In this Issue:

“Please Come Back Again, and

We Are Waiting”……………..………………………………... 2

Just Telling Stories …………………………………………………….. 6

Camping in the Southern Hemisphere ..…………………. 10

Praying for ‘La Victoire’ in Toulouse …...……….…………. 14

Candidate Orientation: A Blessing for the Future …. 17

2

Democratic Republic of Congo (BCM World) — When BCM missionaries Dr. Djawotho Kisa and Mrs. Pat Govender stepped from an MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) prop plane onto the grass airstrip of Aungba in eastern DRC, prepared to begin a scheduled children’s ministry training seminar, they weren’t expecting to be greeted as visiting royalty. A singing, hand-clapping crowd swarmed the plane. Animal horns blew. Women offered calabashes filled with warm water to wash away their journey’s dust. The celebration? A traditional welcome for visitors bringing good news to the village. In this case, that BCM had returned to the Congo! Bible Centered Ministries International (then the Bible Club Movement) has had a rich past history of ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa’s second largest country straddling the equatorial center of Africa. By the 1960s, BCM children’s curriculum was being used for religion classes in both Christian and public DRC schools. In 1970 BCM missionary Margery Livingston arrived in the DRC in partnership with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) to teach Bible in the public school system and introduce Bible clubs within AIM churches. Footsteps of Faith lessons were translated into French, Bangala, Lingala, Swahili. Margery was joined later by BCM colleagues Longboyo Anyamvoko, Lois Pellegrin and Beryl Shannon. The Bible club ministry spread to other regions and church/mission organizations across northeast DRC. In 1975 the government prohibited teaching Bible in public schools. During following decades, the Congolese people endured recurring wars, rebel uprisings, resultant poverty, famine and constant instability. But churches also sprang up throughout the region, along with Bible clubs and other children’s ministry.

“PLEASE COME BACK AGAIN, AND WE ARE WAITING!” By: Jeanette Windle with Dr. Djawotho Kisa and Mrs. Pat Govender

Dr. Kisa and Pat G. receive warm welcome

Touchdown on Aungba strip

3

Then in 1991 war broke out in earnest. All missionaries were evacuated from the region. Within a short time, all BCM translated material had been destroyed. Children’s ministry leaders continued teaching with a few rescued old lesson books. By 2000, Congolese church leaders had contacted Margery Livingston (current married name Dickinson), now retired in the US, pleading for materials. Over the next decade, several donation projects made possible new printings of curriculum in Swahili and Bangala, though distribution in the war zones proved difficult (see Footsteps of Faith in War-torn Congo, BCM World, Spring 2009). By this time Congolese nationals Dr. Djawotho and Asinata Kisa were serving as missionaries with BCM International. Djawotho had grown up the son of AIM evangelists in northeast DRC. He was pursuing a university degree in business when he accepted God’s call to ministry in 1974. After studying theology in Paris, France, Djawotho and his wife Asinata returned to Bunia, northeast DRC’s largest city. While Djawotho pastored a church and conducted evangelistic outreach in surrounded towns and villages, Asinata headed up women’s ministries in Bunia. Then in 1986, the Kisa family traveled to Philadelphia, PA, in the United States for Djawotho to pursue a doctoral degree. Their plans were to return to ministry in Bunia once studies were completed. But by that time, war was ravaging Bunia, the missionaries evacuated, local churches engulfed in turmoil, making it too dangerous to return, especially since by now the Kisa family included four sons and a daughter. As the Kisas began praying about a ministry within the USA, contacts through Margery Livingston and other BCM missionaries led them to apply to BCM. Appointed BCM missionaries in 1993, the Kisus ministered in children’s ministries in both New Jersey and Philadelphia area. But the situation in the DRC was never far from their heart. In 2003 Asinata traveled to DRC’s capital city, Kinshasa, in the far west of the country, to conduct a Christian leadership training conference. In 2005 Asinata returned with BCM Philadelphia missionaries Loraine Stirneman and Christine Wigden. More than 150 leaders from 50 denominations attended the training. Then in 2010, Dr. Djawotho returned to Bunia and nearby Aungba to visit family. Wherever he traveled, he took time to visit churches and evaluate the state of children’s ministries and teaching materials. Everywhere he found Sunday school and other children and youth programs closed down. Due to the region’s population explosion, children and youth far outnumbered adults in the churches, but little teaching was directed at them beyond sitting with the adults in church services. With no programs addressing their needs, Christian youth were abandoning the church once they reached their teens. Even worse, pastors and teachers were burnt out with their communities ’ overwhelming physical, social, spiritual needs and displayed neither interest nor vision for children and youth outreach.

