Upcoming Missions Trip
"Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the
earth, and it abideth." Psalm 119: 90 Thankfully, we can rest assured that
God will be faithful to every generation, which of course includes us today.
God has been faithful to provide for our family at this time. I have been
keeping somewhat busy with part time work with my brother in his business,
Woodchuck Heating Ltd., and I am very thankful for that. However, keeping
busy in that work has also meant that I cannot do all the things I'd like
with my website or in Christain ministry. I have been continuing to teach
the adult Sunday School class here at our home church, People's Church,
Somerville, NB. I also serve as a deacon, and am on the Missions Committee
and on the trustees board.
There are some newer plans as well for our outreach in missions. In
the will of our Lord, we will now be going to Guatemala from June 12 to
19th, for a short term missions trip. Our trip to Guatemala in September of
this year is still a possibility, but this earlier trip in June is a more
recent development. This trip will be in cooperation with a team of students
from New Brunswick Bible Institute under the leadership of Jack Caron, plus
a number of people from our church. As of right now, it looks as if this
trip is almost to the capacity of people we can take, so we praise the Lord
for that. We are hoping to build at least two homes for families there in
Guatemala, working with the mission Arms of Jesus. Some of you may be
following the updates this mission has been posting on their ministry in
Haiti since the earthquake. http://www.armsofjesus.org/frameset.htm On this
same website can be found pictures of the type of homes we hope to provide
for and build.
There has already been enough money sent in for about two-thirds of
the cost of this trip for me to go. I am very thankful to God and to those
who have helped with this already. This has been a great encouragement to
me, and very unexpected. Our youngest son, Dustin, who is 17 and in Grade
11, is also making tentative plans to go with us on either this trip, or
perhaps later in September. If the Lord supplies the funds, we would like
him to go on this June trip. He wants to go, and it could be the planting of
a desire for more involvement in missions, if that is what the Lord wants
for him. All of the money sent in to Make Known Ministries so far has been
accumulating for this missions trip. We are praying, if it be God's will,
there will be enough for both Dustin and I to go in June.
Somerville, NB. All donations are fully receiptable through them, and can be sent to, People's Church, 2608 Route 103, Somerville, NB, E7P 3A9, with a note on a seperate piece of paper stating that the donation is for this ministry.
Having received hospitality so many times over the past 15 years from the Quechua people, it was a real privilege to be able to extend hospitality back to some of them. Yulve Cruz and Hector Condor are Quechua missionaries to their own people in Peru. They were at our church here, People's Church in Somerville, NB, this past Sunday. Yulve stayed with us on Saturday night, and we had a great time trying to exchange stories, in spite of him knowing very little English, and me knowing only a little Spanish and Quechua. I did find out that the Quechua dialect they speak is quite different than that in Bolivia, where I have been several times. But there are also many words the same.
Yulve and Hector work together in central Peru to reach their own people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are helped by our church through the ministry of Partners International. Grover Crosby of Partners, and Fernando Ocampo, a pastor to a Spanish church in Toronto, were travelling with them on this trip. Fernando was their Spanish translator. I know Grover Crosby from many years ago when he was with the Associated Gospel Churches. It was a delight to meet Fernando, and learn a little of his ministry in Toronto.
Yesterday they all came back to our home for a visit in the afternoon and evening, as they wanted to discuss the ministry I have been involved in, that of distributing Galcom radios to the Quechua in Bolivia.
Please be in prayer for them as they attempt to reach their own people in Peru. Yulve worked with Wycliffe translators to translate the New Testament into their Quechua dialect. We discussed the possibility of having that translation put onto a solar-powered audio device, so that they could distribute them among their people, many of whom cannot read the Bible for themselves. Hector is a dentist, and uses that ministry as Yulve and he travel to the mountain villages in Peru. They also have started a radio ministry, using a commercial station to broadcast locally to their own people in Peru in the Quechua language.
Yulve has a short video on youtube, which shows him at his home community. Two of his daughters are also in the video with him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JJNxmexocU&feature=related
February 26, 2010 Update
Make Known Ministries
February 26, 2010
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” Jude 24,25 Sometimes I think we can get so concerned about what we are doing for God in His work, that we forget that the Christian life is more about what God is doing for us. These verses from Jude emphasize that point. Much could be written about that, but this update letter is not about that, except to say that this truth has been brought home to me as I think about how to write this letter.
For many of you, this is the first letter you have received from Make Known Ministries. Some may have visited the website www.makeknownministries.com, and so are familiar with the beginnings of this venture. It started with our main focus being the distribution of Galcom radios among the Quechua people of Bolivia, but for now that has changed somewhat. I’ll give more on that further down.
The beginnings of Make Known Ministries was launched in August of 2009, but not until a few weeks later was it officially voted on that is was a part of the People’s Church, Somerville, NB. I didn’t initially announce that aspect of it, even though it was in the works, for it had to be voted upon by the members of the People’s Church at their September 2009 business meeting. So now, to make that clear to all, Make Known Ministries is a sub-ministry or under the direction of People’s Church, Somerville, NB. The board members of this mission are the pastor and the deacons of the church. Presently, those to whom I am answerable, and who will oversee this ministry as the advisory board, are the pastor, Rev. Darel Tozer, and the deacons, Robert (Bob) Booker, Derek McKinnon, Keith McMahon, and Vaughn Vidito. I am very thankful to the church, to these men, and to the Lord that I can have these godly men as my guides and helpers in this ministry. It was important to me that this ministry be under the direction of an established ministry, or at the least under the authority of other godly men, as I believe that is a biblical principle and a practical wise thing to do. So, a big thank-you goes out to the People’s Church of Somerville, NB.
