New Mission Systems International, Australia

Christmas Newsletter 2011

2011-12-21T23:40:00.000-06:00

Click here to view our Christmas newsletter.

November Newsletter

2011-11-01T21:40:00.000-05:00

Click here for to read our latest newsletter:

Quest Camp 2011

2011-11-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

Worship Time

Group time

Messy games day

Messy Games Day

Extra Messy Games

Burning off some energy

Josiah and Clara had a great time at camp!

Teens

Tim & Lisa Jones from Washington DC came out to be the guest speakers for the camp. They did an excellent job and were lots of fun.

mmmmm. camp food.

Tim praying with one of the young adults.

Group banner with camp theme/logo. (The only multicolored hand is mine!)

We had an awesome group and a great weekend (even though I was sick at home)

September Newsletter

2011-09-26T01:37:00.000-05:00

Click Here to view our September Newsletter

Newsletter Pictures

2011-09-25T23:15:00.000-05:00

Ladies High Tea

Church during Ladies High Tea Event

Jesse, Jim Newman, Kerry Allen

CCOC Soccer Team 2011

CCOC Youth Group

Hot Summer Down Under

2011-02-04T22:29:00.001-06:00

We've had quite a contrast between our February and our families back in the States!

The Beginning of Our Aussie Adventure

2011-01-17T19:15:00.001-06:00

First of all, let me just say thank you. Thank you all for your wonderful support of our family. God has used you all to bless us in so many ways!

We have been in Charlestown for just over 2 months now and things are beginning to feel "normal." So much has happened I couldn't possibly relay all of it to you so I thought I would give an overview and show you some pictures of what we have been up to so far.

The welcome we've received has been great (even if they spelled it wrong).

We have had the opportunity to try some new things, some better than others. I'm told kids fight over these at lunch, not sure why??? A dinner role with sugary-frosting and sprinkles - nutritious :)

Our first holiday away from home, Thanksgiving. We were blessed to be able to share it with some other American missionaries. Someone even sent our friend Rob (the bread thumb guy) a can of cranberry sauce which you cannot get here. We ate it all.

Christmas got here fast and as you can imagine, there was a lot going on.

We took some people from the church and kids from the youth group to 2 local nursing homes. It was a great opportunity to show God's love to people. They were really blessed. Josiah was a big hit with the old folks!

Cynthia and kids did their best to make our home "Christmas-y." We received lots of cards and even some presents for the kids - thank you all for going out of your way to do something nice for us. It makes us feel close even though we're so far away.

We had an incredible turnout for our Christmas morning (yes, that is morning and not eve) service. Almost a full house!

Cynthia and I have both been working on our relationships with the people in the church and the different opportunities to minister to people. One of the things Cynthia will continue to work on is our Play Buddies ministry. This is a community outreach where mothers can bring their preschool aged children for a play date every Friday and the mums (as they say here) get to hang out with other mums and get out of the house.

With the exception of my own family, not one of these kids or their mums attend church. Play Buddies has 30+ non-Christian families that they serve each Friday morning. Please pray that God will bless these woman as they reach into our community to share Jesus' love.

This year marks 10 years of ministry for me and in 10 years this is one of the most memorable and unique opportunities to share the Gospel I have had. Over 15 children and their mums (even a couple dads) who are not believers were able to hear the message of salvation as I was invited to share the Christmas story with the kids during the Play Buddies Christmas party. Many of these women and children have never heard this message from the Bible before.

Josiah and Clara love going to Play Buddies!

One of the ways we are trying to integrate the women of Play Buddies into the church is through the Women's Ministry.

Some fun stuff we've done.

Unfortunately, this is not my living room.

This goanna was probably as big as they get, about 6-7 feet long. He was hanging around a camp ground facility we were visiting, probably looking for a small child to eat.

Having fun all the time is hard work.

Josiah and Clara chasing a wallaby. I think Clara wanted to keep it. They were about the same size.

One new thing - well, I guess everything is sort of new - is that Josiah is going to start taking Karate lessons. This will be good for him and will be one of the only opportunities for me to spend time with non-church members.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and your support. We have been doing a lot of observing and evaluating the last 2 months and are ready to head into this new year with enthusiasm and high expectations of what God can do here.

Please be in prayer for:

our family and acclimating to our new home here in Australia
our different ministries - youth, women, children, Sunday mornings
and particularly pray for our church leadership which is facing some trials

God bless you all!

Settling In

2010-11-24T02:26:00.000-06:00

We've been doing a lot the first two weeks to get settled into our new home. The kids, however, have it pretty easy so far.

All 11 bags made it and surprisingly none of them broke!

Clara is always lots of help...

Clara and Josiah LOVE going to youth group.

So far it's been a big cool and windy to go to the beach. Not to mention we've just been too busy.

Clara likes to play in her closet.

This little Rosella has been landing on our front porch and squawking a lot lately, I finally snuck up on him to get his picture.

Once he saw me he flew away, then I heard him out back (he's loud!).

It was unfortunate to find out this is the reason he's been around. He and his mate have been nesting in our roof. Not cool.

Critters

2010-11-24T02:15:00.000-06:00

We get lots of interesting bugs and critters around the pool/patio area.

not so nice to find...

always see lots of these guys, blue tongue lizards, this one was smaller, about 12"

these purple trees are beautiful, but all those pretty purple flowers end up in the pool :(

November Newsletter

2010-11-19T22:14:00.000-06:00

Page 1

Page 2

It's All Greek To Me! Worship

2010-11-17T00:51:00.002-06:00

Sermon Series: It's All Greek To Me!

