Laura and I took our brood to Pakistan in September 1967. I say brood, because we had two foster children at the time besides the three boys. We also brought a little girl home with us, Ruth. She was 19 months when we got her and on Dec. 1st this year she turned 44. Laura turned 72 last July, and I turned 76 in November.

The work in India began in Feb., 1986. As I have written often, the work is obeying Two Timothy Two Two, that is, training preachers to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ, which means to preach the whole counsel of God; but the bottom line is to plant strong local churches of Christ that will perpetuate the spread of the gospel even after we are dead.

This work of training evangelists advances by God’s grace and through the enormous efforts of co-laborers who give full-time to the work, like Don Iverson, Garry Jones and Scott Richards; and to another dozen or more brothers who come for a month each year to assist in the Northeast Bible Institute which uses English as the medium of instruction.

Yet, the backbone of teaching work has and is being done by faithful native gospel preachers. In Tamil Nadu alone, where Don concentrates his labors, there are more than 1,600 servants of Christ doing the work of evangelists and supporting themselves. To God be the glory, world without end, for it is He who gives the increase.

One thing I have given some considerable thought to since the world population passed 7,000,000,000 on Oct. 31, is why are there so few among the preachers in the churches of Christ who are willing to serve in foreign lands to get the gospel to the 6,688,000,000 who live outside the borders of the USA.

If you divide the population of the United States, 312,000,000, by 7 billion you will know what percent of the people of the world live outside the U. S. If you send me the correct answer I will send you a copy of the book, Is There a Universal Code of Ethics? You might want to use it in a class. We have a new shipment of these books, thanks to brother Eddie Payne of Port Allen, LA. Let me encourage you, if you do order one, please make a personal commitment to read it and pass it on to someone else who will also read it.

Can you imagine being a lost sinner in a third world country and no one ever coming into your life to tell you about Jesus? Paul quoted the prophet Joel saying, “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:13-14).

Some will say we can use radio, TV or send tracts; but what do people who use those methods do when they get a contact? They write to someone on the field.

That is why I make it my work to train foot soldiers, and I praise God and thank Him that you share in this work of faith and labor of love; beloved, it takes boots on the ground.

Please pray with me for more workers in His vineyard and more souls being added to His Kingdom.

May the God of all comfort fill you with joy in the New Year.

GUWAHATI, India (BNc) — The above date, though it simply designates a day on the calendar, is unique in that there will not be another like it for a hundred years. Not only so, but it is taking place just ten days after the United Nations announced on Oct. 31 that the world population had reached 7,000,000,000 (seven billion) in just twelve years’ time.

Here in India at the Northeast Bible Institute the students and staff will fast and pray for twenty-four hours from breakfast on the morning of the 11^th until breakfast on the 12^th for the billions that have not heard.

This step is taken in light of the example set by the church at Antioch:

As they [prophets and teachers] ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them”(Acts 13:2).

These prayers were heard, and the first of the great missionary journeys grew out of it.

We will pray intensely for these masses, but even more so, that we who are the Lord’s servants in this generation may realize the urgency of telling the earth of the church of Christ, designed according to the divine pattern laid down by the Spirit through the apostles (2 Tim. 1:13).  For it is written,

“For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:13-15).

We regularly receive information about wonderful examples of dedication and the spread of the gospel in places where it is illegal to be a Christian or where there is persecution.

We refrain from publishing these stories because to do so would endanger the work and even the lives of Christians.

Although you do not know their names or where they are, please remember these brave soldiers of the cross in prayer.

Also, thank God for the freedom of religion you have and be sure to make good use of it.

ARAPIRACA, Brazil (BNc) – Four months ago, I met an Adventist ex-pastor named Samuel, who after 27 years in this movement abandoned it to become just a Christian.

Sunday, Sept. 18, I and four other brethren went to visit his home in a city 150 km from Maceió.

We had lunch in his home and spoke for three hours on sound doctrine. Everyone marveled at what we heard from him, “I passed all these years lost in a denomination, and I’m starting my spiritual life from zero, starting a new walk toward eternity.”

He also mentioned that he needed our help. Two years after his decision, more than 120 people are meeting and attempting to enter the kingdom of God.

