* ARM Prison Outreach International
*
Sending Resources for Evangelism Into
Prisons and Mission Fields
October 2008 Branch Report.
Max Goins presenting our Russia
Chaplain with an ARM portable baptistry.
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ARTICLE 1
Daughters of Ruth Girls Home in
Chiang Mai, Thailand
I just returned from visiting the
Daughters of Ruth in Chiangmai, Thailand. Thank you for supporting
them. I must give the Thai staff an A for the excellent job they are doing
with these pre-teenage and teenage girls.
Two of the girls (sisters) have left
our home because their mother was released from prison and wanted them back. We
were happy to return them to their mother because we want what is best for the
family. We continue to stay in touch with the girls to make sure they are
well taken care of. Local authorities also monitor the situation.
They are welcome to return to us at any time but in most cases the children want
to remain with their mother.
We can only trust that the seeds of
faith we planted in them will continue to grow and that they will remain
faithful to Christ. We have notified the local preacher in their village
and we hope and fully expect that soon we will learn of them taking their mother
to church with them. Our goal to send them back to their villages as
missionaries.
That reduces our number of girls to
18 but by years end another 8 will be added; one of which is only 5 years
old. It’s rainy season in Thailand. But in November we can begin
building our dormitory. We only have $29,000 in our building fund but we
are going to start in faith believing that as we go the Lord will provide.
The girls are anxious about the big move to our new property which, by the way,
is paid for in full.
Before I left I treated the girls to
a buffet. They had never been to one before. They asked their dorm
mother what they should wear. On the day of the buffet some had not eaten
breakfast because they wanted to enjoy the “all you can eat experience.” When
the director and I went to pick them up they bailed into the back of the pickup
all dolled up in their best clothes. It was such a precious sight to
behold. If you want get to know them better you can go to our website at
www.daughtersofruth.org and read
their histories. I baptized three more of them before leaving the
country. We remain the only officially registered mission of our kind in
the Kingdom of Thailand. Serving together, Joe R. Garman,
Evangelist 1 Peter 5:6-7
Gifts may be sent to
ARM/DOR
-- 3127 Hwy K -- Salem, MO 65560
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ARTICLE 2
Rapha House in
Cambodia
This article by Stephanie reminds us the girls are 'real
people' who have needs just like our daughters and granddaughters.
People often ask about the stories of the girls at Rapha House. At Rapha
House, we abide by child protection policies and are very conscientious of
protecting the identities and the privacy issues of our girls. Some of the girls
are very willing to share their stories. They don’t want other girls to have to
endure what they have, themselves, gone through. In the spirit of prevention and
awareness, and with their permission, we will share a few of their stories here.
Names will be changed to protect their identities.
When I have the opportunity to share about the Rapha House girls, I strive to
make sure that people understand that these girls are just like the girls we
know and love here at home. They are just like our daughters and granddaughters,
cousins, nieces and friends. When they are given markers and paper, they draw
much the same type of pictures any child draws- trees, flowers, home and family.
When they are given bubbles, they blow them and try to catch them. When they are
given a water balloon, they know exactly what to do with it! Trust me!
They have endured tragic events in their short lives, but they have buoyant
spirits which allow them, not only to survive, but to flourish.
When the girls first arrive at Rapha House, they may be frightened or angry.
They may be addicted to drugs and may be malnourished. Their little bodies may
have diseases and infections. Their spirits are crushed down. For many of our
girls, the ability to make their own choices and to choose their own life path
is a new concept. Often times, people ask me, “Is their any hope for
these girls to recover?” My answer is always quick.
“There is so much hope.” It is a truly beautiful thing
to watch these girls begin a path of education and technical training which
opens new worlds to them. It doesn’t take long before hopes and dreams emerge
and life plans begin to take shape.
Yes, our girls are victims of the worst kind of evil, but moreover, they are
strong and courageous survivors who have much to offer the world. —
Stephanie
ARTICLE 3
ARM Philippines Report
I.
3 Baptism
II.
Special Services Rendered:
1.
Funeral service at Magsaysay, Davao del
sur
2.
Prayer service for Nene Baylon and
Family
3.
Special prayer for Mixima Zamora
4.
Special visit for Jojo and Thes Tejada
5.
Special prayer for Deypalubos Family
6.
Special visit for Mobilla Family
7.
Thanksgiving service for Gloria and Julia Heart
Geverola
III.
Missionary tour of the team with the Christer Youth
of Digos
City.
1.
