Quote from Forum Archives on January 26, 2002, 4:24 pm

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

Dear Hope Chest friends,

I try not to overburden you all with prayer requests for people you may
not know, but several have been on my heart recently.

By the way, I am recovering nicely from hernia surgery, but now I am
recovering from a bad cold, and my four year old son has a messy tummy
bug... I was trying to avoid going out in public, but Thad got called
into work for an emergency and we needed groceries. I took 7 year old
Lydia with me, and I honestly don't know how I could have managed without
her. She was being so helpful and happy, and I was marvelling at how
much she has matured in her grocery store manners just in the past month
or so! Now THAT'S an answer to prayer.

But, enough about me, and on to weightier prayer matters. Thank you all
for your prayers on behalf of these Christian brothers and sisters.

Blessings,
Virginia Knowles
www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html

BABY WILLIAM GOFORTH

UPDATE ON HANNAH HUNTER,
plus, a request for information on
home schooling a child recovering from a
brain tumor...

A FEW SMALL PRAYER REQUESTS FOR THE KNOWLES FAMILY
Travelling mercies for daughter Rachel
Wisdom for new book project

PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO ARE OVERWHELMED

WINTER BEAUTY -- a devotional for rough times by Nancy Campbell

MARTIN AND GRACIA BURNHAM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BABY WILLIAM GOFORTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, for the newborn son of Joshua and Noelle Goforth. (Noelle is the
daughter of home school historian/evanglist Richard "Little Bear"
Wheeler, who heads Mantle Ministries. She and Joshua were married last
summer.) On January 22 (ironically the anniversary of Roe v. Wade), baby
William Goforth was born at 23 weeks gestation after over a week of
trying to hold off labor. Born at 1 lb, 4 oz, he is still clinging to
life.

Here is an update from Stever Ringer of Mantle Ministries:

"The heart valve is now closed and bleeding to the lungs and heart has
stabilized, but bleeding to the brain is worse than yesterday. They are
suggesting that baby William be airlifted to Denver for brain surgery to
relieve the pressure on the brain stem if the bleeding does not stop
soon. If this happens, he would be there for at least a month. We would
like to pray that immediately the excess blood to the brain would cease
and that pressure on the brain stem would stabilize. The medical
community of the Colorado hospital has suggested that they terminate the
life of William by disconnecting William from support; based on their
experience they feel that this action would be best. Joshua is still
hopeful because William is showing vital signs in all other areas and it
cannot be proven at this point that there is brain damage. Noelle got to
hold William for an hour today, this was a very emotional time for Joshua
and Noelle, please pray for stability and peace for them."

Please note that this happened while the family was ministering in
Colorado. They actually live in Texas, so they are far from home right
now! Please pray for a mantle of God's mercy about them. I have a
special spot in my heart for Noelle since she compiled and edited the
book Daughters of Destiny which I've been reading to my girls lately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE ON HANNAH HUNTER
PLUS REQUEST FOR INFO ON
HOME SCHOOLING CHILD
RECOVERING FROM BRAIN TUMOR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a note from Laura Hunter. We were praying for her daughter
Hannah a year ago when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

~~

I have a daughter who a year ago last December was found to have a
malignant brain tumor, which was escised and taken care of right away.
We have had a year of chemo, six weeks of daily radiation, and she is
almost finished! We have much optimism that she will come out of this
okay for which we praise our God for! Only He can do such miracles,
using our human abilities to glorify His name! My big question is, do
you have contact with anyone who has had anything CLOSE to what we have
been going through on the top of your mind, who we could contact for
moral support, advice, homeschooling tactics? I have delayed asking
simply because we have mainly been "treading water" this past year and
there has been little to no time to contact others. She had a
"medullablastoma" tumor. Thank you so much for your prayers on our
behalf last year when all of this was quite serious! God has truly been
faithful to our family in SO MANY WAYS!! In His love, Laura Hunter

You can contact Laura at [email protected] if you have information or
encouragement on this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A FEW SMALL PRAYER REQUESTS FOR
THE KNOWLES FAMILY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My eleven year old daughter Rachel flew to Maryland with my mother
yesterday. Please pray for travelling mercies for them as they go on day
trips to neighboring states. Rachel plans to go snow tubing and rock
climbing, among other adventures!