Dr. Djawotho Kisa and Pat Govender with Bishop Marini Bodho

4

“This specific need broke my heart,” shares Dr. Kisa. Returning to the USA, Djawotho proposed a revival of BCM’s mission to train up children’s ministry leadership in the DRC. In 2011, Djawotho and Asinata resigned from BCM USA ministry to become full-time members of BCM in Africa. But Djawotho’s vision went far beyond reestablishing children’s ministry in Bunia and surrounding regions. The desperate need for trained children’s ministry leaders extended throughout all Congolese church denominations. On behalf of BCM, Dr.

Kisa was appointed to make contact with Bishop Marini Bodho, president of the CCC (Church of Christ in Congo), the umbrella organization of more than sixty Protestant denominations across the DRC. In January, 2014, BCM president Dr. Martin Windle flew to Kinshasa to meet with Bishop Marini and other CCC leaders (Djawotho was scheduled to travel with him, but flight was cancelled due to snow storms). From that meeting came an invitation for BCM to partner with church denominations across the DRC in training Sunday school and Bible class teachers using BCM’s children’s ministry curriculum In Step With the Master Teacher. Just a month later, Dr. Kisa and Mrs. Pat Govender, a BCM missionary from South Africa, arrived in Bunia to begin the first round of training seminars. Pat had grown up in a Hindu home and was led to Christ by the man who became her husband, Dave Govender, already a convert from Hinduism. Pat served in children’s and youth ministry for 19 years with Scripture Union. In 2009, Pat graduated from BCM’s Train The Trainer (TTT) program in Johannesburg, SA. In 2010 she received the added certification as a Master Trainer in the Netherlands and was appointed coordinator of BCM Africa’s Children’s Worker Training Program. Since then she has taught ISMT seminars from South Africa to Nigeria and as far afield as Sri Lanka and Ireland. The site for the team’s first training seminar, Aungba, had once been a mission station where missionaries built schools, a hospital and clinic, evangelizing and planting churches in surrounding villages. Evacuated due to the armed conflict, Aungba had not been visited by missionaries in a decade. Surviving church congregations struggled with extreme poverty, growing their food on small farm plots, selling what they could spare for cash necessities like school fees and clothing. Their reception of Dr. Kisa and Pat Govender was jubilant. 15 leaders from three regions—Aungba, Kisangani, Blue Mountains (Bunia)—arrived for the training conference February 17-19. An outreach event into a local school allowed participants to put lessons immediately into practice with more than 600 children. By end of the training, leaders were excited to return to their own regions and replicate the training among their own churches. A special bonus was a gift from BCM of Footsteps of Faith curriculum in Lingala, Swahili and French to be distributed among the churches.

Aungba Welcome

Putting ISMT into practice-DRC

5

Dr. Kisa and Pat Govender then traveled more than 600 kilometers south of Bunia to Goma, a city edging Lake Kivu on the DRC/Rwanda border. The city had been hit hard by years of guerrilla fighting and a volcanic eruption that a decade earlier had buried 40% of the city in lava. Jolting over roads so full of pot-holes a local nickname is “dancing roads”, Dr. Kisa and Pat found much of the city still devastated with a poverty even worse than Aungba. Among the challenges were security issues that required shutting down training mid-afternoon, transport difficulties that caused students to arrive tardy, scant provisions to feed participants. Pat found herself the only woman at the large Catholic seminary complex where they were lodged.

“I was very scared and even asked if they could move me to where two nuns lived,” Pat shared later. “They said that it was even more inconvenient for me to stay there, so I just prayed harder and went to bed.” But 46 church leaders arrived to participate in the ISMT training course February 25-28, with 40 receiving certificates for completing the training. 13 students continued on with additional Train The Trainer (TTT) classes. Many more applied for training than available teaching materials, room, or even food made possible. The repeated plea Dr. Kisa and Pat Govender heard from Aungba to Bunia to Goma became the slogan of their time in the DRC: "Please Come Back Again, and We Are Waiting!" That is just what both BCM missionaries have in mind. Pat Govender shares, “I know we have just come back, but I feel strongly in my heart that we need to make another trip as soon as possible, to grab this opportunity while it is gaining momentum. They are now training others with the little they have. Our goal is to see at least a few trainers being trained well for each church denomination within the next two years.”

“Our ultimate goal, which is our vision too,” adds Dr. Djawotho Kisa, “is that all Congolese churches be given the opportunity to reach children for Jesus Christ."

