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LUMglobal -- #096 ---- 9/20/11

#1 · August 20, 2011, 11:16 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on August 20, 2011, 11:16 pm
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>



Bi-Monthly Praise and Prayer Letter Of

            Bob and Jo Ann Tolliver

                Life Unlimited Ministries

        "Touching Nations Here and Abroad"

                       Number 096

                     August 20, 2011

Dear Friends, Family, and In-Pact Partners:

Once again it has been far too long since we last wrote. Our hope was to write once every one or two months, but here we are almost three months since our last letter of May 31st. Nonetheless, we pray that this letter finds you doing well and continuing to rejoice in the Lord.

Needless to say, we are experiencing some of the most unsettling days in our nation's recent history. It seems like everything in Washington is broken, the financial institutions of the world are acting in confusion and desperation, and the world is becoming more fragmented and volatile. None of this should surprise us, of course, because the Bible has it right once again in predicting the conditions prior to our Lord's return.

For us personally, all these things have affected us perhaps in three ways:

    + First, we have a greater love for and adamant defense of our country than ever. Bob has done more and more extensive research on our nation's history, and it has come as no surprise that America is facing such almost insurmountable challenges. After all, for the past 100 years our nation has progressively strayed away from our Judeo-Christian foundations and has blatantly violated dozens of fundamental biblical principles.

    + Second, it has affected us financially, which has, in turn, affected what we can do ministry-wise.

    + Finally, and most important of all, it has given us a greater sense of urgency and intensity in wanting to do everything we possibly can to help restore spiritual vitality and energy to the Body of Christ, help call America back to repentance beginning with Christians, aggressively train and mentor new leaders for the harvest, and continue sharing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere we possibly can both here and in other countries.

We pray that you are likewise being motivated to seriously work in the harvest fields around you while it is still daylight. The night indeed is coming, and there is yet much to be done while it remains day.

Our letter today is different in that there are no pictures, and we are focusing on just a few critical things for which we ask your serious consideration and prayer.

+ Interim Pastorate: It appears that our lengthy interim pastorate is drawing to a close unless there is a major change. We've been there for two years, and Bob has been interim for over a year and a half. It has been a wonderful time with several saved, much healing taking place, several baptisms, and fellowship restored. However, the Pastor Search Committee has been talking with a young man for a couple of months now, and it looks like both committee and candidate are in general agreement.

Next step is for him to preach once or twice again to the people and then the decision. Unless something unforeseen develops, that will probably happen within the next few weeks. So, our minds are already thinking in terms of "What's next?". Will discuss that a bit later.

In the meantime, Bob concluded his series on Romans last Sunday night, and is now considering the focus for the remaining weeks we have there. He's been preaching on a number of very challenging topics in the morning services, and the presence and power of God has been unusually strong for the past month. It is as if the church is drawing closer and closer to the point of a major outbreak of God's activity. He has also baptized two or three more since our last letter, and currently have at least two coming Sunday for baptism, and at least three or maybe four youth who were saved during Summer camps who need to do the same. Baptizing is scheduled for August 28th for those ready and willing.

Jo Ann continues faithfully serving as church pianist, selecting some really great music for the congregation. She also keeps her sweet influence flowing among the people, and loves on the ladies. She's always preparing food for the potluck dinner the first Sunday of every month, and spends lots of time reading and praying for the church and for others in our town.

+ KIBC: The church we planted in Kiev is having a big struggle going through a major transition just now. Since our last letter, Doug and Kay Clark have returned to the States, and the pastoral role now rests entirely on Mohammad, who also provides leadership for the Farsi church. He is being stretched almost to the breaking point. The church currently runs in the teens and low 20's for Sunday services, and almost nobody there wants to assume any serious responsibility. Mohammad is setting up sound equipment, leading worship, preaching, . . . just about everything. Fortunately, one man, Lee, has agreed to serve on the Pastoral Leadership Team, but his job with the U.S. Embassy takes him out of town a lot.