Arapiraca has more than 300 thousand inhabitants, without a single Christian according to the biblical pattern. We need your prayers for the birth of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this city.

Antônio de Barros (photo, above) serves Christ Jesus with the church that meets in Maceió, in the state of Alagoas.

The true gospel comes for the first time to a city in  Brazil’s northeast region.

Sapé is the tenth largest city in the state of Paraíba, population 50,000. It began in 1883 with a Great Western train station, coming to be recognized as a city in 1925.

Its name comes from the Indian word for a type of grass predominant in the area, eçape. The Indians would bundle the grass together, making a torch to light their path at night.

Sapé is called the “Pineapple City”, because of its pineapple festival in November. Augusto dos Anjos, one of Brazil’s greatest poets, was born there. He was elected Paraiban of the Century.

Catholicism is predominant. There is also a spiritist center, and several evangelical groups (Assembly of God, Baptist, Foursquare Gospel, Congregational, etc).

We arrived Sept. 4 and had a first Bible study in Sapé. Severina’s sister, Vera Lúcia, had been begging us to come. She invited 15 neighbors, half came, and we studied about God’s purpose for our lives.

God’s purpose is to bring the True Light to the people in Sapé, setting their hearts on fire.

LETHEM, Guyana (BNc)  — Graduation ceremonies were held July 13, for ten graduating students of Guyana Christian University, Lethem, Guyana. Tom Holland, President of GCU, traveled to Guyana and delivered the commencement address.

Approximately 75 were in attendance for the graduation ceremony and the reception for the graduates, family and friends.

A dinner was held at Takuto Suites Guest House to honor the graduates and wives. Held by candle light, it provided a beautiful setting brought on my happenstance. The fuel truck making a delivery to power the generators throughout Lethem became stuck on the 300 mile dirt road from Georgetown to Lethem. It was unable to make the delivery; therefore the dinner was held by candlelight.

Instructors who have donated from 2-3 weeks during the two-year Bible training period came from different areas. They were: Mark Jamison, KY; Marshal Underwood, Mobile, AL; Bryan Evans and John Langham, Eastern Short, Daphne, AL; Archie Honea, Broken Arrow, OK; Brian Pitts, Woodburn, TN; Mike Lyle, TN; Ken Mohammed, Trinidad; Thomas George, Director, Lethem.

Already the students have accepted the responsibility of working in different villages. The graduates and their new locations are as follows:

• John Campian is working in the his home village of Moco Moco.
• Elroy McGarrell went to the village of Yupukari, where a new church building and house were completed in May, 2010.
• Richard Dorrick has returned to his home village of Karasabai and will be working in the satellite village of Tiger Pond.
• Walford Donald has returned to preach in the village of Woweta.
• Kinnard Moses has returned to work with the church in Annai village.
• Innocent Simon and his wife, Dorthy, have moved to Moruca where the church was established in March 2011. Dorthy is from Moruca and had not seen her mother in 30 years, since the day she married. During the campaign in July, Dorthy’s mother was taught and baptized.
• Glen Brown has moved to work with the church at Krawdarnauwa.
• Omadat Persaud has begun working with the Culvert City congregation, where Guyana Christian University is located. He will be assisting the director, Thomas George.
• Ernesto John will be working with the congregation which the students of the school established across the border in Bon Fin, Brazil.
• Sylvan DeFritas is still to be assigned a work.

A new session and group of students will begin studying in the two-year program at Guyana Christian University, January 1, 2012.  For more information contact Jerry O. Davidson at davidsonjo@aol.com or call 251-510-9350.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (BNc) – On June 13th, 80 Christians from nine congregations in the Dutch-speaking part of Europe (Holland and Flanders) assembled in The Hague for their annual spring fellowship.

Ruud Verheijen from the congregation in Maastricht, Holland gave the theme lecture on the Book of Acts. He emphasized that we also must act “continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).

He said we must have the same attitude, following the word of God “as a light that shines in a dark place” knowing “that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:19-21), that we must be like the Bereans who “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11), and that God’s word is the standard, not human doctrines, opinions or philosophies. He quoted Scriptures from the Old and New Testaments showing how important it is to carefully follow the word of God.

