Pray BFF Letter #186
March 3, 2011
pdf printable version
Time Encounters
Dear Prayer Partners,
Time is short and precious. Life for me is dictated by segments of time to work on different projects. It is only 21 days before I head off to Africa. That slices my time up into segments. What can be done in these short three weeks before I go? Or what was done in the two prior months, January and February? Or what has happened in the last decade of BFF's ministry?
21 days before takeoff to Africa
Final travel and housing arrangements are being made. Double checking visa requirements. A sudden increase of emails with key contact people there in Uganda and Ethiopia so that everything is properly prepared. I need to speak about 35 different messages! Yikes. And of course, seeking more prayer!
As usual, we are very dependent upon the Lord at this point. We are grateful for 16 percent of the funds that have come in, but we still need $7,500 more!
Do keep praying with us so that the trip might go smoothly in all respects, even with the fast-changing political landscape around North Africa. If you desire to be involved financially in what God is doing, make your check out to BFF and put STM in the memo or make an online donation.
4-5 weeks of African ministry
Most people think that the mission trip lasts only as long as I am over there in Africa and maybe a bit longer due to jet lag. Not for me. As soon as I return, I begin producing a series of bilingual training videos. This becomes very tedious both with the repetition and number of videos pro- duced. Constant editing, often 12 hours a day.
The speed is somewhat regulated because each message whether translated into Luganda or Ethiopian will be about 75-90 minutes long. A good chunk of time is used.
Two months of January & February
Time past is more mysterious than time planned. Where did January and February go? I cannot believe 2011 is already 16.7% over. I was involved in not only caring for my aging parents, some Florida vacation, but also focused on special projects. I almost finished re-editing Overcoming Anxiety: Finding Peace, Discovering God into book and e-pub format. Many people from all over the world are being helped. One office thief from New Zealand, caught in the act but repentant, recently wrote about how the article on the peace of God is greatly helping her.
More exciting, however, is a new book project. Whenever God leads me to start a new book or series, I get so excited. Ideas flurry about my mind and stir my heart. However, I can never catch up with my mind. I need to slow down and write it all down. And then I need to slack off even more to edit what was written. And then further reduce my speed by putting it into proper format for reading on the web, e-pub (still learning) or in pdf. Gaining Perspective on God's Purpose for Your Life: A reflective study on the life of Joseph is designed to be a daily study guide for more mature believers. Comments welcomed!
Our first decade of ministry
Some of you might want to catch a view of our first decade of ministry. See the way the Lord has taken us from the very beginning of Biblical Foundations for Freedom to now. Again, we give praise to God for His wonderful works and thanks to you all for praying for us along the way!
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Praise the Lord!
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Praise the Lord for financial support starting to trickle in!
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Thank the Lord for good visits with my parents and refreshing Florida swimming.
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Very humbled by another book taking shaped into existence.
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Deeper times with the Lord.
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God provided Allison's funding for the rest of this semester!
Prayer Requests
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Good preparation for training the African pastors. So many messages to keep straight.
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Blessing upon Rev. Mubiru and Rev. Fikre as they oversee the three seminars.
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Preparation of the hearts of those that will be attending. We are looking for transformation.
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Protection of family and ministry during this time.
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$7,500 in provision for the trip. (None of this is used for personal salary).
In God's Love, Paul
Paul J. Bucknell/BFF
3276 Bainton St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
pb@foundationsforfreedom.net
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