Dear Friends and Partners:
Steve and I wish you and your family a Happy New Year, and extend our warmest greetings with the Apostle John’s prayer from 3rd John 2 – that all may go well with you and that you may prosper, even as your soul prospers!
We thank everyone who in various ways partnered with us in 2014 through The Bridge International, especially those of you who so generously gave of themselves by financial support and prayer on behalf of the missionaries and their mercy ministries we helped sponsor. We are so grateful that so many keep on giving sacrificially toward the furthering of God’s Kingdom in the nations in spite of continued tough economic times.
Those who have contributed to The Bridge International in 2014, have received by postal mail their official contribution receipt for their Federal Tax returns enclosed in this publication.
We always seek to live by the highest standard of integrity in financial matters, knowing we are stewards of the funds entrusted into our hands for proper distribution, thus, our accountability is not only to the Lord, but also to you who give, and to the recipients who receive the gifts abroad. Upon request we will send you The Bridge’s 2014 Finance Report prepared by the CPA firm Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, L.L.P. in Miami, Florida.
You may have noticed that, a couple of years ago, we changed the format of The Bridge Annual Report. It has changed from posting the name and picture of each missionary with a short description of their activities and the funds sent — to being more general in nature. The reason for this, is that changing times have compelled us to be more protective of the people we serve in the field, most of whom live and work in parts of the world where there is a drastic escalation in the number of perpetrators who aggressively plan and pursue violence, especially against Christians. The number of countries in which they operate, is also on the rise.
From the inception of The Bridge 32 years ago, we have sought to be true to God’s call — sharing testimonies from the indigenous church in the nations with the believers in the West for their encouragement, and bringing resources from the West to assist the indigenous church abroad.
Some of our field partners choose to be very open with their lives and testimonies; they are by their own choice featured in The Bridge Report which we publish online and also send out by postal mail. Others, whose names and ministries have never been mentioned in Bridge publications, choose to work quietly “underground”, as they find that works best for them in spreading the Gospel. We respect both ways, knowing that in their call to serve the Lord they are all driven by the same passion — to see that those yet unreached may hear and receive the Good News of Jesus Christ, and be discipled according to Mt 28:18-20!
To gain specific information or an update on a field worker or a project you help sponsor, I encourage you to first look at our website www.bridgeinternational.org, send us an email, or call our office. I would personally be very happy to give you the information you need.
2014 IN REVIEW
Our main focus of engagement in 2014 were in three parts of the world: Central Asia, The Middle East, and South Sudan.
In the month of April, I had the pleasure of being invited to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Agape Evangelical Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, one of the larger indigenous ministries in Central Asia. In 1989, Agape Mission was birthed by four young people who had come to faith in
Jesus Christ during the communist era. The team began to openly evangelize in streets and parks, and people responded! In 1991, just after the fall of the Iron Curtain, The Bridge came alongside these new believers and began helping them with resources. Over the years, Mission Agape became Agape Evangelical Center which is the umbrella covering a large local church; a number of local mercy outreaches to the poor, prisoners, elderly, and orphans; a Bible College for the training of church planters and missionaries; 60 satellite churches planted in other parts of the region, including China; and an effective Drug Rehabilitation Center housingnearly 100 people who are being gloriously set free from a life of bondage by the power of God! Needless to say, my visit to Agape, as always, was joyous, faith-building and encouraging! To familiarize yourself with this ministry, please read the following Bridge Reports online at:
https://www.bridgeinternational.org/pdf/may2009.pdf
https://www.bridgeinternational.org/pdf/july2009.pdf
https://www.bridgeinternational.org/pdf/august2009.pdf
In Kazakhstan, I also took the train North to the city of Karaganda, where I had a delightful few days with Yermek Balykbekov and his family, who are ministering to their own Kazakh people. I was received with the characteristically warmhearted hospitality for which the Kazakh and other people groups in that part of the world are known.
www.bridgeinternational.org/kazakhstan-r-k-s-visit-to-yermek-balykbekov-in-karaganda/
While in Central Asia, I also took a side-trip to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where I met up with a lovely Russian family to whom I was introduced to in 2003. They are ministering to the Russian-speaking people in the city. I stayed with a delightful, young Tajik-Uzbek family who have a passion to disciple teenage boys who have been released from State orphanages – ill prepared, without having anywhere to go. I also met a wonderful group of expats from Canada, America, and Europe who serve the Kyrgyz people in various ways with much love and care.
I also spent time with several Afghans I had to come to know prior to my visit. During subsequent trips to Norway, Germany, and Holland, I also met up with a number of Afghans who have come to faith in Jesus Christ – even one living in the regional city near my home village! Two decades ago, for a couple of years, Steve and I personally financed a grade school for the children of the approx. 2000 Afghans refugees who had fled to Kazakhstan from the Russian Army who had invaded their homeland. God gave us a deep love and respect for this beautiful, strong, self-sufficient, fiercely independent mountain people who, regretfully, have been so turned away from God’s purposes by the darkness of Islam and generations of tribal conflict. Today, a new generation of Afghans who have only known war, is emerging in the nations. Some of them have come into a dynamic, deep, life–changing relationship with Jesus Christ as the Son of God; others are cunningly hiding behind the Christian faith to gain favors – for them lies and deceit are the order of the day. We need an extra measure of wisdom and discernment, as well as persistence, to effectively minister the love of God to the Afghan people!
That brings us to the Middle East. For security reasons, I am not at liberty to disclose specifics on our partnerships, nor the extent of our service to the peoples in that region of the world. Suffice it to say that we have a heart for both Israel and the Arab nations, and serve partners who minister in both places. Those who remain steadfast in their faith in the face of persecution and insurmountable obstacles and risk to themselves and their families’ safety and life, put much of the Western church, with its superficial, self-centered preaching, to shame. They embody the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 2:15-16, demonstrating they are Children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which they shine like stars in the universe as they hold out the word of life!
The Bridge helped raise funds to relieve the profound suffering of some of the refugees who fled to Northern Iraq from the areas in Central Iraq and Syria that have been decimated by the Islamic extremist group ISIS. We funneled the funds through the ministry of an Arab friend and partner who now travels regularly with his wife to Northern Iraq, while distributing the relief aid and ministering the love and comfort of Jesus to the traumatized, suffering refugees. He allowed us to publish his first trip report (take note of his last few paragraphs). It is to be found at:
https://www.bridgeinternational.org/north-iraq-relief-aid-for-syrian-and-iraqi-refugees/
South Sudan, the newest country in the world, continues to be at a crisis point with massive government corruption, lack of good leadership on all levels, and absence of basic infrastructure. The President and the former Vice President are still in armed conflict over unresolved power issues; although there is presently cease-fire, it is anticipated that war may erupt again at any time.
Although The Bridge has longstanding relationships with dynamic ministries both in the North and the South of the country, our focus in 2014 was to continue the partnership with the two young men who returned to their new country in 2011, and now living in and not far from the capital of Juba. They are both pioneering and struggling to help their people under the most arduous circumstances. The following link gives you an overview of the people and ministries we serve in South Sudan:
https://www.bridgeinternational.org/turkey-south-sudan-trip/
Thank you again for walking shoulder to shoulder with us in furthering the Kingdom of God in the nations. Let us be mindful of the words of Jesus in John 9:4 — Let us continue to work together while it is day, the night is coming when no one can work!