New Team
God has brought two great marriage and family biblical counselors to join the Living Foundation Ministries (L.F.M.) training team this September in the Philippines.
Roger Daum brings over 30 years of pastoral and marriage experience, plus extensive training with L.F.M. and John Regier of Caring for the Heart Ministries. He is currently director of Restoration Ministries in Cozad, Nebraska. Roger served on the L.F.M. team in Puebla, Mexico in January ’07 and did an outstanding job of training trainers.
Jerry Purviance also brings both pastoral experience and major counseling experience having served years as dean of students and a faculty member of Calvary Bible College. He is now a full time counselor in Kansas City, Missouri. He, too, is a terrific trainer of trainers.
Florina Marcellus served on the L.F.M. training team both in Puebla, Mexico and China in January and February ’07. She is a graduate of Calvary Bible College with a major in missions and a minor in music. She used her beautiful voice and music training well in both Mexico and China. She was further mentored by L.F.M.’s lead counselor, Shelia Benzon, and was able to utilize that extensive training with women in Mexico and China.
New Focus
We e-mailed the new marriage and family topics to our Philippine representatives and they are excited with the new emphases for training this fall. Last year they asked us to add that material to the basic training that they are now teaching. Both the basic and marriage and family topics will be covered in various forms depending which of the six venues we are in.
Marriage and Family Topics
-
How to Identify Damaged Relationships (symptoms, case histories, characteristics of a hurting marriage)
-
How to Identify the Sources of Damaging Behavior and Attitudinal Patterns (wounded hearts, negative emotions, core beliefs, entitlements)
-
How to Identify the Historical Source Behind a Hurtful Pattern (events done to them, by them or around them)
-
A Biblical Approach to Healing Damaged Marriage Relationships (forgiveness, emotional and spiritual freedom , circles of responsibility)
-
How to Grow and Nurture a Healing, Healthy Marriage
-
What are the Basics in Child Nurturing, Parenting, and Discipline?
The teaching notes for these topics should be available on our website (Lfmtools.org) for free downloading in late August. All the basic notes are already there under “Training.”
New Venues
Word has spread throughout the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines of the practical value of these biblically based seminars. Please begin to pray for the huge undertaking of these six training seminars.
Sept. 10-11 Panabo City (200 conferees)
Sept. 14-15 Digos City (350)
Sept. 17-18 General Santos City (200) This is right in the heart of a Muslim area. Our host director has a brother who is a leader in the guerilla movement in the area. Please pray.
Sept. 20-27 Davao City – teachers & parents (100)
Sept. 24-28 Davao City Bible College and Seminary students, week long training (150)
October 3-5 Lligan City (500) City and ministry leaders are going all out to promote this event. Some attended the past training.
Four Sundays in September the Living Foundation Ministries team will be divided up to share in churches.
New Challenge
We thought the trainings in the Philippines in ’06 were a big step of faith and they were. God used many of you to cover us in prayer, encouragement and financial investment. Our Philippine outreach in Sept. is an even bigger challenge. L.F.M. is responsible for the six seminar facilities, the sound systems, promotion, lunches, seminar manuals and copies of I Should Forgive, But..., housing and transportation for the Filipino and US teams. Six local directors have to enlist many volunteers for promotion, registration, preparation of hundreds lunches and some transportation and housing.
This is a massive undertaking to train and develop over a thousand biblically based counselors. Pray for Pastor Joel and Liza Martinez, our L.F.M. directors in the Philippines who are responsible for the six seminar committees. They did an outstanding job coordinating our Philippine seminars the past two years. They will also team teach with us along with Filipino team members Ric and Linda Labos. Both couples will be learning the new material in preparation to train others.
Mission Investment Opportunity
The US team members are responsible to raise support for their travel, food and housing. Above that is the $26,000 to conduct the six seminars. We share this enormous faith investment opportunity as a prayer target with our Living Foundation Ministries’ friends.
No Debtor
Last August I quietly sat on my deck a little bummed that we were about $5,000 short to cover our training outreach in the Philippines and China. I found myself upset that God hadn’t come through to cover it when we were obeying Him to make disciples of all nations. (I hate to confess this.) I had no more framed that thought when Linda said I had a long distance phone call. A friend shared that she was the executrix of her dad’s estate and just wanted to alert me that in the next few days a check for $5,000 from his estate would be coming. I was thrilled yet chagrined. I struggled to share with her what I had just complained about to God. Was I ever embarrassed and ashamed and rightfully so. I profusely thanked her and sheepishly returned to the deck to finish my quiet time. I could hardly lift my eyes up to God. It was as if He said to me “Son, I’ll never be in debt to you for obeying Me.” Rebuked, humbled, chastened and misty eyed, I wondered to myself, “Will I ever learn?”
I don’t know who God is going to encourage investing in this challenge, but on behalf of the hundreds of fellow believers in Asia we share their heartfelt thanks in advance.
We will be sending a detailed prayer journal of when, where and what we will be doing for the month of Sept. in the Philippines. To receive it by e-mail, contact us at lfmlynch@yahoo.com.
More Opportunities
China
Plans are still on the drawing board for two weeks of training in Guangzhou, China, Oct. 7-20. We will share as much as we can without putting the planners in a difficult position with the authorities.
Germany
Keith and Debbie Gandy, church planting missionaries in Germany, have asked us to come November 4-10 to train their people in how to deal with anger in relationships and to further train other church planters in their region. The details are in the planning stages. Thanks for praying.
How incredibly grateful we are to each of you who invest in this team of biblical trainers to the Philipines led by a guy who is both reproved and loved by our great God.