Dear Friends and Partners,

Steve and I wish you and your family a Happy New Year, and greet you with the Apostle Paul’s words in 3. John 1:2, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”

The generosity of our many faithful partners have enabled us for 34 years to keep serving those who labor for the Gospel in some of the most dangerous and challenging parts of the world.  We always seek to remain good stewards of the funds entrusted into our hands for proper distribution.  Our  accountability is not only to the Lord, but also to you who give, and to the recipients.  It is an honor to stand in the gap where needs and provisions are bridged, that those yet unreached may hear and receive the Good News of Jesus Christ, be saved and discipled according to Mt 28:18-20!

For those who contributed to The Bridge in 2016, an  itemized 2016 Donor Statement with this report was sent to their postal address.  The statement serves as the official contribution receipt for the IRS.  Since The Bridge International, Inc. is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) religious organization with EIN no. 65-0100609, contributions are exempt from Federal Taxes. 

2016 IN REVIEW – REFLECTIONS

At the moment of this writing we are on the eve of a significant event which history may deem a watershed in the life and history of America:  The inauguration of the 45th President elect Donald Trump which will take place on January 20.  With his new Presidency, there will a momentous shifting in policies and practices from the prior President which certainly will make ripple effects around the globe and affect the political and economic climates in this and many other nations.  This election process was bruising and volatile, resulting in a passionate polarization of the population right down to the grassroots between the political left and right, so much so that in many cases it is causing division between family members and friends.

With all the noise from news agencies and social media, with an avalanche of talking points and opinions inundating and numbing our senses, it is good to step back, allowing the quiet presence of the Lord to flood our hearts and minds with His peace. Political and social engagement is good as long as we remember… that we are in this world, but not of it.  (John 17:15-16); that “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1); that We are called to be salt and light in the world so that God is glorified (Matthew 5:13-16); and that the Apostle Paul appropriately states “You are our letter written in our hearts, known and read of all men.” (2nd Corinthians 3:2)!

Our Christian mandate is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to demonstrate His standards through our daily living. He came to make new creatures (His people) holy through the saving power of the Gospel and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. What we need is not better government, but better men and women in government! 

2016 IN REVIEW – THE MISSION FIELD

The Bridge International continues from its inception 34 years ago to be a “loaf-and-fish”, low cost mainstream evangelical pioneer ministry. We keep serving primarily national believers who effectively are reaching others with the Good News, by coming alongside them and helping sponsor their pioneer evangelism outreaches, church planting, and Bible-based leadership training schools. We help financially assist various mercy ministries launched by new church fellowships into their local communities as an expression of the compassion and love of Jesus toward the needy and hurting.  We also work in partnership with other low-cost, like-minded ministries, by helping them with finances in their effective work among the nationals in challenging regions of the world where the resources are less and the needs are greater.

In November, we published on this website a list of the sponsored missionaries we currently serve overseas.  If you scroll all the way down, you will find a picture of each of them and a short description of who they are, where they serve , and the focus of their ministries.  It is not a complete list, as it only includes those who are comfortable being publicly open about themselves and their Christian activities.  We have omitted a number of others whom we help sponsor, due to security reasons. They live in closed nations to the Gospel where they work clandestinely underground. Exposing them and their Christian activities publicly would pose serious risks of severe persecution, not only toward them and their families, but  toward the believers they serve.

Please note the names of these missionaries and pray for these laborers that they will remain safe and healthy and that the ripe fields they have planted and cared for will harvest hundredfold!  (John 4:35).  This website contains information and updates on each of them, so below, I have chosen to share just a few highlights of needs and blessings for prayers and edification.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Far East

We were able to provide another 17 goats for Varughese Mathew serving the Andaman Islands.  They are added to the prior flock, slowly inching the numbers upwards toward the ultimately goal of 160, which will make his family, church planters and orphans financially self sufficient.  On December 8, they were hit by the cyclone Vardah, which caused damage to some of their property.  I am waiting to receive an assessment of the cost of the damages.

Dawa Buthia is a new addition to our field partners.  An ethnic Tibetan and former Buddhist from Bhutan, he is  founder and leader of Himalayan Good News Networking Ministry with hundreds of pioneer evangelists and church planters. They serve the Lord in the Himalayan mountains among Bhutanese, Indians, Nepalese, and Tibetans. I met Dawa at last summer’s Festival at Troens Bevis in Norway.  In the Fall, he visited Steve and me in our home, which made us come to know him better.  The Bridge helped finance one semester of their church planting ministry school.

