Dear friends,

God is doing a new thing!Meet Cecilia and Isabel, two young Brazilian sisters in Christ who are preparing to serve as missionaries in East Timor and China respectively.They are part of an exciting movement sweeping churches around the globe.God is raising up scores of cross-cultural missionaries from what used to be known as the "receiving" countries.This is the new face of mission in the 21st century.Our sisters and brothers from the "majority world" are reaching out to the "unreached" on every continent. They are sending missionaries to non-Christian nations as well as to formerly Christian countries that have become lukewarm or even hostile to the Christian gospel.Quite likely, one of these missionaries may be ministering in your community.This paragraph from an article on the new Christian mission movement says it well:

The most impressive characteristic of modern mission is the fantastic growth of the mission movement in many southern countries (traditional missionary receiving countries). With great enthusiasm and sacrifices they send their own missionaries to unreached areas in their own country and to other countries and many support their missionaries financially with great sacrifices. Today half the global mission movement comes from the new sending countries of the South: Korean missionaries in Central Asia, Brazilian missionaries in North Africa, Filipinos in the Far East...

You are part of this!Thanks to you, we have the privilege of helping to train Brazilian women and men whom God has called and gifted as cross-cultural missionaries. Cecilia and Isabel will leave for East Timor in January where they will join a multi-cultural mission team.The following year, Isabel will move to China.As is the case in many countries around the world, missionary teams consist of members from several different countries.For example, a team in Senegal might have missionaries from Brazil, Holland, Australia, and Korea.The "lingua franca" of these teams usually ends up being English by default.

Cecilia and Isabel's ministry team in East Timor uses Portuguese and English as common languages.There's just one problem:neither of these young women speak English!That is why we have begun tutoring them in basic English conversational skills.Please pray for them as they study English with us over the next three months.We know from experience how challenging it is to learn a new language!

We joke with Isabel and Cecilia that now they know how we feel trying to learn Portuguese.We praise God for the modern day gift of tongues.Our friends tell us that we are making good progress in speaking Portuguese, though it still seems like we speak "Tarzan Portuguese."Still, the instructor for our Português para Estrangeiros class just promoted us from the Basico to the Intermediário level after only one month!PTL!

Thank you for partnering with us in this Spirit-led ministry.Your prayers were a hedge of protection around us when our family was assaulted and robbed about two weeks ago, and your prayers for healing and peace are much appreciated.Your prayers have also eased Asa's adjustment to Colégio Batista Mineiro where all classes are taught in Portuguese.Talk about immersion!Please join us in praising God for what he is doing in us and through us as we serve alongside our Christian brothers and sisters here in Brazil.

God is blessing us here in Brazil, and is already using us to strengthen and bless others. May we speak frankly?Fall is the time when we are all encouraged to give to International Ministries through the World Mission Offering (WMO).This offering goes 100% to support international mission in over 60 countries around the world.Our family depends on this one offering for a significant portion of our financial support through IM.(The rest of our support comes from individuals and churches who commit to a monthly or annual pledge to IM).Many ABC missionaries, including us, make regular monthly gifts to IM.

We just received word that International Ministries is $1.5 million short of funds for 2005.Giving to the WMO will need to increase by 36% this year and in following years.How does that affect our ministry?If there is still a shortfall by the end of this year, we have been told that a number of missionaries will be recalled.That's the bad news.The good news, as a Brazilian pastor told us yesterday, is that "God can do miracles."Please give generously now and regularly to support the ministry of all of our ABC missionaries.

God is doing a new thing!God is calling us to send out more missionaries as we grow our ministry of crossing cultural boundaries to make disciples of Jesus Christ here in Brazil and around the world.

Que Deus os abençoe!(God bless you!)

Ann, Bruce and Asa

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