Another busy two weeks have passed and the crowning event was the preparation for Mother’s Day here on Thursday, May 10, with special gift boxes created by the students for their mothers. This year we gave the teachers and helper Thursday off as a special gift to our three national ladies who work so hard to make the school a success. Yesterday was special to Sharen as she was able to be in touch with all four of our children to be wished a Happy Mother’s Day, enjoyed a Mother’s Day service, and Maria Hunsaker blessed us with a special noon dinner and gift that meant so very much to my wife.

Osman Pinto, the twenty-year-old son of Fredy and Mirsa Pinto, is now helping us part time in the Mission office and the Academy with greatly needed clerical work. He has his elementary teaching degree and is continuing his studies on Saturdays at a branch of the University here in Jalapa. Pray that this will be more than just a temporary time with us but will be a growing conviction upon his heart to dedicate himself full time to Christian Education.

We are now in our eighth week of our second nine weeks here at the Academy. Maria has about a month of school left before leaving on deputation at the end of June. Pray for all the teaching and ministry needs that will need to be met in her absence. Also, the Crosley Family will be with us here in Jalapa from May 31 to June 7 and need your prayers for the trip to be safe and a blessing to all.

Have a great week and God bless!

Lee & Sharen Rickenbach

Dear Prayer Partner,

The National Day of Prayer was May 3 this year.  Our nation stands in need of God’s intervention in a greater way than ever before.  This presidential election could possibly set our nation permanently on a wrong course.  May we join in petitioning heaven for divine help throughout this election cycle.

             Another significant day in May is Mother’s Day.  Many of you cannot call your mother and wish her a Happy Mother’s Day.  For others of you that is still a possibility. If you have a godly mother, thank God for her and thank her.  If you do not, ask God to minister to her spiritual needs.

 Bolivia

      Praise:       

      — Thank God for the young people in our churches who give hope for the future of the work.

       Prayer: 

      — Pray for wisdom to see some local church issues settled properly.

 Costa Rica

      Praise: 

      — Four individuals from the Paraíso church will be baptized.

      — Two key church ladies who had an interpersonal difficulty have sought reconciliation.

       Prayer: 

      — The Barrio México congregation is in need of a shepherd. May God provide the right person.

      — Pray that Noah, a young man from the Paraíso congregation with leadership ability, will fully mind God.  

 Cuba

      Prayer: 

      — David Middleton will be making a trip into Cuba during the month of June.     

 Dominican Republic

      Praise: 

      — There is a new interest in the community in attending church services at the K-26 church.

      — Two people have been saved at the Los Prados church.

       Prayer: 

      — Morena and her daughters have shown interest in salvation but need to become earnest in their seeking.

      — Margo requests prayer for the necessary papers so that she and her husband can be married legally.

 Egypt

      Praise: 

      — The Medan Victoria church in Cairo celebrated their 43^rd anniversary.

      — God is blessing the four new churches in Minia province. Many are attending and some are being saved. 

      Prayer: 

      — Pastor Saied Ibrahim and his son Steven desire divine wisdom as they direct the work in Egypt.

 Guatemala

      Praise: 

      — More than 80 family members were ministered to during the academy Easter program on March 28.

      — God gave help with some difficult parental conferences involving academy students.

       Prayer: 

      — There is a possibility of purchasing property beside the missionary apartments for academy expansion.

      — Lee Rickenbach is working with government officials to obtain permission for upper academy grades.

 Honduras

      Praise: 

      —    Thank God for His protection to the Daniel Melton family during their travels for deputation services.

      — God is blessing Pastor Tito as he ministers in the new church in San Francisco.

       Prayer: 

      — Pray for God to help Roberto Maldonado while he helps live-in couples get married officially.

      — Arnaldo Sánchez, our pastor in Tegucigalpa, passed away.  Remember his son Adonay and the family.

 USA Hispanic Ministries

      Praise: 

      — Three people were saved during the opening of the new church in Windsor, NJ.

       Prayer:

      — Ask God to help the Stamford, CT, congregation while they are without a pastor.

