Christi’s Mission Adventure in NIGER!

Here’s a ministry update from our 20-year-old daughter, Christi Dunagan, who just came back from her second summer mission, this time from NIGER, WEST AFRICA:

Hey Friends and Family!

Well, this summer has just been packed full of adventure and experiences. After five and a half weeks in Cambodia I had a 10 day break at home with my family before I jumped on another plane (well.. several planes, actually) to go to Niger, West Africa, where I would be a little over three weeks with my sweetheart Trae’s family, ministering with them at several local churches and helping with two week-long African children’s camps.

The trip was awesome. Living with the Childs’ family for several weeks was such a great learning experience and glance into what life as a foreign missionary family is like. The children’s camps were incredible as well. Hundreds of kids from different parts of the country all came together to learn more about the Lord. Hundreds received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and left ready to take what they learned back to their homes and villages

Thank you so much everyone who helped support this trip. God bless!!!

Christi

The life expectancy in Niger is only 52 years old, and 49.7% of the country is under the age of 14. Children’s missions outreach is a crucial part of ministry in this country that is so lost and in need of the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

This is a newly saved “Gourmanche” girl. Niger is only approximately 3% Christian. Tribal tradition includes scaring the faces of babies to identify their village and people group. The Gourmanche people also file their teeth to points as a sign of beauty and identity. In the past two years several churches have been planed in Gourmanche villages and hundreds have come to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

Here’s my special guy, Trae Childs, doing a puppet show with the kids, speaking in the “Housa” language. In addition to English, he speaks “Housa” (fluently) and French (nearly fluently, although very “African”). Trae is a 3rd generation missionary kid; his missionary grandparents have been preaching the Gospel in West Africa (in both Nigeria and Niger) for 30 years; and his parents and family have been full-time missionaries (focusing on evangelism, church planting, discipleship, and poverty relief) in Niger, West Africa for 13 years. 

More about the Childs Family and their missionary work in NIGER
More about how to pray for NIGER, WEST AFRICA (link to Operation World)
More about Christi’s earlier mission outreaches (to CAMBODIA & E. AFRICA)

Pray for Osanidde’s “El Shaddai House” Kids!

We want to encourage our friends and missions partners to pray for the children at Harvest Ministry’s Osanidde Village. This week, we’re highlighting the ten girls in the “El Shaddai House”. May God bless these precious, young, and virtuous girls.

Cissy

Judith

Diana

Annet

Safina

Gertrude

Rhema

Jane

Cate

Jacque

MEATY: Aren’t All Cultures Equally Valid?

As Christians, we bring the cross-cultural, life-changing message of Jesus Christ and His forgiveness for sin. Our purpose is not to propagate our own cultural standards, but to present the Gospel in a redeeming yet culturally sensitive way to all people we meet.

Q.

Aren’t ALL cultures equally valid?
Why should we try to change other people’s cultures?

A.

The core issue of this question stems from a false application of “multiculturalism” — one that is politically correct, educationally encouraged, and sounds nice. But leaving people trapped in sin and isolated from God’s hope of salvation isn’t the “considerate” option.

As Christians, we bring the cross-cultural, life-changing message of Jesus Christ and His forgiveness for sin. Our purpose is not to propagate our own cultural standards, but to present the Gospel in a redeeming yet culturally sensitive way to all people we meet. Eliminating the beautiful uniqueness of international culture is not the purpose of missions; at times, however, sinful elements of a particular culture may need to change.

I will never forget an interview I had with an outstanding Christian teenager who attended a public high school. This young man led a lunchtime “Bible club” and worship time that grew to reach 250 of his fellow classmates. He was writing a school research paper on Christian missionary work and, specifically, he was trying to support his thesis that “modern missionaries do not attempt to ‘change’ foreign cultures.”

I understood this young man’s heart. He was trying to explain how today’s Christian missionaries are different — more culturally appreciative and sensitive — than some of the old-time colonial missionaries (who attempted to expand all aspects of Western civilization throughout the world). But I still disagreed with his conclusion.

I asked this young man a pointed question. “But don’t you try to ‘change the culture’ of the people you are trying to reach? Just look at the typical ‘culture’ of the teens in your high school before they come to Jesus Christ! Look at the way they dress! Listen to their music, their foul language, and the way they address their teachers! What about the DVD’s they watch and the movies they sneak into? What about typical teenagers involved in premarital impurity, or the girls who’ve had abortions? Aren’t all of these a part of teen ‘culture’?”

