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January 2009 |
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From the Director's Desk
The last few months have been a CRAZY ride for the USA and for the whole world. Our confidence in the systems and things of this world is crumbling. And perhaps that’s not such a bad thing. As we face the stress of unknowns and the pressure of unsettling knowns, we can only resist the growing tide of worry and discouragement by pressing in to God. We must practice what EMI teaches by listening to God, letting Him speak truth in love and renew our minds as we embrace His Grace. Our staff is searching God’s Word and pursuing His will because our lives depend on it. We found ourselves beginning in the book of Amos and continuing to passages from I Corinthians 15, James 5, Luke 22, Psalm 16, Ephesians 6, John 12 and Isaiah 48. What we are hearing is two-fold: God is not happy with selfishness, greed, a lack of justice and complacency. Many friends have shared their foreboding of a dark, frustrating, and frightening time sweeping across the world. We are being drawn to verses that tell us (multiple times in multiple verses), to “Stand firm!” “Pray for strength,” “Surrender to God,” “Humble yourselves,” and “Give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord which is never useless.” God is exhorting us to persevere in doing good and to keep our eyes open for a spark of new life, a dropped seed morphing into something new, which only God can do so wondrously. He showed me this very thing, a dead seed bursting forth with new life, after speaking to 60 international students from Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Rim during the week after Christmas. These young people are intensely seeking to hear the Lord's direction as they anticipate graduation with PhD's (in fields so specialized many were out of my realm of understanding) and deciding whether to apply for visas to work in the USA or to return to their home countries. One young man walked with me to my car as I finished packing up to leave. He wanted me to know how he had come with a very heavy heart and a great deal of confusion and hopelessness. "I didn't know why I came to the conference," He said. "I was so weighed down, depressed, and hopeless . . . but as I listened to you talking about the "crazy" way God loves me, the heaviness and the darkness just lifted from me. It was amazing . . . nothing like this has ever happened to me . . . I cried like a baby. Now I have hope again!" The only antidote to this crazy mixed-up world is to embrace the one true God who is crazy about you! Embrace Him and share his “crazy” love in 2009! Do the generous, true thing God has put before you today . . . “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 Email us your thoughts and comments on the new year. Invest in Your Marriage Every marriage needs a boost of blessing and guidance. Those closest to us are often neglected as we devote our time to work and ministry. Choose to make your inner circle your first priority by investing in the most significant relationships that will yield returns that last a lifetime. Family matters to God; it is primary ministry. Give yours the opportunity to flourish and thrive! Married and engaged couples can improve intimacy, overcome barriers that produce misunderstanding, and minister to each other's needs by taking Caring Couples I on February 13-14. Come with your loved one or give as a wedding gift to bless a special couple. (Personalized gift certificates are available upon request.) Comments from recent participants: "The training is excellent and life-changing. My life, my marriage will be for the better." "All marriages and relationships need these tools for continued growth." "Excellent workshop! It was God ordained for us." "This is the first marriage seminar I've taken that actually teaches how to apply what we learned!"