Last Sunday the church met and decided to try to save money by moving their meeting place to Lee's apartment on Sundays. Financially the church is really struggling as well. Mohammad no longer receives any financial support as a missionary and translator, as he had when we were there. The small core remaining still believe strongly the church has a mission that it must continue, so they really need your prayer support that God will bring some new people to help them continue reaching internationals. Bob and Mohammad talked by Skype last week and discussed a number of options that the church will consider. We'd love to be there to help them through this period of time. If you think it's tough watching a biological child struggle, imagine what it is like to see that happening to a church that you and a small group planted. It's far worse.

+ Sky-Ble Study: We've had numerous interruptions and frequent connection losses with our Bible study via Skype. There were several consecutive weeks when we couldn't even meet. So, it's been a bit frustrating. We had finished our study in Romans and had already begun a study in Ephesians with three sessions transpired. This past Friday we tried another service, www.ooVoo.com and, with the exception of when we lost connection on this end one brief time, maintained a connection for everybody throughout the entire study. The only limitations are that we can only have six computers in any group, and the volume was unusually low.

So, we're going to try it again to see how it works. We suspect that Skype has too many customers for it's service and can't send adequate signals to everywhere we go. After all, we still have participants in five countries (U.S., Finland, Ukraine, Russia, Thailand) covering 12 time zones and involving people from U.S., Finland, Cuba, Russia, Iran, and Ukraine. Another of our Iranian guys who has recently moved to Germany is planning to rejoin us as soon as possible.

Since our last letter, Tania has also asked Jo Ann to lead a Bible study via Skype with her, Arto, and some friends. Their Summer travel has kept them from meeting on a regular basis, but it has already been a great blessing, and will probably resume soon.

+ Farsi Ministry: It is amazing to read about the Farsi work and how God continues blessing it. "F", one of the original members of the Kiev group who had returned to Iran, is now living in Germany attending graduate school. It has been a major challenge for him, but God sovereignly put him in the very city where there is an International Baptist Church and a theological school. The university he attends is in a nearby town. He has already found a number of Iranian believers, and is mentoring them, and is involved in the international church as well. Unfortunately, the lodging arrangements he had been promised fell through, so he's been moving from apartment to apartment belonging to church members or fellow students, but still must find a permanent place to live. In addition, he is required to take German (which he already knows) in order to qualify for the tuition-paid schooling, and that runs about $2400. So, pray for "F" as he remains faithful to the Lord. He's a great discipler and teacher with rich knowledge both of the Qu'ran and the Bible.

For an update on Mohammad and the other Farsi work, we include parts of his most recent report from a month ago:

Mission Trip to Turkey: We feel that the Lord has been guiding our Farsi ministry to do more of International outreach. That includes holding online Bible studies, using our website to reach out to Muslims, sending Bibles to other countries where Iranians live, translating good Biblical materials into Farsi, and making International mission trips.

Based on that vision, we're now organizing a mission trip to Turkey in August. “M3” has already bought the plane tickets, and . . . is going to meet with our believer contacts that are coming from Iran. An Iranian Pastor is also coming from America to Turkey to discuss possible future cooperation. “M3’s” parents might also possibly come to meet his as well.

We've been working with our secret contacts in Iran for the past several months to reach those we get in touch via online Bible studies and website. When we find someone ready to accept the Lord, we get him/her in touch with our contact (A devoted family of believers located in the Eastern Part of Iran), and they in turn give them Bibles and lead them to salvation. Several people have already come to faith in Christ including “F’s” cousin and sister. It's extremely dangerous for our contacts to do this, and we are VERY careful to keep this information as confidential as possible.

More Bibles Printed: We have been printing more Bibles and our warehouse now contains around 1500 Persian Bibles. At the present time, the only way new converts can get a Bible in Iran is through underground bookstores. And that would cost them around $60 to $70 for a paperback copy. Many believers can't pay that much, and so many of them don’t have Bibles, or 4 or 5 people have only 1 Bible to read. So “M3” is going to look for ways for us to sneak Persian Bibles to Iran via Turkey . . . to our contacts in Iran. . . . This solution has to be examined more in details by “M” in Turkey.