In addition to prayer, Scripture reading and singing, there were two quiz sessions on the Book of Acts. Voluntary teams were formed by the various congregations who had been studying the Book of Acts in preparation.

Scott Raab of the Maastricht congregation had prepared the quiz and was quiz-master. Ruud Verheijen, Jim Krumrei (from Haarlem, Holland) and Roy Davison (from Burcht, Belgium) served as a jury to decide any questions about the correctness of the answers.

The team from Eindhoven, Holland had the most points, but as Ruud Verheijen said in his introduction: “There are no losers today. Everyone who studies God’s Word is a winner!”

GALWAY, Ireland (BNc) – We had our first worship assembly here in Galway on Sunday, April 24th. This was held in our small apartment with eight in attendance.

On Sunday, May 22, we began worshiping in a meeting suite at the Salthill Hotel on the west end of Galway City. A group of American tourists visited with us, with a total attendance of 13.

The west of Ireland has gone from zero congregations (and it’s been many years since there have been any) to two small, start-ups in a matter of weeks, with James Warnock and the two new converts in Sligo and the new church here in Galway.

The two cities of Sligo and Galway are about a 90-minute drive apart. We plan on meeting up with the group in Sligo from time to time for mutual edification.

We are combing the Galway area for people who are interested in studying the Bible in a group setting, or via World Bible School correspondence.

Galway City has a population of about 85,000, a major city by Irish standards. County Galway is home to over 200,000 people.

Galway City is one of the most historic cities in Ireland, and even in all of Europe. It has been unofficially dubbed, “Ireland’s Cultural Heart,” largely due to the prevalence of the Irish language in and around the city.

Huge numbers of tourists come every year who want a taste of true Irish culture, so the potential to meet people from all over the world on any given day is immense.

The main industries are tourism, technology, and healthcare. Until the recent economic downturn, it was the fastest growing city in Ireland, and the fastest growing city of its size in all of Europe — which can reasonably be expected to resume when the economy stabilizes.

As far as the church, it is slow, challenging work, but the present religious climate is as ideal as it has ever been in the Republic of Ireland. Many Irish have shown dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church in the wake of a multitude of serious scandals.

Editor’s note: Keep up with the Galway work on the congregation’s website or through their Facebook pages for the church and for mission updates. The O’Rourkes’ overseeing church is the West Fayetteville church in Fayetteville, Tenn., also the home of the International Gospel Hour. They landed in Ireland April 20.

SLIGO, Ireland (BNc) -

After James Warnock (right) baptized Keith Scanlon and Laura Hayes into Christ on May 22, 2011, they met together to break bread in memory of the Lord for the first time.

The story began many years ago when, as a boy, James Warnock was beaten by his teacher (it was allowed then). What had he done? He had refused to kiss the Bishop’s ring! When the Catholic Bishop visited the schools, all the pupils had to file up and kiss the Bishop’s ring. James refused.

Later, as a young man, he noticed things in the Bible that were in conflict with Catholic practice. He asked his priest about this and was told, “Well, son, the Bible is a very old book, so you shouldn’t take it too seriously.”

This launched a search for truth that took many years. He was baptized in a Pentecostal church in 1995, but eventually left because they were not following the Bible. He investigated the Methodist and Baptist churches and was told that one church is as good as another. He could not accept that. He was impressed by a Brethren fellowship not far from where he was living at the time, but was amazed that they would have to vote to decide if he could be a member.

He said, “I was so discouraged that I was ready to give up. But I prayed that the Lord would help me find people who were following the Bible.” Shortly thereafter he came upon articles by Roy Davison in the Old Paths Archive (http://www.oldpaths.com/RD). He commented, “I started reading the articles thinking, ‘Well, I wonder what will be wrong with this?’” As he read article after article he thought, “It’s based on the Bible!” In December of 2010 he sent an e-mail to brother Davison.

He also started listening to radio sermons by V. E. Howard (http://www.vehoward.net/) not realizing that the two were of the same fellowship. He listened to sermon after sermon until he had listened to most of the 200 lessons on the Internet! (Even regular listeners of brother Howard during his lifetime heard only one lesson each week. Via the Internet James listened to more than 100 lessons within a few weeks!)

