Faith, Hope and Love Global Ministries

Faith, Hope and Love in Myanmar

October 25, 2011
In This Issue
Pray With Us
What's Happening Now?
Get More Involved!
Update on Jill's Health
Chartres in Retrospect
For your Reflection
Donate
Like us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter
View my profile on LinkedIn
 

JillandBurmeseWoman
Jill hosting wife of a MIT faculty member 

Pray with Us


We give thanks for: 

 

1. Life-changing experience for Catholics and Protestants who participated in the Chartres spiritual retreat we led in September. 

 

2. A warm reception here in Myanmar, eager students, grateful junior faculty members, and joyful reunions with friends.

 

3. Tim's elective class filled up almost immediately, maxing out at 25. 

 

4. Deepening relationships with Burmese faculty members and friends, with new opportunities to encourage them and pray together for their growth and for God's continued leading and working in their lives.  

 

5. The generous, ongoing support of our home church, Christ Presbyterian Church, along with some new monthly donors, including the Highline Community Church in Colorado.

 

6. Protection from heat exhaustion and dehydration when teaching 3-8 hours/day with a very high heat index

    

Pray with us for:    

 

BurmaStudentBodyPresident Student Leader

   

1. IN GENERAL: Approximately 10% of this Buddhist nation of 50 million people is Christian. The church is growing, but is in in urgent need for more, well-educated professors and teachers of theology, pastoral practice, and leadership. Progress is being made, but the challenges are immense.   

 

2. THIS WEEK: Spiritual revitalization and increased leadership capacity for the 20-25 pastors and faculty members from up to 14 different denominations, who are participating in Tim's "Spirit-Led Leader" leadership training course, October 24-28, in Yangon, Myanmar.

 

3. Ongoing: Life-change and deeper understanding of Scripture for Burmese theological students preparing for ministry in Tim's New Testament Theology class.

 

4. Ongoing: Insight and encouragement for students, faculty, and other individuals meeting one on one with Tim or Jill. 

 

5. Myanmar Institute of Theology seeking $865,000 to finish building their new administration and classroom building (pictured below).  

   

6. Complete healing for Jill and an ability to resume her photography work and speaking while in Burma.   

 

7. Strong year-end giving to balance our budget and provide needed funds for ministry in South East Asia, France, and the Congo, January-June 2012.

 

 

MIT Building constructionNew administration and classroom building  




Jill's Website

 Tim's books/web articles 


A ton more photos on Facebook

These resources offer insights and practical advice to help you to grow spiritually and to serve Christ more effectively. Please feel free to download or share the articles and sample chapters from Tim's books.
   

BurmaLessonPrep
Tim prepares for classes 

Select Articles

 

Huffington Post articles: 

 "What We Must Never Forget About Genocide" 

   

"When Prayer Makes a Difference" 

 

Dialogue with the Disillusioned

 

"Why Keep Praying?"  

(Introduction to series)

 

"What if God Let You Down?" 

(Week 1)

 

"Where is God in Unanswered Prayer?" 

(Week 2)

 

"Is Prayer a Cop-Out?" 

(Week 6)   

 

Would you like to be notified each time a new article is posted? Just write "add me" in the subject line in an email to  [email protected]

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Tim

Tim enjoying a moment with a student  

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More Photos from Myanmar
Jill and S' Princeton

Jill and S' Princeton

Inya Lake

Inya Lake, Yangon

Ka Thy  

Faculty department chairwoman

Construction workers atop 5 story bldg 
Construction workers atop
MIT's new 5 story building
 

Faith, Hope and Love Global

Board of Directors

 

Rev. Dr. Cheryl F. Dudley  

Mr. Thomas Erickson  

Rev. Jill K.H. Geoffrion, Ph.D.  

Rev. Timothy C. Geoffrion, Ph.D.

 

Board of Advisors

   

Mr. Jim Deanovic  

Mr. Ron Hoffman  

Mr. John March  

Mr. Mark Thompson 

 

We deeply appreciate your prayers and support. We cannot sustain, let alone expand, this important work without  

your ongoing help.   

Thank you!

 

Tim and Jill Geoffrion  

 

      Join Our Mailing List         

Greetings!

Two weeks in, and God is already blessing our teaching and personal ministry with over 100 students and numerous fellow faculty members, individuals, and families. Our hosts are warm, welcoming, and overflowing with appreciation. 

 

In answer to our question whether we will still be needed in future years, the academic dean was unequivocal. "We are going to need what you have to offer for a very long time," he insisted. The future of the growing church depends upon better equipped pastors and leaders, yet the seminaries lack sufficiently educated professors, and there is a critical need for greater leadership development. It will take many years to develop the capacity needed to address all these needs well. 

    

At the moment, Tim is the only professor with Ph.D. level education in New Testament on campus-and maybe in the whole country. No one else offers a full course on spiritual vitality and spiritual leadership. And in a nation where women have generally been considered second class citizens, Jill provides an urgently needed, positive role model and highly effective ministries, especially with women faculty members and leaders one on one.     

Tim teaching NTT in chapel

Tim teaching New Testament Theology

   

In this newsletter, we want to let you know more about what we're doing and how you can pray with us for the people of Myanmar (the new, now universally accepted, name for Burma). We are also developing more ways for you to be involved, and would like to invite you to participate more actively in the ministry in various ways, as Andrew has detailed below.  