 Homeland

      Praise: 

      — The administration is rejoicing for the recent applications for missionary service with EFM.

       Prayer:

            — The EFM administrators and board want God’s guidance in every decision they make.

Trusting God for answered prayers,

Ronald E. Smith, Prayer Letter Editor

    How soon this month has passed, and how ready the Lord is to quicken our faith.  Friday night we had our monthly parent teachers reunion. One father who works for the public school system recounted a conversation he had with our main supervisor at the local ministry of education, Lic. Portillo.  He said, “I go into our public schools and see kids climbing on the tables and see so much disorder, and then I go to Hope Academy and the kids are in their seats, quietly working and everything is in order.”   What an impact this school is having on the educational leaders of our community! [This is also the same father that takes time after supper and goes over the monthly scripture with his children.]

    During the meeting, I presented some ideas about needing a permanent place to grow as a school, and how the students at Stone City Academy at Bedford were working hard to sell things just to send offerings to help our school here.  One parent after another began to chime in how our kids could get out and earn money for a new school property. Wow!  Our hearts were encouraged to see so many began to take a hold of the need.  One parent said later that it was the best PTA meeting she had ever attended. God is moving on their hearts by the examples of others!

    Saturday, the family of one of our kindergarten students, who had been out with the mumps all week, was visited to help him catch up on some of his homework. The grandfather said that Bryan was a different boy since going to our school. Now he is kind to others and helps around the house and… “You teach him about God!”  He said he wished he could have attended a school like ours when he was a boy! God is working on hearts!

    New trial in our lives. Early last week we noticed the young nuns are now occupying the residence next door. It sounds like a small convent with services through the day and a variation between chants and evangelical choruses. Our hearts are grieved at what these girls (many are just teenagers) are being subjected to. The owner says they have a verbal contract with him to be there through the end of June. 

    Continue to pray with us and for us and have a great week!

God bless,

Lee and Sharen Rickenbach

Dear Prayer Partner,

Easter morning guarantees many great blessings for us among which are forgiveness for our disobedience and rebellion against God, transformation into new creatures in Christ Jesus, and the privilege of having a personal relationship with God. Our Sunday school lessons for the first quarter in 2012 were taken from the latter chapters of Matthew. We have been studying the events of the last week of Christ’s life—the growing hatred of the Jewish leaders; the betrayal of Judas; the agony in Gethsemane; the mockery of the Jewish trials; the accusations before Pilate; the physical mistreatment including spitting, slapping, the crown of thorns, and scourging; and then the crucifixion. Jesus silently suffered all the preceding in order that He might make possible for us the blessings of Easter morning.

Bolivia

      Prayer: 

      — Marc Sankey and Steve Hight will be visiting Bolivia early April and need God’s guidance and help.

 Costa Rica

      Praise: 

      — Diego, a young man saved in jail, was released and is attending services and progressing spiritually.

       Prayer: 

      — Pray for the Holy Spirit to continue ministering to Diego and make him a mighty witness for Christ.

 Dominican Republic

      Praise: 

      — The attendance continues to increase at the outreach services in the village of La Lomita.

      — The pastor at Hato Viejo reports that a nephew and a brother-in-law have sought and found salvation.

       Prayer: 

      — Someone has started to build a house on land belonging to EFM at K-32. Plead with God to intervene.

      — Several of the believers are suffering physically or recovering from surgery and need a divine touch.

 Egypt

      Praise: 

      — The Bible college has progressed well this school year, and graduation is anticipated in May. 

      Prayer: 

      — Pray for the funding to complete several church-building and church-expanding projects.

      — An air conditioner is needed for the Bible college classroom because of the heat from April to October.

Eritrea/Sudan

      Praise: 

      — God is supplying needs for the group of Eritrean believers living in Sudan.

       Prayer: 

      — Ask God to anoint the messengers of His Word and make His Word effective and fruitful.

      — Ogbaselassie Haile and family must travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to process resident permits.

