We were blessed to join Rich and Nicole Moore on a 2 week MTM trip to SouthEast Asia. It was a blessing for us to get to know them better. They did a wonderful job keeping us on track and on time with our busy schedule. 

    We spent the 1st week in Yangon, Myanmar. We enjoyed worshipping with Pastor Toe’s congregation on Sun. Monday we were back at his church for a 2 day conference. Then on Wednesday we went to Reaching the World Bible School for a 3 day conference. Each day was filled with 2 teaching sessions in the morning and 2 in the afternoon with a nice lunch and fellowship in between.  We were encouraged to see their desire to grow and learn more from God’s word regardless if the electricity was on or off(powerpoint and fans) during the hot afternoons. Through their many smiles and appreciation there was a deep concern for their country and the civil war waging in the north. We spoke with one pastor who had fled to Yangon 2 weeks earlier with his young family, leaving behind his village in the hopes of preserving life. Since we have gotten home things have drastically changed for the dear people in Myanmar. On Feb 10th the military demanded mandatory service for unmarried men and women. This has brought much fear and despair for the future…..they are asking us to pray for them!

    Our 2nd week took us to Cambodia with our 1st conference in Kampong Thom for 2 days. Then on to Sisophon for another 2-day conference. We were so blessed to meet many precious souls in both countries who had the same common desire …to spread the GOSPEL and faithfully disciple new believers(many are 1st generation). Things we learned…. We heard and witnessed many pastors opening their homes and lives to displaced and vulnerable children. When we asked if they had support for this extra load they often said ” We pray and trust God”. We were challenged to apply this simple faith to our own lives at home!  We learned the importance of praying for our interpreters as they willingly and carefully chose words to share the message in their mother tongue.  We were the recipients of God’s protection and sustaining grace through your prayers on our behalf. This reminded us of the importance of intercessory prayer for the church around the world. 

Steven teaching about how the whole body of Christ takes direction from the its head…Jesus Christ

    Please pray for our dear brothers and sisters in SouthEast Asia and the future work of MTM there. We left each conference hearing the words, “Please come back!”  This time was truly a blessing for us and we certainly came home with more than the little we gave! To God be the Glory!

   The above article was written by our guest teacher, Steven and LaurelLee Skiles who joined us from central Indiana where they live and minister in the Cutler Ridge congregation near Flora. Steven’s message theme was “Walking with Christ” and I taught through the book of Titus. Thank you Steven and LaurelLee for spending so much of yourselves in gospel ministry for the dear brothers and sisters in Myanmar and Cambodia. Thank you to the brothers and sisters of Cutler Ridge for your support in prayer and finances!

Rich Moore

Click for Photos and Captions from Yangoon Myanmar
Click for Photos and Captions from Cambodia

Special Thanks to those who have helped make these conferences possible! 

The post A Call to a Committed Walk appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

As we arrived at the HBCS Life Center facility at Palampur HP, INDIA, December 2-11,2023, and entered the front entrance of the building you will see the signage Berachah Life Center. Berachah in Hebrew means expression of praise. In Greek it means a blessing.

Having been there 8 years ago, I was blessed again to meet the director of HBCS and some of the staff who have faithfully served there for many years. Pastor Raymond Burkholder and myself (John Michael Nolt) were honored to be a part of the HBCS bi-annual Spiritual Enrichment week of Biblical teaching.

Pastor Raymond taught “Profiles of Faith & Folly” from the Book of Genesis of the Characters of Faith and Folly. Two of the examples would be the Faith of Abraham and the Folly of Lot. Pastor Raymond has a very good PowerPoint and along with his zeal spoke to all. If you ever have a chance to hear him teach/preach this, it would be a good stepping stone in your Christian life.

I taught on the subject of “The True Christian” The term Christian has become so broad today that we need to enter the term TRUE. We touched on how God created us body, soul and spirit. Satan works through the body and God works through our spirit. In my teaching I explained the New Birth etc.

The HBCS/MTM Attendees Students & Faculty

The student body were from 7 states of India and 7 were Burmese. 17 languages and dialects. Evening sessions students from another extension Bible College were able to zoom in. We taught in English but over the weekends when the local church was present, we taught through an interpreter.

