Year 2017 European Coordinator's conference (12.27-28) - by Msn. Jose Ahn

European Coordinator's conference (12.27-28) (Skopie, Macedonia) (Around 100 attendees from around 30 countries; See their profiles as attached)

The airport of Skopie reminded us of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian born. We are reminded more of God's Macedonian Calling of Paul that made Europe as a continent used by God to shine Jesus, the light for the Gentiles to all nations through Rome. Now we hear again "God's Macedonian calling, 'Come over and help us!'" We believe our UBF missionaries are today's Paul called by God to make Europe again to be the Missionary sending continent!

The highlights of the conference:

1. Informal discussion led by Caleb Lee with Dr. Abraham K Lee, Caleb Hong and Dr. Peter Chang: on the night of 26th a forum of national directors and missionaries was held. They covered various topics such as UBF ministry-challenge and prayers.

2. Introduction to Macedonia and Opening message(Deut 8 by M. Barnabas Kang of Macedonia): His message was so humorous as well as so sincere. It showed God's wilderness training in Macedonia was to let him live on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

3. 9 GBS with different languages and gender and 2nd genes and joyful fellowships and special songs and 2nd genes dancing with their own Bible study and activities.

4. 25 country mission reports were very heart touching to see God's quiet but mighty work in each country. We could see God would bless Europe again as God blessed first century Paul's Macedonian ministry with Lydia, one to one bible studies in the rent house in Rome conquered Rome and the whole Europe to reach to the ends of the earth.

There were very useful and meaningful special lectures by Dr. Henry Park (Three spiritual paradigm shifts), Walter Nett (Seek peace and prosperity of the city) (Jer 29:1-14), Pastor Abraham K. Lee (Christian understanding of Islam) and LT by Joseph Ahn

 

5. Main message by Pastor Abraham Kim (Look forward to the Day of the Lord: 2 Pet 3)

​

Thank you for all prayer supports. On 12/29 all members will visit campus and pray for Macedonia mission before leaving for their respected mission fields.

Happy New Year from Missionary Nathan of Brazil

Merry Christmas Msn Rebekah.

How are you?

We are doing fine. Ataiena will go back to work in January and I am finishing my school study and  I am doing an interniship. Victoria and Elisa are growing well. Victoria is now 3,5 years old and Elisa is 4 months. Victoria is studying at french international school. Our Father gave her a scolarship for next year again.

Here is a picture we took last sunday after the CWS.

We miss you and msn Isaac We hope to see you again soon.

Merry Christmas again. May Christ peace and joy fill your heart this Christmas. 

In Christ,

Nathan.

Living Life to the Full

It is December 26, 2016. In a few days the New Year 2017 will arrive. 

At this moment it is my new year's wish and prayer that the Lord enables me to live a life that is full. And the life that is full means the life that lives fully on the full dimensions that is 20 dimensions as is seen in the Lord's prayer. 

1. Our - I live by praying for and looking to the interests/wellbeing of us all, fellow human beings
2. Heavenly - man is created to operate on the dimension of the Spirit (of God), then of the body and mind
3. Father - Father is the originator, from whom life springs
4. Hallowed be - the primary meaning of 'hallowed' is being independant of and therefore fully self-sufficient in terms of source of life
5. Your name - name refers to the integrity associated with the characteristics of one's being, such as his power, love, holiness, mercy, righteousness
6. Your kingdom - kingdom has to do with the domain where God the Father is the boss
7. Come - this is interface
8. Your will - will is the faculty by which one decides on and initiates action
9. Be done - interface 
10. Here on earth (as it is in heaven) - the earth which has four seasons in different continents and oceans with all the creatures such as trees, insects, animals
11. Give (us) - interface
12. Today - time called now (yesterday, today, and tomorrow)
13. (Our daily) Bread - materials such as food
14. Forgive (us) - relationship noting people thrive in peace
15. Our sins - sin is what breaks the rules in which the creation thrives
16. As we have forgiven our debtors - what man does and does not makes a difference
17. Lead us not - prayer with a trembling heart
18. Into temptation - the full meaning and its significance can be understood when we think about what Jesus had to go through right after he was baptized by John the Baptist
19. But deliver us - In the book of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy where the Israelites went through Exodus from the bondage to slavery and yet had to wander close to 40 years in the desert area, one can fully understand the signicance of the prayer topic
20. From evil - Evil is live written backward, and the Devil knows this that the serpent tempted Eve to do what is evil.

UBF Int'l News Update Nov. 27, 2016 (compiled by Dr. Jose Ahn)

Subject: Dear world mission prayer coworkers, 

Here are this week's updates and prayer topics.