I am contemplating a new book writing project. Off and on for the past
ten years, I have been developing Alpha-Virtues, a Bible-based curriculum
for grades preK-2nd. Ten years ago, I used the original "Bible only"
Alpha-Virtues with my daughter, Mary, who is now in high school. She
still has the little book she made! Lately, I've been testing out bits
and pieces of the new comprehensive version with Lydia (1st grade) and
Andrew (preK), and they are excited about it. Do you remember the
Alpha-Virtues Song that I sent out in Hope Chest issue #43 this fall?
That's a tiny part of it! I have a zillion exciting ideas on how to
integrate all of the various school subjects in a logical and creative
way. It will be like a cross between Five in a Row and simplified KONOS
with lots of great read aloud literature, EASY-ON-MOM hands-on projects,
language arts skills, thinking skills activities, early education
concepts, cut-out cardstock teaching aids, etc. It's all coming together
rather surprisingly, and I already have dozens of pages of material in my
computer. I can't seem to get it off my mind, and keep grabbing my pen
and notebook to jot down a new idea!

Now there is a possibility of collaborating on this with a talented
friend who has been working on something similar of her own, and has
strengths in different curriculum areas than I do. Please lift this in
prayer as to whether I/we should proceed with this, and if so, that God
will allow us to make the most effective and efficient use of our time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO ARE OVERWHELMED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I treasure the notes that I receive from you all. I know so many of you
are going through very challenging times with health, finances, family
members, and other issues. You may not be nationally known like the
Wheelers and Goforths and Burnhams, but you are infinitely precious to
God! I pray that he will surround you with his loving arms, and grant
you peace, wisdom and strength for each new day.

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's
great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are
new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD
is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to
those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait
quietly for the salvation of the LORD." Lamentations 3:21-26

If you are going through a hard time right now, please read the following
devotional by Nancy Campbell!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WINTER BEAUTY
by Nancy Campbell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WINTER BEAUTY
Isaiah 61:3, “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of
righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”
I look up from reading the Word of God in my morning Quiet Time. Oh what
a glorious sight meets my eyes. A beautiful sunrise of brilliant salmon
pink glows through the bare leafless branches of the winter trees. It is
glorious. I am awe-inspired. Why haven’t I seen these beautiful skies
before? I realize that I hadn’t noticed them before because they were
hidden from my view by the thick foliage of the tall trees that surround
us here in the Tennessee woods.
Wintertime is stark and barren, but it is in these bare times that we see
beauty that we don’t normally see. As I drive the country roads in the
winter, I will often exclaim, “Oh, I haven’t noticed that home before.”
Or, “I’ve never seen that barn.” The lovely leafy laden trees had blocked
them from view.
Perhaps you are going through a winter season in your life. Your heart is
cold. The outlook seems ugly. You feel stripped of all that you hold
dear. Can I remind you to lift up your head? Look up. As you do, you will
see things in a new light that you have never noticed before. You will
see God in a new way. You will see different facets of His beauty that
you hadn’t noticed before. You will see things that God has been waiting
to show you that He couldn’t reveal to you with all the foliage around
your life.
Often God has to strip us of all our trappings and the things we daily
rely upon, so He can reveal Himself to us. We don’t need Him when we have
everything else around us to rely on. We don’t see Him clearly when our
sights and senses are filled with other things.
I used to think the bare trees of winter were rather ugly, but I have now
come to appreciate their own special beauty. I love their intriguing
beauty as they silhouette against the different moods of the sky. There
is nothing more striking than the moon shining down through the bare
trees. What could bring more pleasure to the eyes than seeing the hoar
frost or a fresh snowfall balancing on their bare outstretched limbs? And
of course I now see the sunrises that I don’t see in the other seasons.
There was also a time in my life when I didn’t like going through hard
times. I’d rather not have to face them at all. But I have learned to
find beauty in these times too. This is when God does His deepest work in
our hearts. This is when we really grow. This is when God is able to
conform us to the image of His Son.
Don’t despise these winter seasons, dear mother. Don’t let your heart get
bitter. Fling off that self-pity. Don’t cower in the dungeon of despair.
Open your spiritual eyes. Look up. You won’t see unless you look up.
There are beautiful things to behold that you haven’t seen before, which
you cannot see in any other season. God will reveal Himself to you in a
deeper way. And you will see a new sunrise in your life.
Love from NANCY CAMPBELL
PRAYER:
“Father, I have been shivering in this winter experience. I feel bare and
stripped of everything. Lord, I am sorry, that I have been looking at the
ugliness of it all. I have been consumed with self-pity. I confess this
to you. Lord, I look up to you. I want to behold your beauty. I look to
see your goodness in the land of the living. Show me glimpses of the
precious work you are doing in me in this winter season. I thank you for
the good work you are doing in me.”
QUOTE:
‘Tis better far to let Him choose the way that we should take;
If only we leave our life with Him, He will guide without mistake;
We, in our blindness, would never choose a pathway dark or rough,
And so we should never find in Him the GOD WHO IS ENOUGH!
In disappointment, trouble, or pain, we turn to the Changeless One,
And prove how faithful, loving and true is God’s beloved Son.
~~

