Meet the Richardsons

August 20, 2010 

Dear Praying Friend,

Much has transpired since we last wrote you, including trips to China, the mid-Atlantic, and Texas.  It’s been a very full and fruitful summer for us.  Thank you for your continued prayers on our behalf.

Richest blessings, Steve & Arlene

 Prayer and Praise Points:

 God greatly blessed at several spring speaking engagements for both Steve and Arlene.

1. Arlene’s book is in the final stages of review.  We are now talking with publishers.
2. The U.S.-side of Pioneers’ merger with Arab World Ministries (AWM) is in the final weeks of completion.  Field visits in May were encouraging.  Pray for wisdom and guidance for the various international entities that are still in-process of merging.
3. Pray for our daughters as they resume their schooling: Sarah at CIU and Kelly and Victoria in high school.
4. Pray for Pioneers’ upcoming leadership meetings in Thailand.  Many important decisions will be made, including the appointment of Pioneers’ next international director.
5. We thank God that all of our summer teams have returned safely from many countries around the world – with encouraging testimonies of God’s faithfulness.

Here is our schedule for the next month or so.  

Aug. 21         Trip to Knoxville, TN for a memorial service

Aug. 24         Staff leadership meeting – Orlando

Aug. 25-26   Steve in Texas on donor visits

Sept. 1-3       Steve & Arlene – retreat to work on writing projects

Sept. 9          Arlene’s birthday!

Sept. 12-27   Steve to Thailand for a series of international leadership meetings –

                     Arlene joins him Sept. 16-26

Oct. 1           Steve speaks at the Desiring God Conference – MN

Oct. 7           Steve on U.S. Board Executive Teleconference

Oct. 15-25    Steve attends Lausanne III – Cape Town, South Africa

Food Pantry

Please bring the following items on Sunday mornings and place them in the box outside the front doors of the Worship Center. Thank you for your generosity.

July 2010

July 4th - Holiday – No donations

July 11th – No donations

July 18th – Soup

July 25th – Ramen Noodles

August

August 1 – Ramen Noodles

August 8 – Pancake mix and syrup

August 15 – Cereal

August 22 – Soup

August 29 – Peanut Butter and Jelly

In May we helped 5 familes with food and one family with utility bills.

Country Oaks Baptist Church Food Pantry exists to help needy families in our church and community.

Genci Cesula and Family

Eastern Europe – Slavic Gospel Association

Genci Cesula, who turned 39 years old last month, is a pastor who has a passion for the church to grow, for the truth, and for reading books. His hope is that in a near future God would enable him to write books that would be helpful for the church in his country. Some of his gifts are leadership, administration, preaching and teaching. Arta, his wife, likes books that can help her become a better mother and wife as well as to help her grow in her relationship to God. She loves biographies especially. Other than her ministry at home with two children, Emi and Joel, she is involved at church with the children’s ministry, women’s Bible Study, and with worship in music.

Slavic Gospel Association Alert

Slavic Gospel Association Alert – from Bob Provost (Robb Provost’s father)

Kyrgyzstan suffered a violent coup earlier this month. The country’s deposed president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has fled to Belarus , where he has been given asylum. Lootings and murders are taking place across the country and Kyrgyz believers are asking Christians around the world to pray for peace in their impoverished nation …

“The situation continues to remain tense. The interim government cannot control the situation. There is no one motivation — some demand land for houses, others destroy fields with crops and capture the land. Others want ethnic Russians and other groups to leave Kyrgyzstan . Bandits have acted with impudence in Maevka, Leninskoe and other villages. In Dordoi, containers and shops owned by Chinese residents were robbed and set on fire.

“We do not know to expect. We pray that the Lord will stop this anarchy. When the riots happened in Maevka, all believers were taken to safe places. Some of them found shelter in Christian homes in other regions, while others sheltered in the nearest church house during the night. Praise God for His mercy. No one was injured. Pray especially that God will protect our country from falling into civil war. Pray that He will grant us leaders who fear God and can run the country, and that a major revival will take place here, so that Kyrgyzstan can be won to Christ.”

Meet the Hoisingtons

“This August marks the first anniversary of our move to Japan. We arrived with our suitcases, and in just one year God has opened the door to various opportunities to learn and serve: a partnership with a wise and patient national pastor, a team of dedicated missionaries, a great experience with our first Edge intern, getting to know our neighbors, many contacts with local churches and ministries, a surge of interest by potential missionary candidates, and numerous opportunities to preach and teach.”

Please pray:

For our teammates – The Broadduses are meeting with a small group of believers in their home. Pray for others with whom they are sharing the gospel; Mr. Aikawa, Miss Hiromi, Mrs. Abe, to name a few. Stephanie leaves us to visit ministry partners in Canada for three months in September.

For our sons – This fall, Nathan begins a year of study at Columbia International University in South Carolina, and Keith will go to Azusa Pacific University. Pray that bothwill grow in their love for the Lord, learn from godly mentors, and gain discernment and wisdom for a life of effective service. Pray that Dean will connect well with Japanese people here; not knowing the language well is difficult for him.

For Fukuoka Bible Church – These folks are currently a part of the fellowship: Pastor Kaoru Inoue and his wife Emi (60s): Three grown children. Pastor Inoue is a gifted expositor who himself has been a short-term missionary in Indonesia and India. Both of them have been very gracious toward us. Mr. Tanaka (40s): A solid believer (single) who teaches English at a local university. Kentaro (19): A pastor’s son from Hokkaido who is studying at Sei-nan University, a nominally Christian school. He was recently baptized on August 1 (see photo on page 1). The Ju family (40s): This Korean family has one daughter in the fourth grade who goes to Dean’s school. Mr. Ju is the local branch manager for Asiana Airlines. Mrs. Morita (70s): A widow whose husband was a pastor. Mrs. Ozono (40s): A lady with a son and daughter, who became a Christian last year. Her husband is not a believer. Pray for wisdom and discernment as she lives out her new-found faith in the home. As we prepare to launch an English program at Fukuoka Bible Church in October, pray for “spiritual maintenance” and family time despite a demanding schedule.