Paul’s Arrival: Our beloved friend and brother, Paul has come to Ukraine along with his wife and his beautiful little daughter. He’s been studying in the PhD program at the University of Yale, and now has taken a summer break. It’s just so good to have him come and teach in our Bible studies and preach on Sundays at “Father’s House”. Around 3 years ago, he used to do that every week. It’s so helpful for us to have someone so learned and experienced in Biblical studies to teach the truth of God’s word.

Mission Trip to Kharkov: Paul, “V”, “M” and I [went] to Kharkov to encourage believers and possibly do “Hostel Evangelism”. There’s also one former Muslim that has believed in the Lord, and [wanted] to get baptized. It’s amazing how the Lord provided for the mission trip so all 4 of us could make such an expensive trip. {[We rented] a flat there [for our week-end ministry and went] back to Kiev Sunday afternoon.

“F” in Germany: Our dear brother “F” finally made it to Germany to continue his education and [do] ministry. We’re excited to see how the Lord has been guiding his steps. “F” is now facing a serious problem. I’m going to share this problem with you and encourage you to prayerfully consider helping him however you can.

An Iranian Christian lady had promised him to help with accommodation and job. She assured “F” that he would face no problem with either job or a place to stay. So “F” didn’t look for any alternatives. Unfortunately, as soon as “F” arrived in Germany, the lady told him that she has now her own problems and can’t help him at all.

So now “F” is left completely on his own. Through one of IBC members in Giessen, he has temporarily been given a room for only few days and after that he has to look for another place. He's also facing a problem with his school. He was given a scholarship to study for free in the Master’s program, but when he went to school few days ago, he was told that he needs to study German until February, and then start the master’s program for free.

The problem is that they are charging him around 2400 EU for this language course. He was not told that he has to study in the language program. All he was told was that he has a scholarship and no money had to be paid. He doesn't have the money for the course and his retired parents can't help him either. He has a work permit on the top of his student visa and is now looking for a job. His German is also pretty good.

So I’d like to ask you to make it a matter of prayer, and lift him up before our Father’s throne. If you have on your heart to help him financially, please drop me a note and I’ll let you know in details how to do that. Meanwhile, if you know of someone either in “Marburg”, “Giessen” or “Frankfurt” that can help “F” with getting a job or accommodation, please let me know as well.

Prayer Requests: Please pray for…

    1- Lord to bless our mission trip to Kharkov and open doors for us to minister to Muslims there.

    2- Mission trip to Turkey and the process of finding ways to get Bibles to believers in Iran.

    3- “F” in Germany and his situation with finding job and accommodation

    4- Paul and his family and their time in Ukraine

Thank you my friends for taking time to read this and remembering us in prayer. Thank you for all your love and support, and all you do for “His Kingdom”.

We are excited to serve our King along with you, and never look back, but always look ahead to what is before us, and until it is “day”, do the work of the Lord…

Peace in Him,

Mohammad

FYI, if you have a desire to help "F" and/or Mohammad financially, we can expedite it. Let us know by e-mail or phone call.

+ Personal Things: We really enjoyed going to Fort Worth for granddaughter Rachel's high school graduation from Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts where she graduated at Salutatorian. Her speech was both timely and hilarious (she retains that great sense of humor and is always laughing about something).  Bob and Cheri came down from St. Paul and caravanned with us.

Last Friday we were able to meet Deanna and family in Lee Summit (at a Culver's, of course!) while they were there for a wedding in Jim's family. It was good to see them. We had taken Michael and JoyLinn with us to Rachel's graduation, but hadn't seen Deanna and Jim for quite some time. That same day, Debbie moved from Fort. Worth to Buena Vista, CO. She had been told that the climate there was much better for her MS, and she's already found that to be true.

