advent - day 10

In the 1920s, a group of Chinese believers began striving to fulfill the Great Commission. Their efforts have become an organization called Back to Jerusalem. Their mission field is the area, the countries, the unreached people groups from the eastern part of China to Jerusalem, and all in between. From their website:

Our organization partners with the church of China to not only evangelize the religiously oppressed areas of Asia, but to also train and send Chinese missionaries into the unreached regions of the globe, including Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu nations.

They don't have a prayer list on their website. I feel it is fitting, being that this is an Advent prayer calendar of sorts, for us to pray for a specific ministry of Back to Jerusalem called Christmas in China.

There are still huge areas of China that have not yet been evangelized. By introducing Christmas and sharing the birth story of Jesus, Back to Jerusalem missionaries have been able to reach many who before would have been extremely resistant to the Gospel. Some 500 million children in China need to hear of God's precious gift.

Pray that this Christmas, missionaries would have open doors to share about the birth of Jesus and the meaning of Christmas.

advent - day 9

GoNow Missions, a ministry of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, sends teams of college students to minister around the world. There are seven teams being sent over Christmas break. You can download the flyer here, but to make things easier, I've pasted the info below. Pray for all of them today, or just choose one group to focus on. Also, it would be great to "adopt" one group. Post a reminder of their names, dates, and project where you'll see it. Then pray for them every day of their trip!

Moldova: Winter Boot Mission - Carlee, Aubri, Elisa, Cole, Mindy, Julie, Brittany Ri, Brittany Ru, Bailey, Katie - December 10, 2010 through December 19, 2010 - They will be giving new boots and sharing love with orphans.


New York City: Sharing the GIFT at Christmas - Hector B, Hugo, Regina, Azri, Amanda, Molly, John - December 17, 2010 through December 22, 2010 - They will be bridging the gospel to immigrants by engaging them in conversation & building relationships.


East Asia: Harvest is Ripe! - Kelly, Hilliary, Monique, Marcus, Taylor J, Jordan, Ashley, Clayton - December 17, 2010 through January 3, 2011 - They will reach out to university students through sharing American culture & revealing the truth of Christ.


East Asia: City of Lights - Allison, Chris, Gabriel, Stephanie, George, Marcus, Dashia, Amy, Lexie, Buddy - December 18, 2010 through January 3, 2011 - They will engage college students, host English corners, and lead Christmas parties.


Haiti: Relief & Recovery - Sarah B, Hector C, Jonathan, Alyssa, Diana, Ali, Whitney, Ryan, Chelsea, Sarah S, Clay, Stephen - December 27, 2010 through January 3, 2011 - They will help rebuild a village and bring hope back to Haiti.


South Asia: Culture Exchange - Jessica, Ben, Gary, Jen - December 31, 2010 through January 14, 2011 - They will share the gospel with college students and encourage local believers.


Jamaica: Won by One - Katie, Melissa, Dani, Ciera, Blair, Cory, Krista, Taylor V - January 2, 2011 through January 9, 2011 - They will help build a house for a Jamaican family & deliver hope to the people of the Harmons.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt 2. Top Ten things about the Christmas season (that you love, don't love, etc.)

I really, really love Christmas, so my list will be things that I love!

1. Christmas lights. I love driving through the neighborhoods after dark and looking at all the lights. Lights are pretty.

2. Christmas tree ornaments. I love clear blown glass ones. I love milk glass ones. I love commemorative ornaments. I love souvenir ornaments. I love ornaments that we used to put on our Christmas tree when I was a kid.

3. Baking. I rarely bake sweets. I love cookies, but I don't bake them to just keep at home and eat. I do bake them for Christmas (and Thanksgiving).

4. Advent calendars. 

5. Visiting family. 

6. Stocking stuffers (receiving). They are tiny, inexpensive bits of joy. 

7. Christmas music!!! I start playing it way before Thanksgiving, and sometimes in the middle of the year, too.  No music is as full of hope as Christmas music. 

8. Christmas cards. I string up ribbon across doorways, windows, walls, whatever, and we hang our Christmas cards as we receive them. I usually leave them up long after the tree and other decorations are taken down. Actually, if it's a picture Christmas card, I will probably leave it up on the fridge until I receive a new one the following year. Also, I love sending Christmas cards.

9. Giving gifts. I've spent many Christmases pretty close to broke, but I still gave Christmas gifts because it's such a joy to give, even if I had to set a $5 limit per person. The lower the dollar limit, the more creativity involved in the shopping. 

10. Most of all, I love that Christmas exists. I love the celebration and renewed focus on Jesus coming to earth to die for us, while we were still sinners. I love that his sacrifice, which we focus on at Easter, is enough to pay for my sins, that I may know God, have a relationship with him, and be with him forever. This is why Christmas music is filled with hope. And this is why I celebrate and love Christmas.

advent - day 8

One reader suggested we pray for Mission to Amish People. I had not heard of this ministry before, so I spent a little time on their website. The ministry is run by a couple who were Amish and faced excommunication as a result of receiving Christ as their Lord and Savior. Here is an excerpt from their bio on the website:

Shortly after they both got saved, Joe and Esther were married in the Amish church, and at that point, had full intentions of raising their family within the Amish system. However, they soon realized that if they wanted to believe that salvation was by faith alone, grace alone and Christ alone, they would either have to be quiet about it and not tell anyone, or be excommunicated and shunned by our own family members and the church.

In 1987, nine months into their marriage, Joe and Esther made one of the hardest decisions they would ever make and that was to leave their family, friends, and Amish way of life forever. Today, they have two wonderful children named Jonathan and Rachel who are serving the Lord in various ministries at their home church.

Now, they minister to those who are leaving the Amish system, helping them to integrate into society, as well as discipling new brothers and sisters in Christ, and even sending out missionaries. MAP has a goal of raising up 1,000 pray warriors for their ministry. I hope you will consider joining the team. Check out the various aspects of their ministry here: http://www.mapministry.org/ministries/ministries

I contacted Joe to give us a few prayer requests. These are the top three things on his list:

1. We lost our biggest donor because of economic conditions. Meeting the financial needs, seems impossible, however, we know the Lord is very capable.
2. Spiritual protection around our ministry and staff families
3. For an awakening to come to the Amish people, who are very religious but fail to understand the free gift of salvation.

MAP Homepage

advent - day 7

We're going back to Wycliffe today. Wycliffe is a faith mission, which means that members (the missionaries they send) must raise their own financial support. This can be a source of frustration and discouragement, or it can be an opportunity for a missionary to trust God's provision and involve their church, friends, and family in the work God has called them to. When you first load the "pray for a Wycliffe missionary" page, it lists those who have the greatest need for financial partners first.

Not all Wycliffe missionaries are struggling with support. However, they do all need prayer! If you run a search or adjust the "sort as," you can see different missionaries, some have a notation in the "funding" line; some do not. I encourage you to find a Wycliffe missionary to pray for today. Whether you want to pray for someone in a location you love, someone who needs more financial support, or someone who shares your name is up to you. Find a Wycliffe missionary to pray for here: http://www.wycliffe.org/Pray/PrayforaWycliffeMissionary.aspx