LUMglobal #082 ---- 8/31/09
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
Bob and Jo Ann Tolliver
Life Unlimited Ministries
"Touching Nations Here and Abroad"
Number 082
August 31st, 2009
Dear Friends, Family, and In-Pact Partners:
Greetings from a cool and very Fall-like August 31st! One thing and then another has delayed our letter to you, but realizing that if it doesn't get done today, the August letter won't be an August letter, we're trying to get this finished up and on its way to you. August was both a month of delays and setbacks as well as a month of exciting opportunities and amazing blessings. Hopefully, these matters will bless you as they have us.
About In-Pact Team Members:
We've received two reports recently concerning some of our In-Pact Support Team members.
+ We sadly learned last week that a longtime friend, Bertha Holman, went home to be with the Lord. We first met Bertha and Wayne when she "interrogated" the two of us in Ankeny, Iowa, as part of the Pastor Search Committee in June of 1975. They became two of our staunchest supporters, even after they moved to another state a few years later. When we formed Life Unlimited Ministries in 1980, they immediately became part of our "In-Pact" support team through their prayers, letters of encouragement, and monthly financial support. Even after Wayne's death, Bertha maintained that connection right up to last month. She was one of two remaining families who have supported LUM financially from its very beginning. We rejoice now that this loving, patriotic, Bible-believing/teaching friend is finally home. But, . . . we will miss her. She and Jo Ann communicated by snail mail & often by phone on a regular basis. She leaves a great legacy behind her.
+ We've also learned recently that another of our "In-Pact" members of long standing is making a six-month move from Kansas City to El Paso, after which he is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq. Please pray for Andre', Val, and the girls during this unsettling time of relocating temporarily followed by a year of separation from each other. They are a sweet and gracious family. Andre' came out of our church in Iowa. He was a teen-aged neighbor to two of our founding LUM board members, Larry and Kathy, and came to Christ as a result of their influence.
Special News Requiring Prayer:
Even as we were writing our letter today, we learned that the husband (Volik) of our dear friend and cleaning lady (Valya) died while the two of them were exercising at the sports center. Volik was a skilled specialist in manufacturing and installing windows, but apparently not a Christian. According to missionary friend Mary Ellen Ragains, Valya had witnessed to him again just a few days ago. We can only pray that, even though he didn't indicate anything to Valya, he perhaps committed his life to Christ before his death today. Valya is a godly, multi-talented woman who spent most of the past fifteen years or more serving missionaries by cleaning, babysitting, decorating, sewing, cooking, and catering.
She was more than an employee to missionaries, a business woman, or an active church member; she was a friend and servant. In our opinion, she has been one of the most valuable people in Ukraine for helping lift the load of daily living for missionaries so they could, in turn, devote their energies to the details of ministry. She could clean an apartment, make draperies, alter clothing, take care of children, fix meals beforehand, cater for a banquet, or decorate for a wedding reception. In her home church and Bible study group she led, she was constantly urging others on to generous giving, sacrificial service, and courageous witnessing. In many ways she is that "Proverbs 31" woman.
Thanks to our "Cuban daughter" Tania, we can show you this picture. Right to left is Valya, Volik next to her, Valya's mother who is very ill, Tania's mother visiting from Cuba two years ago, and our Tania. Valya's grandson is on front. Please pray for Valya and her family, and also for the missionaries as they grieve with her over her sudden loss. She will face challenging days because of her loss. She will have major financial needs; most of their life savings has been spent recently on treatment for her mother. If you would like to help in some way, please drop us a note at lifeunlimited@centurytel.net, and we'll tell you how we can get funds to her.
What's Been Happening:
+ The add-on four-season room and deck are finished! And, how beautiful they are to see and how enjoyable to use. With windows on three sides, we can look out into what used to be our back yard (it currently looks like a war zone after the construction work!) and out into the woods. It's a great place for eating breakfast, sitting and talking, reading, or just gazing through the windows at the flurry of wildlife. Jo Ann has decorated it simply but beautifully, primarily by moving things from the family room to the new room. We did buy a small dining table and chairs that look like they were made for the room.
+ With the new room addition and furniture shift, we also finally purchased a couple of recliners and did some minor rearranging in the family room. Because we added a large sliding door between the new room and the old living room, we also had to do some minor furniture rearranging in the living room. We hope to do more redecorating and rearranging in both rooms in the future, but that's not on the top of our priority list at the moment. Bob still needs to clean up the new "basement / storm shelter" under the new room, building shelving and storage area, and stocking it with basic emergency items in the event we ever have to use it during a storm. It's really quite large (10'X16') with a full eight-foot ceiling. No, you don't enter it through the small window (left picture) but through the trap door (center picture, beneath the potted plant) that leads to a set of steep steps.