Title: Worship - Proskuneo

Part 1 of 3

Date: 11/14/10

To save the .mp3 file, right click on the sermon title then click "download linked file"

Ready to Go

2010-11-05T16:14:00.001-05:00

We managed to fit our entire lives into just 11 bags. We are ready to go!

Our Last Week

2010-11-01T15:30:00.000-05:00

We are counting the days until we leave this Saturday. Packing up our luggage, putting things in storage, all the fun stuff. Thanks for helping us reach our goals!

Please be in prayer for our upcoming move.

Itinerary:
Saturday, November 6
   fly to LA, 4 hours
   spend the night in a hotel.
Sunday, November 7
   fly to Auckland, New Zealand, 14 hours
Tuesday, November 9 (time mysteriously vanishes...)
   fly to Sydney, Australia, 3 hours
   drive to Charlestown, 2 hours

Answered Prayers

2010-08-18T15:06:00.003-05:00

Our recent trip to Panama for the NMSI Regional Conference was great.

I once heard someone say, "If you pray for patience, God won't give you patience, He will give you an opportunity to practice patience." That has certainly felt like the case for our family. We have been praying with you for about 15 months to have patience while we wait for our immigration paper work to be completed. It feels good to be able to tell people that it is all finally finished. We have been approved for and granted a 3 year work visa!

We will spend the next weeks preparing to make our move to Charlestown, Australia. We will let everyone know when we have a departure date, but it is looking like we will be moving in the month of October.

Praise God - even when we don't know how or why, we can trust that things are working in His time and for His purposes.

Please continue to pray as we finish up our support raising and make arrangements to leave. We have a lot to do and the time will go by fast!

Thank you all again for your prayers and support through this period of testing. We could not have done it without you. :)

Fingerprints

2010-03-11T14:55:00.003-06:00

The Story of Cynthia's Fingerprints

Many of you have asked, so here goes...

The Australian government has a step by step process we are following to the ends that we will be able to live and work (at the church) in Australia. Otherwise, we would have to hop on a plane and leave the country every 3 months and that doesn't make much sense.

So, first the church applies to be our "sponsor." Then we apply to fill this sponsored position. The visa we are applying for is a specific and very detailed one giving us very strict regulations on what we can and cannot do while "temporarily" living in Australia. The visa is an old school Religious Worker's visa which is a subclass of a Temporary Cultural Visa/Temporary Work Visa. I was asked to submit a plethora of information and documentation validating my ability and credentials to fill this sponsored work visa. (They do not really want jobs going to non-Australians - imagine that...)

Anyway, after the application from the church, my personal application, my credentials and such, we were asked to submit some pretty standard paperwork - birth certificates, passports, local police records and, alas, FBI background checks for Cynthia and me.

Obtaining a FBI report is a "simple" process, really. You get your fingerprints taken old school ink on card style. Then, you fill out a request form, pay your 18 bucks and send it off to the CJIS Department in West Virginia (I guess they are "hiding" there). Next, wait 8-10 weeks (now updated to 13!) and you will receive a simple document stating, "No Record Found." Awesome, right?

The time line goes something like this:

December - beginning of month Jesse & Cynthia fingerprinted & submit request
January - beginning of month receive Jesse's report, Cynthia's prints rejected due to lack of clarity, resubmit Cynthia's prints
March - first week of March we decide to try a "short cut" to get her prints done, visit a private security agency which assures us they can get us her report in about a week
March - 2nd week, Cynthia's 2nd submission of prints reject again for lack of clarity, the next day we receive a report from the private security agency - problem, the report is NOT and FBI report but a MO State Hwy Patrol report, sent it to the Australian Immigration department anyway
March 9 - immigration officer informs the report is not an FBI report and will not be accepted
March 10 - Cynthia fingerprinted AGAIN, resubmitted the standard way AGAIN, PAY AGAIN, and now we wait...

Please pray for our patience and strength as we put our faith in God's timing and plans for us.

Prayer Request

2009-11-19T10:48:00.002-06:00

We just received this email from a colleague of ours in Australia:

Dear Praying Friends

I have been asked by a member of the Church of *************, to request all our friends to join in prayer for this congregation to resist the introduction of a lady elder and her charismatic styles into the church.

Some members have already left the church. Unfortunately this is not the only congregation to have left the 'old paths' and adopted emotional and culturally accepted ways in place of true Bible practices and doctrines.

Let us pray and 'contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.'

We thank you in advance for taking the time to read this email and for joining with us in prayer.

Your brother in Christ, **********

Making Progress!

2009-10-26T13:36:00.003-05:00

We've got a bit of bad news and some very good news...

Bad News - Swine Flu has hit the Frame family house. I have been sick for almost a week, though I am feeling much better now. Hopefully I'll be back to normal in another day or two. Josiah is no longer sick and Cynthia seems to have fought illness back successfully. Clara had a fever which has passed but she is still not quite eating normal. Please pray that we will all get well soon and back to normal.

Good News! - Our visa application is being successfully processed (and seemingly without problems) as I type. We have sent out for our FBI background checks and Clara's passport both within the last couple days. We are expecting to have both back in less than a month--please pray that this happens! These last two things are the last on our long list of additional requirements. We have confirmed with our immigration officer that all we need to do is submit her passport and birth certificate and Clara can be easi

ly added to our application.

Everything has gone very smoothly with no problems, less the swine flu...

And we are confident at this point that all will approved

and we will be on our way soon.

God is good and we trust in His timing. Thank you for your continued prayer and support, we'd be lost without you.

God bless,

ps - Clara is doing great!

Very Important Prayer Request

2009-09-09T20:22:00.003-05:00

We've been preparing and praying together for a long time. The day is growing very close when we will pack our bags for the final time and be on our way to Australia.

