Newell News 2008

Joe, Mishael & Josiah Newell SouthAfrica

Millions of children find hope in Jesus

Education departments adopt program for students Schools endorse programs

Peace and excitement have taken hold as we begin our furlough rejoicing with the Book of Hope team in Southern Africa. This past year more than two million children and youth were reached out to across the region with the gospel in the form of the Book of Hope.
Workers in Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Swaziland, and Namibia continue to labor through unique and changing avenues.
From Godman film showings in rural areas, to life skills programs, and outreaches, partnerships with local churches are ensuring that hope invades and reigns in the enemy’s territory.
Education departments in four provinces of South Africa have asked Book of Hope to engage all of their students and train its teachers to take the students through the program.
The program teaches decision-making and other life skills based on the life of Christ.
Volunteers continue to make, daily sacrifices in order to see this generation reached. Since 2001, when we first started praying about going to South Africa, it was in our hearts to establish the ministry in such a way that when we were not present it would run without us, and that it would be self-sustaining financially.
Through God’s provision in the form of strong national leadership and generous donors, the ministry is headed towards its biggest year ever, targeting over four million children in 2008..



Muslims tested on Jesus
In one heavily muslim area near Cape Town, we took a mid-day break at a local grocery store with a team from California.
Passing through the checkout, a muslim mother asked why we were there. A quiet explanation and her eyes came alive as she explained how she and her friend had made their children read the Book of Hope cover to cover and quizzed them on the book before the children returned to school the next day.
The Word came alive to that muslim family because of your faithful partnering.

“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.” 2 Cor 8:11


Nomads cross the Kalahari Desert
This past Fall, BOH Nomad interns crossed the desolate Kalahari desert to reach deep into Namibia with the gospel, sleeping in tents and battling the elements to bring a message of hope to the people of that great nation. The team spent more than a full week in the Land Rover traveling from ministry point to ministry point. Nomads, and their Response Team leaders, fill a vital role in reaching every child. They not only train a never-ending flow of local church volunteers, they witness in places where there is no church. Nomads go to places where nobody else goes. Sometimes “every child” exists on the other side of the distorted heat waves emanating from the desert floor. May we all be Nomadic enough to pass through those barriers that others dare not cross.


“From Jo’burg to Moscow, we’ve partnered with you in reaching a generation with the Book of Hope in more than 38 countries.”


Time for a furlough . . .in the desert

As with any departure and arrival there is a strong mix of emotions, having to leave those you love for those you love.
We have officially begun our furlough here in Arizona. We will spend our weekends, and some weekdays, traveling to different churches to encourage, update, and thank the many different congregations and friends.
As we travel and share, it is with a grateful and heavy heart. Beginning this furlough cycle we have officially resigned from our position with Book of Hope as the Southern Africa directors.
After nine years--the past five in South Africa--of serving around the world reaching children and youth with the Book of Hope, we feel like God is leading in a new direction. Our resignation with Book of Hope in no way affects our status as Assembly of God World Missions missionaries. We continue to serve as AGWM missionaries as we have for the past 13 years (Joe) and 18 years(Mishael).
Despite stepping away from Book of Hope, our plans are to continue ministering to the next generation, most likely with young adults. Where and what our new assignment will look like, we are unsure of at this time.
We are continuing to seek God’s leading through this transition. As we seek this new direction, we ask for your continued prayers and support. Ministering through the Book of Hope has taken us around the world. From Johannesburg to Moscow, to Guatemala City we have been blessed to partner with you in reaching a generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ in more than 38 countries.
We have been blessed to be a part of such an endeavor, and wish our friends and colleagues at Book of Hope all God’s best.



As we itinerate and speak at churches we are sharing what God has been doing in us and through us these past 5 years in South and Southern Africa. It has been an exciting journey; and we have so much to share as we continue to challenge the churches in missions. Our transition in no way hinders our speaking in churches. If you would like us to come to your church just contact us or your pastor. We also have put our calender of speaking engagements on this blog. Please take a look at the schedule. If we are in your area we would love to get together with you.