Central Asia

Sargon Daniali keeps ministering to his Iranian people in Turkey and beyond.  In spite of the recent unrest in Turkey and increasing hostility toward Christians, the new fellowships of believers in Iran and Turkey are steadily growing in numbers and maturity in faith.  His online Bible teaching ministry also keeps expanding.  Last summer I also spent a few days with him at Troens Bevis in Norway, as he had been invited to visit Iranian believers in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

Yermek Balykbekov sees a slow, but steady growth of new believers among his Kazakh people.  He reports that the government in Kazakhstan is growing more hostile toward Evangelical Christians, having imprisoned a pastor in the region without due process.  Please pray that the doors for the Gospel will remain open!

Our Afghan friends in Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan proper are doing well and growing in faith and fruitfulness!  We helped finance our Kalmykian friend, Sarang Badyev who traveled on an extended visit to completely unreached communities of Kalmykian Buddhists in China and Mongolia to share the Gospel.  He is beginning to see some fruit of faith among his people.

The Middle East

We are deeply grateful for our partners in faith who labor for the Gospel in the Middle East.  The horrific persecution and hardship the Christian believers experience, especially those still living in Syria and Iraq where ISIS has established their Islamic State, are beyond comprehension! Our courageous Arab partner and his team continue to bring Relief Aid to the destitute.  They see tremendous fruit among the people they are serving: 500 Yazidis have come to faith in Jesus Christ, and are now being discipled by local pastors under the oversight of our friend!  One of our Stateside partners donated $10,000 through The Bridge which is helping the mobile medical clinic continue its operation for another year.  The clinic is an evangelistic tool staffed by local Arab Christian doctors and nurses!

Africa

We continue to invest our resources in one of the most volatile and unstable places on earth—Juba, South Sudan.  Matthew Deng Dut keeps on preaching, teaching and mentoring new believes at two locations in spite of the presence of armed conflict which sadly has driven hundreds of thousands of people out of the country into refugee camps in Uganda.  We have opened a small microbank that establishes small cottage industries, and we kept sustaining Matthew and his leaders by meeting their basic needs.

Haiti

The Bridge gave funds to two of our partners who visited Haiti and are actively working on helping the Haitian people recover from the destructive hurricane, Matthew.

Thanks, again, for participating with us in raising the banner – Jesus is the Light in  a very dark world!

 

Dear Friends and Partners:

Happy New Year to you and your family from The Bridge team and our partners around the world!

For those who contributed to The Bridge in 2015, this report with additional IRS information and the enclosed itemized annual Donor Statement have been sent by postal mail to each giver’s mailing address.  Upon request, we will send you The Bridge’s 2015 Finance Report prepared by the CPA firm Cherry Bekaert LLP in Miami, Florida.

On a Personal Note

Last year posed a great challenge in Steve and my life.  At age six, by accident, Steve by fell out of a car in full speed, and has, since then, lived with chronic pain.   Twelve years ago, he had a successful surgery on his spine, which proved it had been broken for a number of years.  This alleviated much of his back pain, but he continued to struggle with neuropathy pain.  When his pain level again began to drastically rise, again, we assumed it came from his spine.  A medical checkup, however, showed he needed a new hip.  On August 25,  Steve underwent hip replacement surgery at a nearby hospital, renowned for its state-of-the-art medical advances.  We were told this was a routine procedure with promise of full recovery and restoration back to normal life in six weeks.

But—alas, Steve developed a serious internal infection!  During a four months period, he amassed almost 50 pounds of body fluid, had re-surgery with exchange of his prosthetics, three more hospitalizations, a three week rehab stay, home care with six weeks massive intravenous antibiotics. Being close to death, he was ready to depart and meet the Lord.  But — miraculously,  Steve came through!  A week ago, he got a clean bill of health from his surgeon!  Now, he is ready to work on bringing his battered body back into shape through rehab and resuming his activities at the gym!

As his wife, I knew God had called me to be right by Steve’s side, so I pulled back on other activities and devoted myself fully to his care. We are so thankful for the medical care available to us!  But above all, we are amazed at God’s healing power, and deeply blessed by His people, both locally, and around the world, who prayed for us, and demonstrated their love in so many practical ways!  Thanks, again to all of you who stood with us!

