Cool Donor Stories (Part 1)!

Hi there!
Just want to share two totally cool donor stories. Why? Because it shows just how cool, fun, and FAITHFUL our God can be in providing for His kids!!!

Story #1: The Great Commission

At our dessert night in Blenheim, we had the chance to meet a couple who knew my grandparents well after many years of euchre games. He was an insurance salesman, and around Christmas, had sold one of the biggest policies of his life. The commission he made from it was large, and he was excited for the extra income because they needed it! But, time after time, obstacles kept the cheque from landing in his account for weeks on end. However, God was faithful; he provided for the couple during this time ... even without the big bonus cheque. Finally, the cheque arrived--on the day of our dessert night! They heard our presentation, and came up to us after. They shared their story, excited by the way God had orchestrated everything together so that they could give us a cheque for $1000. Wow! 
"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." --Proverbs 16:9

Story #2: "I never win anything ..."

This story follows a common theme: financial institutions! Our dear friends and life group leaders from West London Alliance, Matt & Kate, were at a work appreciation dinner. At the dinner, there were various items up for prizes, and employees could enter tickets into the draws of their choice. Kate sat through prize after prize being given away to fellow employees, all the while thinking, "I never win anything at these sort of things ..." There were prizes for vacations, sports tickets, etc. etc. Finally, they got to the last draw of the night. And the winner was ... Kate! What was the prize? $1000 to the charity of her choice! Matt and Kate couldn't wait to share the good news with us! Over dinner, they told the story, then presented us with a cheque for MAF Canada from the account of Kate's employer--a large financial institution. What a blessing! 
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." --Romans 8:28

Praising God for YOU!

Yesterday, as we presented to Heritage Fellowship Baptist Church in Ancaster, I said a line which never ceases to amaze me, "We can't get overseas without HUNDREDS of people helping us from home."

HUNDREDS.

That's a lot.

And it caused me this morning to pause and reflect on our partners. Whether you lift us up in prayer, donate a little bit to our ministry with MAF or donate a LOT, or whether you are just a dear friend who loves us when we need it most, we literally can't do this without you.

I'm so thankful for our partners in this ministry. And I want you to know how precious and important you are too--how crucial you are to this ministry!

Planes fly on the prayers of supporters.

Lives are profoundly changed by as little as a dollar a day.

The Bible is taught, translated, and delivered to those desperately hungry for the word.

Death is conquered by life with each medical evacuation flight.

Hope is shared, heart to heart, and hand to hand, in communities ravaged by war and nature.

Your life becomes a legacy, all because you cared.

Thanks friends and family for caring! We love you, and we praise God for how important each one of you is to MAF's work!

March Madness

Kelly needed an off week from this, so here is MARCEL-BLOG-POST-INSTALLMENT-NUMBER-2:

Don't look yet... but spring is almost here! Yes, we did have temperatures dipping down past the -20's not even a week ago, but when it's sunny and the mercury is a few notches on the positive side of zero (like it is today in London ON), then all you need is the combination of an extra hour of daylight and those cold nights are but a distant memory.

Not lost in the last couple of weeks of cold weather is the memory we have of people warming our hearts with their generosity and joining up with us in our ministry with MAF (and yes, that was probably the worst topic transition I've made in recent memory). One of the frequently asked questions we get now is "how is it going with MAF?", first of all, thank for asking as we safely assume it means you care! ...and the quick answer to that is "great!". The response we've received the last couple weeks has been astounding on various levels. Everything from people asking us to present to a group of people, to random donations we've received without an ask has been encouraging say the least.

To give you and idea, since January 20th we have made 10 different group presentations ranging from small groups, to a school presentation, and even a radio interview. We must sound pretty good since we were asked to come back in a couple weeks for a follow up radio interview! We are also scheduled to do another 11 presentations before the end of April. As far as our financial support is concerned, since that week of January 20th, our monthly support has risen from 13% to 21%, and our one-time outgoing amount has gone from 34% to 57%.

One thing we have to say looking back at this, is that God's hand has been evident in being gracious to us. We know we can't do this on our own, and He has provided a great network of people who are ready and willing to join in this mission.