Wanted! We are praying for and seeking a team member to manage our evergrowing short-term ministry opportunities. This person or couple would need to possess a rare combination of organizational and people skills. Preparation would include two years of initial Japanese language study. The role entails interacting with local churches and ministries to identify needs for workers, as well as coordinating the preparation, arrival and ministry of short-term workers for terms of six weeks to one year. We are beginning to “do” many things, and have become very busy. The one thing we can’t “do” is to produce that one, key, necessary end result: changing lives through the transforming power of the gospel; the “fire from heaven” that we can’t manufacture. Please pray with us for Divine action; that the God who called us to “make disciples” will call those for whom He died to Himself; that He will grant to us leaders to train for the next generation of His work in Japan.

For the latest news from the Hoisington family click here. 

The Hoisingtons Dan, Cindy, Nathan, Keith, and Dean

Dan and Cindy Hoisington
PIONEERS – Japan Area
Hibaru 7 Chome 28-7
Minami Ku, Fukuoka 811-1355
Home Phone: 81-92-555-7222
Dan’s Cell: 81-80-4276-2202
Cindy’s Cell: 81-80-4275-2202
Dean’s Cell: 81-80-4274-2202
Cindy’s E-mail: cehoisington@gmail.com
Dean’s E-mail: dhoisington98@gmail.com

Christmas 2009 – “Yesterday we held a Christmas open house for our neighbors. Cindy set up an area at our table where kids (and adults too) could take a ginger bread cookie and select from a variety of colored frostings to make their own design. The turnout was just about as many people as we could handle; 7 ladies and 5 kids (no men). Each of them got a Christmas card with an insert titled “The meaning of Christmas” and the passage from John 1 that declares that the Word who is God dwelled among us, and although His own did not receive Him, those who do receive Him He gave the right to become sons of God (1:1-14). It is difficult to know what information to include in a brief card insert; their heritage leaves them no witness whatever apart from general revelation, and so we have to begin with the very basics (like Paul had to do in Athens ). Please pray that the word of the Lord will continue to grow and be multiplied (Acts 12:24) through contacts such as this event, and through the distribution of Scripture to them in various forms. His work is invisible to us, but it is sure, and through prayer we all can participate in it.”

 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people” – Luke1:68

We thank God for your interest and partnership with us this past year, and trust that this Christmas season will bring a fresh realization of the one true Gift that God has given us!

For the Fall 2009 newsletter from the Hoisington family click here. 

Potluck with the Hoisington’s

There will be an all church potluck lunch with the Hoisingtons on Sunday, December 27 following the second service (1:00-2:30 pm). Last names beginning with A-I please bring a main hot dish; last names beginning with J-P bring a salad; last names beginning with Q-Z bring a dessert.

Merry Christmas from the Hoisington’s

“We are so blessed to be with you on Sunday, December 27, 2009 in the worship service. Do join us the same day in the chapel for a wonderful potluck lunch. We are home for a short 3 week break to connect with family.”  (Dan & Cindy served at COBC for 16 years in various ministries; now COBC has sent them to minister to the Japanese people on the island of Kyushu through evangelism, disicipleship and church planting.  Please come and take the opportunity to hear more about Japan and how God is using COBC family gifts and prayers in this dynamic culture.  There are ways you can get involed in the COBC church plant.  Be in prayer and come and spend the afternoon with us.  You can get involved in ways you may have never considered. )

Kiev Pastor Vladimir Bogomaz

Meet the Bogomaz family – Ukraine

 ”I will tell you a bit about our family. My name is Vladimir, I am 29 years old. We live in a small town named Dunaevcy in the Khmel’nickiy region. I pastor a small church in the town of Yarmolincy. I also teach in the Biblical college and am studying at Ostrog Academy.

 My wife Oksana studied at the Kiev Theological seminary and now helps me in ministry, She directs the Sunday school in our church. Every year we conduct 3-4 camps for children and young people from our region. Oksana also teaches in the Biblical college. God blessed us with a daughter Sofia. She is 5 years old. Last year we decided to take in a 5 year old boy, Michael. We love him very much.”

The Bogomaz family is supported by Country Oaks Baptist Church and works under Send International.

Meet the Scholls – Missionaries in Ecuador!

Come on Sunday, September 27, at 9:00 am to the patio in back of the church to meet the Scholls, missionaries with International Teams.  The Scholl Family Howard and Mary Scholl, along with their two youngest children Danielle and Jonathan, serve with Youth World at El Refugio (a training and retreat center which facilitates a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, through nature and outdoor adventure),  located in CalaCali, Ecuador. Howard serves as Director of Operations for the camp and Mary is the Guest House Services Coordinator. The Scholl’s have three adult children who live and work in California. The Bible verse the Scholl’s have adopted for their family is from Psalms 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble..  You can check out their blog at http://howardschollfamily.blogspot.com/.

Luau for the Hoisington’s – Our Missionaries to Japan

Sunday June 28th you are invited to a luau for the Hoisington Family, our missionaries to Japan.

 Immediately after the second service, out back on the patio, we’ll send them off in style. Food, entertainment and a “ugly Hawaiian shirt” contest will make this time of fellowship with Dan & Cindy even more memorable.

Bring food to share:  Families with last names A-P  Main Dish; Q—Z  Salad & Dessert – Bring enough to feed 10 or more people