I wish we could get some of these great conferences here in NC.
Check this one out.
NA 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Pictures from Swaziland, Africa
The following are pictures of a good friend of our family who has been serving for almost 9 months now in Swaziland, Africa. Alison has been teaching in a school there and ministering to many people outside of school.
She has been a great inspiration to our family and many others for her service to the Lord. She comes home in less than a month. She forwent a year of work out of college to serve Christ. What a testimony she has been to many young people for God's glory!
Thanks Alison!
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Reality of AIDS in Africa
The following is a writing for a school project from a 7th grade girl in Swaziland, Africa. It is a touching story, from a little girl who knows the impact of AIDS.
The fact is, 2 out of 3 people in the world that have AIDS, live in Africa. Many of them are children, and this little girl is sadly a victim of the dreadful disease that is killing thousands of Africans every day.
Here is her story:
The fact is, 2 out of 3 people in the world that have AIDS, live in Africa. Many of them are children, and this little girl is sadly a victim of the dreadful disease that is killing thousands of Africans every day.
Here is her story:
HIV is a virus that causes AIDS. AIDS is a dangerous disease that can affect
everyone. This disease is a fatal disease but can be controlled.
AIDS affects black people and white people. It affects poor
or rich people, fat or thin people. It affects you whether you are a
Christian, Swazi, Zulu, Xhosas, Hindus, Rastafarians, Muslim, Mozambican,
Sothos or Tswana.
AIDS affects me as well my auntie, who was working in
Matsapha Spinex Factory. She was a likable woman and honest. She use to
help poor children in the community by paying their school fees, buying food
and clothes for them. Everyone in the community use to respect her.
She was the person who was looking after my grandfather and
my grandmother the most. My father looked after my grandfather and
grandmother but not as much as my auntie. My uncle did look after them but
not all the time, like my auntie use to. She was the most important person
to my grandparents.
She use to have more than one boyfriend and she did not use
to use a condom when she was having sex with her boyfriends. On nights she
use to leave home with her boyfriends to big hotels which are too expensive.
On weekends she use to visit one of her boyfriends.
One day she became sick and just got sicker and sicker. She
did not know what was making her to be sick. She visited the clinic many
times but she became sicker and sicker. Than my grandparents sent her to a
traditional doctor. He gave her some medicine and said she must find a boy
who will cut her with a razor blade and put the medicine in her. They chose
me as the boy. I did it but I did not like it. She became better for a week
but then her sickness returned and I became sick as well. Her and I visited
the health center for check- up. We found that we were both HIV positive.
They counseled us and they gave us some tablets and I take them even today.
When I heard that I was positive, I was afraid. I was
thinking that I was going to die, I cried and cried. But they told me that I
would not die. After that my auntie became sick and got sicker again and she
died. But me I am healthy and I am alive and life goes on.
So AIDS kills. It kills our parents, grandparents, aunties,
uncles, sisters and brothers. But life still goes on.
10 Ways to Help Kids Love Missions
The following was on the Desiring God Blog last week and I think it is great!
"There are things we can do to help our kids love the nations and the cause of Christ, even though a heart and calling for the Great Commission is ultimately something only God can grant. Here are a few ideas from Ryan and Anna, who are currently preparing to serve in Asia with their two young daughters."
1. Pray for missionaries as a family. We keep a stack of prayer cards on the dinner table and rotate through them during mealtime prayers.
2. Read missionary biographies to your children. The stories of Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, Gladys Aylward, and other missionary pioneers are captivating ways to orient a child’s heart on the most important things in life.
3. Draw the whole family into supporting missionaries financially. Teach your kids from a young age that being a good steward of their money involves channeling resources toward the the cause of Christ in missions. Older kids can donate some of their lawn mowing and babysitting money. Younger children can earn money doing chores around the house which can be set aside for missionaries.
4. Find your child a missionary kid pen pal. Many children of missionaries around the world would be delighted to get mail from a child their age in their parent’s culture. Your child (and the whole family) will learn valuable insights about living abroad through the eyes of a child. Additionally, when the missionaries visit your church, your child will already have a relationship with the MK and will be able to include them more easily.
5. Entertain missionaries in your home. Inviting missionaries over will be as much of a blessing to your family as to the missionaries. Host them for dinner or for a whole furlough. Build or buy your house with this in mind.
6. Take risks as a family. There are ways to live life which help children grasp the reality that discomfort and suffering are normal and rewarding parts of the Christian experience. Volunteer at a rescue mission; house a single mother; move to the inner-city.
7. Affirm and nurture qualities in your children which could serve them on the mission field. As your children grow in knowledge and skill, encourage them to think about how they could use their gifts in missions work. Then, if God says, “go,” release them to go!
8. Teach your children to be world Christians. Don't expose them to only the American perspective on news and realities around the world. Go out of your way to make them more aware than the average American Christian about geography, world history, and the plights and perspectives of people across the globe.
9. Read missionary prayer letters to your children. Ask them questions about the content and look up facts about the missionaries’ location on the Internet.
