3833 Michigan Avenue, NW - Roanoke, VA 24017 -540-366-7040
|
|
|
|
The Baileys |
|
The Baileys
Gaucho Gram November, 2008 Dear Grammers,
Wilma and I are still traveling throughout the States and it’s been
great to see so many of you. Our God is great and I wanted to get out a
quick gram out to have as many as possible praying as possible. Right
now, as you recive this – approximately 50 leaders from our churches in
Mexico, Central America and the United States ( a key Hispanic church
from California is sending representatives) are beginning to gather and
will continue to do so for a Regional Training conference in Mexico
City. Walter Testa and the missionary team there is heading up this
conference and many of the attendees are presenting workshops. This is
really BIG DEAL as it helping to unify vision and expedite training in
an intense fasion in this portion of A while back a friend asked me for some documentation to back up a statement I’ve made just about everywhere we’ve been during these Home Ministries. The statement was/is, “Prayer should not be considered as a ‘warm-up’ for the game (ministry), it IS the ministry!” Well, this spurred me on to gather some thoughts on the matter and I thought I share them with you. Look them over, use them if it helps and at least you have an idea of some things the Lord has taught me over these last few years with regards to prayer. It’s a little long and please don’t feel obligated to wade throught it all but…here it is: About
the prayer thing…I’m certainly no ‘prayer expert’ and I suppose I
struggle with being faithful in this area as much as anyone. But…I have,
I think, learned a few things from the Lord during these years and I’d
be glad to share them with you.
Here
goes…
1.
I guess the comment
of prayer not being the ‘prep for the game but BEING the game is just my
way of emphasizing the central part that prayer needs to play in our
lives and ministries – as opposed to a ‘periphery’ or ‘auxiliary’ role
like we usually tend to see it. Since, obviously there are no verses
that say this…I can say that I get that basic idea from scriptures
like:
·
Colossians 4:2 - we
should ‘persevere’ in prayer. The idea there is to ‘give CONSTANT
ATTENTION’ to prayer.
·
Ephesians 6:18- pray
in the Spirit on all occasions…
·
I Thess. 5:17 – (I
DON’T think this is talking about an ‘attitude’ of prayer as we
sometimes hear. I think it’s saying we need to pray like crazy, all the
time, at all times…)
·
Phil. 4:6 – …in
everything by prayer….
·
Acts 6:4 – this
verse, I think, is saying that prayer and the ministry of the word need
to characterize the lives of leaders/elders. We usually tend to
emphasize the importance of spending quality hours, prime-time in the
study of the word but prayer is sort of relegated to…the ‘warm-up’, or
‘preparation’…for ‘real’ ministry. ‘Real ministry is usually seen as
preaching, teaching or DOING something that others will see and/or
recognize. We fail to see, I think, that time spent in prayer IS TIME
SPENT IN REAL MINISTRY!
·
Colossians 4:12-13 –
I love the way Epaphras is seen here as ‘always wrestling in prayer’ and
how that is considered ‘working hard’ for the Colossians (v.13). It’s
also part of what makes him a ‘servant of Christ Jesus’ (v. 12).
·
Luke 18:1 – ‘they
should always pray and never give up’…
·
The examples from
the life of Jesus: Mark 1:35; Mt.14:23; Luke 6:12; Mk. 6:46; Mk. 14:32 –
it seems like prayer was a VERY IMPORTANT part of the life of Christ,
and these are only a few of the examples. If it was so important to
him…shouldn’t it be to us?
2.
One practical
way/method that I use to keep track of praying for everything that I’ve
committed to pray for is this: I make a list of all the
people/places/ministries that I’m committed to pray for. I then DIVIDE
that list into six different parts, each one representing a different
day of the week (I know, the week has seven days but on Mondays, which
is my day ‘off’ and I’m in a bit less ‘intense mode’, I just pray for
whatever comes to mind or is on my heart that particular day. I also
have a list – which I try to keep short – of ‘daily’ requests that I try
to pray for every day. These include my wife, kids and my closest
ministry partners – also a few particularly urgent, current requests.
For instance…my daily list has: my wife, kids, family member’s salvation
and our GBIM ministry team – in addition to a few more urgent, ongoing
requests. On Tuesdays I pray for Mexico (missionaries, national leaders,
etc in that country – the same for every day/country.), Wednesdays is
for Argentina, Thursday is for Chile and Paraguay, Friday is Brazil,
Saturday is Uruguay and Sunday is for the leaders of my local church.
Again - is just an idea of what I do – to give you an example – and I
must also give the disclaimer that I am NOT always faithful in this and
I DO FAIL but…it is something that, with God’s help, I’m striving for.
When I didn’t pray systematically like this what generally happened is
that I would pray like crazy one day for EVERYTHING and EVERYONE for
like a LONG time and … on the next day or two I might not pray at all.
This way, I know that I at least pray for these things/people once a
week. I’ve even taken the step of sharing this with some of the people I
pray for so that they KNOW, NO MATTER WHAT, I’m praying for them every
Tuesday or whatever day it might be… 3. I also am in a regular accountability relationship
with two other brothers in Christ, when I’m in I hope this is understandable and that it helps in
some way. I’d like to get your feedback on this stuff and would really
appreciate any advice you can give me in this area as well. I know I
have much to learn.
