+ 7 - 14 | § ¶May-June Newsletter 2009
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!
It's very exciting that my wife is 6 months along, because this is her first Mother's Day! However, I am still very happy to say; "Happy Mother's Day" to all you supporters/friends that have played a motherly role in my life and in the life's of many others (of course, including your own children)! Anyway, good job - for all your hard work, including carrying your babies for 9 months, as I know better now, that it is very difficult work! Blessings and thanks for all your work and mothering:)
Introducing Bi-monthly Newsletter
We have been doing a great deal of soul searching—as it seems to be part of a Christian’s life almost daily, but part of our soul-searching always includes missions. A few of our dreams were “smashed” when Tanya lost her job in April. We have been saving money for our mission and the land purchase, but now we need to scale back a bit. Therefore, we have decided to send out a Bi-Monthly Newsletter, instead of monthly. What does this mean?
It means that we have to trust God and our supporters more. We know it is work just to send a check, if you send it monthly, so we tried to make it easier with our self-addressed envelope that we include every month.
However, you can always convert to automatic withdrawal from Checking or Credit Card by going to: www.bgitulsa.org
Supporting—and the Land.
To support automatically, you will need to go the BGI website and then click on Ukraine on the Map or find MISSIONSUPPORT (Rick Schwendinger) in the ministry list on the right side—(or click here http://www.bgitulsa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=798&DataID=35>If you do this process once, it can save you a lot of time and stamps in the future and you won’t have to worry about receiving a “self-addressed envelope” every month. Our newsletter costs about 100 dollars a month to send out; therefore this will help keep costs down to save for the mission.
Last year, we spent about $10,000 out of our pocket for ministry expenses, with travel, preaching, newsletters, office supplies, etc. This year we will spend the same or more, as we are traveling farther and farther to churches to raise support. However, we managed to save enough to purchase that 25 by 100 meters of land 40km from Kiev on a nice road, from our personal income (not including the land money given to use). However, we need to use expense money from the General/moving fund 4 travel. Keep praying!
Current prayers!
Pray for our government/leaders!
Prayers for Roy Shambow—healing!
Prayers for supporter’s successes!
Prayers for Pastors and churches to grow in Mission’s giving!
Prayers for ShopWurld, its success and that Charities prosper!
Prayers for orphans and orphanages.
Prayers for Services in May/June—driving to Kansas City and Maryland. Possible trip to Tulsa, too.
Prayers 4 investments and land!
+ 14 - 7 | § ¶March Newsletter 2009
We are Marching on...
How good is God? He is infinite in his wisdom and grace! He is above every circumstance and more powerful than any trial! We have started to see God move in our circumstances in more powerful ways, since our decision to show God how serious we are to be missionaries.
My wife and I have become more consistent in praying together and have declared a “Daniel’s Fast” until Heaven breaks-through and we reach our goals. And we have seen Him answer some major financial prayers already. We’ve prospered in buying and selling, we’ve won battles with insurance companies, and a new business has almost literally “drop in our laps”, which has a great potential to meet some of our mission’s goals as well.
Your prayers are working and we are praying for you, press on...
God’s Ways…
I don’t pretend to know all of God’s ways, for they are certainly HIGHER than mine. However, I have learned, if I submit to His Ways then we can be much more successful. First, we must submit ourselves and praying to OUR FATHER is where it all begins. Second, fighting the spiritual battle and winning in the “heavens” is how to get things accomplished on earth. Since declaring the fast February 1st, God has been answering our prayers seemingly faster and better than we even imagined. Third, we are learning not to say “no” to what God shows us, and to say “yes” to where the Spirit moves us.
Please join us in PRAYER! It was a true revelation one day when I learned that asking for prayer for this mission is ACTUALLY MORE IMPORTANT than asking for funding. Sure, I have always asked for prayer, but now, I realize it is MORE IMPORTANT that YOU PRAY FOR US than anything! Please pray for these things in addition to our list on back.
Our current investments to return and land, building, apartments and tools to be purchased for the mission & life. Our budget to be reached 100% Our health, baby, and jobs—including raises, bonuses, and new supporters.Current prayers!