We've also had our battle with vehicle problems. First, the Suburban had to have new tires and new brake pads ($1500 ugh!). Then the Taurus had to have a new brake caliper, a rear hub, and new brake pads ($500 ugh!). Seems like there was something else, too, but two days ago the battery in the Taurus, less than two years old, gave up the ghost. so, it sits once again while we drive the gas guzzling Suburban now getting only about 12 mpg. We take it in next week to see if that can be changed . . . and beg another battery for the Taurus. Guess that's what to expect when your vehicles both have 120,000 and 145,000 miles respectively on them. At least we don't have to make car payments (Hallelujah!).

+ THE BIG ISSUE -- The Future:

We really wish we were sitting with you around a table having a cup of coffee or tea so you could get a better feel of our hearts, and so we could really share our thoughts with you audibly instead of doing it through an e-mail. We cherish your insight and your prayer.

Throughout all our married life, we have watched God initiate a pattern that seems to happen virtually every time there is a significant change in our ministry. Today is no exception. For the past several months we have known that our ministry as interim was steadily coming to an end. In recent weeks it has become more definitive, and as we write, we suspect that this role will probably conclude within the next few weeks, probably by the end of September, though that certainly isn't definite.

When a change or a move is eminent, the Lord seems to slowly begin disconnecting our emotional and visionary ties, followed by initiating desires and dreams of what we might like to do in the future. Next, God starts putting interesting contacts in our lives, and we find ourselves beginning to do a little exploration and probing in areas of potential interest. This has been the pattern we've seen repeated here.

Not coincidentally, several things have happened that indicate to us the Lord is getting us ready. Within the past week, we have had inquiries and also interviews concerning possible ministry opportunities. We have had an initial discussion about possible international ministry in a large Midwestern city, invitations to preach meetings, and some overseas short-term opportunities. So, as we look at the future, two issues are of great concern to us ---- increased financial needs to sustain the ministry, and the fear of being "shelved" as if we were "too old".

    > Finances: To be quite honest, we do not have the personal financial reserved that we had when we served in Ukraine. We essentially exhausted our savings by investing in the last three years of ministry in Kiev, so we currently take care of our personal needs by our modest retirement income, and our ministry expenses are covered by monthly support, revivals, and interim pastorates. So, without the savings and interim coming up ahead, we anticipate some major challenges ahead for carrying on ministry.

    > Age: That may sound humorous, and we really do NOT feel "old"! However, we do recognize that others often tend to discount the impact and effectiveness we older ones might have in ministry. The last thing on our minds is to sit on the shelf and be out of ministry. We are as committed to strategic and aggressive ministry as we've ever been.

So, of all the prayer requests you will see below, we do ask that you pray with us about the next field of ministry the Lord may have for us. Our hearts still throb for internationals, for students, for pastors, and for revival and spiritual awakening.

+ Upcoming Events: Already we are seeing coming months showing indication of what may be part of our future ministry:

    > Sept 2-5 ---- 60th Anniversary Celebration at Olivet Church in Wichita, KS.

    > Sept 18 or 25 ---- Preaching in Gower, MO

    > Sept/Oct -- Probable trip to St Paul, MN for family & ministry

    > Oct 31-Nov 2 ---- MBC annual meeting, Osage Beach, MO

    > Dec/Jan ---- Christmas and ministry in Medellin, Colombia

    > Feb -- Possible ministry trip to Cuba

    > Feb -- Barry County Evangelism and Bible Conference

+ Prayer Requests:

    > Finishing well in our interim, no matter when it concludes.

    > "F" for some serious financial needs he has as he tries to get permanent housing and pay for German classes.

    > Mohammad and Ira as they still fall short on financial needs.

    > KIBC as it goes through a time of rebuilding and re-establishing the vision among the people.

    > Our own need for increased financial support.

    > Clarity as we anticipate the next step God has for us in ministry.

+ Finally: As you can see, we have exciting days ahead of us, and your faithful partnership with us. Some of you have been with us for an amazing 31 years, and most of you have been part of our ministry for ten years or more. We cannot thank you enough. You are more than a blessing to us, and we thank you for all that you are and all you have done. Please let us hear from you via letter, phone call, e-mail, or Facebook.