We have a very important prayer request for you all. We've been waiting for the church's approval as our visa sponsor so that we can apply for our visa to live and work in Australia. We just received an email from our Australian correspondent stating that the Australian government is changing (again) immigration laws and this time it will affect us. We were instructed to submit our visa application BEFORE being able to fully complete it - the church has not been approved YET and we haven't even started Clara's passport application YET. We are confident that everything is in the Lord's hands and will work out in his time.

Please pray that God will cause the Immigration Department to show favor on us, NOT throw out our application because of its incompleteness, and not to have to start it all over again waiting 2-4 more months for processing and re-paying all the application fees.

A New Addition

2009-09-09T20:10:00.003-05:00

It is my great pleasure to announce the arrival of

Clara May Frame

Born September 4, 2009 @ 7:56am

6 lbs. 15 ounces, 19.5 inches

Cynthia and Clara are both doing well at home and we appreciate all your thoughts, cards, prayers and love. Thank you all.

A Couple Bucks...

2009-08-29T13:13:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to give any Dr. Pepper drinkers a heads-up before they come visit Australia. You might want to bring a couple extra bucks, just in case you get thirsty.

High Hill Camp

2009-07-24T11:39:00.004-05:00

Last week we were invited to be the Camp missionaries. We had a great time, especially getting all the Americans to have a vegemite eating contest... Always fun.

Thanks for all the support High Hill, you guys did an awesome job with your donations!

Gotta Love Rugby!

2009-07-11T22:07:00.001-05:00

Not At All Spiritual

2009-06-22T23:35:00.001-05:00

"In a first-ever attempt to gauge how teenagers around the world 'grade' their relationship with God and their interest in 'spirituality,' researchers with Search Institute in Minnesota surveyed more than 7,000 kids in 8 countries."

- as stated in Group Magazine, Jan/Feb 2009

The results? Even though the American church is fretting over their teens, 52% stated that they consider themselves to be "very" or "pretty" spiritual. Compare that to thelowest ranked country in the survey, Australia, where 47% said they're not at all spiritual.

Australia needs Christian youth workers!

Heartbreaking Abortion Article

2009-05-16T20:16:00.003-05:00

Page 1 Page 2

This is an article from Celebrate Life Magazine, May-April 2009.
It is a graphic description of current abortion related issues in Australia.

Now That We're Home

2009-04-23T06:11:00.004-05:00

Just a quick update to let you all know that we are back in the swing of things at home. We are putting together a newsletter/report of our trip that will be mailed ASAP. In the mean time, we wanted you to be aware of what is happening right now.

Easter Sunday

The church is meeting on the 26th of April to have a congregational vote about having us back to fulfill the ministry position there. They are having (have had 1) prayer meetings to ask God's blessing and guidance on the situation. Here is a short letter I received from one of the men of the church just a couple days ago:

"I just thought I would write and let you know how our Q and A and prayer time went last night. It has been storming pretty bad here...lots of rain and wind...and last night it was pretty bad but we had a good core group of people that came. The discussion was good...all thoughts were positive and practical. There was some discussion about how the Church would support you guys spiritually, physically, and financially and we prayed about that. We also talked about the finances more specifically as it has to do with the weekly giving..and prayed about that....with faith believing that He would provide new young families to make up the gap. We also talked about a complete approach to ministry making sure the older folks were thought of in regards to ministry...not that you would have to do that yourself but address that as a leadership. Overall I thought it was great and the people are one step closer. We have another hour of prayer on the 25th and then the meeting on the 26th...
Love and hugs... you guys were truly prayed for last night...about 40 minutes...for you, josiah, baby and all
Love ya
Rob and Lynne"

In the coming months, 3 main things will be happening - 1. the church will first apply for it's ability to sponsor our visa followed by our own visa application, 2. Cynthia will give birth to our baby girl the first week of September, and 3. God willing, we will be packing up and moving back to Australia for our first full term of service shortly after that.
As always, your prayers about these things would be much appreciated and we look forward to speaking with many of you over the next few months before we leave.
God bless you all - and thank you for all the encouragement and support.

Jesse

When we told him, Josiah was pretty excited to hear that "baby" was going to be "baby sister."

Josiah's Missions Story

2009-04-16T16:52:00.002-05:00

Wrapping Up Our Trip

2009-03-23T06:13:00.005-05:00

Only about a week left until we head home. It will be nice to slow down and relax, have time to pray and reflect, and have normal American food! We have experienced so much over the last 6 weeks it is hard to put it all in words.

I think we have come to understand what it will take to minister here, what some of the needs are for the community, and what our role will be with this church. It will certainly be a challenge battling not only the apathy but the antagonism towards the church in Australia. Plain and simple, for a lot of people in Australia, it is difficult to live out your faith. And from what I've seen that is especially true for high school students. I've been able to be in the public schools here a number of times teaching, speaking, and volunteering as much as I can and I have an increased desire to not only equip our own ministry but to actively be recruiting others (particularly experienced youth leaders) to come to Australia and work at building the Lord's Kingdom here.

Some exciting news - we have two teens in the youth group who are thinking through making the commitment to be baptized! God is working here and we are blessed to be a small part of that!

Please be in prayer for the ministry here, the students and their decisions, that God would raise up Christian leaders in and for Australia, our last week here to be effective, and our safe return home!
God bless you all as you share our burdens.

One of the best parts about youth ministry is getting to make other people look ridiculous! All for Jesus, right?
So I decided last week since I was preaching about JUDGMENT that I needed to break out the BIG BIBLE!

One of the elders from the church and his wife took us for a pick-nick in the Watagans - the small "mountain" range about 30 minutes inland from Newcastle. From the overlooks you can see down into the Hunter Valley and basically the whole coastline.

Backyard Friends

2009-03-23T05:52:00.002-05:00

There are so many great animals just wandering around in Australia!

