Newsletter from David and Corne Storm

Storm News

January 2014

 

 

Faith In Action

 

In 1998 I remember writing a wee article for the newsletter of the Link Church, Dunfermline. It was about putting "Faith in Action", about doubt and risk and having the courage to leave what is comfortable. The occasion was my first mission trip with MAF to Uganda. Now 16 years later, almost 4 years of which have been spent overseas on short term trips, I find myself thinking along the same lines. The passage of having doubt - to having the courage to risk - to encountering belief is crucial to the continuing development of my faith and walk with God. Yes, the doubts and challenges are different, and there is much to look back on and testify to what has been overcome, all this leading to a growing and maturing faith in God. However, courage to take risks in the face of doubt and the unknown is still something that I am deeply challenged by. But for me, this is where life is found, an understanding of who I am developed and a greater depth in God discovered. We simply need to give God this opportunity!

 

 

2014 is looking busy and there are many journeys to prepare for.

 

 

22nd Feb - 3rd March: Egypt

Corne and Anneli are coming too!

A team of six, three of which I hope to see leading similar trips to the Middle East in the near future. So this trip will have an emphasis on training potential trip leaders. We will spend time in two separate locations. During the few days we will spend in our second location we will be asking in prayer whether there is a part of us to play via short term mission trips in the mobilisation of the Egyptian church into cross cultural mission. Join us in this prayer!

 

8th - 17th March and 23rd March - 1st April: Jordan

Corne and Anneli are coming too! They will stay with a friend and her two little girls.

Two separate teams of four men. We have an exciting and adventurous opportunity to work alongside a pioneering missionary. Way off the beaten track, we will trek 100km over five days between villages, staying with local people, purposefully looking to build friendships for future visits. Our prayer will be for a 'man of peace' as in Luke 10. Join with us in our prayer for this wonderful people! We anticipate that the Lord will open significant doors for us!

 

Friends from China and America will join the second of these trips, with the purpose being to recruit Chinese and Americans for similar style journeys to the Middle East in the near future. Again this is a big prayer, join us in asking the Lord for what is yet to happen!

 

Other Journeys Planned for 2014

 

2nd May - 5th June: Morocco. Five people.

 

July and August: Overland... Morocco and Western Sahara

 

October: Morocco High Atlas mountain trek for 8 days

 

November: Northern India for 3 weeks.

 

More info on these in the nest Storm News... If you are, or you know of anyone, who might be interested in going on one of these journeys/trips this year, please get in touch! There are spaces left! What are YOU asking the Lord for...to Disturb you about in this year?

 



 

Thank you for your ongoing interest, love and support. We appreciate you!

 

(This newsletter has been edited to remove sensitive information which cannot be shared publicly. If you would like to receive the Storm's newsletters by email, contact the church office for more information.)

 

Greetings From South Africa

As a church, we support Phil and Rachel Bowyer, through prayer and giving, in their work with Soul Action, South Africa. You can read more in previous posts about the vital work they are doing . Last week we received this message and gift from them.

"To all at the Link Church,

Thank you for your support and prayers throughout this year. As we continue to join in God's mission daily, people's lives are being transformed as a direct result of your on-going commitment to us as a family and to Soul Action.

This decoration has been formed into something beautiful from a piece of 'fallen' nature by Gugu, a young lady we had the privilege of meeting in April.

You may recall Phil sharing some of the steps that led to this creation when we visited the UK in June/July.

Gugu was working the streets of Durban, until some of the people God encouraged us to gather together saw an opportunity to work together to begin to bring restoration to her life.

We hope you like the give and have a lovely Christmas and New Year.

God bless,
Phil, Rachel and Zac."

And finally....

We have recently gone from this:

 

To this:

 

 

A major improvement, we are sure you'll agree! This was accomplished thanks to the many generous donations to our building fund, and a grant from Awards for All Scotland.

Storehouse and Starter Packs in 2013

STOREHOUSE

Through our Storehouse ministry we seek to help those who, for many reasons, may have a shortage of food or basic household items. During 2013 we have recieved requests on a regular basis to help people facing crisis or difficult times. Thanks to the faithful giving of Link members we have again been able to respond to every request by providing food parcels and/or Asda vouchers. A typical food parcel contains basics such as teabags, coffee, sugar, salt, tinned goods, pasta and rice and pasta/rice sauces, breakfast cereal, biscuits, toiletries and household cleaning items.

During 2013 Storehouse has supplied:

• Food parcels -   3 to Link members; 5 to outside agencies (e.g. Women's Aid) 
• Asda vouchers - £120 in total to Link members and outside agencies

We also collected again for Christmas Hampers and this year have four ready to go to Link Church members and Women's Aid . Each hamper contained a selection of basic food items and Christmas treats.
 

Even after all this giving we still have 2 food parcels and some vouchers stored, ready to meet emergency needs. We are aware that the Christmas period can bring its own difficulty and crisis to many people, and our contacts at Women's Aid know they can call us at any time should a woman in their care need this kind of help.

We can only meet needs through Storehouse as we become aware of them. Do you know someone in need? Or have an idea that could help us help more people through Storehouse? Please speak to Jackie or Ruth.