Already one church group has written that they have begun implementing the ISMT training for Sunday school teachers across the 29 parishes of their denomination. A pastor shared how he was showing his family what he’d learned in the training when a Christian neighbor stopped by to watch. She begged him to come share the training with teachers of their own church denomination and pledged herself to find necessary funds to set up the training.

Dr. Kisa and Pat Govender have both committed to return soon to the DRC, if possible with additional team members. But a follow-up trip requires both stability and funds. They share their own urgent request for prayer: “Pray for God’s perfect timing for the next trip. Due to all the trouble that has been happening there, we don’t know what the future holds for the people in Congo. We need to know when God wants to go and not rely on our own wisdom. Then we do have to pray for funding for these trips.”

BCM remains pledged to heed the plea of the Congolese church: “PLEASE COME BACK AGAIN, AND WE ARE WAITING!”

If you would like to be a part of BCM’s mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, donations can be made HERE.

ISMT teaching session-DRC

6

Nairobi, Kenya (BCM World)—

Pulling out a teacher’s manual or

flipping open a laptop to start up

a PowerPoint presentation are

common practices these days for

teaching a Bible class. But what

does one do in a country like

Kenya where such resources are

not readily available? One BCM

missionary Marion Jean Grant

has an answer for sharing the

Word of God without curricula,

visuals, or props. Because

ultimately, to teach the Bible one

really needs only one teaching

aid: the Bible itself!

A BCM missionary to Pakistan for

upwards of 20 years, Marion

Jean Grant, or “MJ”, is also

Associate Director for CBS4Kids.

Or in long form, Chronological Bible Storytelling for Children. CBS is a method of Bible teaching that walks

children through the entire Bible on their own age level. As the children grow, if they follow this particular

chronological system, they will walk through the Bible over and over, but focusing on different stories and

different truths about God.

Upon returning from Pakistan to Canada in 1998, MJ began conducting children’s ministry workshops across

Canada. Since 2010, she has also been the BCM Canada Missions Mobilizer while still training children’s ministry

workers. To that MJ has now added teaching chronological Bible storytelling and not just in Canada. Twice a year,

MJ travels abroad to teach CBS to missionaries and national children’s ministry workers around the world.

Marion Grant explains just what CBS entails: “Chronological Bible Storying uses 60 basic stories to introduce the

Bible and how God put the Bible together. Children come to understand God's love, His dealing with people and

how He wants us to love Him. It also explains salvation, how we can trust Jesus and then walk with Him.”

Teaching Scripture chronologically is not a new concept. In fact, BCM International’s own Sunday School material,

“Footsteps of Faith”, is a chronological teaching method. What makes CBS unique, though, is in its simplicity,

needing minimal purchased or printed material.

CBS introduces the Bible on a child’s age level, in a clear format, even if the child (or teacher!) has barely any

other Bible knowledge. All sixty Bible stories are compiled into one book. These are written in both a bullet-point

fashion as well as a storytelling script. In this way, a teacher can tailor the story to their own unique method of

storytelling.

JUST TELLING STORIES By: Lisa Biegert

Marion Grant with Kenyan children and pastor

7

MJ herself teaches sixteen different “storying” techniques. These include using objects to tell the story. Handing

out pieces of the story to audience members and having them read their script at the appropriate times. Getting

children up on stage, frozen in a position that tells part of the story. Each method is unique, captures the

audience’s attention (even if the audience is not solely children), and tells the story in a simple, yet poignant way.

When a CBS workshop is taught, the majority of the time is spent on teaching these various methods of

storytelling.

In addition to basic storying, the CBS program also offers as simple visual aid different sizes of “panels”—in

essence, banners that are made in a quilt-like format, divided into squares like quilting blocks. Each square has a

picture corresponding to a particular Bible story, 60 in total. Banners come in different sizes, some as large as a

quilt that could cover a child’s bed, others as small as a bandana. These simple, but beautiful visual aids help keep

the children’s attention during each Bible story as well as helping them see where each story fits, quite literally,

into the bigger picture. The panel or squares can also be reproduced as individual coloring sheets to help

reinforce each lesson.

In October 2013, MJ was invited to Kenya in cooperation with Africa Inland Mission to teach CBS in a variety of

workshops and settings over the course of five weeks. Kenya lies just off the Indian Ocean south of Somalia and

Ethiopia on the eastern side of Africa. Famous for its safaris and presence of the “Big Five” (lions, giraffes,

rhinoceroses, leopards and hippopotamuses), Kenya is also home to Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical

lake, and Mt. Kilimanjaro, whose year-round snow peaks are visible even across the southern border into

Tanzania. Its beautiful beaches play host to international yacht competitions.

