JULY 2009

CROATIA AND BOSNIA: A TIME TO HEAL

We will be in Croatia and Bosnia July 26-August 13 as part of MERCY STREET RHYTHM & BLUES. As the name says, it will be a marriage of a particular style of music with a message of God’s great mercy – a message so desperately needed in this part of the world. Again we will partner with churches in Croatia and Bosnia who are dedicated to reaching their communities for Christ.

We have seen much fruit from our time spent in the Balkans but there is so much more to do! Although the area is relatively peaceful there now, recent wars have left deep scars in the lives of many. We want to come and bring the “Balm of Gilead” to dress these spiritual wounds.

Please pray with us that our team would be united in mind, spirit and body to do His bidding there. Pray that our music would be excellent and our message clear. Pray that we will be bold after the concerts as we step off the stage to engage people in conversations of eternal value.

Also pray about our financial needs for this trip. As our personal account is still deeply in deficit, we still need funds for this trip. Our current need for this trip is $3160.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT: A TIME TO TRUST

We are still in need of ongoing financial support, currently receiving 54% of the funds needed for living and ministry expenses. Many of our long time supporters are older and live on fixed incomes. We currently have only one supporting church. We are in need of more people who will stand with us through ongoing financial support.

Through this we are seeing God move on our behalf. Here are a few examples: We have received some new or increased support from a handful of individuals. Also, God has shown us ways to economize, including better and less expensive health insurance coverage than we have had. Lastly, in an act of divine extravagance, God prompted some friends to give us a week’s vacation in a condo at Daytona Beach. It wasn’t until we got there that we realized just how much we needed the refreshment. We used that time to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary which takes place while we are on tour. We knew that this was God’s way of reminding us that He is the great provider.

Click here to donate through the Proclaim website

Link to July Jenkins Jazz newsletter

JUNE 2009

The month of June is looking different than we had expected, but God has been giving us ministry opportunities right here in Jacksonville and even revealing ways that this would not have been a good time for us to be away.

We have been able to get involved in meeting some needs at our church and Jim is putting in a lot of time on music arrangements for the Mercy Street tour that starts the end of July. It has been a challenge to get all the musicians we were looking for, so some of the music has to be adapted for the changing instrumentation. We would appreciate prayer for this team that God is putting together, that all the necessary positions would be filled. Pray especially for tour leader Todd Smalley, and for Branko doing set up in Croatia and Bosnia.

photo by Lidija

FINANCIAL SUPPORT UPDATE

In recent weeks we have gained some support but have also lost about the same amount, so we are at a little over 50% of the monthly total needed. Please pray that we will stay motivated about sharing what God is doing through Proclaim and confident in His ability to provide the needed support. We also need to raise special funds for the upcoming tour, a total of $3400 for the tour plus airfare.

Other news -- A Proclaim team with THE OUTLANDERS band had the privilege of partnering with Sicilian believers in a project to help the local church launch new house churches.

Click here to read about the encouraging results on the Proclaim! website

MAY 2009

This month we have been transitioning into summer activities, including Jim' s last performance with the First Coast Wind Ensemble.Unfortunately the 2-month drought ended just as the outdoor concert at the beach was starting so it was a damp evening for the audience, but an outstanding performance for those who endured the elements.

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL:

Kathie was involved in Proclaim!'s International Council spring session May 21-25 in Delray Beach, FL. For the first time in several years it was held in the US instead of Europe because of travel logistics. It was nice not to deal with jet lag this time for the first 3 days of meetings. Members of the council are Proclaim Co-directors, representatives from the boards in ministry countries, and individuals affirmed by the Proclaim! community, who address overall policy or issues that affect the entire community. An event we spent time planning at this session is the Tenth Anniversary of Proclaim! International which we will celebrate next year. This will include our community Gathering and a special event for Proclaim guests. Final dates and logistics for this are in process.

SUMMER CHANGES
We had plans for a midwest trip starting in June. But an unexpected complication put that trip in question a short time before we were to leave. Because of the complex schedule and all the people involved we felt it would not be wise to take a chance on having to rearrange or cancel the trip at the last minute, so we made the decision then to postpone it. We are rescheduling that trip to September.

We were so looking forward to seeing many supporters we haven't been with in some time, so this change is disappointing. But we are now seeking how God wants us to productively use this time to do other ministry, to challenge people to be part of our support team, and to prepare for the tour we will be on in Croatia and Bosnia the end of July and first of August.

PROCLAIM! GALA

We had the Gala, our main fundraising/PR event for the year, April 24 with a good crowd and excellent evening. We have had responses of appreciation and encouragement from many who were able to join us.

Our local expression of Sax 4th Avenue provided great music and atmosphere and demonstrated the impact a versatile group such as this can have in a ministry setting. John used experiences from the recent tour in North Africa to effectively communicate the strategies that we use in cross-cultural evangelism ministry and how they play out in practical ways.

It was encouraging to connect with many new people as the network is expanding thanks to friends who are motivated to challenge others to be involved on some level. We are thankful too for many who sacrificed to give financially as Proclaim! along with other ministries, is being affected by the economy.

A special treat was a visit from our friend Sheila Blackler who surprised us and came out from Portland for the Gala. Michael and Sheila were with us in Anno Domini in Belgium in the 80s and later served in Sweden and Ireland. Sunday after the Gala all the former AD members here (Bowers, Petersons & Jenkins) got together to eat (of course) and relive lots of wonderful times. Jim got out some of the old slides of A.D. families, tour life, stage -- we had some good laughs and shed a few tears of nostalgia and of missing Michael who has been with the Lord for almost 5 years.