+ The past several weeks we've been working outside quite a bit. Jo Ann has been tending her flowers and Bob has been mowing grass and waging war against an onslaught of tent worms and web worms that are rampaging the countryside. After reaching as high as he could with an eight-foot stepladder, a pruning pole with a mop handle extension, and sore shoulders, he created a 20' "torch" and finally resorted to burning as many more nests as possible. Between the ladder, aching arms, and the torch, he can reach between 30' and 35'. Unfortunately, many of our trees are 45' and 50' high, so there are still scores of untouched nests. In order to minimize the ultimate downward trail of worms, he's going to wrap many of our trees with reversed duct tape. But, we're not sure there's enough duct tape in the county; and, besides, we don't think our property would be particularly attractive with 100 or more trees showing a band of gray around the trunks.
+ Bob's other major outside project remains trying to keep the two acres of grass mowed ---- with a walking mower! Our riding mower is defunct, even after spending some $500 on it earlier in the Spring, so he will spend five to seven hours a day for two or three days each week mowing. Needless to say, all of this has put a hold on his finishing other projects.
+ Jo Ann is steadily exercising her vast creativity making changes and improvements inside the house ---- and waits patiently for Bob to finish the outside work so interior improvements can take place. While she waits, she maintains our personal and ministry financial affairs and prepares healthy and nutritious meals. Recently she had a sudden bout with "bone spurs" or a bruised heel that essentially took her off her feet for the better part of a week. Fortunately, we still had Bob's mother's old walker, so we cleaned it up and it helped Jo Ann hobble around between chair, bathroom, table, and bed. Bob even prepared meals (if you can call sandwiches and salads as meal preparation) so she could stay off her feet as much as possible.
+ The 125th Anniversary Celebration of FBC in West Plains on August 9th was all we had hoped for, and more. We arrived on Friday afternoon and remained until the following Monday morning. We had a chance to visit with many dear friends, including Evelyn Reynolds (see left below -- we knew her then as Earline Talley), Ken Gammill, Dane and Dorothy Anne Smith, Elsie and Beverly Richardson (center), Newt and Carolyn Brill, and so many others. What fond memories flooded our minds. It was a rich time, indeed. Unfortunately, we didn't take nearly as many pictures as we had planned ---- got too involved in visiting. But we did take a few.
+ One of the most significant times of the trip was to spend time with Jim and Jane Hylton. Jim was pastor when Bob was on staff there. We were able to have a late supper together after services on Sunday night. We all marvel at what God did those years ago, what He has done since, and how He continues to amaze us by using us even now on the "down slope" of our ministry years. During his sermon, Jim mentioned the fact that this church has a "spiritual DNA" traced back to 1884 when the church was first started as a result of a Baptist evangelist from Memphis conducting a revival meeting in the Methodist church.
Out of that revival four churches were founded, including FBC. Jim noted that the church is a spiritually dynamic, loving, mission-committed church today because of the DNA development over the past 125 years; we all just happened to get in on a long flow of God's presence and activity. Bob wrote his "Shoulder To Shoulder" letter (#612) today on that topic. If you'd like a copy, drop us a line, and we'll tell you how you can get it. It is a most interesting article. You really can't appreciate the importance of our trip to West Plains without reading that letter, plus the one written three weeks earlier (#609). If you haven't already received them, we'd encourage you to ask for them.
+ We enjoyed returning to preach and sing at Open Arms Church on August 16th while the pastor was away. This small congregation is always a joy to be with. This was our fourth time with them so far this year. We stayed home the 23rd because of Jo Ann's foot, and then worshipped the 30th with the folks at FBC, Eldorado Springs, where our membership had been from 2003 to 2006. This is also the church where Bob served as interim for several months in 2002. It was good to see our friends there again, and they made us feel so welcome.
+ God continues drawing us to ministry, and we sometimes are impatient waiting for the doors to actually open. Bob is working on a new flyer describing our new ministry focus, and is currently gathering ideas and information for the new website we hope to have operational within the next two or three months. He is also having contact with a number of pastor friends and area leaders.
Family:
+ Cindy, Kevin, and Christopher have finally settled in to the missionary house in Johnston, just outside of Des Moines, and are already traveling throughout the country raising support for their return to Colombia next Summer. Cindy is home schooling Christopher, but he is also taking band, French horn lessons, and choir in a local public school. They are facing unusual challenges in scheduling speaking engagements because so many AG churches no longer have evening services, many pastors are giving them only five or ten minutes in which to share the vision of their ministry, and the economy has apparently caused some churches to take their eyes off the Lord as their source, thereby hesitating to commit themselves to missions.