Now, back to the presentation preparation...

Cool Story from the Field: The Word on the move | MAF in Tanzania

The Word on the move | MAF UK

Check out this cool story about how the MAF team in Tanzania is helping reach the Maasai people for Christ. MAF flies Maasai pastors and evangelists to the notoriously "on the move" tribes to disciple new Christians. Just one example of the cool work MAF does to support the local church!

Stories from the Field: MAF Supporting Local Churches

I absolutely love reading up on what MAF is doing around the world--especially when it's about a topic that really interests me. Today's topic is about how MAF supports the local church in countries around the world. This is something that weighs large on my heart because this is what the ultimate goal of missions is: to establish local, indigenous churches (full of local, indigenous Christ-followers).

Fun fact: The face of Christianity is changing. Once upon a time, 80% of all Christians lived in Europe and the US. Now, over half of the world's Christians live in Africa, South America, and Asia. And while the US still leads in the number of missionaries it sends out across the globe, not far behind are Brazil, India, South Korea, and China!

Cool quote, by a cool guy: "We now realize for missions to go full circle, it is necessary for churches established by missionaries to become sending churches in order to gather the momentum necessary to penetrate each of the world's remaining unreached people groups." (Ralph D. Winter)

So ... is the work of MAF missionaries finished? Or is there still a role for MAF to play--just different from what it was in the past? This, people, is why I love MAF and am so excited to work for MAF. Because MAF has an important role to play by partnering directly with local churches and asking, "How can we help you? What are your needs?"

Here is one example from the field:

Petrus Giay, an Indonesian evangelist, hiked for four weeks to reach a very isolated tribe through thick jungle in Papua, Indonesia. Now, with MAF's help, he is able to reach the tribe and share the gospel in a fraction of the time by flying in one of MAF's amphibious planes and landing on a nearby lake.

How cool is that? Where once, perhaps, MAF was largely a conduit for western missionaries to come in and serve in countries far from their homes, now MAF is changing with the changing face of Christianity to better support local missionaries and churches. Sure, there's still a role to play for us "western missionaries"--but it's a very cool role with a servant heart. How can we support you? How can we help the work here and the church here in (insert country)?

*All info taken from MAF-US FlightWatch magazine, Volume 1, 2014, "A Changing World". You can find it here: http://issuu.com/maf.org/docs/2014_flightwatch_volume_1/4

Podcast with the Church Unity Project

We had the fun and awesome pleasure of partnering with a friend from West London Alliance Church, Nigel Garnaitis, on his new podcast the Church Unity Project. He is passionate about building networks and understanding between Christian communities and transcending denominational divides. His Church Unity Project podcast and blog allow him to highlight people, projects, and organizations that do exactly that: transcend denominational divides in their work for God's kingdom.

Not surprisingly, this is one of the things we love about MAF! You can listen to our interview here. For more information about Church Unity Project, check out the site: http://churchunityproject.wordpress.com/.

Breakfast with the Boers (Monday, Feb. 3)

So ... when I told Marcel we are making a video this morning (about 5 minutes after he got out of bed), he was not very happy. You know what I told him? "People think you're funny when you're tired!" You'll see why :). Watch our two minute video where we update you on where we are at, and what's coming up next.

Upcoming events:

Tuesday, Feb. 4--Blenheim Christian Reformed "Coffee Break" presentation and an opportunity to meet with a few Chatham-Kent connections

Feb. 10--Feb. 17--Gone on family vacation with the Boers!

Friday, Feb. 21--MAF General Meeting (sounds important!)

Sunday, Feb. 23--Luncheon/Info Session at our house following second service (around 12:30)! All are welcome, see Facebook event.

Tuesday, Feb. 25--Our two year anniversary! Yay!

Thursday, Feb. 27--Dessert Night/Info Night in Blenheim, 7 pm, Blenheim Youth Centre. If you would like to attend, help us (and my mom) out by letting us know via email (kboers@maf.org) or phoning my mom @519-676-2182!

March, TBA--Dessert Night and Info Session in Ancaster, Ontario.

Feel free to message us about any of the events for more details (kboers@maf.org or mboers@maf.org). Please pray for these events as well!