Last Sunday:

Due to a lack of heating, we had to move our Sunday morning service from the large meeting room (the room with the small windows at left in the back) to the art gallery (the room with the large windows on the right in front). Though the atmosphere was phenomenal, it was crowded. We had 49 people smashed amongst $500 paintings... just about maxing out the room. We joked about having to go to two services. We pray that the heating in the much larger meeting room is fixed before our next meeting in a week and a half.

Small Groups:

We are currently organizing new small groups for January. The potential for 5-6 small groups exists. The challenge, as in every church, is organizing and forming leaders.

Le Lounge (Last Wednesday-an outreach to the local Cégep... kind of like a junior college):

Yesterday 8 of us, (including 4 being brand-new) discussed the reliabilty of God's Word for about an hour and a half. When students are drawn into a discussion, they don't care about time... unlike their busy parents.

We are planning a Christmas dinner in two weeks where we will begin planning for January. The goal is to organize the army as we enter into a spiritual battle for the souls of students. About half a dozen believers from various local churches are personalizing a vision to reach their Cégep for Christ.  

 Even though Canada's thanksgiving is in October, here is how we celebrated America's thanksgiving:

(Do you remember Calvin and Hobbes, and the grotesque snowmen he used to make? Well, Caleb added a third arm to his.)

What is Le Lounge? Every Wednesday we meet at the local Cégep (kind of like a junior college) between 1pm and 2pm, consume coffee, doughnuts, and the Word of God. It is evangélistic, and very, very profound. I've given up, for the moment, on preparing specific studies. Instead, students come and go between classes and tests, and we discuss Jesus, and spiritually-related issues.

Today (Wednesday the 21st of November): We spoke about the differences between Catholics and Protestants. We ran down about 7 or 8 of them, but instead of giving the answers, I proposed a common question I had already run into at the Cégep, then we read through the Bible on the subject, giving students the opportunity to see what the Bible says, rather than listen to what Rob thinks. It was phenomenal.

Example question: Why do Protestants believe that Mary was not always a virgin? Read Matt. 1:24. Joseph didn't touch Mary until after she gave birth. It's kind of hard to argue the meaning of that passage... much less others which speak frequently of Jesus' brothers. Today we sat down and literally discussed these issues, in-depth, for TWO HOURS STRAIGHT. The only reason people left was because their classes were starting. Afterwards? People went on about how much they loved the profundety of our discussion. We were chewing on steaks and how they affect our lives... and everyone appeared to leave very, very excited to reach their Cégep for Christ. Today there were six of us: 3 from our new church plant (4 of the six are students).

Prayer request: Next thursday (hopefully) one of the students named Émilie will host a dinner for all Christian students and the Junior College. It seems that there may be over a dozen. The plan is to organize, unite, and ignite the ground troops as we go into battle to win our Cégep for/with/because of Christ.

On my (Rob) recent trip to Oregon, I met the director of a radical ministry called GottaGo (I also met with several volunteers who have worked short-term in China). Here are a few paragraphs from their website:

"We go into the brothels of our Hunan city and build relationships with the women who work there. We offer them the Gospel, counseling, trade training and job placement, and medical education and services.

We love these women in a respectful way through spending time with them at the brothel and outside of the brothel when possible. It has been our experience that as these relationships grow, their openness to leaving the brothel and seeing themselves in another situation grows as well. The process is slow and every woman is on her own time table and has her own story. It is our commitment to love these women as they are with the purposeful goal of offering rehabilitation and a practical way to leave the brothel and re-enter society.

In Grace House we offer the women we serve a more hollistic rehabilitation program, offering a more in-depth counseling program, more complete health services, and transitional housing for up to 12 women at a time." 

Up to this point, they have successfully shut down 12 brothels!

You can get involved in three ways:

PRAY

GIVE

VOLUNTEER

For more information, check out their website here (http://www.gottago.cc/)

pp. 287-289

God is calling thousands of house church warriors to write their testimonies with their own blood. We will walk across the borders of China, carrying the Word of God into the person, Buddhist and Hindu worlds. Thousands will be willing to die for the Lord. They will see multitudes of souls saved, as well as awaken many sleeping churches in the West

 

Hundreds of Western missionaries spilled their blood on Chinese soil in the past. Their example has inspired us to be willing to die for the Lord wherever he leads us with his message. Many of our missionaries will be captured, tortured, and martyred for the sake of the gospel, but that will not stop us.

 

. . .

 

We knew from the beginning that there is a high price to pay for this “Back to Jerusalem” mission (a mission to reach the unreached peoples and countries between China and Jerusalem). I’m not just talking about money! I’m talking about the many Chinese who will be martyred and suffer as this vision unfolds. Many will go on one-way tickets, realizing they’ll never return to China to see their loved ones again.

 

We also realize “Back to Jerusalem” will cost a lot of money, but even though our churches are so poor, we have already collected tens of thousands of dollars to support our missionaries. Like the Macedonian church, many Chinese believers have given literally all they own, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.” 2 Corinthians 8:2-3.

 

The Chinese church is willing to pay the price.

**There is an urgent prayer concern for all of the missionary community in Russia.  A new visa requirement law came into being and no one really knows how to interpret it, not even the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The way it seems is that persons with a one year, multiple entry visa, may only be in the country for 90 days at one time before they must leave the country for another 90 days.  The total of 180 days is the maximum time to be in country for the duration of a year’s visa.  This means that missionaries would have to carry the expense of maintaining living quarters in Russia and back in the States at the same time.  Children would not be able to have an uninterrupted year of school, and ministry continuity would be non-existent.  Many missionaries would be forced to leave Russia.  Especially pray for Tim and Carre Gardner who have been planning, raising support and getting ready for the last three years to leave to begin ministry in Russia.  They had already purchased their tickets for December 17 before hearing of this new law.  Right now they are waiting to hear if they will be granted visas.  Pray that the visa laws would be amended.

**From the World Venture Prayer and Praise Update

PHOTO: St. Petersburg