+ No recent word on Debbie, but we do know they are still examining Rachel for possible MS, Abby is finishing her senior year at Missouri University, and Sarah is going to Austin College in Texas to major in education with the plan to go to the mission field as a teacher. Her recent trip to Mozambique was astounding and clearly life changing. We just received an e-mail report from her today, and wish we had space to let you read it.
+ Cheri and Bob are still empty-nesters . . . nobody has flown back yet. As far as we know, Roma and Misha still live in Northwoods, Iowa, and we understand Sergey has moved down there with them. Anya still lives in the DFW area, is working in a church child care, and is attending college in the evenings. Katya and her husband still live in the Twin Cities area and their baby is due this fall. Bob and Cheri have had good reports on Bob's prostate cancer, and are still looking at treatment options. According to a phone call (or e-mail) to Jo Ann, Cheri is having some rather painful and debilitating back trouble just now.
+ Deanna, Jim, Michael, and JoyLinn are still in Galesburg, IL. He continues writing his "WWJD" articles and pastoring the church in Knoxville. They'll be celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary before too many weeks. They're still enjoying owning their own home, and furnishing rooms and making improvements.
+ The two of us still have our ups and downs. A hard day's work often means a day or two of rest following. Aches and pains are a way of life, but nothing worth complaining or whining about. Bob has lost some weight, and the strenuous work outside has increased his stamina. He really does enjoy doing manual labor, and wearing sloppy jeans and sweaty T-shirts is a natural for him. Of course, on those days, Jo Ann has no desire for a loving hug.
Report on Ukraine Ministry:
+ KIBC: While we received no reports from the Spanish, Chinese, or Arabic work in Kyiv, we did get a good report from "M" concerning good things at KIBC as attendance is building again. The Pastoral Leadership Team is meeting regularly to pray together and seek the face of the Lord, and they are also beginning a new "coffee" ministry designed to simply establish and strengthen relationships with people for the purpose of ministering to them and sharing the Gospel.
+ Thailand and Sweden: We also heard from Max in Bangkok, where he continues teaching English and sharing the Gospel as he teaches in the school and ministers through an International church there. Tania in Sweden is also doing well, and has been leading a Bible study and meeting with a Latin American young woman who is not yet a believer. Also, "H", an Iranian young man who was part of our group in Kyiv but now lives near Tania is using "hospitality" as he learned it from Jo Ann to host people in their home where they share Christ and conduct Bible studies with others. We rejoice over how God has scattered many of our friends around the world. We think we know a little of what Paul felt when he watched Timothy and Titus become such strong leaders and witnesses of the Gospel. And, that's what it is all about.
+ Farsi Church: This past week we received the following report from "M", and it continues to including exciting developments. We rejoice over how God is using these young men to share the Gospel with Iranians in several cities. And, we praise the Lord for how He is bringing other key people from Europe and the U.S. to assist them in their work. Be blessed as you read his report.
> "M" Believes in the Lord in [City #4]. We all rejoice together as “M2” has believed in the Lord. Our Farsi ministry has been in contact with him through “V” for the past year, and “V” has been answering all of his questions by phone. He called “V” this afternoon and informed him about his decision regarding inviting the Lord Jesus Christ into his heart as his Savior. We are thinking and praying about establishing a “Phone Bible study” with him. We will start from one of the gospels, probably the gospel of John, and will study with him over the phone every week. I just now talked to him and he told me about the changes that Lord has made in his life over the past few days. Isn’t our God amazing?
What's Ahead:
+ Obviously, there are numerous house projects facing us in the future. This coming Wednesday the guys who did all the concrete work for our new add-on room will return and try to begin the reclamation process on our yard, filling in holes and smoothing things out a bit. After that, we'll spread pelletized lime, probably add some good top soil, and then later in the Fall plant new grass seed. Bob hopes to begin work soon on reconfiguring the deck and adding the walkway that will tie it together to the front porch. Hopefully we'll also be able to add a stone patio next to the porch and proposed walkway. Then, of course, there's always the garden shed, work shop, and garage.
+ As far as we know, we have no long trips scheduled before the end of September when we'll make a loop through Kansas City to Des Moines, and over into western Illinois, about a ten-day trip. Then we will be in Raytown, MO for a state conference the end of October. Hopefully, there will be other speaking engagements and ministry opportunities that will develop as well.
+ We have been contacted by John Tucker with Extend Global to become part of a team to go to India next year to help train about 200 pastors in northern India. We are seriously considering that, and will be talking with John in the next two or three weeks after he returns to the States. We're also praying about a trip to northern Europe next Spring or early Summer; our desire is there, but we simply don't sense what the Lord is saying at this time.