 

We greatly appreciate your concern for the well-being of the church around the world. Thank you for partnering with us as we seek to teach, inspire, and encourage students, faculty, pastors, and leaders every day.    

 

Serving Christ with you,

Tim and Jill


What's Happening Now?

 

* Teaching "New Testament Theology," a weekly, required class for 80 seminary students

 

* Teaching "Spiritual Vitality for Life and Leadership," a weekly elective for 25 students  

 

* Teaching "The Spirit-Led Leader," a 5 day intensive workshop for 20-25 faculty members and pastors from various denominations through the Association for Theological Education in Myanmar (ATEM). (October 24-28)  

NTTheoClassBurma

New Testament Theology Students

 

* Hosting individuals, couples, and families in our apartment over supper. We listen to their stories, share ours, and offer whatever counsel or encouragement they are seeking from us. Before they go home, we always ask, "How can we pray for you?" And then we pray together.

 

Jill hosting Burmese doctor friend

Jill demonstrating how to use a finger labyrinth

to the delight of one of our guests 

 

* Mentoring and encouraging junior faculty members and students, one on one

Tim and faculty member   Tim with former student, now junior faculty member 

Get More Involved!

 
Save the Date! -- November 14th
Young Professionals Gathering

We minister in large part to young ministers and seminarians around the world. Learn how our ministry connects you with other faithful servants of God. Please contact Andrew if you are willing to help with the evening or want to participate.
Otherwise, stay tuned for more details!

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See pictures, hear our stories, experience what's happening through our global ministry almost instantly!

 

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Please consider making a contribution this month.  

 

Donate   

 

Your tax-deductible donations to  

Faith, Hope and Love Global Ministries  

are both needed and greatly appreciated.  

  

Minnesota Givers:

November 16 - Give to the Max Day!

 

Minnesota's biggest charitable giving day sponsored by GiveMN.org. Your donation dollars have a chance at a $1,000 add on!

 

See our GiveMN giving site to donate on Nov. 16  

    

Host an Informational Meeting

Tim and Jill will be in Minneapolis Nov. 10 - Dec. 22  

To suggest your ideas  

or invite us to speak, please email:

Tim - [email protected], or  

Andrew - [email protected]  

      

It's our deep desire that you would feel the tangible love of Christ by engaging with our ministry. Wherever you are and wherever we are -- let us be connected in a way that teaches, inspires, and encourages each other to serve Christ more effectively.    

 

Andrew Lonsbury head shot

Andrew Lonsbury is the Assistant to the President

for Faith, Hope and Love Global Ministries  

 

Jill Bible
An Update on Jill's Health

Thank you for your continued prayers! It's been nearly one full year since Jill suffered a pulmonary embolism last November 4 (see "To Live or To Die"). Her recovery has been slow and erratic, but we are very thankful that she is doing so much better today. She still needs to rest every day, but is increasingly able to participate in the ministry.  In France, she co-led a spiritual retreat with Tim (see below). Here in Yangon, she has been entertaining individuals, couples, and families in our apartment, and starting do some photography again. Your continued prayers are most appreciated!

Chartres Spiritual Pilgrimage Retreat
What a week!


Rest, renewal, listening, growth, healing, awe, laughter, release, challenge, refocusing, and deep prayer are words that pilgrims from the Faith, Hope and Love Pilgrimage used to describe their week spent in Chartres.

God was given time to move in each person's life in unique and important ways through silence, teaching, visual presentation, cathedral tours, and time spent alone and with other pilgrims in both the cathedral and the town. Highlights included an hour spent meditating on the encounter of Jesus and the woman at the well (John 4) near the ancient well in the crypt, an after-hours evening of song and prayer in the cathedral and on the candle-lit labyrinth exclusively enjoyed by the pilgrim group, and many opportunities to meet and interact with French Christians for whom the cathedral is "home."

God's love reached out and touched us all in many different and beautiful ways! We fell asleep each night with the prayer, "Thanks be to God!" on our lips and in our hearts.

 LabyrinthLighted2011

Lighted labyrinth walk at Chartres Cathedral

 

A Special Thank You!

 

We wish to extend our deepest gratitude to the many that made the Pilgrimage Retreat a wonderful experience.

 

MJ McGregor

who volunteered to handle so  

many of the details all week long.

 

Rev. Dr. Cheryl Dudley  

a Board Member   

who graciously offered musical leadership    

 

Alain Louet
 who guided pilgrims through the Crypt, and readily  provided practical assistance for various programs in the Cathedral 

 

Odile Blanchon, Fran�ois and Monique De LaGarde, and other members of  

the Chemin Neuf Community

who housed and helped to welcome our pilgrims 

 

Committee of the Bercheres Carri�re
who came en masse (15 strong) to welcome the retreatants to the quarry where the stones for the cathedral were extracted. Their warm welcome
and hospitality was warmly appreciated by all!
    

 


For Your Reflection  
MoonFullMyanmar

Full Moon over Yangon, Myanmar

Take a moment to dwell on the wonder of God's creation.


What comes to your mind?



 
What speaks to your heart?



What prayer comes to your lips?