At Barayong Church of Christ
2.
At Kidapawan Church of Christ
IV.
The team and some volunteers, together with the
Christer Youth attended the thanksgiving Sunday of Tacul Church of
Christ.
V.
Special Follow-up for:
1.
Brethren at Kidapawan
2.
Brethren at Cuyapon
3.
Brethren at Kabacan
VI.
Special follow-up for:
1.
Davao
City Jail
2.
Kidapawan
City Reformatory
Center
3.
PRC Matti,
Davao del Sur
4.
BJMP-Digos
City
5.
Panabo
City Jail
VII.
The volunteers, the team members conducted a 2 day
mass evangelistic rally at Roxas, North
Cotabato.
VIII.
On September 2o, the team conducted a mass birthday
celebration at Digos
City.
IX.
The team emmersed at Dawis Beach Resort, a muslim
woman. She leave her Muslim faith and embraced to Christianity
X.
The team participated in the fourth Ulas
Family day held at MCFCS.
XI.
Given the following:
1.
10 boxes of large print bibles
2.
1 cebuano bible
3.
2 packs of outline sermons
Ernesto Alocelja Phil.
4:13, 19
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ARTICLE 4
ARM Russian Report
Glory to Christ, my beloved brother! This is my brief report for September
2008.
1. IMMERSIONS. This month we immersed a 78-years
old woman – a medical doctor, an ethnical Armenian, a refugee from
Transcaucasia. We immersed also a young man – a business manager from Moscow to
work at the Sochi Olympic objects construction.
2. PRISONS. In September the DOM ARM ministers had
11 visits to different prisons and prison camps of the Krasnodar Territory and 2
visits to the office of that Territory ombudsman A.G. Kozitskiy in attempt to
defend the rights of the repressed persons.
On 04.09.2008 the special guard forces detachment "Rus"
organized the massive beating of the convicts in the prison camp in Tver area
(between Moscow and Peterburg, 2,000 km North from Krasnodar).
On 23.04.2008 a mutiny took place in the prison camp in
Samara area (Volga region, 2,500 km North – North-East from Krasnodar: one
convict was murdered, 25 ones were wounded.
We had also 2 special meetings with the relatives of 4
young men from Tikhoretsk (90 km North from Krasnodar). Those young men were
convicted for the murder; 17 court decisions were received, that their criminal
case had been falsified, but they are kept in prison. Now the European court for
human rights (Strasbourg, France) has accepted their case to be
watched.
3. MOSLEMS. On 02.09.2008 the "Moscow Bureau for
Human Rights" of Alexander Brod, basing on the internet-sites "Grani.ru"
(29.08.2008) and "Credo.ru" (31.08.2008), announced, that the Supreme Mufti of
Russia Talgat Tajuddin (the member of the council for Religious Affairs of the
Russian President) had called again for jihad (saint war) against the USA, which
state he had called the "empire of Satan". The Supreme mufti called for the
union of the Moslems and Russian orthodox Christians (icon-worshippers!) in that
jihad. The Russian TV channels showed, that Tajuddin had been accepted by Russia
President Medvedev on 20.09.2008.
In Jesus our hope! Sincerely,Nicholas E.
Alyoshin DOM
ARM chaplain, prof.,
etc.
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ARTICLE 5
ARM Mexican Report
Dear brethren in Christ Jesus,
With all of my heart and the trust I have in God, Who tells
us, “Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he
will shield it and deliver it, he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it”
(Isaiah 31:5), I ask the Lord to protect you.
As I go along working in the ministry, together with my
staff, I can see how God is rescuing and changing lives. Our daily passion and
commitment to the Lord gives much fruit in His Kingdom. He is indeed so
wonderful! However, the countries we are reaching for the Lord have a desolating
and bad environment, facing economic problems. Mexico is no exception! So, our
ministry is devoted to fasting and praying for all the countries in the
world!
During September, we had 2,312 new students register in our
Bible Correspondence Courses. The Word of God is impacting many! A great example
of how God is working in the hearts and minds of people is the following. Rut
Calero came to the office, as she wanted to learn the Word of God first hand. I
talked with her for six hours, prayed together, and explained Salvation. She
surrendered to Jesus together with her husband Alfonso Sifuentes. We agreed to
baptize them the very next day, but on their way home that night they had a
terrible accident and they both died. I could not believe what had happened, but
yes, they died instantly!
