John Simons

Paraguay 2009 - Prayer Calendar

Despite my best intentions to post about the mission trip, time has been very limited.  For each trip that they sponsor, e3 Partners puts out a prayer calendar.  I have slightly modified the calendar, and am posting it here, both as text, and as a pdf version that you can download and print.

Sun. June 14

Satan begins his attacks long before the trip.
Start praying against him now!
Col. 2:13-15
CLAIM GOD’S VICTORY

Mon. June 15

Pray that the team will prepare themselves spiritually all week
Eph. 6:15-21
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

Tues. June 16

Pray all week that God will open many doors for the gospel and draw many to Jesus!
Col. 4:3
PRAY FOR LOST

Wed. June 17

Pray for campaign preparation, both for us and the nationals.
Eph. 3:16-19
PREPARE

Thurs. June 18

Pray for last-minute details.
Pray for focus and vision and that God will be glorified.
Eph. 1:15-20
FOCUS AND PASSION

Fri. June 19

Depart for Paraguay
Pray for travel safety and good connections
Acts 4:31
SAFE TRAVEL

Sat. June 20

Arrive in Paraguay.  In-country orientation.
Preparation to work with nationals
Eph. 3:15-21
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

Sun. June 21

Worship with local church.
Eph 4:1-6
UNITY WITH CHURCH

Mon. June 22

Morning & afternoon: door-to-door evangelism
Eph. 6-19
BOLDNESS

Tues. June 23

Morning & afternoon: evangelism & discipleship.
Eph. 6:10-20
PERSEVERE IN WARFARE

Wed. June 24

Morning & afternoon: evangelism & discipleship.
Rom. 15:5-6
ENDURANCE AND UNITY

Thurs. June 25

Morning & afternoon: evangelism & discipleship.
Commissioning service for new church.
1 Tim. 2:8
HEART FOR OTHERS

Fri. June 26

Fellowship with new friends and sightseeing.
1 Thes. 5:16
REJOICE

Sat. June 27

Depart Paraguay.
Psalm 91
SAFE TRAVEL

Sun. June 28

Arrive home.
Pray for us to process all that God has done.
Psalm 91
SAFE TRAVEL

Mon. June 29

Pray that God will radically change lives of new Christians as they are integrated into new churches.
Eph. 4:17-32
GROWTH IN CHRIST

Tues. June 30

Continue to pray for new believers, their churches and leaders, and the USA team.
Eph. 5:1-14
GODLINESS

Wed. July 1

Pray for leaders and workers at new churches as they disciple new believers.
Eph. 4:11-16
EFFECTIVE LEADERS

Thurs. July 2

Give thanks for all that God has done both in and through those who shared Christ in Paraguay
Psalm 91
REJOICE

Fri. July 3

Ask God if He would have YOU go on a campaign!
Matt. 9:38
WORKERS FOR THE HARVEST

Thank you for your prayers!

e3 Partners
(214) 440-1101
(800) 542-2646
http://www.e3partners.org/

Tags: Church Planting, mission trip, Missions, Paraguay

Mission Trip Prayer Request - Finances

In signing up for this mission trip, we decided to step out in faith.  We did not have enough funds in our budget to just pay for the trips.  Instead we decide that we would pay for part of the trip, but would raise funds from our church, family and friends for the balance.  Our church was very generous and chipped in a major gift.  In addition, we have had several friends and family members make generous gifts.  Because this is two trips that we are doing, we are still around $1500 short of our goal.

I fully expect that the funds will come in.  Josh is just getting ready to send a few letters out.  In addition, I have still not heard back from several people to whom I sent letters.  While I don’t expect a 100% response, some of the people who I have not heard from are people that I expect will be willing to chip in.

Finally, on Sunday, I am scheduled to talk about the trip in front of the church.  The church will allow members who want to contribute to designate a gift toward the mission trip.

If anyone is reading and did not receive a letter, but would like to contribute, it is easy to do.  You can mail a check payable to Christ Community Church.  A couple of posts ago, I posted about the new church website.  You can get the address from there.

Please pray that all of the finances will be taken care of.  I hope that this experience will teach Josh and me about generosity, and about God’s provision.  Pray that there will be no stress about the cost of the trip.

Thanks for praying.

Tags: Faith, mission trip, Paraguay, prayer

Mission Trip Prayer Request - Relationships

One of the great things about this mission trip is that I am going with my son, Josh.  We will have 10 days of time to spend together, while we travel which allow us to build a stronger father-son relationship.

In addition, we will be travel with a group of four others, from across the country on this trip.  This will be an opportunity to develop relationships with others who are pursuing a common goal of sharing the gospel.

Once we arrive in Paraguay, we will meet Christians from a local church who we will be helping to plant a new church.  These relationships will be critical to the work that we will be doing during the week.

Finally, throughout the week that we will be there, Josh and I will be meeting and talking with people in the target area for the church plant.  These relationships are the whole purpose of our trip.  We will be spending our days with the local Christians meeting people in the target area.  We will be sharing our faith with these people, and we will be meeting again with those who express a faith of their own to teach them some of the fundamentals of Bible study and prayer.

Please pray for all of the relationships that are part of this trip: father-son, new friends - both American and Paraguayan, and relationships as we share our faith.  Pray that we will have attitudes that will foster good relationships.  Pray that the relationships will be bring glory to God’s name.

Tags: evangelism, mission trip, Paraguay, prayer, relationships

Mission Trip Prayer Request - Health

Any time that you travel to a foreign country, there are health concerns. The travel and new environment can lead to a lack of sleep. Different food can create havoc with the digestive tract, not to mention the presence of different bacteria in the local water system. In addition, there are more local concerns.

In the case of this trip, the local concern is a recent outbreak of yellow fever in areas near Asuncion, Paraguay. I have mentioned this to a couple of people. The nearly universal response is that it is a disease not to be taken lightly. The mission agency has recommended vaccination. I am waiting to hear back from my doctor on the issue. Josh, for one, is not particularly happy about the prospect of having to receive any shots. My wife has informed me that it will be my job to take him. It seems the last time he had to get a shot, he had to be restrained because he kicked the nurse.

Please pray for our health leading up to this trip. Pray that we will be well rested between now and when it is time to leave.

Pray for health throughout the trip. Pray that food will not upset our stomachs, and that we will be able to sleep.

Finally, please pray regarding the issue of yellow fever: that we will be at peace, and that we will be safe.

Thanks.

Tags: mission trip, Paraguay, prayer, yellow fever

Mission Trip Prayer Request - Flexibility

e3 Partners, the group that Josh and I are going with on this trip puts out a guidebook for folks who are going on a trip with them. I think that the most repeated them throughout the book is the need for flexibility on a cross-cultural trip. I certainly agree that it is very important to any exposure to another culture.

From my past trips to Haiti and to Honduras - there are huge differences in how cultures view time, food, personal space, and many other things. Flexibility will be very important.

Please pray that Josh and I will focus on being flexible with schedules, food, and every aspect of this trip. Pray that we will not become flustered when things do not go as we expect. Pray for patience on our part.

Tags: flexibility, mission trip, Paraguay, prayer