Prayer walking
In an effort to sow the ground for a church plant in the uptown area of New Orleans, our teams have joined with Eric H. to cover the area in prayer that he feels God has led him and his family to plant a new faith community. Each team joins Eric and his family along with our staff to strategically walk and pray in a mapped out area. We hand out fliers about the gathering with Eric’s contact information; we pray for the neighborhoods of the area that we are walking. We pray for open hearts to what God is about to do, for blessings for the schools and senior citizen homes that we encounter, for the area’s many, many unseen needs and with anyone that wants to pray. Eric has researched this area and has found that this particular area is filled with young people who “want to save the world” by doing good things. Imagine this same group of people filled with the power of God’s Holy Spirit really saving the world. That’s the goal of the church planting movement that is about to happen in this area—make disciples, that make disciples, that make disciples to save the world for God’s glory!
Spring Break!
We are just about to wrap up our spring break season. We have housed over 400 volunteers from 19 different states during our spring break season which runs from the end of Feb. through the beginning of May. Our teams stay mostly on the northshore in the warehouse and at Trinity Church—although we continue to pray for housing options on the southshore.
Japan Earthquake: Numbers (from Mark L.)
* Over 25,000…the number dead and missing * 400,000 people displaced from their homes * 81,000 homes uninhabitable * 8ft, the distance that the island of Japan shifted, and * 40 cm, the elevation that parts of the island sank. * Unknown – the long term effects of ongoing radiation leaks * 19,000 - population of Minamisanriku,Japan on March 11 at 245pm * 50 feet – estimated tsunami height that hit this town * 9,700 - population of Minamisanriku, Japan on March 11 at 345pm * ZERO – number of churches in the city of minamisanriku * ZERO – from what we can tell, the number of Christians who have ever resided in this town in recorded history * 2nd and 0.09% - Japan, the second most unreached people in the world, with only 0.09 percent of population being evangelical. * Infinite – the abounding grace and mercy of our God, who according to 2nP 3:9, “is patient…, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”. In the city of Minami-Samriku it is hard to recognize what life may have looked like before the tsunami wave struck. I heard about the town at 5am this morning, as a team from a partner church returned to Tokyo from a two day trip, focused on serving a hot meal to 1200 people there, and in Ishinomaki. The coastline in the area had a funneling effect, raising the water to more than 3 stories high, as evidenced by the many broken windows in the 4th floor of the hospital, and by the boat stuck in the 3rd floor of city hall. The most striking note about the trip was the report that as far as anyone knew, there has never been a church in Minami-Samriku. It is even uncertain if a Believer has ever lived in this town. The team went to great efforts though to represent Christ well, to touch the unreached in this community. They assembled generators, cooking pots, food, water, and other supplies to cook a traditional meal for those people living in shelters here and nearby, all from the back of a truck. A chef from a restaurant in Tokyo came up with the idea, though he’s not yet met Jesus. He mobilized resources and other soon to be seekers to join with the church in this outreach effort. - Pray for the planting of the Gospel in this impacted region. Japan is an unreached country. The evangelical population, which is less than 1/10th of 1% (0.09%) in the entire country, is even lower in the part of the country impacted by this earthquake. - Pray for the outreach of the Tokyo churches to the unbelieving neighbors who are coming to the churches because of their caring for others. - Pray for us as we continue to seek God’s leading to the communities that He has chosen for us to serve, deeply.
PRAISE & PRAYER
*Pray Matthew 9:38 Ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest field in N.O., Peru, Haiti & Japan
*Prayer that details of my long-term status will be worked out.
*Praise that our God is all about the details
*Prayer for the people in the south eastern part of the U.S. who were affected by the tornadoes—follow our response at www.crisisresponse.blogspot.com
Would you like to be a part of Crisis Response ministry by partnering with me?
Here are some ways:
Pray - I believe in the power of prayer, and knowing that you are praying for the ministry is a continued source of encouragement to me and our team.
Send - Get a team together to come help serve the people of New Orleans, Peru, Haiti and Japan, or become an intern with the ministry for 3-6 months.
Give – Become a part of this ministry by partnering with me as a Missionary with the EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America). Send tax deductible donations to my IMA (individual missionary account) #1566.
Checks should be made payable to EFCA . Please write “Dorinda Bogran #1566” in the memo line on your check and send it to the following address:
Dorinda Bogran c/o Trinity Church
EFCA Crisis Response Ministry
19380 N. 10th St.
Covington, LA 70433
If you would like to receive this newsletter by email, please let me know. I can be reached at dorinda.bogran@efca.org . Visit www.touchglobal.org/crisis response for more information on TouchGlobal Crisis Response Ministry and the (EFCA) Evangelical Free Church of America.