But Kenya is also a nation where much of the population lives in extreme poverty. With forty-two percent of

Kenya’s population under the age of 15, reaching children with the Gospel is an urgent need. But Bible class

curricula and visual aids are not only expensive and difficult to come by, they are simply are not widely available

in the country’s national language of

Swahili. MJ’s goal was to train

children’s workers and pastors how to

effectively reach this large

demographic with the Gospel in a way

that requires little to no visual aids and

extraneous purchases.

During her time in Kenya, MJ worked

with Africa Inland Mission’s

International Children’s Consultant,

Carolyn Cummings. Carolyn helped MJ

navigate exhaust-filled, crowded

streets and cramped city buses. They

made their way through muddy, pot-

holed streets, dodging traffic, and

arrived at a Ghetto Education School.

There MJ assisted Carolyn in teaching

a preschool Bible class with crafts and

she learned a Swahili song. CBS Students with Story Panels

8

MJ began her series of workshops on CBS

in the Kibera Slum—the biggest and

poorest African slum with about one

million inhabitants. In a small cement

building with a cement backyard, MJ

taught two separate groups of

neighborhood women the chronological

method. Says MJ, “Some did very well at

presenting the Gospel story. I was

encouraged by the opportunities they had

on Sunday to use storying with family and

friends. Most of these women are Roman

Catholics.”

Later in her trip, MJ was able to go back to

the Kibera Slum and present a Bible story

using this method to two separate

schools. At the first school, Hope School,

120 children and five teachers were

present during the Bible story. For the

second presentation at an Education

Centre, 70 children were in attendance.

Over the course of her five weeks in

Kenya, MJ taught eight CBS workshops in

different regions of the country with

about 200 people in attendance. A

number of children came with their

parents, so MJ used them as her audience

as she demonstrated how CBS is

conducted.

A typical workshop is interactive and

hands-on. MJ demonstrated five of the

sixteen storytelling methods. Then the

group was divided up so they could

practice together. One method she taught

is called “Story on a Pole.” MJ describes it:

“You put a piece of clothing on the pole to

represent the person in the story. I make

up scripts of the story. For example, the

story of the prodigal son. I used jackets

from people in the audience to represent

the father and two sons. One person tells

the story. Two others hold the pole.”

Typical Kenya SS Class

Workshop Students

9

After practicing, volunteers were chosen to demonstrate to the entire class how to tell the story. Teams worked

on facial expressions, specifically in realizing how important one’s face is while telling a story. MJ illustrated how

to tell a few simple stories, including telling the Ten Commandments using just one’s hands and using a string

trick to teach Psalm 119:11.

Participants included pastors, children’s ministry leaders, short and full-term missionaries. Most were fluent in

English, so MJ only had to use a translator once. As they left, students expressed their excitement to put CBS into

practice with their children’s classes and to teach others in their churches who were not able to attend the

workshops.

One participating church was especially excited to receive the CBS material. During a Sunday church service with

MJ and Carolyn Cummings in attendance, the pastor had the material all dedicated to the glory of God. MJ recalls:

“At the end of the service, two chickens were being auctioned off for a special project. The black chicken was

given to Carolyn as thanks for speaking in the service that morning. Laughing, I said to Carolyn, ‘I am not holding

that live chicken all the way to Nairobi!’”

She’d spoken too soon. A moment later, the brown chicken was offered to Marion as thanks for coming to teach

a workshop. MJ insisted she was not going to hold TWO live chickens on her lap in the car back to Nairobi.

Instead, MJ remembers with a smile, “The pastor’s family enjoyed a chicken dinner. I enjoyed my two hour drive

back to Nairobi without the chickens!”

Chronological Bible Storytelling is, in MJ’s words, “Mushrooming!” News about this innovative method of

teaching children continues to spread. MJ has already visited Cuba to teach CBS and has an invitation to do the

same in additional African countries. Current plans include follow-up trips to both Cuba and Kenya. MJ also

travels to various Canadian Bible Colleges and Seminaries to teach CBS workshops.

MJ sums up: “I like the CBS method because so many of our children are not being taught the Bible in North

America and globally.”

With the help of BCM missionary Marion Grant and CBS4Kids, hopefully that will soon change.