 Guatemala

      Praise: 

      — Thank God for the many who sought and found salvation during revival efforts in the churches in March.

      — Unsaved families are being reached through the ministry of the bilingual academy.

       Prayer: 

      – Pray for Sharen Rickenbach and Maria Hunsaker as they train nationals to fill academy positions.

      — Lee Rickenbach has multiple responsibilities. May God give him wisdom and help to fulfill them.

 Honduras

      Praise: 

      —    The medical team ministered to 940 people, and over one hundred of them prayed for salvation.

       Prayer: 

      — Manases and Venicia, a young couple, have started pastoring the struggling church at Le Ceiba.

 USA Hispanic Ministries

      Praise: 

      — God is helping the believers who are without a pastor at Stamford, CT.

       Prayer:

      — The congregation at Hyde Park, MA, is seeking for a permanent place for worship.

Trusting God for answered prayers,

Ronald E. Smith, Prayer Letter Editor

Dear Prayer Partner,

Portage, Pennsylvania, has experienced snow and wind for the last several days, but our early blooming flowers are starting to poke through the cold earth to indicate that spring is coming. I recently heard reports of the gracious visitations of the Spirit. One was during a youth revival at Northwest Indian Bible School in Alberton, Montana. One night the young people prayed, made confessions, and testified until after 11:00 p.m. The other special visitation took place during an area youth convention in Pennsylvania.

I trust that like early blooming flowers indicate spring is coming, these special visitations of the Spirit are indications of more to come in the near future. We need God to visit His people another time with a mighty awakening and outpouring of His presence that many individuals might prepare for the soon return of Christ.

Bolivia
Praise:
– Seventeen students will be studying in the Bible institute this school year.

Prayer:
– The Sánchez family’s daughter stayed in Guatemala when they retuned to Bolivia in January.

Costa Rica
Praise:
– Michael and Melissa, a young couple for whom prayer was requested, were saved in January.

Prayer:
– Several people sought heart holiness last month. Pray that they will continue their spiritual advancement.

Cuba
Praise:
– Thank God for His help to David Middleton during his trip to Cuba in January.
– The Cuban pastors are recognizing their need of a work of holiness in their lives.

Prayer:
– Pray that the Cuban pastors will become earnest seekers after heart holiness.

Dominican Republic
Praise:
– God answered prayer concerning some urgent requests for the community of K-32.
– The congregation in K-32 started monthly services in the village of La Lomita.

Prayer:
– There are three couples in the community of K-32 who are much in need of help from God.
– Plead with God to defeat the increased attacks of the devil against the churches in the D.R.

Egypt
Praise:
– God blessed the church conference in southern Egypt in a special way with His presence.

Prayer:
– Violence is escalating in Egypt, and Christians are sometimes the targets of that violence.

Eritrea/Sudan
Praise:
– Sixteen Eritreans were saved in a revival effort in January in Khartoum, Sudan.

Prayer:
– May God give guidance regarding plans to build a church in Khartoum for the Eritrean people.

Guatemala
Praise:
– A new academy student sought God for forgiveness after hearing the message of salvation.

Prayer:
– Pray for the Guatemalans and American missionaries who teach in the bilingual academy.
– May the young people of Guatemala respond to God’s call for full-time labor in His kingdom.

Honduras
Praise:
– Several new students registered to attend the Bible institute when classes began in February.

Prayer:
– The national church president, Angel, and his wife need God’s help to fulfill their responsibilities.

USA Hispanic Ministries
Praise:
– A new Hispanic church is being started in Windsor, NJ, near the city of Trenton.

Prayer:
– Because of high rent, the congregation in Trenton, NJ, is seeking for a church building to purchase.

Homeland
Praise:
– Thank God for His help in the mission services thus far in 2012. May He continue to do so.

Prayer:
– Continue praying for Marc Sankey as he shoulders his responsibilities at EFM.

