PEACE IN THE WHIRLWIND
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:7 NIV
Dear Friends,
I pray this message finds you well as we live through these peculiar times. The entire world is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Church of Christ has an extraordinary and urgent opportunity to minister hope and share “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.”
Understandably, we made the decision not to send Jan Ryder and Leslie Osborne, members of our BrookLink Facilitator Team, to train child and family ministry workers for the Kale Heywet Church of Ethiopia conference this month. In spite of last minute changes, Kale Heywet Church leaders we trained last fall took up the challenge. Drawing from teaching received from BrookLink Facilitators, these faithful leaders poured themselves into conference participants. This is the goal of BrookLink, realized through crisis.
Will you invest in us at this unique time? There are more training opportunities on the horizon, to be enacted as we are able. We endeavor to train Iranian pastors exiled in Turkey, as well as pastors in China and India. Our plans to conduct training in Armenia have recently been rescheduled to later this Fall or early 2021. On the home front, we are looking forward to opening our newly-acquired small office in Brookfield, Wisconsin, with a full-time office administrator, in anticipation of BrookLink’s expanding missional opportunities. We want to be prepared, when this crisis is behind us, for the next exciting chapter that God is writing in the story of BrookLink.
Please be on the lookout for more information around our 11th Annual Windows to the World event, which had been scheduled for the end of April. We are disappointed that we need to postpone this anticipated event. Stay tuned! We will be in touch with new details as they unfold.
Thank you for your sacrificial gifts to this ministry, and for always being alongside us, even when God steers our path in unexpected directions. As you give, please pray. Pray for the church leaders that we have trained. Pray for the expansion of the Church in those places where we have served. Pray for new opportunities for BrookLink to offer training to the global Church.
Meanwhile, I along with our Board of Directors and Staff, will be praying for you, your loved ones and communities throughout the coming weeks and months, that your faith in Christ Jesus will “guard your hearts and minds.”
Gratefully, I was able to connect with some of you earlier this month as I spoke at the missions conference at Winnetka Bible Church in Winnetka, Illinois. Until our next opportunity for connection, please know that we are deeply thankful for you, your partnership and your gifts.
Prayerfully,
Ian Lawson