Students Practicing CBS Technique

10

Lima, Peru (BCM World)—The last day

of camp season had arrived at BCM

Peru’s campground in Pachaca mac, a

half hour away from Peru’s capital city,

Lima. Even from a distance could be

heard the resounding chant of an

entire auditorium full of teenagers

singing at the top of their lungs, “Te doy

gloria, gloria, a ti Jesús” (“We give you

glory, glory, Jesus”). These campers

had been enjoying the camp

atmosphere for just one week. Still,

each knew life would not be the same

for them the next day.

BCM Peru began operations in 1993 when Carlos and Marion Odicio started a mission with a very particular

vision which still remains its main focus: reaching children for Christ. The ministry began in the capital city,

Lima, with open air activities inviting children to come out of their houses to the streets, parks or plazas to

participate in a show with clowns, mimes, songs and games, all designed to creatively share the gospel with

them. Sunday school classes and children’s ministries in both Peru and North America were encouraged to

collect pennies and other coins to fund the ministry, so the program became known as “Pennies for Peru”. In

a country where children´s curiosity seems to exceed the norm and parents appreciate time off from their

children, carrying out these activities in Peruvian towns and cities has never been a problem.

Soon a number of children’s Bible Clubs had been established. The next logical step was a camp ministry so

these children could learn more about God and His Word. God provided a property thirty minutes drive

from Lima in the small town of Pachaca mac, where BCM Peru has been able to develop a camp complex.

Dining hall fun

CAMPING IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE By: Shantal Artieda, BCM Peru

11

The camp first opened its doors to receive children and teenagers in 2001. The camp goal is to allow

campers to enjoy a time away from their regular lives, a time set apart to teach them about the wonders of a

great God and the personal relationship He wants with each one of them. Over the years campers have come

and gone and the camp experience has changed. But one thing remains the same: the focus is set on God and

the decisions these campers can make before their God.

The 2014 camp season lasted for seven weeks from January to February, which is the summer season since

Peru is in the southern hemisphere. This included three children´s camps and four for teenagers and youth.

Months of preparation and rehearsals had already been invested by BCM Peru missionaries, led by camp

directors Daniel and Joan Irrazabal, and the camp staff, composed mainly of students from BCM Peru´s Bible

Institute as well as volunteers. The first group of campers arrived the second week of January. Though only

forty campers had been expected, the staff were thrilled to receive 135 children for the first week of the

season. Such a large group was a challenge, but one they were happy to take.

The focus for the 2014 camp season was Israel vs. Egypt. Classes, devotion time, object lessons and special

chapel time at nights had been prepared around these two important nations. During the week, campers

learned about the traditions and characteristics of the Egyptians in contrast with the Israelites and how the

Israelites under oppression had to learn to stay true to the one true God who would deliver them from

slavery. The object was to compare Egypt to the world we live in with its worldly influences and obstacles

Christians face, and how Israel was chosen as a nation, not because they were better or bigger, but because

God chose them to be separated for God, just as He has chosen us to follow Him and serve Him.

The topic and theme may sound like a big bite for young children. But the whole program was developed to

meet the children at their own level, explaining complex truths in a simple and biblical way they could

understand, through songs, dramas with colorful costumes as well as a little humor to keep it fun for kids

ranging from teenagers clear down to four years old.

Bible lesson time

12

This was the first time the staff had received such a young camper and a deaf one at that! A young lady,

Karen Quiroz, had graduated a few years ago from BCM Peru´s Bible Institute. Since then she has devoted

her life to work with deaf children. This year Karen returned to the camp as a counselor and translator to

eight of the deaf children she works with on a regular basis. To see these children make friends and

participate in the games, worship time and classes was heartwarming. In the end, four of them trusted Jesus

as Savior and the others made important decisions regarding their spiritual lives.

Fun is an important part of the BCM Peru camp experience. Campers participate in a lively program of

activities, games and challenges throughout the week. They are divided into three teams to encourage

healthy competition, teamwork and sportsmanship, and excitement can be seen in faces and heard in noisy

rooting for their own team as they accumulate points each day. Campers also enjoy playing soccer, volley

ball, swimming in the pool and going on excursions near the camp property.

Each counselor has between seven to ten campers in their room each week. These volunteers do an amazing

job of helping campers participate in the competitions and pay attention during classes. Above all, they are

in charge of caring for the lives of each camper. Their job is to get to know the campers personally, talk to

them and get to know their hearts in a more intimate level, helping campers realize what God is trying to

show them throughout the week and guiding them in making right decisions that will bring glory to God.

