Many of us who love
the Lord and could not
imagine our lives without
Him do not realize that
of the 6.6 billion people
in the world, 3.8 billion are unreached
people groups. Prestonwood is blessed
with people who have a heart for “the
poorest of the poor,” those whose ears
would never hear the Gospel were it
not for missionaries. We have watched
hundreds and hundreds of our people
go and share Christ in distant places;
and we’ve watched as they’ve returned,
carrying a lifetime burden for those
people.
Brazil
Each year, tens of thousands of villagers
are ministered to in areas along the
Amazon River.
Prestonwood member Johnson Ellis
grew up the son of missionaries in Brazil
and remembers the extreme poverty
in the region. For 15 years, Johnson has
led members of the Prestonwood family
to the Amazon and has seen how the
mission field impacts their lives and
faith. Hundreds of adults and students
make the trip every year.
“Children in AWANA and Vacation
Bible School have donated money for
different needs in the Amazon,” Johnson
said. “With the donations, we’ve been
able to build a small church in a remote
village and meet many other needs. As
children, I think the Holy Spirit birthed
in them a desire for missions, and now
some of these kids have grown up
and have been able to see the places
they’ve given to.”
Africa
Prestonwood has been blessed with
members who have surrendered to
the call and dedicated themselves to
full-time ministry meeting the spiritual
and physical needs of others. Through
a partnership with Barry Wood Ministries,
a drinking water system has been
completed that serves thousands in
three villages in the Serengeti area of
Northern Tanzania.
From clean water to Bible study
to AIDS awareness, our church has
partnered to do as much as possible
in Africa. Nathan Sheets, Prestonwood
member and Executive Director of EvangeCube
Global Ministries, has a heart
for the people of Africa ravaged by the
disease.
“There are about 27 million people
in the world who have AIDS, and 75
percent of those people are in Africa,”
he said. “The African culture is a story
culture, and the AIDS EvangeCube uses
a story methodology to communicate
about the disease. It’s really just a tool
to equip believers in the church to go
out and tell people that there’s a big
disease that can kill you, but there’s an
even bigger disease called sin that will
kill you for eternity.”
Romania
For Kevin Seidler, what began years
ago as a mission trip to Romania with
a group of 12 individuals from Prestonwood
grew into ongoing medical missions
and the founding of ServingHIM
Healthcare International Ministries.
While helping to initiate the building
of a new medical and dental clinic in
conjunction with an educational facility
in Eastern Romania, ServingHIM has
shared the Gospel with thousands.
“It’s all about changed lives—not only
right now on this earth, but also the
lives that are saved for eternity,” Kevin
said. “We know that if we go, and one
life was committed to Christ, then the
trip was worth it.”
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