John, Jeanne, JP, Kathie, Jim, Kim, Sheila, Diana, Jami

Next stop: We're headed for Indiana and the surrounding area in June to connect with supporters in those areas. It has been many years since we've seen some of our faithful supporters in some places in Michigan, Wisconsin, and the Chicago area, so we want to get to as many of those as possible on this trip. We have been dealing with some vehicle challenges and uncertainty about what direction to go on that. But we decided to go ahead with a major repair on our car to try to keep it going for a while. We're trusting it will be in good shape for this trip. We're looking forward to renewing relationships.

NORTH AFRICA TOUR RESULTS

The Proclaim! North Africa team made it back safely having been obedient and faithful to make the most of all the opportunities that God provided. It was one of those tours where some of what was accomplished was not immediately visible.

One of the biggest highlights was the training in the music camps. It seems that the kind of training we brought is almost non-existent in that country and the musicians were extremely appreciative. The team got a lot of feedback on how the training we did last year was so valuable and well used and the young people were eager to learn more. Pray that these young musicians will continue to have courage and an increased sense of purpose in their ministries.

One of the concert strategies that was accomplished was gaining visibility and establishing credibility for future ministry both for Proclaim and for the national believers. High profile venues included the American University and the national opera house at which the concert was sponsored by the American Embassy.

University

Opera House

The concerts were very well received musically and there were some good ministry opportunities where seeds of the Gospel were planted and seekers were open in their questioning about the truth.

Private garden parties were settings where the message could be more openly spoken.

Even when free expression from the stage wasn't possible, God showed through. As one musician said who heard us at the jazz club, “Your music touched me deeply on a spiritual level. There is something very different about all of you.”
We have confidence that God is accomplishing what he intended. We are praying for things that were set in motion, especially for the believers who carry on the ministry. Pray for our direction in the best ways to continue having ministry input there.


Photos by Bob McIntyre

PROCLAIM IN NORTH AFRICA

The Proclaim! team in North Africa is off to a good start with 10 days to go. There was one flight arrival problem, but all the musicians made it on schedule by the 15th to rehearse and prepare for the challenging time ahead. Here is a photo of last year's team -- mostly the same personnel returned this year.

Even during these first days final details have been coming together for some opportunities that are new this year and for building on contacts from the past two tours in this capital city. One of the new opportunities is at the American University where the first concert was performed. It was that morning concert that confirmed to a potential sponsor the band's musical caliber for an invitation to two other key venues. As a result, they are booked for a second concert at the university at a prime time and location, and one at the prestigious National Opera House.

Please continue to pray for the team (Bob & Alyce, John & Diana, Kim & Jeanne, Bob, Jim, Greg, Steve, Maasej) -- especially Bob and Alyce as their leadership creativity and flexibility are stretched to the max. The next 10 days will be full and challenging both for our team and for the national believers who are pouring so much into meeting the spiritual needs around them. We are looking forward with anticipation to how God will use these efforts and develop opportunities for communicating the truth. Pray that the cultural exchange concerts at the university and the opera house will lead to contacts for more open sharing. And pray for receptive hearts at the private garden party concerts where the message will be more direct. Here is the upcoming schedule:

Sat 3/21 Training seminar for Christian musicians
Sun 3/22 Garden party concert at a large private villa
Mon 3/23 Jazz Club concert
Tue 3/24 Garden party concert
Thur-Sat 3/26-28 Seminar for Christian musicians
Sun 3/29 Concert at National Opera House
Mon 3/30 Concert at American University
Tues 3/31 Meeting with jazz musicians

TIDEWATER TRAVEL

Even though we were anticipating with excitement our 12-day trip to Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Chesapeake, it far exceeded our expectations. We had a sense that it was going to be a significant time because of all the things that went wrong as we were preparing to leave and even while we were en route. We were right!

Cunninghams, dear friends from Jacksonville who now live in Chesapeake, lavishly shared their home and themselves for the entire time providing every necessity and comfort we could hope for.

We had three main goals for this time: to connect with faithful supporters who have prayed and given financially for the past 25+ years, to thank our sending church, Tabernacle Church of Norfolk, for the specific ways they prepared us as a young couple for ministry and have helped sustain us, and to convey what God has been doing through the ministry of Proclaim.

God enabled us to do all that and much more. He truly put together his agenda through the opportunities that opened up. We had 14 meals or meetings with long-time friends and supporters, including 5 pastors (2 of those are Jim's former students from Norfolk Christian Schools). We also met with the Tab Church missions executive committee, 2 Sunday school classes, and 2 home fellowships, and spoke with several people who are interested in coming with Proclaim! on tours.

On our last Sunday Jim was able to play with the Tab Church praise team in the morning services.








And a very exciting prospect is the possibility of Proclaim!'s cooperation in evangelism projects with other missionaries out of Tabernacle Church. There are four different contexts that have the possibility of developing as the Lord leads. One of those is already beginning to materialize. It is rewarding to see all the possible links between Proclaim! and our original sending base.

We ended the trip with a special treat - stopping to visit Kathie's sister and brother-in-law, Diane and Bob, in Asheville, NC. We enjoyed fellowship with them, the breathtaking beauty of that area, and a tour of the main local attraction -- the Biltmore estate.


















Kathie & little sis


Thank you for your prayers for this strategic time. We look forward to what God is going to do through all that was set in motion.

Now on to the next major event: March 15-31 Jim will be part of the team returning for the 3rd time to the capital city of a North African country. Through performances in some high profile venues they will have the opportunity to plant seeds of the gospel and then invite people to privately sponsored concerts where the message can be openly shared. Please pray for preparation for this along with busy schedules the next two weeks. Jim would especially appreciate prayer for his musical preparation, both for this tour and for recording sessions with the local wind ensemble he plays in.

CLICK HERE to link to North Africa tour details on the Proclaim! website