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Written by Tara Riley
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Thursday, 06 March 2008 |
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Dear
Faithful Friends,
It
is my pleasure to have a turn writing to tell you how God is using the Riley
family here in the United
Kingdom.
Bryan
normally writes our letters, and he always is careful to communicate both of
our thoughts. I will try to do the same. I am thrilled to have settled in here at the
King’s Lodge after such an interesting way of making it here. It does seem I appreciate the opportunity all
the more. Please take time to read the
enclosed newsletter from The King’s Lodge as it reports on our trip to the Philippines last year and provides a flavor (flavour
in England)
of what is happening here!
I
am very thankful for our 3-bedroom flat on the 3rd floor of this old
boy’s boarding school. We even have a
private (tiny) bathroom and kitchen. I
have never lived in (how do I say it tactfully?) a place that has so much
history, and it is an adjustment for me.
J
The
kids and I have a full day of homeschooling activities. We are having a great time of learning
together and learning how to learn all together! Living in the main building gives us many
opportunities to participate in the daily events at The King’s Lodge. The children attend the weekly worship
service and social events. Part of our
job (here and everywhere) is to model a Christ-centered marriage and family for
the students, many of whom come from dysfunctional family unites. This at times can feel uncomfortable, as we
truly are in a fish bowl most of the time, but it is great accountability for
our relationship and parenting! It feels
like we are house parents in a sorority/fraternity house, and it frees us up to
raise our kids in a godly way and attend staff meetings that occur
frequently. Tanner is responsible enough
now to be “in charge” for an hour of school while we both attend a
meeting.
As
for Bryan, he
has his work cut out for him! He keeps
busy researching grants and funding opportunities for The King’s Lodge to
increase the building fund. TKL plans to
build on to the existing building and renovate other portions of it. Given a living community of 150+ people, our
current space needs expanding. He meets
with people from this area, places many phone calls and emails and will write
grant proposals. He also is helping TKL
get in compliance with the disability laws and will continue in this role even
as we staff the Crossroads
Discipleship Training
School beginning in April.
The
kids participated in an “Olympic games” night with some very creative DTS
students dressed like athletes from the 80s.
We also attended a surprise birthday party put on by several Canadian
students where they created a French café atmosphere. It was hilarious and fun. C'était amusement!
God
is working diligently in our lives and at The King’s Lodge. So many exciting things are happening for the
Kingdom of Christ.
I am constantly amazed at the testimonies we hear each week of how God moves
around the world. There is currently a
team in Albania, and two
teams just returned from Bosnia
and China. Another team leaves in three weeks for Turkey. This summer there will be teams headed to China, South
Africa, England
and most likely the Philippines. And, excitingly, you can join any of these
teams beginning in July! We will be
providing more and more details about this, but we ask you to begin praying
seriously about whether God might have you participate! Write or call for more
info, too!
I
cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support. I am humbled by your commitment and so
honored to get this opportunity to serve Jesus, the risen King, in this
way. May we be worthy of His
calling. We can be reached by phone at
(011) 44 2476378560. Easy Int’l calling
cards at Sam’s!
With
love from Bryan, Tara, Tanner, Keaton and Regan!!!
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 31 May 2008 )
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Written by Bryan Riley
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Saturday, 16 February 2008 |
Dear Ones, January 17 - February 14 were not at all what we expected. For those who do not know, on January 17th we arrived in the Birmingham, England International airport to learn that we needed different visa documentation. What this meant for us was five hours detention at the airport (after 15 hours of flights), fingerprintings, and a three-day entry prior to being flown back to the U.S. Because we rented our home to friends who just returned from the mission field, we moved in with Tara’s parents for 25 days and completed everything we needed to make our return. So, instead of beginning our work at The King’s Lodge over the past month we have travelled about 14,000 air miles, 1500 driving miles, been on 9 flights, slept in about 6 different locations, been in 4 different countries and been fingerprinted 3 times. As I prepared to write this letter I read this wonderful passage of scripture from Romans 5: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
We rest in knowing that God, who is always faithful, prepared our path and paved the way for us. As written above we know he is growing our perseverance, character, hope, and love. We were able to visit with friends we hadn’t seen in years in Kansas City as a part of obtaining our visas and we were told by many women in Tara’s Bible Study that God had spoken to them that He had protected us from something in England. We also now are intimately familiar with the process of obtaining entry into the United Kingdom and feel much better equipped at helping lead others through such processes. Finally, we found a fantastic travel agent, Eldo Miller, who helped us find our five tickets back to England for $1100 cheaper than we could. They specialize in missions and international adoptions and can be found at http://goldenruletravel.com/. We recommend him. We also were able to sell my car! Here’s how you can pray for us: - At the end of this month Bryan plans to travel to the Philippines to help prepare for the outreach that will take place there during the summer. Pray for his safety and finances for the trip.