People’s Church can be reached at:
2608 Route 103
Somerville, NB, E7P 3A9
or at:
pcsecretary@aernet.ca (Secretary)
dhtozer@aernet.ca (Pastor)
or at :
(506) 375-4327
(506) 375-4770
(506) 375-4406 (fax)
In order to do ministry on a full time or extended basis, one must be either independent financially, or have a financial support base to equal a salary. My original intention was to raise a support base, and this was the practical part that People’s Church could play as well, as through them we are able to give out legal tax receipts for income tax purposes to those who designate financial gifts for Make Known Ministries. In addition to basic living expenses or salary, I would need to raise support for the cost of the short term missions trips, so there was a formidable task before us to raise enough support for this ministry. My opinion is, that there must be a sufficient and culturally acceptable reason to raise that kind of support. For example, it is not acceptable culturally in our churches that Sunday School teachers or deacons receive a salary for their work in local churches, one reason being that it is not considered full time work. Similarly, it is not seen as acceptable that Christians receive a salary for going on occasional short term missions trips, although it is commonly acceptable that they may receive support for the cost of the trip itself. So to put this into my situation, originally I had been asked to take on a leadership role in the radio distribution ministry, and to lead at least one team in 2010, and more after that. That leadership role, which was to be a continuing and growing role, was the basis for me seeking personal support, or salary. That was originally my initial focus of ministry, and the reasoning behind raising both personal support and support for the cost of short term trips to Bolivia for radio distribution. However, that has recently changed, and the request for me to lead a team in 2010 has been taken away. With that gone, in my opinion, the basis for me raising personal support has also gone.
The board members of People’s Church, however, have encouraged me to continue with this ministry, and to wait on the Lord and see if there might be other opportunities of the Lord’s work that may open for us, that may grow into full time Christian ministry. One opportunity that is now before us is the present plan to lead a short term missions team to Guatemala with the Arms of Jesus Mission (http://www.armsofjesus.org/frameset.htm) in September 18-25th of 2010. For this I personally will need to raise about $1500.00 for the cost of the trip itself. Some people are already planning to go on this trip, but we need at least 6 or 7 more people to go to make this trip successful. The cost for each person is anticipated to be about $1500.00, and the trip is open to both men and women to go. Our goal at People’s Church is to raise money for the project aspect of the trip, which may, for example, be money for building one or more homes for needy families in Guatemala. So People’s Church will be raising that aspect of money for this trip. But the trip itself is open to others who want to go, not just members or adherents of People’s Church. So if this is a ministry that you would like to go on, or would like further information about, please contact me. Please see the Arms of Jesus website for details on the homes they build there, or other ministries they have. The director of this mission, Dr. Sam Martin, is coming to People’s Church for the weekend of April 24-25, 2010, and we are anticipating meeting him and learning more about this mission, and perhaps possible future ministry opportunities.
My present plan is to also make more regular updates on the www.makeknownministries.com website, so for those who have access or are interested, you can check that out. My doctrinal position is obviously in agreement with that of the People’s Church, and we are members there, but I would like to add on the website our statement of belief in my own words as well. So that is one goal. Also, I would like to add from time to time short messages or devotionals as well.
Please be in prayer for us as we continue to work and develop this ministry under the People’s Church. At the present time we are also working part time when opportunities come up to provide for our financial needs. Pray for us that there will be more opportunities for that, at least until such time comes that a more full time Christian ministry opens up for us. We do need and appreciate all your prayers for us.
In the service of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Wayne and Jean Culberson
Quechua Man receiving a radio and other small gifts
One of team members presents a Quechua man with a Galcom radio.
Ministry Update Jan. 8, 2010
Launching this ministry has presented more challenges than we anticipated, but hopefully we are getting some things sorted out. We got home from our last trip to Bolivia on October 18th, 2009. The trip went well, and we were able to distribute more radios to the Quechua people of the Bolivian Andes. After coming home, I was able to find temporary employment until Christmas time, which has helped with our living expenses. However, this job didn't leave much time for updating this site or developing ministry. Now I have some spare time again.
Alex and Greg Muir have been working to plan several trips to Bolivia for 2010, trips of about 2 weeks each for the months of March, April, July, August, possibly September, and November. I don't expect to be able to go on all of these trips, but as the Lord may supply, I am open to going. Anyone wishing to help with my trip expenses, or our personal support expenses, can email me at waynecul@nb.sympatico.ca . The purpose of these trips is to distribute more of the fixed-tuned solar powered radios made by Galcom ( www.galcom.org ), to the Quechua people in the isolated regions of the Bolivian Andes Mountains.
I am also planning to take a missions team to Guatemala with the Arms of Jesus Ministry, possibly September 18 -25th of 2010. Information about this ministry can be found at http://www.armsofjesus.org/frameset.htm .
The purpose of this trip would be for mission exposure and to assist the mission of course. It may involve construction of one or more houses, assistance at their school for children in Parramos, or some other ministry based on the skills of the team members. The size of the team will be about 10 to 15 people, and there is presently room for several more people to go. Please contact me if you are interested in going. The tentative cost of the trip as of now is projected to be about $1500.00 per person. This would include airfare from an airport in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia, Canada, as well as the costs of food, hotels, and transportation in Guatemala.
Anyone wishing more information about these trips, or how you can help with our expenses for these trips, can contact me by email.
Welcome to Make Known Ministries
If you would like to recieve updates on the development of this website and Make Known Ministries, please email Wayne Culberson:
waynecul@nb.sympatico.ca.