These are probably my favorite bird flying around our back yard - a Crimson Rosella. You only see birds like these in pet stores in the US.
I've been told that these Stick Bugs in Australia can get over 18 inches long!
These are very common and a bit startling at first. The Blue Tongue Lizard, appropriately named because they try to look scary by sticking out their bright blue tongues. This guy was probably about 16 inches long, average size. He was sunning on our back patio when Cynthia found him.

So Little Life...

2009-03-11T05:19:00.003-05:00

Greetings everyone.

Today I was at one of the local high schools spending some time with a small "Christian" group that meets during their lunch hour. After a brief bit of games and a short lesson, we broke up into groups to discuss things further.

I've been around many non-Christian high schoolers - the good, the bad and the ugly - but I was shocked at just how meaningless their lives seemed to be. Not just my judgment over them, but by their own admissions and attitudes. We had 4 girls in our group. The first told us, "I just found out my boyfriend is gay." The second went in to a detailed explanation of how important it was for her to read her horoscopes for the week (she was a "christian.") And the other two both seemed utterly depressed that they had nothing of "importance" to share with the group.
It really broke my heart.
Please pray that God will raise up workers to minister in this dark and depressed place.
Jesus said, "I came to bring life."
Australia is a place missing its life.

JF

Supporting World Vision

2009-03-10T01:29:00.000-05:00

I'll be running in the Inaugural Illinois Marathon (Half) on April 11, 2009. I thought it would be a good idea to start running for a cause so I chose World Vision, a great organization that helps starving kids around the world. I'm trying to raise $10 per mile of the race.

Click the donate link below to find out more!
Thanks.

NMSI Annual Stewardship Report

2009-03-09T05:54:00.001-05:00

CLICK HERE TO VIEW NMSI'S 2008 ANNUAL REPORT

Prayer Request

2009-03-01T05:23:00.003-06:00

Hey Everyone,

Just another quick update. We are getting along well here in Charlestown. We've been kept fairly busy getting to know many people at the church, leading youth group and young believers as well as preaching on Sunday morning. Please pray that each of those ministries will be encouraged with our short stay here.
One special prayer request is that the church here is going through the process of electing elders and deacons for the following year. Please pray that God will direct the hearts of the people and His men will placed in leadership positions to better the ministry here.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. We miss you all, but I won't hesitate to brag about how beautiful Australia is. We have been able to see a number of beaches and nature researves in the area. Today we went to the Blackbutt Nature Reserve just down the road and all three of us we able to pet a couple koalas.

Prayer Request

2009-02-24T06:23:00.002-06:00

G'day Everyone,
Please be in prayer as I start planning the lessons for the following year for the youth group here. Also, please pray for us and the other missionaries (Rob & Lynne Branham and Time & Dawn Yates) as we meet tomorrow morning to discuss/plan/pray about the church plant.

Australia Pictures

2009-02-20T06:00:00.003-06:00

My first taste of "fairy bread." Bread, butter and sprinkles. I'm told it's a pretty common snack for kids.

My first night with the full youth group - about 30 kids, most of which do not go to church.

One of our most recent house guests - a 6" huntsman spider.

Dudley beach, just a short run from the house. One of the many gorgeous areas around Newcastle.

Josiah loves that our house has a pool - I don't because I have to clean it!

First Days in Charlestown

2009-02-16T20:42:00.004-06:00

The manse where we will be living.
Josiah sleeping on the flight over.

We are surviving...
After a long trip, preaching my first sermon in Australia and meeting more people than we can remember their names, life is a bit chaotic at the moment. We are, however, able to slow down the next couple days, get settled in our home and begin planning out our time for the next 6 weeks.
Church was very much the same as a small congregation would be back home. In fact, it was a bit reminiscent of Park Plaza CC in Joplin where Cynthia and I worked for 2 years.
Communication is bit more difficult than I remembered from my last trip. Honestly, there were some people we spoke with on Sunday morning that we could not understand at all! On the other hand, I think my sermon was received well and Lord was able to communicate through me about the very important and much needed idea of Christians supporting one another.
Sunday night, we had the Young Believers group meet at our house. YB is the core of the youth group kids who meet to do a bit more in depth Bible study. They seem like a great group and we are looking forward to being very involved with them for the next 2 months.
It has been a little hard on Josiah with the time change, food he does not like, a new bed, a new house and all new people. Please pray that he (as well as Cynthia and I) begins to adjust to his new surroundings.
When I came to Australia before, I never went grocery shopping. I still haven't been, but Cynthia has and it was a bit of a shock when just a couple bags of groceries rang up as over 200 dollars. Even with the exchange rate, most things cost about double. Toothpaste costs about $8 here, more than $5 U.S. They have many of the same things here in Australia, but they are not really the same. Normal things like sodas and cheese taste very different. All lemonade is carbonated. Mountain Dew is NOT Mountain Dew!
All in all, things are going well. There is such a great opportunity here for the gospel and we are so privileged to be a part of God's work. Thank you all for your prayers and support. We miss you already.

- Jesse

On the Ground

2009-02-12T22:14:00.002-06:00

Just a quick update:

Thank you all for the prayers. We arrived safely with little problems here in Australia. We are staying the first couple nights with the other missionaries, then we will head over to our house and spend the next 7 weeks living and working in Charlestown.
I'll write some more after a shower and a good nights sleep!

- Jesse

Prayer Guides

2009-02-06T16:32:00.003-06:00

Please print a copy to hang on your fridge!

Thank you all for the great support!

Charlestown Church & Manse

2009-02-01T13:50:00.000-06:00

Check out our new place. If you scroll to the left you can see the church next door. Use the arrows on the street to move, use the arrows on the compass to change your view.

