Dearest Friends,
BIG WONDERFUL NEWS!
The above title is how we began our first email of 2018. After seeing what God has done in 2018, I believe it is still the perfect way to title our end of the year report. All of the following stories are from this year. You can see that God has been very kind to us and given us many sweet opportunities to tell the children about Jesus.
LEBANON…
Each year, in January, I travel to Lebanon to work with Syrian refugees. I still remember of one Muslim who received a box of food for her and her children. She was literally living under a staircase. When my friends delivered the food, they said, "This is a gift from Jesus." She said to thank Him and tell Him hello. She had no idea who Jesus was, is. Many of our Muslim friends know nothing about Jesus who came to rescue them. One out of 4 people is a Syrian refugee. You began to grasp how many people desperately need to hear God’s rescue plan for them.
You generously gave thousands of dollars to buy Bibles which were delivered to Syria by a kind donkey. We saw God answer many prayers. We were especially blessed when a school told us could not share, but allowed us to go room to room speaking to the children. Though we could not pray with the children, but we could tell them how to pray. It is all the same to God. The gifts that we delivered softened their hearts to the Gospel. The day had begun in frustration, but ended with blessing.
NEPAL…
We shared with thousands and thousands of Hindu children. There was also some Buddhist children and a few Muslim children. My favorite day was the day that we visited the "rat eaters” village. Nepal has a caste system which labels this particular people group as "untouchable". They are desperately poor and they do eat rats sometime because they have nothing else. They were so surprised that we came. The entire village came to the show. I have no words for the great joy that God gave me on this particular day.
We delivered over a hundred coats which were used by our puppet director, Tika Ram Baral, to share Jesus in a remote village. Many Hindus responded to the love of Jesus because the love that you showed them. Also we delivered one thousand Bibles to an area that had so few Scriptures. It was an amazing trip!
NORTHERN IRELAND…
Many people choose to spend their Easter break in the town of Newcastle. The Irish band, Reality, and The Agape Puppets always join together at this time of year to share on the street. The weather was extremely bad, but God gave us the opportunity to share with many, many children. It was a wonderful answer to prayer! You would not think that 3 days can make much of a difference. However, three days spent well can see lives changed. Many of the children who came to the shows had never heard about Jesus and were so eager to hear about the One who got them out of school for Easter break.
TURKEY…
I loved working in Istanbul! Each year I have the joy of sharing with many Syrian refugees how Jesus can give them hope. Let me tell you about the people of Afrin. Afrin is a district as well as a city in northern Syria. As a director of Syria, it is part of the Aleppo Governorate. You have probably have never heard of it. Turkey recently attacked this area which is largely Kurdish. Many of the refugees that we are working with are Kurds and many of these people do not know if their family members are alive or dead. Imagine if you were in their place. Worse, most are not believers and so they do not have the comfort of the Father. I have had many opportunities to share with Kurdish people here in Istanbul, both at programs and at home visits. My heart breaks for them and their suffering. Despite problems with work, housing, food, medical problems… their greatest need is also our greatest need.
BRAZIL…
This trip will always remind me of how hard all of us prayed so that I could actually get to Brazil. I had problems with the tickets, broken airplanes, and securing a Visa. Still, once I arrived I saw why it was so important to God why I go. I was able to take equipment to 18 puppet teams, enabling them to better share with thousands and thousands of children. I will always cherish their very warm welcome. When I arrived at the airport in Brazil and exited customs, they were yelling, "Linda! Linda!" They were clapping and cheering. It was a beautiful and humbling moment. I felt their love wash over me. There have been other times throughout the year that were very difficult. I will remember my friends in Brazil, smile, pray, and get on with the job!
KELSEY LAWRENCE…
In June, Kelsey joined me as a full- time partner in ministry. Having her help and wisdom has already made an incredible difference in so many places in the world. She has been a complete joy and continues to bless me every single day that we have worked together. Please continue to pray for her as she continues to serve Jesus and tell the children of the world about His wonderful love.
CAMEROON…
This was an extremely difficult trip that God used to tell many children about Himself. It was extremely hot and the political situation was very unsettled. We were telling children who had witnessed terrible atrocities that they did not have to be afraid anymore. I counted it an honor to be in this place and plant a new puppet ministry in Cameroon. Please continue to pray against the great darkness which threatens this country.
Our adventures in Cameroon took us an island off the coast of the country. We visited a prison and were welcomed by prisoners who were singing praises to Jesus. Since none of the schools were in session. we did many shows at churches in different villages. One of my favorite stories happened at a orphanage. As we finished the program, the president of the orphanage prayed for us. He was a young man, an orphan, and around 15 years old. He was wearing his best suit and it was white. He knelt in the dirt and prayed for us. He did not think about his clothes or his image or anything except Jesus. I want to be like this young man. His sweet faith inspired me. Though these children are often hungry, we heard nobody complaining. I will always remember their beautiful smiles.
