International Inkwell – May-June 2006
Mert & Sheila Hershberger
c/o 812 Ann Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48197-2486, USA
www.pray-ap.info – 734-752-3049 – mertaka@everybody.org
Dear Family & Friends, Supporters & Partners,
“Jesus loves you!” Those are the most divisive words in all of
history! I found that out recently. As I told a man who had wrapped
his identity in that of a secret society, “Jesus love you,” he
threatened to call the police on that pleasant Monday morning. The sun was shining. No tornado warnings or earthquakes occurred in town all day. I had no weapons and had a smile on my face. He was physically much more muscled than myself. He had shaved his head bald and had a thick neck, that stiffened when I urged him to turn to Jesus & away from his sin. We were chatting on the steps of a public library, yet he threatened me with “disappearing” if I ever talked to him again. Praise the Lord!! He has counted me worthy to face such violent
threats.
Immediately after that, at a bus stop, the Lord opened the door for me
to chat with a Muslim guy who was very sad & confused. Although he did not confess Jesus as Lord, he left with proof that Jesus loves him. I would like to say that he is healed, but he was not ready for that & preferred to be compensated for missing a bus. Please pray that God would open hearts & heal the many, many, many here who are diseased & dispirited, downcast & divided.
Again today, I talked with a guy on a bus who was a bit downcast. He did not seem interested in Jesus & His ability to save, but merely wished to condemn the wretched sin which is so common & even encouraged locally. Indeed, one state senator is considering voting for open immorality in the country. May the nation turn from its sin!!
Ever read the book: Love Languages? I was given it. Of the little I
skimmed, the main point I got was: love. Why 5 languages? Why not
more?? God speaks to us through the creation, through history, through the Holy Scriptures, through one another, through dreams & visions, through natural disasters & even war. All, to call us to peace with Himself & with one another. However, He has now made it clear through His own Son, Jesus Christ, just how much He loves us!! So, let us obey Him & be glad when we suffer. If you are poor: be happy that GOD takes care of you & not some whimsical employer like General Motors which is trying to pawn gas-guzzling cars off on people under the pretense of cheap gas even while they suffer economically & people are laid off. Ford is in about the same boat: voting to continue endorsing homosexual rebellion, even when their stock is going down & people are boycotting them for their stand with –wickedness. Meanwhile, car-makers in lands where the Good News is spreading are profiting as they use their God-given brains to make better cars. Hmm … could there be a reason? While lust sells. Jesus saves. Don’t trust your rust-bucket. Invest in the chariots & horsemen of the Lord.
In the midst of wars & rumors of wars, I believe we as Christians should pray, stay alert, be holy & enjoy the love the Lord Jesus so that we can see the Lord work around us. Though we have no working car, I am 100% thankful for the 2 bikes which the Lord brought us. I’ve decided to identify with the “poor of the land” as a little-stable boy. Despite the pressures & poverty & pains of life, my heart overflows with joy. I want to be with the Lord Jesus, but know He has some fun work here for our little family.
By grace,
Mert & Sheila H.
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FAMILY NEWS & VIEWS:
As far as we know, all of Sheila’s close family is safe. Some of you may know that a major earthquake hit Java, the densely populated Indonesian island on which her family lives. However, it was not right next to her kin. They all were at least 6 hours’ drive from the earthquake. Do pray for Indonesia, though: 5,500+ have died. 120,000+ homeless. Central Java (Yogyakarta) is near the epicenter. Since the earthquake, Mt.Merapi has increased its eruptive activity. Many Christians are there & not as many unreached people groups. If you wish to give help, there are the famous charitable organizations as well as church-networks.
* News of various initial relief efforts by Christian groups:
http://tinyurl.com/qpvsw * News from the New York imes:
http://tinyurl.com/mqlub * The U.S. Marines are getting into the act:
http://tinyurl.com/qtk7s* Even the Saudi’s are trying to help others:
http://tinyurl.com/rzgd4My mom’s extended family is organizing a once-in-a-generation mass-reunion in New York State in a camp near Bath, New York, north of Corning. Since I am on leave & have some free-time, Sheila & I agreed it would be the best time for me to take a trip South. So, if you are in Arkansas or between Bath, NY & El Dorado, AR send an email & I –may- be able to stop by for a brief visit. Time of Travel: June 30-July 12, Lord willing. Meanwhile, I have been busy cleaning out the office & straightening up & tossing out stuff that has collected over the months.