Please pray for Israel and the world!
The turmoil of the nations such as Choi gate of Korea, Nuclear threats of NK, ISIS terrorism, and now such fire in Israel as in this picture,

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1-rIcLImhVHnxhBDze1OveFqxoN0&ll=33.27543541298165%2C35.343017578125&z=6
who can control them and give peace to the nations?
Praise Jesus who is the hope of the ends of the earth, who calms down the turmoil of the nations, who forgives all our sins and who gives peace with God and peace with men (Ps 65:5,7, 2). May this good news of Jesus be proclaimed through the World wide Christmas worship services and messages! Glory to God, Peace to men!! 
- While the nations rise and wane, the kingdom of God extends day by day till our Lord's second coming without hindrance! 
-Praise and thank God that the Lord God has sent 45 new missionaries from our UBF thus far this year.

- Jose Anibal, a new venezuela missionary to Ecuador on 11/20 (Juan Seo)

Jose Anibal was sent to Ecuador to pioneer Quito last week

While Venezuela has been unendurably suffering politically, socially and economically, God's work is ever growing. God has sent Jose Anibal following Juan Carlos' HC to Argentina a while ago. Please pray for him to receive a necessary visa to have a self supporting missionary life in Quito. May God send his coworker Yessika and daughter Estefania as soon as possible too. May God use Venezuela as God used first century's Jewish Diaspora who were scattered by persecutions to spread the gospel to other Latin nations and to all the world.

(*M. Juan Seo informed that another missionary HC is planning to go to Chile soon.)

- Freiberg, Germany leadership succession ceremony (11/26) (Noah Yoo)

God blessed Freiburg Campus ministry during last 22 years using us as shepherds and Bible teachers for German students. Most of all God sent M. General David and Rebekka Yaroslava Song as coworkers ten years ago. 

On 11/26 (Sat) at 11 a.m. God blessed our leadership succession ceremony from M. Noah to M. General David Song that will begin from 2017. Walter Nett (EU coordinator) gave an encouraging message from (Joshua 1.7-9) and blessed the new Director of Freiberg with Dr. Abraham K Lee, Caleb Hong and Dr. Mark Yang (Chicago HQ). 

May God raise 12 disciples and 12 house churches in God's time. (Noah and Deborah Yoo)

-Greece Autumn Conference (11/25-27) (Paul and Lydia Lee)

We are now having an Autumn Bible conference. God sent Katalina Rebecca from Romania. S. Maria gave the opening message with the title, "Come to me you who are weary and heavy loaded." Isidora delivered a message, "Jesus, the eternal spring water." Tonight on 26, Lydia, Paul, Pauline, Isidora and Hara will have a purity vow ceremony. On 27 Stamatis gives, "The faith of Joseph" (Gen 39). 

Please pray for us to divorce this wicked and adulterous world and united with Jesus as his pure brides. 

--Almaty, Kazakhstan (Francis Yoon) 

Greetings in Jesus! Here we had snow one week ago. It became very cold.(-30c) We will have a winter Leader Conference (12/16-18). Please pray for the messengers of 1 Pet 2:1-9, John 3:1-16, Acts 9 and John 21. Please pray for my self supporting business that begins too. Please pray for us to have a nice meeting place. Pray for all to write a deep Life testimonies. We all may experience the power of Jesus' death for our sins and his resurrection to give us eternal life. 

- Tony King's (Chicago) Slovakia UBF visiting story(Shortened) 
M. Paul Jang went to Slovakia in 2007 and learned Slovak by faith. Then Korean Embassy was opened newly. He was hired because he was the one who spoke Slovak when the Embassy required it among Koreans there. M. Esther joined next year. S. Lukas was not a Christian when he went there in 2007 but just to open a business. He met M. Esther who was a regular customer of his shop and became a Christian in 2013 through Bible study with M. Paul. M. Grace Choi was a missionary to Egypt, as a Korean language teacher. When she  finished her teaching, by God's leading she came to Slovakia in 2014 and established a HC with S. Lukas in 2015. When I went to their SWS, there was Olena from Kiev too. 

​Prayer topics:

1. Pioneering of Comenius University. M. Esther enrolled as a student in Korean studies to be near students. Since she already knows the material, she has been a blessing to many other students. 

2. God may give M. Paul strength and wisdom to handle heavy embassy work. 

3. Sh. Lukas and M. Grace’s family to have a child, 

4.Sh. Olena’s future marriage in God’s time.Twelve house churches may be raised in Bratislava,

Pastor Abraham and Sarah Kim's schedules: "Look forward to the day of God" (2 Pet 3)

12.5-7 Korea Staff conference, 12.16-18 Africa (South Africa), 12.23-26. ME (Cyprus), 12.27-29. Europe (Macedonia), 2017. 1.2-4. CIS (Moscow), 1.5-7. Asia (India), 1.8-10 Australia, 1.18-21. Latin (Belize)

- This year Christmas offering will be used for India center purchase.

May God bless Christmas Worship Services(CWS) around the world. International Executive Board(IEB) has decided to use CWS offering to help India UBF purchase a new Bible house, as they celebrate 30 years of ministry in India. The current place they are renting is structurally unsound. They are praying for a new place, and that is why IEB prayerfully decided to help them financially with this task. 

Dr. James and Kyung-hee Surh's prayer for the Westcoast,U.S.

From Nov.9-12 James Surh MD and his wife Kyung-hee Surh MD paid a visit to Redding.

