Phnom Penh Pals: Team Helm in Cambodia

A missionary to Somali on her experience, "...What we were unprepared for was for our friends and colleagues on the field to die; some young, some talented, and all somehow more valuable to the kingdom than ourselves.  We ask ourselves why.  Why them, and not us?  Martin, Sheikdon, Christine, Colin, Libaan, Farah--all died for their faith.  All died violently.  When our dear friend, Martin Utzi, was questioned about the safety of taking his wife and young children to Somaliland, he answered, 'If what we are doing is not worth dying for, then it is not worth living for."  Only a short time later, as his 3-year old son looked on, sweet, gentle Martin died from a gunshot to the head.  Our friends won't have biographies written about them.  Few people know of their sacrifice.  Yet, in dying, they show us how to live."  Mary Wallace, Live Dead People often ask me if I feel scared about moving abroad.  And truthfully I do.  I do not fear for myself, but I do fear for

Heya friends, Thank you so much for your prayers and support.  We have already reached our goal, and we are no longer fundraising.  In three weeks, I will be in Bangladesh, so please continue praying.  If World Medical Missions accepts our application, we will likely have more fundraising to do, and we certainly need a lot of prayer raising that God guides us the way He intends us to go.  Thanks again for your support! Re:  http://ethanandelizabethhelm.blogspot.com/2014/07/moving-to-bangladesh-maybe-call-for-help.html

My cousin asked me to write something for him on why medical missions.  This is what I wrote while being distracted by a beautiful little boy who was eager to sit in my lap and read him books (which I did gladly).  Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”" Clearly, Jesus Christ wants us to go to all nations.  One of the big themes of the Bible is that God desires the praise of all nations.  Psalm 67:3-5 reads, "May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.  May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the people justly and guide the nations of the earth.  Selah  May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise

"I asked the class, 'How many of you have been jailed for your faith?'  Nearly every hand in the room went straight up.  I spoke no Amharic at the time, so I thought they must have misunderstood my American English.  I tried it again from a different syntactical angle.  Same response.  One more time.  Same response.  Finally, an exasperated young man in the front row politely asked me, 'Brother Steve, are you asking how many of us spent time in prison because we are believers in Jesus?'  'Yes!  That's it, that's what I'm asking.' I joyfully retorted.  He turned and spoke in what sounded like tongues for a few moments ... a pause ... then nearly every hand in the room went into the air.  Be more."  Live Dead , Day 14, Steve Pennington, missionary to Ethiopia/Kenya

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV), “ Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. ” I have struggled with speech since I was a child.   Initially, it was a matter of pronunciation.   I could not say my Rs, and my father would exploit this by having me “make the noise that pirates make,” when around friends.   I would say, “Awwwwww,” to which he would reply, “Oh, the sympathetic pirate.”   When I was a teenager, I justified cursing by saying that the scripture did not say that I should not curse, but instead, that I should not speak crudely. Ephesians 5:4 (ESV), “ Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”    And to be honest, I think I did have a point.   These words do not have to be crude and the s word is no more crude than other words that are more socially acceptable.   Nonetheless, I would use