in Egypt

Egypt is famous for its ancient monuments such as the Pyramids and the Sphinx.   It is also home to one of the oldest civilizations on earth. The land of Goshen, is the rich black soil along the Nile river, now referred to as the Delta region, was home to the children of Israel for 400 years at the time of Joseph and his 11 brothers.  The Nile River is the life source of Egypt, being very rich in Bible history and is a very interesting country. 

The Impact of Music and Servant Leadership

How do you describe the work of Loving Father, Gentle Saviour, and Mighty Rushing Wind Holy Spirit?  I’m not sure it is possible.  These were the highlights of one week in Myanmar.  Seven days, Four church services, Two conferences.  The Word of God opened and shared between multiple cultures in Five languages:  English, Lisu, Burmese, Hebrew, and Greek.  Continual prayer and constant worship bathed the settings of true worshipers, though we were always surrounded by Buddhist temples, Pagodas, and people.  Rice, chicken, fish, pork, and fruit at nearly every meal.  The only exception was breakfast, where we had rice, eggs, deep-fried “anything”, and fruit.

The Cry of Ishmael in Indonesia

It was while we lived in Aceh with the Acehnese people that God imparted a huge burden on my heart for the Muslim people of the world. So much so that as of today I have developed a complete series on teaching for the Christian Church in motivating them to reach their own Islamic people for Jesus Christ.

Balancing Family & Ministry…

Many of the pastors acknowledged that they have too often viewed the Bible through the lens of their culture, rather than confronting cultural errors through the lens of the Bible. We share in Paul’s confidence in the Spirit of God both in our lives and theirs:

Teaching Nepali Faithful Men

The first week of December is a time that will be remembered for quite some time. There were a number of things that impressed us. Quite a few of the pastors & emerging leaders traveled on a bus for three days to attend this training conference. Furthermore, they would sit on the hard floor all day (6 hours) attentively drinking in deeply and diligently taking notes in their spiral notebooks.