JOSIAH
Josiah is growing and adapting to American life very well (much better than mom and dad). Since we arrived he has experienced many things from fire trucks, horses, snow, Home Depot crafts for kids, and Nana & Pap's activity land with all sorts of toys. He is in preschool and loving it. He has made new friends, and has enjoyed very much getting to know all of his cousins. Like many children his age, Siah is growing by leaps and bounds--literally. Last month he grew 1/2 inch. That's six inches a year at that rate! He is doing very well in art, writing and his new found passion swimming. After getting stuck i n snowstorm in the White Mountains we learned that he enjoys throwing and eating snow very much. Thanks to his cousins Mac and Dawson he has become quite the Nascar fan, especially #48 Jimmy Johnson (see picture). He prays regularly for many of you and loves to tease his grandmothers.

AGWM is raising our budget. If you would like to support us financially you can click the link and it will give you 3 options to give a one time gift, monthly commitment, or a monthly automatic credit card deduction.

Want to see more pictures? click here


NEWELL'S ITINERATION SCHEDULE

June 2008
1 - am Lighthouse- Peoria, AZ
8 - am Springerville, AZ
15 - am Whiteriver, AZ
(6-15 will stay at parents cabin in Showlow)
22- OPEN
29 - am Christ’s church, Phoenix, AZ

July 2008
2-11 School of Missions- Springfield, MO – fly in & out of Kansas City
12-13 - 10:30- Payson First A/G, AZ
19-20 - 10am Winona Community church, Flagstaff, AZ
27 OPEN
29- Family camp - Prescott, AZ

August 2008
3 -am- Benson-First A/G
9-10 - Radiant- Surprise, AZ
16-17 Northland Christian- Flagstaff, AZ
19-25 Danville, VA- family reunion 25-31 Holden beach-North Carolina church

September 2008
1-6 Washington DC/Maryland
7 OPEN
9th reurn to AZ
14 AM OPEN
PM – Canyon Day A/G- AZ
21 AM - OPEN
PM – Glendale Harvest church, AZ
22 - Arizona Indian College
25-27 - Men's Confrence - Prescott, AZ
28 - am - Buckeye- Summit of Hope, AZ



October 2008
4-5 - am Ajo First A/G, AZ
12 Tucson- Flowing Wells- AZ
19 - am Buckeye First A/G, AZ
20 JOE’S BIRTHDAY
20 fly to Des Moines, Iowa 20-26 First Assembly- Des Moines Missions convention 27-31 Kenosha, Wisconsin

November 2008
1 JOSIAH’S Birthday
2 -am Kenosha First A/G, WI 3 Fly to Tucson, AZ
9 -am Wickenburg, AZ
16- am Tucson Glad Tidings, AZ
19 -Mesa First Assembly, AZ
23 OPEN
30 - am Rock Church - Scottsdale, AZ

December 2008
7- am Buckeye First Assembly, AZ

January 2009
11 am-Casa Grand First Assembly, AZ

Febuary 2009
1 Cottonwood First Assembly, AZ


Available dates
July 27

September 7, 14, 21

November 23

Most Sunday evenings and during the week.

Newsletter Spring '07

Newell News

We are headed home!
Although it may seem a bit premature to some, it is necessary to announce at this time that we will be home in the USA for furlough throughout 2008. The early announcement is to assist us and the churches with scheduling for services as many churches schedule guest speakers one and two years in advance.
By God’s grace many exciting things have happened over the past five years through the Book of Hope ministry.
We are very much looking forward to seeing our families, friends, and partners in the harvest.
For those wishing to have us for a service, we will be available beginning January 2008. Please contact us as soon as you know you are interested as our calendar has already begun to fill up.
As for friends and family, let us know where and when and we’ll be there!