 

"This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God."

2 Corinthians 9: 12

 STARTER PACKS

Through our contacts with Women's Aid we also provide Starter Packs to women who are moving into their own accommodation. In these circumstances, women can receive grants to help with the purchase of furniture etc, but these cannot be used for the basic household essentials which we would all struggle to do without. Each Starter Pack contains essential items such as crockery, cutlery, saucepans, a toaster, iron and kettle. During 2013, there has been a constant demand for Starter Packs and we have given out at least one per month. There have been times when the lack of these items has been the only holdup to a woman finally moving into her accommodation and it has been necessary to put a pack together very quickly indeed! If you would like to know more about the Starter Packs, please speak to Jackie or Mo.

These vital ministries could not do so much without the regular giving of the people of Link Church. Those of us responsible for handing over the food parcels and packs hear so often that they are going to meet desperate needs and of how people have been touched by the kindness and love shown to them through our giving. If you have given in any way to Storehouse or Starter Packs during this year, be encouraged to know that your giving is making a huge difference to many lives.

"To everyone at Link Church, thanks for everything that the church has given me and my family for my new home. The starter pack was a great help. Thank you very much."

(Thank you message from the recipient of a starter pack this year.)

News from Sunny Lahore!

Here we are in sunny Lahore enjoying the warmth but not the flies which keep buzzing me as I type. We are now staying with Esther for three days, before we go back to Qaiser's for the last few days. Last night Andy spoke in a tent meeting in a village on the edge of Lahore. There were more than 250 people there and God moved with power. We were accompanied by 30 young men on motorbikes, some 3 to a bike!

This morning I had the joy of speaking to the daily morning ladies' meeting, and Andy and I prayed for many sick ones. I will be teaching the second part of the message tomorrow morning. Andy will be preaching again tonight, but he is having trouble finding time to prepare as people keep coming to the house for prayer for their families, which is great, but distracting.

Keeping control of our schedule is somewhat difficult as plans are continually changed by others, leading to problems with overlap. Please pray that we are able to do what God wants rather than what man thinks is good. We are trying to fit in all we can though. This Friday we will not be able to do anything as there is risks of trouble for all the communities due to a Shia Muslim holy day, but we will still have Saturday and Sunday to work.

We are both well, but taking care of what we eat and drink. Thank you for praying. We feel your support.

Andy & Heather

Update from the Turnbulls in Pakistan

Here is the latest news from Andy and Heather in Pakistan. They have had problems so far with emails but managed to get this one out this weekend:

Heather has not been well and I have had to leave her in Lahore for the weekend to recover fully. I am in Raiwind which is currently hosting a Shia Muslim conference with 2.5 million Muslims being stirred up for Jihad and gun fire in the air, but is not stopping us meeting and preaching in the local churches. I have just finished one session (midnight) and have two meetings tomorrow (Sunday). We are seeing God move in the Pastors meetings, with a fully understanding of scripture producing changes in lives and ministry, and also in the church meetings where we have seen healings and salvation.

Please pray for Heather's full recovery and for spiritual strength for us both as we enter into the busier second week.

The Moore Family in Bali

Recent updates from the Moore family in Bali:

Language   Well...we've now been here six months...seriously.  The good news is, we are better able to communicate, on most days, in Indonesian.  The not-so-good news is, I am now less than dependable in my correspondence with people in two languages.  Luckily, people here are extremely gracious and accepting of us "boolays."  That word is slang for whities and I actually have no idea how to spell it...so here it is the way it sounds...for the most part, if we even try to speak Indonesian, they go with it.   At any rate...here's a brief update on the "business" side of things here:    (1)  Our primary physical job here at present is learning language.    (2)  We are house hunting again since this lease is up in January, and the rent has significantly "naiked."  Kami sangat suka kata itu, "naik."  (We really like that word, "naik").  You say it like this, "nike." It is quite useful and varied in meaning.  If you ride or drive a vehicle or animal (horse, donkey, etc), you naik it.  If you go up the stairs, you naik them.  If the price increased, it naiked.  That may be it for real meanings...but we have expanded its versatility amongst ourselves.    (3)  We are beginning to get a better picture of what our physical niche might be here (more later).    (4)  We have been encouraged by our relationships with our current neighbors.  One precocious little girl even borrowed our Alkitab story book (children's Bible in Indonesian) to read at home and take to school!  I am praying that there will be opportunity to share the whole Truth with her soon.    (5)  We are continually astounded and blessed by our friends...both here and back hom Maybe that's it for now...though, now that I have remembered that I can do this from my phone, and not wait for the home internet to be working, I will do my level best to do this again soon...hold me to it. Agung Road Trip     Box of Chocolates     You never quite know what might offer itself on our little street. Rolling vendors of all sorts...various foods, ice cream, buckets, brooms, toys...we mostly ignore the sound of them these days. But one day, the kids in out yard got very excited when they heard a "drum" with a distinctive sound. Right outside our gate was a man on a bicycle with a monkey in a box. They put on quite a show...every bit as good as something you might see at a circus...right in front of our house! When it was over...it set us back Rp15000... But we consider that a buck fifty well spent ;)