Bangladesh Report - Tim Stoltzfus, Nolan Bechtel 6-9-2024

Good afternoon. I'm glad for the opportunity to share with you about the work

in Bangladesh. Brother Johnny Dyke was not able to be here and ask if

I would share this report. We'll just mentioned Brother Johnny Dyke, Brother Jerry

Wadell, and myself or on the board along with two bishops, Brother Arlen

Geigley, Brother Mike Hoefer, and then Brother Nolan is a part of the

team as well, with his main focus being the discipleship program. Thankful for

each one's involvement. I'm very excited about this work. I feel like the

Lord has been blessing it in many ways. We could spend a lot more

than our allotted time here speaking about the work and the way the Lord has

blessed it. Try to condense it, try to stay, try to stay

within my time here. There are just so many needs, just a lot

of opportunities that we have to or that are there to reach out into people's

lives and and make a difference. It's just amazing to me whenever I go

there and just see the openness, the tremendous opportunities that are there. That's

been a very inspiration to my life. Currently, we're involved in four different

programs. Maybe that's not a real accurate way to say it. In a

lot of ways, they are very connected, some more so than others.

And they are certainly all connected in the fact that there are very much tools

for the furthern of the Gospel. And I've just been blessed as I observe

this and and see how how these things work together and and how these programs

are just well, they're wonderful tools in in reaching into people's lives and being

able to take the Gospel to them in this in the culture that that is

there. So those programs that we want to talk about or give a report

on is the clinic in the Ruhingakan, the Salt program, the E s

L Program, and the discipleship and church planting. I'm going to report on

the first three, and then I've asked Brother Nolan to share on the discipleship

program and and the church planting, so we'll give him some time here as

well. First of all, the clinic, not a whole lot has has

changed with this work. The clinic was established by CIM and is largely run

by them. Currently there are three North American staff and approximately eighteen local staff.

The staff, the North American staff. The three of them are Bethany

Burkholder, she's been with us from the start. And Jolita you know,

I'm not even sure what her last name is. And then Jerbier. So

those three are what makeup of the make up the North American staff for the

clinic. We have eleven Ruhinga workers, seven Bangladeshi. They are largely Muslim

and Hindu. I are from that from that background, and I'm just I'm

just blessed to see the impact that has been made by the work of the

clinic, the testimony that that is going out, well, the clinic is

certainly there to be a help in a in a humanitarian way. It has

just been a tremendous blessing or a tremendous opportunity to reach the spiritual needs as

well. And I've had a couple of opportunities to uh be there at the

clinic and and have and have heard of a lot of different things. But

it just it blesses my heart to see the the love and the compassion that

is there by the by the workers. And I'm I'm thinking particularly of of

the North American staff. They are there and well the other Christians as well.

But it blesses my heart to see just the caring, the the love,

the compassion and and reaching to the many many hurting, the hurting individuals,

the needy people. And yeah, it's been it's been a it's been

a tremendous blessing. Four of the Bangladeshi staff are believers as well as three

of the Ruhinga, so there's I guess seven there that would be considered believers.

And this has this has presented some challenges for us. I guess you

would say, of how to how to teach and how to to disciple the

new Christians, the new individuals, and you could you could pray with us

about that. It's something that we're we're we're grappling with of of how to

to reach these or how how to continue discipleship and and teaching. It's it's

very limited as far as what we can do there. We have difficulty unless

you have a unless you're able to to work there, an NGO or you

know, it's it's difficult to be there, to be in the camp unless

you have have an NGO status, and and it's very difficult. It kind

of changes, it's up and down a little bit. But it's it's it's

difficult for them to to come out of the camp the ring of people at

least on a on a on a regular basis, uh that that can be

difficult, sometimes more so than others. And so like I said, it's

it's presenting a real challenge for us to to how to minister to these needs

and how to uh to be there and and and nurture these young Christians,

on and so again. And we invite your invite you to pray for this

need and that God would open doors that we can minister the gospel the minister

to these needs. The American staff are doing very well, I feel like

in this but of course there are limitations there and we would really like to

to fill this need a little more specifically. Now where Western Fellowship comes in

at in relation to the clinic is we are responsible to provide house parents for

the team there. That is what was what we were asked to do in

the beginning when CIM started the clinic, to provide house parents and to provide

the spiritual spiritual leadership direction for the team. So Marlon Krupp's we're filling that

position for the last approximately six months and have just recently returned. The next

set of house parents plan to go over later this summer. Weston Fellowship also

provides some of the financial support for the clinic, so that is ongoing.

Switching out to the Salt program. The Salt program is taking place both inside

the camp and both inside the camp with the Rhinga people and outside of the

camp with the Bangladeshi the Bangladeshis. There are two different parts of this work.

The savings program is largely with the Bangladeshis outside of outside of the camp.

The agricultural program is largely done with the Ruhinga people inside of the camp.

