You've Come a Long Way, Mae!

Alberta and I first got to know Mae (pictured on the left) in 1992. She was a member of one of Bethany's youth groups and we were recruiting students for Bethany's school of Church Planting (SOCP). Mae was thinking of pursuing computer studies but had to wait for the new school year to start. "Why don't you come to Bible school for a semester and then you can continue your plans to study computer when the semester starts?" we suggested. That sounded good to Mae and she never quite got back to computer studies! The above picture is Mae's outreach/fledging church plant that she oversaw while studying at the SOCP. 

After Mae graduated from Bible School she had the opportunity to study at Bethany Global University in Minnesota, while, at the same time working on the translation of leadership training materials into the Ilocano language for our team.                                                                                                                                 This new picture is taken of Mae as she attends the Entrust women's training in Thailand with Alberta this past September. Mae is in training to be a facilitator for Entrust like Alberta. Pray for Mae and the other of Bethany's Filipina trainees that are helping to grow the leadership team of Entrust in the Philippines. 

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for the Entrust team in the Philippines as they work on scheduling a new training for a mountain area called 'Kalinga'. This would be a training in Ilocano and Alberta has been asked to help facilitate. Pray that our schedules can come together.

2. Pray for Heather and Spencer as they seek a wedding celebration venue for next spring/summer. 

3. Pray for the new director of member care for Bethany, Julie, as she develops Bethany's care department for our missionaries - and for us as we seek to come alongside and help her in that process.

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

Asia's Digital Nomads

When we think of the word, nomad, we think of a wandering shepherd, guiding his flock to a variety of pasture lands depending on the season of the year. In recent years the internet has spawned  different kinds of nomads, those who work from their computers in whatever part of the world they choose. 

One of these digital nomads joined Alberta's training this past September, a girl we'll call Li Wei. Li Wei hails from the 'big country' north of Thailand. She first came to faith in her home country but later moved to Thailand with her husband where they both worked online jobs.  She learned of the Equipping Women Int./Entrust training from her neighbor and became one of Alberta's students in Chiang Mai. 

Li Wei did not find an opportunity to be discipled while in her home country but rejoiced to be a part of the EWI/Entrust training that Alberta helped to facilitate. An added bonus emerged as Alberta connected Li Wei with a couple we knew when we lived in Chiang Mai. They previously spent 10 years doing ministry in the 'Big Country', know Li Wei's language and can be a bridge for her and her husband as they seek to grow in their faith.  Pray for Li Wei and her husband as they build on this training and these new relationships.

Prayer Requests: 

Pray for the 13 students that Alberta and her co-facilitators led through the Entrust training - that God would use them mightily in their different arenas of influence.

Pray for our friends in Bethany in Mindoro, Philippines. One of their leaders, Pastor Abe Rafanan's wife, Helen, died unexpectedly and we are asking God for the comfort that He only can send to their hearts.

 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

 Windy and Wooly Scotland

Scotland did not disappoint as we traveled September 2 to see our daughter Heather, her fiancé, Spencer and his parents, Brian and LeeAnn. If you don't like the weather in Scotland, have a cup of tea and it will  change for you! The above picture is not AI generated - its the product of gravity, and 35 mph winds!

We spent 3 wonderful days together at the island of Skye visiting 'the fairy glen', ruins of castles and the rugged coastlines Scotland is famous for. It was a great time to connect with Spencer's parents, Brian and LeeAnn. 

We found we had much in common with them having lived internationally for many years and navigating the challenges of educating our kids overseas. 

Brian and LeeAnn helped start a coop Christian school back in the 90s which has become Riverside International School in Prague, the Czech Republic. The school now has an enrollment of 700 students. They continue to serve on the board as does Heather's fiancé, Spencer. We are grateful to the Lord for bringing our two families together. Thanks Heather and Spencer!

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for Heather and Spencer as they begin to plan their wedding celebration for sometime next year. It will be challenging as they consider their family and friends spread out around the world.

2. Pray for Brian and LeeAnn and the rest of the board of directors as they plan the move of the Riverside International school to a new property the school has recently purchased. After leasing for many years, the school needed the stability of owning its own property. Pray for them as the school moves into a capital campaign to raise funds to renovate the property and move in by 2028. 

3. Pray for Alberta - now in Thailand to continue the Entrust training. They have 14 students so lots of interaction and mentoring. 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta  

 Transition - the New Normal 

Bethany Global (USA)  sponsored their annual missions retreat last month - affectionately called "July a Palooza. " Furloughing cross cultural workers joined together with headquarters staff to encourage one another, pray and worship together and hear from leadership about exciting new ministry opportunities. Our  organizational theme for 2027 is "Spirit Empowered Advance". We are grateful to God for  new enthusiasm and direction at Bethany.