You can subscribe to Nancy's e-mail devotional by contacting her at
[email protected]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MARTIN AND GRACIA BURNHAM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've sent out several updates on the Burnhams since they were taken
hostage last May. FYI, Gracia's name is pronounced GRAYsha. I didn't
know until I watched the 48 Hours segment that Gracia is a home school
mom.

To subscribe to regular updates on the Burnhams, send an email to:
[email protected]

--------- Forwarded message ----------
News programs raise concerns

SANFORD, Florida (Jan. 25, 2002): New Tribes Mission acknowledges with
gratitude the outpouring of concern for kidnapped missionaries Martin and
Gracia Burnham as a result of CBS' Jan. 21 edition of 48 Hours.

Concerns, questions and issues raised generally fall into three
categories.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

We are especially grateful for the number of people asking, "What can I
do to
help?"

The single most important thing you can do is pray. Martin and Gracia's
future
is not in the hands of NTM or any terrorist or government official or
negotiator or news commentator. It's in God's hands. God is good, He
answers
prayer according to His will, and He will glorify His name.

However, we also understand and appreciate the desire you may have to
help in
some way beyond praying. Here are three options:

1. You may help press for the White House to step up its efforts on
behalf of
the Burnhams. Call, fax, write or e-mail the White House, and ask
President
Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld to contact the Burnham family and express concern for their
family members; insist that American armed forces be allowed to operate
on Basilan Island to seek the release of Martin and Gracia. Please be
respectful and polite in your correspondence, and address them correctly.
The President should be addressed as, "Dear Mr. President," and the
Secretaries of State and Defense should be addressed as, "Dear Mr.
Secretary."

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461
E-mail for President George W. Bush: [email protected]
E-mail for Secretary Colin Powell: [email protected]

2. You may tell others about the Burnhams' plight and encourage them to
pray.
You will find resources in the special section devoted to the Burnhamson
the
NTM web site: www.ntm.org/connect/burnham/index.shtml

3. If you feel God is leading you to participate materially, you may
donate to
help defray the ongoing expenses of New Tribes Mission. NTM has a crisis
team in the USA and the Philippines. Members travel between the two
countries and to Washington, D.C., on a regular basis. NTM also assists
with the expenses of the Burnhams' family members in connection with the
kidnapping, and will help with the cost of Martin and Gracia's care after
their release.

To donate, you may send a check in US funds and made out to New Tribes
Mission, with the notation: For the Philippine Hostage Crisis Fund.

Send it to:
New Tribes Mission
1000 E. First St.
Sanford, FL 32771

Thank you for your concern. Please keep praying.