We had 69 baptisms in this month. Following, I share with you
a letter from one of these new born babies. “Dear brethren in Christ, this is
the most wonderful day in my life. I thank you for sending Ramón Hortiales to
me, who shared with me, that he went through his conversion through your
wonderful Bible Correspondence Courses. When I began studying your lessons, I
had in mind to only study them to acquire knowledge and Bible culture. However,
you have taken me by the hand and showed me a much different path from the one I
was traveling. I have gone deeper into the Word! This is so special to me. I
suffered kidnapping and when I was captive I remembered most of the Bible verses
I had learned through your lessons. That gave me peace of mind. I prayed a lot.
The course I remembered the most was, “Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and Life.” I
asked the Lord to deliver me and that I would turn my life to Him. Two days
after I prayed this, I heard sirens and the police coming towards the place
where I was. My captors ran away, leaving the house doors opened. To my
surprise, no policemen arrived, but I was free to leave. So I did! God rescued
me, both physically and spiritually! Brother Hortiales baptized me in a small
river that feeds the Amazon River, close to where I live. The Bora tribe lives
here. They are so great people, in this tropical weather, and that is why most
of them only dress up from the waist down… Yours, Javier Vega Gutiérrez
(Iquitos, Loreto, Perú).
Another impacting letter just arrived from one of our 78
students who graduated from our advanced courses. “My dearest brother Alfredo,
my family and I went through a very had situation, almost without description.
It has been raining so much on the Gulf of Mexico. So, my family and I had to
move all our belongings to the upper level in our home. But, that was not
enough, the rain water kept piling and we were so scared to see how it was
reaching us. So, we took our most precious things to the roof. We stayed there
for two weeks, hardly without food and drinking water. The rain continued
pouring this whole time. We could not sleep. All in Minatitlan, State of
Veracruz, Mexico were suffering the same. We claimed to God and He sent us the
Marines, who rescued a total of 10,000 people. We are so grateful to the Lord,
as we are doing fine again. However, many people did loose family and relatives.
At this very time, we only have the clothes that we are now wearing. My family
and I lost cattle, a total of 350 heads of the best meet cattle. We lost crops,
plantations with banana, papaya, orange, and watermelon. We seem to have
nothing, but we have you to pray for us. It seems the end of the world now! All
we see is pestilence, hunger, sicknesses, and so on. Life did change completely!
But, the knowledge of God you implanted in our hearts remains true and in us.
That is our precious possession now! I would like you to replace my diploma.
Please have mercy on us, and keep praying on our behalf. Yours, Oscar Alor
(Minatitlán, Veracruz).
Please help us pray for…
The people suffering loss due
to much rain in Mexico, Central and South America. Even, Spain and the Caribbean
are suffering from heavy rains and floods.
The world economy, which is so
bad. All prices are going up, and this is affecting the ministry. Our materials
are running our so fast!
We have set a goal of fasting
and praying for long periods of time, during 40 days. Help us pray for the Youth
Conference coming up, for our Churches, and for our dear brethren. We are indeed
facing terrible social problems and God is the only help we can go to.
THANK YOU for your much needed prayers. We love you in Christ
Jesus, our Lord and Savior!
Alfredo José Aparicio
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ARTICLE 6
Want an ARM multimedia presentation in your
church?
As Development Director, I'm visiting a lot of churches in the Midwest!
We have a video/PowerPoint presentation that will inform, encourage, and promote
evangelism in your church. If you would like an ARM presentation for your whole
church-- or a group within it-- please inquire by reply or call 573-729-6355. We
are now scheduling 2006. Thanks again for all your prayers, support, and
encouragement! -- Rod
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ARTICLE 7
Want to help?
To contact ARM about aiding in the funding of supplies and resources,
please email rodfar@arm.org, call
1-573-729-6355, or write to 3127 Hwy K, Salem, MO 65560.
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ARTICLE 8
The Mailbag
Rod, Thanks again for the
wonderful update on the progress of our missions.....I was thrilled to hear the
story about the little girl who testified against her abuser and that he got the
punishment he deserved....hopefully somewhere along the line he too will meet
Jesus and be saved and make a difference where he is at....wouldn't that be a
joy? I also appreciated the pictures of our missionaries. Nice
to put a face with a name...thanks again for all you do for the
Lord. KC and DC
Thanks for the updates, Rod! There is much
being done, and so much to do..... LMP
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ARTICLE 9
Contact Info
Rod Farthing, ARM
National Development Director rodfar@arm.org
3127 Hwy K, Salem, MO 65560 573-729-6355
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