At a special bonfire on the last day of each week, the children shared the decisions they’d made before God

and the desires of their hearts: “One day I would like to be a missionary.” . . . “When I grow up, I want to do

what the people at this camp do.”

To watch little boys and girls at the bonfire committing to dedicate their lives to God was very moving.

Sincerity and assurance could be seen in their faces as they prayed. Some of them even wept as they

promised their Creator to be a light shining bright for His glory in this world.

Peru camp last night bonfire

13

The teenagers who come to the camps are quite a different story. A difficult life and street smarts have taken

away innocence they once possessed as children. Most of the teenage groups who come to camp are part of

Compassion Ministries in Lima. These young boys and girls are in desperate need of structure, love and

understanding. Some are confused as far as their beliefs. Some are just rebellious and indifferent to anything

anyone has to say about God and living a godly life.

However, no heart is too tough to be

touched by God. It was encouraging

to receive feedback from some of

these teenagers: “This was the best

camp of my life. It really helped me

in my spiritual life and I truly

enjoyed it a lot.” . . . “What a

beautiful week I’ve had with

everyone at the camp. Continue to

press on in what you do. There is a

reward in the Heavens.” . . . “You

helped me to appreciate everything

the Lord gives me” . . . “This truly

was one experience I will never

forget. For many like me, you are a

fundamental part of our lives. Thank

you!”

During the seven weeks of camp

season, the camp staff was able to

minister to 764 campers. 207 of

them trusted Christ for salvation.

552 made decisions to dedicate their

lives to God, committing to stay pure

and shine as a light for God in this

world, being an example of what a

Christian life should look like to

their parents, family, friends in

school and in their neighborhoods.

These are all decisions that surely

are not easy to make, but will have

an unquestionable outcome that will

affect the lives of these campers

eternally.

“We have seen groups come and go for the past seven weeks,” sums up Jonatan Odicio, BCM Peru Director.

“And for us too nothing will be the same as they will stay in our hearts forever!”

Bible time at teen camp

A moment of prayer

14

France (BCM World) —Four year old

Claire was still too young to attend BCM

children’s Summer Camp in Toulouse,

France. But BCM France directors

Chuck and Cathy Powers yielded to her

pleas to accompany her older brother.

Chuck Powers remembers the little girl

as the week’s most enthusiastic camper,

wildly yelling during the games, “La

victoire, la victoire!” (victory, victory!).

Thirteen years later in 2014, Claire was

back at camp. But this time as a helper at

Winter Camp. This year’s camp co-

director, BCM France missionary

Elizabeth Anneville, shares, “Last week,

when Claire joined us to help out with

camp, we again saw how God is indeed victorious!”

If every child who comes to Jesus Christ is indeed a victory, such victories can seem more hard-fought in France

than in countries less hostile to the Gospel. To the French, religion has been tied historically to the political and

social authority of the Roman Catholic church. Democracy included throwing off that yoke. The new France is

fiercely secular with only 8% of its 62 million residents attending religious services.

Into that spiritual vacuum has exploded the occult with more registered mediums, warlocks, and witches than

pastors or priests. While mosques are crowded with Muslim immigrants and converts, fewer than one evangelical

protestant church exists per 30,000 population, most under 50 in attendance. Even fewer outreaches exist to reach

children with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the French culture, religion is personal, private, not to be intruded on

others. The result—an entire generation of French children growing up without spiritual or moral foundation.

Located just north of the Pyrenees Mountains near the border of Spain, Toulouse is France’s fourth largest city

with more than a million inhabitants. The center of Europe’s aerospace industry, the city is a bustling industrial

hub, home to immigrants from dozens of nationalities. BCM missionaries Chuck and Cathy Powers arrived in

Toulouse, France, in 1988. Through their ministry, a church was planted. When God miraculously opened doors to

acquire a six thousand meter complex in a low-income neighborhood, Centre SEPT (Center Seven) was born (see

BCM World Fall 2007).

A service center for the Toulouse evangelical protestant community, Centre SEPT offers training resources for

pastors, missionaries, and teachers as well as youth and children’s ministries. There are Christian seminars,

concerts, outreaches, a Bible club, a small Christian school as well as holiday camps. A variety of church

congregations as diverse as Congolese, Arab, Gypsy, Brazilian, Vietnamese, and of course, French, use its facilities

for worship services.

PRAYING FOR ‘LA VICTOIRE’ IN TOULOUSE By Elizabeth Anneville with Jeanette Windle

Annaville family

15

In 2001, Chuck and Cathy Power’s daughter

Elizabeth and her husband Hervé Anneville

joined the BCM team in Toulouse. When the

Powers moved in 2010 to northern France to

begin a new church planting ministry, Hervé

and Elizabeth stepped in to head up the

Centre SEPT ministry, including the Camp

program.