WHAT IS BEING DONE TO HELP THE BURNHAMS?

What NTM has been doing: As soon as NTM received word that Martin and
Gracia had been taken hostage, we assembled a team from members of the
NTM Philippine Crisis Management Team and the NTM International Crisis
Management Team. Five men have been working full-time on this situation.
Their role has included: scouring media outlets for news to share and
rumors to squelch; maintaining regular contact with the Burnhams' family
members; and maintaining regular communications with US and Philippine
officials.

In addition, we have developed our own network of connections with
longtime
friends of NTM and with released hostages. As a result, we have been able
to
consistently monitor the efforts of the US and Philippine governments,
and to
gather information ourselves. NTM also has connections with members of
the US Congress and State Department, and major US media.

This network enables us to hold the Philippine and US governments
accountable.

What are the US and Philippine governments doing? Could and should they
do
more? We believe both should be doing more.

The Philippine government has made it clear that they consider it illegal
to
negotiate with the ASG. From the outset, the Philippine government has
taken
the position that they are the ones who will direct any negotiations and
military actions in this kidnapping. However, the Philippine government
has
appointed a negotiator that the ASG has refused to acknowledge or use.
The
Philippine government has refused to move from their position and appoint
a
different negotiator.

In addition, they have taken a stance that prevents negotiation. They
have
stipulated that before negotiations can begin, the ASG must surrender,
and
release the Burnhams.

The Philippine government has refused all pleas by NTM and the Burnham
family members to allow US troops to become actively involved, and
rejected all offers of direct action by the USA. Several incidents
throughout the
kidnapping have raised concerns on our part regarding the effectiveness
of the
Philippine military.

The USA has offered to provide troops to help resolve this kidnapping.
However, throughout the kidnapping, the USA has defaulted to a secondary
role. We feel that the USA should at least take a coequal position in
this
kidnapping. The USA is offering longterm military aid and training.
However,
the Burnhams need a short-term solution, not longterm solutions to larger
Philippine issues.

WHAT ABOUT RANSOM?

Some have specifically asked about ransom. We appreciate the concern and
care behind these questions. However, ransom is not really the issue in
the case of the Burnhams.

NTM has taken a "no ransom" position for a number of reasons, none of
which
has to do with the value we place on our missionaries. It is a known fact
that
paying ransom only increases the risk of future kidnappings. As
missionaries,
we cannot protect ourselves the way government officials and businessmen
do.
The nature of our work makes us vulnerable, and what the security
profession
calls a "soft target." Therefore, all major mission organizations have
agreed
to establish a "no ransom" position in order to send the message that it
is
not profitable to kidnap missionaries.

Two previous mass kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf Group resulted in them
receiving huge ransom payoffs from foreign governments and from hostages'
families. Those funds provided the ASG with incentive to kidnap more
people,
and the means to launch the raid on Dos Palmas Resort in the Philippines,
in
which they kidnapped the Burnhams and others on May 27, 2001.

Apparently, there are ongoing backdoor negotiations regarding ransom for
Martin and Gracia. These are not humanitarian gestures, but terrorist
fundraising efforts.

Around the world, individuals, governments and organizations desire to
sponsor terrorists such as the Abu Sayyaf Group. However, they cannot
give money directly to the terrorists without facing consequences.

One avenue for them to fund terrorism is to pay "ransoms" for the release
of
people kidnapped by the terrorists. Third parties, for a share of the
ransom,
funnel the money from the sponsors of terrorism to the terrorists. Also,
some
funds are siphoned off for the personal accounts of individuals involved,
or
for bribes for government and military officials.

Our understanding is that Martin and Gracia are still in captivity
because the
parties in these backdoor negotiations cannot agree on who gets what
share of
the loot.

New Tribes Mission and the Burnhams' family members have not been
involved in any of these negotiations, and have never been given a ransom
demand.

We want to do all we can to help free Martin and Gracia. However, we do
not
wish to be party to funding terrorism. We need to carefully consider the
ramifications of any action we take.

~~~~~