Increase in spiritual gifts! Prayers for Roy Shambow—healing! Prayers for supporter’s successes! Prayers for Pastors to call back, book us, and understand our mission and goals—prayer partners. Prayers for our new business and how to grow it. Prayers for orphans and orphanages. Prayers for Services in March, 2 churches in IA, one in Illinois.OUR BUDGET for Missions:
Moving Expenses Received: $5,700
Moving Expenses Goal: $20,000
Monthly income received: $500-700
Monthly Income Goal: $5,000
OUR IMI Land Fund Rec.: $6,000
IMI Land Fund Matched: $1.000
IMI (the parent ministry) will match dollar-4–dollar for land/building. We will keep you informed to that amount also.
Next year Christmas Projects: $210
********WE MAY HAVE LAND IN UKRAINE, pray 4 wisdom and price.
+ 9 - 10 | § ¶February 2009 Newsletter for IMI- Europe
And the shock is...IT’S FEBRUARY!
Greetings my friends and thank you for all your support and gifts that made this past Christmas so special for so many orphans! There are more pictures and great gifts given, but I have limited space to share them. The Father’s House and Grace Evangelical Church in Kiev received most of the money...in order to do these projects. They preached, had fun and games, and handed out your gifts! Of course, there is always more that can be done, but in these tough times, these gifts meant a lot more. As you might have heard...the world is in a financial-crisis. However, Ukraine is a leader in bad economic news. The prices of apartments has dropped in half in the past 6 months, and will most likely drop 50% more by the summer. This makes it difficult for Ukrainians, but it is our opportunity to buy—land, buildings, and/or apartments with God’s help and yours!!!
My thoughts: economy
There have been quite a few wrong predictions in history. In 1901 Wilbur Wright said that man would not fly for 50 years. Henry Ford’s banker told him “The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty a fad.” The manager of the Grand Ole Opry fired Elvis Presley and said, “you ain’t goin’ nowhere son.” And a Los Angeles surgeon said that “For the majority of people, the use of tobacco has a beneficial effect.”
Back in the middle of 2006 I heard that the prices of homes started to fall in the coastal areas. I started to read different reports as they would try and predict the future. Every six months economists would predict the bottom in 6-12 months. In mid-2007, we started to prepare, which is one of the reasons we moved back to the USA, to raise-support and work jobs to get extra funds for when houses hit the bottom, here and in Ukraine/Eastern Europe.
Low-and-behold, the bottom never came, as predicted heavily for the summer of 2008. We were not surprised! We have been planning for 2 years that the bottom would be the Summer of 2009. However, economists are now predicting 2010...of course. We all know very little in the way of predicting. However, God’s economy is bigger than ours...and He has Tanya & I here for many reasons, but He knows our hearts and our goals. I believe that this year is going to be the best of this decade to buy land/buildings/houses, etc. Please pray, as we need additional supporters, and our current investments to do well. Thanks!
Will you please pray for IMI to get new supporters and for our current investments to work, so we can buy!
Current prayers!
The global financial crisis. Prayers for John Johnson, a friend. Prayers for supporters that they INCREASE in their lives, businesses, jobs, families, health, and walk with the Lord! THANKS TONS! Prayers for Tanya’s pregnancy, and all the kids in orphanages. Prayers for practical business ideas, sales, and increase in wisdom! Prayers for the lost and hurting. Prayers for Services in February, Edmond E-Free, Livingston Methodist, and Willow Springs!
OUR BUDGET for Missions:
Moving Expenses Received: $5,000
Moving Expenses Goal: $20,000
Monthly Income received: $500
Monthly Income Goal: $5,000
OUR IMI Land Fund Rec.: $5,788
IMI Land Fund Matched: $1.000
IMI (the parent ministry) will match dollar-4–dollar for land/building. We will keep you informed to that amount also.
Next year Christmas Projects: $210
+ 8 - 10 | § ¶January 2009 Newsletter
Happy New Year!
We can expect great things! God can open doors and God can give us one of the greatest gifts ever. Yes, His Son...but also, Children! Do you see where this is going...maybe it’s too early to announce, but we must, Tanya and I are EXPECTING! Yes, we are waiting for our first child to be born in August! Praise the Lord! We would appreciate any and all prayers, as Tanya is already feeling sick most days as her body is adapting to the little baby inside.
The other side of this news is that we had to cancel our Christmas trip to Ukraine:( It wasn’t what we wanted to do but the doctor and our families told us it’s dangerous to fly in the first-trimester, especially for someone who doesn’t like to fly (like Tanya), so we decided to stay put. The Christmas Projects for kids goes on with $2,350.00 given so far.
