The LifeLight News

Peter Loewen LifeLight Missionary

2011-12-12T15:25:00.001-06:00

PETER LOEWEN (published on October 06, 2011)

PETER LOEWEN The afternoon of October 3, 2011, Peter Loewen slipped peacefully into the waiting arms of his Lord. He passed away in the Palliative Care Ward at the Riverview Health Centre. He was 86. Peter is survived by his loving wife, Caroline, of Winnipeg, MB, as well as their children and grandchildren, Rita and husband Wendell Kroeker, Matthew (Kirsten, Haley and Annika), Dalen (Bonnie), Tyson (Diane, Karen and Aurelia), and Amy; Sylvia and son, Ben; Ralph and wife Cindy, Pavel, Arthur and Marissa; Lyle and wife Paula, Brenlee (Joash), Kara (Tim), and Jordan; Stewart and wife Heather, Dawson and Jenna; Greg and wife Cathie, Mackenzie, Kaelee and Aaron. Peter was predeceased by his parents, Isaac and Elizabeth, brothers Leonard (in childhood) and George, and sister Mary Friesen. He grew up in Giroux and quit school at 14 to help on the family farm. After their marriage on May 1, 1954, Peter and Caroline moved to the Interlake, north of Riverton. They farmed and spent winters in the bush running a sawmill. In 1962, Peter bought his first mobile feed mill and in 1969 he built Scientific Feed in Arborg. In later years, he spent many days helping his sons and son-in-law on their farming operations. Five years ago Dad and Mom moved to Winnipeg, where they became members of the Braeside E.M.C. Church. Dad was honoured to have been asked to serve on the mission's committee. Dad loved people. Some of his happiest days were spent driving his motorboat and teaching numerous people how to water-ski. He loved meeting new people. He and Mom did a lot of traveling - to Israel, Europe, South America, Caribbean and cruising. Their latest trip was to a granddaughter's wedding in Mexico this past January. Dad's greatest joy came from giving away Scriptures. In recent years, he went on many trips north to distribute Lifelight New Testaments. Dad wanted everyone to know the Lord. He spent hours praying and has witnessed many a changed life. Dad also loved to share stories of his Scripture distribution trips. The viewing is at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, 150 Penfeld Dr., Steinbach on Thursday, October 6 at 7:00 p.m. The memorial service will be held on Friday, October 7 at 2:00 p.m. at Braeside Evangelical Mennonite Church in Winnipeg - 1011 Munroe Ave. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Canadian Lifelight Ministries Inc.

Dessert Evening

2011-05-02T19:38:00.001-05:00

I'll start off by saying "what a great evening LifeLight had last
night!!" Our Steinbach Dessert Night was a huge success. Rox did a great
job helping to organize this event. It is so much work to make it happen
as people need to be contacted on a regular basis to make sure they are
coming. We were able to raise $5,700.00 last night!!! It will end up
being a little more as some of our donors took the envelopes home to
pray about it. We had many new faces last night - very encouraging. 100
people showed up. Also, half the evening's costs were covered by one of
our donors. Praise God!!!
Our next main effort will be the Golf Tournament - any of you who have
contacts that can support or sponsor part of this event would be much
appreciated. Just let us know how many golf brochure you need and we'll
make it happen.
--
Blessings,

Ryan Rempel

GOLF, n.

2011-05-02T19:32:00.001-05:00

GOLF, n.

[1] a game that consists of a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic.

[2] a game of opposites - the world's slowest people are ahead of you, and the fastest are behind.

[3] a colorful sport that keeps you on the green, in the pink, and financially in the red.

[4] a game which is allowed to be played on Sunday (under blue laws) because it was not considered a game by the law, but a form of moral effort.

[5] a game a lot like taxation - you drive hard to get to the green, and then you find yourself in a hole.

GOLF CART, n.

[1] A popular mode of transportation because, unlike a caddie, it can neither count, criticize, nor snicker.

GOLFER, n.

[1] a person who yells "fore," takes six, and puts down five;

[2] a guy who has the advantage over a fisherman - he doesn't have to bring home anything when he brags he had a great day

Dessert Night Steinbach

2011-04-19T19:48:00.001-05:00

It is time for our Spring events. We have decided to do Sunday evening dessert night in Steinbach May 1^st 6:30 pm at The Brass Lantern.

We have some great people lined up so far to share – Faron Hanson, chaplain at Milner Ridge prison who will speak about how the Bibles he receives from us are impacting inmates on a daily basis as well as others who will share about distribution in the North, Winnipeg inner city ministry and a personal testimony about how finding a LifeLight New Testament in a thrift store changed his life!
Rox@TheLifeLight.com

Check out our catalogue at http://www.TheLifeLight.com/
Credit Card donations can be made at
www.DonateBibles.NET

Bible a Month Club

2010-06-16T12:52:00.002-05:00

If I told you that only $5/month could change someones life for now and for eternity, would you pitch in? With the Bible a Month Club, you have the opportunity to donate one Bible every single month to someone who has accepted Christ or to someone who is searching. So many people in our own communities have never had their own Bible. It is the mission and vision of LifeLight Ministries to provide the word of God to all who seek Him. Our goal is to grow the Bible a Month Club to 1000 Bibles every month.

To be part of this, please contact our office a 1-866-HIS-WORD or email us at Bibles@thelifelight.com

We will set you up with a debit or credit card option and we will also issue you a tax receipt at year end. Thank you for support. When you read our blog, website and newsletter, you can know that you have a part in these life changing testimonies.

Blessing,

Ryan Rempel
Executive Director

Godly words from the mouth of an athiest

2010-02-11T10:23:00.005-06:00

His name is Penn Gillete. He is an American Comedian and magician who is also an outspoken atheist. The longer version of the video was that after one of his shows, a man walked up to him and told him how much he appreciated his shows and he proceeded to hand him a Bible as a gift. Penn was kind of taken back by that, being an outspoken atheist and all. But after that fact, Penn went on to say that he really, really respected this man and his faith for being so open and honest about it, willing to share his belief with someone who is so against it. I cannot get enough of this video. He hits the nail right on the head when he says " If Christians actually believe in an eternal Heaven and an eternal Hell and that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ, how much do they have to hate someone to not share that with them. He's absolutely right. That man who gave Penn a Bible is a great example of showing Christ's love, even to an outspoken unbeliever. If we believe our faith to be true, we HAVE to share it. I encourage you to stop by our Winnipeg or Steinbach office this week. If you don't have a Bible, we will give you one. If you want a Bible to give to someone, we will give you one. Our passion is to Spread the Word of God to EVERYONE. God is not ours to keep to our self. Each one of us belongs to Him, and that my friends is something worth sharing.

2010-02-10T13:12:00.001-06:00

The Need Is Growing!

Due to Gods amazing grace and to the open doors that he have given us, we are nearing a $50,000 Bible order. Our Bibles have been leaving our warehouse in large quantities due to people who are searching for Christ. First Nations communities, prisons, churches, camps and many other organizations have been reveiving more Bibles than ever before. This is very exciting to see happen..however all these Bibles now have to be replaced. This is a big project to take on and we need your help, not only prayerfully but financialy as well. If you feel led to partner with us in this area, we would love to hear from you. You can call us at 1-866-HIS-WORD or at 204-339-3770 to donate. Or you can visit http://www.thelifelight.com/ to give online. We would love to talk to you more about his project.

We have many people and organizations who cannot afford to make donations that are waiting for these Bibles to be used in their ministry. We need to act as soon as possible to make sure they have the resources they need.

Thank you everyone for your faithful support and to all of you who are out there on the mission field spreading the word of God. Blessings!

2010-02-10T13:06:00.003-06:00

How Important Is Our Faith?
If our faith is the most important thing in our life, more important than money, friends, parties, sex, careers, the lake, family and even church, then why is it so much easier to talk about everything but our faith to our freinds? We spend hours telling people about our weekend, about the latest survivor episode, about who said what on facebook, but when it comes to sharing about the experience you had with God or your relationhip with Christ, we shut our mouths.

This is a dangerous way to live and I'm guilty of this lifestyle as well.....but i'm learning. Taking that step out of my comfort zone was the best thing I could have done. Here's what happened.

About 6 months ago, I had a doctors appointment downtown that I was late for. I got out of my car and noticed a man walk by me who was clearly hungry, poor and dirty. I thought to myself "hmmm that sucks", and I started running up the stairs to my appointment. But something told me to go back and do something. So, I ran back to my car, took some loonies from my console and ran after the guy to give him some money for whatever he needed. I patted him on the back, he said thank you very much and I ran back to my appointment. As I bolted for the elevator, something told me to go and do more. I'm thinking, shoot, I'm late, I need to get to my appointment..but I listened and ran back to my car. I remembered that I had some Bibles in my trunk so I grabbed one and bolted after this man again. I caught up to him and said "sorry to bother you but do you like reading?" He said, yes I sure do. So I asked him " If I gave you this Bible, would you read it?" He said, yes, I sure would, thank you. I patted him on the back and ran back to the building...but that voice came back and told me to do more. Well, I'm fairly certain that my doctor is not a Christian, so I went back to the car and grabbed another Bible. I brought it up with me and one of the first things she asked me was "So Ryan, what do you do for a living?" I wasn't sure what to say. Do I just say I work for a charity or do I expand and really tell her what I do. I decided to tell her in detail and then said to her "actually, I brought you a Bible as a gift that I wanted you to have." She took it from my hands and was so thankful that I thought of her and she said that she would gladly take this home with her to read.

I was totally out of my comfort zone here but I took one of the opportunities that God give us everyday. Instead of asking for an opportunity, I took one. After it was all said and done, it sure seemed easy. I try to take opportunities on a more regular basis now and the worst repsonse I have ever gotten is a No Thanks. If that is the most I have to fear, than I will have no excuse when God asks me why I was so lazy in sharing my faith.

I want to encourge every one of you to take that step and share with someone the most important thing in your life. The Bible is a powerfull way to do this because after the conversation is over, they will have somthing they can have with them when God whispers in their ear that he loves them.

Our Readers write...

2008-04-02T13:58:00.002-05:00

Thank you for the Bibles you provide for prison ministry. We use them in chapel services so that
we are all on the same page (pun intended!). The inmates use them to do Bible studies in their units. Many have recently read the book of Proverbs, finished the Bible studies and have received a certificate. One evening several inmates were sitting in the middle of the hallway. With their Bibles open, they were reading and helping each other to finish a Bible study I had given them in chapel earlier that day. The next day they shared with me how they enjoyed reading their Bibles and working together to learn and earn a certificate. May the Lord bless those who provide these Bibles and pray for prison ministries!—Mrs. R.

We have received two consignments of Bibles from LifeLight in the past, and they are well received by the inmate population of the jail. We have been using The LifeLight and How to Find God. Recently I received a copy of The LifeLight Message. I think it would be ideally suited for our situation since many of the inmates have a low reading level, and I think it would help them enormously. Would it be possible to receive a case of these Bibles? Since we have no budget allowance and are unable to purchase Bibles, we rely on the generosity and kindness of the Christian community to supply our needs. Thank you for your help in the past, and I hope that you will be able to continue to support our ministry.— Philip

I serve in The Salvation Army Correctional and Justice Services. I was looking through your copy
of How to Find God, and I find it to be a good level for many of my clients. I work with women and children who have been affected by the justice system in some way. Recently a new client, who had just received Christ, asked for a Bible, and I felt that How to Find God was perfect for her. Our program has limited funds, so I am writing to request a donation of some of your Bibles.—Sara

Upon receiving a shipment of Sports New Testaments, I realized the exciting potential of
these Scriptures. The athletes’ testimonies will be very appealing to many younger readers. These NTs will be distributed to inmates and youth in various settings. Thank you for making them available.—Lorne

I am an inmate, and a friend of mine (also an inmate), showed me a New Testament that I had never seen before: Hope for the Highway. I have been reading it and learning things I never knew before. My friend is going home soon, and I asked him where I could get one of these NTs. He gave me your address, so I’m writing in hopes of getting one for myself. I’ve been in here since September 2007 and, hopefully, I will get out in June. I asked our chaplain if we have these Bibles, but he said we didn’t, so can I please have one sent to me if it isn’t any trouble. Thank you very much.
—Brian

I am an inmate and first heard about The LifeLight New Testament through my ex-girlfriend. She is struggling in her life at this time and told me that she doesn’t understand the Bible when she reads it. She was asking me if I could get her this book because it gives a clearer understanding of who God is and about His Son, Jesus. It would be greatly appreciated
if you good people at LifeLight Ministries could send her this New Testament. —Kenneth

I am an inmate, and someone gave me a Journey of Recovery New Testament with the 12-Steps in it. Can you send me something else that talks about the 12-Step Program? I am a drug addict and about to lose my family. I have a long road ahead of me and look to others for help. I don’t
have any money, and my family is not willing to help. —Joel

I am presently incarcerated, and I have been reading the Bible. I find some things hard to understand, but I keep on reading. I ask the chaplain questions as much as I can, but I only get to see him for about fifteen minutes every Saturday. It would be nice to be able to talk to someone else concerning God, the way of life and what life is like having Him in it. If there is anyone who has time, could you please write back or come and visit me so I can learn more. —Eduard

Bike Show

2008-04-02T13:51:00.002-05:00

As part of the ministry of House of the Risen Son, we do an annual motorcycle show at Stony Mountain. The inmates really appreciate the bikes, and this event lifts their spirits and, hopefully, also their morale. Each year we build relationships with some of the inmates, which leads to further visits, and often we get to share our faith.
On one visit I was discussing the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with a man and what the Bible says regarding forgiveness. On my next visit I took a copy of the Serenity New Testament, and I left without it. On a future visit I found out that this inmate was sharing his Bible with the other men.
The inmates are there for crimes from fraud to murder. Some are gang members, and others are there just because they did something they shouldn’t have done. Many of them have never heard a personal story of Christ which they feel relates to them. As a rider, I can give them another view of the Christian faith. I am often surprised as to who will take a Bible and read it when they realize that it’s free—no strings attached. Jesus, inmates, bikers and Bibles!
Please support LifeLight Ministries, pray for those who distribute Scriptures, and always carry a few Scriptures with you to give away when God gives you the opportunity.
Chuck Sheridan
Director of House of the Risen Son, a ministry comprised of the Bondslave Motorcycle Club, Lazarus House (for men in addiction recovery), a food bank, Overcomers Outreach, a
prison ministry and a youth outreach program.