Sheila is working part-time @ the K-Mart which is right next to the
apartment complex where we live. She enjoys it most of the time. Here K-Mart is better than Wal-Mart, partly because of the proximity to HQ in Michigan. Perhaps the Lord will also grant me a promotion out of being exit clerk, maybe not.
The Lord has really been good to us! Although we have no car & some saints are absolutely convinced that we must have one, we are so thankful for the bikes someone gave. Often as I bike to the office or to bible-studies, etc, I think of how the Lord’s servants in rural, under-developed parts of Africa & Asia often request bikes so that they can reach the flock of God more efficiently. What a joy it has been to identify with these dear brothers in the Lord who tirelessly labor to extend the kingdom to the least reached parts of the world!! While the rest of the world in the USA mourns the high gas prices, we enjoy God’s provision and get some decent exercise while we ride! The Lord brought them. He keeps them. He strengthens us. You who have to pay $3+ for gas, do you realize that for the price of 4 gallons, you could get 2-3 complete Bibles to Christians in the persecuted portions of the church?? BTW: Our bikes are both hybrids. Yep: they use pedal power OR we can use gravity when going down hill. Seriously! Along with the bikes came some gifts of food & other utensils … what a blessing!
Finally, June 8, 2006, we will celebrate our 3rd year wedding anniversary. Would you pray with us that the Lord will help us make it through 57 more years? I figure there need to be more 60th wedding anniversaries, don’t you? (No kids yet … )
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LOCAL / REGIONAL MINISTRY & NEWS:
The Lord continues to bless the outreach among the “marginal people.” Please do pray though for 2 men that have chosen to return to old addictions & prefer them to the Mercy of God. Also, for wisdom in the ongoing Bible Study, that the Lord would help purify the time of worship & prepare the guys for an even greater work. On the busses, the Lord continues to open doors for witness as well. Today (06/02/2006) another person heard the Good News & took a New Testament. Please pray for more of this to happen!!
The fellow got on the bus & we chatted about various thing, school, what he’s studying. He asked what I was learning, so the conversation went on a long tangent in the right direction. We talked about Ephesians 2 (the blood of Christ reconciles us to God, the body of Christ on the cross reconciles to one another) which is summed up in Colossians 1:19-20. He said he believed in God & that you don’t have to read the Bible or go to church to believe. I conceded that he was correct. (Romans 1 says as much.) But again, I indicated how the Word of God helps us understand all of life better. My grandmother did poorly in history –until- she read through the Bible & realized that God works in history. He not only took a little tract, but the New Testament I had handy! PTL!!
The ministry of PACT is preparing for an outreach in the fall in a nearby park: giving out backpacks & evangelizing a wide range of people. Also, IMPACT is holding steady with 1 day of prayer per week. I’ve been assigned part of that time each week. Pray for the Lord to increase the hunger for His work & His word!! We are seeing the Lord open doors through this & the Body is being built.
Over Father’s Day Weekend (06/15-18/2006), I will be heading to a nearby city for a conference on reaching Muslims for Christ, Lord willing. Please pray that the Lord Jesus will move many to become laborers & that at the International Arab Festival which will also be taking place will become an open door for many lost Arabs & perishing Muslims to turn to the True & Living God. I’ll be representing Praying through the Arabian Peninsula, and making PTAP & other prayer materials available at the conference. The conference is sponsored by ministries based in the Dearborn area & the goal is to see more laborers raised up to reach out locally & abroad. Two particular
needs I know of:
1. Long-term family to live in the Yemeni district in Dearborn who is already fluent in the language.
2. A growing team of ministries to work in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area to reach out to the growing Muslim population. Saudi’s are increasing in number & need to meet the Lord!