In His Bond, By His Grace, and for His Kingdom,

Bob and Jo Ann

The Tollivers

Life Unlimited Ministries

LUMglobal

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Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>

Bi-Monthly Praise and Prayer Letter Of

Bob and Jo Ann Tolliver

Life Unlimited Ministries

"Touching Nations Here and Abroad"

Number 096

August 20, 2011

Dear Friends, Family, and In-Pact Partners:

Once again it has been far too long since we last wrote. Our hope was to write once every one or two months, but here we are almost three months since our last letter of May 31st. Nonetheless, we pray that this letter finds you doing well and continuing to rejoice in the Lord.

Needless to say, we are experiencing some of the most unsettling days in our nation's recent history. It seems like everything in Washington is broken, the financial institutions of the world are acting in confusion and desperation, and the world is becoming more fragmented and volatile. None of this should surprise us, of course, because the Bible has it right once again in predicting the conditions prior to our Lord's return.

For us personally, all these things have affected us perhaps in three ways:

+ First, we have a greater love for and adamant defense of our country than ever. Bob has done more and more extensive research on our nation's history, and it has come as no surprise that America is facing such almost insurmountable challenges. After all, for the past 100 years our nation has progressively strayed away from our Judeo-Christian foundations and has blatantly violated dozens of fundamental biblical principles.

+ Second, it has affected us financially, which has, in turn, affected what we can do ministry-wise.

+ Finally, and most important of all, it has given us a greater sense of urgency and intensity in wanting to do everything we possibly can to help restore spiritual vitality and energy to the Body of Christ, help call America back to repentance beginning with Christians, aggressively train and mentor new leaders for the harvest, and continue sharing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere we possibly can both here and in other countries.

We pray that you are likewise being motivated to seriously work in the harvest fields around you while it is still daylight. The night indeed is coming, and there is yet much to be done while it remains day.

Our letter today is different in that there are no pictures, and we are focusing on just a few critical things for which we ask your serious consideration and prayer.

+ Interim Pastorate: It appears that our lengthy interim pastorate is drawing to a close unless there is a major change. We've been there for two years, and Bob has been interim for over a year and a half. It has been a wonderful time with several saved, much healing taking place, several baptisms, and fellowship restored. However, the Pastor Search Committee has been talking with a young man for a couple of months now, and it looks like both committee and candidate are in general agreement.

Next step is for him to preach once or twice again to the people and then the decision. Unless something unforeseen develops, that will probably happen within the next few weeks. So, our minds are already thinking in terms of "What's next?". Will discuss that a bit later.

In the meantime, Bob concluded his series on Romans last Sunday night, and is now considering the focus for the remaining weeks we have there. He's been preaching on a number of very challenging topics in the morning services, and the presence and power of God has been unusually strong for the past month. It is as if the church is drawing closer and closer to the point of a major outbreak of God's activity. He has also baptized two or three more since our last letter, and currently have at least two coming Sunday for baptism, and at least three or maybe four youth who were saved during Summer camps who need to do the same. Baptizing is scheduled for August 28th for those ready and willing.

Jo Ann continues faithfully serving as church pianist, selecting some really great music for the congregation. She also keeps her sweet influence flowing among the people, and loves on the ladies. She's always preparing food for the potluck dinner the first Sunday of every month, and spends lots of time reading and praying for the church and for others in our town.

+ KIBC: The church we planted in Kiev is having a big struggle going through a major transition just now. Since our last letter, Doug and Kay Clark have returned to the States, and the pastoral role now rests entirely on Mohammad, who also provides leadership for the Farsi church. He is being stretched almost to the breaking point. The church currently runs in the teens and low 20's for Sunday services, and almost nobody there wants to assume any serious responsibility. Mohammad is setting up sound equipment, leading worship, preaching, . . . just about everything. Fortunately, one man, Lee, has agreed to serve on the Pastoral Leadership Team, but his job with the U.S. Embassy takes him out of town a lot.