An Ongoing Drought

2008-04-02T13:50:00.000-05:00

In my eleven years of ministering at the Winnipeg Remand Centre (WRC), I have experienced a vast change in the profile of residents—not in terms of their charges but in terms of their personal and communal foundations. The great majority, especially those in their twenties, seem not to have had any upbringing in the Scriptures and seem not to have lived within a religious tradition/community.
While this lack of scriptural knowledge might indicate no need for the Bible, it is quite the contrary! I firmly believe that the increase in requests for Bibles over the last decade is due to an ongoing drought and pain felt within the hearts of inmates, where God’s Word has been written—in its entirety! People who have no history of faith, scripture and religious community are responding to their hearts!
WRC was built in 1992 to hold a maximum of 275 residents; last week we were 400. We’ve gone through a lot of Bibles from LifeLight Ministries, as well as Bibles from other wells. We certainly need a well that keeps providing Scriptures!
I am grateful for the generosity of LifeLight donors who give so unselfishly so that many have the opportunity, often for the first time, to read and hear God’s Word.
Joseph Lintz, Chaplain

Volunteer Gives Hope

2008-04-02T13:49:00.000-05:00

John* walked into the room. It was supposed to be the last time he would see anyone. Tonight was going to be the night where he would free himself from his old demons of the past, present and future. What future? he wondered. I’ll be dead.
As he joined in a game of darts in the prison programs area, his spirits lifted. He noticed a volunteer who was visiting. The volunteer came up and introduced himself, and from that moment something changed. Hope! The volunteer treated him as a person, not a number or an inmate. Every day, for the past seven years he had been in prison, had been humiliating. Every day he experienced rejection, shame, hurt and loneliness. The burden had become too much to bear, and John had come to the point where he could see no way out.
John found it interesting that a “new” man had come to the prison. The group had not had a volunteer for many years, so this was unique, as well as challenging, since this guy was now in his “home” and on his turf.
John wondered whether he should continue the conversation. He decided he had nothing to lose or gain. Slowly the talks progressed, over months and years, as the volunteer continued to visit the prison evening program. Should he tell him about his family? Could he trust the volunteer not to laugh at his weaknesses and failures in his life, jobs and family? He decided to open up and see if the volunteer would laugh or run! Instead, at the end, the volunteer asked, “May I pray with you?” He also offered him a Bible to read about God’s hope and love. John accepted the Bible because he believed this volunteer was genuine.
John has now been released into the community, is reading his Bible (Life Recovery Bible), is working full time, and is a believing member of a local fellowship. John is one of many whom the Lord Jesus loves deeply.
* Name has been changed
Gerard Scott-Herridge
Presiding Elder of Bride of Christ Ministries

Jesus Walks the Halls

2008-04-02T13:48:00.000-05:00

Prison is a lonely place, a place where many suffer from depression and hopelessness. For those who are locked in a cell for twenty-four hours a day, life can be extremely dreary. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to talk with these desperate men and pray with them. In the darkest hours of life, Jesus is walking the halls and reaching out to prisoners. Chaplains have a wonderful opportunity to help inmates find their way to God.
It is a joy to give Bibles to men who are asking for help. In our last chapel service the volunteer who was leading the service asked if anyone wanted a Bible. At the end of the service a young, sad-looking man asked me for a Bible, and I was able to put a copy of Free on the Inside from LifeLight Ministries into his hands. What a privilege to give a Bible to a young man searching for hope!
The stories the inmates share of an abusive childhood break one’s heart. No wonder so many young people get into trouble and end up in prison! Through God’s Word they can find hope and purpose in life. There really is a God who values them! Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, including those wayward souls who sit behind prison walls.
I was in prison and you came to visit me (Matthew 25:36). Remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them. And remember those who are treated badly as if you yourselves were suffering (Hebrews 13:3).
Pray for those behind prison walls. Pray that God will open their hearts to His Word and save them.
Chaplain Earl Cathers

Lessons from Prison

2008-04-02T13:45:00.001-05:00

Selfish reasons initially drew me to prison ministry. In 1975 I was into risk and adventure. When an ad appeared by way of a poster at my university asking for volunteers to meet with prison inmates at a local church once per week, I was there!
My immature “us-and-them” mentality quickly gave way to “Hey, these guys are us!” They had families, emotions, educated opinions, hopes and dreams, insight, and usually a great sense of humour.
One night sticks out in my mind as if it were yesterday. The night’s activity was a “Trust Walk.” We were divided into groups of two. One person was blindfolded while the other one led the more vulnerable one around the natural physical obstacles inside the church, as well as outside.
In our daring duo, I led first. My partner, Mark, was fairly tall, while I was (and still am) five feet nothing! At one point he asked me to slow down. “So you don’t trust me,” I quipped. And the challenge was on!
We came to a low doorframe, and guess who made it through and who bumped his head! At this point Mark slowly took off his blindfold and said, “I think your turn starts now.” Mark did a much better job of leading me around. He described the environment around us, told me the distance between objects and even stopped to let me feel them. He made sure I stayed safe. He also asked me about my faith and discussed his, wondering where he could get a Bible he could understand.
It’s now 2008. Inmates are no longer allowed out in groups to visit local churches during weeknights, but the question is still the same: “Do you have a Bible I can understand?” Thanks to LifeLight Ministries, I can answer with an enthusiastic “Yes!” In fact, if I walk up to a cell unit with five or more Scriptures, they are gone in less than sixty seconds! The female inmates I now minister to also ask me to deliver copies to their families on the outside.
The sad fact is that we do not have enough Bibles, but thanks to donations from people like you, we hope to obtain more easy-to-read Bibles soon. Thank you, LifeLight Ministries, for heeding God’s call to provide others with easy-to-read Scriptures.
Shon Louise McLaren
Shon has been involved in prison ministry in Ontario, Manitoba and the USA for more than thirty years. She and other staff from Inner City Women’s Ministries International Inc. offer Sunday worship services to female inmates at the Winnipeg Remand Centre and follow-up with Bibles studies/support after the inmates are released.

2008 Fur Auction

2008-04-02T13:44:00.001-05:00

Trappers come from all over northern Manitoba to sell their furs at the annual fur auction in Thompson. Fur buyers examine the furs and offer a price to the trappers. Coming to Thompson just before Christmas is an exciting time for trappers who may have spent many days and nights alone on the trap line.
A few years ago a friend of mine who is on the board for the Thompson Fur Auction invited me to have a LifeLight Scripture display at this event, and I was delighted to do that. This was the fifth time I have had this display, and it was good to see familiar faces, as well as some new ones. My wife, Caroline, and our grandson Tyson Kroeker came with me.
The auction took place in a large church hall, and it was impressive to see the trappers walk in carrying their sacks of furs. As their number was called, they approached the first fur buyer and continued around the room.
There were fewer trappers this year than there have been other years. I was told that part of the reason for this was the late frost, which resulted in the low-lying areas not freezing up on time. Even with the lower attendance, we gave away 225 Scriptures and 50 LifeLight newsletters. Whatever was left we donated to Continental Mission; they will be used at Moak Lake Camp this summer.
The local RCMP also made a couple of rounds in the hall, and Tyson had a new experience when he presented one of them with a Peacemakers New Testament (and it was accepted!).
Besides the furs, there was also a variety of crafts for sale: mukluks, mitts and other leather goods. Canadian Tire sold goods needed by trappers and other northerners, such as sleds, tarpaulin enclosures, mitts and flashlights. A raffle, with valuable prizes to be given away, generated excitement.
The annual fur auction is a wonderful opportunity to meet trappers from remote northern Manitoba areas, as well as local people, and offer them the greatest gift of all: God’s Word.
Peter & Caroline Loewen

Just What We Needed!

2008-04-02T13:43:00.001-05:00

In the last issue of the newsletter we featured a request for free Scriptures from a church in downtown Vancouver. They wrote, “Every week we have many requests for Bibles, and we never seem to have enough to go around.” Shortly after this, we received a call from a women’s group who wanted to give a donation to LifeLight Ministries in memory of someone who had passed away recently. I mentioned this need to them and suggested that their donation could go for this project. What perfect timing!
Immanuel was so appreciative of the Scriptures we sent them. He sent a note of appreciation to the women’s group:
“Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. The Bibles are just what we needed and are filling specific needs for specific people. Many have already benefited and were so delighted to receive a Bible. As soon as we opened a box there was someone who wanted and needed one right then and there. PTL! She had asked for a Bible, in the New Living Translation, but we didn’t have any. To her delight, the Bibles we received were in that translation!
“We have a small distribution table and someone is stationed there to help people get what they need. Some of the Scriptures deal specifically with addictions. The person at the table was delighted but, at the same time, a little reluctant to suggest to people: ‘This one is helpful for addictions,’ not wanting to offend anyone. However, several people came and asked for that particular one, with comments like ‘May I have one too?’ and ‘I hear you have Bibles for addicts.’
“The person at the table was excited! The next Sunday he wanted us to announce that we had Scriptures available specifically to help people with addictions—so he went from wanting to be very discreet to boldly advertising it!
“I am sharing these experiences with you so you can rejoice with us in the lives that are being touched. We are grateful that we can work together as one body in Christ, impacting people for eternity. God bless you abundantly.”
Immanuel

From Riches to Prison!

2008-04-02T13:29:00.004-05:00

A universal need
Teenager convicted of manslaughter sent to prison—Newspapers are full of headlines like this and, every day as we watch the news, we hear about horrendous crimes. In the mind of many, these criminals are stereotyped as being cold, mean and unrepentant. Society does not easily embrace those in prison. “Out of sight, out of mind” is a common viewpoint.
As chaplain for The Salvation Army, I visit four correctional institutions in the Winnipeg area each week: Stony Mountain, Headingley, the Remand Centre and Rockwood. There are approximately 1700 men in these four institutions, sitting in 7 x 9 foot cells, sometimes two per cell, some of them locked up for 23 ½ hours each day.
Many times when I listen to a man tell me about his thoughts, desires, temptations, sins, I see a reflection of myself—not because I have committed murder or violated the laws of the land. But I’m able to connect with my own nature and acknowledge that I have sinned: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are sinners, but God’s grace and forgiveness sets us free, whether we’re inside or outside of prison.
God has placed in all of us the longings for security and significance. Many who are in prison, in their attempts to have these longings met, have resorted to criminal methods—joining gangs, addictions, violence, lust for money or sex. Many men outside the prison walls try to find their significance and security through their work, their material possessions, their achievements or hobbies. As I hear the stories of how men try to meet these needs, I am reminded of my own struggles in this area in my younger years.
A life of leisure
In 1992, when I was living in Vancouver, I started to work for a major winery, tasting and evaluating wines. After five years I had worked my way up to the position of winemaker. Life was going well. In the mid-90s I started to invest my money in the stock market. My investments were doing so well that I decided to quit my job and become a full-time stock investor, so this became my full-time occupation. My priority was to live a comfortable, stress-free life and make lots of money. My life primarily consisted of playing golf a few times a week, visits to the gym, and sleeping in. After eight months of this lifestyle, I thought to myself, Is this it? The euphoria of living a life of leisure was quickly fading.
Around that time the stock market started to take a big dive and, seeing my vast portfolio shrink quickly, was very depressing. I often felt like not waking up, knowing that I had just suffered another day of big losses, and sank into a very painful depression. …Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10).
I was attending church; however, I was a “Sunday Christian.” I never prayed or read the Bible outside of church. That summer my pastor stated in a sermon. “If you are not moving forward in your faith you are actually moving backwards.” I realized that my faith was stagnant and that this had gone on far too long.
An awakened faith
It took a great test of faith for me to decide that I wanted to have God at the centre of my life. On October 22, 2000, I truly accepted Jesus as my Saviour. I was excited about fully trusting Him, yet frightened at not knowing where He would lead me. Who could have known at that time that he would lead me to prison!
During this awakening of faith, my portfolio continued to spiral downward. During that time I realized that God had given me a valuable experience. He gave me wealth, something many people aspire to as their lifelong goal, but when I got to taste what I thought I wanted, it really didn’t satisfy. Through the financial losses, I felt the pain and despair that many other people feel in their lives. It was God’s way of preparing me for future ministry. I realized that the things of this world easily pass away, but I knew that I could find true peace with God and that I am loved regardless of my achievements or bank account statement, without having to earn this love from Him.
A new focus
After I committed my life to Christ, my focus shifted to volunteer work, and I started helping at Union Gospel Mission. This gave me insight and empathy for people in distress and provided the opportunity to discuss spiritual and deep-rooted issues with the youth, yet I did not feel qualified for this ministry. After much prayer and counsel, I answered God’s call to enter Providence Seminary to study counselling.
As I conduct weekly chapel services at Headingley and Stony I often think what a blessing it is to share God’s love and hope with people who are often forgotten by most of society. There is a big need in correctional institutions for the love of Jesus to be made known to the prisoners. LifeLight Ministries plays an important role in this by providing Bibles such as How to Find God, Life Recovery Bible and Journey of Recovery. Over the years I have had many favourable comments from inmates telling me how much these Bibles have aided in their understanding and application of Scriptural truth to their own lives.
Harold Park

Correctional Chaplain, Salvation Army in Winnipeg

Our Readers Write

2008-01-22T13:17:00.000-06:00

● Many new immigrants from Mainland China are finding their way to our church to enquire about the Christian faith. Many have never heard of God or Jesus before. God has given me the privilege (and challenge) to explain God’s Word to them. How to Find God is the first book I give to them, and they are very pleased to receive it. God bless!—Bette

● Our Women’s Ministry would like to get some Bibles for the kids in our youth group (high school). What would you recommend? Some of them don’t come from good homes and have very little Bible knowledge.—Susan

● Thank you so much for the prompt delivery of the Bibles I requested. One of them will be sent to a young boy I counselled at camp last summer.—Ron

● As a member of the newly formed Salvation Riders Motorcycle Club, an evangelistic outreach, I am looking for Bibles to distribute at motorcycle shows. We have seen the one used by the Christian Bikers Association and find that they are very pleased with it. Please send us information on how we can obtain a hundred of these Scriptures, as well as any related to truckers, police, firefighters, and others.—Carolyn

● Please send me a New Testament. I read my son’s Bible when I was staying with him. It’s easy to read and understand. I found I could “keep on reading” because of the easy translation and explanations, but I do not have one of my own.—Michelle

Bible Reading Program

2008-01-22T13:16:00.000-06:00

Family Life Centre, a program of Union Gospel Mission in Winnipeg, hosts a Women’s Gospel Meeting every Wednesday at 12 noon. Lunch is served, followed by a Gospel presentation. Clothing and food bags are then distributed. Other Bible programs are conducted throughout the week.
The Word of God continues to be the main focus of the women’s ministries. Each of the thirty-four women who completed the six-week Bible Reading program received a diploma and a How to Find God New Testament (from LifeLight Ministries) We congratulate these women and celebrate with them the place that the Word of God has in each of their lives.

GOD MAKES A DIFFERENCE

2008-01-22T13:14:00.000-06:00

Permanent or Temporary Change?
A scientist came to me the year he retired. He claimed to be an atheist, but he was in trouble because his son Stewart was going blind. He had lost most of his peripheral eyesight, and the doctor said his tunnel vision would also be gone and everything would be totally black by age thirty. His wife had become a Christian six year earlier, and he was angry with her. But now that the doctors had given up on Stewart, he said to her, “What will we do? It has been over two years, and Stewart will be blind.”
She asked him if he was willing to try anything, and he agreed that he would do anything for his son. She told him, “Go see Al Friesen.” He responded, “I will not go see him.” But, behind her back, he called me but didn’t really know what to ask. I told him he wanted change in his family, and he said, “Yes, that is what I want!”
I asked him whether he wanted permanent change or temporary change. He responded, “What kind of question is that! Of course I want permanent change. Everyone does!”
“There is one recipe for permanent change and about a million for temporary change,” I told him.”
“As a scientist, I would like the one recipe, please,” he answered. I suggested to him that he was not firing on all five cylinders—emotionally, socially, mentally, physically and spiritually.
“Spiritually?” he asked, “I am an atheist.” I told him that atheism is actually a religion!
“Let’s imagine,” I said, “you and I are on an escalator going down. Just in front of us is a woman on crutches. Because I hate crutches, I kick them out from under her and she goes tumbling down the stairs, taking others with her. What would you do?”
He said, “I would attack you and leave you in a puddle of blood!”
“Exactly,” I answered. “You have been kicking the crutches from your wife’s spiritual body for six years. If I would use your measure, I would rip off your ears, break your nose, carve up your tongue and poke out your eyes.” He just looked at me for a moment and then, with tears, in his eyes, asked me to lead him to Jesus.
His next question was, “Now, what do I do?” I gave him a Bible and told him to go home, wrap his arms around his sweetheart and ask for forgiveness for kicking the crutches from under her. “Then tell her, ‘Since God’s number one purpose for us is to honour Him and Jesus teaches us to present our needs to Him, let’s combine the two and pray.’ Tell the Lord to use Stewart’s blindness to honour His name in a huge way and to make your family strong enough for whatever that means.”
Three days later Stewart had his three-month check-up. It took a long time, but eventually the specialist came out and said, “Sir, sorry for the long wait, but my technology people have made some mistakes the past three times your son was here. His eyesight is better today than it was a year ago, and that is not how this kind of blindness works.” This new Christian scientist offered a humble explanation of how he had given his life to Jesus and that he suspected that the Master Physician had played into this.
I could you tell story after story of how I use the Scriptures from LifeLight Ministries. The ones I use most are How to Find God and The Living LifeLight. I really appreciate the description at the beginning of the NT of how a person can begin walking with God and how to use the Bible as a help in this new walk.
Al Friesen

PETER’S TRAILS

2008-01-22T12:55:00.000-06:00

Fisher River
A native pastor from Fisher River called me and invited me to attend the funeral of a 13-year-old boy and to hand out Scriptures. I was happy to go.
This was a very sad funeral. The boy who died had had an argument with his foster parents, and when they went to his room later, they found he had committed suicide. The boy’s father and uncle, who are both in prison in Alberta, were brought to the funeral, in chains, by four prison guards. After a visit with them, I offered each one a copy of The LifeLight, and all six of them gladly accepted it.
Following the funeral, the pastor requested that we go to the school at Fisher River, where we had not been previously, to hand out New Testaments. A month later Carl Whiteway and I returned and had the opportunity to distribute five hundred Scriptures in the school. The teachers were so happy, and one of them prayed aloud, thanking the Lord for these easy-to-read NTs.
Carl is a native, about sixty years old, and has a great love for the Lord and a desire to have his people to get to Him as well. He has gone with me on a number of trips to reserves and is waiting for the winter roads to freeze up so we can travel to the more isolated areas.
Peguis
Peguis claims to be the largest reserve in Manitoba. I met one of the Peguis councillors one day in Arborg, and he asked when we would bring New Testaments to their school. The Peguis School has about a hundred classrooms and approximately a thousand students. The students in Grade 4 and up each received a NT. I had been asked to bring nine hundred NTs: seven hundred for the students and two hundred for the staff. At the band office I left a box of Scriptures for the chief and councillors.
Jackhead
It had been three years since I had visited the Jackhead School, and Carl and I had a great time giving LifeLight NTs to the grades four to six students. One of the students welcomed us by saying, “I told you Pete was coming back, and here he is.” He turned to his brother and said, “Now you will have your own New Testament and don’t need to read mine anymore.”
Carl and I also visited Mr. Ross, a native pastor. He had asked me three years ago to come to the school. One time, when he came back after two weeks of holidays, he found that all his books at the church had been packed and a sign hung on the church door: “We don’t need you any longer.” Mr. Ross has a strong desire to serve the Lord, but now he has no church. Instead he teaches several weekly Bible studies and does a lot of personal witnessing. He asked for a case of The LifeLight to give away.
Pine Falls, Bissett, Sagkeeng
Henry Penner and I went to schools at Pine Falls and north of there. We distributed eight hundred Bibles that day. At Sagkeeng we handed out LifeLight NTs to grades four, five and six students. The teacher said he liked these Scriptures because they are easy to read and understand. At the high school the principal eventually accepted the NTs, although he was hesitant at first.
We left NTs at Pine Falls for the students in grades four to six. This was the first time we had been there. Since we had never been at the elementary school in Bissett, we gave New Testaments to all the students there.
Peter Loewen is on the LifeLight Ministries Board and travels to northern Manitoba regularly to distribute Bibles in the schools.

