Partnerships, relationships, friendships are at the core of BrookLink’s ethos. We go, we encourage, meet new believers and renew friendships with people across the world as they invite us to cycle in and out of their lives and ministries.

Reverend Justus Miwanda has been to our home multiple times in the past five years. During one of these visits he invited us to come and serve International Needs Uganda.  It was a welcome invitation and highly anticipated after we heard that Terry and I would be able to travel together.

Greetings friends,

It is hard to believe the summer is concluding and the fall season is upon us! 2014 has already proven to be a fruitful year for BrookLink and as we head into these final months, I want to share with you some important developments.

Ugandan Pastor’s Conference – Please pray!
First, on Wednesday, September 10^th, Terry and I depart for Kampala, Uganda for ten days. We will join Rev. Justus Miwanda and 60 other Ugandan pastors for a week. I will be teaching pastors and church leaders on church planting and leadership. Terry and I will also have the privilege of visiting the ministry of International Needs-Uganda.

Greetings!
 
I have just returned from South India where Dave Seemuth and I spent 10 days teaching and empowering Indian students and church leaders at the South Asian Institute for Leadership and Cultural Studies. It was a week full of collaboration, adventures and rewarding conversations!
 
There is no greater proof of the impact of BrookLink’s ministry than when leaders we have trained in past years return again and again hungry for additional teaching. For instance, meet Nagaraj!

He greeted me the first day of our Pastors Conference in Coimbatore. He had seen my name in the advertisement for the conference and traveled many hours to take advantage of the training. Nagaraj actually translated for me in another city five years ago, has attended previous BrookLink trainings in India, and was back eager to learn more. Today he supervises and oversees pastors in the city of Mysore. He assured me everything we shared would be translated and taught again.

Dear friends,

Lee is halfway through his time of ministry in Coimbatore, India. He and Dave Seemuth have been teaching Leadership Development and the book of Romans to the 40-plus Indian students at the South Asian Institute for Leadership and Cultural Studies (SAILCS).

Lee had a case of dehydration but after some medical treatment, he has recovered and is back to the work at hand. Thank you for all of your prayers for the ministry there.  Please keep praying for God's work to take root in the students' hearts.

For more updates, check our website and our Facebook page.

A Letter from the Chairman of the Board

Dear BrookLink family of supporters,

When Lee Heyward, the Founder and President of BrookLink asked me to join the board of BrookLink in 2009, I was honored and excited. Little did I know that five years later I would be appointed as the Chairman of the Board. It has been an honor and privilege to work with my fellow Board members and to experience firsthand what the Lord has done through Lee and the ministry of BrookLink worldwide. 

Dear friends,

Terry and I have a good friend who is a well-known author, speaker and world traveler. When asked how she manages her hectic schedule, she replies, “I just do the next thing in front of my face.” 

Terry and I have added this phrase to our lives, especially when we look at our calendar for 2014. The year has already been full of adventures. Terry spent 20 days in West Africa shepherding a medical team as they set up and dismantled mobile clinics in remote communities. After saying goodbye to the dedicated doctors, pharmacists, nurses and volunteers, a team of contract landscapers arrived to provide clean water access that a Volta community lacked.

Dear Friends,        

Last month I spent 2 weeks in Sichuan Province serving with China Partner. Founded in 1989, China Partner works alongside the “registered churches” of China to train and equip pastors and church leaders to fulfill the Great Commission. It was a privilege to serve with China Partner’s President, Erik Burklin, as well as his sister Linda Pervenecki and translator Teh-An ‘Daniel’ Hsu.

March 2, 2014

It has been several days since I recorded a trip report. The reason for this has been that I’ve been in transit to two cities since I last wrote.

On Thursday, our teaching team boarded the train and took a 2.5-hour train ride from Dazhou to Chengdu. Chengdu is a city of 14 million people and serves as one of the larger cities in Sichuan Province. We arrived in the city, checked into a hotel, and that same afternoon met with the President of the Sichuan Christian Council, along with his Deputy Administrator. Pastor Jia also serves as the Pastor of one of the largest Christian churches in Chengdu.

February 22, 2014

Early yesterday, I flew from Shanghai to Chongqing (pronounced Shong-shing). Arguably China’s largest city, Chongqing is inhabited by more people than Shanghai, vying with Mexico City as the world’s most populated city (in excess of 30 million people). As we approached landing, I couldn’t help but notice the low cloud cover, only to realize it wasn’t cloud cover—it was smog.

I had come to Chongqing in order to meet the gentleman who would serve as my translator for week. Daniel was born and raised in Taiwan to Chinese parents. His parents fled during the early 50’s after the birth of the People’s Republic. We boarded a bus at the airport to make the three hour bus ride to Dazhou (pronounced Da-Joe). Daniel was born into a Christian family, eventually making his way to the US to study for his PhD at Purdue University. He spent quite a few years working in the US before he and his wife decided to settle in Honolulu. He now is semi-retired and works part-time for China Partner as translator for their work on the mainland.

Dearest Friends,

Just a quick note to inform you that today I leave for China for 16 days. I have been invited by China Partner to visit pastors and leaders among the “registered” churches in three cities in Sichuan Province. This will be my first visit into the interior of the mainland.

Pending the availability of reliable Internet access, I hope to be posting updates on our website as well as on Facebook while I’m away. We encourage you to keep abreast of our travels and even better, to pray!