Be encouraged, as we are, by the words of those to whom we ministered in 2012.
From pastors and missionaries:
"You've changed my life!" — A frequent comment
after three days of training with ministry leaders in SE Asia
"The Spirit of God has said to us that your hearts are
the same as our hearts. We can trust
you.” — A house church pastor in Asia, through a translator
“Thank you for caring
enough to come so far to love us, and to challenge us to think differently
about marriage at our pastors conference.” — During a predawn walk with a
Ugandan pastor
"What we loved was the way you teach - with passion and joy. Thank you for coming and for the messages you
brought to us. May God bless you, and
the work in your hands. Jesus loves you,
I love you also ." — An Asian ministry leader after several days of training
From people who
received the Word:
“We will never forget you.
Thank you for helping us understand who Jesus really is and what he did
for us.” — A young Persian refugee in Europe
"My, oh my! What
a tremendous blessing to be honored with the privilege of sitting at Jesus' feet
and hear His words through your beautiful ministry. Praise God for the delightful taste of
eternity today." — A note received after a day of teaching
“You are not like other speakers from other countries when
they come. You are warm and
gracious. The others seem to be
cold. They do not talk with us." —
An Albania teenager
"Thank you for delivering God's word for us in a
powerful and gentle way. Thank you for the message!" — After a retreat
message
"Thank you for a powerful message and for reminding me
about the joy in John 10:10, one of the verses that brought me to Christ 40
years ago." — After a sermon by an associate
From those who
received counsel and mentoring:
"I want to ooze Jesus like you do when I grow up, and by the grace of God, I
will!" — Received from a "mentee"
" I love our times together and always leave feeling
refreshed --the fellowship builds up my spirit and I feel ready to tackle the
world! Thank you for gently guiding us
through the Word, for your insight and encouragement." -- A mentoring group member
“God has used this time challenge and deepen my intimacy
with the Lord. I have been equipped to better love, listen, obey and serve my
Savior in the ministry He has for me." — A person receiving spiritual
direction
"God has been so good to me, but He's used you to help
me to identify some more stuff. I have
some healing to do!! Thank you and
God." — A note received after teaching on Soul healing
“When you explained how 'speaking the truth in love' caused
you to grow up in your faith, I knew I wanted the same thing." — Leading
to a discipleship relationship
"Just wanted to let you know how much you helped
me with the relationship with my
mom. Once I stopped seeing her as the
problem and realized that I can choose my own reactions, things immediately
became so much better between us. I was
not so easily irritated and upset as I would have been without your help."
— A counselee
From ministries to
the poor:
“As a result of this training I have seen that through this
kind of work I can greatly improve how I help and reach people. It has changed
my mind totally and my compassion for the poor has been greatly enlarged. I've
been greatly inspired.” — After an empowerment workshop in India
“My mind has been changed so much from what I had previously
understood. I am so inspired to put what I have learned into practice.” —
Attendee of training on advocacy for the poor in South Asia
“Since 2001 I see that
my ministry has done some good things, but so much has been lacking. This has
encouraged me so much that we can help/empower people to solve their own
problems and by that have a much larger and longer lasting impact.” — After
learning about empowerment
“Before this training, when I thought of trying to help
people in practical ways, it seemed overwhelming because of all the problems
(e.g. filling out forms, the intimidation of officials asking for bribes,
delays in the process, even finding the government offices or the person in
charge). But now with what we have learned, I don’t see this as impossible at
all.” — After a seminar in South Asia
From retreat and
seminar attendees:
“I was really blessed
and encouraged! Putting into practice
some of the things I learned has been even more rewarding!” — A veteran
missionary in response to the Inter-Mission Philippine Women’s Retreat
“I am so thankful the retreat was not a how-to seminar or a
cheer clinic for "more faithfulness" which inevitably leads to guilt
and exhaustion. I need to hear honest
testimonies from real people, so I’m thankful you were honest and vulnerable!”
— A seasoned missionary in the Hispanic world
"This is great -- you really do have a Christian
worldview of Information and Technology now. Please write this up for journal publication so I can cite your
work in my upcoming textbook." — Christian university computer science
professor
“The retreat signaled
a need for me to do some restorative care, which is probably overdue at this
point. I am grateful that God is showing
me that I need to “come away with Him” and tend to my relationship with Him in
ways that I have neglected.” — A missionary
in Mexico
“Your prayer and spirit of support and encouragement was a
special blessing across our staff team.”
Director of a Christian camp in California
From small group
participants:
“I finally feel like
I am ‘getting it’ as far as how much God values me. I am better able to recognize my false
beliefs and I’m doing better at leaving them behind... my walls are finally
coming down. Learning to trust others in God's family is huge." — After a
study course
"Thank you for shepherding our flock through this challenging
time with ‘integrity of heart and
skillful hands.’ (Ps 78:72) Your
sacrifice of time, energy, prayer, and diligent study of God’s word for the
sake of God’s glory, and God’s people, is deeply appreciated, valued, and
esteemed! Thanks for serving us so
well!" — From a ministry board member
"This is an expression of our HUGE appreciation for
you. You have invested your lives in helping valued people get in touch with
their dark hard life-lumps, then holding them in such a way they can see all of
life better... especially God!” — Aphesis course participant