I was blessed again to be involved in a small way of teaching these young people to prepare them for their future call of Contending for the Faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. These precious souls are willing to go into regions where being a Christian they will face rejection and persecution.

Editor’s Note; The above article was written by John Michael Nolt. John Michael & Joyce have been married 38 years. They live in Jonestown PA. They have four daughters just like Philip the evangelist in the scriptures. Three of the daughters are married and they have 7 grandchildren.  John Michael serves as a pastor for the Reading Christian Fellowship Congregation in Reading Pa. The church is located in the south side of the city. The congregation is involved in a children’s ministry and reaching out to the needy of city life such as the homeless, drug addicts etc. John Michael works at Shady Lane Farms which is an egg processing facility near Myerstown Pa. May the Lord reward you openly for your labor of Love for the Lord at HBCS.

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO ALBUM WITH CAPTIONS

The post Earnestly Contending for the FAITH Among the NATIONS appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

    After a 35+ hour flight from the states, we arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, a bustling city of 6 million people. We quickly learned how “Nepali time” contrasts with our western view of time and schedule, when our next regional flight was delayed 4 more hours. Flight delays and traffic jams had us impatient Americans shaking our heads. Kiran gave us a kind “Nepali welcome” and tour of a Hindu temple.

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Kiran Welcoming the teams arrival to Nepal

    In Nepal, The Hindu faith is held by close to 80% of the people and has largely shaped the culture. Parts of the culture actually does support a Christian worldview as well. Some of the strengths we noticed in the Nepali culture were a loyalty to family, a commitment to marriage, respect for elders, and an importance placed on serving and hospitality.
    Growth of Christianity over the past 20 years has been rapid, though the official Government Report says 2% Christian population, a recent non-published report found as many as 14% are professing believers. Many Nepalis are hungry and open for the Gospel message of hope and redemption. 

Students Busy Studying

    We were often reminded of the new believers in Acts by the Nepali believer’s enthusiastic worship and genuine love for brothers and sisters that was so apparent. We were also challenged by their faith and dependance on God. The vibrancy and sincerity of the local Nepali Church is a testament to God’s grace changing lives, no matter the culture or length of Christian history.

    Our two-week Bible School was held in Nepalgunj, which is western Nepal close to the Indian border, in a culturally and religiously diverse region of the country. Beginning the dry/cool season of the year, we had mostly comfortable temps of 75 degrees in the day and 55 degrees at night.

Auto Ricksaw – This was our transportation during the Bible School  

 Our daily rickshaw ride, that was several miles to the school location, opened our eyes to the ways and means of the people. The Bible school consisted of approximately 35 students from ages 18 years to 60 years. The older group of students were mostly pastors and individuals involved in church plants and evangelism. Many of the students traveled from the mountain areas of Nepal, as far as two days journey.

Many of Students faithfully kept Notes

    I was humbled by the level of hunger for “bible truth” that we witnessed. They listened intently, and surprised us with their long, attention-spans over the six hours of class time each day. Many students would continue reading their Bibles during breaks and really enjoyed reading the passages out-loud for our lessons.

Norv teaching with Satpal Translating

    Teaching through a translator can be a challenging experience but we were rewarded by hearty amens. After many lessons, the student questions proved not only how well they understood but how deeply they pondered the lessons. Stephen Burkholder taught the Pentateuch, Norvan Skrivseth taught Biblical Teamwork, and I taught Christian Family life. Special thanks to translators: Satpal, Fahtta, Vivek and Kiran.

NABS Committee with Guest Speakers: L-R Fatte, Vivek, Norv, Satpal, Eric, Stephen 

    Some challenges remain with the new, rapid growth of the Nepali Church and a sound teaching of Bible doctrines and discipleship is important for the continued growth of the Nepali church. I would highly recommend taking this opportunity to anyone who feels called to teach the Bible cross-culturally.
    On our return to Kathmandu, Stephen gave us the full experience of viewing the Himalayas and of visiting the Philadelphia Church for worship where Norvan preached. We also had the privilege of spending some time with the EQUIP team, Clinton Weaver and Leslie Hoover, serving in Nepal. 

