Raise the Roof Outreach Saturday February 11th – Maranatha Chapel is teaming up with Faith Tabernacle to reach out to the people of South San Diego. We will be building a roof for their Church building, and holding an block party outreach on Saturday the 11th. We need people to come out on the 11th to help with the event, and enjoy the festivities.

We are meeting at Maranatha Chapel on Saturday the 11th at 7am . If you are interested in helping with the roof build contact Pastor Mark Childers For all other questions contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . (858-613-7800)

The Joy of Fruit Waited For

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9

Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged in ministry. It’s just a fact. When we don’t see immediate results or can’t discern any immediate fruit we can get down and wonder, “What am I doing here,” or, “Am I doing this wrong?”

I remember feeling that way many times throughout the past five years. On one of those occasions it was a dear friend from back in the U.S. who reminded me of some of the fruit that had been borne out of our labors in East Africa. He reminded me of Alphonse — the father of a young man I had been teaching for a few years — whom I was blessed to be able to lead to Christ in Congo in 2009, and who later led his wife and other family members to Christ as well. What a joyful remembrance it was when the Lord used my friend to stir up my memory about some of the things He had done through us. My friend went on to remind me of many other proofs of fruitfulness from the ministry that truly refreshed my soul.

I was recently blessed to the point of tears to hear of further fruitfulness that the Lord continues to bring from the ministry in Kigoma, Tanzania. As you are probably already aware, several months ago we began a program to minister to 40 HIV+ orphans. Gabriel and I had no idea where the funds would come from to provide food and clothing and educational expenses for these children, but we knew the Lord had dropped the opportunity for this ministry squarely in our laps.

The majority of the orphans in the program are being looked after by a neighbor, or even a stranger, and most of them are Muslim. We made it clear from the beginning that the reason for the program was to bless them and love them in the name of Jesus and that we would talk about Jesus at times but never force anybody to listen or respond in order to get the help we were offering freely. We knew that through the consistent demonstration of Christ’s love and our unashamed and honest sharing of the gospel at every occasion, eventually the children and their caretakers would see the connection between our faith in Christ and the love He was pouring out through us, and lower their very rigid defenses regarding Jesus in order to learn more about Him. This is the model the Holy Spirit lead us to use — a model we had seen work in other ministries — but for several months there was no immediate and overwhelming fruit.

Until now.

Recently a couple of the women approached Gabriel and asked a question. These are women who have been consistently coming to the monthly feast where we feed all 40 of the children and their caretakers, sharing the love and word of Christ with them. You have to understand that they came as representatives of the collective group of women who have been coming to these meals each month with the HIV+ orphans they care for. As a group they had a question and nominated these two women to ask about it. The question: “Can we come to your church?” It’s hard for me to describe just how huge this is. We’re talking about women who would normally leave the building or physically plug their ears if you talk about Jesus. Now they’re asking if it’s okay if they visit the church! We’re talking about Muslim women, who are not allowed to speak to other men and therefore rarely get a chance to hear the gospel via other evangelistic means. These are literally the hardest to reach demographic of the region.

Needless to say they were warmly welcomed to come! Gabriel has hired small buses to bring them from the normal meeting place to the church location (which is just a small distance from town) for the next monthly feast. Rather than the normal weeknight or Saturday schedule, it’s been scheduled for a Sunday afternoon after church so that they can visit the church and then stay for the feast right there at the church property. What a miraculous development! God is so good!

This news literally brought me to tears as I’m reminded yet again of the Lord’s faithfulness to bring the fruit and the harvest in His perfect timing. I realize yet again that I wouldn’t want it any other way. We pray that your new year is blessed by this good news, bringing encouragement and hope to your life and the ministry you do daily for Christ right where you’re at!

- Jon Langley

October Trip

My plan for this last trip was to fin- ish the translation of John’s gospel and to begin Ephesians. That was my plan. What God did was way beyond anything I could have imagined. It re- minded me of Ephesians 3:20 when Paul praises God by saying,

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all gen- erations forever and ever. Amen.”

Read more...

Change:

To make the form, nature, content, future course, etc. of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone.

For centuries the Israelites followed a way of life that was ritualistic and ordered; laws, customs and tradition ordered their way of life. When the prophets were sent to them crying out that they must change, many of the prophets were persecuted and killed. Then one day Jesus entered their world and began to change things. His teachings were disturbing to them because it changed their focus from “going through the motions” to devotion, from the heart, toward God and from actions to relationship.

Read more...

Our good friends Bubba and Cathy Hoelzer are starting their new ministry in Sudan. Please pray for them and support them in any way you can. We will have mission and contact info up for them soon. Until then watch their move-in video and pray for a "dust-free" life!

This year we had teams in Nairobi, Kenya and in Uganda. Take a look at the BLOG to get the Kenya story. Also check out the 2010 Trips page to see pictures and video. Thanks to everyone who supported the team financially and prayerfully. Be on the lookout for stories from the next trip this year. The team to Bolivia will be leaving in a couple of weeks!

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20

For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, Deut 7:6-8

Our Savior came from Israel and through Him we are connected, we are grateful and we love Israel and the Jewish people. Our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a covenant-keeping God. He is faithful. He has kept His promise to reestablish Israel in the land of inheritance and He is still calling Jewish people throughout the world to Himself. As we pray for Israel, we are blessed.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Psalm 122:6

Pray for wisdom for the leaders of Israel.

Pray for our nation’s leaders that they will continue to stand with Israel with the understanding that those who support Israel will be blessed and those who oppose Israel will be cursed.

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:2-3

Pray that Jews worldwide will accept the Gospel.

Pray that Israel’s enemies will accept the Gospel of Salvation. Though peace treaties are being discussed, only in

Jesus will they find everlasting peace.

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. Zech 12:2