Ongoing
Ministry in Russia
Books
in Russian:
Journey to
Joy When God Lights the Fire Lambs on the Ledge
New Ministry in
Kenya, Africa
Sibanga, Kenya,
Oct. 2009: Pastors' and Leaders' Conference
Ministering in
Churches: African Inland Church, Sibanga, Kenya, Africa
Liberty Christian
Church, Kitale, Kenya, Africa
Here's
what we are
praying for as we look out at the world: Revival
in countries that have had the gospel for centuries but grown cold; salvation
and encouragement to come to those countries that in the past have been denied
the truth; and for healthy roots to grow deep in the spiritual soil of committed
leaders and exuberant new believers.
Over the past thirteen
years, I have been ministering in several countries--Russia, especially, where
my heart was captured on my first trip there in 1996, as well as India, England,
Burmuda, Kenya,
and the U.S. And now the pace is
quickening as invitations
come to return to these countries and to go to new ones as well.
The
next nine months will be filled with wonderful opportunities to be part of what
God is doing in special places in the world.
Here are the plans that are developing:
February
2010:
Birmingham, England, and Scotland.
The invitation just came to speak at a Women's Conference and in several churches, coordinated by
Yvonne E. Brooks, Director of Women of
Purpose Ministries and First Assistant Pastor
at New Jerusalem Apostolic Church, one of the churches at which I spoke in
March. It will be a joy to return to
encourage believers, share the Gospel, see lives healed by the power of God, and
deepen my relationship with Pastor Yvonne. We will also minister in
one of their churches in Scotland.
May
2010:
Back to
Russia. This time, it is to speak at a Pastors Conference in the Moscow Region
for Calvary International Fellowship at the invitation of Bishop Natasha
Schedrivaya. Ministry to leaders is my
deepest passion and the reason for my very first book, Lambs on the Ledge,
Seeing and Avoiding Danger in Spiritual Leadership. (This
invitation has come because of the impact of my books in Russian which are
circulating now among the churches.) While
in that Region, I will also spend an evening encouraging new believers in the
house church that meets in Luchovitsy. We
are also hopeful for invitations to speak in other churches in the Moscow Region
before leaving to fly up to the Murmansk Region to encourage leaders and
perhaps minister again at the Step by Step Drug and
Alcohol Rehab in Zeleneborsky, on the Kola Peninsula.
August 2010: Back to
Kenya. I will have the joy of speaking at the African Inland Churches'
Women's Conference in Kitale. My hope is to place a copy of Journey
to Joy, in Swahile, into the hands of every woman who attends:
between 800 and 1,000. God has brought us translators and the AIC pastor
in Sibanga is in talks with a printer to produce 1-3,000 copies, depending upon
the price. Those copies beyond what will be given out at the conference
will be distributed throughout Kenya. This is so exciting! Pray for
this to be a reality!
I
must stop and reflect right now: Why
God gives me wonderful opportunities to share Christ
in faraway places, Ill only know fully when I get to heaven!
But this I do know:
We all must be alert to our own journeys.
When we surrender totally to God and learn the hard lessons that pass
through His hands to us, we will each have a message to give.
That message will come from the reality of Gods love and power to
change our hearts, our relationships and the way we influence the world.
That message will bring hope to others and glory to God!
Oh, the joy! Its a cause
to which it is worth giving our lives.
I am so
grateful for the way all those who pray for this ministry and support it
financially have helped make it possible for me to take this message to many
unlikely places, places of Gods choosing, year after year.
So many have caught the vision
and go vicariously with me on these trips. The synergistic strength of all of us
doing what we can together has been amazing!
If you have been going through
these open doors with me in the past, continue while they are still open.
In politically uncertain times, we never know when they will be shut
against us. I pray that you will
press on with me in fulfilling these strategic ministry opportunities.
If you are reading this for the first time and feel the Holy Spirit
tugging at your heart to be a prayer partner and/or financial supporter, let me
know on the Contact page of this website. If you want to be on my mailing list,
include your mailing address. (Most of the time, I communicate via email,
but occasionally, by post, so send both addresses.)
Right
now, I pray for you who are reading this letter that God will bless
you with more love, joy, and peace than you can contain!
In awe
of our God,
Joyce