I went on to explain to him, “Culture is life!! When you share Christ in your high school, of course you don’t want your friends to stop being teenagers — that’s who they are! But you do want Jesus Christ to totally transform the way they live and the way they make their decisions!”

Around the world, societies that have developed isolated from God’s laws and the gospel are filled with sinful cultural elements:

• tribal hatred, ancestral worship, and idolatry
• immoral sex, adultery, and prostitution
• drug addiction, drunkenness, and witchcraft
• abuse and neglect of women and children

As Christians, our job is to bring the light of Jesus to every precious culture. Through His Word and His Holy Spirit, God will show people the changes they need to make to redeem their cultures back to Him.

All people are equally valid. All cultures need Jesus.

Revelation 5:9

And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny

Often, parents and teachers ask their children, “What do YOU want to be when you grow up?” Even within the church, this present generation is fixated on obtaining fame, wealth, and pleasure. But shouldn’t we be encouraging our children’s willingness to surrender to God’s plans for their futures?

In The Mission-Minded Family, Ann Dunagan presents a plan to transform the “Me Generation” into passionate warriors consumed with God’s glory.

The Mission-Minded Family

(Authentic, 2008) – By Ann Dunagan

Download a FREE SAMPLE!

BUY NOW (including discounts for BOXES of 12 or CASES of 48!!!)

What Others Are Saying:

GIVE YOUR FAMILY A DANGEROUS DESTINY! “I loved this book! In a time in our country where the tendency is to keep our money and time and children very safe, this book encourages – even pushes – us to get out in the world and make a real difference with the resources we’ve been given. Ann Dunagan is no arm-chair missionary…the pages of the book are filled with actual experiences that she and her husband and kids have done for many years. It totally inspired me to take some big risks and help my kids learn to love the world beyond our doorstep.” - Bo Stern – Bend, Oregon

EDUCATIONAL . . . AND THE COOLEST BOOK! – “The Mission Minded Family” by Ann Dunagan is the coolest book! It has everything: hymns, stories of missions, mini biographies of missionaries, skits, a calendar of international holidays and suggestions for how to pray on those days, tools for teaching mission-mindedness, and even practical tips for missionary travel. This is an educational and informative book whether you’re planning to be a foreign missionary, a local missionary, or just learn about the field.” – Stacey, Las Vegas, NV

ABSOLUTELY INSPIRING! - “In our busy lives, very seldom, do we stop to ask God if we’re truly fulfilling His purposes in our lives. “The Mission Minded Family” opens that line of communication between you and God to have a discussion about His will for your life…Don’t be surprised if you hear God speaking to you in greater ways than you ever imagined. If you are a church leader, I can’t imagine a better resource to promote to your congregation and a better gift to give to your missionary families. Ann Dunagan walks you through her and her husband’s lives as a missionaries and sprinkles it with wisdom coming from her young children who have experienced the power of God in and through their lives. The book is not only a resource that provides you with countless “how-to’s,” but it is filled with the Dunagan family’s missionary experiences that will inspire you and draw you nearer to God.”- CHERI HILL

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Seeking First the Kingdom in a Self-Absorbed Culture

A Press Release – by The B & B Media Group

Often, parents and teachers ask their children, “What do YOU want to be when you grow up?” In a world that is increasingly self-seeking, self-centered, and self-absorbed, the answers are consistently more egocentric–”a movie star,” “a rock star,” “a dance star.”

Even within the church, this present generation is fixated on obtaining fame, wealth, and pleasure. But shouldn’t we be encouraging our children’s willingness to surrender to God’s plans for their futures? Shouldn’t our question instead be, “Oh, I wonder what awesome plans God has for your life! When you grow up, will you do whatever GOD wants you to do?”

In her new book, The Mission-Minded Family: Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny (Authentic, July 2008), author, teacher, and missionary, Ann Dunagan shows parents how to combat the influence of the “Me Generation” by giving readers the tools to revolutionize their families into ones dedicated to fulfilling God’s will and potential, instead of their own. In the first chapter of her book, Dunagan quotes David Shibley as he clearly addresses the current crisis within the church.

“We whine, ‘I just want to know my purpose; I’ve got to reach my destiny.” We race all over the country to attend ‘destiny conferences,’ and we devour tapes and books on ‘reaching your full potential . . . ‘ Even cloaking our self-centeredness in Christian garb and jargon cannot cover the nakedness of this cult of self that has infested much of the church . . . How can we ever hope to discover our purpose in the earth with little or no interest in His purpose?”