Not Enough Bibles

2008-01-22T11:11:00.000-06:00

I am on the Board of Deacons at Rainbow Community Church in downtown Vancouver. I am writing to see if your organization would be able to assist us in our ministry of sharing the Good News with the poor and homeless in our area.
We have a worship service every Sunday at 6 p.m. and then serve a delicious home-cooked meal to about 150 people. Many of them are homeless, and many are dealing with HIV/AIDS, as well as drugs and alcohol addictions. We also serve a number of seniors and individuals with disabilities.
So many of these people are broken and hurting, and it warms my heart to see their hunger for the Word! Many have had their lives turned around after accepting Jesus as their Saviour and have been successful in getting off drugs and off the street, finding jobs and becoming productive citizens. But it grieves me that we can’t give a Bible to everyone who requests one.
We have a literature table set up in the dining room with a variety of inspirational materials, which we share with visitors. Every week we have many requests for Bibles, and we never seem to have enough to go around.
Peter Weir

Note: We frequently get requests like this from ministries that do not have the resources to purchase Scriptures. One of our goals is to provide these ministries with the Bibles they need, even if they are unable to give us a donation. In order to do this, we depend on the generosity of our many donors. If you would like to help us provide Scriptures specifically to those who are unable to give a donation, please mark your gift Free Scripture Fund.

Offering New Life

2008-01-22T11:10:00.000-06:00

Our association with LifeLight Ministries started three years ago when our youth group planned a yard sale. The young people were trained to share the gospel with those who came to browse or buy. It was a blessed day, and they gave out 176 LifeLight NTs and other Scripture portions. The $1200 that was raised was given to The Sanctuary, a Christian home for the homeless. We have used the easy-to-read LifeLight NTs since then for outreach.
In September we started a new assembly, New Life Bible Chapel, in Mississauga, Ontario. We are located in an area that has a large immigrant population, many of whom have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel. Our two main goals in starting this church are to reach out to the community with the gospel of Christ and to see Christians grow spiritually. Here again the Scriptures from LifeLight Ministries come in handy.
Prayerfully, we are putting together five hundred gift bags, each containing a copy of The LifeLight, a gospel CD, a Jesus DVD, a tract and our contact address.
As a church we are praying that we would be channels through whom God’s Word can reach the untouched hearts in our community, and we thank God for the faithful partnership of LifeLight Ministries in this important outreach. …my Word…shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (Isaiah 55:11) is God’s attestation to the power of His Word.
Viji Roberts

Bibles Put to Good Use

2008-01-22T11:09:00.000-06:00

We like to have plenty of Bibles on hand. Usually we order a case of the large-print NIV Bibles, which are used in the Bible study group that meets every Wednesday at the church. Invariably someone asks for a Bible, and it’s so good to have some on hand and simply give them away as gifts. We are so thankful for the opportunity to get Bibles from LifeLight Ministries for a small donation. If the recipients want to help with the costs, we suggest that they put a donation in the offering sometime.
We gave a Bible to a Christian woman who was very sick. As she lay dying in the hospital, we watched her son pick up her well-marked Bible, where she found the comfort needed during her last days on earth. The Lord called her home in September. It is good to see her son bring his mother’s Bible with him now when he comes to church.
We have also given Bibles for birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, or just as a gift to someone who needs one. They are much appreciated and put to good use.
Dennis & Amanda Anderson

Dennis and Amanda are missionaries in The Pas, Manitoba, with Northern Canada Evangelical Mission.

Western Lifestyle Attracts People

2008-01-22T11:06:00.001-06:00

The Way for Cowboys has been a tremendous outreach tool for us at The Cowboy Church in Sherwood Park, Alberta. I (pastor) carry a couple of them with me at all times, as do a number of other people from our group. I frequently encounter people who start a conversation based on my everyday dress, and before you know it, the Lord provides an opportunity for me to share the gospel, give them a copy of the New Testament and tell them about our church.
This past summer our house band was privileged to perform for one of the special event days at Alberta’s Ukrainian Heritage Cultural Village. People with no church background at all stopped to enjoy the music, and we gave away many copies of The Way for Cowboys.
A few months ago I was at a cowboy gospel concert put on by the Rawlings Brothers. At this event I met a teen with an interest in the western lifestyle. I gave him a New Testament, and last month he appeared at one of our youth group events.
During the Canadian Finals Rodeo week in Edmonton, we stopped at a local restaurant. The waitress was an unchurched rodeo fan. I did not have the opportunity to share the gospel with her, but she was thrilled to get a copy of the NT for cowboys.
Wherever and whenever I meet people with an interest in the western lifestyle, I look for the opportunity to share the gospel with them and give them a New Testament. Often small children are quite uninhibited and thrilled to see a “real cowboy.” Their excitement often leads to a conversation with the parents and an opportunity to present them with a NT. The photos and testimonies of cowboys make them an attractive giveaway.
Many unchurched people have preconceived notions about church. Having these Scriptures as giveaways often breaks down walls and preconceptions and paves the way for them to come and check us out. We also have a table at our church with these NTs, and we have given out hundreds of them over the past three years.
Kevin Corbin

Bridging the Gap

2008-01-22T11:02:00.000-06:00

Bridging the Gap is an event takes place annually on the Siksika Reserve. It’s an opportunity to bring natives and white people in contact with other and bridge the gap between them and help the Blackfoot people understand the love of God. Singers are brought in and experiences are shared. More than five thousand people attend this event, most of whom do not attend a Christian church.
For me it’s also an opportunity to distribute Scriptures, and it’s thrilling to hear the favourable responses from those who receive them.
Peter Loewen and I visited the college (university classes) in Siksika. Some of the teachers there are Christians, and they said they could make use of eighty Bibles. Later we left 120 copies of the The LifeLight at the crisis centre. One of the women had already received this NT at the college. She showed the others how much she had already read and was excited about how easy it was to read and understand. .
We get many positive responses to the Scriptures from churches and individuals who have received NTs. It helps if we take time to show them the special features of these New Testaments and share with them the testimonies and reports in the LifeLight Ministries newsletter, The LifeLight.

Alvin Lepp

Alvin Lepp is a missionary with Native Ministries Outreach of the Mennonite Church of Canada. He regularly visits reserves in Alberta

Broken Lives Restored

2008-01-22T11:00:00.000-06:00

Hannah’s Place, Siloam Mission’s emergency shelter, opened its doors on May 1, 2007, to Winnipeg’s homeless. Hannah’s Place is located on Princess Street in Winnipeg and offers a hundred emergency shelter beds to Winnipeg’s less fortunate. A woman who stayed at Hannah’s Place on the opening night, commented to shelter staff, “This was the best night’s sleep I have had in many months.”
Jack*, a solvent abuser, is often high. He visited our shelter a few weeks after it opened and asked for a place to stay. Siloam Mission is a dry shelter, and we have a firm rule of non-intoxication. I explained to Jack that we would love to have him but not in an intoxicated condition. Two days later, Jack returned. “I’m okay, I’m okay,” he said with a smile.
I knew he was clean and happily let him in. After Jack had a shower he requested one last item: a Bible. The next morning Jack volunteered to clean up the shelter with some others who had stayed overnight. Jack continues to spend some nights at the shelter. He has become cleaner and more talkative and is making positive changes. A new beginning!
At Siloam Mission we see many broken lives. We also see that brokenness is a way to create new beginnings and, every day, we see lives being restored and filled with new hope. Together we can help make change happen in the hearts of Winnipeg’s less fortunate.
Recently a volunteer asked if we could use some Bibles in our emergency shelter. I told her we could, and shortly after Christmas two cases of Bibles from LifeLight Ministries were dropped off. This blessing will be used with great appreciation. We have an area at our front desk where we have books and magazines for patrons to read before bedtime. They can return them or keep them if they wish. Included are these Bibles, and we are happy to tell them that they are welcome to take them and keep them.

Wayne Smith

Soldiers Honoured

2008-01-22T10:59:00.000-06:00

Two local heroes were honoured in Niverville, Manitoba, on January 6 at an event sponsored by Canada Awakening Ministries. Ringo Klassen and Gord May will be leaving for Afghanistan in February. A local band played the national anthem, and Pastor David Reimer opened the meeting in prayer. Greg Fehr welcomed the guests, and MLA Kelvin Goertzen brought greetings.
Roger Robert (Canadian Bible Society) presented Ringo and Gord with a special edition of the Bible specifically for those who are in the army. He also showed a powerful video clip, Operation Bible, which shows how eagerly Bibles are being requested and used by the Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.
I had the privilege of presenting Bibles, Finding Hope Beyond the Battle, to three spouses of soldiers, as well as to several other relatives. This Bible, from LifeLight Ministries, is specifically designed for military families and has stories of military spouses and the fear, anger, loneliness and other challenges they face. These Bibles were gratefully received by family members who are believers, as well as some who are not yet believers.
Both Ringo and Gord gave a brief report on what their involvement will be in Afghanistan. Peter Braun, pastor of the Maranatha Good News Centre, the home church of Gord May’s family; and Nick Klassen, Ringo’s brother, led in prayer for the soldiers. They prayed for their protection and for peace between the various tribes in Afghanistan.
The final item on the program was a powerful prayer from Brian Doerksen's latest album, "Our Father in Heaven," a prayer for safety in the present and also for the ultimate permanent peace that will come with the coming of His Kingdom. Then the audience of two hundred, from all walks of life in Niverville, both churched and non-churched, prayed the Lord's Prayer together.
The families mixed and mingled for at least an hour afterwards, expressing support and the assurance of prayers to the family members.
We are so thankful for this opportunity to plant seeds in the hearts of people, and we know it will result in good fruit. A Bible especially for family members of people in the military is much more likely to be read than a generic edition of the Bible. Thank you to LifeLight Ministries for your part in this special evening.

Roger Armbruster

Roger and Marge Armbruster are bridge-builders who minister cross-culturally, Marge by teaching English to new immigrants in southern Manitoba, and Roger by helping to build the indigenous church in Canada’s North, particularly among the Inuit.

A Gentle Nudge

2008-01-22T10:58:00.001-06:00

The idea came into my head in October, around the time of my birthday and Thanksgiving. First, it was like a nudge, a whisper, which I shrugged off as weird. Later, it became a persistent thought, one I could not shake. Then as the New Year dawned, it became a strong conviction that this venture was something God wanted me to just step into in faith
The idea was simple: Share about God with one unknown-to-me Canadian per month, chosen from a different province each month. I would simply pick a name from the phonebook, something I recall doing in Winnipeg during a Concert of Prayer for Canada. I would send the chosen person a “Good News Package” in the mail, though exactly what to put in it besides a personal letter and Christian music CD, I wasn’t sure yet.
No doubt, my church’s adult Sunday school series on witnessing provided some impetus for my plan. We were being challenged to get out of our comfort zones to reach non-Christians with the message of salvation in Christ.
We live in a country where people are more likely to know the names of ten brands of beer than the Ten Commandments. Does that concern us? Few Christians have a sense of urgency for the many lost souls who are unprepared for eternity. We are too much like that fireman in the US who was so busy fiddling around with the new radio in his fire truck that he was oblivious to the family trapped and perishing in the burning house beside him.
So January found me looking and praying for materials to put in the Good News surprise package for someone in Vancouver, B.C. It also found me at the optometrist’s office to get my glasses, which had been accidentally stepped on, fixed. As I was leaving, a sign on a nearby door caught my eye: Come in for your Free New Testament.
I recognized LifeLight Ministries as the organization that had provided Christian literature for our church to distribute after a Christmas concert. The word “vision” popped into my mind. Maybe I could find stuff for my mailings here! Sure enough, the lady at LifeLight was enthusiastic about my project. She helped me find all kinds of interesting resources, including a Who is Jesus? DVD and attractive pocket New Testaments. Now we trust God will match just the right person with the right materials each month.
I’m so glad our paths converged and that together we can share in this adventure of reaching people for Christ across Canada. Please pray for spiritual fruit as we carry out God’s mission. After all, it’s His idea!
Darlene Kaus

Booklets with a Story!

2007-11-22T09:52:00.000-06:00

It almost seemed as though these booklets were destined to not make it to their destination—but who knows where God intended them to go!
One of this year’s children’s offering project at the Albright Church in Winnipeg was to raise money to supply our summer youth mission team with copies of The Story of Jesus in Spanish. The children brought their offerings, tithes and gifts, and a hundred booklets were received from LifeLight Ministries. They would be on their way to Mexico in just a few weeks to be distributed to kids through VBS programs that the mission team would run in Mexico…. (At least that’s what we thought would happen!)
On the way to the airport it was discovered that the box of booklets had been left behind! A quick trip back to the church, and the booklets were on their way—across the border to Minneapolis, a flight to Los Angeles, into the bus, and off to Tijuana—soon to be handed out to boys and girls!
As the luggage and supplies were unloaded from the bus transporting the youth from the YWAM (Youth with a Mission) base in Los Angeles to the YWAM base in Mexico, one little box was missing; it seemed to have followed another route. Someone “helped himself” to this box, which happened to be the one with the hundred copies of The Story of Jesus—and away it went! Where did it end up? Only God knows for sure, but we are confident that “Our good news didn’t come to you only in words. It came with power. It came with the Holy Spirit’s help” (1 Thessalonians 1:5). We trust that God delivered these booklets to those who needed to receive them (with the help of someone we don’t even know!).
Cheryl Goings

Circuit-Riding Preacher

2007-11-13T14:36:00.001-06:00

Allen Hilgendorf is an itinerant preacher evangelist with SAC International (formerly Shantymen) in the North Hastings and Madawaska Highlands in Ontario. He visits house to house, by vehicle, bicycle, canoe and horseback… Along the way he distributes Christian literature and lends a willing ear to people who need someone to talk to, building relationships as he travels. He regularly requests Scriptures from LifeLight Ministries to distribute.
In the summer the ministry includes setting up at fairs, festivals and rodeos. He dresses up as an old-time circuit riding preacher and participates in every parade that is available to him. Usually several volunteers flank him as he rides, passing out appropriate Christian literature to hundreds of people.
Creativity is one of Allen’s great strengths. He dresses up for rodeos and fairs and creates venues in which to draw a crowd. By advertising and conducting the meetings in a pioneer setting—inviting folks to come by horse and antique auto…even dressed up in period clothing—he creatively provides a fun atmosphere for a serious message.
Allen had the opportunity in July to speak at the Palmer Rapids Music Festival, which takes place annually on the banks of the beautiful Madawaska River. He writes: “For the third year I was asked to preach at the Festival during the Sunday Gospel Hour. This year I took my horse, dressed in my circuit-reading preacher outfit, rode around to the hundreds of trailer sites and handed out The Way for Cowboys New Testaments, along with other literature. After riding to the different camps, I spoke on Paul’s words to the Corinthians, ‘I beg you…be reconciled to God.’ After I spoke, several people came forward to receive either the Heart of the Outdoors Bible or the NT for cowboys. Praise the Lord!
“In August we had a camp-out and Ride Your Horse to Church Sunday at an old heritage church. Again I dressed the part, preached an old-time gospel message, and left The Way for Cowboys for people to pick up on their way out.
“During hunting season I visit hunt camps and hand out Heart of the Outdoors Bibles at each camp, sometimes deep in the woods.