Nomad base mobilizes, reaches a generation

From South Africa to Angola, Mozambique, Swaziland, Namibia & Botswana Book of Hope Nomad students have been making a lasting impact upon the next generation of Southern Africa.
In 2006 we were excited to see the vision that God placed upon our hearts come to be in the form of an internship for young adults called Nomad. Through the end of June 2007, Nomad students and their leaders will have partnered with dozens of churches in eight different Southern African nations, reaching more than 100,000 children and youth with the gospel and mobilizing thousands of loval church volunteers through numerous trainings. It is our hope and desire that these Nomads, and many like them, will develop a passion for reaching the lost through their experience. Nomads routinely go where there is no church.




The end of January 2007 we received our second batch of students for the January-June semester.Ten Nomad students and their four team leaders departed from the “farm” on February 15th after intensive training to begin ministering to the children of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Swaziland. The students were trained in various aspects of missions, cross cultural communications, and the Book of Hope ministry. We were thrilled to see the teams come together in unity and purpose. Over the course of the semester the Nomads are ministering with local churches in many rural areas to reach the children with the gospel through the Book of Hope and the Godman film. Their focus is to train & encourage local church volunteers to reach their communities, and to spread the gospel where there is no church. These teams are an extension of the BOH internship that began in 1998. Since then 300-400 young people have passed through the program.

Highlights from across the region: 2007 promises to be a fruitful year

2007 is shaping up to be the most fruitful year of the ministry in Southern Africa. Here’s a breakdown of what’s happening.

South Africa/ Coordinator: Jacques Van Bommel Currently teachers in four provinces are being trained to teach life skills using the Book of Hope as part of an education department-endorsed program targeting 4.5 million students.
2007 Faith Goal: 2.7 million
Swaziland/Coordinator: Magugu Mncina. A combination of Book of Hope, Godman, and the new ministry of Imatter are tackling the world’s worst HIV/Aids epidemic. Imatter is the latest BOH partnership designed to arrest the HIV pandemic through behavorial change directed by the application of God’s word. It is a 10-week course addressing our inherent value in Christ. 2007 Faith Goal: 100,000
Botswana: It is our joy to partner with the Assemblies of God of Botswana in their initiative to reach out to the country through evangelism in 2007 and beyond. Trainings were held in Gaberone and Francistown during February for 120 pastors and leaders attending as the first ever distributions of the Book of Hope happen in this country with the assistance of the Nomads. In addition, approximately 70 local church volunteers were trained and 10,000 children reached in their first week of ministry!
Mozambqiue/Coordinator: Fernando Chauque: Due to muslim opposition we have retooled our approach in Mozambique. Using the Godman film and
Accompanying Storying Edition (SE) to reach the rural, and largely illiterate areas while we continue to pursue endorsements from the provincial education departments.
2007 Faith Goal: 300,000.



Namibia: We are close to having reached all of the major cities, and are continuing to reach the villages with previously trained teams and partners such as Every Home For Christ ministries. A Nomad team will assist the effort in June.

Josiah is growing up fast!

‘Siah will celebrate his fourth birthday this November. He is growing fast and very adventurous/curious about everything. He loves quad bikes and life on the farm during trainings.
Josiah enjoys spending time with his best friend Jacques when they see each other every few months. They are like twins that get into everything. They hug and love each other, then fight and hug and hug. Even though they do not see one another very often they make up for it when they are together. I have never seen two boys love one another so much, especially when they only see one another every few months. There is just a special bond between the two boys. Siah is getting very tall and loves to Yes, Jacquito (left) and Siah play very hard together. explain rules. He’s still very strong-willed; but with two large dimples and big blue eyes he is hard to resist. When he realized the other day that his mother was a little slow in getting in the car to go to the store he walked into the kitchen with his hands on his hips and said, “Momma. Walk your foot!” Enough said.
Please keep Josiah in your prayers as transitions back to the USA (our furlough begins at the end of this year) can be challenging for MK’s. South Africa is the only home he has known so far, and he will be leaving behind his best friends.