They kindly visited Peace Camp and prayed for the pioneering of the Westcoast U.S.

After the visit, they flew to Seattle to pray for the coworkers in Seattle area and Vancouver, Canada.

Grass on the roof

May they (those who hate Zion) be like grass on the roof which withers before they grow). Psalm 129:6

In the dictionary of the Psalter you either love or hate: there is no middle ground.

The opposite of "grass on the roof" is "the tree planted by the streams of living water". Psalm 1:3

In Redding there is the greenway running alongside the Clear Creek stretching from the 299 to the hilly area where there is the veteran cemetery. This area is called greenway because it is green with green trees planted by the creek thriving year round no matter how hot or dry.

But the water in the creek is just water. It is not the living water.

Where then can one find the living water the streams of it?

Jesus answers responding to a woman who asked him the same question: whoever drinks from this well will go thirsty but "whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers (or streams) of living water will flow from within them." John 7:38

This Jesus is the Zion referred to in psalm 129 which was also seen by Ezekiel (47).

Unless the Lord builds the house

Unless the Lord builds the house its builders labor in vain. Psalm 127:1

In reading today's daily bread Bible passage a number of questions came to mind:

- What does it mean for "the Lord" to build the house?
- What about the house (or rather shed at the Peace Camp) I am building? Is it going to turn out to be useless?
- Why "the" house? In the first place what does "the house" mean?

As I prayed further, the following occurred to me:

* The house refers to "the spiritual house" which the Apostle Peter referred to in 1 Peter 2:5.
* It is only the house (your person) which the Lord (Jesus Christ) builds. All the rest (people) no matter how much they try to improve will all be discarded like the fish which a fisherman throws out of the net at the end of the day.
* The Lord himself has been building the house from the Day 1 of man falling, by calling each person to repent, and be saved through faith in Him.
* Referring to the work product of this Lord, the Apostle Paul says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old  is gone, the new is come!"

Our help is in the name of the Lord

In reading Psalm 124 a question comes to mind: "What does it mean to say 'Our help is in the name of the Lord'"?

Today it rained hard and in the course of taking kids outdoors to the Peace Camp I got wet. By the time I came to bed at night the question came to mind for I said to myself, "Well, if the Lord is my help, can he give me a relief from my bodily discomfort?" Then as I lied down on the bed and prayed for the understanding of the word the answer came: the help is in the characteristics of the Lord, thus in adopting into one's life and living according to who he is and how he is living!

This is like a man who understands how tools like generator or solar system work to get the power using them.

All of sudden I also could understand why trouble like prowlers flood raging waters comes if it comes. 

According to the Scripture while on earth in his body the Lord Jesus never grew sick. Rather because he was so healthy even the sick who touched him by faith got healed. Why? It was because He loved God the Father wholeheartedly walking in steps with Him.

So I said to myself: don't be/live like prowlers, flood, or raging waters! Repent turn to Him and live in Him! Then healing became immediate. I felt well and could sleep well.

The Marriage Ceremony of Abigaelle J. LEIGH and Jeffery N. Zeilenga

On Oct 1, 2016 at 11:00 am there was a wedding ceremony between Abigarlle and Jeff.

Jeff is known for the gift of comforting people whereas Abigaelle is known for being joyful in suffering for the sake of gospel.

Their marriage key verse is:  Acts 20:24
"However, I consider my wife worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."

Do Na No Bis Pacem (Peace to us) - El Camino UBF

On Sunday (Sep. 24)  following the Wedding of Jennifer and Juan at Queen Mary, missionary John Kwon took me to a sunday worship service at El Camino UBF.

The worship began at 4:00 pm.

The Bible center was jam packed with students.

Before the worship service Msn. Grace led the congregation to practice one of the upcoming Christmas songs, "Christmas Peace Cannon".

Msn. John Baik served on Mark 13.

Their prayer topics: * Reach out to 50 college campuses *Upcoming Year End/New Year Discipleship Conference at one of the nearby conference site in the Big Bear Mountain area.

After the worship we had an eating fellowship at Wonjo Seafood Restaurant in Norwalk.

News: Msn. John Baek's son Johnny is now attending a college at Pomona. He is a video editor (a guru level). For his skill, you may wish to check Johnny's channel as seen in John Baek's email tome quoted below:

 Hi missionary Isaac. Johnna has two youtube channels. The first channel name is "200poundsofbeauty" - in this channel are "transformers war for cybertron," which has 17 million views, and "transformers fall of cybertron," which has 11 million views. Here is the link: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0gUjNLMgEJjJ4_sxdLeOJQ

The other channel name is: John Baik. This channel has videos related to his school matters, including "North High School Lip Dub 2016" which has been sensational for the North High School Alummni. Because of this video, one couple hired him for their wedding ceremony video lip dub, and Johnna did it - Don and Ven's Wedding Lip Dub. Here is the link for the channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClsCa8qDtkI2saGAIiBh1cw

It was good to see you today and have eating fellowship. God be with you and give you good health all the more.

Your servant in Christ,

John Baik