View Larger Map

Our Visit to Charlestown Church of Christ

2009-01-29T15:18:00.003-06:00

The countdown has begun. We leave for Australia in just 13 days! We will be making a preliminary visit to the Charlestown Church of Christ just outside of Newcastle, Australia from February 11 through April 1. While there, Cynthia and I will live in the church's manse (parsonage) and take on a temporary role with the church preaching and leading the youth group.
We are so excited about how God has opened up the wonderful door of opportunity. Things are falling into place and we credit that to much of the prayers that you have said on our behalf. Thank you and keep praying!
While we are gone we will try to keep in communication with this blog site. Please check back often between those dates to see what we're up to.
I know what many of you are thinking: "Wow, Newcastle looks like such a rough place to live. How will they ever do it?" But, rest assured, the Lord will give us strength to brave the 85 degree weather (as apposed to the sub 25 degree weather we've had for the past 2 weeks here), and maybe even the courage enough to venture through the grueling sand and surf of the Australian beaches...
On a more serious note, we are excited about the opportunity to work with a small community of believers and the challenges of being in a culture that has brushed Christianity under the rug. Please pray that God will give us wisdom and guidance during this important trip.

December Newsletter

2008-12-14T19:44:00.002-06:00

Back Home

2008-10-24T15:31:00.002-05:00

Jesse and Cynthia with Phil and Gwen Hudson (president of NMSI)

We've made back to Missouri safely. Thank you for all your prayers. We had an amazing time in Bulgaria and Greece. Cynthia and I were able to attend classes ranging from Anthropology in Missions to Parenting on the Field and more. On top of the learning we were able to spend 2 weeks catching up with about 50 of our friends from around the world and meeting about 200 more. It was really a blessing to hear stories, pray for needs and just fellowship with so many who are serving all over the globe.

We were also able to think about and make plans for our own work in Australia and how that is developing. We will get everyone up to date on our progress and plans in our newsletter coming out in December. Until then, please be in prayer as we continue our support raising with as many meetings as possible during the month of November.

More from Bulgaria

2008-10-06T14:58:00.003-05:00

The conference has been wonderful. Cynthia have gone to classes ranging from raising missionary kids to anthropological studies in missions and a handful of stuff in between. Top at the list, though, of what has made it so special is reconnecting with old friends, meeting all the missionaries from around the world and hearing their amazing stories of what God is doing.

The food has been ok except that we have the exact same thing everyday:
Breakfast - cucumbers, tomatoes, eggs, sardines, cheese (lots of cheese) and some deli meat.
Lunch - cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, various skuered/grilled meats.
Dinner - cucumbers, tomatoes (yes, all 3 meals), chicken and either rice or potatoes
This has pretty much not varies since day 1.

Cynthia and I had a chance to get out in to the surrounding areas the last couple days and take some neat pictures of the Roman ruins, the hot springs, excavation sites, ancient Thracian pagan temples... It has been really cool.

We have 2 days left of classes and we will be off to Thessaloniki.

Worship with the Gypsies

2008-10-03T01:48:00.003-05:00

Last night was pretty interesting. We were blessed to have a group of Bulgarians play us some worship songs from one of the local churches. They were Roma Gypsies, a distinct people group in Bulgaria.

Hissar, Bulgaria Hotel

2008-10-02T15:02:00.002-05:00

Good old McDonalds
The View inside the room isnt anything to brag about...
But the view looking out of our balcony is pretty great.
This is the town of Hissar, Bulgaria looking in the other directionThough the hotel is fairly nice, our neighbors don't have it so good...

Our trip has gone well so far. We start our classes & seminars tomorrow morning.
There are a few bags (not ours) that are still missing, a few missionaries who are sick, and a few missionaries that were denied access to the country so please be in prayer for those.

Thank you for pillows...

2008-10-02T02:15:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know we made here just fine. Thanks for the prayers. We will keep you updated and post some pictures soon.
JF

Missions Conference

2008-09-29T23:38:00.006-05:00

Cynthia and I will be leaving tomorrow morning (Sept. 30) to fly to Bulgaria and Greece for 2 weeks. We will be attending the NMSI Triennial Conference.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
- safe, no hassle travel
- no illnesses
- Josiah will behave and do well as he stays home with grandma (and Cynthia as she leaves him for 2 weeks!)
- the conference would go well
- we would learn and grow a lot

Something is Missing...

2008-08-05T15:20:00.004-05:00

This is a small clip taken from The Pines Training Centre website, a Bible College and Ministry Training center near Brisbane, AU.

"As I look at the Church in Australia, particularly as I look at the top level leadership, I fear we are missing something, something we were created to have and experience but something which we are fearful of reclaiming, perhaps even a little embarrassed to mention. Or depending upon the doctrine we believe a little reluctant to pick up on."
(quote from Dean Thomas)

He goes to say what they are missing is creativity and freedom. The creativity and freedom to let God out of the "box" Australia has locked Him inside. My prayer is that God will continue to open the eyes of effective leaders in Australia so that the Gospel message may be set free to change that nation.

Another really good article to read about the church in Australia and church planting in general is Re-inventing the Church in Australia.

New Church Suppporter

2008-07-30T19:08:00.002-05:00

We are again excited that God has provided more support. My home church, Port Orange Christian Church, has joined our support team this month. God continues to build us up and encourage us. Please keep praying that support will come and we will be on our way to Brisbane in no time.

New Church Suppporter

2008-05-19T15:10:00.002-05:00

We're excited about First Christian Church of Washington, MO coming on board as a new supporter this month. This is Cynthia's home church where she grew up, learned about and experienced missions for the first time. We're glad to be a part of the ministry that's happening through FCC both here in Washington and around the world through their missions program.
Praise God for his continued provision.