Last Sunday the church met and decided to try to save money by moving their meeting place to Lee's apartment on Sundays. Financially the church is really struggling as well. Mohammad no longer receives any financial support as a missionary and translator, as he had when we were there. The small core remaining still believe strongly the church has a mission that it must continue, so they really need your prayer support that God will bring some new people to help them continue reaching internationals. Bob and Mohammad talked by Skype last week and discussed a number of options that the church will consider. We'd love to be there to help them through this period of time. If you think it's tough watching a biological child struggle, imagine what it is like to see that happening to a church that you and a small group planted. It's far worse.

+ Sky-Ble Study: We've had numerous interruptions and frequent connection losses with our Bible study via Skype. There were several consecutive weeks when we couldn't even meet. So, it's been a bit frustrating. We had finished our study in Romans and had already begun a study in Ephesians with three sessions transpired. This past Friday we tried another service, http://www.ooVoo.com and, with the exception of when we lost connection on this end one brief time, maintained a connection for everybody throughout the entire study. The only limitations are that we can only have six computers in any group, and the volume was unusually low.

So, we're going to try it again to see how it works. We suspect that Skype has too many customers for it's service and can't send adequate signals to everywhere we go. After all, we still have participants in five countries (U.S., Finland, Ukraine, Russia, Thailand) covering 12 time zones and involving people from U.S., Finland, Cuba, Russia, Iran, and Ukraine. Another of our Iranian guys who has recently moved to Germany is planning to rejoin us as soon as possible.

Since our last letter, Tania has also asked Jo Ann to lead a Bible study via Skype with her, Arto, and some friends. Their Summer travel has kept them from meeting on a regular basis, but it has already been a great blessing, and will probably resume soon.

+ Farsi Ministry: It is amazing to read about the Farsi work and how God continues blessing it. "F", one of the original members of the Kiev group who had returned to Iran, is now living in Germany attending graduate school. It has been a major challenge for him, but God sovereignly put him in the very city where there is an International Baptist Church and a theological school. The university he attends is in a nearby town. He has already found a number of Iranian believers, and is mentoring them, and is involved in the international church as well. Unfortunately, the lodging arrangements he had been promised fell through, so he's been moving from apartment to apartment belonging to church members or fellow students, but still must find a permanent place to live. In addition, he is required to take German (which he already knows) in order to qualify for the tuition-paid schooling, and that runs about $2400. So, pray for "F" as he remains faithful to the Lord. He's a great discipler and teacher with rich knowledge both of the Qu'ran and the Bible.

For an update on Mohammad and the other Farsi work, we include parts of his most recent report from a month ago:

Mission Trip to Turkey: We feel that the Lord has been guiding our Farsi ministry to do more of International outreach. That includes holding online Bible studies, using our website to reach out to Muslims, sending Bibles to other countries where Iranians live, translating good Biblical materials into Farsi, and making International mission trips.

Based on that vision, we're now organizing a mission trip to Turkey in August. “M3” has already bought the plane tickets, and . . . is going to meet with our believer contacts that are coming from Iran. An Iranian Pastor is also coming from America to Turkey to discuss possible future cooperation. “M3’s” parents might also possibly come to meet his as well.

We've been working with our secret contacts in Iran for the past several months to reach those we get in touch via online Bible studies and website. When we find someone ready to accept the Lord, we get him/her in touch with our contact (A devoted family of believers located in the Eastern Part of Iran), and they in turn give them Bibles and lead them to salvation. Several people have already come to faith in Christ including “F’s” cousin and sister. It's extremely dangerous for our contacts to do this, and we are VERY careful to keep this information as confidential as possible.

More Bibles Printed: We have been printing more Bibles and our warehouse now contains around 1500 Persian Bibles. At the present time, the only way new converts can get a Bible in Iran is through underground bookstores. And that would cost them around $60 to $70 for a paperback copy. Many believers can't pay that much, and so many of them don’t have Bibles, or 4 or 5 people have only 1 Bible to read. So “M3” is going to look for ways for us to sneak Persian Bibles to Iran via Turkey . . . to our contacts in Iran. . . . This solution has to be examined more in details by “M” in Turkey.

