Reap News

December 2015

Dear friends,

The snow is falling lightly as we sit in our Fairbanks home. We are enjoying our family and friends in Alaska, but we miss being with our friends and our daughter in the Philippines. This year, as most of you know, I have had to return from the Philippines for continued medical oversight. I continue to improve as the days go by and we look forward to returning to the ministry in Virac in January.

Amy continues to teach at the Bible school two classes per day in addition she has become the main speaker for the Sunday morning church service. She finds this challenging and enjoyable.
Christmas was originally established as a holiday to remember Christ and his birth. Words cannot express the tremendous gift He gave to each of us by His death on the cross. Because of Him, we can have true joy and peace that one day we can be with Him for eternity.

Paul in II Corinthians 5 states the following words of encouragement and instruction:
“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him… vs 18 “…who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and have given us the ministry of reconciliation…vs 20…now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

Paul also reminds us that, “clearly, you are epistles of Christ…written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not of tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”

Pastor Homer just shared a living example in an email. He writes, “I’m now in Monic for their church anniversary. Our student (Renan) was used by God to revive them. And many souls were added to the church. Praise God!”

Ask God to help you be a clearly read and understood letter to those people He puts around you this season and always, that many could be added to the kingdom as they “read” you.
Your friends and co-laborers,

Nels, Lorrie, and Amy

Please remember any financial gifts you make for 2015 need to be post marked no later than December 31st

Dear Friends,

One of the Bible school theme verses is II Timothy 2:2:
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

Over the last years we have been blessed to see this passage of scripture lived out in many of our former students. Young people have come to the school through their local church or a youth outreach. Many have left difficult situations in hopes of a new life walking with God. As they are at school and later in field training, they grow in wisdom and knowledge and maturity. By the time they are ready to leave the school and venture into “normal” life, they are much more mature men and women. Some of the students choose to continue their education at a secular school, others are sent to either pioneer a new church or assist those that are already pastoring.

Jack Benson, Darryl Earnshaw, and Lorrie and I just returned from the annual Pastor’s Conference in Virac. This year we had some sessions that were designed for just pastors and wives as well as some that were open to the entire conference. Jack was the main speaker and he and Darryl did a great job. Lorrie spoke many times to the women as well as jointly with me. We were blessed and we believe the attendees were blessed as well!

Lorrie and Amy taught at the school and Amy taught at the church before the team’s arrival. She will continue teaching two classes per day at the school for the next several months.

Last year Kevin and Yvonne Temple with Jon Dufendach hosted a fund raiser to supply water filters (designed and made by Jon) for some of the villages in the Philippines. This past spring they came to Virac and Jon trained the pastors on the operation and maintenance of the filters. I was encouraged on this trip to hear that all of the filters are in use. Some of the pastors are using them for an evangelical tool and some are using them for a means to help with their personal support.

Ephesians 4:16 states “…every joint supplies… unto the edifying of itself in love.”

Thank you for doing your part to build up the body of Christ!

Nels, Lorrie, and Amy

Dear friends,

One of my favorite scriptures throughout my Christian walk is Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

In Jeremiah 10:23 we are told: “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”

I am a planner by nature and can spend a lot of time considering what I should or should not do. This summer was very different for me and did not proceed as I planned.

Gary Woody and I drove to North Dakota where I planned to spend the summer working with the family business. In only a few days after arriving, I was hospitalized for heart problems. After seeing a few doctors in various cities, I ended up in July at the Mayo clinic in Rochester Minnesota having open heart surgery. Praise God, the operation was successful and I am now recovering in Fairbanks, Alaska. I am thankful for the many people that prayed for me during this time.

Lorrie and Amy spent most of their summer caring for Lorrie’s parents. Lorrie’s mom had a stroke and her father has been experiencing some of the effects of aging at 90 years old. Both spent time in the hospital in Wasilla and needed full time care when they were out. They are presently in an assisted living home and will be moving shortly to another one in Oregon.

Lorrie is in Manila now and will be there for a little over one month. Amy will be going next week and plans to stay until early spring. She will teach at the school. The doctor allowed me to go for about two weeks in October so I can attend the annual Pastor’s Conference. Lorrie and I plan to return to the Philippines in January to host this year’s guests and to teach at the school as well.

As always, please continue to pray for the school, staff, and for us as well as we travel and teach these young people!

Sincerely in Christ,

Nels, Lorrie, Amy and family

“…In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” In John 16:33 (MEV) Jesus gave us both a command and a promise. It’s not an unexpected event to have trials and tribulations; it is a guaranteed fact of life. The test is how you deal with them when they come. When I (Amy) am going through hard times, my inclination all too often is to cry out, “God, Why ME?” The question should be, “Why NOT Me?” What’s the difference between a diamond and a lump of coal? Time and pressure–lots and lots of both.

In Romans 8:28 (NIV) we are told, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I’ve heard that verse so many times, and quoted it to others as well. But when you are deep in the midst of life’s storms and earthquakes, sometimes it’s hard not to just mouth the platitude rather than really taking hold and believing in it. I know intellectually that my God is BIG and in charge and I say that I trust Him for everything that happens in my life to make it all turn out well. Sometimes I need some nudging to embrace this heart-felt belief and take comfort in this simple, wonderful fact: God is God. He’s the one who decides it all and I don’t have to stress. So no matter what we’re going through, we can be comforted that our God is in charge. When we let Him lead us, we will see great and wonderful things! He has commanded us “be of good cheer,” and all throughout the Bible this is emphasized: “a merry heart makes good medicine” (Prov 17:22), “Shout for joy to the Lord…” (Ps 100:1, others), whistle while you work. OK, that last one was from Disney, but very appropriate, yes? When I am confronted with a difficult trial and it seems like I am stressed to the breaking point, often I just laugh.

Please be lifting our family up in prayer. We are being given the opportunity to practice what we preach; faith and trust in God’s leading and healing. My grandparents have been in and out of the hospital; Grandma with a stroke and complications, Grandpa with congenital heart failure. Dad (Nels) has been to the ER and now is preparing for heart surgery. Mom (Lorrie) and Nathan fell down a mountain while hiking. Nathan very kindly broke Mom’s fall so she only suffered aches, pains and bruises and Nathan broke his ankle and leg in three places and has had one of hopefully only two surgeries. We are determined to continue to walk in His promises and trust Him as we live our lives with good cheer!

The youth camps went well again this year with many young people getting saved and baptized. It is always exciting to see lives changed and God’s kingdom expanded. The Bible school will once again start next month. This year we are working in conjunction with another local college and offering some secular training. We believe this will help our students in “tent making” after they graduate from Bible school.

Thank you for your faithfulness to our family and to the work in the Philippines!

Amy for the Church family