The Mission to Help Continues...to grow
Our short term trip...might have been cancelled, but our long-term goal is the same...to get back to living as missionaries in Eastern Europe. Yes, this process might be a bit more complicated, but we are at peace with moving to Europe with a young child. Our goal was to move to Ukraine/Poland by October 2009, we probably will revise that to Spring of 2010. There are several reasons, the most obvious, it is hard to plan a complete move of one’s life without knowing what to expect when our child would only be a few weeks/months old. The other thought is concerning this WORLD ECONOMICAL DOWNTURN. Of course, God is our source and I believe in the faithfulness of His Kingdom Givers, but some supporters have lost their jobs and therefore, their budget is out the window. That only means we have to work harder and get a larger support base. And of course, that all takes time. Still, we are working the phones & traveling.
THE TWIST IS...we may be able to purchase the land, building and/or building materials for significantly LESS than before! AND GIVING for the LAND/BUILDING is UP! We just received another check for $3,500! Praise The Lord! UKRAINE is in a real financial crisis. Banks stopped giving loans in September, only a few are starting to do so now. People couldn’t even get their deposits out of banks there. All the money seems to have disappeared one of my friends there told me recently. In addition, the US Dollar has Doubled in Value against the Ukrainian Hryvnia in the past few months. Therefore, at least in Ukraine, we see this summer as a great time to buy land. OF COURSE, the Christmas projects at orphanages are taking place, and you are looking at pictures from the Romanian Orphanage called Bethany House. Pictures from Ukraine will come soon.
Current prayers!
The global crisis. Prayers for John Johnson, a friend who recently moved to WI to help us in building—he needs a complete blessing in his life, spirit, finances, relationships, mind, etc. Prayers for supporters that they INCREASE in their lives, businesses, jobs, families, health, and walk with the Lord! THANKS TONS! Prayers for Tanya, baby, and all the kids in orphanages, as well as, the future kids we will be helping. Prayers for open doors and Churches to hear us and support us. Prayers for the lost and hurting.OUR BUDGET for Missions:
Moving Expenses Received: $4,500.00
Moving Expenses Goal: $20,000
Monthly Income received: $500.00
Monthly Income Goal: $5,000.00
OUR IMI Land Fund Rec.: $5,788.00
IMI Land Fund Matched: $1.000.00
IMI (the parent ministry) will match dollar-4–dollar for land/building. We will keep you informed to that amount also.
+ 8 - 16 | § ¶December Newsletter 2008
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
We can gratefully report that we have received around $2,000 for Christmas gifts for Orphans already! We are so excited about this because we were able to send a check today to the Bethany House in Romania—for orphans there to have a Christmas Celebration, check totaling $600. We met the leaders of this Orphanage while in Switzerland in October.
THE EXCITING NEWS, if you didn’t already know, Tanya and I are flying back to Ukraine on December 25th-January 6th, 2009. The prices of tickets dropped and we jumped at the opportunity to fly there, bring toys, gifts, and cash for the Christmas projects. Also, we really wanted to preach to the kids and share our hearts and Jesus’ love for them through our presence & presents.
The Trip, New Year, and the Election.
The Trip: This 13 day trip to Ukraine needs a good prayer covering. We have tons of things to do there, including preaching, 3-4 Christmas Projects, meeting with English Club friends, Kiev-church and missionary reunions, and of course family celebrations. We also want to do a few dentist appointments, so pray for safety in the doctor visits, as they are cheaper, but sometimes scare me:) Also, if you haven’t given to the kids projects, please do THIS MONTH...the more cash, the more kids we can reach! THANKS for GIVING!
The New Year: The year 2009 is the year that we hope and pray to move back to the mission field full-time. However, we have a long way to go. Our hearts are set on purchasing some land, probably in Poland and Ukraine—and to set up a mission’s base to reach out and start to build family-style orphanages to reach the street kids and young people who are lost. As Pastor Mel from Cornerstone Foursquare told me, we need to reach out to the youth because half the world’s population is under 25-years-old. So, we are excited about the future to reach those who others have forgotten about or abandoned. If you know a church or home group we can speak at...let us know. Email for my phone number, if you would like.