One Bible Makes a Difference

2007-11-13T14:35:00.001-06:00

My husband and I took a stack of Spanish Scriptures along last summer on a vacation to the Dominican Republic. We gave most of them to a poor pastor we got to know a few years ago. Their church is very evangelistic, and they have new Christians regularly. Poor Dominican Christian families often have only one old, very worn Bible for the whole family.We also gave a Bible to another poor pastor, Pastor Garcia, who felt led to start a church a few years ago in a very poor community, where alcoholism and illiteracy are rampant. He also started a school (Kindergarten and Grade 1) and pays the teacher out of his own pocket. He himself is poor and supports an extended family. The offering at the church is about seventy cents a week, which probably buys a handful of rice or some bananas.
Pastor Garcia had led a woman to the Lord just the night before, and she had asked for a Bible. He didn’t have one for her, so he was very happy for the one we gave him. We went to visit a family in Santiago (a grandma and four orphaned grandchildren) whom we support. They live in terrible poverty in a miserable shack, without running water or a bathroom.I had two New Testaments left, so I gave one, Mi Ciudad, Mi Dios (My City, My God), to 12-year-old Michele, the oldest of the orphans. She immediately started reading and was immersed in it throughout most of our visit. The other one, How to Find God (in Spanish), went to a young woman who is part of the extended family. She also started reading it right away, from the beginning. The grandma is illiterate, and I didn’t see any reading material in the home.
Carol & Walter Warkentin

Rags, Water, Sunflower Seeds and the Gospel

2007-11-13T14:28:00.000-06:00

Show and Shine, an event where people bring their Harleys and hot rods to show off, attracts thousands of people every year from all over Manitoba and surrounding areas. It is held in conjunction with the Corn and Apple Festival in Morden, Manitoba, at the end of August. What better place to reach bikers with the gospel of Jesus Christ!
This year we tried something different: I picked up tracts, with the plan of salvation, from LifeLight Ministries, and we wrapped each one in a polishing cloth. As we greeted the bikers when they rode in, we handed them the cloth—a rag to clean their bikes and God’s Word to clean their lives!
The southern Manitoba chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) set up a hospitality area in a cool, shaded area, where we handed out bottled water, bags of sunflower seeds and Hope for the Highway New Testaments from LifeLight Ministries.
Every once in a while bikers who have received a New Testament will come back to us the next year with questions about verses they have read.
Bob Wahl
CMA is an inter-denominational association of Christian motorcyclists whose mission is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with bikers and anyone else who wishes to hear the gospel message.

Backpacks Filled with Love

2007-11-13T14:18:00.002-06:00

Dixie kept her smile until the last of the 155 backpacks had been handed out—then she wept!
Along with the Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie, Dixie and some of her friends found the time on Thanksgiving Sunday to make sure that others in Winnipeg also had something to be thankful for. They gave away backpacks stuffed with essential items such as socks, towels, toothpaste and soap—and yes, there were also turkey sandwiches and water bottles.
The greatest gift in each backpack was a copy of a New Testament, How to Find God, from LifeLight Ministries. Each bag was filled with the love of Jesus and a prayer that the recipients would be touched by His love and receive Christ as their Saviour.
Donations poured in from many people and various places. Dixie said, “It’s something the Lord led us to do. We are very thankful we have these means… But for all the good that’s being done, there is still an enormous need for more help.”
The people who received these gifts were thrilled with the group’s generosity. “This is such a neat idea,” said Jackson. “They’re great people. Most of us are hurting, and we don’t have much going for us.” John said, “I stay on the streets, and sometimes I sleep outside. There’s nowhere to go on Sunday except Siloam, where they have dinner.” Ronald has been on the streets for three years and has turned to drugs. He has been barred from several places where he could sleep inside. “I was a bad boy, “ he laughed. I carry a blanket and sleep outside.”
The blessings of this day may or may not be seen by those who gave donations, but each one will be rewarded in some way. Pray that those who were touched by God’s love and received a copy of How to Find God will read this New Testament, understand the Gospel message, find God and begin a personal relationship with Him.

The Word in their Language

2007-11-13T14:18:00.001-06:00

In February, a team of nine people from the Church of the Rock in Winnipeg drove down to Aldama, Mexico. Aldama is a small village located in the mountains five hours south of Brownsville, Texas.
We took day trips to small communities and shared the gospel through song, drama and preaching. We gave Spanish New Testaments and Bibles to those who came forward to accept Christ as their Saviour and those who asked for prayer. One woman commented that it had been “seven years since someone from Canada visited our village.”
We spent an afternoon visiting people in the hospital in Matamoros. People were open to receive prayer for healing, and we were also able to encourage them through the spoken, as well as the written, Word. We were excited about the opportunity to give many of them a copy of the Scriptures in their own language.
Nancy Braun

Building Houses, Building Hope

2007-11-13T14:16:00.000-06:00

In March the grade 11 and 12 students of Calvin Christian Collegiate (Winnipeg) boarded two buses and travelled to Mexico. Their ten-day trip had a goal—to build six homes for six families in the border town of Ciudad Juarez.
“Building Houses, Building Hope” is at the heart of Amor Ministries. Being in contact with Amor has been life changing for us at Calvin Christian. We have the privilege of raising money to buy all the materials for a house and then travelling down to Juarez and building that house for a family chosen by Mexican pastors who work and pastor in that area.
This year the number of students going made up six teams, which meant that we could build six houses. Our days are filled with building (only hand tools, no electricity or generators), playing with children and meeting the families. In the course of four to five days, a simple but sturdy house is standing.
Following is an experience of one of the teams:
“All of us in our group went into the house and lined up against the walls. Since there were only interior studs and not actual interior walls, we could see the entire space from any point. The Mexican family was ushered into the house and stood in the middle of the structure. Even though they had watched the construction process, it was moving for them to finally stand in and imagine themselves living in the structure. There were quiet tears and watery eyes as they stood there.
“Belinda, one of our students, spoke to them and welcomed them, in Spanish. We read some Spanish Scripture, had a prayer for them and left them with a Spanish Bible. The family responded with some comments, with Belinda translating. We concluded the ceremony with the song Praise God from whom all blessings flow, as we held hands. We presented the family with their house keys, a clear example to them of ownership.
“After hugs and handshakes, our group left, turning back to see the family standing in the doorway of the house we built. I felt that we had been hands and feet for our Lord, and we were blessed indeed.”
Our students have been impacted by the graciousness, joyfulness and thankfulness of the Mexican families. We have been blessed to share in the building of God’s kingdom in Mexico. The families gratefully accept the Bibles given to them, along with the key to their new home! We give the rest of the Bibles to the pastors who work there. They continue to distribute them where there is a need.
Gwen Neufeld

Pastors Share Bible

2007-11-13T14:11:00.001-06:00

Sometime ago we received a request from Pedro, a pastor in Cuba: Praise God for the NIV Study Bible that one of my friends received! I’m wondering how I can get one as well. I have written to several places but have not received an answer. I’m a pastor in Cuba and also teach in two seminaries. Please “come over to Macedonia and help us.”
A short time later John van der Ahe wrote: Through an e-mail we received from Pedro we became aware of your existence. We haven’t heard about this ministry; please tell us about it.
For the past seventeen years my wife and I have been going to Cuba to encourage the pastors of all denominations. We bring them Bibles, musical instruments, communion cups, medial supplies, shoes and clothing. The pastors are hungry for fellowship with Christians from abroad, which is more important to them than gifts.
Pedro is a Baptist pastor in Floro Perez. He is asking for a Spanish NIV Study Bible for the pastors of Floro Perez, meaning that this Bible will be shared with other pastors in this small town. Less than half of the Christians in Cuba own a Bible
Just a few days ago, Pedro sent us this e-mail:
Dear friends in Christ:
I have no words to say THANKS A LOT! It is an amazing miracle to have my NIV Study Bible and the Planner. Thanks again.
Serving Jesus,
Rev. Pedro A. Obregon Sanchez

Tools for the Job

2007-11-13T14:10:00.000-06:00

Another farmer and I travelled to the Sudan to do a farm project under Cal Bombay Ministries. When we arrived in Kampala, Uganda, we stayed at the African Inland Mission (AIM) guesthouse. The AIM compound has a distribution centre for AIM pastors in Uganda. I left three How to Find God NTs with them and also gave a Bible to a security guard who, I assume, was not a Christian.
Then I left for Sudan to work with the farm operation. Later, when I got back to the AIM office in Kampala, the security guard told me that the Bible I had given him was the first one he had ever had that he could understand. Of course, I was delighted to hear that!
When I returned home I had an e-mail from Kwagala Sande, who works under AIM. He wrote: “I lead a project called Tools for the Job, which provides African pastors with suitable study books. Some of the pastors open churches without any training or any Bible knowledge, so our vision is to provide them with the materials they need. Some of them request Bibles because they can’t afford to buy them. I have done a lot of travelling in Uganda and get the same request wherever I go.
“It was a blessing to meet a missionary from Canada. He told me about LifeLight Ministries and gave me a copy of a New Testament, How to Find God. I’m sure many people are blessed by your ministry of taking the good news of Jesus Christ to many parts of the world. God bless you all.”
Henry Dyck

Open Air Outreach

2007-11-06T11:02:00.000-06:00

For the fourth year Forest Baptist Church led services at the Pinery Provincial Park near Grand Bend, Ontario. This provincial park is open year around for camping and is one of the highest traffic parks in the system, with one thousand camping spaces.
We held sixteen services, with the final service on the Thanksgiving weekend. All the messages were from the Gospel of John. Those who were interested received a copy of the Gospel of John when they arrived and were also offered other Scriptures, including New Testaments which we received from LifeLight Ministries. Each week, following the service, a number of people came by the picnic table, spread with a variety Scriptures, and helped themselves.
One father, with a few children, came by the table following the service, and the little boy (seven or eight years old) picked up one of the New Testaments. I showed them the features and helps in it, and the boy asked his dad if he could please have one. His father said, “If you take it, you must read it!” The boy took it!
Up to 155 people attended the services in the middle of the summer, with about twenty people from the church serving as greeters, leading the worship team, reading Scripture, praying, preaching and helping with the setting up and taking down. During July and August we also had a children’s program behind the stage during the message. (Victoria Day weekend was snowy, and only six people showed up!)
Thanks to a grant from LifeLight Ministries, we were able to put more than fifty New Testaments in the hands of people from Michigan to the far reaches of Ontario, and only the Lord knows how they will be used and what the results will be in changed lives.
We have already confirmed that we will be having these services again next summer—a great outreach into this primary vacation spot near our church!
Pastor Laurie Morris

A Place of Refuge

2007-10-30T13:38:00.000-05:00

Overcomers Caring Ministries started about seven years ago in the Kibera slums in Kenya as a feeding centre. Then it developed into an orphanage for children from the slums. We fed them and shared the Gospel with them. We taught them the importance of being clean and drinking clean water and how to make the river water into clean drinking water.
I had the opportunity to go to this orphanage again this year with a group to do some upgrading on the building. The kitchen was too small, and the cook was cooking on a woodstove that smoked a lot. We built a new, larger kitchen and got a new stove—one that won’t smoke!
The children were sleeping on the floor with cardboard under the mattresses. When it rained, both got wet. We got some bunk beds and made new mattresses, sheets and blankets, so now the children have comfortable, dry beds to sleep in.
We had taken some LifeLight New Testaments with us and gave them to the children who could read and promised to read them. They were very grateful!
More than sixty children play in a yard that is not very big. One day as I was finishing my lunch I realized that I was the only adult around. Even with no supervision, the children were playing happily, with no fighting. They are like a big happy family, trying to forget a troubled past. It was so good to see the happy faces of the orphans. For them this orphanage is truly a place of refuge—an oasis in a world of poverty and pain.
Helena Peters

What a Gift!

2007-10-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

While visiting some of my Colombian friends, Francisco and Martha, I gave them a copy of the Spanish/English New Testament from LifeLight Ministries. Martha opened it with joy and read, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it entered into the mind of man what things God has prepared for those who love Him.” She was so taken up with what she was reading that she kept on while I visited with the rest of the family. She loved to look across the page to see the translation.
This family has been in Canada for almost two years, and the Holy Spirit is working in their lives. (Francisco was shot in Colombia by some extortionists and is crippled.)
Recently I made a trip to El Salvador on a tour with thirteen advocates of Compassion Canada. I took some of the English/Spanish New Testaments to distribute to the children. I spent a day with Carlos and gave him a bag of gifts. Of all the gifts, he treasured the New Testament most of all! He is trying to learn English, and he liked the side-by-side message in both the languages.
May the Spirit of Jesus Christ continue to bless people by opening up the Scriptures in a language they can understand!
Len Johnson

I inherited your book on living; it’s mine forever—what a gift! And how happy it makes me! (The Message).

Lord, this is my only Bible!

2007-10-30T13:25:00.000-05:00

Ambassadors for Christ Canada has been doing extensive short-term ministry throughout Latin America over the past several years. Through mission teams comprised of both lay people and church leaders, Ambassadors for Christ has engaged in leadership training, evangelism, church and school construction and renewal ministries.
Every time we go we take Bibles from LifeLight Ministries to distribute. Many believers and church leaders in Spanish-speaking countries are so poor that they cannot afford Bibles.
I (Brian) was preaching in a poor barrio. As always, I had brought a few Spanish Bibles with me. After the service, the pastor told me about a young man who needed a Bible. I said I would be happy to give him one, and as I presented him with one, I couldn’t help but notice how overwhelmed he was by this incident. I asked him to tell me what was happening.
He told me that he had been witnessing to another man whom he worked with for several months. One night as he was praying, he felt that God was telling him to give his only Bible to this man. At first he argued with the Lord, saying, “Lord, this is my only Bible, and I can’t afford to buy another one. If this man becomes a Christian, then I will try to help him get one.” However, his conviction from God was too much, so he yielded and gave his only Bible away. (This was on a Wednesday.) Then he said, “Now here we are, on Friday night, and God has given me a new Bible that is nicer than I ever could have imagined!” With that, he left to go, gripping his new Bible and rejoicing in the Lord.
A few days later we were at our host pastor’s home. While we were visiting, he received a phone call from another pastor who had heard that we had given out a few Bibles. She asked if we had any more, since she did not currently have one. I remembered that I had more back in our hotel room, so I asked her to meet me the next day. The next day she walked several miles and came bouncing into the house as she anticipated receiving this new Bible. As Linda, my wife, presented the Bible to her she hugged us repeatedly and kept saying “gracias” over and over again, with a huge grin.
These and other experiences have convinced us that whenever and wherever we travel with mission teams, a necessary item for our luggage is Bibles to give away.
Brian & Linda Hamilton

GOD MAKES A DIFFERENCE

2007-10-15T13:59:00.001-05:00

Out of the Darkness
Grace Amos
When my grandpa died, it hit me harder than I ever thought it would. After the funeral I kept thinking about death and about why we are on this earth if we’re all just living to die. I felt so lost!
One night I was home alone and decided to dig around in my closet. I had no idea what I was looking for, but as I was going through some boxes that I was keeping for my mother, I came across a book. At first I thought it was just some self-help book, but when I read the title, How to Find God, I became curious, so I sat down and started reading it. I soon realized that it was actually a Bible! After reading the section “How you can know God” I was in tears, as I realized why my life was in complete darkness, and in November 2006 I accepted Jesus into my heart.
Those were the first steps, but I didn’t really do anything about my new life until New Year’s Eve when I went to church instead of going out with my friends to party. My kids and I were living on a reserve in Saskatchewan at the time and were attending a small church.
Things were going well and I was growing in my faith, but when we left the reserve and moved to Winnipeg, I backslid. I started drinking and using cocaine and was back in darkness. Because of my choices, my kids had to do without a lot of things. I felt awful and cried all the time. Finally I said to myself, “There’s got to be more to life than this!” So I started reading that book again, prayed the salvation prayer and rededicated my life to Jesus. I found such comfort in knowing that Jesus was my Saviour!
I used to be a people pleaser; now I just want to please the Lord. Once I was a follower of the “living dead”; now I only want to be a follower of Jesus. I messed up when I tried to live according to the seven sacred teachings (I’m aboriginal), and the “spirit world” dropped me when I screwed up, but Jesus always picks me up when I fall. I still have many flaws, but God is so patient with me. A Christian friend told me that Moses, David and Paul were also far from perfect, but God still chose them to spread the Good News.
I’m just a baby in this new life, but I’m just so happy to know the Lord. I still have so much to learn, but this book, How to Find God, has helped me through many struggles. The Christian life isn’t all just sunshine and rainbows, but I know that God won’t give me more than I can handle.
Since I accepted Jesus into my life, my kids no longer have to do without food and clothes. I have found a good church, no longer go the parties I used to go to and, just recently, I destroyed all my old music CDs.
Thank you, LifeLight Ministries, for making these “baby Bibles” (as I like to call them) available for people like me.
You are my lamp, O Lord;
the Lord turns my darkness into light (2 Samuel 22:29).

Van Essen Ventures

2007-10-15T13:58:00.001-05:00

MissionFest
We, together with Donna Kovacs, our newest committee member, attended MissionFest in Toronto from March 1-3. Donna’s talents were greatly appreciated.
Special guests included the African Children’s Choir and speakers Ravi Zacharias and Franklin Graham. In spite of bad weather, huge crowds attended. Marilyn and Donna had planned to share with the school children on Friday, but the event was cancelled due to an ice storm.
The three busy days were very fruitful, and we thank the Lord for the many people with whom we had contact. (Marilyn saw friends she met in the 1980s!) Pray that in the coming year we may be able to find people whom God has given an interest in helping us in this ministry.

The following two items were submitted by Donna Kovacs, John and Marilyn’s helper at these events:
Biker Day
Port Dover, Ontario: 150, 000 people visited Port Dover on Friday, July 13, for Biker Day. A record number of bikers converged on this small community on that day.
And we were there as well! We handed out approximately 160 New Testaments for bikers in three hours and then helped the various Christian Biker Associations hand out their Scriptures, tracts and magnets for another hour. We experienced many blessings in serving the Lord in this way.
One woman, known for her adulterous lifestyle, received a New Testament and gratefully said, “Heaven, help me!” That was not an empty plea!
As we attempted to hand another woman a NT, she said she needed “hope.” We told her that this NT would bring hope, and she gratefully accepted it.

Friendship Festival
Friendship Festival, Simcoe: The Friendship Festival is a civic holiday in Simcoe. We entered a float in the parade and handed out 430 goodie bags. Each one included a LifeLight Ministries newsletter, a story about Jesus, and some candy. Our float featured the Great Commission verse, … go and make disciples of all nations…, and the LifeLight banner was carried in front of the float. In this way we reached out to all who were there, not just those who received the goodie bags.
Praise God for the many other ministries represented in the parade and for the positive reaction from the crowd—clapping, cheering and some positive comments! There seemed to be a sense of gratitude at seeing the Gospel being shared so publicly.

Future Events
Pray for us as we participate this fall in the Norfolk County Fair here in Simcoe, a mission conference in the People’s Church in Toronto, and the annual Pumpkin Fest in Waterford. There will be a LifeLight table or booth at each of these events.
John and Marilyn Van Essen are the LifeLight Ministries reps in Ontario. They make their home in Simcoe.

The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to change the people of God.

Berge Lake Bible Camp

2007-10-15T13:51:00.000-05:00

Teens Camp took place at Berge Lake Bible Camp in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, from August 31 to September 3. The teens received The LifeLight New Testaments.

Camp Memories
● Camp was awesome! Next summer I’m going to bring some friends who have never been to camp.
● I’ve been going to camp ever since I was old enough, and this year I decided to change my life by being saved.
● One of my best experiences was the devotions under the stars, in God’s creation.
● There is no place on this earth where I feel as close to heaven.
● I loved it so much I didn’t want to go home on Saturday. Whenever I’m at camp I feel so close to God.
● I made many Christian friends who had a positive influence on my life.
● I really liked the singing and playing with all the lovely bugs and listening to the birds singing in the morning.

Penners give LifeLight NT at Midway Bible Camp

2007-10-15T13:50:00.000-05:00

Bill and Anna Penner, missionaries with Continental Mission in northern Manitoba, have many opportunities to distribute Bibles. This summer they gave Bibles to campers at Midway Bible Camp. The children were so grateful for Bibles written in a language they could understand.

Dauphin Bible Camp - Campers Treasure Bibles

2007-10-15T13:48:00.000-05:00

In one of our cabins we had a group of girls from a variety of backgrounds—broken homes, hopelessness, lack of self-respect, culturally saturated, and a general lack of knowledge of God’s Word. One girl, in particular, came from a rough home and had experienced continuous spiritual warfare. The cabin leader provided her with a Bible. She began to study it with the leader and then took it home.
Another group of girls came with translations that were hard to understand and to memorize. Thankfully, we had easy-to-read Bibles from LifeLight Ministries which enabled the campers to easily read and begin to understand God’s love for them. A Bible is truly the most important gift that anyone can ever receive, and it is a blessing to see campers treasure them.
Richard Bankert
Dauphin Bible Camp is situated on the northern edge of Riding Mountain National Park, ten kilometres south of Dauphin, Manitoba.

AROUND THE CAMPFIRE at Teen Ranch

2007-10-15T13:41:00.001-05:00

Bible Camp…
… Not just decisions, but disciples for Christ
… Win a child…win a life…
… Reaching and teaching youth for life in Christ
… Where Christ and a great time go together
… The Jesus they see is the Jesus in me
… Hearts are turned toward God…one heart at a time
So keep my words in your hearts and minds…. Teach them to your children... (Deuteronomy 11).

Changed Attitudes
In today’s society it is very common for people not to have their own Bible and not to have heard the message of Jesus. Our world has become so “correct” that many of the kids who come to Teen Ranch have no clue about the gospel.
The leader in the cabins talked to the campers all week in “Time Outs” about God. In one cabin, particularly, many of the girls had very little knowledge about Christianity and didn’t pay much attention. As the week unfolded, many of them started asking for Bibles, and the leader would find them sitting on their bunks and reading their very own Bibles. They were so excited about these Bibles and were intrigued by God’s Word. It was so encouraging for the leader and for the rest of us to see the how the attitudes of these girls changed. God works in mighty ways, changing people’s hearts and minds.
Many of the leaders wrote notes of encouragement in the Bibles, and it’s exciting to think that five to ten years down the line those kids will be grown up and, we pray, will still be reading them and will look back and remember the love that was put into them.
Thank you, LifeLight Ministries, for helping these kids know about Jesus and providing us with Bibles to help them in their spiritual growth. What a blessing!
Ashley Goldsmith
Teen Ranch is set in the beautiful Caledon Hills, one hour northwest of Toronto, Ontario.

Eagle Bay Camp's Message for Campers

2007-10-15T13:39:00.000-05:00

Jesus, the Light of the World

Each summer a ministry provides us with pillows for every camper with a picture that relates to our theme and to the main Bible verse for the week. Our verse this year was John 8:12, When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Our theme was “Jesus is the Light of the World.” At the final chapel service each week we give the pillows, together with Bibles, to the campers. Each year we see the pillows come back, and the kids also bring their Bibles from the previous year.
It was a sunny fall day at Eagle Bay Camp, and I was walking the grounds in prayerful thought about the summer programs. I was praying that the children would remember the real meaning of camp—the message that Jesus is the light of the world!
Later that morning the phone rang in my office. It was the grandmother of one of the campers. Kokum (in the native culture grandmother is “Kokum”) asked me when she could come and pick up the unclaimed clothing from camp. Each year clothes are donated to Eagle Bay and all the unclaimed clothes are given to a local reserve. I told her she could come anytime and that we were looking forward to seeing her. Thoughts were still racing through my mind: Did the campers really understand the message? Do they know that Jesus is the light of the world?
That afternoon Kokum arrived with her two grandsons. As I opened the door, I noticed that one of the boys was reading the Bible he had received at camp. As we were loading the boxes of clothing I asked Kokum whether her grandson was reading the Bible regularly. She responded, “All the time!” This thrilled me because this boy didn’t seem to be listening or paying attention during camp. After they drove away I praised God for His Word and the message that really was made known in the hearts of the campers.
William Watson
Eagle Bay Camp is located 200 km northeast of Winnipeg, in close proximity to Lake St. Martin.

Beaver Creek Bible Camp Celebration!

2007-10-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

In the summer of 2006 I was one of the assistant directors at Beaver Creek Bible Camp. This new position provided great opportunities, great challenges, great growth and great leadership experience. As much as I loved and enjoyed being a part of the director team, at times I missed being in the cabins, especially the evening devotions with the campers. One thing I had always loved as a counsellor was to see my girls reading their Bibles. Many campers come to camp without Bibles but get to go home with their own Bible at the end of the week!
During the summer I felt so blessed to have a few chances to go into the cabins and join them for their devotion times. On each of those evenings I was able to be in the cabins of campers who gave their lives to Christ!
On one of these nights, just before the evening staff meeting was to begin, one of the counsellors came to get me. She was absolutely stoked, saying that one of her girls had accepted Christ during devotions. She wanted me to come and help celebrate with her cabin and talk to our new sister in Christ! What a night! All the campers were excited but none as excited as the new Christian. After everyone settled down, she sat on her bunk, switching between reading her Bible and asking questions. Her counsellor and I took turns talking to her and to each of the girls one on one.
It was so exciting to see her delight both in her new relationship with the Lord and in reading His Word. The next week we heard that she had led her younger sister to the Lord on the way home from camp. She couldn’t keep her new peace and joy to herself. May we all learn a lesson from her!
Pray that all the kids who receive Bibles at camp will read them throughout the year and that they will grow closer to the Lord as a result! Some of them will only learn about Him at camp for one week, but as they take their new Bibles home, they can learn all year long.
Dayna Kroeker
Beaver Creek Bible Camp is located about 2½ hours north of Winnipeg.

Camp Cherith gives out Pathlights to change Children's Lives

2007-10-15T13:36:00.001-05:00

Their First Bibles
It was a privilege to give a Pathlight Bible to every camper who accepted the Lord at camp. This summer we gave away more than thirty Bibles. For most of the campers it was the first Bible they had ever owned. Following are comments from two of the parents of the campers:
●Thank you so much for everything! Another year of camp has come and gone, another year in which my son has come back singing the camp’s praises. I am a huge believer in your approach to making God the focus, while providing so much for the kids on so many levels. Having my son grow in the Lord is fantastic; he has come a long way since the time when he was ready to just walk away in his first year. (I still remember the phone call.) Thanks again, and may God richly bless you and continue to be present at the camp now and always.
● My daughter attended the first week of girls camp this summer and continues to rave about the experience. She is also doing jobs for neighbours and her grandmother so that I can register her for both weeks next year! You have made a profound difference in my daughter’s life. Her long-term goal (she’s only 10!) is to become a counsellor-in-training and then, of course, a counsellor at Camp Cherith.
Keith
Camp Cherith is located on the picturesque Saugeen River near Walkerton, Ontario.

Leaf Rapids Bible Camp Helps Kids to Grow in Love

2007-10-15T13:35:00.001-05:00

Dustin
Dustin (age 11) came to camp craving love and affection and to have fun. He learned so much
about God through the Arts and Crafts and during group sessions and chapel time. Most importantly,
he learned a lot through the Scriptures. Our camp theme was taken from Matthew 22:37: Jesus said,
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love Him with all your mind.”
Dustin was able to quote this verse from memory.
He was interested in learning about the Bible and about who God is. He received a
LifeLight Bible, which he took home, and which will help him in his spiritual growth.
Rob Kostiuk
The Bible camp in Leaf Rapids is on Turnbull Lake in northern Manitoba.

2007 Golf Tournament a Success!

2007-10-15T13:29:00.000-05:00

In spite of the cool, misty day, seventy-four enthusiastic golfers showed up for the 2007 LifeLight Ministries Golf Tournament in Steinbach on September 18. Inner City Youth Alive earned twenty-one Bibles with a special game at one of the holes, a Bible for each first shot that went onto the green. After a scrumptious meal, some ministry highlights were shared, followed by the distribution of prizes.
One lucky golfer received a certificate from Powerland Computers for a weekend at Wilderness Edge in Pinawa. Tower Engineering Group donated a registration prize—four box seats for the hockey game the next evening. All the participants had the opportunity to choose a prize from the wide selection available. Each one also received a copy of The Message LifeLight New Testament.
About $11,000 was raised, which will be used to get the Lion Graphic Bible to the people of Russia in their language. David Loewen of Kingdom Ventures, who spent several years in Russia, says, “A Russian Graphic Bible is important. It is in keeping with many Russian people’s visual approach to learning, as they read pictures like we read words.” Lena Hamm is working on the translation of this Bible and hopes to have it completed by the end of the year.
Thank you to all the sponsors, golfers and other contributors who helped make this event a success.

ANNOUNCING: New Arrival!

2007-10-15T13:25:00.000-05:00

Caroline Loewen

The Message LifeLight, the Bible in contemporary language, is now here! LifeLight Ministries is delighted that their shipment of the long-awaited New Testament written in colloquial, contemporary language has arrived and will be going into hotels shortly.
The Message is copyrighted by Eugene Peterson, who did this translation as a working pastor. His earlier vocation was a seminary professor, so he is familiar with the Hebrew and Greek biblical languages. His aim was to “get the words of the Bible into heads and hearts, getting the message lived.” He has succeeded in “getting the language of the Bible into the language of today.”
Mr. Peterson wants us to consider The Message a reading Bible, written in words that we use “to gossip and tell stories, give directions, and do business, sing songs and talk to our children.” Here is an example from John 4:9, where Jesus asks a Samaritan woman for a drink: Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans. Another quote from the last chapter in the Bible, reads, He who testifies to all these things says it again: “I’m on my way! I’ll be here soon.” Yes! Come, Master Jesus (Revelation 22).
The Message LifeLight (#01LLM) is available from LifeLight Ministries for a donation of $5.00.

God's Word a Compass

2007-08-02T11:52:00.001-05:00

Ian Croatto

When I started working at Teen Challenge, I heard about LifeLight Ministries through Greg Armstrong. I am also a board member at Charleswood Gospel Temple, where we use the New Believer’s Bible in the pews. The pastor will say, “If you don’t have a Bible, turn to page so and so in the Bible in front of you.” This makes it so simple for people to find the verses.

In 2 Kings 22, Josiah, at age eight, is asked to rule, and when he’s eighteen he sends men to the temple to collect money and make sure people pay. One of the men runs back and says, “They gave me the book of the law.” Josiah reads it, then tears his robes and falls down because he sees how far off course he and his people have gone. With the compass (God’s Word) in his hand, he was able to turn the nation around, and they became obedient to the Lord, destroyed all their idols and got back on track.

That is like the relationship Teen Challenge has with LifeLight. They allow us to put the compass in the hands of the men. God’s Word and His voice come alive, the men realize that they have been worshiping false gods, and slowly they are healed, bit by bit, as God speaks to them.

I have the best career in the world—I see God’s power and might as he works in the hearts of men!

Ian is the Director of Training Phase at Teen Challenge in Winnipeg.

Healing Through Counselling

2007-08-02T11:46:00.001-05:00

Isabelle Fiola

I had a very abusive childhood, with constant criticism. I was sixteen when I heard the words “I love you” for the first time—from a street gang leader, whom I married. I was a battered wife, married to an addict, and soon became a binge drinker. Eventually I left, together with my two children.

It didn’t take long before I remarried, but because I didn’t know what love was and how to love, I soon faced another divorce. After some time I started to work at a shelter for battered women, and it was during my time there that the Lord called me into ministry. There was still so much I needed to overcome in my personality. The healing took a few years, but He put me to work immediately. I opened a safe house, Serenity House, in Winnipeg for people who are recovering from addictions and abuses of all type. After a few years we moved Serenity House to Grand Falls, where I conduct healing services and where people come for counselling and retreats.

During our services we use the Life Recovery and Serenity Bibles. The children like the Graphic Bible. A ten-year-old boy, with ADHD, was excited to be able to read this Bible because it created a movie in his mind and kept his interest.

Empowering Women

2007-08-01T14:54:00.001-05:00

Shon McLaren works with Inner City Women’s Ministries (ICWM) in Winnipeg. Two of the ICWM volunteers shared at the brunch:

Marilyn: I worked with Shon for a while but then stepped down. In January I went back to help her out and realized I missed the women, so now I’m back working at the Remand Centre. Recently the women started asking for Bibles for their families. I hope to give them easy-to-read Bibles for their children.

Cheryl: The Lord caught me in a very bad situation, but He has changed me. I met Shon and Marilyn at the Remand Centre. I am an addict, and ICWM has helped me a lot with my addictions. I was an alcoholic, but the Lord set me free from that on January 28. He is still working on some other issues. If it weren’t for Shon and Marilyn I wouldn’t be here; the Lord brought them into my life for a reason. Free on the Inside is one of the Bibles Shon gave me at the Remand Centre, and I am now using it to minister to other women. Many women there don’t know how to read, so I’m helping them.

Thank You from CEF

2007-08-01T14:52:00.001-05:00

Virginia Dyck

Thank you to everyone involved in LifeLight Ministries, making it possible for Child Evangelism Fellowship to receive Bibles. We use the Bibles in schools in the Discovery Time program, as well as in our five-day club programs and Good News clubs during the summer. We especially like to give them to young Christians who don’t have Bibles of their own.

Just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to give a New Testament to a neighbour friend who did not have a Bible and wanted one. She insisted that she was going to pay for it! I accepted her donation because I felt she would value it more if she gave something.

LifeLight strengthens partnership with IBS

2007-07-09T12:00:00.001-05:00

STEINBACH, MB—Canadian LifeLight Ministries is strengthening its long-time working relationship with International Bible Society (IBS), based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The agreement signed in February firmly establishes LifeLight as the Canadian distribution agent for the large international Bible distributor. While LifeLight has had an ongoing association with IBS for ten years in a ministry capacity, the new agreement makes the relationship official, says LifeLight president Raymond Dueck. LifeLight already had access to the full catalogue offered by IBS but will now be ordering in larger volumes and at a lower price.

IBS is also pleased. “At the core of our ministries’ heart's is the desire to distribute God’s Word and Scripture tools to more people so that they might have the opportunity to become disciples of Jesus Christ— growing, maturing and sharing their faith with others,” says IBS director Robert Swales. “I am so pleased we have this special ministry relationship with LifeLight Ministries. May God’s kingdom grow and be enhanced through our combined efforts of Scripture distribution!”

Bolstered by the distribution agreement with IBS, LifeLight plans to set up more distribution centres across Canada. “We aim to have representation in every major city in Canada over the next five years,” says Dueck. Currently, LifeLight has representatives in Manitoba, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and the Maritimes.

LifeLight is a not-for profit ministry, inspired by International Bible Givers in the U.S., which distributes free Bibles. “We give away Scriptures as God provides funds, “says Dueck. Specific Bible funds are set up to cater to particular areas of need or to provide ministries with a bank of Scriptures to draw on. Bibles are made available from the fund as donations enable their purchase from suppliers. LifeLight holds a number of ministry accounts, one of which is devoted to providing Scriptures for prisons.

In March 2007, the nearly 200-year-old IBS merged with Send the Light of England, one of the world’s largest distributors of Christian literature. This combination of organizations brings together “core competencies of Bible translation, Bible and Christian book publishing and global distribution into one of the largest and most far-reaching Christian literature agencies in the world.”

Men of Integrity Bible

2007-03-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

T. B. accepted Christ as his personal Savior on August 29, 2005 at the Woodstock Chapel. At that time volunteer chaplain Doug gave him a "Men of Integrity" Bible. On December 12th, 2006 we received this e-mail from Tom.

God Bless and Hi!

A while ago I used to drive a truck for a long distance carrier. I once stopped by the chapel at the 230 exit. I am not sure if I remember his name correctly, but I think it was Gord (Doug) whom I met at that time. I got the "Men of Integrity" book. It is an Old and New Testament as well as a reading for each day of the year based on some real life situations reflecting life today. I really liked it. I was trying to make it a goal to keep reading from day to day until I read the entire Bible in the company truck, and the truck was stolen. So was my "Men of Integrity" Bible.

No.... Can you tell me how can I get it again? I really liked it because of the readings I mentioned, as well as I liked it because it is in English. English is my second language. Bottom line is I am not very happy to learn it was stolen along with my truck. My life I think is too busy to make a trip to Woodstock to get it. But I really would like to get the "Men of Integrity" Bible again.

Another Bible immediately was sent to Tom and this was his hand written response.

Len! Thank you for responding so quickly, and for sending me the "Men of Integrity" Bible.I am so happy to have it again. It is good to know that in this crazy world there are still people who care. For 6 months I used to drive long distance in Canada and the USA. It was a very lonely lifestyle and it is great to know that at the 230 Truck Plaza there is a chapel and good people who can give courage to someone like me. I would like to give some courage to you also (enclosed was a financial gift) so you know what you do for others is great. I appreciate what you do.

John VE

The Word walks down trapper’s trail

2007-03-17T19:27:00.000-05:00

The Word walks down many of the trapper’s trails in Northern Manitoba thanks to the Lifelight Bibles that we handed out at the Trappers Fur Table 2006 in Thompson, Manitoba. It was encouraging to see the hunger for the word as many of the trapper’s approached the table. Their desire to see the bibles go with them on their trap lines and into their homes was obviously God ordained as they helped themselves to the book table.

For my two helpers and I, it was a privilege to be able to interact with the trappers. It wasn’t just giving out Bibles that was important but answering peoples questions and also listening to their stories. Many of them shared their grief and hardships with us. Some were searching for answers about sickness and death. One person came and told us his testimony about how Jesus healed him physically. He feels so much better now. “There is lots of life in this body now”, he commented. In all these circumstances, we could share Jesus Christ and his power to help us to overcome grief, sickness and death.

Over the two days at the book table we met many people and even renewed some old acquaintances. In all it was a blessing to be there sharing in their lives. They commented that the Bibles were easy to understand, the price is right and some even asked if they could take two of them; one for themselves and one for a friend. We gladly encouraged them to do so and it wasn’t long before the boxes sat empty on the floor. Let’s continue to pray that they will understand and receive for themselves the gift of eternal life as they read the Lifelight Bibles. Thanks to Anne M for asking us to help out. It was a privilege to do so.

Ron P

LifeLight in Kampala Uganda

2007-03-17T18:32:00.000-05:00

you’re probably wondering about the bibles…I gave the bibles that you sent along to David, Maerg & Selam. They are refugees from Eritrea, Africa. They have been waiting in Kampala, Uganda for just over 2 years to come to Canada. David & Maerg are brother and sister and Selam is their niece. David & Maerg's older sister, Freiwini, attends our church.

They are very sincere christian people. We were very fortunate to spend 2 meals with them. They came to our hotel for one meal and then they invited us over to their place for a traditional Ethiopian meal. It was amazing. Before the meal started they came around to each of us with a basin & pitcher to wash our hands. Then they served us Injera which is a kind of bread which they use to dip into a chicken/egg stew. It was very tasty!! After that they served us coffee. They actually roasted the coffee beans right in front of us, ground them up and then made coffee which they served in small cups. We had the traditional 3 "rounds" which kept us up most of the night!!

Maerg & Selam spoke to us a little bit about their escape to Uganda. They had been captured in Eritrea and were being held in a truck box. They were only allowed to get out of the box to go to the bathroom in the woods. That's how both of them escaped. They travelled through the desert in Somalia to Uganda.They dressed in muslim head coverings so that they wouldn't be discovered.

They say that life in Kampala is still very difficult. Because they are refugees, they are not allowed to work. They depend completely on Freiwini (their sister in our church) to send them money for their food, clothing and shelter. They have very very little. Their faith in God and the fellowship they have with other christians in their church give them hope. They told us about a revival meeting that their church held in a little village in the courtryside just outside of Kampala. They preached the way to salvation to them and they said that just over 100 people came to know Jesus. The villagers were very poor and so the church people gave them the clothing that they could spare. This was just amazing to me. These people who have so very little themselves still found something that they could give to those who had even less.

They were very thrilled to get the bibles. They were going to bring them to their church and then give them out to people that they were sharing the gospel with. It's amazing how God brought you to my house just a few days before I was to leave for Africa. I believe that this was part of God's plan to get those bibles into Africa. We have an amazing God!

God bless you Uncle Pete & Aunt Caroline as you continue to distribute bibles with Lifelight Ministries.

Christa

Spring Brunches - Mark your calendars - invite your contacts

2007-03-17T14:56:00.000-05:00

April 14

Martha has booked SBC for the Steinbach brunch for April 14. Please call Martha to tell her you are coming and how you want to help

April 21

St Vital EMC Please call Marg at 339-3770 to tell her you are coming and how you want to help

April 22 1 pm

Albright Church Please call Marg at 339-3770 to tell her you are coming and how you want to help

April 28

Rosenort Heritage Place April 28. Please call Martha to tell her you are coming and how you want to help

May ???

Arborg - Bill?

May ???

Winkler Morden - we had a few people at Missionfest that volunteered to do the legwork - Martha can you check the entry forms and advise Marg?

Please call the people on your calling list to invite them and advise Marg or Martha of how many are coming. Marg will have invitations soon for hand out

Do you have suggestions for good speakers / singers for these brunches?

See you there!

Raymond
204-782-2112 cell
Canadian LifeLight Ministries Inc
"God's Word for this generation"
Box 4904
Steinbach MB R5G 1R5
204-320-9676
866-HIS-WORD (447-9673)
Raymond@TheLifeLight.com
www.TheLifeLight.com

Canadian LifeLight Ministries Winnipeg Office
330 - 1695 Henderson Hwy.
Winnipeg, MB R2G 1P1
Ph. (204)339-3770
email: cllmwpg@mts.net

Check out our catalogue at www.LifeLightMinistries.org/catalogue/
Credit Card donations can be made at
www.DonateBibles.NET

LifeLight News Jan 2007

2007-02-21T22:37:00.000-06:00

Thailand—Hungry for the Scriptures
- Raymond Dueck
Thailand is a country of 60 million people. (The people love their king and queen, who celebrated sixty years on the throne in 2006!). Even though it is the most Buddhist country in the world, there is a real hunger for Scriptures and full freedom of religion in spite of the darkness
of Buddhism.
Fifty percent of Thai Christians became Christians through reading Christian literature.
We traveled to Thailand….

Inside the latest issue of LifeLight News
Looking Back:
Christmas 2006
• Christmas in Prison
• Shoeboxes Speak Love
• A Filipino Tradition
• A Christmas Blessing
• A Feast for the King
• His First Present?
• Celebrating His Coming
• God Made a Way
Click Here

Thanks for your encouragement

2007-02-10T22:14:00.000-06:00

Hi Ray

One of your friends at LifeLight gave me a biker bible. I enjoyed the testimonies inside. My wife and I went on a mission trip up into the mountains in Mexico to work with the Otimy Indians. The Mexican pastor that we were working with asked us, one night, if someone had something interesting to read. No one replied, so I offered this biker bible with the interesting testimonies inside. The next morning he was so excited about what he had read and was planing to use the testimonies in a sermon. I said he should just keep the book, because we had many more in Canada.

We have also given away Spanish bibles in Nicaragua and my dad has been reading the bible with a small vocabulary for years. I want to encourage you in your service and in spreading the word of God. Thank-you

In Christ Bob TGBTG

MissionFest 2007 pictures

2007-02-01T23:28:00.000-06:00

Missions Fest Pictures

Cozumel, Mexico

2007-01-19T21:21:00.000-06:00

We first met Jose three years ago when we stopped at his little shop by the side of the road in Cozumel, Mexico. He sells ceramics, t-shirts, blankets, and tablecloths etc. ............to make enough money to support his family. As I was perusing his "stuff" - all of a sudden something jumped out at me - an English New Testament and a Daily Bread devotional. When I picked it up to look at it, Jose told me that it was for me to take. I told him that I already have a Bible. It was was so exciting for both of us as we began to share our common faith in Jesus. He told me the story of his whole family accepting Jesus as Saviour after his brother experienced supernatural healing. Several of his family members suffered from alcohol and drug addictions but were all delivered from these addictions because of their newfound faith. He shared with me how he was having great difficulty in getting Christian literature and more specifically "Bibles" to distribute to the people that he was ministering to.

Last year I was able to deliver New Testaments and children's booklets that I obtained from Canadian LifeLight Ministries to Jose. He was moved to tears! I don't think that he could believe that I actually followed through on my promise to bring them.

This year I took Jose more New Testaments, a Bible for himself, two different kinds of children's books and several Gospels of St. John. He was so happy to see us and was very thankful again for the literature that we brought. He told me that his brother that had been healed, had died after choking on some food, 2 days after I had been to see him last year. So, last year has been a year of grieving for Jose's family - but not as those who have no hope. They have hope of seeing their loved one again in heaven.

God is using Canadian Lifelight Ministries to share God's Good News with the Spanish speaking people of Cozumel, Mexico. Thank you for making your literature affordable and avaliable to people like me to deliver to those who need to hear.

Blessings,

Beryl J.

Thai Picture Bible

2007-01-19T21:07:00.000-06:00

Dear Raymond,

Thank you for your letter and your interest in partnering with OMF in a Thai literature project. Praise the Lord for your earnest enthusiasm!

Robert's proposal to have an illustrated Genesis / John book is a very good idea and we trust that we will be able to start developing that project early next year. However, it will take a good many months before that book will be print ready and so I am writing to propose another very good project that has been a priority for us for quite some time.

We would like to publish an Old Testament Picture Bible in full-color cartoon-style format. The artwork is based on a similar work by Cook Communications Ministries International and we want to make this book available to the Thai church to strengthen their hands in evangelism. We are excited about this specific project, because:

Thai people of all ages, but especially children, find comic-style books irresistible. There are thousands of shops all over the country where you can rent comic books, buy new or used comic books etc. It is a proven format and we have published sections of the OT Picture Bible in the past and they have been received eagerly.
Thailand is arguably the most Buddhistic country in the world with centuries of Buddhistic thinking shaping their world view, values and behaviour. There is nothing like the Old Testament history that can challenge that and prepare people's minds for the Gospel. This is how God prepared the Jews to be ready for Jesus and we believe it is still the most effective way today in any culture that needs a lot of ploughing before there can be effective sowing.
More than half of the Thai church are first generation Christians. Young Christians will benefit from this very digestible format to quickly get a basic overview of the Bible and prime their appetite for the real thing.
Most of the work on this book has already been done: we have acquired the Thai publication rights, purchased the full colour film sets for the art work from the USA and the Thai translation is done. The book can go to press within weeks.

The production cost is estimated as follows:

$3 per book for a print-run of 5,000 copies

$2.48 for 8,000

$2.22 for 10,000

There are many ways in which you can partner with us on this project, like:

Sponsor a number of copies to be made available for free to any ministry / outreach you might specifically want to support. If you do not have a specific ministry in mind we can handle the distribution. We have requests for free evangelistic material all the time. Also, the more copies that are sponsored, the more books we can print and the cheaper the production cost becomes. In this way we can even sell the unsponsored copies for significantly less than would otherwise be possible.
Make a general donation to enable us to get more copies out by special offers like buy one, get one free.

May the Lord lead you as you prayerfully consider this opportunity to invest in this part of His vineyard. We look forward to hear from you soon.

Warm Bangkok greetings

Jannie Theunissen

Kanok Bannasan (OMF Publishers)

1694/1 Prachasongkhro Rd, Dindaeng, Bangkok 10400, THAILAND

kanok@omf.net | tel: +66 2692 1402 | fax: +66 2275 2800

SPANISH NEW TESTAMENTS AND TRACTS

2007-01-02T21:29:00.000-06:00

My husband and I are traveling to the Dominican Republic in early February and would like to take down NTs and Bibles with us. I was supposed to contact you in December, but the time got away from me, so I hope it's not too late for you to fill this request.

Based on the size of the scriptures and tracts we took down the last time we went to DR, could we order 12 each of the NTs and Bibles.

I'm not sure the best way for you to get us the material, but we live in Winnipeg and attend Church of the Rock.

Thanks for your assistance with this request.

Blessings for a wonderful 2007.

Missionfests 2007

2006-11-16T17:11:00.000-06:00

The following is the information regarding the Missionfests for 2007:

Vancouver comes up first and it is January 26 - 28/07. The website for this is: www.missionsfestvancouver.ca if you want to take a look at what is happening.

Raymond & Martha and Martha K and friend are going.

Next is Winnipeg February 2^nd - 4^th/07. The website is: www.mfest.mb.ca. I will be getting in touch with everyone to schedule times you are able to be at the exhibit. I tried this last year and I would like to ensure all of us will be able to take a scheduled time for the three day event. If you want to volunteer to do the setup and/or takedown of the exhibit as well, let me know this as well.

Then we have Edmonton at February 23-25, 2007. Jerry and Sandy Spoor are doing this one, but if you want to help, please contact them and I am sure they would be happy to see someone from here. The website is: http://www.mfest.ab.ca/.

Last is Toronto at March 1^st - 3/07. Van Essens are attending this Missionfest but if you are there at that time, please contact them and I am sure they would be extremely happy to see someone from Winnipeg there to give them a hand. The website is: www.missionfest.org if you want to look at their schedule of events.

Hope this information will help everyone to keep informed regarding these events. Please let me know if there are further questions.

Marge

News from the west

2006-10-31T22:58:00.000-06:00

So good to hear from you!

I believe Ernie was setting in motion the shipping of your requested Scriptures, and I hope they will be there soon. Our new order for The Living LifeLight and How to Find God should be here any day. Arnold Reimer is expediting that shipment.

Good to see the displays going up. It is amazing the excuses people come up with NOT to distribute the most important book EVER.

It is wonderful to see you getting into the schools. I understand Peter will be doing some distribution in northern Alberta as well. I trust you 2 are keeping in touch.

I hope we will soon have a New Testament for distribution in the hotels. If you can impact the movers and shakers in society, you will have more impact on society values than you can in any other way. It is so important that these people see the Scriptures as God's Word for TODAY!

May God bless you as you reach out for Him in your Jerusalem and Judea!

Raymond Dueck

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 6:09 PM

Subject: News from the west

Hi Ray

I tried to send a number of emails to different lifelight people by highlighting their names and email off the web site page and was unsuccessful. I am successful with their individual email addresses.

I have found time to get the ministry off the ground the last two weeks and please with the excitement I find when talking to people.

Two churches are going to set up displays. Our Baptists church from Martinsville just north of Saskatoon, and Loon lake Native Fellowship, a reserve church a few miles away.

My church will also be looking to have a display and will be ordering soon. Lloydminster First Baptist too will be making orders for various areas of their ministry.

I ran into a little reluctance today with a chairman of a ministerial. He will not put me on the agenda of their meeting because he feels it is to much of a competition with the local Christian book store and he wants churches to go to the store to buy bibles not have free ones in their foyers. Another objection I heard was the bibles are only new testaments not the complete bibles. I'm sure you've heard all these.

I am ready for the first delivery of bibles for the reserves. If arrangements can be made for 2000 bibles to be shipped to Lakeland Truck Ltd. Lloydminster Ab. they will keep the boxes for a few days until I can get there with a one ton van to take them to a storage place in Loon Lake. Lloydminster is on the Yellow Head highway right on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The shop is right beside the Husky Truck stop and is a large truck shop so Penners will have no problem finding it and unloading there.

I have now 2 more reserves to take the bibles to which is a total of 7 schools. They average approx. 150-200 children per school. I hope to have these done before Christmas break.

Meadow lake, Saskatchewan has invited me to the ministerial to share the ministry with them. 5 evangelical churches there.

Looking forward to seeing what God has in store for His Word.

Chat with Marg about Missionfest yesterday. I will be glad to look after Edmonton. Vancouver might work out too. I understand your going there. Lets see what works out.

Working together for our Lord.

Jerry

The Good News for all Cultures

2006-10-18T23:20:00.000-05:00

by Elizabeth Greer

A quick glance in my home office reveals an accumulation of Christian literature, Bible commentaries and a collection of Bibles that dates back to my youth. There's the red leather Youth for Christ edition given to me by my grandparents; my black zippered KJV version awarded to me in Sunday school, complete with pictures of Noah's Ark and Jesus welcoming the children into His arms; and various newer translations, including NIV, NASB, and The Word on the Street.

I even have an 1821 edition that was once owned by my great-aunt and by generations before her. No doubt your home has a similar collection – but not every home does.

For the last seven years, my husband and I have had the privilege of directing Eagle Bay Camp (formerly Hilbre Bible Camp). We have worked largely cross-culturally, welcoming the majority of our campers from the first Nations communities in our area. This past summer we had the added opportunity of leading a day camp for 80 youth in the fly-in community of Garden Hill First Nation.

It is in this context that we have also been privileged to give Bibles to the campers. Through the generosity of various donors, including Eastview Community Church, we were able to distribute well over 1000 copies of New Testament. These NTs have been taken home to First Nations communities such as Little Saskatchewan, Fairford, Grand Rapids, Easterville, Poplar River, Bloodvein, Sioux Valley, Ebb & Flow, Lake St. Martin, and others. Children from the local towns have taken copies as well.

No longer can we assume that every home has a Bible and that someone in that home is familiar with its contents. Our society has become increasingly distant from its Judeo-Christian roots, and the average person passing us on the street cannot relate biblical stories or explain what the Gospel message is, or why it is good news at all. Many believe in a "god" but do not believe that this higher power cares anything at all about what goes on here on earth. This is what motivates all of us involved in children's ministries, whether in a summer camp context or through outreach events through the local church.

Children of all cultures are precious and need to hear that God loves and values them. They need to hear that there are better options than drugs, alcohol, gang involvement or suicide. We cannot keep the Good News to ourselves. We are grateful to the donors who support our camp and to organizations such as LifeLight Ministries. It is with their help that we can place The Word of God in more homes each year.

Elizabeth and Rick Greer became ministry directors of Eagle Bay Camp in 2000 after selling their family business and moving from Ontario. They have been married for 25 years and have three sons.

Help us get more Scriptures!

2006-10-15T10:32:00.000-05:00

Greetings Brother Greg,

Well here I am again begging for scriptures. We currently have 24 copies of “How to Find God” and 24 copies of “The Lifelight”. Yurgen dropped off a copy of “And you will know the Truth….” (the prison edition). We are asking for your help once again to keep us with a supply of scriptures for the fellows here at Headingley Jail. The men truly like the “How to find God” edition because of the commentaries and challenging questions it contains. So I am going to leave it to you and to the Lord to provide for us in our need.

Blessings on you, in your ministry, and on those who I know will respond to the Lord’s call to provide for the outcasts who live in this place. Praise be Jesus!

Deacon Philip Durant

Headingley Correctional Centre

Spiritual Care Dept.

LAMP and LifeLight – Unity of the Faith

2006-10-13T09:09:00.000-05:00

"God works in mysterious ways", and makes Himself known in the process.

I was to learn about Canadian LifeLight Ministries Inc. at Missionfest 2005. Mr. Greg Armstrong shared the need to get Bibles into the hands of both youth and adults in Northern native communities. LifeLight does its part in making the Word available. His words rang out and it was accepted as, "What does LAMP do?"

LAMP stands for Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots. For 35 years we have transported and facilitated Vacation Bible School (VBS) in isolated native villages in northern Canada, some 20 in Manitoba. This past summer about 500 volunteers shared the message of Jesus with over 5000 children and youth. The following true story will however give you LifeLight supporters a flavor of what is transpiring in our partnership.

As part of my pre-summer logistical flight into villages, I had a supply of "How to Find God", and the LifeLight New Testament with me. In the course of our conversation about the coming summer, the local contact in Sandy Lake, ON. asked if I would accompany him to a home where a young mother was suffering with cancer. Would I share and pray for her family’s healing as all were suffering in the process? I was appreciative of my Lifelight Bible, as I was able to share one of Jesus’ healing messages from the Gospel of Matthew.

Some time after, Sidney, our contact, called to say they wanted 100 youth Bibles (The Lifelight). During summer flying over Sandy Lake C-FWGK carried the Scriptures that Greg had left for me in Winnipeg. When I touched down, Sidney, happily accepted the Bibles for his community youth, but had another visit assignment. An elder, who was already living beyond his doctor’s projected "time", wanted a Bible and healing prayer. While he was a believer and not afraid of dying, he asked for more time with his family. I shared from The LifeLight, talked God stories and prayed. Both siblings and grandchildren were present. I asked a daughter for the written names of family, thinking only of those present. This was taking some time. To my delight however, she had recorded the whole family of Jeremiah Fiddler, 62 in all.

As I share your printed Word, it is a pleasure for me to talk about LifeLight Ministries. So LifeLight, in being faithful to the call of giving and sharing, combined with LAMP’s going, brings to life mission and ministry – showing up at the right place at the right time, all to the Glory of God.

Dr. Al Anderson

LAMP Ministry

Salvation Army uses LifeLight Scriptures

2006-09-27T06:59:00.000-05:00

The Salvation Army has a long history of providing support, services and ministry in communities across

Canada

through partnership with those who graciously donate financial and material goods. Along with the donations of food, clothing, and household items, we often receive Bibles allowing us to offer free Bibles in our Thrift Stores and in our programs and services.

Not long ago we ran out of our supply of donated Bibles, due to increasing requests from clients and program participants. This presented an opportunity for us to take a fresh look at what we were doing and ask ourselves some questions: Where do we get more Bibles? What kind of a message are we sending to people if in response to their request for the Word of God, we provide a used and often outdated Bible? Does the condition of the used Bibles we provide send a message about how we value Gods Word?

We determined that we needed to give people a translation they could easily understand, and that it should be a brand new Bible - not used or second hand. We wanted our underlying message to be, We value you, and we value the words that God has for you (and me!) in the Bible.

We were so pleased to find LifeLight Ministries who were able to supply us with affordable, modern translation Bibles (New Living) for our ministries.

Mark

W. Mark Stanley
(Cadet)

Salvation Army Pastor in training collage

Check Out: www.radical-leadership.blogspot.com

2006 LifeLight Golf

2006-09-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

100 golfers had fun and raised enough funds to impact 5,000 families with the love of God in the coming year!

Click on title or picture to link to more pictures.

Camp Arnes Report for Life Light Ministries

2006-09-14T22:47:00.000-05:00

The look on her face could light up the biggest building on site as she received her very own Bible. It was her first and as she ran back to tell her friends about it she had an extra skip in her step. She promised to read it, follow it and take good care of it.

Week after week the counselors would come and seek this Bible that was free for their camper to take home. And week after week they would run back to their camper with a huge smile and give them their very own Bible.

At Camp Arnes we believe that lives are changed from the inside out, and through the work of the Holy Spirit this is possible. What better way for a child to get to know God than through a Bible that is made for them. Life Light Ministries also believes in this and we would like to thank them and their supporters for the more than 100 Bibles that were distributed, which means that about 10 – 15 % of all our campers received their very own Bible. In the simple words of a child…"thank you".

Bibles at Bird River Bible Camp

2006-09-12T22:51:00.000-05:00

Good morning Martha

Thank you for registering me in the golf tournament.

I want to take a minute to tell you a couple of stories that happened at camp this year.

During one of the Youth Camps, there were 4 inner city youth, 16 years old who did not want to be at camp. Their mothers had somehow gotten them on the bus but they had decided, as a group, not to cooperate or join in any of the activities. These 4 campers decided they would sit at a picnic bench and spend their time discussing items of concern to them alone. Whenever any of the staff would approach, they would get up and leave. All in all, they were not going to allow themselves to enjoy their week.

During chapel one night the campers were given New Testament Bibles that the camp had been given to give to each camper. This was a turning point for these 4 young people. The next day they were seen sitting at their same picnic table, but they had their Bibles with them and they were reading them. This gave the staff the courage and confidence to continue to work with these youth. By the end of the week, they were not the same youth that arrived just a few days ago.

A single mother of 2 youngsters, that was made known to me, was given sponsorship to camp for both children. After the first youngster had attended camp, the mother called me and was terribly upset. Her second child, who was scheduled to go to camp the next week, had chicken pox. The mother told me how going to camp had changed the first child's entire attitude about life. She had accepted Christ as her personal saviour and was just different. She took her prize home from camp (her Bible) and was reading it. The mother wanted me to do something so as the other child might get to go to camp and experience the same life changing experiences. We managed to get her into a later camp and the mother was, and remains, very excited about her new children she had picked up at the bus.

During one of the Children's Camps, there was a young boy who had a lot of difficulty sitting still during chapel. Staff spent time praying for the boy throughout the week. It did not appear that this boy heard the message that was being delivered during chapel. One evening, this boy scrambled to the back of the chapel to pick up one of the Bibles being handed out. He accepted Christ into his heart that night and the next day during the last meal, he could hardly concentrate on eating his supper because he was so excited about "devouring" his brand new Bible.

There were approximately 600 campers that have heard the news about Jesus at camp this year. Many for the first time and many of these will have in their hands a Bible that they will have as their very own.

Thank you so much for providing these Bibles to further God's work at Bird River Bible Camp

Thomas Wm. Cooney

LivingLifeLightCover

2006-09-12T07:58:00.000-05:00

We now have 3 excellent covers to choose from and we need to decide by tomorrow morning. I'd appreciate your feedback

1. Planets http://lifelightministries.org/pdf/LivingLifeLightCover/SmallTheLivingLifelight2.jpg (Jon Both)

2. Trees and sun reflecting off water (Jon Both)http://lifelightministries.org/pdf/LivingLifeLightCover/SmallTheLivingLifelightTrees3.jpg

3. Tree with backlit (Howard Laxson)

http://lifelightministries.org/pdf/LivingLifeLightCover/SmallTheLivingLifeLightTree02.jpg

remember that first impression for the recipient will be the right 1/2 of the picture (the front cover)

thanks for your quick feedback

Raymond Dueck

North West Representative

2006-09-12T06:18:00.000-05:00

Jerry and Sandy Spoor recently accepted a part time position with LifeLight to be the representatives for LifeLight in northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. Here is their contact information:

Jerry's new e-mail address is pjwspoor@sasktel.net , our phone number is 1-306-837-2218, address is Box 63 Loon Lake Sask. S0M 1L 0.

Jerry's new cell phone number is 1-306-837-7227. Please send Jerry an e-mail to confirm that you got this message, because it still is not working properly. Thanks.

Sandy Spoor

Fur Auction in Thompson

2005-12-19T23:29:00.000-06:00

Fur Auction in Thompson; Report by Peter Loewen

Trappers from all over northern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario gather each December to sell their furs at a fur auction in Thompson. Fur buyers are on hand, each with their own table, to offer bids on these furs. How exciting to be invited to set up a Lifelight Scripture display at this event!

By 8AM Dec. 16th, my helper, Del Brandt, from Riverton, and I were at the large parish hall where the fur auction took place. We put "Indian Life" Christian magazines at each table, as we hoped this would help trappers to accept what we had to offer. After we set up our Lifelight display, some trappers that had perhaps had no Christian contact for years, came up and asked for New Testaments and also some Bibles. There were also trappers from reserves that I, together with helpers such as Curt Bork, Bert Genaille, Greg Armstrong and others, had visited in the last three years.

A trapper from South Indian Lake said the Lifelight Scriptures we had left there were being read in the school. On the intercom, one of the teachers reads two chapters each morning and has a prayer. The trapper said the Scriptures had helped him personally to live a better life.

Another trapper from Cross Lake thanked us for the Lifelight New Testament he received when I was there three years ago. He said he had read it through two times. A trapper who used to be a teacher in the Cormorant School, said it was uplifting to have the Scriptures read over the intercom to the students.

Del Brandt is a farmer who also likes to trap, and the trappers responded to him, leading to good discussions, and to a willingness to accept a New Testament from him. On the way home, Del said, "When can we go again?"

Del and I had lunch at Continental Mission's "soup kitchen," next door to the fur auction on Friday, where we met 70 hungry local people happy to get a free meal. We noticed the "Lifelight" stand with New Testaments, which are available to the people coming for meals.

Thank you to Curt Bork and his church at Moosehorn. "We are keeping Lifelight and Scripture distribution in our prayers," Curt told us when we stopped at his house for coffee on our way north.

The LifeLight logos are online!

2005-11-10T14:06:00.000-06:00

This is the high resolution logo that the sign maker needs

/pdf/Logos/ LifeLightLogo(NewLRG).jpg

Click here to get to them all

pdf/Logos/
See the new sign layout at
pdf/Logos/LLsign.JPG
See the inside signage
pdf/Logos/Inside%20Sign.pdf

Come see us at Missionfest

2005-11-09T19:54:00.000-06:00

Missions Fest Vancouver

Ernie and Lil have volunteered to go there.

Vishal Mangalwadi • After living among the poor in central India, Vishal founded the Association for Comprehensive Rural Assistance. This began Vishal’s direct involvement with evangelism in the context of abject poverty and deeply entrenched socio-political oppression which has given unique insights and realism to his teaching. Vishal is one of the world’s foremost Christian apologists to Hindus and New Agers. An author and co-author of a dozen books, Vishal studied in secular universities, Hindu ashrams, and in L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. He is an international lecturer, social reformer, and political columnist for The International Indian. His current project is The Book of the Millennium, which includes a multi-hour television series exploring how the Bible influenced the creation of the best features of our modern world. Listen to Dr Mangalwadi online.
Dates: January 27 - 29, 2006
Email: info@mfest.bc.ca
Internet: www.mfest.bc.ca

Missions Fest Edmonton

"Pursuing the Father's Heart"

Martha and/or Ray have volunteered to go

Dates: February 24-26, 2006
Email: info@mfest.ab.ca
Internet: www.mfest.ab.ca

Mission Fest Winnipeg

Meet many of our board and staff here!

Dr. Ron Cline from HCJB World Radio
Dates: February 3-5, 2006
Email: bthull@grantmemorial.mb.ca
Internet: www.mfest.mb.ca

MissionFest Toronto

John and Marilyn Van Essen have volunteered to go

Dr John Maxwell
Dates: March 24 & 25, 2006
EMaill: manger@missionfest.org
Internet: www.missionfest.org

Missions Fest Montreal (Missions En Fête)

Peter and Caroline volunteered to go and are on their way!

« The Lord calls to the city! »
Dates: November 11-13, 2005
Email: info@missionsenfete.qc.ca
Internet: www.mefq.ca

Cancelled Visions!

2005-11-09T19:53:00.000-06:00

The weekend scheduled for November 25/26 is being cancelled at this time after much discussion. Many of you are unable to be there due to prior commitments and since it is very important that you, as key people to this ministry have input into future vision, it was decided to re-schedule to a different weekend. The timing for this weekend will be discussed further at another time. Perhaps a spring weekend would be a better time!

We apologize to those who were looking forward to this time away and many thanks to Henry Dyck for making arrangements for the cabin.

With regards to the agenda items that were brought forward by Ray for this weekend, please forward thoughts and ideas to Ray and Ernie as there will be a board meeting set within the next few weeks.

I will be in touch with everyone when details of this meeting are set.

Marge Penner

LifeLight Visioning Weekend

2005-11-06T03:11:00.000-06:00

LifeLight Visioning Weekend

At Frank and Agnes DeFehr's cottage

Friday and Saturday November 25 - 26

On Hwy 11 north of Lac Du Bonnet

Starts Friday night with devotional and prayer time. This is an informal weekend for, prayer, refreshment, and visioning for LifeLight. Come when you can. Leave when you must. With or without your spouse. The cottage is available all weekend and with overflow accommodations next door, we can accommodate everyone. Check with Marge Penner 339-9211 for info on what to bring. Stay till Sunday if you can. Bring friends that might be willing to serve on the board in the future.

If you have additional agenda items, please forward them

Please call Marge to confirm at what times you would expect to be at the cottage.

Start Posting Stories to LifeLight Blog

2005-11-06T02:43:00.000-06:00

Here is where everyone can share their ideas, post coming events, etc. Try it today!

Bibles for HCC

2005-11-02T10:25:00.000-06:00

Good morning Greg,

We have distributed most of the bibles you gave us and we are in need of a new supply. Our count is running at 600 right now and as a result the pressure for bibles has increased. I trust that all is well with you and that the Lord is continuing to bless your ministry.

Philip Durant

Fw: LifeLight Fall Quick Note - > 1, 2, 3

2005-10-21T10:42:00.000-05:00

. . .Greetings All

Here we are, the 21 of October and in the past few nights the colder-chilling frost is introducing itself again to us artistically using the car windows as it's drawing sheet each morning.

And of course who can deny fall is upon us once noticing the one-bite size chocolate bar starting to be around from those yummy assort halloween snacks bags in the stores pilled high like sand bags.

Anyway, as fall re-introduces his/herself again to us this 2005 we at LifeLight must also be aware and underway preparing for the busy season ahead.

1. Peter Loewen our faithful northern rep, starts to get restless and ready to drive far up north to the many Reserves in the forest he/we service with Scriptures into the hands of the grade 3 & 4 school children and many others along the journey. He will do a fall run, then once the lakes freeze he usually takes a trip to the more remote communities.

2. Registrations and deposits for (booths) at Missionfest 2005 Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal, Manitoba, ? Toronto ? are complete or well under way thanks to the smart work and efforts of Marge Penner. So, we all need to be aware of the MFdates so as to help carry the load. For the dates and info it would be best to go to the MF www. and get it all, including speaker line up. We have yet to book Toronto until we are clear that the Vanessens would like to host and be present in the booth.

3. We all know how important (crucial) The LifeLight new testaments are to this ministry and for this generation. And we are all aware the supply is alarmingly low and demand hi, including HTFG. We need to place the re-order ASAP and be active together as agents in raising the ever needed fund$.

Marge please give the Vanessens a call and ask if they are up to hosting the MF both in Toronto, and lets get clear re: our place booked in MF Manitoba, Martha can give the right numbers to contact them.

In the making; from Marge

Just to let everyone know so you can mark your calendars. Further to info from last board meeting, I have discussed with Henry Dyck the use of the cottages in Lac du Bonnet for November 25/26. More details to follow, Marge Penner Ph. (204)339-9211 e-mail: marge@ipcmanitoba.com

P.S. Martha need's articals and pictures for up coming LL-newsletters; please, send your Scripture news and stories in. . .

Psalm 119:31-33

Greg Armstrong

www.thelifelight.com

gregorya@mts.net

mobile:

204-471-6295

Time to order The LifeLight

2005-10-21T10:31:00.000-05:00

Just to let you know that we have reached our 50% fundraising goal and will be getting the information together for the 4 page insert and forwarding it to you in the next 3 weeks in preparation for the publishing of 30,000 copies of "The LifeLight New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs"

We are confident that rest of the funding will come in when the invoice becomes due.

Raymond Dueck

The LifeLight Message

2005-10-19T18:49:00.000-05:00

Mindy:

I have reviewed your products and would like to get a quote from you.

Would you license us to reprint a LifeLight Message New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs? What would that cost for 50,000 copies? All additional notes, covers, etc would, of course, be subject to your approval.

What would you charge for custom printing 5,000, 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 or 25,000 copies of each of:

The Message^®: New Testament (youth edition) (with our logo on cover)

The Message^®: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs (paperback) (with our LifeLight Message full color cover)
We need minimum 4 custom pages for our information

What is the upcharge for 30 pages of helps similar to the helps in The LifeLight?

Thank you.

Raymond Dueck
Canadian LifeLight Ministries Inc
"God's Word for this generation"

Credit Card donations can be made at
www.DonateBibles.NET

<>Mr. Dueck,
Kent asked me to follow up with you, he is extremely busy these days. I have read through what you are asking for and we can consider a couple options for you. The first is, we could produce an exclusive edition of several of the products we already produce for you with some modifications to the cover (all the changes would of course have to be approved by Eugene, his agent and us here at NavPress) Some of the products this works well with is the mass market edition of the New Testament, The Book of Psalms, The Book of Proverbs, The Gospel of John, and The Message//Remix (feel free to check out our website if you are not real familiar with these products www.messagebible.com ) There is however a minimum purchase required on these products that generally hovers around 5,000 units. That minimum is the only way we can afford to produce these exclusive editions. The second option is that you could purchase some of these existing products, we have a special markets team that works with ministries like yours and gives high discounts for give away purchases. Let me know if you think either of these options will work for you and I will put you in contact with the appropriate person.

Thank you.

MINDY MILLS | The Message

Kent:

Thank you for your response. I can understand Dr. Peterson's reluctance to allow other text to be added to his. Would you/he consider allowing a publication of The Message with Psalms and Proverbs? With our own cover?

Raymond Dueck

Raymond,

Eugene passed on your letter to us at NavPress because we handle all correspondence of this nature of his behalf. I appreciate hearing about your ministry and respect your commitment to distribute the Word across Canada.

Eugene Peterson has made it very clear to NavPress that he wants The Message to be a Bible text that encourages Bible reading without the typical encumbrances that often come with study Bibles or other popular versions of the Bible with added material. Eugene wants readers to become engrossed in the text of the Word alone and not be sidetracked by added material, which originally even included his desire to not include verse numbers (which he has reluctantly since changed). He is therefore extremely hesitant to approve any additional content to printed versions of The Message. As his publisher we want o honor his vision for The Message and the reading of the Word, and therefore cannot approve or encourage the products that you propose because of the added content.

We do hope that you still consider The Message text in your future considerations, but would understand if you need to approach other publishers for permission to use their text instead. Thank you for your partnership in distributing The Word,

Kent Wilson

NavPress Publisher

Here is a copy of the letter I sent to Dr Peterson. He responded by asking me to contact you.

January 06, 2005

EUGENE PETERSON
Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College. BA (Seattle Pacific), STB (New York Theological Seminary), MA (Johns Hopkins), DHL (Hon.) (Seattle Pacific)

Box 732

Lakeside, Montana

59922 USA

Dear Dr. Peterson:

Your "The Message" has become a tremendous blessing to many. LifeLight Ministries is committed to "Providing the LifeLight of God's Word to this generation." To this end we have published 37,000 copies of "The LifeLight" New Testament, based on the NIrV, a simplified NIV, from the International Bible Society, and 20,000 copies of the "How To Find God" New Testament, NLT, with helps by Greg Laurie. I have enclosed a copy of each for you to review.

Our mandate is "To provide free Scriptures as God provides funds through His people." That means we raise funds, we buy or publish Scripture at the lowest possible cost, and give it away, while we raise more funds. Many of our Scriptures go directly into the hands of northern Manitoba school children. We would like to extend this ministry across Canada and around the world.

We would love to produce, under license, a LifeLight publication entitled "The LifeLight Message" that would include helps and Scripture commentary along with The Message New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. We would publish it with a beautiful full color cover and give it away free.

Is this something you could agree to? Would you, or someone you know, be willing to write the Helps and Scripture commentary? How much royalty would you need? Your prayerful consideration of this request is appreciated.

I can be reached on my cell at 204-782-2112, at work 800-210-0141, or at home 866-670-2943

May God bless you in whatever He gives you to do!

Raymond Dueck

President, Canadian LifeLight Ministries Inc

cc LifeLight Board and Staff

Here is a recent email we sent to our Partners and Friends:

Dear Friend:

The LifeLight New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs is the ideal gift to include with that Christmas hamper, give to your work associates, or anyone else on your Christmas list. It is a new simplified translation of the NIV, comes with full colour pictures, and study helps. Printed on quality Bible paper, it is a gift to be treasured for years to come. Your donation of $5 helps us buy more. Additional donations are welcome and will provide Scriptures to those who can't afford to pay for them. This includes the thousands of school children we reach every year in northern Manitoba.

Call Martha at our office for more information at 866-HIS-WORD or check out our website at www.TheLifeLight.com. Credit Card donations can be made at www.DonateBibles.NET

May God richly bless you through this season of remembering that Christ is the reason for the season

Raymond Dueck
Canadian LifeLight Ministries Inc
"God's Word for this generation"
Box 4904
Steinbach MB R5G 1R5

204-320-9676
866-HIS-WORD (477-9673)
Check out our catalogue at www.LifeLightMinistries.org/catalogue/

The direct link to The LifeLight New Testament

http://lifelightministries.org/catalogue/index.php?manufacturers_id=10

Lifelight Board Meeting Sept.15/05

2005-09-15T18:56:00.000-05:00

Lifelight Board Meeting
Sept.15/05

Attendance; Bill Badler, Bert Loewen, Peter Loewen, John Dueck, Ernie and Lil Brosowsky, Marge Penner, Martha Kroeker, Ray Dueck, Tamara Craig, and Greg Armstrong.

Devotional by Greg; "We are the light"

1 Lil moved to accept minutes of June 13/05 as read. Peter seconded. Carried

2. Business Arising from the Minutes;
2.b Tamara was not in attendance at this meeting but would like it recorded that she had not seen a budget or even a draft budget from Brent.
2.c. We were not certain $500. was going to be the final rental price at the time of this meeting. Since that meeting this figure has been agreed to by the owner.
Also there is not necessarily a tax exemption for the owner - that may be only for Wpg. And not Steinbach.
5. The Steinbach dessert night was canceled.
4. We need about $23,000. To meet the 50% goal before we can place the order.

3. Treasurers Report:
Reports distributed by Tamara. See Lil for copies. Overall donations are down to date but so are expenses.

4.Reports
Executive Coordinator Report Martha:
Requests from various churches, ministries and camps for Bibles. Very hard to get reports from camps but this year especially so and not specific enough to be interesting for the newsletter.
We seem to be under a lot of attack lately. Various illnesses, accidents and many problems with orders. But we should find this encouraging because it means we are obviously moving forward and making progress in getting God's Word to those who need it.

Marge gave a report on the golf tournament plans so far.
58 golfers registered to date, a number of prizes donated already, 7 Gold sponsors and 2 bronze and the signs are being prepared, donor amount more than $12,000, no cart sponsors or meal sponsors as yet, Golden West has donated $1000. Worth of advertising air time. Working on agenda for the day with Greg. Pray for good weather as that will swell the numbers of walk ins.

Personnel Committee; .* Ernie put forward a motion on behalf of the Personnel Committee to hire Marge on a part time basis as assistant to Greg. Discussion around paying out a salary vs. raising funds for salary - issue of salary deferred to Personnel Committee to give clarification. Peter seconded. Carried.
** Ernie put forward motion to accept Brents resignation. Peter seconded. Carried.

Greg's Report:
Greg has sustained a pinched nerve as a result of the car accident.
We are in all the mainline churches now. The HTFG is being used in all of them.
Have done some speaking in churches and scheduled for a mens group in Landmark for Sept.28.
It would be very difficult to get churches to put Lifelight on their regular missions giving as someone has suggested. Perhaps a Bible-a-month club for Sunday School classes to support. A brochure would be a good start.

Peter: On Sept 9 I visited five reserve schools, Dauphin River, Lake St. Martens, Little Saskatchewan and Fairfort with two faithful workers Kurt Borg and Dave Freeman in which we gave away 150 Lifelights.

5. Storefront;
a. Discussion around adding a $10. Handling fees to every Bible taken out of the storefront office to be added to the suggested donation. No conclusion reached on this issue.
B. Greg will take care of issues regarding rental space and landlord.

6. Fall Retreat;
Marge will follow up with Henry Dyck as to where and when.

In closing Ray read from King Solomons dedication prayer of the temple. Some of this prayer can be applied to this rented space for Lifelight.
Closing Prayer
Mtg. Adjourned 9:30pm

**Let's continue to be diligent in our prayers for Rene's healing.