January 2006

Global Technology Leadership Conference and Progress

To view letter in PDF format, click here

Praises

- What a joy to be able to share with you a wonderful praise. In December, we asked for end of year donations to help cover our moving costs. When writing the letter, we were uncertain as to whether or not we should share the total amount we needed because we did not want to overwhelm our faithful team. The Lord placed it on our hearts to share our goal and let Him do the work. We asked for everyone to consider giving a gift before December 31st, 2005 and help us raise $11,800. As of December 31st, we received EXACTLY $11,800 and have since received more. We praise God for not only providing the exact amount and amazing us with His timing, but also for continuing to provide abundantly towards further costs that we have.

The Lord has given us a new sense of hope and excitement during this time. We have funding to cover the move to Germany, now all we need to raise is the remainder of our monthly giving so that we can sustain living in Germany. Please join us in praying for more monthly partners or increased monthly giving. We have a couple of opportunities speaking with Sunday School classes coming up in the next couple of weeks, so pray for a fruitful time in meeting new people. We even have an opportunity to share with our High School Alma Mater, All Saints Episcopal School, in some upcoming Alumni news.

Prayer Requests

- Pray for our focus to remain on the Lord and not our living circumstances or financial needs. - Pray for the completion of our ministry team...for 100% in our monthly support! Also for more opportunities to share with Bible Studies and Sunday School Classes. Pray for our understanding as we trust in the Lord’s timing during this last stretch!

News from the Field

"When Jesus met people in need, he often asked the question, 'What do you want me to do for you?' Jesus saw and understood people’s needs and problems, and he wanted to help them. He connected the good news of the Kingdom of God with everyday life, for God’s presence and His love belong to our normal human life experience.
Often Jesus asked questions of a rhetorical nature. When people suffered a physical problem, their need was obvious. However, Jesus needed to ask the question to make the person want to be helped. This can be so true in our relationships, too. A person often knows that he or she needs help, but cannot admit it. Our challenge is to help people over this barrier, so that they want to come to Jesus and have their hearts changed.”
- Rev. Markku Happonen, Agape Europe, hearttoheart

Global Technology Leadership Conference in Thailand

Perhaps some of the best times that we had were in the hallways and over meals. Our group discussions were informative and were an exercise in unity and teamwork, but the times outside the meetings were inspiring. Details of current projects would emerge, war stories of what the Lord was doing in particular ministries were common, and a general sense of encouragement and sharing set the tone for a very full week.

We were in Thailand to talk about our roles as Global Technology leaders, what that means to us, and what that means to the Campus Crusade mission of Building Movements Everywhere. Technology does not define what we do; we simply use technology to accomplish the task of enabling others to share the love of Christ. In some circumstances, that may be a local leader in Africa reaching an individual but in other cases, it may be the organization of Campus Crusade creating a tool that benefits every missionary, and even missionaries from other organizations.

With any technology, the need for training is imperative, ensuring that everyone knows how to use the tools that make their ministry more effective. Areas around the world not only differ culturally, but with regard for technology, they also differ in their degree of computer knowledge, experience, and use. As a coordinator in Western Europe, part of my job will be to provide effective tools and training for use by Agape staff. This includes not only knowing the level of experience the Agape staff in general holds, but also recognizing which uses of technology are valuable for ministry purposes specifically in Western Europe.

One difficulty we, as techies, run into, is that we can lose our focus. We begin looking at the technology more than the ministry. Campus Crusade CTO, Keith Seabourn, worked very hard to make sure we were focused on our true mission and challenged us to maintain that focus when we work in our daily jobs. You can pray for this specifically for Thad as he undertakes projects and tasks that his ultimate focus will be to serve the Lord fully as He has called him to do.

Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement. Please continue to pray that we may soon move to Germany and begin working full-time there.

Sincerely,
Thad and Jana