Prayer Request

2008-04-07T15:08:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone, there is something very important that I would like you all to pray about.

I have just been presented with an interesting opportunity. I've been speaking with an organization that provides graduate level education through the internet, they work in "closed" and hostile-to-Christianity countries so I cannot post their name.
(if you would like more information, please contact me)

They are an organization that provides online Masters Degrees in business. The "business plan" is simple--set up a mentoring center from where the students will complete necessary elements of their degrees, network with business leaders in the area to be student mentors, and use this as a means to gain a long-term visa and a stable platform from which to do ministry.

This may seem like a hindrance, running a business, rather than an asset but after speaking with a representative today, I'm convinced it would be a perfect ministry spring board in the area where we will be.

My prayer request is this: that the Holy Spirit would give me focus and clarity on God's Will, that we would know for certain that this is God's plan, that we can remain true to our calling to minister to the people of Australia, and that any negatives concerning this course of action would present themselves immediately to be dealt with.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.
God continues to amaze me and Cynthia around every corner of our lives.

We Made It

2008-04-01T20:28:00.004-05:00

Well, we're back--and drowning in a sea of "to-dos." COAT was an experience of a lifetime. I can honestly say that our time in the NMSI community was life changing. Not just as a missionary, but as a Jesus follower. I'm not sure that I could describe it any better than simply this:
we lived as the church.That may sound like a big "DUH" statement at first but think about it. When was the last time you publicly confessed a sin you were struggling with and was embraced and encouraged rather than sneered at and looked down upon? When was the last time you wept over another's hurt, when was the last time you celebrated with another's healing?

I've spent time in some wonderful churches and truly felt loved and challenged. But I can say without hesitation that I've never been in a place that functioned as the body of Christ the way the NMSI campus did. If I could pick one thing that I brought home with me, though there are many, it would be this idea of Christian Community. I want it. I want to make it. It will forever be a life pursuit.

Thank you all for praying for us during our travels and our training. God has certainly blessed us and kept us safe these last two months (neither Cynthia nor Josiah got sick!!!) Our support is growing and I'm confident we will meet our goal of January departure.

Finishing COAT

2008-03-22T18:54:00.007-05:00

It's official, we have a pin!

Cynthia and I cannot express how much we have benefited from being here at the NMSI campus. Our COAT training program, fellow missionaries, and the leadership here at the mission have made a lasting impact on our ministry, marriage and family. We have been confirmed over and over again that we are following God's Will for our lives and this has been an enormous step for us.

Our Goals and Timeline:

we will return home and focus all our energy on meeting our budget goals
we would like to have all our fund raising completed by the end of this summer
we plan on spending the holidays with our family around the US one last time
God willing, we will depart for Australia in January (ONLY 10 MONTHS!)

Thanks for continuing to support us through prayer and generous giving!

Our First Weeks at NMSI

2008-02-06T16:25:00.001-06:00

Our duplex for 8 weeks.

NMSI owns a block of housing so we all live in community together and share responsibilities.

The Center for Global Outreach (CGO) is the NMSI headquarters located here in Ft. Myers.

We've been here in Fort Myers for almost 2 weeks now and we are finally starting to feel "settled," or as close to it as we can. We've had a lot of long busy days and have many more to come. On the 15th we will be given the final approval for becoming affiliates of NMSI. We knew coming here that this organization would have a lot to offer us, but I've definitely been surprised at just how much that really is. We're thankful for being here and for your continued support. We'll keep you updated on what's going on.

COAT Program in Florida

2008-01-21T18:49:00.000-06:00

Greetings everyone.
We just wanted to let you all know that we will be traveling to Fort Myers, Florida for the next 8 weeks (Jan. 29-March 28) to participate in New Mission Systems Inernational's COAT Program.
This will be a process for us to affiliate Australia Christian Ministries with NMSI, a great and much anticipated step for us. Please visit the NMSI website for details.

December Newsletter

2007-12-13T23:34:00.001-06:00

SPLICE Week 2

2007-11-12T22:13:00.000-06:00

We have finished our 2nd week of training here at MTI and to be honest we feel wiped out. The combination of a sick baby, long class hours and the deep, heavy material being covered is enough to make us want to take a vacation to Colorado... That being said, we have worked our way through many topics, issues and lessons that I am certain will give us the ability to survive long-term on the mission field. Add that on top of hours of great conversation and fellowship and you get 3 weeks of irreplaceable memories. Cynthia and I have listened to so many stories from the other missionaries here: growing up in Papua New Guinea speaking Pigeon and wearing loin clothes, being shot at by communist soldiers in Nepal, eating grubs in Australia, having worms growing out of your arm in Africa, getting detained in a Brazilian airport with no passport because it was stolen, a first year nursing student delivering twins in a concrete village hospital in the mountains, and on and on they go... The joy, the danger, the excitement, the fear, it all comes down to one thing--being willing to say "Yes, I'll go where you send me no matter what the circumstances." God give us strength to go where you lead.

Josiah has still been sick for the last week, he seems to be finally getting over it. My dad did not have a stroke or a heart attack. He is still undiagnosed with all the symptoms he has shown. Please pray that God would bring this situation to a resolution because my dad has been struggling with it for most of this year.

While here in Colorado, we have had the opportunity to share our vision for Australia with two churches - Christ's Community Church in Castle Rock, and the Christian Church of Broomfield. Thank you both for allowing us the opportunity to share!

Being sick is rough...

A group of us from SPLICE on a hike.