Trusting God for answered prayers,

Ronald E. Smith, Prayer Letter Editor

We thank the Lord for another week and for His special strength as we conclude the first quarter of the school year this Friday. We appreciated our national church superintendent bringing the chapel message last Wednesday.  Also, with some of the special offering from Stone City Christian Academy in Bedford, Indiana, we were able to purchase a small keyboard for our students to play during chapel and to use for special events.  Sarah is enjoying using it as the children prepare for an Easter presentation at the end of the month.

Last Friday was another upset in the community as all the schools had to close at 11:00 a.m. because of the threat of demonstrations in the main plaza by groups of men from Jalapa Mountain.  They seem to come down every year and fuss about land that needs to be returned to them for injustices to their forefathers or some other demand.  Tear gas was used by the police in one area of Jalapa and there were threats to take over some of the schools and hold children hostage, but thankfully nothing came of the threats. There was no danger on our side of town of which we were aware.

Remember, as always, to pray for a larger school site for the 2013 school year and the need to train additional national teachers for the continued growth of the academy.

God bless,

Lee & Sharen Rickenbach

Isa 12:1, “And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.”  Without His comfort and the Comforter we would always be under His wrath. Sobering thought, but very true.

We need His comfort daily as we saw a week go by that was filled with tragedy of those who lost loved ones by violence, and yet triumph as Wednesday afternoon saw three of our children in the upper learning center give their hearts to the Lord. This spilled over in the evening prayer meeting and there was great rejoicing by the parents.

In the midst of it all of course is the daily grind, but may it mill us to finer wheat, that, as one writer says, would make us a greater peace offering to others.  We did try to get away for a weekend in the Capital.  Maria and Sarah had not been to town for two months so it was definitely needed. We appreciate their lives of service here to the academy and to our nationals.

Sharen is doing a great job with the little ones in the Kindergarten class as they passed their seventh week and are learning new things daily, although sometimes she feels she has not done all she wished she could. We thank the Lord that the parents have been very supportive of her ministry which mean a lot to her, and silently she is getting close to many of them who do not know the Lord.

Thanks for your continued prayers for all of the ministry teams - both US and national, and for the future of the academy.

God bless,

Lee & Sharen Rickenbach

We have finished our sixth week  at the Academy. All our teachers except our helper in the K-room were healthy this week. Several of our children are facing challenges at home which need our prayers. Shari spoke to the big sister of one of our students who said their brother was going through a lot of depression adjusting to Guatemalan high school after being in the US since a child. Another one of our girl’s daddy has gone back to drinking and is making it very hard on her. I was able have a frank talk with him on Tuesday and to have prayer with him. He told me Friday God had helped him to stay dry over the rest of the week, and that night his wife said he was attending their church’s revival service.

I had a Tuesday morning devotional on Rachel Scott and the Chain of Acts of Kindness. Wednesday was my chapel day this week and the Lord helped with the topic, The Book of Life afterwhich Sister Betty gave a good testimony on how that message was used to bring her to the Lord when she was a young girl. Friday evening was our monthly parent-teachers session, and I spoke to them on Seven Steps to Take in the Home to Have a Successful Student. The Lord helped and we had a group of about fifty present.

Maria and Sarah helped Friday afternoon at the Child Evangelism Fellowship club, and of course, had a very busy week in the classroom with Sarah also starting a remedial music class in the afternoon schedule.

Thank for all your prayers for the school personnel, the children, and their families as we continue to reach young hearts and their families with the Gospel on a daily basis.

God bless you!

Lee & Sharen Rickenbach

Please remember each member of the medical team that will be leaving for Honduras this weekend. There are sixteen people on the team this year and that means many pieces of luggage and supplies – please pray that everything will arrive safely in Honduras.
Pray for the efforts of this team. They will be working long days in several different towns or villages and they will need your prayer support to keep them going.
Thank you for your financial support that has helped with the expenses of this trip. You are so faithful to give to Evangelistic Faith Missions and we thank God for each of you.

Rex and Missy McDowell, along with their two boys, and Hispanic Ministries Director Marc Sankey have returned safely from their trip to Costa Rica. Thank you for praying for them!

Rex and Marc in Costa Rica