LUMglobal #097 ---- 10/19/11
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
(formerly "Hope4Kyiv")
Bob and Jo Ann Tolliver
Life Unlimited Ministries
"Touching Nations Here and Abroad"
Number 097
October 19, 2010
Dear Friends, Family, and InPact Partners:
Greetings on a sunny, Fall day in the Ozarks. Much has been happening in our lives since our last letter just a few weeks ago . . . enough so that we are compelled to write to you sooner than usual. Not long after we sent our September letter, we received very exciting information from Mohammad about the Farsi work and KIBC in Kiev. However, knowing that the church where Bob is interim was in the process of making an important decision, we decided to wait until we knew something definitive about that.
So, let's get right to the news:
+ Interim Pastorate: Finally, after nearly two years, the church in Osceola has called a new pastor. Our time there has been wonderful beyond words, but it is time for us to move out of the scene, and their new pastor, Anthony Schindler, to assume his role as their shepherd. He will do that in just three weeks, beginning his ministry there on Sunday, November 13th. He is a fine young pastor with wisdom and good Bible knowledge. His wife works at a nearby university as director of alumni relations. This means that we have only three more Sundays with the church, and that we are now looking for new opportunities of service, being available after November 6th. We leave with excited anticipation, but also with great sadness over leaving so many wonderful friends we gained these past two years.
During this interim an important part of our financial needs have been met through the provision from the church. That, of course, will end in three weeks. This is a bit of a concern for us because we do not want to get caught in the trap of having financial needs become a factor in future ministry decisions. We thank the Lord for His faithfulness to sustain us from first one channel and then another, and are trusting Him to continue that process through channels of His choosing, both individuals and congregations.
+ Odds 'N' Ends: Much has happened since our last letter. Both of us were able to get lots of work done outside now that the temperatures have dropped and the weather has generally been moderate. Jo Ann put three coats of water sealer on the walls and floor of our basement/storm shelter, painted the patio/deck furniture, painted the front door on the house, planted several Fall plants, and washed, stained, and sealed the front porch, the walkway, and the front deck.
Bob did some work in the shop, and completed building the steps lining the front deck and walkway. Just yesterday we both made a major dent in the abundance of leaves all over the yard, deck, walkway, and flower beds. It was one of the dirtiest jobs we've done in months as the leaf blower and the lawn mower kicked up massive clouds of dust and dry leaves that left both of us coated with a layer of dirt. We were almost too dirty to get in the showers for fear they'd be beyond cleaning and might plug the drains. [:-o
We just returned from a nine-day trip to Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota (while the church was listening to their prospective pastor for two Sundays and Wednesdays) visiting our long-time friends Rex and Stelle Boone in Olathe, having lunch with Board member and dear friend Janie Carsten, spending a week with Cheri, Bob, and Seriozha in St. Paul, meeting with our friend Rodney Hammer (Director of Missions in Kansas City) about a possible ministry opportunity in the area helping plant an international church, buying a wonderful little used car from the Boone's, and attending a Bill Gaither Homecoming concert in Independence before arriving home late Saturday night.
Also while on the trip, we were able to meet with Bob's and Cheri's home group and share words of encouragement with them after enjoying our first ever experience of eating fish taco's. (Surprisingly good.) And, we got to see Katya and her husband and baby, and then Misha for lunch the day we left. We hadn't seen them for a couple of years.
Cindy, Kevin, and Christopher continue seeing God's blessings on their ministry in Colombia. Debbie has recently moved to Buena Vista, CO, where she revels in the beauty of the area, the more favorable climate for her MS, and in the fellowship she is enjoying with believers there. Cheri and Bob continue enjoying God's blessings both in their home, Bob's work, and the church ministry of which they are part. Deanna, Jim, and the children are facing interesting challenges in the church, but are seeing God's faithfulness in using them to lead the church to its next level of maturity and ministry.
+ Major Focus: The report we mentioned earlier from Mohammad is so exciting that we want to devote most of our letter to that. Here are excerpts from his letter:
Dear Friends and Partners:
Turkey Mission Trip: We sent "M" on an 8-day mission trip to Turkey. He met with several Iranian Pastors and made connection with them. He also met with his parents who had come from Iran to visit with him. "M" also attended a Christian conference held by Iranian Christians who had come from U.S. In his trip, "M" discussed ways of sending Bibles to Iran with key people who can help with that. We hope to be able to do that sometimes soon. Overall, it was a very fruitful trip.
International Ministry: As I shared with you in previous Praise Report, we can clearly see that the Lord is leading us to do more of international outreach. It was a vision God gave us about 9 months ago and ever since, we've seen amazing doors opening for us to carry out International ministries.
One new door is the possibility of our Persian Ministry getting involved in creating Persian Christian Television programs. An Iranian minister who directs a Satellite TV in United States has offered us this opportunity. It would include giving testimonies, recording our teachings, making interviews and etc. We are thinking and praying about it. If we agree to help, we need to get a good HD camcorder.
