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]
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.