Paul’s Arrival: Our beloved friend and brother, Paul has come to Ukraine along with his wife and his beautiful little daughter. He’s been studying in the PhD program at the University of Yale, and now has taken a summer break. It’s just so good to have him come and teach in our Bible studies and preach on Sundays at “Father’s House”. Around 3 years ago, he used to do that every week. It’s so helpful for us to have someone so learned and experienced in Biblical studies to teach the truth of God’s word.

Mission Trip to Kharkov: Paul, “V”, “M” and I [went] to Kharkov to encourage believers and possibly do “Hostel Evangelism”. There’s also one former Muslim that has believed in the Lord, and [wanted] to get baptized. It’s amazing how the Lord provided for the mission trip so all 4 of us could make such an expensive trip. {[We rented] a flat there [for our week-end ministry and went] back to Kiev Sunday afternoon.

“F” in Germany: Our dear brother “F” finally made it to Germany to continue his education and [do] ministry. We’re excited to see how the Lord has been guiding his steps. “F” is now facing a serious problem. I’m going to share this problem with you and encourage you to prayerfully consider helping him however you can.

An Iranian Christian lady had promised him to help with accommodation and job. She assured “F” that he would face no problem with either job or a place to stay. So “F” didn’t look for any alternatives. Unfortunately, as soon as “F” arrived in Germany, the lady told him that she has now her own problems and can’t help him at all.

So now “F” is left completely on his own. Through one of IBC members in Giessen, he has temporarily been given a room for only few days and after that he has to look for another place. He's also facing a problem with his school. He was given a scholarship to study for free in the Master’s program, but when he went to school few days ago, he was told that he needs to study German until February, and then start the master’s program for free.

The problem is that they are charging him around 2400 EU for this language course. He was not told that he has to study in the language program. All he was told was that he has a scholarship and no money had to be paid. He doesn't have the money for the course and his retired parents can't help him either. He has a work permit on the top of his student visa and is now looking for a job. His German is also pretty good.

So I’d like to ask you to make it a matter of prayer, and lift him up before our Father’s throne. If you have on your heart to help him financially, please drop me a note and I’ll let you know in details how to do that. Meanwhile, if you know of someone either in “Marburg”, “Giessen” or “Frankfurt” that can help “F” with getting a job or accommodation, please let me know as well.

Prayer Requests: Please pray for…

1- Lord to bless our mission trip to Kharkov and open doors for us to minister to Muslims there.

2- Mission trip to Turkey and the process of finding ways to get Bibles to believers in Iran.

3- “F” in Germany and his situation with finding job and accommodation

4- Paul and his family and their time in Ukraine

Thank you my friends for taking time to read this and remembering us in prayer. Thank you for all your love and support, and all you do for “His Kingdom”.

We are excited to serve our King along with you, and never look back, but always look ahead to what is before us, and until it is “day”, do the work of the Lord…

Peace in Him,

Mohammad

FYI, if you have a desire to help "F" and/or Mohammad financially, we can expedite it. Let us know by e-mail or phone call.

+ Personal Things: We really enjoyed going to Fort Worth for granddaughter Rachel's high school graduation from Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts where she graduated at Salutatorian. Her speech was both timely and hilarious (she retains that great sense of humor and is always laughing about something). Bob and Cheri came down from St. Paul and caravanned with us.

Last Friday we were able to meet Deanna and family in Lee Summit (at a Culver's, of course!) while they were there for a wedding in Jim's family. It was good to see them. We had taken Michael and JoyLinn with us to Rachel's graduation, but hadn't seen Deanna and Jim for quite some time. That same day, Debbie moved from Fort. Worth to Buena Vista, CO. She had been told that the climate there was much better for her MS, and she's already found that to be true.