Now that is somewhat changing. We're trying to develop that a little bit

more outside of the camp alongside of the savings program as well. Just a

quick rundown of these programs. Brian Moser is currently our assault director. He

has been pretty much from right from the beginning. UH Brian's lived in Bangladesh

for a number of years but are now living state side. Brian continues to

to direct it from stateside, going over a couple of times a year.

We've been blessed by his dedication, been blessed by his work there and he

continues to to work for us UH state side the Savings program. This is

teaching people how to save money, something that is not very familiar to them

in their culture. There are more of a people that tend to be more

hand to mouth people that mentality. Currently, just for some numbers here for

your interest's sake, there are in the Savings program there are forty five groups

with one thousand, two hundred and eighty nine members. I wanna point out

two years ago in our last Fellowship meetings, I gave this report as well

at Halsey there and I've I saw my notes in a folder when I was

getting ready for this. From that report and that report. Two years ago,

we had eighteen groups with four hundred and fifty members. Eighteen groups with

four hundred and fifty members. Today it's forty five groups with one thousand,

two hundred and eighty nine members. That's quite quite a bit of growth.

So we have felt stretched at times, but the Lord has has blessed in

that work. We are blessed with some very dedicated facilitators. Currently we have

seven facilitators and one supervisor. These are all Native men and all Christian men,

and we are we're very blessed to have them. Nolan will probably mention

them, possibly about them a little bit and his and his report. There

the agricultural program a program to learn how to utilize the land the resources that

they have. There are forty five groups with three hundred and four members,

one full time facilitator and one supervisor slash facilitator, two gardeners, and one

who is simply responsible for research and development. Again, it is a blessing

to see these these Christian facilitators stepping out and making good use of their time

in teaching, and they are doing very well. I've had the opportunity to

go to some visit some groups and observe. Of course I can't understand what's

taking place, but the facilitators are doing very well taking this opportunity to teach

Christian principles, and yeah, it's been a real blessing. A lot more

could be said about that. Moving on to the ESL program, this is

relatively new. I think in our last report two years ago we mentioned that

we were developing this program and it is currently taking place teaching English. Christopher

Bailey and his family have just recently gone over. Was it the middle of

April believe, and they are ESL team leaders and their family is there at

least for the minimum of a year and looking at a little bit more long

term if the Lord continues to direct in that so we're blessed by that.

Currently we have two girl teachers, Joel Bechtel and Alita Miller, and Chris

is teaching some as well. Currently they are teaching approximately forty five different students.

Each of them have around fifteen students. The girls are doing theirs in

three different classes and Chris has two. Currently, one of these classes are

taught at the Upazila. This is done where it's a little bit more under

the direction of the government. The government provides or has their hands in providing

providing the students for this, and they're in the process of starting at least

one or two more classes there. I think there was uh a couple of

classes that that were just completed. Most of these students currently anyway, all

of the classes except one of Joel's is either university level or higher job job

seekers. Uh. One of Joel's is what we call the l UH they

call the Little's class. It's it's younger, it's it's children. Joel and

Elita's commitments are more long term. We are looking for two young fellas for

a little more long term as well. We would like to have two young

fellas that would be committed to at least a year if uh, if not

longer. And we're also looking for short term teachers. We would like to

start a program of short term teaching in the range of three months at a

time. There is definitely some flexibility in this, so adjustments can be made.

We would like to have yeah, a fellow or two, a couple

of girls helping with this the short term. So I would just say here

that that timeframe is flexible, and if it's something that anyone has interest in

or you have you have interest or know of someone that has interest in it,

we would we would be uh, we would be glad to hear about

that. So these programs have have been a have been a tremendous blessing.

Well, yes, they have been a blessing in a humanitarian way, but

that really I just want to emphasize that is not the primary reason that we

have these programs. They have just been a tremendous tool in taking out the

gospel, and it's a it's been a just a blessing to see these tools

being used for God's kingdom, especially when we see the Christian natives taking hold

of them and utilizing them, and it's just it's a it's a it's a

wonderful thing. So thank you for your prayers and supporting this work. It's

God's work and we want to be vessels of his. We want to directing

this work for the furtherance of His kingdom. Just a little bit on the

financial side, I don't have a lot on that, but our current budget

is proximately twenty thousand a month, and just want to thank you quarterly for

sharing in and God bless you for that. God bless you as you as

you continue to do that. So yeah, if you have any questions,

feel free to ask about them, try to answer as I'm able. So,

brother Nolan, le don't you share on the discipleship program. I you

choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God scheeming the reproach of Christ

the greater riches. A brother or a sister that leaves his Muslim or his

Hindu or his Buddhist religion and culture and steps into the world of Christianity is

likely to lose their physical family, likely to lose their personal inheritance, likely,

especially with the Muslims leaving Islam, to lose their job. If they

have no home to come to, they feel very vulnerable, very out at

day. When these people make a from my observation, when these people make

a commitment to follow Jesus Christ, would they make a commitment to understand that

Jesus is the way to God. By the time they have taken that step

within their heart, the passion, the struggle, the surrender commitment, those

things have taken place because they know the cost. From there on, their

journey is often a matter of knowledge. I've often said, as I've observed

our own culture, growing up in Christian homes, coming through Christian schools,

having winter Bible schools, we have knowledge. But where the battle is for

us is not obtaining knowledge. It's surrendered to that knowledge, its commitment.