He contacted Chuck Richardson, who had digitized brother Howard’s lessons for the Old Paths Archive, and Chuck forwarded his message to brother Davison in Belgium.

From the articles and audio sermons James concluded that his baptism in the Pentecostal church was not valid. He needed to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

Brother Davison put him in contact with Colin Graham in Northern Ireland, who went down and baptized him on 18 January 2011.

James served the Lord as best he could as an isolated Christian, and prayed that he would find others in his area. Via Skype he started having weekly Bible studies with brother Davison and also began teaching the gospel to two local people who showed an interest.

On Sunday, May 22, James baptized Keith Scanlon and Laura Hayes into Christ. Afterward the three of them broke bread in memory of the Lord, and James discussed from the Scriptures what it means to be a Christian.

The website for the church of Christ in county Sligo, Ireland is  http://www.churchofchrist-ireland.com/ if you wish to get in touch.

(BNc) — This is the motto that motivates a never-ending mission to find America’s military that remain missing during combat. These are the words that offer comfort to families struggling with decades of silence and the anxiety that burdens them regarding their loved one’s end. These words speak hope, comfort, and strength.

In Washington, D.C., an office of the Department of Defense (DoD) exists to help bring closure to the files of those military personnel who are listed as missing.

As this mission continues, there is an interesting connection between the Department of Defense, Kyiv, Ukraine and Judsonia, Ark., and the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 55, Licking County, Ohio.

The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMPO) establishes the United States government policy on the recovery and identification of American service personnel missing in action from the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Korean War and World War II. Working with other partners in the Department of Defense community, this office identifies approximately 80-90 Americans per year, returning them to their families for burials with full military honors.

The DoD budget for this mission is very small. There about 600 specialists carrying out this mission from locations in Hawaii, Moscow, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia. There are some 88,000 Americans missing from past conflicts, including 1,698 from the war in Vietnam.

The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) has a long-standing relationship with counterpart veterans’ groups in Ukraine. In 2006, the Ukrainian veterans presented VVA with a list of North Vietnamese claims for downed American and allied aircraft compiled using the sources of the Ukrainian National Air Force University.

As a show of appreciation for the help from Ukraine Veterans a committee visited Kyiv, Ukraine and presented two new wheelchairs to the Kyiv Veterans Association. The wheelchairs were received with such appreciation that the returning committee decided to collect a container of wheelchairs and send to Ukraine.

The collection went well but then numerous obstacles obstructed the shipping. After two years of frustration the Department of Missing Persons was asked to contact John L. Kachelman, Jr., evangelist for the Judsonia church of Christ.

Utilizing the experience that has allowed the churches of Christ to ship 200+ containers of humanitarian aid into Ukraine, Kachelman was able to complete all arrangements and receive the required approvals in order for the container to be shipped. The container will be loaded in Cincinnati, Oh., on April 29, and should arrive in Kyiv, Ukraine in June. The container will be presented at a special ceremony recognizing the cooperation and success of those involved.

Kachelman is in Ukraine and will be unable to be present at the Cincinnati loading, but in his place, David Lawyer of the College church of Christ in Searcy, Ark., will go. Lawyer is one of the leaders in the churches of Christ involved in the shipping of humanitarian aid throughout the world and volunteers work with LIFE RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL in Judsonia, Ark. Lawyer is retired from the United States Air Force and is a Vietnam Veteran. Lawyer will be driving a truck-load of items to be loaded into the container.

This container will be shipped by the United States government’s Department of State as a part of its international humanitarian efforts. The logistics will be coordinated by Rang Hee Kim and Ramzi Soubra with COUNTERPART INTERNATIONAL. This project is only possible because the United States government funds the transportation assistance budget that is administered by the US Department of State. Through this budget item millions of donated dollar items are transported and distributed throughout the world.

For more information contact Svetlana Shevchenko, Foreign Affairs Specialist, OSD/DPMO/JCSD, David Lawyer at 501-230-5335, or Mark A. Rehl.