UBC Mission Update - 2021, Issue 8
Prayer Focus: Afghanistan & Iran
“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!”
II Timothy 2:8-9
This month’s prayer focus will be on Afghanistan, which in late August came under Taliban rule. On both flags the Shahada is stated: “There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his messenger.”
In the late 1940’s, the communist party of China took all of mainland China and expelled all Christian missionaries in the hopes that Christianity would die and that true communism would flourish behind what became known as the Bamboo curtain. In the intervening years, before any Western outsider could know what was occurring, it was the church of Jesus Christ that was flourishing and spreading throughout all the far flung provinces.
In 1979, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had ruled Iran for 38 years, was removed and replaced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a high level Shia Islamic cleric wanting a purer Islamic state that was no longer a secular Muslim state. In the intervening years, in spite of an Islamic State the church of Jesus Christ has also flourished and grown tremendously to over 1 million.
- Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in the furnace of their afflictions, and that they would be bold to walk as disciples of the Lord and to make disciples in spite of the Taliban’s desire for a pure Islam.
- Pray that God would grant many Taliban a heart of repentance for their sins, even as he did to Saul of Tarsus as he rode to Damascus to arrest those of “the Way” over 2000 years ago.
- Pray that God’s eternal word in their native languages of Pashto, Dari, and others would be scattered abroad and read.
“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
Recent Highlight #1: Bridges of Hope Outreach
On September 30th, the Lemons growth group had the privilege of preparing and serving a meal to the staff and guests of Bridges of Hope, a homeless shelter in Greene County.
Bridges of Hope is an overnight facility only, so they do not open the doors to the residents until 6:00pm. After the doors were opened they started cooking the hamburgers and hot dogs. Bev was the grill master. She cooked 32 hamburgers and 32 hot dogs. Cheryl dished out some of the food to prepare for the meal. Katelynn shuttled the hamburgers and hot dogs to the warming oven as they were ready.
After they completed the food service they were able to sit down with the residents and eat. Rick was able to connect with a couple of the men. Both of them had been coming to the shelter for the past couple weeks. They talked a bit about church, gardening, how cold it gets in the winter, as well as Xenia and some of its history.
They also met Becci, a volunteer, who organizes and works the planting and tending of the large garden on the property. They provide produce for the facility and sell a good bit of it, as well. Of course the proceeds from this produce go to help the facility. If you want to volunteer to help with the garden, Thursday evenings are a great regular time to volunteer.
Rick says, “Our team did a great job, but I praise the Lord for this opportunity to serve these folks. I believe He prepared the way for us. I also want to thank everyone that provided food, and supplies. I especially want to thank everyone that prayed. I think of those prayers as heavenly covering fire from above.”
Recent Highlight #2: H2O Outreach
We had a great time serving alongside H2O Wright State for their Sunday Morning Blitz service. It was great to be able to worship with them as well as help serve lunch and hang out. We are looking forward to more opportunities like this throughout the school year.
Go to: http://h2owrightstate.com to find out more.
Spotlight: UBC Sends Bible Donations to Argentina
Pastor Fabian Santillan is a pastor in Clodomira, Argentina who has a heart for the lost in Argentina. This past summer, Pastor Fabian has been working with and engaging the Quichua, Santiago de Estero people group. One of the items that he needed was more Bibles. UBC has come alongside Pastor Fabian in trying to reach the Quichua and sent funds to purchase Bibles in Argentina. With our funds, Pastor Fabian was able to acquire 44 additional Bibles for upcoming outreach activities.
Opportunity: Operation Christmas Child - School Supply Drive
Thank you! Thank You! Thank You! UBC for your generosity in giving toward the OCC school supply drive during the months of July and August. We were blown away as we inventoried and organized all the supplies. Through your generosity we were able to collect 150 notebooks, over 1000 ink pens, 209 pencil sharpeners, 24 pairs of scissors, 125 glue sticks, 184 pencil boxes, 195 boxes of crayons and colored pencils, almost 700 pencils, and several other items.
We are hoping to host a church wide OCC shoebox packing party in November and we are asking you and your family to consider donating the following items: washcloths, bars of soap, and toothbrushes. You can drop your donations off at the Mission Table at UBC Main in the Welcome Center. Thank you for loving children around the world in a tangible way!