Recently we were able to make more connections with Iranian believers in India, Malaysia and Cypress via our online Bible study. They are very interested in our ministry. Only in Malaysia, there are living more than 60 to 70 thousands Iranians. Our Christian contact in Malaysia told us that currently there are very few Evangelical outreaches going on in Malaysia. There are at least several thousand of Iranians who have never heard the gospel or read the Bible before. So we are praying about possibilities of making mission trips. We don't know when. Many things need to work out including financial issues. We're just now praying about it.
"F's" Ministry in Germany:
As you might recall from the last Praise Report, "F" went to Germany to continue his education and serve the Lord. You might also remember that he had problems with finding an accommodation and a job. "F" went to a nearby Evangelical church in his town on a Sunday. There he met a middle age German guy who greeted him and asked about his life. Unfortunately many Iranians who have gone to Germany tend to declare false Christian refugee cases in UN office. This has become very popular and German government hastily grants passports to religious type cases. People usually introduce themselves as "underground church leaders" or "tortured Christians" just to get a resident permit.
So "F" told his story to the German guy who had probably heard hundreds of Iranians telling him about their Christian faith, and 95% of time, it was just another false story. Amazingly though, after he heard "F's" story, he told him that he believes God is going to use him and he sees Christ working in "F's" life. And he offered "F" to help him to reach out to Iranians. "F" had been looking for ministry opportunities and agreed to help him and they both began a ministry of reaching Iranians in his town.
There's a little Christian café in their city called "Café Hope". "F" explained it to me as a place where he and the German guy (Mr. "O") invite Iranians and share the gospel with them. They have already reached out to many Iranians and the ministry continues to grow. Also there might be an opportunity for "F" to translate the Sunday services into Farsi for all those Iranians who begin attending the
church. He's currently working on his German language intensively. What is amazing about this story is this:
Few weeks ago, "Mr. O" asked "F" about where he lives. "F" explained that he doesn't have a place and temporarily lives with few students from his university. "Mr. O" then tells "F" that he owns several buildings, and can help "F" to get a very cheap place. As it turns out, "Mr. O" is a millionaire that has a heart to reach out to Iranians, and was waiting for a person like "F" to do this ministry. So "F" now has a wonderful, cheap place right in front of Café Hope in one of "Mr. O's" owned buildings. "Mr. O" also helped F to get a job on Sunday early mornings. For 2 hours before the church time, he has to drop newspapers in mail boxes. He also blessed "F" with a bicycle because it was needed for the job. Our God is amazing… Isn't He?
I'm also thinking to make a mission trip to Germany sometime next year and spend few days doing Evangelism along with F and "Mr. O". This is another new door that the Lord has opened as part of our vision of international ministry.
"F's" family in Iran ---- Ever since "F" left Iran, his sister and cousin (both are believers) have been struggling spiritually. "F" called his parents few weeks ago and encouraged them to visit an Evangelical church. "F" also contacted one of the pastors of the Evangelical church in Tehran and asked him to accept his family. You have to keep in mind that this church in Tehran is not allowed to let any strangers in, or they will be shut down by the government. It's an old church and is registered with the government just as a "human rights show off". Our government uses it to show off to the world it's democratic, even though it's not. But the Lord is still using this church in amazing ways despite the fact that they are not allowed to do any Evangelism and invite or accept Muslims.
After "F" arranged with the Pastor, they let "F's" parents and his sister in few Sundays ago. "F's" parents, in their sixties, were amazed with the preaching and the time of worship. So they all went back next Sunday, and again another Sunday. They've been going to church for the past several weeks. The Pastor has also appointed a Christian lady from within the church to mentor and minister to F's sister.
Kharkov Mission Trip:
We made a mission trip to Kharkov. Paul, "M" and I spent 3 days meeting and encouraging Iranian believers and sharing the gospel with several non-believers. One of the best meetings was with an Iranian family. The mother was an atheist and her son and daughter were struggling to know the truth. We also shared the gospel with an Iranian student who is studying to be a helicopter engineer.
Bila Tserkva Mission Trip:
We sent "M" on a mission trip to Bila Tserkva to encourage the believers. There's an Iranian family who has a new born baby and lives in striking poverty. Thanks to Paul's generous gift, we were able to send some money with "M" to help them. Also Ira packed some baby clothes from Boxes of Love and we were able to bless them with some new baby clothes. They have so many problems that it might take several pages to describe all of them. So we ask for your prayers for the family. We are going to send another gift in the next week. It's going to include several food items and some more baby clothes.
Web Design Services:
As you might already know, we have started our web design services and now offer it for churches and ministries primarily located in U.S. This business is going to support our families and Farsi ministries. As for me, this is going to be my primary source of income. No matter how tempting the salary is, I know it's not God's will for me to get a full-time job as a web-developer. So I'm hoping and praying that this business would provide income so I could continue doing ministry. All our web designers are believers and highly qualified in their IT spheres. The prices are also highly discounted. Please visit our websites at http://www.crossroadsite.com for more information.
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for:
· Salvation for F's parents.
