June 2005
Mosaic is the monthly news bulletin of Rosedale Mennonite Missions and is distributed through CMC churches. Because this publication may contain information about workers and ministries in sensitive locations, the entire content is not available online.
2005 Missions Day Offering
This year we have asked our missionaries to tell us about the people who become Christians through their ministry. As of early June we have received reports of 33 individuals from 10 locations who have accepted Jesus. One of the most exciting stories came from North Africa where a young man who had just recently become a Christian through his interaction with a REACH team, led four of his friends to faith in Christ.

Collecting these stories has inspired us to be more diligent in prayer for these young Christians and has sharpened our desire to expand God’s Kingdom by inviting the nations to worship Jesus. While these 33 new Christians may seem insignificant when we think about the 1.5 billion people who still have not heard the gospel, they are cause for rejoicing in heaven – and here on earth!

Your partnership – through prayer and financial support – will enable our workers to continue and increase their ministry around the world. Please consider participating in the 2005 Missions Day Offering, and join with us in thanking God for the work He is doing!
The Goal: $220,000 for missions

The Plan: $110,000 will come from RMM’s “Touchstone Group,” corporations and individuals who commit to major gifts, and the remaining $110,000 will come from contributions to the Missions Day Offering.

Your Part: To participate, make your contribution in the Missions Day Offering at the annual conference, mail your contribution to RMM, or fill out our online pledge form by July 25.

The Missions Day Offering is the largest annual offering given within CMC and is a crucial source of funding for RMM. Our goal of $220,000 represents more than 10% of our budget for 2005.
North Korea Still Worst Persecutor of Christians
For the third straight year, communist North Korea tops the 2005 Open Doors' World Watch list for their brutal persecution of Christians. Next highest are Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Laos and Iran. This year, 5 of the top 10 are Islamic-dominated countries, 4 have communist regimes in power, and 1 country, Bhutan, is dominated by Buddhism. The World Watch List is meant to be a reminder to pray for brothers and sisters in these countries, and is based on information from Open Doors' indigenous contacts, field workers and members of the persecuted church. (From CMDNet 19 March '05. For more information, visit www.opendoors.org.)
Recommended Reading: From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya by Ruth Tucker
This updated edition of Ruth Tucker’s compilation of missionary biographies is a great introduction to the lives of the men and women who shaped Christian missions history and impacted the world with the gospel. Tucker presents brief biographies of more than 100 missionaries, beginning with the early church and continuing up to the present day. She honestly presents the flaws and struggles of these missionaries, but clearly demonstrates the ways in which God used them in spite of those weaknesses. This book is easy to read and is often humorous. It will leave you with a renewed appreciation for the lives of these missionaries, but even more importantly it will inspire you with its description of the unstoppable advance of the Kingdom of God.

From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya can be purchased from Amazon.com ($19.79), or Christianbook.com ($21.99).

View the table of contents and the introduction to the first section of the book (from Zondervan.com; Adobe Reader required).
2005 REACH Teams Announced
Thirty-three young adults will serve on six REACH teams for the 2005 program. The three-month Discipleship Training School, held in Columbus, Ohio, will begin in late August and the teams will leave for their outreach locations of Phoenix, Arizona; Nicaragua; The Gambia; North Africa; India; and East Asia in early December.

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