Through this battle, we never lost sight of believing we were safely tucked under the protective wings of our Heavenly Father (Psalm 91:3-4) so that nothing would come our way that He had not already seen and allowed! Psalm 27:3 kept echoing in my soul and feeding my faith, “I would have despaired had I not believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.“ 

This experience has given Steve and me a fresh appreciation of God’s incredible blessings on us and our fellow Christians living in the West! We enjoy all sufficiency in all things — we may perhaps not have everything we want, but certainly everything we need! On the contrary, practically everyone of our partners live and serve the Lord in nations  hostile to the Christian faith.  They lack many of the things we take for granted.  They are often physically poor; when sick, they often lack proper medical care; some face persecution by their governments and are often ridiculed by their own extended families. Yet, they are undeterred in their commitment to fulfilling God’s call in their lives; they are risk-takers while being steadfast and enduring in the midst of the pressures of life.  They seek to  live according to the Word of God, and have a passion to share the Good News with others regardless of the cost of discipleship!

2015 in Review

Our focus of engagement in 2015 were in four parts of the world: the Andaman Islands (part of India), Central Asia, The Middle East, and East Africa. 

Due to Steve’s health crisis last year, I did not travel overseas.  However, we were able to continue to engage with the people in the field and help resourcing them, thanks to new advances in technology, like social media and communication via Skype where we can speak face to face.

We are so blessed by The Bridge Intercessory Prayer Team, consisting of a small group of individuals from various states in the U.S. who feel called to prayer and have offered to carry the burden of intercession for our ministry and the mission field. They come together on Skype several times a week and intercede for Steve and me, The Bridge’s outreaches, and the indigenous leaders and their ministries we serve overseas.  We all meet every other week when we share our blessings, burdens and needs, news updates, and answers to prayer!  More than once, we have  seen God’s miraculous answers to needs too complex for man to solve!  Through prayer, we have become friends and  equal partners in serving one another and the nations with the Gospel!

A good example of serving one another, are Robert and Sandrina who live in Sarajevo, Bosnia where they have established a beautiful new church in the Muslim section of town. See:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/sarajevo-bosnia-update-by-robert-jurjevich/

Last Fall, they traveled to Turkey where Robert was the speaker at Sargon’s conference for Iranian Christian leaders living in Turkey!  It was a great blessing to both parties and the participants!

Sargon keeps ministering to his people in Turkey and beyond. This has resulted in the planting of seven new fellowships within Iran, and three in Turkey, one for whom we have helped finance a regular meeting place.

Varughese Mathew from the Andaman Islands visited our home in Florida in May. We have been partners with him and his ministry for a number of years.  See:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/andaman-islands-update-varughese-mathew/

Varughese told us that he and his ministry’s two orphanages, their many indigenous missionaries and mission stations throughout the archipelago could become fully financially self sufficient if they could obtain 160 goats at each $120.00.  They already have 10 goats on a piece of land Steve had financially helped him to obtain in the North part of the island, next to a vast national forest. He returned home with finances for 10 goats, with 15 more to come, as well as help toward school supplies for the orphans.  In 2016, we will continue to keep the Goat Project open!

In Central Asia, we continue to help finance two ministries in Kazakhstan, one in Kyrgyzstan, and occasional help toward Afghans who have come to faith in Jesus Christ and are refugees in other Central Asian countries.  We help support a businessman who is engaged in building local communities within Afghanistan, which are quite successful, in spite of the everyday challenges and dangers they face.

We are grateful for the partners in faith who labor for the Gospel in the Middle East.  I believe it is beyond the  ability for us who live securely away from the turmoil and  dangers they continually face, to comprehend the suffering and hardship individual Christians and groups of believers have to endure, especially in Syria and Iraq, where ISIS has established their Islamic State.  Our courageous Arab partner and his team continue to bring his ministry’s and our funds to that area, which finances the relief aid distributed among the traumatized, suffering refugees. In addition, the local believers receive leadership training, which has resulted in the planting of new fellowships of believers who receive care and love.  See:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/northern-iraq-update-from-displaced-iraqis-and-syrians/

We have a heart for both Jews and Arabs, thus serve partners who minister in Israel as well as among other nations in the Middle East.  Due to security reasons, however, I am not at liberty to disclose any specifics.

Sarang, our Kalmykian partner continued to minister to his people in China, Mongolia, and  Russia.