USA…
This summer we traveled across 24 states and saw God open doors to two Native American reservations, working with the Navajo people and Yakima people. We planted a puppet ministry with Yakima children and teenagers serving as our puppeteers. We had many adventures all across the United States, but I loved how our trip began. I just finished presenting God’s rescue plan to the children at a stop in Missouri. When I told the children that they could pray with me or watch me pray, one little boy did something incredible! He raised His hand and said, "I will pray with you, ma’am." His simple statement of faith made me instantly forget about all of the car children and other problems that we had endured. More, as he had the courage to pray, others followed his good example. later, he hugged me, thanked me, and we had our picture taken together. We also gave him a Jesus Storybook Bible. I told him that he could group up to be a great man of God! He lived in a place where encouragement and vision is not usually offered. Please hold "Sir", yes that is his name, in your prayers.
One of our sweetest shows was with the Yakima children. I loved every show that we did with them, but the last show that we did was especially sweet! We set up under a big tree and there was a sea of children and helpers in front of us. Our friends at Sacred Road have been working in this place for 15 years. The children they first served are no grown. Some of these children are their children. They were so responsive and many of them called on Jesus. It was a beautiful show, full of hope.
We did shows in Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, and many other places as we traveled. In Detroit, we had a particularly difficult show. When we entered the building we all sensed a deep hopelessness in the place. The children were hungry for love and attention. They enthusiastically asked Jesus to rescue them. They begged us not to leave. They asked us to stay and do another show. They wanted to know if we could come tomorrow. We gave them Jesus Storybook Bibles. I pray God will use these books to help them grow deeper in their faith. Please pray fro these children.
IRELAND…
I love fairy tales! I have always enjoyed Cinderella and the wonderful hours she enjoyed at the ball before the clock struck 12. Last night, I felt like Cinderella. We enjoyed a beautiful, amazing evening doing shows with Reality on the streets of Dublin. It was perfect! We arrived home at midnight. I imagine that you are thinking how does a fancy ball compare with dirty streets? In the story, Cinderella had a most wonderful evening. Ours was even better! Yes, we had a man that kept walking past us shouting words I can not repeat. A homeless man slept to the right of the puppet stage.Across the street from us, a man passed out drunk and slept on the street. Some people made sure that we knew they were laughing at us. Others, were more direct . A man came toward the puppet stage while they were singing. His face was incredibly angry. I knew he was trouble and moved toward him with my arms down and open, but he was moving very fast. He grabbed the puppet that was singing lead with both hands and threw it on the ground with force. Then he was gone. I quickly grabbed the puppet and got it back to Kelsey. She kept singing. I was very grateful that the puppet did not land in anything disgusting. Please pray for this man and all the angry people we saw. They were not mad at us; they were angry with God. They do not understand that they desperately need Jesus. The One they hate loves them and that truth is what drives us to love them, too.
We also did shows in Killarney, Limerick, Galway, and at the Rose of Tralee Festival. Our experiences were similar to the experience in Dublin. God always blessed us! He always opened doors!
ITALY…
I went to Italy to launch our brand new team, Agape Italy. Our wonderful directors from Brazil, Fabiana and Gerson Simioni, left their home in Brazil and are making a new home in Italy. High in the mountains of northern Italy, we did our first show for children from 5 different churches, a few parents and a lot of young people. It was a fabulous show! The puppets were amazing. The crowd was clapping and singing along with the puppets. They really listened to the story. One man told me that he watched the adults in the crowd become children again as their faces revealed how captured they were by the story. All of this joy was the sweet work of the Father! We were all so grateful to God for how responsive the children and the adults were to the program! It was all that we hoped for as many contacts were made for future shows and future puppeteers.It was a cloudy and sometimes very wet day, but nothing dampened their enthusiasm. Accompanied by a guitar, they sang everyone into the river and out again. In between, there was cheering and clapping. My heart rejoiced for each one of them! It was a glorious start to the glorious adventure that Fabiana and Gerson are enjoying.
UKRAINE…
One day, we did two puppet shows at village schools. Though we love both programs, the second show was incredible. The children loved every single thing we did. They giggled and laughed. They clapped for everything they saw. Even though we were not allowed to pray with the children, we were able to tell the children how Jesus could rescue them. I believe this is the desire of many children that listened by the way they responded to the stories of Jesus. We were thrilled that God gave us two new puppet teams that will continue the work with the children. It is a difficult time in Ukraine with Russia threatening war. However, their faith is strong and they are placing their hope in Him.
OTHER TRIP…
During the year, I had other trips to Northern Ireland and England. I am always blessed and challenged by the faithfulness of Sam Shaw and his wife, Silvana, who serve as our Irish directors. I am always encourage when I visit with Ian Thomson in England who is the director of Bringing Good News, an English ministry. He works in some of the most difficult places in the world and is always full of hope. Please visit his website, www.bringinggoodnews.org and find out how you can help in many other places around the world.
WHY DID WE TELL YOU THESE STORIES?
I wanted you to see how God moved in our lives this year. Please continue to pray for us. I also hope that you will decide to invest in our ministry so that we can tell more people about Jesus. You can send us a check at, The Agape Puppets 6550 West Armuchee Road Summerville, GA 30747. If you prefer, you can go online and make a donation at our website, theagapepuppets.org.
In Jesus,
Linda and Kelsey