REACH Commissioning 2009
November 20, 2009

Young orange-robed boys learning to be Buddhist monks in Thailand. A busy city street in Spain, glowing in the streetlights. Villagers displaying a pile of harvested grain in Zambia. Minarets of mosques towering over a city in the Middle East. These were all scenes from a slideshow during the REACH commissioning service on November 20, showing people and places in the countries the teams will be working in.

The teams are made up of 19 young adults from 10 different states. Their destinations this year are Spain, the Middle East, Thailand, and Zambia. They will be involved in ministries like engaging in friendship evangelism with Muslims, working in a coffee shop, teaching English, and helping out at an orphanage for HIV and AIDS orphans.

Mel Shetler, pastor of Maple City Chapel in Goshen, Indiana, gave the message. He drew lessons from Luke 9, which tells how Jesus sent out the disciples to preach the gospel and heal people. Shetler said Jesus is still calling out and equipping ministry teams and giving them a strategy to effectively minister. The REACH training, he said, had been a chance to grow in relationships and faith, and to learn the principles of the Kingdom of God. “As you go out from here tonight, those principles of the Kingdom are what He wants you to have on your heart, on your lips, at your fingertips, because preaching the Kingdom is what Jesus did.”

After the message, friends and family gathered around the team members and prayed about the challenges they would face. The list of requests included emotional health, harmonious team relationships, effective ministry, and good relationships with the governments of the destination countries. After the group prayer time, RMM president Joe Showalter gave a closing prayer.

Opportunity in Spain
Wanted: Teaching Assistants
September 25 , 2009

The Ministry of Education in Spain is offering grants to college graduates from the USA and Canada to work as teaching assistants in K-12 public schools in Spain. The Spanish government wants to beef up their English language instruction in the public schools and at the same time foster greater understanding between North America and Spain. The Spanish government calls these language and culture assistants “Cultural Ambassadors.”

RMM would like to seize this opportunity to send two individuals to Spain for two years as part of this program. Our vision is to send ambassadors of the King of Kings who will not only teach English but disciple Spaniards at the same time. Our goal is to incorporate these two teaching assistants into the RMM team of workers in Granada. But the applicants need to apply early in 2010 in order to be assigned by the Ministry of Education to a province in high demand such as Granada. Applicants are assigned a school in the month of May. The program begins in late September and runs through the end of May.

Who can apply to be a Teaching Assistant?

• College degree (B.A or B.S. in any major) or a college senior.
• Teaching degree or ESL experience is NOT required but would be beneficial.
• Must have a functional knowledge of Spanish. (roughly the equivalent of two years of college Spanish)

Program details:

• Teaching assistants will work under the supervision of a classroom teacher in K-12 schools.
• You will teach a minimum of 12 hours per week plus other school related activities.
• You will receive a grant or stipend of 700 Euros/month from October to May from the Ministry of Education. This should cover your room and board but not airfare to Spain or other miscellaneous expenses. At the current rate of exchange this stipend equals $1,034.
• More details for the current year program can be found here.
• Once you are accepted into the program you will need to apply to the Spanish Consulate for a student visa.

We at Rosedale Mennonite Missions are excited about this opportunity to place committed disciples and disciple makers in schools in Spain. Typically, North Americans cannot easily get visas to work in Spain. While we can’t guarantee which cities and towns the Education Ministry assigns our applicants, we believe that EARLY applicants will be able to work in the province of Granada, Andalucía and thus be able to work alongside the RMM team in Spain. We’d like to send you early enough to spend the summer in Granada brushing up on your Spanish and begin your discipling ministry.

Contact RMM with your questions.
Denise Mast
Missionary Intern Facilitator
denise@rmmoffice.org

or

Wilbur J. Miller
Mediterranean Regional Director
wilburjmiller@gmail.com

Source: http://www.mec.es/sgci/usa/en/programs/us_assistants/default.shtml#visa

Praying for Muslims
August 22, 2009

We are currently in the 30 days of Ramadan (the holy month of fasting in Islam) which takes place each year during the time the Qur’an was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. Over one billion Muslims around the world are participating in this year’s fast from Aug. 22 through Sept. 20–from dawn until sunset–refraining from eating, drinking, sexual conduct, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured. It’s a time to offer more prayer than usual, for purification, good deeds, and achieving reward.

