Gebhard newsletter july aug 2015

Pray Finances. Praise God for all the generous donations to

the well-drilling project and disaster relief project these last

few months. Donations to general funds, however are not

keeping up with recent health insurance cost increases,

ministry work expenses and basic personal expenses. Pray

for God’s provisions these next few months as we are

visiting supporting churches and helping Timothy with

college preparations.

Travel. Continue to

pray for us in our travels

this summer. After a

pretty extensive time on

the road this past

month, we’ll rest briefly

in Dallas before another

trip to a Kansas VBS and to Tennessee to help get Timothy

to college. Pray for traveling energy and safety.

Bible Translation. Please continue to pray for our main

Lele rough-drafting crew, Jonas and Pierre, as they juggle

Bible translation work with the regular agricultural work of

rainy season.

Need for a community development worker and literacy

worker. Pray that God would send more workers to help

us reach the Lele. Is God prompting you to be a part of this

work? There might be a place for you on the field.

With the Gebhards in West Africa July/August 2015

Contact Us

Phone: 214-909-1309

Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

www.facebook.com/marc.gebhard

Skype: mtgebhard

M I S S I O N TO T H E L E L E

HALA TANDO Always w i t h Us In West Africa, where we work, you may see

blooming poinsettia flowers and butterflies in July or

August—during the rainy season.

Christmas flowers blooming in August remind us of

Emmanuel—God with us, not just at Christmas but

throughout the year. And what a good reminder for

our village friends during this part of the year.

August is particularly hard for our village friends for

many reasons. Last year’s harvested rice is running

out and this year’s hasn’t produced yet. It rains

constantly and people have to work hard in their

fields to protect their precious rice crop.

Working hard while you are hungry is challenging.

Our village friends need to be reminded that the Lord

will be with them even in difficult times.

“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil

nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory

was not clothed like one of these.” Luke 12:27

Check out PBT’s Videos. Download them for your church mission

time, Sunday school class or VBS event.

www.vimeo.com/pioneerbible Big David and little David. David entertains baby David,

son of one of our house helpers in the village.

DONATE TODAY Tax-deductible donations to our ministry with PBT should be

made out to “Pioneer Bible Translators” and sent to the

following address:

PBT- Gebhard

P.O. Box 10184

Terre Haute, IN 47801

We welcome donations to our every day ministry of Bible

Translation among the Lele. Additional special donations

can help villages in need of clean drinking water or with

community rebuilding projects in the villages affected by

the Ebola outbreak earlier this year. To designate your gift

to one of these projects, write Village Wells or Disaster

Relief on the memo line. We also thank you for

designating special donations to the House Annex, Lele

Literature and Replacement Vehicle funds.

Thank you for being a part of the mission to reach the Lele

and other Bible-less peoples around the world with the

precious word of God. Thank you for your prayers and

faithful contributions to this work. We value you as a very

real part of the Pioneer Bible Translators team.

Financial Snapshot Extra Village Well funds were recently used to purchase

new drilling equipment for our crew in the village. Also, a

recent gift from International Disaster Emergency Services

was given to our Disaster Relief fund to help villages affected

by Ebola last year.

Donations to general funds have been a bit down these

past few months and thus salary and general ministry funds

have been minimal. Please pray for God’s provisions.

Fund Available (July 14, 2015)

General (Ministry + Health Insurance + Salary + Housing)

$ 3,290

Disaster Relief Fund $ 15,000

Village Wells and Sanitation $ 1,421

Visiting Team House Annex $ 2,740

Lele Literature $ 5,921

Replacement Vehicle $ 2,286

Gebhard Travel Schedule

Our visiting schedule is filling in quickly. If you would like us to come visit your church, let us know and we’ll see if we can schedule a visit. We’d love to see you! August 2-6. Downs, KS. First Christian Church. VBS. Aug. 15-25. Knoxville, TN. Get Timothy to Johnson University. September 27. Auburn NE. Auburn Christian Church. Oct. 4. Norfolk, NE. First Christian Church. Oct. 12-16 Dallas, TX. Paratext Workshop Oct. 16-20. Dallas, TX. Bible Translation Conference Oct. 29-31. Richmond, VA. International Conference On Missions

Our friend Boura recently told us that August is the worst

month for crimes, arguments and difficulties in the village.

People are hungry. People will kill their neighbor’s goat if it

strays into their rice field. Husbands and wives get into fights.

Thieves sneak into other people’s huts to steal their food.

Immune systems break down and people get malaria and

cholera and other deadly diseases.

In the midst of all this, Jesus tells people, “Do not worry

about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your

body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the

body more than clothes?” in Matthew 6:25

Philippians 4:6-7 says, ”Don’t worry about anything;

instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and

thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s

peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace

will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

These words are transforming words. They give hope and

peace despite extreme circumstances. They encourage us to

rely on God for strength in our daily challenges.

As our village friends experience another rainy season with

its hunger, as they work to ensure this years rice crop, would

you remember them in prayer? Pray that God would

strengthen them and that they would experience that peace

that is beyond understanding.

Hard work. Strenuous exercise is built into everyday life in the

village. Here a family pounds palm nuts to extract the red oil.