The Election 2008: What a WAKE UP CALL! If you didn’t know, we just took a huge leap forward in becoming a post-Christian nation. Look for increased persecution of Christians and Christian ideals. Gay-marriage and the abortion-on-demand legislation will not take long to be enacted. The freedom of pastors to speak against sin and other religious-ideas may come to an end like it has in Canada and Austria. My friends, 3,000 pastors quit ministry every MONTH in the USA, EVERY MONTH! Now is the time-join us in this mission!
Current prayers!
Open minds and open hearts to the Gospel as we go to preach and reach out kids this Christmas. A deeper understanding of God’s word and will in our lives as we wish to Grow in the Grace of the Lord. Prayers for supporters that they INCREASE in their lives, businesses, jobs, families, health, and walk with the Lord! Prayers for the poor, hurting, and addicted. And that they find Jesus and get the help they need...and that we, Christians, answer the call to help them. Prayers for open doors and Churches to hear us and support us.OUR BUDGET for Missions:
Moving Expenses Received: $4,000.00
Moving Expenses Goal: $20,000
Monthly Income received: $450.00
Monthly Income Goal: $5,000.00
Land & Building Fund Rec.: $4,000.00
Land & Building Fund Goal: no limit.
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!
+ 10 - 8 | § ¶October Newsletter 2008
You've got to read this!!!!!!!
October to October…
What can happen in a year? God can shake up my world, show me how to trust Him more, and give a vision beyond what I imagined! And in the NEXT YEAR, Tanya and I want to be back on the Mission field, this time, mostly living in Poland! As you will read in my update to the right, we are expanding our vision to set up orphanages, mission training centers, and mission conferences, not only in Ukraine, but Europe. We want to host and encourage all of our supporting churches to join us on the mission field for short-term mission trips, reaching out to the poor, lost, and hungry, as well as, doing construction projects. It is time to rise up and take back land for the Kingdom. If you were supporting before and stopped, START AGAIN, we want to be back on the Field by OCTOBER 2009! Contact us if you want more information on what you can do...
The Plan is coming together nicely…
You have been waiting patiently...now you will know. Tom Stamman, the founder of Impact Ministries International, has been highly focused on missions since 2004, when I was ordained as his first Full-time Missionary to Ukraine. He has helped me raise funds through his ministry and hasn’t asked much in return, often doing all the financial side of things for free. NOW, he has taken me under his wing as the MISSION side of his ministry as grown all around the world, in over 26 nations.
As of this month, his ministry has appointed Tanya and I to be IMI’s Directors of European Missions!!! What does that mean? It means, our ministry has taken a turn, for the better, and our VISION is bigger! We will not only be focused on helping Ukraine, but Eastern Europe, and eventually Western Europe. We set up a “LAND FUND” for purchasing land, and building a Missionary Headquarter for IMI, for training missionaries and orphanage leaders, most likely in Poland. IMI will MATCH Dollar-for-Dollar that I raise for this Land and Building fund! We already have $1,500 to start the fund. So with the match, we have $3,000. Our goals are to train missionaries, network and bring other independent churches in Europe together under IMI to reach the lost and set up FEEDING CENTERS and FAMILY-Style Orphanages to help the kids in these countries. We will buy land in Ukraine and as many countries as we can to build up the Kingdom of God for the Glory of GOD!
As I am mentored and hit the “campaign trail” this fall...please be in prayer to join us in reaching out to the LOST in a place that is very much post-Christian. Our work is cut out for us, but IMI has started Orphanages all over the world and it’s time to take back Europe for Jesus! Amen.
Current prayers!
Ukraine, Poland and Europe..pray for all the people to see the TRUE JESUS and turn to HIM! The CHRISTMAS GIFT program this year, for donations, organization, and success. Keep Praying for AMERICA—and our elected officials that need Christ and wisdom to lead us in the right path, the Credit Sectors, and for all the upcoming elections. Pray for finances for land, buildings, and orphanages, etc. Thanks for prayers, Mark Dieter is back from Iraq, safe and sound!OUR BUDGET for Missions:
Moving Expenses Received: $3,000.00
Moving Expenses Goal: $20,000
Monthly Income received: $400.00
Monthly Income Goal: $5,000.00
Land & Building Fund Rec.: $3,000.00
Land & Building Fund Goal: no limit.
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!
