host country update

Intercession is Urgently Needed
Wild Things are Happening in our Host Country!

News From Our Host Country

As many of you have probably heard, there are some big things happening in our beloved Host Country these days, and I wanted to give you a quick update, as this all definitely requires our prayers.

Recently the Ruling Body of the country declared that the Leader who had assumed power once again after “elections” was not legitimate. And just the other day, one of the members of the Ruling Body officially declared that per the constitution, he was stepping in as interim Leader, until elections could be held. The US, Canada, most of Latin America, and several other countries have all officially recognized this new Interim Leader as the legitimate one. And several big countries from Europe have strongly encouraged this illegitimate Leader to hold national elections once again in eight days.

Well, the illegitimate Leader refuses to step down, and announced that he is severing ties with the US, and ordered all embassy personnel to leave within 72 hours. And the new interim Leader countered that saying that the orders of the illegitimate leader are null and void, and asked all embassies to stay. So far many countries have chosen to go with what the interim Leader is saying.

We don’t know where things are going but we recognize that things could go really crazy. There are some real big power-players involved from around the world and they are supporting the illegitimate Leader. Yes folks, this is a potential powder keg!

Huge marches took place across the country on January 23rd which was the anniversary of the fall of another dictator they had not so many decades ago. We are thankful that the marches have been peaceful for the most part.

Could you please join us in prayer for this beautiful country that is so torn apart? Her are some key things to bring before the Lord:

1. Pray that God would bring change in His time and in the most peaceful way possible.
2. Pray that HE will get the glory and His purposes would be accomplished.
3. Pray for wisdom and caution for all leaders to make God’s choices.
4. Pray that when humanitarian aid is sent that it will reach the people who need it and that it will not be stolen or sold.
5. Pray for us who still are involved in working with different peoples in the country, that God as our Chief Strategist would guide us through these times.
6. Pray for continued open doors for the Gospel in this beloved country.

Thanks for your ongoing prayers for the dear P believers whose lives are also affected during these tumultuous times.

Thanking God for you all,

Merrill and Teresa

The Great Door Opener of the Universe has once again suddenly surprised us and opened a bunch of doors!!

All Clear!!
We are very happy to report that things are looking ‘good’ for us to make a trip down to visit our beloved P people. Once again, God has done many miracles along the way and we praise the Most High that this is His work, and that He will indeed build His glorious church among this people group, and that the powers and influences of hell will truly NOT prevail! (The pictures in this post were just taken recently when our coworkers made a trip into this remote community. And as far as we know, most of these dear people have been “twice-egged,” that is born again!)

Please Pray:

• that God Almighty will be hugely glorified through this trip
• for God’s solution to be brought to bear on this broken and hurting and devastated country
• that God will continue to open new doors and windows needed to accomplish His will in a country where so many have been slammed shut
• for God to continue to grow all 9 of the different P churches
• for much wisdom, strength, and clarity as we continue to disciple the P pastors
• for the P believers to be greatly encouraged, and for mutual encouragement for all of us
• for our health, strength and protection as well as that of the P people

Thanks so much for your letters, your prayers, and your partnering with us. We are so weak, but in His strength we are strong!! Thanks for being a part of the team.

Rejoicing in our Sovereign and Sufficient God,

Merrill and Teresa

Five-Year Visas!!

Teresa and I are happy to report that our trip down to our host country was a great success!  Everything went quite smoothly and there were no huge bumps in the road.  Thanks so very much for praying!!  Many of you were standing with us during this time and we thank God for your partnership.  We got our paperwork all up to snuff and now have an additional five years of ministry opportunity down there.  It would appear as if the angel Gabriel is camped out in the visa department!!

It was sad though to see the condition of this beloved country that continues to deteriorate on almost every level.  We could never have imagined that things would become as they are now.  However, our faith is in our great Sovereign Lord, and so we continue to rest in Him to accomplish his purposes, knowing that HE WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH in whatever political environment, AND THAT THE POWERS OF HELL WILL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST HIM!!  Yes, how good it is to rest in Him and be still before him.  How good to realize that He who shed His blood for the P nation will continue to open the needed windows and doors of opportunity so we can take the needed steps to cross the finish line.

Praise:

• praise for all the updated paperwork
• praise for God granting us a terrific trip down there.  How very good it was to reconnect with so many different friends, coworkers, and fellow believers
• praise for all that God continues to accomplish there, even in the midst of huge challenges
• praise for the many nationals who are giving their lives to take the Gospel to Unreached People Groups
• praise for how God enables us to continue to adjust our strategies in order to move forward in ever-changing contexts
• praise for a great report from the Cornea Specialist regarding my new eye part, and that the other eye has not deteriorated further

Pray:

• pray for continued open doors for the preaching of the Gospel
• pray for the encouragement of the whole team as obstacles and barriers arise more than ever
• pray for health and safety of the different teams as medical supplies and food are often hard to come by
• pray that each of the P believers will continue to function with the gifts that the Spirit of God has given them
• pray that God will be wonderfully meeting the needs of the P believers and that they will learn to depend on Him more and more
• pray for God’s solution to be brought to bear on this beloved country

Thanking God for your partnership with us in this great work,

Merrill and Teresa

Heading South!!