We look at this experience as a “life-changing” opportunity to be a small part of God’s Kingdom work and we received countless blessings from God and the Nepali believers that will be treasured. 
                        God bless, 
                        Eric Knicely

Editors Note: It was an honor to have Eric Knicely and Norv Skrvseth serve as guest speakers. Eric and Norv are members of Kootenai Valley Mennonite Church in Idaho. 

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2023 Testimonies:

•  A pastor from a remote area in Nepal after attending an MTM conference gave testimony that this was the first time he heard and understand the Biblical teaching on Divorce and Remarriage.  
• Another pastor from another country gave testimony after an MTM conference of his newfound understanding of God’s plan for the Christian Family and God’s different roles for men and women. 
• Still others testified after an MTM teaching session on Biblical Finances that they now understand the verse “the wicked borrow and doesn’t pay back”. They will now try to pay back their many loans.

    So Many more testimonies … and Still many more testimonies remain to be written for the New Year 2024

    We as MTM Staff give God ALL THE Glory for what he did in 2023 and we look forward to expanding to more countries and continuing Preaching the Word in 2024. 

    A BIG Thank you to all who have and who will help to make this possible. To guest teachers, churches, prayer partners, and individuals, may God richly bless you!

THANK YOU & CLICK HERE to SUPPORT MTM

              Blessing,
              Stephen Burkholder
MTM Director

The post 2023 Year in Review appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

In that moment, I experienced the Holy Spirits still, small voice asking “Will you go for me?” As I pondered the call, I decided to be like Gideon, placing my fleece for a confirmation from God if it was truly His voice. I told God, “I do not normally speak with pastor Raymond after the service, if he comes to talk, I will know it’s You”. I did not tell a single person about this call. Two weeks later, pastor Raymond pulled me aside, asking “come with me to Odisha”. In the weeks that followed, we experienced many confirmations God had indeed called us to come to India. Passports processed in 4 weeks, at a time when months were normal, it could have derailed the trip. Our visas came in less than 24 hours!  I told Raymond, “ I don’t feel qualified,  I’m not a pastor, I don’t have 2 weeks of teaching material”.  In all our excuses, doubts, questions and fears, God supplied in very clear dimensions we could have never imagined.

As OBS began, pastor Raymond taught on “Living Water and the Holy Spirit”, I taught lessons from the book of James. Thirty six students, ranging from ages 67 through 18, literally jumped out of their seats to read Bible texts almost before they were announced. The hunger and thirst for God’s Word was so evident, an enthusiasm like I have never witnessed before. Deep, thought provoking questions spilled out of their mouths, in search of answers to teaching of the Word. When altar calls were given, every student was on their knees, some with their faces on the floor, crying and praying, committing their lives to God regardless of the cost. One young man publicly confessed how he has grieved the Holy Spirit many times. It was a powerful 2 weeks, the Spirit of God was present in the ‘upper room’ of OBS.

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO ALBUM of ODISHA BIBLE SCHOOL 2023

God used those 2 weeks to speak into my life as well as the students. I felt so unworthy to teach lessons about trusting God in difficult times when it requires so little from me. On lessons regarding wealth and trusting God for healing, I felt similar to the church of Laodicea; poor & blind to my hearts condition. In a lesson Raymond taught on the allowing the Holy Spirit to fill every room of our hearts, I felt convicted of not surrendering my attitudes of pride. I needed to humble myself with the students & ask God for forgiveness. During the night, I laid in bed and cried because of the multitude of souls outside our hotel, worshipping at the temple next door & dancing to the devil in the street; while our people sit idle, much like spectators at a sports game. It was a wakeup call to spread the gospel, to move our churches out of the “comfort zones” & get busy. The door to teach the Word is now nearly closed in India; the day is gone, the night is far spent. I heard the voice of the Lord saying “ Who will go for Us?”                              