SPLICE Week 1

2007-11-02T22:43:00.000-05:00

I think I can sum up my feelings of the first week in two words: excitement and anxiety.
Cynthia and I have been so blessed just to simply be with people "like us." Our excitement for entering the mission field of Australia is growing every day and at the same time we are asking the question, "what are we getting ourselves into." For the past 5 days we have listened to stories of great success, victory in Christ, amazing conversions as well as stories of failure, conflict, torture, bombings, culture shock, and so much more. God is continually showing us that no matter what we do, where we go, how prepared (or not) we are, our only hope of survival is found in HIM. Please continue to pray for us as we learn and grow during this process.

A special note: One particular concern for ACM has been the fact that we have not found an organization with which to partner. Being among so many other missionaries representing a host of agencies, we have been introduced to one in particular that has caught our eye - New Missions Systems International. Please pray that God would lead us to an organization that will best enable us to do His will.

Arrival at SPLICE

2007-10-29T22:16:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been months of waiting but we are finally here. We arrived safely to Colorado last night and checked into the MTI facilities this afternoon. We have already met missionary couples headed for 17 different countries around the world and are very excited about what these next three weeks have to offer. Thank you to all who have been praying for us and supporting us. Our prayers are that God will use this time to better equip us for the missions field as well as provide direction and resources that will be essential in the coming months. Again, thank you and please continue praying for us these next couple weeks.

We plan on sending emails and updates about our time here regularly. We can be reached by email or cell phones while we are here.

SPLICE

2007-07-06T21:53:00.000-05:00

Before anything else is said about it, Cynthia and I would like to extend our most sincere thankfulness to all of you who contributed to our recent SPLICE fundraiser. We met our $4500 goal in only three weeks!
We were so thrilled with the quick and generous responses we received.
THANK YOU!

We will be attending Mission Training International's SPLICE Program
during these dates:
October 29 - November 16.

If you would like to find out more information concerning
Mission Training International or SPLICE,
please visit their website by clicking here.

May Newsletter

2007-05-24T17:05:00.001-05:00

Click on an individual page to read the newsletter.

Page 1Page 2

Australia Interviews Video

2007-04-28T17:24:00.000-05:00

This is one of our promotional videos. Please feel free to host it on your site and spread the word about what God is doing in Australia! The video is available on YouTube.com and MySpace.com/jesseframe.

April Prayer Newsletter

2007-04-25T16:32:00.000-05:00

Prayer Partners

2007-03-20T20:58:00.000-05:00

Our first step in the development of our support team will focus on recruitment of prayer partners. These partners will fill out a commitment card and return it to us with their promise to support us through prayer on a weekly/daily basis. Every partner will receive a Prayer Promise magnet as a visual reminder of their commitment.
This preliminary mailing should go out within the next two weeks. If you do not receive one and would like to, please contact us and we will promptly send you a packet.
Thanks to all who share our burden!

Prayer Promise Magnet

Our Supporters

2007-01-13T20:24:00.003-06:00

Thank you to all who share our burden financially, prayerfully and practically.
May God return blessings to you!

Monthly Supporters:

Park Plaza CC
Steve & Lisa Rutherford
Terry & Doug Bjornson
Jason & Ann Walker
Don & Linda Walker
Heath & Laura Schaefer
Andrew & Missy Gerdel
FCC Washington
Ryan & Elana Briggs
Carroll Murrell
Port Orange CC

We're Moving

2007-01-06T11:15:00.000-06:00

As of January 14th, our mailing address will be:

5 Meadowood
Washington, MO 63090

Fundraising Goals for 2007

2006-12-05T20:14:00.000-06:00

This preliminary budget is based on researched and suggested estimates. The budget will need to be adjusted once we have moved to Australia and are actively ministering. Also, our ministry expenses are unknown at this point. Priority evaluations will be made as soon as possible when we arrive in Australia. Future projects will be addressed as needed.

Item	Monthly	Yearly
Ministry Budget	$200	$2,400
Rent/Housing	$1,000	$12,000
Family Expenses	$400	$4,800
Phones/Internet	$150	$1,800
Car Expenses	$700	$8,400
Health Insurance	$200	$2,400
Groceries	$1,000	$12,000
Totals:	$3,650	$43,800

Moving Budget:	$15,000

Our Vision and Our Goals

2006-10-06T23:33:00.003-05:00

Ministry Purpose Statement

Our vision is to build a community of disciples through our work at the Charlestown Church of Christ. Our purpose is to recruit, train, and release into ministry the people of Australia.

Ministry Objectives

• Focus on the discipleship of the current members of the church, encouraging them to be actively evangelizing and participating in the ministry of the church.

• Development of the youth ministries of the church including nursery care, children’s and student ministries.

• Leadership training and development within the church.

• Developing a women’s ministry targeted at young mothers.

Goals

• Develop a preaching schedule focussed on the needs of the church.

• Establish a curriculum and schedule of events for student ministry and children’s ministry.

• Determine areas where the church can be involved in community.

• Create a nursery area and develop a nursery program.

• Organize worship ministry and volunteers.

• Further develop adult small groups, including curriculum.

• Develop a program for training current/future elders/deacons.

• Work with elders to create a shepherding plan for each member of the church.

• Design areas of church outreach targeting men and families.

• Create an adequate meeting place for women’s ministry meetings.

Ross & Lisa Bakker

2006-10-06T23:29:00.001-05:00

Ross and Lisa are Australians who own their own optometry practice and do ministry wherever they can. They currently live in a suburb of Brisbane called Narangba. In 1993, Ross and Lisa left Australia to attend Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO. After having two children (Tim and Jessica) and graduating, they returned home to begin their ministry.

Because Australians are not keen on meeting formally in a church on Sunday morning to listen to a preacher, the last 10 years have been a time of trial and error. Ross and Lisa have developed a nontraditional, but perhaps more biblical, means of ministry. There is no “church,” they do not meet on Sunday mornings, and there is no “preacher.” Their ministry is based strictly on discipleship. They have simply asked the question, “How can we lead people to follow Jesus?” This has resulted in many ministry opportunities.