10. Use missions fact books and resources such as Operation World, the Global Prayer Digest, the Joshua Project, and Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). Kids of Courage is the youth-oriented arm of VOM and offers activity books, spotlights on the persecuted world, and more.
"There are things we can do to help our kids love the nations and the cause of Christ, even though a heart and calling for the Great Commission is ultimately something only God can grant. Here are a few ideas from Ryan and Anna, who are currently preparing to serve in Asia with their two young daughters."
1. Pray for missionaries as a family. We keep a stack of prayer cards on the dinner table and rotate through them during mealtime prayers.
2. Read missionary biographies to your children. The stories of Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, Gladys Aylward, and other missionary pioneers are captivating ways to orient a child’s heart on the most important things in life.
3. Draw the whole family into supporting missionaries financially. Teach your kids from a young age that being a good steward of their money involves channeling resources toward the the cause of Christ in missions. Older kids can donate some of their lawn mowing and babysitting money. Younger children can earn money doing chores around the house which can be set aside for missionaries.
4. Find your child a missionary kid pen pal. Many children of missionaries around the world would be delighted to get mail from a child their age in their parent’s culture. Your child (and the whole family) will learn valuable insights about living abroad through the eyes of a child. Additionally, when the missionaries visit your church, your child will already have a relationship with the MK and will be able to include them more easily.
5. Entertain missionaries in your home. Inviting missionaries over will be as much of a blessing to your family as to the missionaries. Host them for dinner or for a whole furlough. Build or buy your house with this in mind.
6. Take risks as a family. There are ways to live life which help children grasp the reality that discomfort and suffering are normal and rewarding parts of the Christian experience. Volunteer at a rescue mission; house a single mother; move to the inner-city.
7. Affirm and nurture qualities in your children which could serve them on the mission field. As your children grow in knowledge and skill, encourage them to think about how they could use their gifts in missions work. Then, if God says, “go,” release them to go!
8. Teach your children to be world Christians. Don't expose them to only the American perspective on news and realities around the world. Go out of your way to make them more aware than the average American Christian about geography, world history, and the plights and perspectives of people across the globe.
9. Read missionary prayer letters to your children. Ask them questions about the content and look up facts about the missionaries’ location on the Internet.
10. Use missions fact books and resources such as Operation World, the Global Prayer Digest, the Joshua Project, and Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). Kids of Courage is the youth-oriented arm of VOM and offers activity books, spotlights on the persecuted world, and more.
Scripture in Song
I found this link on the SIM Southern Africa web site.
This is a new initiative they are using to help kids memorize scripture.
Link Here
April Prayer and Newsletter
April 12, 2008
Dear Ministry Partners,
Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We continue to be blessed by many people in support of our ministry to Namibia. God certainly confirms our calling each month as we review our donor reports. Every month there is a new monthly supporter. We want to thank each of you for supporting our family. As of March, we are at 70% of our one time goal of $67K, and we are at 50% of our monthly support needs! Praise the Lord!!!
One new blessing to our family is that of Brian’s full time job situation. We have been praying for God to show us when and how to start visiting local churches in order to share our vision and future ministry. Starting this month his manager will allow him to have a half a day off each week to take time to visit local churches. This is a huge opportunity and a blessing. So please be praying for God to open the hearts and ears of the church leaders that Brian begins to visit this month. Pray specifically that they will be open to hearing about our plans, and that they would consider supporting our family in missions.
In the town that we will be working in, there have been a couple other missionaries that have been working in the local schools and they have also been helping with the church needs. We found out last month that their missions’ agency (African Inland Mission) will be reorganizing their efforts in Africa. With this reorganization, they will be pulling their missionaries out of Namibia and relocating them to other areas in Africa.
This means a couple of things for the church in Grootfontein, and for our ministry. The AIM missionaries will be leaving the country as of December 2008. That will leave the church without any missionary workers until we arrive. So our prayer is that if it is God’s will, we will secure 100% of our monthly support needs in the next five to six months in order to move to Africa shortly after the AIM missionaries move out.
For the last few months we have been working on getting items ready for our visas. As of today we will finally be able to submit these and our passports to Namibia for their review and approval. Kristen and the kids will be applying for general stay visas, but Brian will be applying for a work visa. As we have stated in the past, it can take as much as six months or more to get the applications approved. Our prayer is that we are getting them in soon enough so that they are ready by the time our support needs are raised.
We covet your prayers daily and can feel them every day. Your prayers mean so much to us. Just to know that God has called out people to fervently remember our family in their daily prayers means so much to us. Please continue to pray for our support raising efforts. We have truly been blessed. We are patient and half way there. So as Brian starts to visit churches and as more people learn of our mission efforts, pray that God will draw new financial supporters to our team. Also pray for our visas as they are now nearing the approval stage, that God will work through the people of Namibia that will be directly involved in approving these for us. Lastly, continue to pray for the Church in Grootfontein as they prepare for a group of missionaries to leave, and for us to arrive.
May you feel the presence of the Lord upon you daily.
The Bradsher Family!
Dear Ministry Partners,
Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We continue to be blessed by many people in support of our ministry to Namibia. God certainly confirms our calling each month as we review our donor reports. Every month there is a new monthly supporter. We want to thank each of you for supporting our family. As of March, we are at 70% of our one time goal of $67K, and we are at 50% of our monthly support needs! Praise the Lord!!!
