Amazon Xpeditions

TCC’s new ministry is Amazon Xpeditions, based in Cedar Hill, Texas.  Here is an excerpt from their Fall Report:

We have been training Moses, from the Mayuruna tribe, during the last three years, now he is ready to evangelize his own people among many villages in the jungle.  We have purchased a large canoe and a new “peque-peque” motor, plenty of fuel, food and lots of Christian literature to be distributed along these remote villages along uncharted rivers.

Moses’ work is to visit each village on those rivers, to spend one day in each village and share with the people what it means for him to have salvation in Jesus Christ.  Then he will share literature in Spanish or Portuguese languages and make arrangements to visit them again and start a Bible study once a month.  The next day Moses will go to the next village and repeat the process.  We expect him to start fifteen different Bible studies and by the end of 2012 to establish at least ten churches in “the Valley.”

At the same time we continue making trips to build the orphanage and install other water purification systems, reaching other villages from the other tribes.

Thank you for praying for Moses and for his ministry.  May the Lord bless you.

Meeting Medical Needs of the Ukraine

Here is a message from Dr. Regina, a medical missionary in the Ukraine:

Jesus’ ministry of preaching, teaching and healing provides us with a model for medical missions.  This model provides the basis for the vision behind medical ministry in Ukraine.  Many people will not admit spiritual need until they are sick and vulnerable.  A Christian doctor or nurse has unique openings to share the Gospel with their patients.  A medical ministry in Ukraine provides opportunities for one-on-one evangelism as well as coming alongside our Ukrainian partners to share experiences, encourage them and assist in their efforts.

Many villages have little or no local medical care.  The global economic crisis has not skipped over the Ukraine, and because of this, many cannot afford the few medicines that are available.  There is also significant corruption in the medical system.  (NOTE:  Because of the lack of Christian morals in leadership, almost every profession has significant corruption.  It is almost institutionalized in the culture.)  This makes it difficult for people to know which medical professionals they can trust not to cheat them.  Also, they cannot get proper medical care without cash payment.

This situation provides medical missions with an opportunity to meet a very real physical need while also opening the door for effective evangelism.

For us, summer is an opportunity to evangelize children and their parents through sports, as well as train the next group of leaders to expand sports ministry throughout the country.  During this past summer, we had twelve camps in different cities and villages of Ukraine.  For many children this was the highlight of their summer.  Many remember the sports experience; some remember the gifts; some remember the fellowship; and some saw these camps as a time to make a change in their lives.  This summer through sports camps we were able to reach 1,497 Ukrainian children with the gospel.  To God be the glory!