This year’s Winter Camp was held the first

two weeks of March, which was the French

school system’s winter holidays. A day

camp, the schedule kicked off each morning

by 8:30am as parents dropped children off on

their way to work. The camp theme was

obedience during the first week and God’s

care for each person during the second week.

Activities included Bible lessons, singing,

games, art projects, free time, walks, meals

and snacks. Even game times and other fun

activities provided opportunities for biblical

teaching—how to deal with anger, learning

self-control, being a good sport. Several

times during each day, leaders and campers

would stop to pray for issues that arose.

When parents picked their children up after

work, camp leaders took opportunity to share

as well with the parents. Depending on the

day, attendance at Winter Camp averaged

thirteen children. Not a large group as camps

go, but in Toulouse, France, still a victory.

“In France, where the pollution has reached

such a level that you can’t quite make out the

Eiffel tower anymore,” shares Elizabeth

Anneville, “we also sometimes can’t quite

see if God is still working. Is there any hope

in France? There are so few evangelical

Christians here that people are often quite

wary when you invite them to a church

outreach. The Catholic church calls us a cult.

80% of French people have never opened a

Bible. 26 years ago when I came to France

with my parents and siblings, there was only

0.5% evangelical protestant Christians.

Group Picture at Winter Camp

Learning Bible Truths

Craft Time– Winter Camp

16

Today there is 0,8%. But I remember the story of

Abraham interceding with God to save Sodom

and Gomorrah, even if there are only 50 or 40 or

30 righteous in those cities (Genesis 18). When

God says there isn’t, Abraham intercedes for just

one. And God rescues Abraham’s nephew Lot

along with his family.”

A story not so different than that of Elizabeth’s

own youthful helper. While Claire is walking

with God, the older brother she once eagerly

accompanied to Summer Camp recently gave his

Bible to his mother, insisting that he didn’t need it

anymore. Though barely adult, the young man is

already battling liver failure due to alcohol abuse.

“Pray for this young man,” Elizabeth asks. “I think that’s what all this is about—standing with families like

Claire’s to support them in their battle to raise godly kids in this immoral and godless society.

A poignant episode at this year’s camp brings this reality home. Elizabeth was working with one small boy when

he spoke up: “I just don’t know if God exists!”

Elizabeth took him to look out a window at the strong, green trees swaying outside and shared with the boy how

God reveals Himself in His creation. She adds:

“France is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen. God has created this country. He has knit together

each French person. And He has called you and I to intercede just like Abraham interceded for Lot’s family. We

must continue to intercede for the one girl, for the one boy, and cry ‘la victoire’—victory—for that one soul saved

from hell. Pray for all of France. And for us, that God may give us wisdom how to have victory.”

Pray for the Anneville family as they share Christ in Toulouse, France, for Claire and her brother, for the children

at this year’s Winter Camp, their parents, other BCM France personnel, Centre Sept and its ministries; above all for

a turning to God among the people of France.

Face Painting at Winter Camp

Snack time!

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By: Lisa Biegert

Pennsylvania, USA (BCM World)—Candidate orientation for new BCM North American missionaries

was held the first week of January, 2014, at BCM’s Traber Center in Spring City, Pennsylvania. Classes

were taught by Vice President Joe Dukes, International Children’s Ministry Director Esther Zimmerman,

Chief Financial Officer Jim Hess, International Representative Dr. Bob Evans, missionaries Stephen

King, Stacey Everline, Roy Schell, Josh Brackbill, and Trainer-at-Large Helen (Chip) Griepsma. Topics

covered the BCM handbook, Footsteps of Faith curriculum, inductive Bible study, and support raising

techniques, as well as a tour of the International Ministry Center (IMC) in Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania.

Says Joe Dukes, “Age-wise, this was probably the youngest candidate orientation class for some time

and certainly in my seven years of leading them. This is a blessing for the future as each candidate is

committed to long term ministry in reaching children and young people for Christ.”

The candidates took time to share a little of their life story with their new BCM family.

CANDIDATE ORIENTATION: A BLESSING

FOR THE FUTURE

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JOSHUA HURT—Originally from Missouri, Joshua received

Christ as Savior at the tender age of 4 years old. Though he felt

the Lord’s call to missions while still a child, he pushed it aside for

a while to pursue other interests. However, the Lord got ahold of

his heart and gave him the desire to serve Him overseas.

