Resources

From hats to friends By Jami G. in Ulan-Ude, Siberia When you live in Siberia with three kids, you spend a lot of time thinking about hats. Are our hats warm enough? Are they too warm? Are the kids’ ears fully covered? Do the hats slip down over their eyes? And the time-honored: “It’s time to go. Where are your hats?” We have a different hat for every season. Now that we’re officially in Siberian spring (which still often involves snow but doesn’t usually stay below freezing for long), I’ve had my eyes peeled for spring hats. I noticed that one of our neighbors always has really cute hats. I’d already been praying for this neighbor, so I saw this as an opening: I got into a conversation with her one day, and found out that she makes her hats herself. What perfect timing! She came over and let my kids help design their own hats. So, we now enjoy made-to-fit hats that cover the kids’ ears perfectly and never slip down over their eyes. But more importantly, this neighbor is becoming our friend. She’s joined us at our daughter’s holiday performance, snuggles up with our pet rat and gifts us plants. She’s been over to our apartment several times, and we’ve had some good coversations about prayer, and the similarities and differences between the Orthodox Church, Russian Old Believers and our little Baptist church. For years, our family has asked the Lord to guide people into our path. Of all the people in our apartment building, the two I’ve felt most drawn to are this hat-making neighbor and a teen-age young lady. Over the winter, I helped the teen learn an English song for her college class. As it turns out, they are mother and daughter. Our neighbor might create hats, but God Himself knits together our lives and relationships!

The Beautiful Island - Taiwan Series A breathtaking tour of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, or "The Beautiful Island." Part of the series "Taiwan: Vision 119." Find links to the other videos in the series below.

The One True God - Taiwan Series The story of two sisters and their journey from worshiping many gods to worshiping the one true God. Part of the series "Taiwan: Vision 119." Find links to the other videos in the series below.

Beliefs - Europe Series Several Europeans talk about what they believe about God and Jesus. Part of the video series "UnFinished: Reaching Europe." Find links to the other videos in the series below.

Transformation Christian Center Lives are changing at Transformation Christian Center, and you can help it reach even more people. Part of the "Reaching Russia Together" series. Find links to the other videos in the series below.

Surprised by God - Missionary Highlights Series A missionary to Spain is surprised by the opportunity to share the gospel with a Chinese friend who had heard of Jesus but never had a chance to learn about him. “It is the best news that we have to share.”

Eight Missions Conference Ideas

Carrying soldiers’ letters gives volunteer chances to deliver words of hope

Sugary gifts tell the sweetest story By Josie Oldenburg in Kyiv, Ukraine The Ukrainian children’s cheers bounced around the classroom when Andy and Holly Rist announced that they came bearing a gift: a special candy all the way from America. The Rists passed out candy canes to each of the children in their son’s second-grade class at their local public school. “I attached a special card, written in Ukrainian, that tells the gospel story through the candy cane,” Holly said. The candy cane is shaped like a shepherd’s staff, because God is our good shepherd who loves us. The red represents the blood of Jesus, shed for the forgiveness of our sins. The white stripe shows us that if we trust in Jesus, He will wash us clean. And if you flip the cane over, it looks like an English letter J, which stands for Jesus. The card concludes with John 3:16. “The teacher read the whole thing – even the verse,” Holly said. “And she explained that is doesn’t matter what country you live in or what language you speak, the birthday of Jesus is something to be celebrated.” The Rist family’s neighbors and shopkeepers in their area also received candy canes. “It’s a small thing,” Holly said. “But we pray over it, and we believe that God’s Word never returns void.”

Christmas play offers a new twist on an old story

Backstage A vibrant home office is essential to SEND ministries around the globe. SEND Canada's "Backstage!" campaign helps you learn more about what goes on behind the scenes and how you can support SEND Canada's home office. Learn more about the SEND Canada Home Office.

Recharge Ministry is draining. If you don’t believe me, just ask your pastor. This is why we purposefully plan or coordinate with other ministries to give our team a couple of times a year to take a break and travel outside of their villages. The most important of those meetings is the SEND North Annual Conference. There are several reasons this gathering is so important (besides the legal requirement for a business meeting). Instead of describing those reasons, I invite you to hear directly from a few of our teammates. Please check out this fun two-minute video: https://youtu.be/j8a5mA3jtwg This gathering is the most expensive event we put together, and it is worth every penny. If you wish to help us cover the extra expenses of the conference, please contact us. You will help make Joe's job easier! (check out the video to understand how.)

Mentoring Matters: Steve's Story “I am so blessed to have a mentor. I was in college and trying to figure out what to do with my life, when a pastor and family friend made the choice to deliberately invest in my life. He spent hours talking with me and helping me grow as a person. He encouraged me to think creatively about how God could use my talents and abilities. He helped me figure out what I am good at - and what I’m not good at! He encouraged me to take courageous steps that helped me grow. When there were areas in my life I needed to improve, he challenged me to address them. Now, many years later, he continues to be my mentor. He continues to challenge me and has helped me navigate through some tough times. I have learned so much from his wisdom, and continue to be inspired by his example. Have you considered finding a mentor? I highly recommend it! And maybe it is time for you to consider mentoring someone!" Discover Ministry Opportunities