Dunagan, who also wrote The Mission-Minded Child, brings the same perspective to what it means to be a mission-minded family. Her goal is to equip today’s godly parents to train our next generation to make a powerful impact for Jesus Christ by directing their focus outward. “Every day, approximately 150,000 people die; the majority of these people are not saved, and far too many have never even heard God’s Good News of salvation,” says Dunagan. “How can we sit back and hear the Gospel again and again, while many are still waiting to hear it for the first time? [adapted from a mission quote by Oswald J. Smith]. Today’s Christian families desperately need to remember that our purpose in this world involves so much more than what we can attain for ourselves. We’re here to reach the lost.”

The Mission-Minded Family includes suggested activities for families to participate in missions together, as well as resources to help families develop the desire to become more missions-focused. Dunagan discusses the need for families to balance and prioritize their everyday lives and delves into what a family’s finances would look like if they were focused on missions. Families who read and practice principles from this book will receive a rekindled closeness as they participate in ministry together.

“In a mission-minded family, there’s a God-infused energy,” Dunagan explains. “There’s a focus on God’s worldwide purpose and a passion for the lost.” There’s a spiritual depth and hunger that reaches beyond the maintenance mode of cultural Christianity.”

Packed with motivating missions stories, hymns, and quotes, The Mission-Minded Family is a quick resource tool with examples of missionary family heroes, ministry ideas, exciting prayer projects, and even practical tips for international travel. Filled with passionate inspiration, The Mission-Minded Family will be picked up again and again, read aloud, and used as a reference for years to come.

You can also find The Mission-Minded Family at e316.com, ChristianBook.com, YWAM’s WorldChristian.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, CBN’s Parable.com, and STL – Authentic Books

Christi in Cambodia: Part II

Here are some recent ministry pictures of Christi’s summer mission outreach to Cambodia. Ministry includes teaching English for outreach, bringing JOY to poverty-stricken slums, teaching worship conferences and music classes for worship teams, and doing children’s ministry.

(Click here for earlier posts about this CAMBODIA MISSION.)

Here are a few pictures to share the news:

Thanks to everyone who gave toward Christi’s mission trip (an outreach of ORU’s summer music missions). Please keep her, and the team, and the people they are reaching in Cambodia in your prayers!!!

BUKWO MISSION: AUDIO REPORT

Jon Dunagan shares an AFRICA MISSIONS update from Harvest Ministry’s recent evangelistic outreach to Bukwo, Uganda – April, 2010.

Hear the details about an exciting dream, God’s timely provision, dangerous mountain-cliffs, an unexpected delay, and many front-line praise reports about MINISTRY, LOVING ORPHANS, and REAPING SOULS . . . fresh from the HARVEST FIELDS!!!

LISTEN HERE (click on REPORT FROM AFRICA MISSION).

• Audio only
• Time Length: 20 minutes.
• Recorded at the Dunagan’s home church in Hood River, Oregon.

500 New Mattresses for GUMA!!!

At Harvest Ministry’s GUMA NA YESU (“Keep With Jesus”) Children’s Center in Mbarara, Uganda, there was a HUGE need for bedding for all of the orphan children . . . and God abundantly provided with designated mission gifts for 500 new mattresses.

Our prayer and focus for our GUMA NA YESU children is that they will “keep with Jesus” all the days of their lives, and now as they sleep, they will be reminded (in this small way) of God’s GREAT love for them.

GUMA Directors (and NETS Ministers) Naboth & Alice, were absolutely delighted with what they called the “MIRACLE at GUMA.” Now we are believing God for blankets (at $5/each) for all of the children, and possibly sheets and pillows.

(And one little preschool girl in Oregon, named Olivia, has added her own precious prayer, that God will also help to provide “teddy bears” for these kids!!!)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We thank everyone who GAVE and who PRAYED for this need.
May God bless you for your heart for these children.

Mission-Minded Passports

Have you considered traveling internationally or taking a family mission trip?

If you want to be a part of God’s Great Commission (Matthew 26:19 and Mark 16:15 – to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel”), here’s a little question with BIG implications:

DO YOU HAVE YOUR PASSPORTS YET?

I just wrote my first article for Heart of the Matter Online, a great homeschooling website. In this article I share instructions to make mission-minded “Passports” — as a fun craft project and learning tool (including a FREE pdf file with passport pages, and links to FREE international flag stamps). I also motivate families to go one step further and to apply for “real” passports. Come take a look! (And it would be wonderful if you could leave an encouraging comment on the Heart of the Matter site! We’re hoping to keep this door open to continue motivating as many homeschooling families as possible to get involved in world missions!)

