“Give us the Tools…
…and We Will Finish the Job!”
Sir Winston Churchill spoke those inspiring words in 1941 when England was under severe attack and needed help to survive, and to win the war. He boldly told the world that his country was ready and willing to fight.
They just needed the tools.
That is much like the situation we find around the world today. Missionaries from Asia, Latin America and Africa are ready and willing to join in the battle, to endure hardship and to labor to see every people group reached with the Gospel.
They are asking for the tools they need.
Training Forum in Manila
The Forum on Missionary Training in Manila was a huge success. 65 attendees came from 16 different countries to talk about training missionaries in many different contexts throughout Asia, Africa and Europe. NTM brought them all together to meet one another, to learn from one another, and to encourage and help one another. We were there to listen to them and see how they felt we might be of assistance to them.
We were blessed to learn more about the training programs that are already in place. At the same time, we were challenged by the tremendous needs and the many opportunities that remain.
There are large areas in Central Asia where help is needed in setting up training programs for missionaries. Existing programs are asking for Bill to teach modules or to help them further develop their course materials.
Our next several updates will feature different connections we made at the forum.
First up… THE PHILIPPINES
After 33 years in the Philippines, for us, attending the Forum in Manila was like going home. We enjoyed fellowshipping with many of our Filipino missionary coworkers and talking about their training program.
They have invited Bill to teach some courses on translation and language learning at their School of Missions. We’ll be working with them to figure out the best timing for this. Bill will also want one or more Filipinos to work alongside him that he can train to take over teaching those courses.
We want to give them the tools and see God use them to finish the job!