Swiftly we’re turning life’s daily pages,     
Swiftly the hours are changing to years.
How are we using God’s golden moments?
Shall we reap glory? Shall we reap tears?                                                                                 

Millions are groping without the gospel,
Quickly they’ll reach eternity’s night.
Shall we sit idly, as they rush onward?
Haste, let us hold up Christ the true light.

Souls are precious, souls that are dying.
While we rejoice our sins are forgiven.
Did He not also die for these lost ones?
Then let us point the way unto heaven.

Into our hands the gospel is given,
Into our hands is given light.
Haste, let us carry God’s precious message,
Guiding the erring back to the right.

Thank you for your prayer support on both sides of the globe, we felt it very much. I cried as our flight lifted off from Newark airport, to think of all the prayer ascending to the throne of God in our behalf. Thank you to our home congregation, Faith Mennonite Fellowship, for your financial support to make OBS possible. May God reward all of you for your faithfulness!

Editor Raymond Burkholder’s Note; This MTM update article was by Daryl & Velma Stauffer who served as the MTM guest teacher at Odisha Bible School October 16-27, 2023 They are members of the Faith Mennonite Fellowship congregation. Daryl serves the Lord at FMF as Sunday School teacher. The Lord has chosen to not bless them with children however, they have many, many nieces & nephews whom they love dearly. They serve as “honorary” parents and grandparents tor them. He is currently employed at Shank Door as a service/repair tech. Thank you Teacher Daryl Stauffer for your humble Christlike Spirit in every teaching session. May the Lord Jesus reward you openly for your labor of love at OBS.  

The post WE HAVE HEARD THE MACEDONIAN CALL TODAY appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

We arrived in Kathmandu August 18th and were welcomed by Stephen Burkholder. We toured some local sites including the temple where the hindu people cremate the dead (which is sad to watch them worshiping all their false gods). The next day we got to experience a christian worship service with a local pastor who Stephen knew. On the 20th we flow to Nepalgunj on a 40-minute flight along the Himalayan mountain range which was very beautiful. We were planning on flying out to Jumla on Monday or Tuesday (which ever day the weather would permit us to fly) but the Lord had other plans and we were unable to fly due to the rain! Stephen, Satpal and a local pastor flew to Jumla and taught that conference two weeks later. We stayed in Nepalgunj and remained busy sharing in orphanages, homes and spent one day teaching at a local bible school. We are grateful to Kiran who hosted us for seven nights instead of the one night that we had planned. We shared in church services on Saturday (Nepali day of worship) and traveled to Surkhet Sunday by 4-wheel drive to begin the conference there.  The conference Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning and was well attended. Satpal and Ganesh did a great job interpreting. Thursday morning I taught one session at a youth conference in Nepalgunj before heading back to Kathmandu to fly home to America. We were blessed to see the work Stephen is doing in Nepal and his relationship with the local people. It was a blessing to meet fellow Christian’s from around the world.

Sincerely,

Elvin & Carolyn Sensenig

Four weeks and Four Teaching Assignments

Elvin joined as a guest speaker for conference in Surkhet a town in Far-Western Nepal and at a youth conference in Nepalgunj. Elvin spoke on Biblical Leadership from the life of three Kings. Stephen spoke on Biblical Finances. After Elvin flew back to USA Stephen continued teaching at a pastor conference in Jumla a remote town in the mountains of western Nepal, and teaching at a Bible school in Nepalgunj.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Elvin Sensenig and his wife Carolyn are members of Blue Ball Mennonite Church (Blue Ball, Pennsylvania).

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 May 29 – June 11, 2023, at Himachal Bible College and Seminary, in far north India, MTM had the privilege to teach 28 students coming from 8 different states of India. About 3/4 of the students were men and about 1/3 of those were pastors. Then there are a few pastors’ wives. Some of them traveled for five days to get there by bus and train. The teaching was all interpreted into Hindi though there were a few that spoke English. A very attentive and engaged group of students indeed.