+ We also have a great desire to minister extensively in churches and regions stateside. The opportunities are abundant, but so far there has been little specific direction. We have a great desire to minister in the Midwest area, but also feel a strong pull toward the Southwest, the Northwest, and the Northern Plains area. If we could do what we'd like, we'd take the travel trailer and make about a two-to-four-month tour through the area, ministering as we go. We're simply waiting on the Lord to give the "go ahead" and develop an itinerary.
+ A friend recently told Bob in pretty direct terms that he believes the Lord has brought us back to the States because He is preparing to do some pretty significant things in this country. The friend indicated that he felt our ministry was a perfect fit for what was about to happen, and that we would be significantly involved in His movement. Because of our confidence in our friend's track record, we accept that as affirmation from the Lord, and are waiting to see how that plays itself out. One thing is certain ---- America is in dire straits and in need of a touch from the Lord.
The Church is essentially dead in the water and in extraordinary need of "times of refreshing" from the Lord . . . times that bring the Church to repentance, holiness, and bold obedience. The nation is in desperate need of godly leadership and spiritual awakening. Recently in a sermon our friend said, "We think we have it all together, and the fact is that what we're in the greatest need of is His very Life coming and His glory coming in the way that only He can bring Himself. Jesus is standing at the door of the Church and knocking, which means that what was going on behind that door He was not part of. And so, He knocked and asked to get in. Here's the good news. When we do what we do without His direction and without Him being vitally part of it, He is never far away. He's just outside the door, knocking; and He's ready to come in. I believe the Church is on the edge of the greatest breakthrough and the greatest visitation of God we've ever known. . . . It doesn't take Jesus long to get through the door."
We wait on the Lord "in the mulberry trees" (II Sam 5:24 [17-25]) for the Lord's orders. While we wait, we rejoice in the blessings of the Lord here and about.
Prayer Requests:
+ Valya ---- Obviously we ask that you pray for our dear Ukrainian friend, Valya. As we wrote earlier, if you'd like to bless her financially, contact us. It will be quite easy.
+ "M" and Ira ---- He and "F" are in their final year of university and will graduate next Spring. They have significant financial need because some aid he was told would be available was retracted. They still haven't recovered from the collapse of their bank last year where they lost all their life savings, so it is a struggle. If you'd like to help them out, we can also arrange that very quickly and easily. Just contact us. It would be a great investment in kingdom work. Please pray for them, and also for "F" because if he cannot find funding for more schooling, he'll have to return to Iran. That is not a good thing as a believer. And, he is a key part of the Farsi church leadership and ministry.
+ Son-in-law Bob and his challenge with Prostate Cancer, daughter Cheri and her back trouble, granddaughter Rachel and her unknown health problem, daughter Debbie and her ongoing battle with MS.
+ Us ---- that God will continue providing for our material needs, that we will continue losing weight, that our strength and endurance will continue to increase, and that we'll use health and energy to be faithful in serving Him.
+ Doors of Ministry Opportunity ---- that the Lord will make it clear to us where and how He wants to use us this Fall and Winter, and that He'll open the doors both stateside and internationally for 2010. Pray that we'll remain patient . . . and content to remain here "in the mulberry trees".
+ Website ---- that Bob and Lewis can get some things put together soon so people can know about the Lord, and about Life Unlimited Ministries and what we do.
+ Web Bible study ---- that we can begin the longed-for weekly Bible study with some of our Timothy's and Esther's in Kyiv via Skype video connections.
+ Writing ---- that Bob will make great progress this Fall and winter on several manuscripts in process. Even last week someone again mentioned how he needs to get some stuff published.
+ Local church ministry ---- when we're not on the road, we feel somewhat frustrated because we simply cannot see ourselves as spectators. So far, after nine months at home we've not had opportunity to be used much locally. We feel we have much to offer out of a wealth of experience with God's faithfulness. We'd love to share it with others in some way.
Finally:
Well, it's another long letter again. But, even while we're home, there's still lots going on as God moves the chess pieces around the board. And, be reminded again that we couldn't do what we do if it were not for the prayer and financial support of In-Pact Partners such as you. We never take you for granted, and we are so grateful that you see in us a trustworthiness that makes you want to be part of what we're doing, even though there are times like now when it looks like we're not doing much. From the depths of our hearts, thank you, thank you, thank you! We pray God will bless you above and beyond all you can imagine because you believe in us.
In His Bond, By his Grace, and For His Kingdom,
Bob and Jo Ann (The Tollivers)
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