We have several longstanding friends and partners who live and serve in South Sudan—from Nimule in the South,to Tonj towards the North, as well as a courageous American family of five who recently moved from Idaho to serve the Lord in South Sudan.

Last year, we continued our support of the South Sudanese minister, Matthew Dengut, as he keeps on sharing the Gospel with his people in the capital city of Juba. Matthew has survived much hardship, including twice being sick with Malaria; the dangers of living in the middle of civil war; lawlessness in the city streets whereby he and many of his friends have been robbed of their belongings; catastrophic crop failure which now is causing major starvation; widespread unemployment; and a lack of basic infrastructure.  In the midst of these challenges, Matthew and his leadership team have planted three churches, two of them with attendance of  150-200 people each, and have a strong Bible–teaching program for the training of new leaders.  The Bridge sent $1,200 to the church for Gospel outreaches for Christmas – 800 people attended and more than 100 came to faith. A page from my 2013 visit to South Sudan provides you with visual images from the streets of Juba:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/turkey-south-sudan-trip/juba-street-outreach-page-7/

Thank you, again, for walking shoulder to shoulder with us in furthering the Kingdom of God in the nations! I close with Matthew’s words which apply to every nation in today’s world, “So many people live in such darkness and despair.  They need HOPE! We have the LIGHT — JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!  The time is short!  Please help us preach the Gospel and show God’s love to everybody!”

 

 

Dear Friends and Partners:

Steve and I wish you and your family a Happy New Year, and extend our warmest greetings with the Apostle John’s prayer from 3rd John 2 – that all may go well with you and that you may prosper, even as your soul prospers! 

We thank everyone who in various ways partnered with us in 2014 through The Bridge International, especially  those of you who so generously gave of themselves by financial support and prayer on behalf of the missionaries and their mercy ministries we helped sponsor. We are so grateful that so many keep on giving sacrificially toward the furthering of God’s Kingdom in the nations in spite of continued tough economic times.

Those who have contributed to The Bridge International in 2014, have received by postal mail their official contribution receipt for their Federal Tax returns enclosed in this publication.

We always seek to live by the highest standard of integrity in financial matters, knowing we are stewards of the funds entrusted into our hands for proper distribution, thus, our accountability is not only to the Lord, but also to you who give, and to the recipients who receive the gifts abroad.  Upon request we will send you The Bridge’s 2014 Finance Report prepared by the CPA firm Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, L.L.P. in Miami, Florida.

You may have noticed that, a couple of years ago, we changed the format of The Bridge Annual Report.  It has changed from posting the name and picture of each missionary with a short description of their activities and the funds sent — to being more general in nature.  The reason for this,  is that changing times have compelled us to be more protective of the people we serve in the field, most of whom live and work in parts of the world where there is a drastic escalation in the number of perpetrators who aggressively plan and pursue violence, especially  against Christians. The number of countries in which they operate, is also on the rise.

From the inception of The Bridge 32 years ago,  we have sought to be true to God’s call — sharing testimonies from the indigenous church in the nations with the believers in the West for their encouragement, and bringing resources from the West to assist the indigenous church abroad.

Some of our field partners choose to be very open with their lives and testimonies; they are by their own choice featured in The Bridge Report which we publish online and also send out by postal mail. Others, whose names and ministries have never been mentioned in Bridge publications, choose to work quietly “underground”, as they find that works best for them in spreading the Gospel.  We respect both ways, knowing that in their call to serve the Lord they are all driven by the same passion — to see that those yet unreached may hear and receive the Good News of Jesus Christ, and be discipled according to Mt 28:18-20!  

To gain specific information or an update on a field worker or a project you help sponsor, I encourage you to first look at our website www.bridgeinternational.org, send us an email, or call our office.  I would personally be very happy to give you the information you need.

2014 IN REVIEW

Our main focus of engagement in 2014 were in three parts of the world: Central Asia, The Middle East, and South Sudan. 