Joshua had the opportunity to go on a short-term missions trip to

Ireland during 2012 and 2013. Joshua’s parents had previously

served as missionaries in Ireland, so Joshua was familiar with the

country. This trip confirmed for Joshua the desire to serve the

Lord full-time in Ireland. The mission board he had served under

on his short-term trip was no longer in existence. So Joshua

began searching for another board. His parents knew of BCM

International and their work in Ireland, so they encouraged him to

look into it.

In Joshua’s words: “I started looking into them and found that

nearly everything that I believed biblically about missions, they did

as well. It was brilliant!”

Now a BCM missionary appointee, Joshua is still in the process of clarifying what his roles in Ireland

will be. As a black belt in Krav Maga, he is interested in a martial arts ministry to reach at-risk youth.

However, with a heart willing to do anything, he’s not concerned about the specific job description.

Joshua is engaged to Machaira Adams and they are planning a spring 2014 wedding. They look

forward to serving the Lord together, wherever He leads them.

Pray for Joshua and Machaira as they strive to serve the Lord as a young married couple. Pray

for them as they raise their support and decipher the ministries God has for them.

MATT AND MELANIE CHANDLER—The new Urban Outreach

Director for BCM’s Camp Streamside in Tannersville, Pennsylvania,

Matt received Christ as Savior at the age of 12. Shortly thereafter,

he knew God was calling him into missions. Throughout college

Matt felt the Lord giving him a desire to work with the poor and

oppressed. After Matt married Melanie, the young couple began

pursuing together a missions career overseas. But God led them

instead to minister in the inner city of St. Louis, Missouri. During the

eight years they spent leading a variety of ministries in St. Louis,

they saw how powerful camping ministries can be for children from

the inner city.

Matt and Melanie were excited to join the Camp Streamside staff in

August of 2013. Matt says, “We are excited to again see the power

of camp in the lives of kids who are hurting.” Matt’s responsibilities

include staffing the summer camps, getting inner city children and

teens physically to the camp, and funding the summer camps. He is

also developing a volunteer and donor base for Camp Streamside.

Melanie is able to use her graphic design background at Camp

Streamside and also works in the kitchen. This summer she will

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be program director for the elementary age camps. Daughter Michaela rounds out their home; she is

9 years old, home schooled by Melanie, and enjoying making new friends at the campground.

Pray for the Chandler family as they find time to raise support amidst the busy-ness of

ministry.

RYAN AND AMANDA SIVER—On an Easter Sunday

at the age of 12, Ryan Siver accepted Christ as Savior.

After serving during his high school years as a camp

counselor, Ryan felt God’s call to pursue full-time

ministry with teens through camping. Four years ago,

Ryan and his wife Amanda came on staff at BCM’s

Mandaville Camp and Retreat Center in Winthrop, New

York. They filled a variety of roles before Ryan decided

to pursue full-time missionary status.

Ryan is the Program Director at Camp Mandaville.

Amanda is now head cook for the camp. During

summer months, she does crafts and fills in where

needed. Amanda is a certified teacher and substitute

teaches in two local school districts while also being the

children’s ministry director at their home church, Cornerstone Wesleyan. Their two children—Grace

(6) and Noah (4)—love the summer months when the family lives on the campground full time.

Pray that the Siver family will have success in raising their financial support in order to devote

full-time to ministry. Pray for the summer staff at Camp Mandaville to have hearts to serve

God.

PATRICK AND EMILY BARRINGER—When the

director’s position fell vacant at BCM’s Bliss Summit

Bible Camp in Bliss, New York, Patrick Barringer was

on the search committee to find a replacement director.

Patrick and his wife Emily had been involved in

Bliss Summit for years. They had gone from being

campers themselves all the way up through the ranks

to head counselors and then on the camp committee

for the past few years. While the committee was

praying over who to fill the director’s position, the

Barringers realized they themselves might be the

answer to that prayer.

In order to accept the position, they needed to pursue

becoming full-time BCM missionaries. They are now in

the process of raising their full support. Currently, they are the interim directors at Bliss Summit Bible

Camp while raising their 15-month-old son, Micah, and waiting on the birth of their second child this

September.

Pray for the Barringer family to be able to raise their support quickly. Pray that God would

provide them wisdom in this new position and that God would prepare the hearts and minds

of the campers coming this summer to be receptive to His Word.

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In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a group of Christian ministry leaders receive their certificates

for completing In Step with the Master Teacher (ISMT) training. (See story within)