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NEWS FROM THE ARABIAN PENINSULA & AREAS IMPACTED BY IT:
PTAP: Pray especially for unity among believers & restoration of
straying sheep. Also, the emergence of believers & groups of believers is increasing a need for peace-making within the body of Christ & for strengthening of the churches facing persecution. Praise the Lord for the advance of the Gospel & the increase in the number of local believers & gatherings.
FIRST, Pray for national leaders. For those in the USA, urge folks
this week to pray. It is a declared responsibility (see 1 Timothy
2:1-4). Regardless of our worldly political opinions, George W Bush,
Tony Blair, etc, & on down the list. Folks in leadership / authority
need prayer for wisdom so that we can indeed live in peace!
SUDAN: Pray for Ethiopian and Nigerian believers ministering in Southern Sudan.
http://mnnonline.org/article/8569*Sudan = presidential republic; President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
SAUDI ARABIA: Naseem Bibi, a Christian woman charged with desecrating a poster of Khana Kaba, the Muslim holy place in Saudi Arabia, was released from jail on bail Sunday, April 22, after posting surety bonds of 50,000 rupees (US$832). She and her family have taken refuge in Lahore for fear of attacks from Muslim extremists. Pray for her & others who face the severe oppression.
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/1394369.html*Saudi Arabia = absolute monarchy, King and Prime Minister Abdullah
RESOURCES: BOOKS, MOVIES, MUSIC, LINKS, ETC.
[Disclaimer: listing these sites & resources in no way implies an
endorsement of all their content nor of the political opinions of the
persons in offices, nor of the celebration of certain days. This is
merely sent to remind us to pray & share info helpful for us & other
saints we pray with.]
THE FRED FACTOR: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the
Ordinary into the Extraordinary - By Mark Sanborn. Waterbrook Press,
2002, 115 pp.
Motivational speaker Mark Sanborn was so impressed with the
extraordinary service of his postal carrier that he began using him as
an example in his lectures and eventually included him as the showpiece for this little motivational book on excellence. “You can make a difference.” “Nobody can prevent you from choosing to be exceptional.” “Faithfully doing your best, independent of the support, acknowledgment, or reward of others, is a key determinant in a fulfilling career.” “Jesus said simply, ‘The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matthew 23:11).” (106) The most important thing is love. “Love is the commitment to treat a person with dignity and kindness regardless of how you feel about him or her.” (109) “Fred the Postman loves people. He loves his customers. He loves his coworkers. And it shows.” “What makes any life extraordinary is living it with love.” (110)
- For more Book Notes: www.davidmays.org
MOVIE: “Mongolian Ping Pong”
Directed, written, produced by Chinese in China. Released by: First
Run Features & the Asian Society. Length: 102 minutes. Not Rated.
Imaginasian Theater, 239 East 59th Street, NYC, NY, USA. Bilike and
other Mongolians star (mostly as themselves).
About a 7-year old boy who lives in Inner Mongolia who have few toys.
The film focuses on the discovery & fun the kids have with a ping pong
ball that floated down the river: It is the first ball he’s ever seen. Is it from ‘spirits’? What is its taste? It is slow-paced. There is a “PG-13-worthy epithet” & some discipline with a switch. “The story’s overarching gentleness & the seriousness with which it presents a child’s sense of the world make a nice change of pace from the noise & cynicism of so many American films aimed at underage audiences. Indeed, in its point of view and anthropological detail it recalls nothing so much as one of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s authobiographical books, ‘Little Yurt on the Steppe,’ if you will. Like the recently released ‘Mountain Patrol: Kekexili,’ a Chinese film shot in Mongolia, MPP strategically blurs the line between fiction & documentary.” Simple schenes of riding on the prairie & the simple way of traditional Mongolian life. The film “is short on exegesis and long on incident … a single family snapshot speaks volumes.” [From a film review by Manohla Dargis in the New York Times, Friday, April 21, 2006.]
MERT’S COMMENTS: If you do take kids / college folks / adults to see this, a few words on the nature & danger of idolatry from the OT (i.e. Judges) would be helpful as well as reading from Operation World and encouraging them to pray for the Mongolian peoples of China. Perhaps it would help them to see that “adventure” in the least reach part of the world is not like “Survivor.” Pray also for ways to reach Asians who may want to watch the film.