We've also had our battle with vehicle problems. First, the Suburban had to have new tires and new brake pads ($1500 ugh!). Then the Taurus had to have a new brake caliper, a rear hub, and new brake pads ($500 ugh!). Seems like there was something else, too, but two days ago the battery in the Taurus, less than two years old, gave up the ghost. so, it sits once again while we drive the gas guzzling Suburban now getting only about 12 mpg. We take it in next week to see if that can be changed . . . and beg another battery for the Taurus. Guess that's what to expect when your vehicles both have 120,000 and 145,000 miles respectively on them. At least we don't have to make car payments (Hallelujah!).

+ THE BIG ISSUE -- The Future:

We really wish we were sitting with you around a table having a cup of coffee or tea so you could get a better feel of our hearts, and so we could really share our thoughts with you audibly instead of doing it through an e-mail. We cherish your insight and your prayer.

Throughout all our married life, we have watched God initiate a pattern that seems to happen virtually every time there is a significant change in our ministry. Today is no exception. For the past several months we have known that our ministry as interim was steadily coming to an end. In recent weeks it has become more definitive, and as we write, we suspect that this role will probably conclude within the next few weeks, probably by the end of September, though that certainly isn't definite.

When a change or a move is eminent, the Lord seems to slowly begin disconnecting our emotional and visionary ties, followed by initiating desires and dreams of what we might like to do in the future. Next, God starts putting interesting contacts in our lives, and we find ourselves beginning to do a little exploration and probing in areas of potential interest. This has been the pattern we've seen repeated here.

Not coincidentally, several things have happened that indicate to us the Lord is getting us ready. Within the past week, we have had inquiries and also interviews concerning possible ministry opportunities. We have had an initial discussion about possible international ministry in a large Midwestern city, invitations to preach meetings, and some overseas short-term opportunities. So, as we look at the future, two issues are of great concern to us ---- increased financial needs to sustain the ministry, and the fear of being "shelved" as if we were "too old".

> Finances: To be quite honest, we do not have the personal financial reserved that we had when we served in Ukraine. We essentially exhausted our savings by investing in the last three years of ministry in Kiev, so we currently take care of our personal needs by our modest retirement income, and our ministry expenses are covered by monthly support, revivals, and interim pastorates. So, without the savings and interim coming up ahead, we anticipate some major challenges ahead for carrying on ministry.

> Age: That may sound humorous, and we really do NOT feel "old"! However, we do recognize that others often tend to discount the impact and effectiveness we older ones might have in ministry. The last thing on our minds is to sit on the shelf and be out of ministry. We are as committed to strategic and aggressive ministry as we've ever been.

So, of all the prayer requests you will see below, we do ask that you pray with us about the next field of ministry the Lord may have for us. Our hearts still throb for internationals, for students, for pastors, and for revival and spiritual awakening.

+ Upcoming Events: Already we are seeing coming months showing indication of what may be part of our future ministry:

> Sept 2-5 ---- 60th Anniversary Celebration at Olivet Church in Wichita, KS.

> Sept 18 or 25 ---- Preaching in Gower, MO

> Sept/Oct -- Probable trip to St Paul, MN for family & ministry

> Oct 31-Nov 2 ---- MBC annual meeting, Osage Beach, MO

> Dec/Jan ---- Christmas and ministry in Medellin, Colombia

> Feb -- Possible ministry trip to Cuba

> Feb -- Barry County Evangelism and Bible Conference

+ Prayer Requests:

> Finishing well in our interim, no matter when it concludes.

> "F" for some serious financial needs he has as he tries to get permanent housing and pay for German classes.

> Mohammad and Ira as they still fall short on financial needs.

> KIBC as it goes through a time of rebuilding and re-establishing the vision among the people.

> Our own need for increased financial support.

> Clarity as we anticipate the next step God has for us in ministry.

+ Finally: As you can see, we have exciting days ahead of us, and your faithful partnership with us. Some of you have been with us for an amazing 31 years, and most of you have been part of our ministry for ten years or more. We cannot thank you enough. You are more than a blessing to us, and we thank you for all that you are and all you have done. Please let us hear from you via letter, phone call, e-mail, or Facebook.

In His Bond, By His Grace, and for His Kingdom,

Bob and Jo Ann

The Tollivers

Life Unlimited Ministries

LUMglobal

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