Click here for PASSPORTS FOR MISSIONS (at Heart of the Matter Online)

Easy-to-make passport crafts are perfect for mission-minded Vacation Bible Schools, Christian school or homeschooling projects for art, Bible, or geography, children’s ministry or Sunday school classes, and for mission-minded families. Spread the word to others. It’s a tool that is available for FREE to motivate children for God’s Great Commission!

Blessings to you!

Ann

Daring daughters & dirty feet

I’ve always had this “thing” for baby feet. I pull off darling shoes, and little newborn socks, and just want to kiss each of those tiny toes! I always ponder where a baby’s precious feet will go, and about God’s destiny and purpose for each new life. But speaking as a mother, what happens when our kids grow up, and God perhaps would call our sons, or our DAUGHTERS, to dangerous places?

Our oldest daughter, Christi, recently climbed a mountain barefoot. She didn’t want to wear out her TOMS, which incidentally are shoes produced by a company that helps kids in impoverished countries . . . . who don’t have shoes. These dirty feet actually give a pretty clear glimpse of our daughter. Christi’s always dreamed of daring things for God. She’s grown up on a steady diet of missionary biographies — Amy Carmichael, Gladys Aylward, Florence Nightingale, Lottie Moon, and Elisabeth Elliot; but she’s done more than merely read about godly self-sacrificing women. Christi’s been living-out her own mission adventure story, as she’s also continually dreaming about the future.

The Bible says, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent?

as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,

and bring glad tidings of good things!” – Romans 10:15

I want to be a mom who encourages each of our children to completely fulfill God’s destiny — not by our own efforts, but by God’s GRACE!!! Jon and I know that each of our sons, and our DAUGHTERS, have been entrusted by God into our family to be raised FOR HIM and His mission-minded and eternal purposes. We want each of our kids, including each son and each DAUGHTER, to fully obey God’s call and purpose for his or her life. Sometimes, as a caring and loving mom (who remembers kissing our babies’ feet and tucking away their precious hand-knitted booties for the next generation), that can be challenging and stretching.

But oh, what a JOY!!!!

Our daughter, Christi

Here are a few pictures of our daughter on a mission outreach in East Africa. Christi was instrumental in helping to establish Osanidde Village and Guma Na Yesu Children’s Center, Harvest Ministry’s two orphanages in Uganda, currently caring for over 600 children orphaned primarily because of AIDS. During her last year at home, Christi worked tirelessly in our ministry office, coordinating child sponsors and sharing needs. She’s traveled the globe to share the Gospel and to help others; but her passion for people who need Jesus is just as fervent here in the United States! She loves to mentor young women, to pray for those who are hurting, to speak out for world missions, and to have fun with community outreach projects (just last weekend, on Oct. 31st, she worked alongside an “army” of college students in an exciting city-wide canned-food drive!).

As mothers in God’s kingdom, we need to not only raise our own daughters to love the Lord, but realize that there are multitudes of God’s precious daughters throughout the world, who desperately need all the motherly-and-sisterly-love we can give, along with our sacrificial support and prayer.

Rescuing one of God’s girls . . . in Uganda, East Africa

When Christi was 15-years old, she wrote a powerful orphan essay (you can read it here) about the needs of one precious abused girl, named Jennifer, and this essay was only the beginning of God stirring His compassion in our daughter’s heart.

Here’s a picture of this rescued orphan girl, Jennifer, today (four years after Christi wrote the article). This precious young woman is still living with our dear friends, Naboth & Alice, and she continues to be a vital testimony about God’s hand on these beautiful orphan children. The most recent report is so beautiful. Naboth wrote:

Jennifer is now in primary four. She sleeps and “feeds” at Pastor Naboth & Alice’s home, and she is very bright and hard working. She “leads praising” in Sunday school. Her hope and happiness is restored, as God has healed her wounds.

Fulfilling a dream . . . for God’s girls in Cambodia

As for Christi, she’s now in her final year at ORU. This semester, she’s writing her senior paper, focusing on the horrible issues surrounding child prostitution and international human trafficking and the necessary process of healing after sexual abuse. She’s also preparing to be an ATL (Assistant Team Leader) for an upcoming two-month ORU summer mission to Cambodia, in Asia.

It’s amazing how God puts all the details together. Some people say that homeschool families isolate their children and keep them sheltered from the world. For us, we have protected our kids and teens from allowing compromising friends and lifestyles of sinful distractions, as we’ve covered them in the power and blood of Jesus Christ, so they can IMPACT a dark world with the bright light of our wonderful Lord.

