Need Another One of These!

Sometimes, like now, while on an international trip, we need a second passport to accompany a visa application for the next tour. Jim applied for a 2nd passport 3 weeks ago so that his visa for the October tour could be in process before his return from this trip.

But this week he was notified that his passport photos are unacceptable because his eye color is not clearly visible. So new photos have been taken in Sweden and are on their way to the State Dept. We're praying for God's perfect timing for the needed documents.

FOLLOW UP: GOT IT IN TIME!

Ministry Cooperation

We had a very interesting meeting with pastors from 3 different churches in Amal, Sweden, about the possibilities of working together to bring a team to tie into a well known Blues festival next summer. Their spirit of cooperation for the gospel was most encouraging!

FOLLOW UP!
This tour is now ON with a Blues/
Jazz-Blues Fusion band in July 2014 Emergency need for a keyboard player!

God Supplies!

We are encouraged! Stepping out in faith always seems precarious, but God is always faithful. Special gifts for the fall ministry trips have been coming in, totaling $1220 yesterday. Then we learned of an anonymous donation that more than doubled that total! So over $2700 -- at least 1/3 of funds needed for this current trip and the next one. Grateful for you pray-ers who are lifting up the need and for you sharers in either the ongoing support or in the special needs.

. . . and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Cor. 9:11b

First Days in Sweden-Tuesday, 8/20

Having a good time spending two days at Carey’s family cabin.  It was built by his uncle in 1970, a tiny pre-fab house out in the woods -- nice and cozy.  A young couple was staying there when we first arrived (friends of a friend) from Washington state. It was nice to hear their story and to encourage them in their search for a good church home when they get back from this trip.

Today is just a day for relaxing before we head out for the road again for nine days of meeting with people.  Our goal is for Carey to introduce Proclaim to his contacts here and explore possibilities to work together with them in the future.  As of now, we are healthy and well-rested.

Please pray that we will hear God’s voice and be led by his Spirit as we travel and meet people.  Also, I confess that in the flesh I am still quite concerned about the lack of funds needed for this trip and the trip that follows a month later. But God in his great teaching has reminded me in many ways that HE is the great provider of all we need.  It is interesting that in my devotional readings both Spurgeon and Oswald Chambers both are hitting on the subject of God’s great provision!  Pray that I will not let the large financial cost (between $6,000-$8,000) overwhelm me, but rather that I will choose to turn it over to the Lord each time the feeling arises. Praise the Lord that a trickle had come in before I left. Pray that the flood gates will be opened wide. I am here because I know I was supposed to come in obedience to God’s prompting and I will continue to trust in that fact.

Your fellow slave,

Jim

Thank you for your prayers during our recent ministry in K'stan

We really felt the power. With all the logistical issues concerning visas and flights it was truly a miracle our 10 member team even arrived in the country. This was one of the finest bands in both musicianship and character I've had the opportunity to work with. In spite of challenges and sometimes rugged conditions team unity was high.

This country is truly interesting and challenging.  It is three times larger than Texas but with a population of only about 16 million.  The people are either Kazak (Asian) or Russian heritage and each group has their own language.  We spoke to people either in English or through translators.  We found them to be warm and open people eager to talk with us.



Most of our time was spent in or around the city of Chimkent with our last couple of days in Almaty.  We made connections with people primarily through daytime concerts at various colleges such as a music college, a business school, a language school and even fashion and art and cooking schools.


Our venues looked more like back alleys between buildings rather than traditional concert halls but in each place we had good conversations with students.


The first couple days when rain was a problem for the big stage set up, Kim, Todd and I pulled out the music we have been doing in our outreach in Jacksonville, added percussion, and were able to carry on in spite of the rain and keep people engaged. 

Because of government regulations, we were extremely limited as to what we could share from the stage, but because drug and alcohol addiction are such a deep concern throughout the country we had freedom to address that issue. That gave an opportunity for one of our members to tell the story of his journey out of addiction and the part that his faith played in his recovery.  Our final concert was in a faith-based facility that helps recovering addicts learn tools to re-enter society. 

Please continue to pray for your brothers and sisters in this country who are valiantly standing up for the gospel.


Thanks for the photos Terri Smalley  

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Glory be to God on High

See our latest news at the link below including a little about our experience at the Proclaim Gathering in Germany and some plans for 2013. You will also get this in the mail if you are on our newsletter mailing list.

Never are we more thankful for our blessings than at this time when we celebrate the coming of the Word made flesh.

                                                       SEE JENKINS JAZZ DECEMBER NEWS                                                         

God invisible appears

Endless ages wrapped in years

He has come who cannot change

And JESUS is His name 

Tax deductible donations to Proclaim! preferenced for our ministry can be made at the Donate link on the sidebar of this site.                                                  

Proclaim in Asia

Our Proclaim team has just returned from three weeks in China where they were overwhelmed with the opportunities and open doors. The amazing thing was the openness of the people -- in the market place, in restaurants, on public transportation, in schools . . . There is freedom to share your faith and people are open to hear these challenging ideas and to interact. Proclaiming can't be done in the public way that has been our main Proclaim model, but just as we have adapted our approach in other less open cultures, we are seeing many innovative ways to have an impact there.

Our whole Tuesday morning Jacksonville staff meeting last week was spent learning about the intriguing ways we can work with believers there, and hearing how things have already been set in motion on this tour -- still using the arts to teach and communicate. God is so endlessly creative! The group went with only a vague idea of what they would be doing once they arrived. But God had put together a team that was ready to connect and build bridges through their gifts and passions.

Rino, our team leader in Proclaim!-Peru, was in demand as students at a music school saw mime in action for the first time and couldn't get enough of the basics he taught them in mime and movement. John and Diana gave voice lessons non-stop. Charles, a Proclaim-Jacksonville board member with an engineering background, connected in a special way with an unbeliever who traveled with the team as a translator and is  studying in that same field. 

Plans are already developing and tentative dates are forming for various projects that are coming out of the areas of exposure on this trip. A bit ironically, at the very time we were talking about these exciting new possibilities, our fellow citizens were in the process of setting a course for our country that could have a profound impact on how we continue to do ministry. That makes it all the more exciting as we have no basis for hope on a human level of success in expanding our ministries to include something this far reaching. God's provision and opening of doors will be undeniable and miraculous.