There isn't a There isn't necessarily an advantage of the battle being in one place

versus the other. We struggle. The flesh is real here. They struggle

the flesh is real there. But you can envision as well as I that

when one makes a commitment and understands what the costs are that commitment is deep

enough that when they become aware of the knowledge of truth, the decision of

whether or not to obey has already made. Largely it's a matter of knowledge,

and that becomes such a challenge, such a motivation inwardly personally to work

alongside those brothers and sisters reflect my own life and the struggle of surrender commitment.

There isn't time to talk really about the program and people, So I'm

just gonna talk a little about people, and I'm not going to share a

lot of names necessarily that probably won't benefit you. This past fall, the

church in Ukia was organized, a little fledgling congregation there with six members in

all, one couple and four brothers. Brother show Health was baptized this past

fall. This past spring, four more members, four more individuals accepted membership,

one sister wife to one of the brothers who had become a member in

the fall, one sister and three brothers, making a total membership there two

couples and four brothers. I'm sorry, two couples and six brothers, one

of those brothers being a single brother and the rest of them being married,

but their wives not in membership yet. Three of those wives of those six

brothers who are members now, three of those wives anticipate membership in the fall

and are looking forward to that that would bring if that works out, membership

by way of couples to five couples. And I'd just like to mention,

I don't know how much you remember of maybe sharing a couple of years ago,

but it seemed like we had brothers who were interested in brothers who were

committing, but their wives we didn't. We didn't know how we were going

to reach the ladies, mothers, wives in the homes. And the Lord

has The Lord has seen too that the Lord has worked out those details with

the process of time in a variety of ways and in amazing ways. For

the sho Hell who was baptized this past fall, his wife would have attended

the conference this past fall one and a half days. She came this spring.

And when she came this spring, there were it was notable, there

was a different look on her face. And as she sat I believe it

was the second or third day with the sisters at the corner over lunch,

and began to share a little bit personally. She told the sisters, I

now know Jesus, and to see that on a person's face and to understand

that it's happened in the heart, or you think it's happened in the heart,

and then to get the confirmation of it as she expresses herself voluntary to

the sisters, God's work becomes obvious. Such a blessing to see those changes.

We could tell stories, and I encourage you brethren who sharing the Discipleship

conferences twice a year, to come back to your home congregations and tell the

stories. I think you're doing that. Obviously that doesn't include all of us,

but stories about the progression of the Falls conference, very practical subjects in

relation to inter adornment versus outer adornment. Of course, that carried weight on

this jewelry issue, which holds a lot of weight in their culture. And

then there's the headship and the leadership, the covering of the head which is

typical among the Muslim ladies but not among the Hindu and the Buddhist ladies.

And the progression through that conference and the changes that those sisters made from day

to day, literally over a six day period, and their interest and commitment

to membership. There's stories about that in the church. There there are Muslim,

Hindu, and Buddhist background believers. There's more between the Hindu and Buddhist

than what there are Muslim. Currently, the Muslim tend to be very black

and white people because Allah is a very demanding God and there is a line,

and there is right and there is wrong. And as a Muslim person,

they often will choose to walk in them wrong, but they know they

can right the wrong by doing right. In other words, it's a works

related religion, and they think that they can gain favor back with Allah by

doing right, so it permits them to do wrong. The other side,

the Buddhist side of that is you can find God in everything, and all

people are there to love and all, and you embrace al and and you

are okay with most anything. And then you take a brother with Muslim background,

you take a brother with Buddhist background, and you put them together and

temporarily ask them to walk alongside the church in a leadership role. And for

the Muslim brother, there's a lot of very black and white things, and

for the Buddhist brother, there is a lot of value in relationship and bringing

people along. And you watch those two blend their personalities and their backgrounds and

the cultures that they come out of and bring it into a Christian atmosphere.

And it is something only the Holy Spirit can do. An amazing, an

amazing miracle. And again I am challenged as we work together with our petty

little differences in our cultures, and does the Holy Spirit have the ability within

our own hearts to bring us together and to understand what differences matter and what

differences really don't matter. Looking forward, we hope to see an ordination take

place this fall at the Discipleship conference in October, possibly a double ordination if

not a single, and another one the following conference if the Lord continues to

lead that way and opens up the doors for that. So, if you

wish to have a at least one more item on your prayer agenda is pray

about the future leadership for that church. Satan is interested in tearing it apart,

and they aren't without the rough waters. He's not without his attempts and

his touches, and they've been felt. Pray that God would continue to bless

in setch a way that that other hood could continue to to pull together and

to bring a brother to leadership. A couple of brothers to leadership. We

feel that's important in their culture to work side by side. Pray that as

the board works for the mike, for their arland, the will of God

would be discerned, that we could that we could move together God's way,

God's plan. Thank you for your prayer support and you're blessing on the work there.