Mentoring Matters: Christine's Story My mentor and good friend, Cindy, lost her battle to cancer last month, but certainly won the fight of faith. Even to the end - there was joy in her heart. My friend was with her days before she died and said that while they worshiped together, it was like she was glowing. My friend wondered, maybe she's already halfway into Heaven. I like the thought of that. Jeff and Cindy are the kind of people who tossed around the idea of having a bunch of us young adults move in with them once their own kids left. Not in a "we want to mentor/disciple you" kind of way, in a "let's do life together" kind of way, which is essentially the same thing in practice. That's how it was - whenever I was at their house, we were making food or coffee or tea. I learned from Cindy while she helped me plan my wedding, while we went to the movies, while she was the vice principle as I taught for two months. I stayed overnight at their house so Jeff could help me with my Bible and Cindy could help me with my lesson plans. We went out for breakfast and we went out for frozen yogurt. They did our pre-marital counseling (and another mini-follow up session with me last month). Cindy reminds me of truth and of the need to slow down, create boundaries around your time, and be courageous. Discover Ministry Opportunities Learn about SEND's Ministry in Southeast Asia

Debriefing Questions Questions that can help you think through your cross-cultural ministry experience and evaluate next steps. 1. What part did you like best about your trip? 2. What did you learn about the country? The people? The culture? What do you miss about them? 3. What were you glad to leave behind? 4. What do you remember most about the people you served there? What would you rather forget? 5. Tell me about a special story, event, or person you met. 6. Tell me about something that surprised you or you didn’t expect. 7. Tell me about one thing for which you were most thankful to God. 8. What was the hardest part for you? The most disappointing? 9. What did you see God do in the people you met? 10. What did God do through you during the outreach? 11. Tell me the most important thing you learned about God and His character. 12. What did God show you about yourself? (i.e. physical limitations, spiritual gifts, basic values, etc.) 13. Tell me about what you learned about missionary life. 14. What did you learn about the world and missions (globally)? 15. What were your expectations before going? How were they met or not met? 16. Was there anything you would have done differently to prepare? 17. What things will be different for you now that you’re home? Difficult for you? 18. How do you feel about being home? Can you condense it into one word? More about debriefing Short-term debrief and hand-off: Reintegration includes making sure short-term ministry participants are fully functional in life and ministry, applying all the positive changes that the Spirit has brought into their lives as a result of their experience.

Fly-by Pastor It is a little cloudy, but overall we've had a clear view the last 30 minutes. Four people are squeezed into the Cessna 182. Our destination should be already in sight, but clouds are covering the area. Our pilot circles the area and finally finds a gap. A few seconds later we land on the snow covered airstrip. At the end of the runway are two men waiting for us on their snow machines. Everybody finds a seat on the machines or in the sled. A dozen people in the small log cabin church are already waiting for us. I start preaching right away. The little congregation has no pastor and for weeks we had planned to go there once a month, but there were two blizzards the last two weeks, and the minimum temperature for flying with the Cessna is -25° F. But now we are here. After the service, we have a potluck together. We have moose stew, salmon sandwiches, and dry fish. The people praise our coming out to their village. It´s afternoon, and the first teens show up in front of the church. We invite them in for lunch as well. The next two hours we have a teen program. In the beginning we play some games, later on, we talk about the first Christmas in Bethlehem. It is almost three o'clock, so we gear up again in our warm winter clothes before it gets too dark to fly. A tail wind gives us a quick return home. Our mission for today is accomplished. In the evening we get another foot of snow. -A SEND North team member Follow SEND North on social media: Facebook Twitter Google Plus LinkedIn Pinterest Download the free report, God's Extreme Love; Life and Ministry in the Far North.

The gospel in the marketplace

Lessons help little ones develop big hearts for the nations

Mentoring Matters: Merla's Story When I was at Bible college, I was mentored by a lady who was a retired missionary. She loved the Lord and cared deeply about me and the other lady she was mentoring. The thing I remember about her was her prayer life, she was a woman who spent time with God in prayer. There was one other person who mentored me, not formally but what I would call informal mentoring -I was challenged and changed just by observing his life. He was the youth pastor at my church during my last year of high school. I noticed many things about him - his love for God, his humility and just his servant heart. Anyone who was watching him would have been touch by how he lived. He also modelled what it meant to be in ministry, and it was because of this one year of working with and observing him that impacted my life and opened my heart to consider going into ministry. Discover Ministry Opportunities

Stories of courage and faith

Forward From Disaster - Japan Series The Great East Japan Earthquake left over 20,000 people either dead or missing. See the progress that has been made to rebuild and reclaim hope. Part of the series "Japan: Unshakable Hope." Find links to other videos in the series below.

6 Phases of Church Planting (SlideShare) SEND International's mission is to mobilize God’s people and engage the unreached in order to establish reproducing churches. This presentation explains how we go about starting new churches. View on SlideShare

Renewed excitement for giving After receiving the Stories of Change bite-sized projects brochure, a donor sent us this letter. She gave us permission to share it here: Dear SEND, How exciting to have the chance to help support this work! My husband and I heard the Lisu’s story years ago, but never dreamed we would hear about a present-day work among (and by) them, let alone have a chance to support it. We have our own (tiny) testimony to share. I have been over budget on groceries numerous times recently, and we had decided to work on using what we had in the freezer in order to be more faithful with what God has given us. I had sent off all the bills and all our pledges, and there was just the grocery money and a few dollars extra. Your “Stories of Change” came in the mail. We talked it over and decided we would see how the shopping went this week. After we prayed, I did the shopping. I usually spend at least $15-20 during the week after buying “the week’s” groceries. This week, we are finishing the week with a full gas tank, 5 meals left of what I had planned (I don’t know how), and $35 left from last week’s shopping money. We also were invited out twice in the past week. None of the designated funds had to be spent for so much as a jug of milk. To top it off (or more importantly), I feel an excitement about giving that I haven’t felt in a long time. I hope this small gift will help fill a need, but more importantly, that God will fill all the need, according to His riches in glory. May God bless you all richly, as He says—he who gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water in My name shall not lose his reward. Explore our bite-sized projects

‘White’ gathering brings light during a dark, cold season