One new blessing to our family is that of Brian’s full time job situation. We have been praying for God to show us when and how to start visiting local churches in order to share our vision and future ministry. Starting this month his manager will allow him to have a half a day off each week to take time to visit local churches. This is a huge opportunity and a blessing. So please be praying for God to open the hearts and ears of the church leaders that Brian begins to visit this month. Pray specifically that they will be open to hearing about our plans, and that they would consider supporting our family in missions.
In the town that we will be working in, there have been a couple other missionaries that have been working in the local schools and they have also been helping with the church needs. We found out last month that their missions’ agency (African Inland Mission) will be reorganizing their efforts in Africa. With this reorganization, they will be pulling their missionaries out of Namibia and relocating them to other areas in Africa.
This means a couple of things for the church in Grootfontein, and for our ministry. The AIM missionaries will be leaving the country as of December 2008. That will leave the church without any missionary workers until we arrive. So our prayer is that if it is God’s will, we will secure 100% of our monthly support needs in the next five to six months in order to move to Africa shortly after the AIM missionaries move out.
For the last few months we have been working on getting items ready for our visas. As of today we will finally be able to submit these and our passports to Namibia for their review and approval. Kristen and the kids will be applying for general stay visas, but Brian will be applying for a work visa. As we have stated in the past, it can take as much as six months or more to get the applications approved. Our prayer is that we are getting them in soon enough so that they are ready by the time our support needs are raised.
We covet your prayers daily and can feel them every day. Your prayers mean so much to us. Just to know that God has called out people to fervently remember our family in their daily prayers means so much to us. Please continue to pray for our support raising efforts. We have truly been blessed. We are patient and half way there. So as Brian starts to visit churches and as more people learn of our mission efforts, pray that God will draw new financial supporters to our team. Also pray for our visas as they are now nearing the approval stage, that God will work through the people of Namibia that will be directly involved in approving these for us. Lastly, continue to pray for the Church in Grootfontein as they prepare for a group of missionaries to leave, and for us to arrive.
May you feel the presence of the Lord upon you daily.
The Bradsher Family!
Friday, April 4, 2008
The Joy and Need for Discipleship
Acts 8:30-33
Could you imagine the joy it was for Philip to share the gospel message with the Eunuch? For one he was led by the Spirit to go and talk with him. We don't exactly know how the Spirit led Philip to go to the Eunuch's chariot, the Bible says that the spirit told him to. The Eunuch was trying to make since of what he was reading in Isaiah, and by shear luck (NOT HARDLY) Philip comes knocking on his door to see what he was reading. God is always working and leading us to do just like Philip, to be ready at a moments notice. We never know what the Lord is doing in a persons life, but we know that the Spirit leads us.
Notice also that Philip did not fight the Spirit, nor question the Spirit. He simply was obedient and did what the Spirit was leading him to do. Philip was not scared to go and talk with this stranger about Christ. Philip believed with all his heart in Christ and the good news that he shared with him that day. There should be NO PRESSURE in sharing the Gospel, or witnessing to people. Here are a few reasons:
1. God is always in control and He is a mighty and powerful God!
2. God is the only one that can save a soul.
3. We must understand that we can not save people.
4. Salvation is the work of the Lord, we are merely vessels that
God has chosen to use to share the good news. Just as Philip did.
Discipleship is so important. A new Christian needs people to help them learn about Christ. They need encouragement, love and they need to be challenged. Discipleship is a great joy as well. There is nothing more fulfilling in life than to see someone grow in the knowledge and wisdom or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
30So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
"Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth. 33In his humiliation
justice was denied him.Who can describe his
generation? For his life is taken away from the earth."
Could you imagine the joy it was for Philip to share the gospel message with the Eunuch? For one he was led by the Spirit to go and talk with him. We don't exactly know how the Spirit led Philip to go to the Eunuch's chariot, the Bible says that the spirit told him to. The Eunuch was trying to make since of what he was reading in Isaiah, and by shear luck (NOT HARDLY) Philip comes knocking on his door to see what he was reading. God is always working and leading us to do just like Philip, to be ready at a moments notice. We never know what the Lord is doing in a persons life, but we know that the Spirit leads us.
Notice also that Philip did not fight the Spirit, nor question the Spirit. He simply was obedient and did what the Spirit was leading him to do. Philip was not scared to go and talk with this stranger about Christ. Philip believed with all his heart in Christ and the good news that he shared with him that day. There should be NO PRESSURE in sharing the Gospel, or witnessing to people. Here are a few reasons:
1. God is always in control and He is a mighty and powerful God!
2. God is the only one that can save a soul.
3. We must understand that we can not save people.
4. Salvation is the work of the Lord, we are merely vessels that
God has chosen to use to share the good news. Just as Philip did.
Discipleship is so important. A new Christian needs people to help them learn about Christ. They need encouragement, love and they need to be challenged. Discipleship is a great joy as well. There is nothing more fulfilling in life than to see someone grow in the knowledge and wisdom or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
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