ACADEMIC CRITIQUE OF A MOVIE: Another debunking of deception in
DaVinci.
www.accessatlanta.com/movies/content/sha
red/movies/stories/2006/05/davinci_bible.h
tml
TECHNICAL CRITIQUE OF A FICTIONAL MOVIE: For techies & others who
like to learn a little. some that like to pick apart fiction (such as
movies). So here is a technical debunking of a funky movie:
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/davinci-code.htm BOOK: The purpose of this online resource is to use death and qiyamat (signs in nature, a common combo in Islamic writings) to lead to the cross and saving faith in Christ. The survey of the Bible & God's purposes is located at two places on the web. As Chapters in a Bible Study with Questions, but you will have to enroll in the site to get it. Free to enroll @ at
http://al-kitab.org, instant, and requires little information (a name, country, and email address). A ministry of George King.
http://al-kitab.org/members/ddd/ddd.htmlAs one long document with no chapter breaks:
http://injil.org/Kalimatullah/deathsday.html IRAN: In response to the current crisis surrounding Iran, over 120 Iranian church leaders have pledged to 40 days of prayer and fasting for the salvation of their country, starting on May 25, and issued a call to the global Church to join in. (Daily emails that have been sent thus far are available online.)
More information: www.prayforiran.org
THE LADAKHI: The Ladakhi in northern Pakistan / India were brought to my attention in the early 1990’s while in college @ the University of Arkansas. They were first reached by the Moravians & are now the church among them is being encouraged & built up. Would you join me in praying for them as the weakest among them are being reached?
http://www.prayerguard.net/index.php?page_id=11&target=Ladakhi%20of%20Pakistan&pronoun=6&role=24INTERNATIONAL INTERCESSION: Do you want to pray for various nations &
leaders around the world but need help in knowing how? As in, Who are
you praying for? What are these peoples & places like? When should I
be focusing on what country?
A list of the leaders of recognized nations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_leadersLeaders of various U.S. states & agencies:
http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/dbq/officials/National holidays:
http://www.accuweather.com/adcbin/desk_travel/holiday?nav=travelLinks to more extensive information on holidays:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HolidayBasic country profiles to learn about lots of different countries &
cultures you may meet:
http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/CIA data in mapped out format with summaries of data on various
countries:
http://www.worldmapper.orgAll nations viewed at from a Christian perspective:
http://worldchristiandatabase.org/wcd/All nations & peoples viewed from a missions perspective:
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REASONS TO PRAISE OUR GOD & FATHER
1. GOD IS LOVE!!
Indonesian: Allah adalah kasih!
Russian: Bog yest lyubov!
Bambara (MALI): Alla be i fe!
Fulani (WAfrica): Alla ina yidde yimbe be!
2. Our Father has been managing the weather nicely, so that it takes little effort to water a yard!
3. Sheila & I saw an alligator snapper that preyed on raccoons near our apartment, but not us!
4. The wrinkles around the smiles of really old people!
5. More species are being found: 8 in a huge cave in Israel recently!
6. The Holy Spirit cleanses your mind!
7. Your have friends. If you need prayer, call us 1-800-376-5876
8. The power of the enemy must submit to Jesus!
NEEDS FOR PRAYER:
1. Direction for ministry/work … after mid-July. Until then, focus on some writing projects.
2. Wise use of time for Sheila & I as we do the assigned work, & peace
amid the world’s conflict.
3. More people looking to Jesus & a mature unity among believers. More laborers!!
4. Protection from satan & his schemes.
5. Continued health. (Sleep, proper food, etc.)
6. Need to sell the car.
ANSWERS TO PRAYER:
1. More people Praying Through the Arabian Peninsula. (PTL!!)
2. The office & car are still getting progressively cleaner … little bit at a time …
3. The Lord brought us 2 bikes, with helmets, etc. Great gas-savers.
4. Most of the files on the old drive are recovered!! (PTL!!)
5. Sheila has a part time job & is leading her co-workers. Yeah!
6. Some friends who are seeking out God’s grace.
contemplative