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Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul.
I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing
praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there
is not salvation.
How easy it is to move from the adoration of God and the
spiritual confidence it instils to the worship of lesser things.
It seems to me that the seed of all praise is the adoration of
God. Words of praise are empty if they do not spring from this
well. The deeper the well of informed adoration, the more sincere our
praise and the less likely we are to shift our confidence and trust
to things that cannot help us.
Ministry Highlights from January
We had a great month of overseas ministry in January. It
started in South Africa just a few days after Christmas. I had the
opportunity to teach a course at the Baptist Bible College of KwaZulu Natal
and then lead a forum on theological education in South Africa. There
were thirty some educators at the conference. At the conclusion of the
meeting I was asked to return in early March and lead them on in this
process. The goal is to develop an accredited ministry training program
that will serve multiple regions in the country, reflect local concerns and
effectively prepare men and women for biblical ministry in South Africa and
around the world. This is a tall order and one that will only be
realized as a result of God's blessing and your prayers.
Almost as soon as Karen and I returned from South Africa I was
off to the Bahamas to meet with theological educators based in the
Caribbean. It was a short (two days) but productive
trip. We were able to agree upon a model that will provide education for
a number of countries in the region. Task teams are now working on
various aspects of that model in preparation for our next meeting in
June.
From the Bahamas it was off to Arequipa, Peru where I had
the privilege of training leaders from ABWE's Spanish speaking
South American countries in the Essential Mission Components. Jim
Ruff (Center for Excellence in International Ministry) and Steve Douglas (ABWE
Peru) joined me in teaching the course. All the participants were
experienced church planters and educators. The discussions were
amazing, and I believe there will be a significant impact in Peru, Argentina,
Columbia, Chile, Ecuador and Paraguay as these leaders take the EMC
principles back to their fields. In this course the trainers
benefited as much as the participants because every day the room
was filled with an unimaginable amount of experience and spiritual
insight.
Financial Needs
As I mentioned in our last newsletter, our travel
deficit for 2009 was leveled at the end of the year. This means we
started 2010 in the black, but with a zero balance. Thanks to a
significant gift from Emmanuel Baptist Toledo, Ohio I had the funds necessary
to purchase tickets for my ministry in Peru in January, and Africa and Asia
during March and April (I will outline that trip in a minute).
However, we are in need of funding for the many trips I will have to take
within Asia while I am there.
A gift to our travel fund provides training for foreign bible
college and seminary faculty members. These men and women
are preparing their own people for ministry in their countries and on
mission fields around the world. However, they do not have the
opportunity to hone their own skills and knowledge. That is why it is
so important for us to take this training to them. Please pray that God
will continue to provide so that we can help develop the skills of those
training missionaries and pastor in nations outside the USA and Canada.
Looking Ahead
Let me outline our ministry plans for the next two
months.
March
1 depart for South Africa.
March
3-4 - Johannesburg: Developing a new theological education
initiative for South Africa
March
8-13 – Thailand: Asia Baptist Theological Seminary Triennial and Board
meetings
March
14- April 7 – Ministry in The Philippines :
·
Curriculum
development at Doane Baptist Bible Institute and Seminary, Iloilo
·
Speaking
at Baptist Bible Seminary and Institute, Manila,
·
Prefield
training curriculum development for Stir Asia mission agency;
·
Follow
up visits to Davo Bible Insittute and Fellowship Baptist College
·
Ministry
in churches
April
8 – Karen arrives in The Philippines (hooray) on an award ticket (frequent
flyer miles)
April
9-13 - Ministry to a Bible college in India
April
26 - Theological Educator's Biennial Conference, The Philippines
We
have a few slots open in this trip but our contacts in the Philippines will
have them filled before we depart. Please pray for God's blessing
as I have significant training opportunities with three schools and a
mission board. If you would like more detailed information on any of
this, please drop me an email and I will happily respond.
If
you would like to help financially in this ministry please send your gifts to
ABWE
International
Account
of Dale & Karen Marshfield – 111623
PO
Box 8585
Harrisburg,
PA 17105
Online
giving at ABWE.org (make sure to specify our account number)
If
you would like to see some new pictures go to our web site - marshfield.abwe.org
If
you would like to see the detailed development program we are pursuing with
schools in Africa and Asia please go here
Thank
you for your partnership in the Gospel. God bless.
Dale
Marshfield
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