Pictured here is a string of Muslim prayer beads. As a Muslim fingers these 99 beads, he or she recites the 99 names of God. Pray that one day many Muslims will know a new name of God, and exalt the name of Jesus!

Finding Our Identity in Christ
by Austin Beachy, Interim SEND House Director
August 10, 2009

God is faithful. God is good. These are the two promises, prayers, and proven truths that were continually made more and more evident for those of us who were blessed to be a part of City Challenge this summer. City Challenge is a program in which youth groups come to the SEND House in inner-city Columbus, Ohio, and spend five intense days serving others and truly seeking all that the Lord would have for both those being served and the youth themselves. It is incredible how eager the Lord is to act and move when we simply open our eyes and step forward in faith.

This summer we focused on the idea of ‘iDENTITY’ for the groups coming, which proved to be an idea that God would truly use to impact lives. The youth were pushed and stretched to actively live out the love of God together as the body of Christ. As they went out and served the homeless, prayed for strangers, and got real with each other, they were challenged to find the truth of who God says that they are and then to cling to that truth with all they have.

While we were encouraged to continually see personal breakthroughs and relationships restored by the power of God, perhaps the most encouraging thing we saw was what happened after the youth went home from City Challenge. It is easy for them to have a mountaintop experience on a trip like this, only to fall back into the same traps as before just a week later. But truly we have seen lives changed of youth and leaders alike. As one of the leader’s wrote in a letter soon after their group’s time here, “It is like the week was a ‘payday’ for years of steady teaching, discipling, and sometimes mundane youth ministry.” Youth are going home and starting Bible readings in the park, actively going out to meet and feed the homeless in their hometowns, and some are leading their friends to salvation in the Lord. These things are evidence of a God who is alive and waiting to use those who are willing. We hope to see more people come to our new facility next summer to join us in the mighty things God is doing and will do in City Challenge.

Missions Day Offering Update
July 31, 2009

THANK YOU to those of you who chose to give support to the 2009 Missions Day Offering. Through your generosity we reached 95% of our goal for a grand
total of $231,227. Thank you for partnering with RMM

Branching Out Project Report
July 1, 2009

THANK YOU to everyone who has donated time, money, sweat, long hours and hard work to renovating the new training center.

As of June 30, 2009 we have completed:
• 90% of demolition
• 85% of “Rough In” (HVAC, electric, plumbing, and masonry)
• 35% of painting on upper level
• 75% of windows on lower level
• 50% of drywall on lower level

There is still a lot to do! Areas where help is still needed include drywall, painting, kitchen work, trim work and hanging doors. The amount of work for groups is limited, but a lot of work remains for experienced individuals and small groups. Skilled laborers can be used now through early 2010 when we will be ready to occupy most of the building. Bob Stauffer is giving leadership to the project, and hopes to have our occupancy permit by December 2009.

Rejoice with Us! A Capital Campaign Intercessors Update
June 30, 2009 | by Mim Musser

I am happy to inform you of a significant milestone (and a wonderful answer to prayer) reached in the Capital Campaign. In April I asked you to pray for $500 K by Conference in July. We reached that goal this month! To date we have gifts, pledges and savings equal to $554,400 which is equal to the amount we paid for the property! We are so grateful to God, to those who gave, and to you our intercessors who helped to pray it in.

Conference sessions start on July 23. Do you suppose God could bring that figure up to $1 million by then? That’s not much time, but we are praying for a capital campaign in which the funds will be raised and the work accomplished with less effort and in a shorter span of time than seems logical.  

 Let’s ask Him to do it!

Thanks for praying!

Missions Day Offering 2009 Help Invite the Nations to Worship Jesus
June 20, 2009

The annual Missions Day Offering, which takes place at the CMC Annual Conference, has been an important lifeline of support for RMM since its inception many years ago. This offering supplies approximately 10% of RMM’s annual budget.

In 2009 we are continuing to explore and “clear the land” in newer locations like Thailand, Morocco, and Spain. We believe a great harvest is ahead, and much progress has been made already. But there is still much work to be done, and for that to happen we need Spirit-empowered partners who understand the importance of inviting the nations to worship Jesus!