Ross and Lisa started a youth group for pre-teen students grades 5-7, called Element. They meet in their backyard and have turned a garage into a classroom. Element is a time where kids can get together, bring friends, play games, eat dinner and have casual bible study time. Their group has grown in size the last few years leading them to expand into a new high school youth ministry. For most of the kids attending Ross and Lisa’s group, Element is the only church they know.

A big part of their ministry has been Ross’s influence in the local schools. Teaching Religious Education (RE) has opened the door to the entire school system in and around Narangba—not only to students, but to teachers and parents as well. RE is supported by the local churches and is not controlled by the school or the state. This gives Ross the freedom to teach biblical Christianity without censorship. School chaplains, as they are called, are given 30 minutes per grade level each week to teach. They are also used as a counseling resource.

Ross and Lisa both lead Life Transformation Groups (LTG’s). LTG’s are small groups where individuals, young and old, Christian and many non-Christians, are invited to read and study God’s word, pray together, and have accountability with other Christians. LTG’s are intended to advance discipleship to the point where the groups can split and grow to form an entire network of Christians. This will hopefully lead to the beginnings of a new congregation which can meet as a unified part of the body of Christ.

Australian Culture

2006-10-06T23:25:00.002-05:00

Most countries have probably had a fairly steady population growth, with much the same ethnic mix, for hundreds of years. Apart, of course, from the Aborigines, who have been there for thousands of years, Australians have not been there long. The first Europeans settled just over 200 years ago; most other immigrants arrived less than fifty years ago. Australia’s population has doubled since 1957, transforming it into one of the most interesting nations.

Australians are generally warmhearted, generous, and hospitable. They are very open, honest and forthright, and expect others to be the same. Early life in Australia was difficult; the result is an ethic of hard work and hard play. As the Aussies would say, they “work to live.” Today, Australia has one of the world’s highest standards of living, fine food and wine, a great sporting tradition, a colorful and invigorating multiculturalism, and an affection for visitors.

Australia is divided into 6 states and 2 territories. Until the late 19th century, these areas were separately governed by British colonies. In the late 1800’s, Australians realized the advantages in becoming an unified nation. The British Parliament approved a constitution in 1901. The King or Queen of England is the official head of state and has formal power but little direct authority over Australian laws and government. The Governor-General is the monarch’s representative. As in the U.K., the Prime Minister is the leader of the party that has the most members elected to the parliament.

Generally, church attendance in Australia is falling quite dramatically. Religion is one of those sacred cows that are more the butt of humor than the subject of serious discussions. While attitudes to right and wrong at a social, moral level have their roots in Christian values—for example the reluctance to steal or lie (or at least be caught doing so)—these are not generally seen as religious morals. Giving someone “a fair go,” and “looking after your mate” would probably be more readily given reasons for doing the right thing. Overall, religion is not taken very seriously by the masses, and rarely would workmates at any level need to know, or even care, what religion someone is. Even though the Prime Minister himself claims to be a Christian, he has made it publicly clear, as has the rest of government and most of the population, that Australia is a secular nation and does not want religion to play a part in governmental policy.

The Spiritual State of Australia

2006-10-06T23:25:00.001-05:00

Secularism and a pursuit of leisure, pleasure and wealth characterize Australia.
Although over 60% of Australians claim to be Christians, negative attitudes towards authority and tradition make it hard for the average person in the street to see the gospel as meaningful or the church as relevant.
There is a widespread search for spirituality, but Australians are turning everywhere but the church to find it. There has been an increase in witchcraft, Asian meditations, new age religions, and many other forms of non-Christian activities.
It has been conservatively estimated that less than 10% of Australians are bible believing, church attending Christians.
Because Australians view the church as irrelevant, church attendance has declined steadily from 35% in 1966 to 12% in 1990. It has continued to decline in mainstream Christian denominations over the last 15 years.
There is a huge “casualty rate” among Australian pastors—there are over 10,000 ex-pastors, almost the same number that are presently serving. There simply are not enough trained ministers to reach the people.
Divorce rates in Australian cities are continually rising.
Because families are turning away from churches, there are entire Australian generations who have never stepped foot inside a church building.
Muslims have increased to 100 times their number since 1947, and there are now over 80 mosques functioning in and around major cities.
Because there is a high immigration rate of South East Asians, including Chinese and Vietnamese, the Asian population of Australia is nearly at 1 million. Approximately 80% of these people retain their non-Christian, traditional religions.
Though many efforts have already been made, the 350,000 indigenous Aborigines of Australia still do not have bible translations in all their languages and are very much in need of missionary efforts.
Witness among the 650,000 students in the 36 colleges and universities is barely adequate. There are efforts, but again there just are not enough ministers to meet the needs.

About Us

2006-10-06T23:24:00.004-05:00

Our family will be located in Charlestown, New South Whales, Australia - a suburb of Newcastle about two hours north of Sydney.

Our purpose is to grow and multiply Christ-followers through intentional discipleship in the Charlestown Church of Christ, releasing new generations of Christ-followers for ministry throughout the community and Australia.

Jesse will be taking on the pastoral and preaching roles at the church while Cynthia focuses on our own family and developing mentoring relationships with women and young mothers. Together we will lead the youth ministries of the church. Alongside our ministry goals, we intend to emphasize the development of Christian community, accountability and deep, meaningful relationships with our fellow Christians as well as the surrounding community.

Brisbane, Australia Time/Date/Map

2006-07-26T10:49:00.000-05:00

Visit TimeAndDate.com