Interceding for God’s girls . . .  in Iran

As a side-note, I (Ann) have had a tremendous burden this week for persecuted women, especially in Iran, who are being abused and tortured for their unfailing love for Jesus Christ. Just today, I received a specific prayer request from Voice of the Martyrs to uphold two beautiful Christian girls in Iran, Maryam and Marzieh, who are suffering persecution right NOW for their faith.

Please pray for our daughter Christi, for Mayam and Marzieh, and for God to give all of us more of His passion for ALL of His daughters throughout the world.

I love Proverbs 31. Sometimes we neglect to read all the verses about God’s virtuous women. As moms, we don’t need to be afraid about what is to come, for our household is “clothed in scarlet” (protected by the blood of Jesus). We need to reach out our “hand to the needy” and train our daughters to be women who “fear the Lord.” Here are my favorite verses from Proverbs 31:

“Open your mouth for the speechless,

for the cause of all who are appointed to die.

Open your mouth and judge righteously,

and plead for the cause of the poor and the needy.”

Proverbs 31:8-9

May we raise daring daughters, perhaps with dirty feet, who will fully obey and follow God’s plan and purposes, in complete obedience and submission to Him, with fervent love.

God is so good.

May His goodness flow through us, and through our sons and our DAUGHTERS.

11/18/2009 – PRAISE REPORT: Just received news today via twitter (on @persecutionblog and The Voice of the Martyrs) that the two women in Iran, Maryam & Marziah, both mentioned in this article, were just SET FREE after 259 days in prison!!!)

QUOTE from persecutionblog.com: “VOM’s friend, Elam Ministries, which serves the growing church in Iran, has announced that Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh have been released from Evin Prison in Tehran. Family members picked them up at the prison this afternoon, Iran time. The two women immediately expressed thanks to Christians around the world who had prayed for them during their 259 days in prison.

“Words are not enough to express our gratitude to the Lord and to his people who have prayed and worked for our release,” they said.

A Mission Challenge & Prayer Focus on India

“My friend, will you go? Has God spoken to you? Have you heard His Call? Will you not answer, “Lord, here am I, send me”? And if you cannot go, will you not send a substitute? It is for you to decide. Why should anyone hear the Gospel twice before everyone has heard it once?” -  Oswald J. Smith

Let’s stir up a heart for INDIA!

Lately, the nation of India has been in our thoughts and in our prayers, especially the need to support remote national ministers and evangelists.

There are many spiritual needs in this vast country, and so many people who need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here are some links to help you to focus your prayers:

• India at WorldMap.org
• Pray for India – Operation World
• People Groups in India

Dr. Duff’s Appeal

An excerpt from A Challenge to Missions
by Oswald J. Smith

Dr. Alexander Duff, that great veteran missionary to India, returned to Scotland to die, and as he stood before the general assembly . . . he made his appeal, but there was no response.

In the midst of his appeal he fainted and was carried off the platform. The doctor bent over him and examined his heart. Presently he opened his eyes.

“Where am I?” he cried. “Where am I?”

“Lie still,” said the doctor. “You have had a heart attack. Lie still.”

“But,” exclaimed Dr. Duff, “I haven’t finished my appeal. Take me back. Take me back. I must finish my appeal.”

“Lie still,” said the doctor again. “You will go back at the peril of you life.”

But, in spite of the protests of the physician, the old warrior struggled to his feet, and, with the Doctor on one side and the Moderator of the Assembly of the other side, he again mounted the steps of the pulpit platform, and, as he did so, the entire assembly rose to do him honor. Then, when they were seated, he continued his appeal. And this is what he said:

“When Queen Victoria calls for volunteers for India, hundreds of young men respond; but, when King Jesus calls, no one goes.”

Then he paused. There was silence. Again he spoke:

“Very well,” he concluded, “then, aged though I am, I’ll go back to India. I can lie down on the banks of the Ganges and I can die and thereby I can let the people of India know that there was one man in Scotland who loved them enough to give his life for them.”

In a moment, young men all over the assembly sprang to their feet, crying, “I’ll go! I’ll go!” And after the old white-haired warrior had been laid to rest, these young men, having graduated, found their way to dark benighted India, there to labor as his substitutes for the Lord Jesus Christ.

My friend, will you go? Has God spoken to you? Have you heard His Call? Will you not answer, “Lord, here am I, send me”? And if you cannot go, will you not send a substitute? It is for you to decide.

Why should anyone hear the Gospel twice before everyone has heard it once?