We are excited to report that our great Lord Owner Boss has cracked the door open so we can head south to take care of some important items in our country of ministry. We thank the Lord for this opportunity to go down there to renew our paperwork, meet with our team, and catch up with some other important partners. And as we think about going in a few short days, we reflect on God’s bigness and these truths:

Isaiah 45:5-7

“I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.”

Isaiah 40:10

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Exodus 14:14

“The LORD will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still.”

As many of you know, conditions in our country of service are far from normal. Things continue to deteriorate there and people across the land are suffering in so many sad ways. However, Almighty God continues to build His church there, and we praise Him that the very gates of Hell will not be able to prevail against what God has up His sleeve. And we sure want to continue to be a part of what God is doing there as long as doors remain open. So we are going in order to maintain our legal status in the country and also to have team meetings with our national coworkers. Things on the ground continue to change and so we will be spending a lot of time in prayer, seeking God’s direction as to how to continue working and encouraging this beloved people group.

Please Pray:

—for these many different believers, whose faces you see on the pictures, who represent the believers in the ten different village churches. Pray for strength, courage, and wisdom as they journey on in their lives as children of the Most High God
—for success in completing our paperwork so we can have many more years of ministry in this great country
—for profitable times together as a team as we seek God, talk strategy, and encourage one another in the Lord
—for continued open doors for the Gospel in this country
—for God to be hugely glorified in and thru our trip down there
—for the continued growth of the churches among the P people; that more would learn to read, that more women would rise to the task of teaching their children and encourage other ladies, and that they would learn to read well without any embarrassment
—for our many national coworkers that they would be courageous and continue to move forward in the work with great boldness and urgency
—we praise the Lord for a great report on my new Cornea transplant. I’m seeing much better!! The one eye that hasn’t received a transplant yet is holding it’s own and even a spec better. So thanks so much for your continued prayers for good eye health
—for our children, Josh and Josie and their four kids, who are home from the Asia Pacific region to deal with certain health problems. Some of them have been struggling with different ailments during the last two years on the field and though they have been to numerous doctors, they haven’t been able to see improvement there. So thanks so much for praying about this with us that they get back to feeling up to par.
—for Jodi and Brent who are heading to their home country the end of this month from their host country to have their second baby. Jodi is due at the end of December and so we are thrilled that we’ll be able to have them close for a time and just enjoy them along with the little descendants!!

Thanks again so very much for your partnering with us. We are indeed thankful for the ongoing opportunities to serve the P. believers by preparing additional resource material for them. Thanks again for all you do to keep us going!!

In Daniel 2:21 we read: He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

In recent days, we have learned that our few remaining coworkers in our Host Country have been evacuated. The government there has taken radical steps to gain complete power and so who knows what is coming next. We are grieved as we have been following the news, and yet our hearts are calm and at peace as we continue to lean heavily upon the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Yes, in spite of the difficulties and challenges for those who seek to work there and for our many beloved brethren who are experiencing it close and up front, we trust the great LORD OWNER BOSS JEHOVAH! It is as the P believers say, “Even when the situation doesn’t resemble a believing time, we will still believe in the ‘over and above’ God.” And so we wait upon Him, knowing that He truly is in control, and that He rules supreme, and that His purposes will be advanced, even through this whole fiasco.

Praise!

• Praise God that He is all powerful, and that He is building His church and that the very powers of hell will not prevail
• Praise God for all that He is accomplishing even in this strange and difficult context. We hear many good things of God’s great works!
• Praise God that He is much more concerned about the building of His body than we are, and that we can confidently hang our hammocks in Him (trust Him) and relax.

Pray!

• Pray for God’s Name to be gloriously honored through this whole situation and that the schemes of the enemy will be thwarted
• Pray for the many different People Groups who have come to Christ in this country, that they will grow strong through this time of hardship and evangelize others
• Pray for God’s wisdom for us in how to proceed with plans for the future regarding our visas and so much more. We were going to be heading down there to take care of some visa renewals but now we will wait and see how He leads
• Pray for continued wisdom as we work on revising the Bible lessons, as well as the dictionary
• Pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send forth many more career workers who will joyfully surrender their lives to His purposes and bring in some of that ripe harvest

Banking big on God’s sovereignty,

Merrill and Teresa