· Iranian family in Bila Tserkva
· The Lord to open more doors for doing International ministry
· "F's" ministry in Germany among Iranians
· Web design services, for the Lord to bless with clients
Thanks again friends for all your prayers and support. I apologize that it was such a long letter. I omitted my International church and Ira's ministry report, and still it turned out to be 3 pages. We praise God for knowing you in our lives and having you as our friends and kingdom partners. May the Lord bless your lives abundantly.
Serving our King with you,
Mohammad
+ Personal Word From "F": Just this morning before Bob intended to send this letter, he received the following personal word from "F" about whom Mohammad wrote above. We thought you'd like to read it:
+ About Mohammad and "F": While we do have our own serious ministry financial needs, we also want to urge people to consider supporting these two young men. It can be done through our own ministry, Life Unlimited Ministries, so if you feel you want to do that, send a check made out to "Life Unlimited Ministries" and put either "Kiev Farsi Work" or "Germany Farsi Work" on the memo line, and it will be sent to a bank where they can access the gift. Both of them deserve support because they truly are missionaries to the nations in a very real sense.
+ In Our Future: While we certainly don't know yet the specific way in which the Lord wants us involved, we still hold fast to the conviction that He wants us to stir up the church and help it get serious about missions and evangelism on a global level, remain involved in some way with international work, and encourage and serve pastors and local churches. We have intentionally avoided building a heavy schedule as long as we've been doing the interim pastorate. So, our agenda is still relatively light: However, certain opportunities are either in the works or already scheduled:
State Convention: We will be attending the Missouri Baptist Convention at Tan Tara in Osage Beach, MO, later this month. While there we are scheduled to talk with several pastors about possible ministry opportunities in their respective churches.
Family Thanksgiving: Deanna and her family will come, and Bob and Cheri (and possibly Seriozha) will join us here in Collins for Thanksgiving.
Colombia: Since Cindy, Kevin, and Christopher won't be back in the States for another three or four years, we have agreed to spend Christmas with them in Medellin, Colombia. We will stay there for up to a month, during which time we'll not only visit with them but also will minister in a number of churches around the area. We will return stateside early to mid January.
Evangelism Conference: We will return to speak in the annual Barry County Evangelism/Bible Conference in southwestern Missouri in mid February where we'll speak both in the conference and in some local churches.
Cuba: We have been invited to return to Cuba immediately following the evangelism conference noted above. We have wanted to return to Cuba, and were unable to accept an earlier invitation by another friend, Hilton Olive, when he wanted us to go in September. We are asking the Lord to provide the financial resources to make that trip possible.
Planting an International Church: We mentioned earlier about a meeting we had last week in Kansas City with Rodney Hammer. There is a major focus in the Kansas City by both the state and area offices to plant international churches in the metropolitan area. Rodney was our general supervisor and director during the first three years we served in Ukraine. He is very interested in our coming on board to help plant such a church in Kansas City. This matter is in its very early stages of discussion, and we don't have a clear sense yet of what would be involved and whether or not we are to be involved. More research and prayer are needed. But, it certainly has some interesting features about it.
+ Prayer Requests: Needless to say, there are many prayer requests.
> First Baptist Osceola as they welcome their new pastor.
> Our future ministry and direction it needs to take.
> Increased financial support to replace Osceola support.
> Mohammad and Ira as they lead the Farsi work and continue providing leadership at KIBC.
> KIBC as it tries to regather and develop its next steps of ministry.
> "F" and his Farsi ministry in Giessen area in Germany.
> Financial needs for Mohammad and for "F".
> Max as he continues his missionary work in Bangkok, Thailand.
> Our daughters and their families in their respective ministries.
+ Finally:
As it probably is with you, our attention is increasingly being focused on what is happening in our world around us. We find ourselves being sometimes stretched to the limit between global events and the mandate of the Gospel. We don't find ourselves having to choose between the two, but rather having to find how we can be involved as salt and light as citizens of one Kingdom on assignment as residents in another. We believe strongly that one reason America is in the tragic moral, spiritual, economic, and political condition is because Christians have abandoned their posts in the civil arena and have allowed the slow-moving cancer to creep throughout our society, without seldom a whimper from believers, until it has reached near fatal status.
The cancerous tentacles of secular Socialism and its agenda to total collective salvation is spreading with its deception and lies into every area of our culture. So, we find ourselves driven with a passion that is often almost too much for us to bear. And, this is why you and your support are so vital to us. The thought of inadequate undergirding through prayer, encouragement, and financial resources being a hindrance to how God might use us is one we don't want to consider.
A pastor from Centralia, IL, asked Bob yesterday whether or not he was retired. Bob laughed and tried to tell him that he had reached official retirement age eight years ago, but saw no indication that the Lord was telling him to get out of the harness and go back to the stable or out to pasture.
So, because you pray for us and stand with us, we are able to continue . . . with no plans to slow down. Never a week goes by but what we find ourselves thanking the Lord for the undergirding we receive from people like you. Thank you from the depths of our hearts. Please continue.
In His Bond, By His Grace, and For His Kingdom,
Bob and Jo Ann
The Tollivers
Life Unlimited Ministries
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