Register online for Caring Couples seminar Call 513-742-1100 or 800-EMI-GROW(364-4769). Hope For The Hopeless: God's Work Through EMI's International School of Service
Pam Ping, Global Training Manager It's amazing to see God bringing EMI into many "hopeless" situations around the world: • Cities filled with "free" life styles punctuated with drugs, sex, and disdain for marriage and religion. • African nations battling mistrust and fragile peace from past tribal wars. • Atheist nations trapped in cycles of sin and degradation, shame and depression. Here are a few insights I heard from our international students in 2008: Nigerian businessman Joseph Itodo plans to bring his pastor to our March 2009 School: "The people of Nigeria attend church together and then fight all week because of tribal grievances. They must learn how to listen to one another with respect and how to renew thinking to break this cycle." Kenyan Bishop Obed Ochwanyi broadens his vision: "We are translating EMI material into Swahili, not only for pastor training but also to include village mothers and young adults. We cannot change a nation until we change the way a family and a village thinks and relates to God and to each other." Thirty five graduates of our International School of Service represent 14 nations. We receive encouraging reports from these "active-duty Christians" who are passing on our practical, life-transforming tools to others who are hungry to practically experience God's truth and grace. From Vicky Hofmann & Natasha Shure, Ukraine - YWAM Biblical Counseling Schools (SOS grads 9/05): "I was thrilled as I heard that our former students are teaching in rehabilitation centers and leading people caught in addictive behavior in two rehab centers. We are working with street kids\ kids from dysfuntional families where we are giving teaching to kids on emotional healing." From Prem & Lilian, India - Mullai Outreach Ministries / India Gospel League (SOS grads 5/05): "We had a wonderful time teaching Gift Path to 35 people from our local church. Most of them had been working as volunteers in various positions. After finding their gifts and calling, they are now very focused. We made the EMI courses Listening . . . , Speaking . . . , Small Groups and Gift Path part of the curriculum for Ministry Training in 5 Training Institutes functioning through IGL. We are building a training center in our home town to accommodate the hunger for training in south India." From Patricia Flynn, Amsterdam church plant (SOS grad 10/07): "Jen & Eva were hanging out with a friend who is not a Christian. They got into a deep-heart conversation. Jen was real about some struggles. Eva recognized it as an inner vow and prayed in the way that we had learned in the EMI's Embracing God's Grace seminar. After they prayed, the friend broke into tears and shared deeply from her own life, and Jen & Eva prayed for her. Such a beautiful way for someone to encounter the living God by watching His children pray for one another! "We hosted a Seminar Skills Practice & Review all day Nov 8th, providing lots of practice time for LISTENING and SPEAKING skills with a group of 12 people. What a joy it was seeing the depth of sharing and ministry we experienced together. I witnessed the difference we can make in this city, one person at a time! I have to admit, this is my favorite experience out of the past five years in this church plant." EMI is sponsoring two ISOS sessions in March and July of 2009. We currently have 14 applicants from Congo, Nigeria, Kenya, Myanmar, Ghana, and Zimbabwe. Through generous donations, we can offer the training at no personal cost to international leaders who seek to change a people and a nation they love. You can participate by making a donation or praying with us for the Lord to accomplish His purposes, one person, one village or city, one nation at a time.
For more information, contact
Check out the Blog from July 2008 ISOS by clicking on link in the right column. |
January Specials: Discover God's design for you in the new year! Maximize your team's use of time, talent and treasure for God's kingdom. The Gift Path training course enables every Christian to break out of roles that don't match their gifting and help them discover what they were created to do. January Special: 15% off all Finding Your Gift Path products. Teacher's Manual; Class notes; Powerpoint CD; Covenant Card (100/pack); Ministry Profile (100/pack). Or order an Instructor's Kit for $80 includes one of each above, plus a spiritual gifts inventory and overhead master set. ________________________  Shopping at Kroger Could Mean No Cost Giving to EMI, No Kidding! If you feel stretched for time and money as many of us do, you will love the Kroger Gift Card program that Equipping Ministries enrolled in a few months ago. By shopping at Kroger (or Ralph or Fred Meyer) and using the EMI Kroger Gift Card you can help us raise $5,000 a year, or more at no out of pocket expense to you! For every dollar you spend at Kroger using the gift card from EMI, Kroger will donate 4% to the ministry. What could be an easier way to contribute! Call EMI at 513-742-1100 or 800-364-4769. _________________________ 
New Online Donation!We have improved the online donation process, making it easier for you to support EMI's ongoing ministry. Simply enter the information on the donation page and click "submit" for your secure donation. _________________________
CHECK OUT EMI's International BLOG with updates on International School of Service students from Kenya, Malaysia, and Thailand.
_________________________ Upcoming EventsEMI Academy January 10, 2009 Cincinnati, OH
February 13-14, 2009 Cincinnati, OH
EMI Team Ingathering Cincinnati, OH Email
March 13-14, 2009 Cincinnati, OH One-day Courses: Guiding Life-Changing Small Groups
Two-day Courses:
April 17-18, 2009 Cincinnati, OH |
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Copyright 2009, Equipping Ministries International |
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Pam Ping