To carry out this work, our missionaries are completely dependent upon God’s guidance and provision through the generous contributions of His people. We’re specifically inviting you to be a part of this by prayerfully considering sending us a financial gift for the 2009 Missions Day Offering.

The Goal: $240,000 for missions

The Plan: $120,000 will come from RMM’s “Touchstone Donors”–corporations and individuals who commit to major gifts–and the remaining $120,000 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, or mail your contribution or pledge.

If you would like to give to the 2009 Missions Day Offering, please click here.

RMM Financial Perspective
June 20, 2009

RMM ended May with an operating deficit of $247,600. This compares favorably to the $347,800 deficit we experienced the same time last year. In comparison to last year, total income has dropped 7% but we’ve reduced expenses by 15%. We are grateful for so many ministry partners who have continued to contribute financially in spite of the difficult economy.

Reach Update: Thailand
June 2009

The Thailand REACH Team is located in the Bangkok area, and will be returning to the States in August, after completing their nine-month outreach. This update is based on an entry by team leader Bekah Shenk on the team blog.

April, the Month of Travels
The first week of April we were in Mae Sot leading a three-day English camp. More than 50 kids came, spanning first - fifth grade. This was a time to stretch our English teaching abilities. The team prepared well for the camp and this combined with a lot of hard work created a successful camp. The school has invited us back to do another camp in early June. We also visited 3 different Karen villages with Manat, a local traveling preacher. We had informal times of interacting with children at each place and imparting hope to them despite hard situations of poverty.

The third week of April was spent in Isaan. Our 15-hour bus ride passed uneventfully. We each moved in with different host families on Monday afternoon. I got to go to a small village, and was overwhelmed with the kindness and love from my host parents. They were an older couple that function in church leadership in the region. They treated me like their own daughter.

Dan Byler, Regional Director for Asia, reported that the team was given a last minute invitation to a Southeast Asia Anabaptist Retreat to provide childcare the last weekend in April. They were a great blessing as workers came and were able to drink in from the sessions and participate in the conference while their children were enjoying the activities, singing, and care from the REACH team. Many workers expressed what a blessing this was to them personally and to their children.

Upon returning to Bangkok, each Team member moved in with host families in mid May, and began teaching English at a local school. They are each involved with other local ministries as well. Pray that the Thailand Team would finish well, and that because of their ministry, many hearts would be turned toward Jesus.

Culture Snapshot: Riding the Bus in Albania
May 2009

This piece was written by Hannah Z, age 15 and gives us a glimpse into life in a foreign culture. She and her family live and serve in Albania.

When the bus pulls up, the people flock to the doors and hop on, sometimes before those inside can get out. I’m usually the last one on. It’s not exactly a smooth ride. I bang in to this old man and nearly fall over while trying to pay the man who is pushing his way through the bus collecting money for tickets. Usually the buses are so full that at least one part of my body is touching someone else–especially at bus stops. At the bus stop, I’m constantly being pushed here and there, trying to get out of the way of people getting on and off. Does anyone have lice? How long will it be before I get them again? Will I have something stolen? When was the last time that guy took a shower? Didn’t he see the No Smoking sign? Excuse me ma’am but could you please get off my foot? These thoughts all go through my mind and there are times it would be easier to get off the bus and walk. But really, who knows what kind of rough edges are being knocked off of us when we
take the bus.

East 5th Ave Renovations Update
April 20, 2009

The process of turning a tired old nursing home into a vivacious missions training center is well under way! Groups have been coming from all over the CMC family to lend their time and talents to demolition and construction. Many have given financially as well, and we say a big Thank You!

The progress is apparent throughout the building. The front entrance have been jack hammered away, making room for a larger dining room and entranceway. Inside, fresh white pipes line several of the ceilings, and new cement block patch holes in the walls. Much more has been accomplished as well, and gives us excitement about the end result: A training center to reach the nations.

We need experienced tradesmen and skilled crews to help install drywall, trim, carpet, tile, and suspended ceilings. Contact Bob Stauffer, the project manager at 614-256-4350 for details and scheduling.