In Him, Steve (for Wilma, too!)
GAUCHO GRAM OCTOBER, 2008
Dear Gauchos, It’s been way too long since I got out a Gram so here goes…Wilma and I are still on the Home Ministry tour and don’t return home to Argentina until December 17. We’ve so much enjoyed our time with all of you dear folks in Fort Wayne, Milroy, Manheim, Dillsburg, York, Willow Valley, Akron, Myerstown, Hagerstown and Grafton. We’ve got another month of visits and they will take us to Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Indiana. Whew! I get tired just thinking about all that traveling! It has been so great, though, to renew friendships and to be able to report on all the Lord has done and is doing in Latin America. Here are some burdens and joys – both of which are meant to be shared J:
TWO NEEDS TO BURDEN YOU Please continue to pray for the two financial needs that we have been presenting to the people as we travel: 1. Rich Elledge – of Team La Plata. We’ve been looking for a businessman to give Rich a part-time job he could do on the computer from Argentina as an experienced programmer. I still have his resume available if you or anyone you know might be interested in this ministry/work opportunity. We’ve had some ‘nibbles’ but nothing firm as of yet. 2. Gerardo and Patricia Peyrera – of COCRIMEX in Mexico. These National Ministry Partners from Argentina are a critical part of the thriving ministry in Mexico City and are in dire need of increased support. Please pray for us about these two needs. They are very close to our hearts and we desperately need the prayers of all of you so that these needs will be met. Don’t fail us, please. If the Lord would move you personally to do anything to meet these needs, I’d really appreciate hearing from you.
THREE GOOD NEWS ITEMS TO ENCOURAGE YOU 1. The COCRIMEX ministry in Mexico City is dedicating their new meeting place tomorrow, October 26. This ministry is having a huge impact on so many lives in this, the largest city in the world. What a joy it was last night to record a video greeting to the congregation that will be shown tomorrow at their gathering. This work is a result of the prayers of many of you and I want to encourage you – God indeed moves when His people pray! 2. I just got work from San Luis de Rio Colorado, Mexico that they just began Leadership Training classes with 12 students from four different churches in that area. What a joy to see this! Leadership training is and has been a crying need in our churches on the border for many years and we are grateful to the Lord for this answer to prayer. 3. We had our annual Southern Cone Leadership Training Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina a couple of weeks ago. There were approximately 60 key leaders in attendance from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile. Praise the Lord that the planning and programming for this retreat was done entirely by Argentine leaders. This ALSO is a result of your prayers for us through the years and a great indicator of a bright future for the church in that country!
There you have it: some burdens and some joys. It’s so great – as always - to share both of them with you faithful and dear folks. You are dear to our hearts. Steve and Wilma
6-11-08 Plan Gram Hey Gaucho Grammars!
Recent Travels It’s been awhile since you’ve heard from us and mostly it’s because we’ve been traveling like nuts as we seek to mentor church planters in Latin America. Let’s see…in April I (Steve) was in Mexico for a visit that totaled 17 days in all. In the month of May Wilma and I traveled for the first time to our new church plant in Corrientes – in the north of Argentina. To give you some idea of the distances involved – that was a 10-hour overnight bus ride. We then traveled to Chile towards the end of the month and just last weekend I was in Asuncion, Paraguay. The exciting development there is the decision of a couple from the Wilde, Buenos Aires church to join forces with the Benitez family and thus, for the first time, we’ll have a church planting team on the ground in Asuncion. This is really a cause for rejoicing so…rejoice with us! This coming weekend we are heading to Uruguay and we hope to be a help and encouragement to our little church in that country where there is a tremendous need for the life-giving message of Christ. Thankfully…this will be our last trip for at least a few days – that is until we leave for the States on June 20.
The Wilma and Steve Magical Mystery Tour Not really…it just sounds cooler than ‘Home Ministries’, don’t you think? J We are heading first to California where we’ll be at Momentum West. The main reason we are going there is to lead two youth ministry teams to Ensenada, Mexico during the conference. We will be ministering both at an orphanage as well as in construction. Please pray for this. Youth ministry is something we’ve not been involved in for quite awhile and the activities of this particular team can only be described as ‘well outside’ our ‘comfort zone’. Pray for the peace of the Lord, for strength and for spiritual impact in the lives of the people we minister to. We really need your prayers on this one. The remainder of our Home Ministry will be divided between Indiana (July) and York, PA. (August – November). We’ll be at National Conference in Tampa the end of June and I’ll also be in Germany for Charis International in August – among other ‘side trips’. We’ll be visiting our supporting churches as well as attempting to personally meet with and thank the individuals who so faithfully support and pray for us. Please pray for this trip – that the Lord would use us to challenge his people to greater involvement in His mission. We also ask you to pray for our youngest daughter, Melanie, who will remain here in Buenos Aires as she continues to study and work. Pray for her personal safety and spiritual growth during our long absence. In closing, if you would like to know when the Steve and Wilma ‘tour’ will be in our church or in a place near you…please don’t hesitate to write and ask. We’d love to see you and do some ‘face-to-face-catching-up’. Well…that’s the plan, see you soon!
Partnering with you in Latin America, Steve and Wilma
|