Carol and Lerina continue BOH in multiple countries

Many of you know that we have had the privilege of working with two super young ladies over the last two years—Carol Jacobs (South Africa) and Lerina Bamm(Namibia).
Carol is currently working with the Book of Hope South Africa office heading up a research project in cooperation with several provincial education
departments, while Lerina is coordinating BOH in Namibia and finishing her theology diploma. Carol and Lerina have assisted BOH programs in South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia and Malawi, Mozambique and Angola. Both hope to continue work with BOH.

Communication%$#@&****** problems? Hallelujah anyway!

It has been some time since our last e-letter up-date. We have had quite the year (2006) to say the least. It has been one of the most difficult times in our lives. Looking back, it all started more or less last January 2006when all 700+ email addresses in our Yahoo account disappeared. The addresses were not backed up, and we have had problems with Yahoo ever since.
The last several months we have tried to rebuild our e-mail address book. Months later we also found out that certain, very important, e-mails that we were sending were not being received. All the while our email account appeared to be sending and receiving normally. From there our internet began to crash for days on end. Lightning finished the job by electrocuting our internet router.
Communication being essential to all we do, these things proved to be a slight hindrance. These things have continued even till now. So we apoligize for the lack in communication this last year. We are working on a ministry blog that we up date regularly more info .

PRAISE REPORT:

In February of last year Mishael became sick and remained so every day for five months. Enduring intense, daily nausea, she had many tests done, resulting in nothing definitive. She was prayed for many times without seeing a change in her condition. Then one Sunday she was prayed for by a friend and healed completely! The past two years we have been attacked in our physical bodies, minds, emotions and spirits. In every way we have been attacked; but we know who is our rock. God has been our strength. We thank God for all of our friends, especially our praying friends. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us!

Many people have asked us how they can participate financially
It is remarkably simple to participate financially in reaching the children of Southern Africa. Whether you are from the Assemblies of God, or not, you can sow into God's kingdom by providing God's eternal word to the children and youth of the region.

If you would like to sow your seed by check, then the check can be made out to AGWM and our account number (292733-3) placed in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to 1445 Boonville Avenue, Springfield, MO65802. If you wish to give by credit card, you can go-online to AG.org and download or print the necessary forms. This is especially handy for those of you who receive air-miles or other benefits for using your credit card.

Thank you from the children of Southern Africa!

Thank you so much for your friendship, prayers and support! We could not do what we do with out YOU! We would love to hear from you!

If you would like to read some of Joe's writings, he has his own blog that you can just clink the link below

http://jbnewell.blogspot.com/

Blessings,

Joe, Mishael and Josiah

Granny Brigade Rides Again!

It was our pleasure for the third year-in-a-row to host the Granny Brigade led by 80-year-young Miriam Machovic this past April. Ministering in Mokopane, Limpopo and Rustenburg & Phokeng, Northwest Miriam and the gals loved on children the way only grandmas can. After visiting the Mokopane hospital one of the nurses thanked the group for coming saying that the burden of working there had left them. When "Grandma" Donna was asked why she came, she replied, "because I love Jesus and I love you." Inistantly tears began to trickle down the nurse's cheek in response to God' love in a thankless job. At each stop, which included the hospital, two pre-schools, a primary school, a high school, a church plant, Lighthouse Children's Shelter, and two feeding points the grannies--who come from all over the USA-- showered the children and adults with hugs, gifts, the Book of Hope, and encouraging words.
At the primary school, each granny was cheered by teachers when sharing their love for Christ and how many grandchildren and great-grand children each had been blessed with. On our way out of the high school Donna was stopped by one teenager who asked if she would be her granny. It was truly a special time of ministry. I am convinced now more than ever that our generation, and the one to come, owes a huge debt of gratitude to the one that is in the twilight of its purpose. It is the resolve and uncompromising nature of these grandmothers' faith that is most needed now and in the future.

To see more pictures of the Granny's in action click on the link below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8618630@N03/