Posted April 7, 2001
Dearest Friends,
Thanks you for your prayers. We arrived home last night happily tired. We are beginning to unpack from our trip and Linda’s last trip and prepare for work on Monday.
We have an important prayer request concerning our upcoming Kazakhstan trip. I received it from Pavel Chiva who we will be working with there.
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“Very Important prayer request. On April 11 my government will be issuing a new law that will forbid all religions except Islam and Russian Orthodox church, that means all evangelicals out. Please send a note to everyone to pray that God would do something about it.”
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We don’t know exactly what this means for our trip and for the many evangelicals in the country.
In Christ,
Mike Summer
Posted April 3, 2001
Dearest Friends,
For the first time in many mission trips, we have the opportunity to communicate on a regular basis and we are so very busy that there is no time to take advantage of the blessing. Our days begin around 7 and do not end as the Irish say, until the wee hours of the morning. We are thrilled that there is so much to do and amazed that our Father would open so many doors.
Your prayers for us have made it possible for us to share in schools in Newcastle, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan, Dundrum, and Saintfield. On Wednesday and Thursday, we will be doing programs in schools in Lisburn and in Killyleagh. By the time that we finish, we will have presented the Gospel to more than 2 thousand children and teenagers in the public schools. This is an unbelievable thought …. telling children and young people how they can trust Christ as Savior in a school. We even prayed with some of them! Here, they have a window of opportunity that we as Americans do not enjoy and we must do all we can to help them take advantage of this door.
We have shared in Baptist and Presbyterian churches in Port Stewart, Dungannon, and Belfast. We have done shows for coffee bar youth meetings and after school clubs. We even did a show at a retirement home. The nurse commented that it was the first time that many of those people had smiled in weeks.
At one program for young people and street children, we were concerned that the program had not gone well . It was a very difficult evening with a few young people leaving the building and many loud comments from the group while we shared. Linda went behind the stage and prayed as the puppets shared. She asked God to call others to their knees. We were all praying! During the second half, God’s spirit fell on that place and we saw and felt a big change . They got very quiet and listened with their hearts. Afterwards, the pastor told us that they had shouted the last speaker down . Another time, they had hosed off the pastor with a fire extinguisher and once, soaked him with canned cokes. When he saw us get out the balloons, his first thought was that they would choke us with them. I am glad that we did not know these things at the beginning. Maybe, you felt suddenly called to prayer. Thank you!
The newly recorded Irish puppet dramas are incredible and while we are here, we are working to record 2 more. Please pray for this work as the new material has been especially written for Northern Ireland. Ask the Lord to lead Sam Shaw, our Irish puppet director, as he seeks to assemble a regular ministry team.
Friday will find us on our way home! Unfortunately, we are arriving Friday afternoon at 4:10 , so we expect the traffic to be fierce.
Please pray for traveling mercies and that our friend John Agnew will have no difficulty picking us up at the airport. We are exhausted, but so happy!
We can not wait to see our family and friends, especially Matt who celebrated his 22nd birthday while we were gone. This is the first time that we were apart on his birthday and Linda really missed being with Matt, but we felt peace that he and Jill had a wonderful time together.
In Jesus, Mike and Linda
Posted March 29, 2001
Dearest Friends,
Tonight, we went to buy ice cream for the Bible School students and 5 children and young people who remembered us from previous shows talked with us at the grocery store. Some had been in programs that we did in the summer of 1998. Again, we told them about Jesus.
Thank you for your faithful prayers! God is richly blessing our time in Northern Ireland. We arrived on Saturday and went to work Sunday morning. We worked with our Irish puppet team to do 2 shows at a Prebyterian Church in Dungannon that morning where we received a very encouraging response. That afternoon, we did a program for young people that was very special. We hurried back toward Dundrum and home in the evening so that we could bring a missionary report at a new church that is starting in the area.
Today, we worked with Child Evangelism Fellowship , did a program at a school, wrote a puppet script, and taught child evangelism at Murlough Bible School. This was a great day!
I struggle to find the words to describe top to you the sweet joy that Mike and I have as we are priviledged to share here in Northern Ireland .. There is so much spiritual darkness here and in the darkness, His light shines very bright. We are so blessed by the young people that we are working with in ministry. Please pray for them! Ask God to make them mighty in His kingdom.
We will be in many schools, churches, and afternoon meetings in the next few days. Please ask the Lord for wisdom and strength.
In Jesus, Mike and Linda
Posted March 23, 2001
Dearest Friends,
Mike and I are leaving today for Northern Ireland to work with Project Evangelism and John and Jo Moxen. This is a very special trip as it will be the first time that we have gone overseas to team with an existing national puppet team without any USA team accompanying us. Please hold us in your prayers as we plan to teach at the Murlough Bible School, share at schools and in churches , and train another group of puppeteers from a local church.. Please ask the Lord that we would be a blessing to our Irish brothers and sisters as we work together to share Christ.
Please praise the Lord with us for the recent trip to South Africa where a team of Covenant College students were the puppet team. They distinguished themselves as lovers of the Gospel and their behavior was marked by a spirit of gratitude. We were privileged to share Christ with almost 7,000 children, teenagers, and adults and even heard some publicly confess Christ as Savior. We did programs in squatter camps, schools, shack town areas, shelters, and in churches. Praise God! Please pray for James and Lynne Grant as they seek to lead the 6 South African puppet teams that are presently ministering to the children of South Africa.
Please pray for the new work in Yucatan, Mexico as very soon they will have their first show. Ask the Lord to build His team there and give them great joy in their work! Ask the Lord to strengthen Daniel and Jean Legters and Xavier and Felipe in their ministry.
As we say good-bye to Currie Bishop this month who is leaving us to work in another ministry, we welcome Aubrey Smith. Our hearts are full of praise for all of the present and former puppeteers. God has blessed their commitment to ministry as we presently are privileged to work in 4 continents.
Personally, we praise God for our son Matt’s upcoming wedding on May 12th. Please come and help he and Jill Hansen celebrate their marriage. Mike and I are already celebrating the joy of a second wonderful daughter!
In Christ, Mike and Linda Summer