Raymond taught on the two kingdoms and the ongoing conflict between the two kingdoms. God’s people are in a cosmic conflict between good and evil, light and darkness, truth and lies, righteousness and wickedness. Have we put on the whole armor of God to stand against the wiles of the devil in these last days? Victory is ours in Christ if we humble ourselves and submit to the will of God.

Raymond Teaching With Pastor Jeffrey as his Interpreter

I taught on the six major Covenants and the Old Testament types and shadows of Christ. God has covenanted with man to restore that which was lost in the fall. The covenant with Abraham promises personal transformation and righteousness by faith on an individual level. The covenant with David promises a king that will reign in righteousness. The children of Israel’s journey to the promised land is an allegory of our journey out of slavery to sin, into the promises of God.

Steve Fisher Teaching With Sister Renjeeta as his interpreter

One major highlight was a weekend visit to a small house church in Shimla. Only about 130 miles from the Bible school, but it took 8 hours to get there through winding mountain roads. The church was made up of a small family and a few friends. They are a beacon of light in a large tourist city that is literally built on the side of the mountain, 7000 feet above sea level. We enjoyed a time of fellowship and sharing testimonies. They also fed us a wonderful meal of biryani, (an Indian dish of rice, spice) and meat. What a sweet blessing to see the miraculous work of God in our brothers and sisters around the world. And though we grew up in very different cultures, and different parts of the world, we immediately feel like we belong to the same family.

House Church Fellowship at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, INDIA

CLICK HERE TO SEE MANY MORE PHOTOS OF THIS INTENSIVE BIBLE SCHOOL IN THE HIMALAYAN REGION OF INDIA

EDITOR’S NOTE: The above article was written by Steve Fisher is a pastor of a small house church in southern Lancaster County PA. Steve and his wife Suvilla have eleven children. Four girls and seven boys ages, 26 to 5. And one grandson six weeks old. Steve has a vision of inspiring his own people from his own community to carry the gospel both near and far. Thank you so much to you and your sons for faithfully serving the Lord with MTM, may the Lord reward you openly.

The post GODS COVENANTS AND COSMIC CONFLICTS appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

For the work is continuing! There are now 50-60 villages of Christians in this region and most of them have a church. There are 960 Baptist churches in the state of Odisha. We quickly sensed the grace of God restng here on the Christians continuing the Lord’s work. Doctor Apollos is an insightful young Indian missionary doctor living on the hospital compound. He and his staff run the hospital, now just for general care. He graciously took time out of his busy schedule to visit with us and answer all our questions about the region. His mastery of English enabled us to have very satisfying fellowship. In the first century, the Apostle Thomas brought the gospel to India. Then  also missionary William Carey sacrificed much in service unto the Lord to serve the Lord to translated the Bible into Oriya which is being used in this region unto this day. His legacy lives on and enables dedicated young people like Dr. Apollos to gain a good education and answer the call to serve their people. We were taken to the Centenary Baptist Church where the conference was held.

Long before the service started, music was broadcasted through the village on loud speakers. 225 youth registered, with more coming that didn’t normally attend church. It was a joy to observe their energy and enthusiasm. They did an outstanding job in instantly jumping to their feet to read Scripture verses whenever a reference was given. What a blessing! The pastors on the MTM Odisha commitee (Pastors Binay, Prabas, Suresh, and Pranab) who planned and organized the conference are trusted partners with MTM and are good friends of Raymond. They were a joy to serve with, were well organized, and treated us so well. Their commitment to the Lord and the ministry is exemplary and we were inspired by the work happening in India. The sessions would start with a time of worship.

The Serango Village Christians Youth & Families Came out to Hear the gospel Preached in very Large Numbers

Youth leader, Malaya (IGo Asian Bible School alumni) is a talented young man, whose musical and translating abilities played a big part in the conference. The youth could sense his heart for them and responded enthusiastically in learning the new songs and motions ones that were a big part of the ministry week.

