The Excellency of Knowing Christ NnamdiMeriam Ikpe Prayerletter
Millions For Christ Missions, Asia
Volume 3, Issue 1; January 2013
Dear Partners in the Ministry, How are you? Time flew so fast! I hope that you had a blessed Christmas celebration and looking forward to the New Year. Perhaps you have spent some time reflecting on 2012 and wondering what 2013 will hold. 2012 has been a year full of God’s love, grace and faithfulness. 2012 marked Nnamdi’s 12th year serving as a missionary with Millions for Christ Missions (MFCM) and for Meriam it is 6 years. Let us share with you part of what keeps us moving as missionaries -- testimonies of changed lives: The first is from one of our students: "My life before was a mess; think of all sorts of vices that affected my relationship with my family. Thank God for sending people to reach me with the gospel. I answered God's call to be a pastor and enrolled in the seminary to be equipped. And the training has helped me a lot in shepherding the church and reaching people with the gospel. The peace that I have from Jesus healed my relationship with my family and leads me to empower the church where I minister to put their faith into action.” The second is from a relative of one of our students. She testifies to the transformation in the life of the student. “Though they are busy with their business, they always keep their house open to help the poor and needy people especially in the neighborhood. They are not just keeping what they are learning from the seminary and the church in their head as only a mental knowledge rather they apply it in their lives as they sacrificially share their time and earnings with people in need while reaching them with the gospel.” These are real stories of transformation and miracles in the lives of some of our students in the seminary where we serve as volunteer teachers. We are grateful for the opportunity to teach in a seminary that trains Christian workers for ministry in church planting, discipleship and work among the urban poor. As missionaries, this has been an opportunity to fulfill our desire of helping the Church here in reaching the unreached, unchurched and poor for the glory of God. We have also continued to minister in some of the churches planted by our students. We are inspired, amazed and humbled to witness this transformation in our students’ lives. But beyond all these our greatest desire for us all is to know Christ. “I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.” --Philippians 3:10, The Message (MSG).
Nothing compares to the privilege and joy of knowing the Lord Jesus and serving Him. To know Christ, to be united with Him, is to experience the power of His resurrection. This power not only transforms our lives but also flows through us to transform others. The joy of knowing Christ is not only about happy times, it is also about partnering with Him in His suffering, going with Him all the way to death itself. To participate in His resurrection we must of necessity participate in His death- death to ourselves and to all that would keep us from totally abandoning our lives to Him. As we look forward to the New Year, our desire and prayer is to know Christ with greater intimacy, to release ourselves to Him so we can receive the freedom to experience His resurrection power, to be ready to join Him in the fellowship of His sufferings.
Inside this issue: The Excellency of Knowing Christ
Thank you for praying for and with us. Thank you for your encouragement and support. 1
Our prayer is that you also enjoy the work to which God has called you. May God give us wisdom, peace, hope, joy and love as we all journey through life’s challenges and transformation in the process in the New Year 2013.
Joyfully Serving the Lord with you, Praise and Prayer
Team up with Us
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Nnamdi
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Meriam Ikpe
Mobile: Nnamdi: +63 927.754.2712 Meriam: +63 915.199.0149 E-mail: nnamdimeriam@gmail.com cnnamdikpe@yahoo.com Website: goodnewscambodia.wordpress.com Discipling and Training Christians for Christ.
Millions For Christ Missions, Asia
Praises and Prayers As we join together in praising to God for the past year, and praying to God for the 2013 we are sure that His goodness and mercies will endure forever:
Millions for Christ Missions (MFCM) around the globe 1.
We praise God for the ministry of Millions For Christ Mission to which we belong. Through the pleasant and unpleasant experiences of the past year, the Lord sustained us and all our fellow missionaries. Through His grace our ministry among the unreached has continued to expand and prosper. 2.
Ministry of preaching and teaching We praise God for the opportunities to minister in some churches. This included Sunday sermons, teachings on mission, and outreaches. Meriam’s work with IVCF Philippines has been an opportunity for us to contribute to student work here in the Philippines. Though Meriam’s main task is in the office, we get opportunities to minister in camps for high school and college students. Our ministry term with the seminary has ended. We thank God for the opportunity to train and equip Christian workers for the ministry to which they are called. We praise God for the continued opportunity to minister with the churches planted by our students.
Please pray with us as we trust God for:
1. Preparation for our Cambodia mission CAMBODIA
We have continued the preparation for our move to Cambodia for ministry. We still have a lot to do if we are to meet the target of relocating to Cambodia in August 2013.
2. MFCM young people in the Philippines
Part of the ministry of our mission (MFCM) is the care of children from poor families- the provision of food, shelter, education, etc. Four of such young people were sent from Nigeria to study in the Philippines. It has been very difficult for the mission to sustain them and at present they urgently need help in the following areas -- updating of their visas, housing and living provisions.
3. Joyful Expectation
We are joyfully expecting the birth of our son in February 2013. Join us as we continue to pray for a safe normal delivery.
4. Our families in Nigeria and Philippines
They have been part of our journey and our desire is that above all things, each of them will experience the fullness of Christ.
Team Team-up with us Now! Team up with us in the ministry of bringing the Good News of salvation to Cambodians
Here’s how you can team up with us:
Pray Sign-up to confirm your commitment Share Respond now . . . Yes! I want to be part of the Team and be part with you in the mission to Cambodia. (please click here)
Pray for discernment as we continue our preparation and for God’s provision in raising the resources to facilitate our to ministry among Cambodians: First, START UP fund to cover the initial requirements like visas, airfare, culture and language learning, etc. ; Second, people who will commit through MONTHLY PLEDGEs to help sustain the ministry in Cambodia.
Sign-up to confirm your commitment you can confirm your commitment in supporting the work today by signing up to our list. The sign-up form will inform us of your commitment to be part of the ministry in Cambodia. Please click the link: Be Part of the Team
Share the need to reach the unreached in Cambodia with your pastors/elders or missions committee, friends and encourage them to share the burden. We will be glad to talk with them.
Country Focus: Cambodia Country Info Population: 14,952,665 (July 2012 est.) Ethnic groups: Kh mer 9 0% , V iet name se 5 %, Ch in ese 1 %, oth er 4 % Official Language: Khmer Government Type: multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy Religion: Theravada Buddhist (96%), Other 4%; Evangelical Christians (1.7%) Currency: Riel (Exchange rate : approx 4000 Riel = 1 US Dollar) Area: 181,035 sq km (almost ¾ of the Philippines) Location: Southeast Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. Climate: Tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little temperature variation Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 57.6%; industry: 15.9%; and services: 26.5% (2009 est.) Literacy: 73.6%
You may want to know more about our ministry plan towards Cambodia, reach us through our contact details below. It is our joy to share and work with you :)
Missions For Christ Missions, Asia Bring the Good News of salvation to Cambodians
Discipling and Training Christians for Christ
Mobile Nos. Nnamdi: +63 927.754.2712 Meriam: +63 915.199.0149 E-mail: cnnamdikpe@yahoo.com nnamdimeriam@gmail.com Website goodnewscambodia.wordpress.com