In the month of April, I had the pleasure of being invited to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Agape Evangelical Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, one of the larger  indigenous ministries in Central Asia. In 1989,  Agape Mission was birthed by four young people who had come to faith in

Jesus Christ during the communist era.  The team began to openly evangelize in streets and parks, and people responded!  In 1991, just after the fall of the Iron Curtain, The Bridge came alongside these new believers and began helping them with resources.  Over the years, Mission Agape became Agape Evangelical Center which is the umbrella covering a large local church; a number of local mercy outreaches to the poor, prisoners, elderly, and orphans; a Bible College for the training of church planters and missionaries; 60 satellite churches planted in other parts of the region, including China; and an effective Drug Rehabilitation Center housingnearly 100 people who are being gloriously set free from a life of bondage by the power of God!  Needless to say, my visit to Agape, as always, was joyous, faith-building and encouraging!  To familiarize yourself with this ministry, please read the following Bridge Reports online at:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/pdf/may2009.pdf

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/pdf/july2009.pdf

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/pdf/august2009.pdf

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/kazakhstan-almaty-agape-evangelical-centers-25th-anniversay-celebration/

In Kazakhstan, I also took the train North to the  city of Karaganda, where I had a delightful few days with Yermek Balykbekov and his family, who are ministering to their own Kazakh people.  I was received with the characteristically warmhearted hospitality for which the Kazakh and other people groups in that part of the world are known.

www.bridgeinternational.org/kazakhstan-r-k-s-visit-to-yermek-balykbekov-in-karaganda/

While in Central Asia, I also took a side-trip to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where I met up with a lovely Russian family to whom I was introduced to in 2003.  They are ministering to the Russian-speaking people in the city.  I stayed with a delightful, young Tajik-Uzbek family who have a passion to disciple teenage boys who have been released from State orphanages – ill prepared, without having anywhere to go. I also met a wonderful group of expats from Canada, America, and Europe who serve the Kyrgyz people in various ways with much love and care.

I also spent time with several Afghans I had to come to know prior to my visit.  During subsequent  trips to Norway, Germany, and Holland, I also met up with a number of Afghans who have come to faith in Jesus Christ – even one living in the regional city near my home village!  Two decades ago, for a couple of years, Steve and I personally financed a grade school for the children of the approx. 2000 Afghans refugees who had fled to Kazakhstan from the Russian Army who had invaded their homeland.  God gave us a deep love and respect for this beautiful, strong, self-sufficient, fiercely independent mountain people who, regretfully, have been so turned away from God’s purposes by the darkness of Islam and generations of tribal conflict. Today, a new generation of Afghans who have only known war, is emerging in the nations. Some of them have come into a dynamic, deep, life–changing relationship with Jesus Christ as the Son of God; others are cunningly hiding behind the Christian faith to gain favors – for them lies and deceit are the order of the day.  We need an extra measure of wisdom and discernment, as well as persistence, to effectively minister the love of God to the Afghan people!

That brings us to the Middle East.  For security reasons, I am not at liberty to disclose specifics on our partnerships, nor the extent of our service to the peoples in that region of the world.  Suffice it to say that we have a heart for both Israel and the Arab nations, and serve partners who  minister in both places.  Those who remain steadfast in their faith in the face of persecution and insurmountable obstacles and risk to themselves and their families’ safety and life, put much of the Western church, with its superficial, self-centered preaching, to shame.  They embody the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 2:15-16, demonstrating they are Children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which they shine like stars in the universe as they hold out the word of life!

The Bridge helped raise funds to relieve the profound suffering of some of the refugees who fled to Northern Iraq from the areas in Central Iraq and Syria that have been decimated by the Islamic extremist group ISIS.  We funneled the funds through the ministry of an Arab friend and partner who now travels regularly with his wife to Northern Iraq, while distributing the relief aid and ministering the love and comfort of Jesus to the traumatized, suffering refugees.  He allowed us to publish his first trip report (take note of  his last few paragraphs).  It is to be found at:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/north-iraq-relief-aid-for-syrian-and-iraqi-refugees/

South Sudan, the newest country in the world, continues to be at a crisis point with massive government corruption, lack of good leadership on all levels, and absence of basic infrastructure.  The President and the former Vice President are still in armed conflict over unresolved power issues; although there is presently cease-fire, it is anticipated that war may erupt again at any time.

Although The Bridge has longstanding relationships with dynamic ministries both in the North and the South of the country, our focus in 2014 was to continue the partnership with the two young men who returned to their new country in 2011, and now living in and not far from the capital of Juba.  They  are both pioneering  and struggling to help their people under the most arduous circumstances.  The following link gives you an overview of the people and ministries we serve in South Sudan:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/turkey-south-sudan-trip/

Thank you again for walking shoulder to shoulder with us in furthering the Kingdom of God in the nations. Let us be mindful of the words of Jesus in John 9:4 — Let us continue to work together while it is day, the night is coming when no one can work!