The theme of the conference was Pursuing God with a Pure Heart for God. Pastor Jay Hoover and interpreter Malaya opened with sessions encouraging the youth to know God, seek wisdom, and not letting doubt or discouragement keep them from pursuing the will of God. Pastor Raymond Burkholder and interpreter Prabas shared six sessions on the life of Joseph with themes of Dreams & Visons, Purity, God’s Sovereignty, Forgiveness, and Ministry Fruitfulness. When an altar call was given, many responded. The altar was full all for glory to God. Pastor Binay beautifully led the prayer tme during the altar calls. This was especially significant as his father found the Lord at this church and he brought this MTM ministry conference back to his hometown.

His exhortation’s while opening or closing the programs were well received. The second opportunity in traveling the 8-9 hours out into the country, was evening revival meetings. The first evening we stopped at Pastor Prabas’ hometown Cheligath and ministered in the church there with Pastor Raymond preaching and Pastor Prabas interpreting. The next three nights there were revival meetngs in Serango open for the people in the village. Many came out and were deeply touched by the Gospel messages. And on the last evening’s altar call there were also many who responded to the call to allow Jesus to fill them with His living water. Afterwards all were invited to enjoy the tasty food the conference provided. Many plates were filled over the course of several days.

A highlight for us was the privilege to enter into the remote village life in India and enjoy a taste of their culture and hospitality. Shushand Pani and his family opened up their home and treated the whole commitee (including of all the assisting pastors and wives) a delicious meal one day. Shusand is alumni of the 2022 Odisha Bible School, the eldest brother to attend at the age of 65 years. Some of our breakfasts also came from their kitchen. Overall, smiles and greetings were liberally given as we interacted with the locals. Even some who were not Christians wished to have their photo taken with the Americans in town, such as the police department who served us coffee one evening. It was also heartwarming to learn that through the terrible 2020 lockdowns, Pastor Binay was a contact person for MTM partnering with CAM and was able to bring food packages to this very village in their great time of need. We left with our hearts so full and many new friends. We also left with Hope! The work that we do for the Lord is not in vain! It wasn’t in vain for the early missionaries who suffered loss and hardships to bring the gospel to Serango. Hope continues  to sustain the Christians and Indian brothers and sisters through current hardships, and Hope will sustain us as well in each of our daily ministry labors.

EDITOR’s Note; The above article was written by Jay & Sylvia Hoover. Jay & Sylvia reside at Elliotsburg, PA. Jay serves as Pastor at Crossroads Mennonite Church. THANK YOU JAY & SYLVIA for your faithful witness for Jesus Christ in faithfully serving thae Lord with MTM!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS & CAPTIONS

MTM Founder & Elder Teacher / Team Leader,
Raymond & Naomi Burkholder

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU WHO PRAYERFULLY SUPPORT MTM

The post Hope Thrives out of Cheetah Tragedy appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

Reflections on an MTM trip in Nepal

If I would use one word to describe the people of western Nepal, I would choose the word “community”.   I have been to few places on the planet where the whole culture is so interactive and interconnected in daily living.  We could learn much from our brothers and sisters there!  

On March 10, 2023, brother Stephen Burkholder and I drove to the Chiang Mai airport to fly to Nepal for 9 days of travel and ministry in 2 pastor’s conferences.   

Plans were to overnight in Kathmandu and fly the next day to western Nepal landing in the city of Nepalgunj.  We were met by our brother Satpal and a friend who transported us to the home of pastor Depak and family.  We were given a warm Nepali welcome and experienced an exuberant church service with the local body there.  Pastor Depak and family support up to 8 EQUIP children and their home is orderly and full of life.

The next 2 days were spent in warm fellowship with a group of Pastor’s and believers from various church groups in the surrounding area.  There were 8 sessions shared over 2 days.  Local Nepali pastor Vivek spoke on the topic of “Togetherness in the body of Christ.”  Then Pastor Stephen spoke eloquently on various topics from the book of Acts with a special emphasis on the key verse, Acts 1:8.  Pastor Steve had 4 sessions on the “Christian Family”.    All sessions were well received, and the speakers were honored and well fed with some amazing Nepali food.  The organizers did an exceptional job with these conferences!

Speaking through an interpreter requires a certain rhythm and rapport, and it sometimes takes a bit of time and experience to connect with the speaking style and skill level of the two men involved.  After several attempts, we made those connections, and finished the conference well.