Alberta and I were asked to facilitate two  workshops at the retreat. This gave us a chance to address the topic of transitions - something all of us are going through in increasing frequency.  

We divided up the attendees into groups and gave them case studies of difficult transitions to wrestle with. Then they brought their feedback to the larger group for further discussions. Pray for Bethany missionaries to become resilient despite the rapid changes our world is going through.

Prayer requests: 

1. Pray for two Bethany couples who recently had to leave a European country due to unreasonable governmental education requirements for their children. Pray for the Lord to guide them into new ministry opportunities.

2. Pray for Alberta as she prepares for her hybrid Entrust Equipping Women Int. training in Chiang Mai in September. The course that she will be teaching has been re-written requiring  a lot of preparation on her part. The weekly online began last week.

3. Pray for Bethany as they join forces with an organization called "The Crescent Project". More about that in a future newsletter!

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

Fifty Years of Friendship

                                             June 1976

                                             June 2026

Eric Henderson (left), Steve Shenk and I joined the M/V Mister Fred in September of 1975. Eric and I had attended the Texas A&M Maritime Academy together 5 years earlier and were both surprised to meet up in Houston's airport headed to New Orleans. We joined  the rest of the crew of the Mister Fred where we met up with Steve S.

 

The three of us worked closely for the next two years, where Steve Shenk met his future wife Pam (pictured above). What's more, Eric was a new believer and shared his faith and a copy of C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" with me.

 

This was a formative time in my seeking the Lord which culminated in my receiving Christ in December of 1977. Steve, Eric and I and our wives have become fast friends in the Lord. So, when we heard that Steve and Pam were celebrating their 50th anniversary we had to be there to rejoice with them. Please pray for Steve Shenk - he is recovering from cancer surgery and also needs a stent in one of his heart's arteries. 

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for us as we travel to Bethany Headquarters to participate in Bethany's summer missions retreat. We will be facilitating two workshops and meeting with various missions personnel. 

2. Pray for Alberta as she plans her ministry trip to Thailand for Entrust training. There is a pretty ambitious plan of modules to be taught (dates are Sept. 12-25). 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

 

 

SOCP- First Reunion in 25 Years  

Bethany's School of Church Planting (SOCP) first began in 1990. It accepted residential students until 2015, then shut down and didn't start back up again until 2023. Alberta and I served in the leadership and teaching staff for 6 years from 1992-1998. 

One of the really fun gatherings during our recent Philippines trip was the first reunion of anyone who had studied at the SOCP. About 150 former students, many of them our current pastors but also many of them serving in other organizations, gathered for a night of fun, fellowship and food! 

The joy was contagious! These 40-50 year old adults reminded us of the 'kids' they once were when they attended Bible school so many years ago. Psalm 126:5 came to mind "those who sow in tears will reap in joy." Those years of discipling, disciplining, agonizing over students was turned into joy as we saw mature Christian leaders join one another to celebrate God's work in their lives. Pray for the alumni of the SOCP to continue what was started in them during their training with Bethany.

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for an upcoming trip to Texas. We will be seeing some former co-workers on the way and celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of good friends from Steve's boat days in New Zealand. We will also stop in Ft. Worth to visit my sister, Nan and her son Grant.

2. Pray for a proposed Entrust women's training scheduled for September in Thailand. Alberta is waiting to see if there will be enough applicants for the course to push through.

3. Pray for us as we prepare for Bethany's annual missionary retreat in July. We will be flying to Minneapolis mid-July to facilitate some workshops on transition.

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

  The Next Generation of Bethany Christian Leaders

Greetings from the Philippines. We have just a couple of more days here in Isabela with the Bethany churches. 

The first graduation exercises of the Bethany Center of Ministry Training (BCMT) demonstrated the resolve of Bethany's leadership team to respond to the need for more Christian leaders for future expansion. 

When I asked which churches the new graduates would be assigned to I was surprised by the leadership's response. None! The churches are developing their own leadership teams so the fresh graduates will be taking on the new outreaches the current churches have begun. Graduating new workers will give Bethany Philippines the ability to staff outreaches with newly trained leaders. Pray with us for the school to continue to equip new workers for the harvest field.

(Pictured above are Dr. Paul Hartford, who started and led the school until I took over in 1992.  Ptr. Eddie Longgat who took over the school from me in 1998 is next to Paul and Ptra. Nati Noveda, in black, is the current director.) 

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for 14 year old Tantan, son of one of our graduates from the 90s. He is waiting for an Echo Cardiogram for doctors to diagnose undetermined heart problems. 

2. Pray for the 4 Entrust ladies completing their training today. Pray that they could push through their last module when it is offered. They are experiencing a lot of challenges with internet, scheduling, work and family responsibility conflicts.

3. Pray for the 6 new graduates of the BCMT that God would guide in the selection of their places of service and would provide for their every need - even financial! 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta