Saturday, November 19, 2011

Wordsower International - Worthwhile of Donations

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Wordsower International is one of the places I make donations (I donated my last royalty check--not major but every little bit makes a difference in the lives of those in Libera).

Below is an update and report sent by Kim Smith, a former co-worker of mine who now does missionary work in Liberia full-time.

Solo Town Students Receive Books

Wordsower International: Liberia Branch

October, 2011 Ministry Report

The mission of Jesus; “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9 NIV), is also our mission.

We evangelize and train indigenous believers and then help equip them to evangelize, disciple, pastor and be missionaries to their own people. We equip them by giving them training material to train others, provide Bibles, and assist with transportation.

 
Our mission is that every village of Liberia will have a healthy church. Most of the towns and villages of Liberia have no church. We have worked in over 150 villages. This month we made 60 mission/ministry trips, visiting 82 villages and other locations, going into 11 new locations. Many of the places we visited multiple times, our longest trip was 7 days, shortest a few hours. We printed and distributed approximately 14,200 pages of teaching material and distributed hundreds of Bibles. This month we baptized 42 and 19 completed our extensive Bible study program.

 
Several factors affect how many mission trips we can go on each month; illness, injuries, motorbikes repaired, and the availability of gas and money are some.

 
One of our men retuned from a new remote village. Before he even got off the bike he passionately said, “People are dying. They have no shepherd, and they really love the gospel! They loved us and want us to quickly return.” Another team reported that 355 people from two villages attended their teaching. The Liberians, in the interior, are spiritually hungry and want spiritual food, now!

France comes through! Months ago they purchased and sent us 2,000 Bibles (1,900 more were also donated by Christian Aid Ministries) and 4,000 tracts. The load traveled by sea, fought corrupt customs, set in a warehouse in Monrovia because of bad roads during the rainy season, spent 3 days traveling 300 miles of bad road…but finally safely arrived! Amen!

 
Almost all of the 1000’s upon 1000’s of refugees who walked across the border into Liberia for safety came with little or nothing. Few have Bibles. The Holy Spirit is moving throughout the camps, causing a great spiritual hunger. We have started distributing Bibles with lessons to the spiritual leaders. When they complete the lessons they will distribute Bibles and lessons to those they disciple, those who are discipled will be given supplies to do the same (2 Tim 2:2). Already we have trained many leaders who have started churches in the camps. Now these house (tent) churches are themselves starting churches. In the coming months we will see a great harvest from those in the camps. In the coming years we will see a great harvest as those who have been trained return home.

USA comes through! At the same time France had a load coming by sea so did the US. We received both shipments here in Zwedru at the same time. The US shipped 100’s of pounds of supplies including 1000’s of printed lessons, school supplies for our two schools, motorbike spare parts and an assortment of other needed items.



One of the Churches Started

October, 2011 Ministry Expense Report



Ministry expenses:
$2,416 – Paper, gas for the generator, pens, folders, Bibles and mission trips.


$814 – Motor bike gas and repair, we now have 8 bikes (Gas prices range between $5.50 - $9.00 a gallon)



$65 – School related, we have started two schools (teacher pay, student fees, and supplies).


Assistance to the poor:
$470 – Humanitarian assistance: including food (average cost is $1.50 a day for food), rent, home repair, etc.

$113 – Medical expenses (average treatment cost is $1.00 - $10.00)


House construction:
$144 – We continue to do small construction on our place.

Team food and house supplies:
$1,380 – Food and house supplies (close estimate). Our core team consists of 13 adults and 17 children. That averages out to $1.53 a day per person to cover, clothes, food, batteries, soap etc. Really, our team uses less than that per day because we feed visitors every day from the interior, refugees, and locals from our house funds.


$5,399 - Total for the month


Donations should be sent to:
Wordsower International
16960 Sidney Plattsville Rd.
Sidney, Ohio 45365


All donations are tax deductible. A receipt will be sent in January. 100% of all donations go for the mission to the Liberians. None is used for me or administration. If you have any questions concerning donations you may call Tom Looker at 937-489-8090.


Thank you,

Kim



Solo Town Students Receive Backpacks

Wedding Ceremony


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Print version of Blood Sword now now Available via Amazon.com

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Those who have been awaiting word, Blood Sword is now available in print via Amazon.com.


As posted previously, it's also available as an ebook via Kindle, Nook and Smashwords.

Note: The image will appear in Amazon soon, and some of the novel description will be cleaned up, but I wanted to let those who've been asking know ASAP. 

When it's available via Barnes and Noble, I'll post it as well.
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Saturday, November 12, 2011

O Fortuna by Carl Orff

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My first solid memory of O Fortuna comes from a scene in the 1981 movie, Excalibur. A memorable movie for several reasons. Maybe I'll write a blog post about it some day.

Those who know me know I'm not a big listener of music, but this composition has really stuck with me through the years. It crops up in television and movies, and even occasionally bits in commercials.

O Fortuna plays a small part in my novel, Blood Sword. I guess it's interesting to ponder what can show up in a post-apocalyptic action-adventure fantasy novel.

In any case, below is a link to the song and lyrics (both Latin and English). Listen and enjoy, and consider its message.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

November 8th Election Results

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For those who might be interested, here is the count for Village Council of St. Paris:

Member of Council - St. Paris

Vote For Not More Than 2

Tristan Bogan . . . . . . . . . 343 = 37.20%

Terry W. Ervin II. . . . . . . . 298 = 32.32%

Lynn G. Miller. . . . . . . . . 281 = 30.48%

With a second place finish, that means the citizens of St. Paris have given me the opportunity to serve on the Village Council. I am quite honored and will do my best for them and the village.  Thank you!
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Friday, November 4, 2011

Guest Post at My First Book

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If you have a moment, click on over to Misha's Blog (My First Book) and check out my article on The Best “How To” Books for Writers.

The information and advice might surprise you...or maybe not :)

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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Blood Sword ebook version Available!

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Blood Sword, the second novel in the First Civilization's Legacy series is now available via Kindle USAKindle UK and Smashwords. Nook is still in the works.

Print edition availability coming soon!