On March 14 we traveled 4 hours by motorcycle to the small village of Dekhatbhuli.  If you have never rode passenger on a Nepali motorcycle you should try it sometime!  Every pothole becomes a calorie burn as you attempt to avoid launching up in the air.  The countryside, villages, and people of western Nepal are a well-preserved treasure that still hints of an ancient way of life.  

In Dekhatbhuli there were over 100 souls eagerly waiting the pastors who got there a half hour late.  No road signs and mechanical issues can create unexpected adventures in navigation!

This region in Kanchanpur is the home of the Tharu Rana people group.  They are a people who have emigrated into Nepal from India, and are relatively unreached.  According to the Joshua Project statistics, less than 2% of them have heard the gospel!  In India there are still 150,000 who have never heard the gospel.  Who will reach the Tharu Rana?  Our hope is that through this conference, we were able to inspire the 19 local churches represented, to go out and be a witness to their people group.  

Three days spent with these dear people went by very quickly as we repeated our sessions between power outages. But the fellowship was warm, the interpreters did very well, and the message once again went out to a crowd that seemed to “drink” in the teaching.  We were honored once again with warm Nepali hospitality, and were happy to share our notes and Power-Points with the local pastors who will use them to continue and improve on our efforts.  

The goal of MTM is to equip pastors with Bible based teaching that gives them tools to go out and reach their own people with the message of the Gospel.  May God give the increase!  Jaymashi!! (Victory in Christ!)–Steve Byers

Editor’s Note; Steve Byers and Janelle together with their four children live in Chiang Mai. Steve serves as pastor of IGO Christian Fellowship In Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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“Pray ye therefore the Lord of harvest, that He will send forth laborer’s into His harvest.” Matt. 9:38

“Jaimasi!’ (This is the Christian greeting in this part of the world.) ‘Peace be unto you!’

When the invitation came from MTM to attend and participate in a teaching team to the State of Sikkim INDIA, I was intrigued. I asked our church if they would support the idea, which they did, so making plans began. My dear friend Truman Yoder was also planning to go if all the paperwork worked out.

After visas were granted, and plane tickets purchased, I started thinking about what God would have me to share with the youth & pastor at the conferences where we would be speaking.

The first week was filled with joy, teaching to a gentle kind group of Himalayan mountain people. We then left West Sikkim to go to East Sikkim for the pastor’s conference in Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim State of India.

After a beautiful Sunday of preaching & worship, we began the conference on Monday afternoon.

The facility was very nice, and we found the people warm & very friendly. They were very attentive, taking many notes, even asking to make copies of our outlines so they could share what they learned to their congregation. I was so blessed to be able to teach ‘All Things of Christ’ to a group of pastors that were genuinely seeking God and have a longing to know Him and make Him known to their people. They would sit for hours in rapt attention (cross legged on the floor) without chairs to sit on, taking notes and smiling in agreement as the truth enlightened their minds.

Nevin Good Ministering at the Gyalshing Youth & Family Conference

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO ALBUM WITH CAPTIONS OF THE GYALSHING YOUTH & FAMILY CONFERENCE

Sikkim, India, sounds far away, and it is! But God is working among His people. We are the hands and feet of Jesus right here, right now! What a blessing! What a privilege! What a responsibility!

I was especially blessed to serve with Raymond & Naomi Burkholder and Truman Yoder. Naomi is a beautiful example of a woman of Godly character, with her meek and gentle spirit, ministering to all those around her.

Naomi Ministering to the Ladies at the Conferences

I Thank God for the privilege to go, and the Blessing it was! Also, I Thank my church family at Anchor of Hope for their prayer & support. Also, thank you to the teaching team as we worked together for Him.

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO ALBUM OF THE GANGTOK PASTORS PRIORITY CONFERENCE

Editor’s Note; Nevin Good lives in central Missouri with his wife Charlotte, and daughter Valerie. They have 4 children & 5 grandchildren. Nevin serves as bishop for Anchor of Hope Mennonite Fellowship Church, Versailles, Missouri.

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