- Beginning in April we will be extremely busy from sunrise until late in the evenings as the next Crossroads Discipleship Training School begins. We will help lead this training course, the first training course for all aspiring YWAM missionaries. Then, we will take this group and others (hopefully some of you) to the Philippines and/or South Africa in July and August for outreach.
- Financial Support - we receive about $2300 monthly, which is what we need for food and lodging in England (for those who know that is a very good price for England), but it doesn’t cover extra expenses that a family of five incurs, such as insurance, clothing, savings, travel expenses (such as five airline tickets) or even things like accounting fees for our ministry.
- Tara will begin homeschooling all three children for the first time. She also will work in administration for The King’s Lodge. Pray for organization, wisdom, and patience. Pray also that our kids will be compliant and teachable!
Much love from the Rileys! Bryan, Tara, Tanner, Keaton & Regan FJ Ministries |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 31 May 2008 )
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October 2007 Donor Update |
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Written by Bryan Riley
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Wednesday, 31 October 2007 |
What a fun time we have had sharing with so many the story of God working in and
through us this past month. We’ve had numerous opportunities to share meals and
pictures at churches and with families or just to sit and swap stories with friends and
family. It has been a blessing. We hope to make more of these connections in the
coming month as we realize more and more how God created us for relationship!
We keep hearing exciting news from the Philippines, even since we left. While we
were there we ministered for several weeks in Iligan City, the community of 300,000
people that sat about 20 miles from Marawi, the Muslim capital of Mindanao. After
we left, one of the local YWAM staffers, Michael Casey, met with the Mayor of
Iligan. Michael, a German-born missionary, helped build a ministry on Mindanao
called “Nehemiah House.” We had the privilege of working closely with Michael
each week in Marcos Bridge.
The Nehemiah House was started in 1996 to provide a Christian family ministry for
female victims of sexual abuse, abandonment, street children and maltreatment, aged
7-18 years old. The Nehemiah House provides 24 hour live-in care, bible study and
spiritual development studies, along with education assistance. Tara had the
opportunity to visit the Nehemiah house and meet the girls. It was a highlight for her
to see the light of hope in these girls’ eyes as they greeted her with a Filipino blessing
by raising her hand to their forehead.
As a result of their meeting, the Mayor offered Michael land to build a Nehemiah
House in Iligan City and another Christian businessman pledged to build the home.
This would not have been possible without the work God allowed for us to do, and
you helped us be a part of that. It is an exciting ministry and it will bless so many
lives in that city that desperately desires to see its people know Jesus and not turn to
false religions. If you are interested in more information about the Nehemiah House
or helping support its ministry, please check out their website.
Please keep praying for us. We plan to leave the country again in January and will be
writing soon about the details of our plans. We also still have our home, due to God’s
miraculous blessing of providing a family to rent our home during our time away, but
with it not being rented now it is a heavy personal debt load we cannot sustain.
Please also be praying about whether God would have you and your family participate
in missions, whether short- or long term. Not only did Jesus tell us to go in the Great
Commission, but also we know that all of us are called to a ministry of reconciliation
as Christ’s ambassadors. 2 Corinthians 5: 11-21. We anticipate putting together one
or more opportunities for families for the summer of 2008! I recently read this
convicting question: Did God direct that approximately 90% of all Christian
finances for evangelism be spent to evangelize in the United States where only 8% of
the world’s population lives and where many have already heard the gospel many
times over?
Finally, we are looking for opportunities to share our story. If you have a small group
or know a pastor or a family who would love to hear our story, please connect us with
them!
Thank you for your faithful support that enables us to share the love of Christ with
others on a daily basis wherever we are!
God’s blessings,
Bryan, Tara, Tanner, Keaton and Regan Riley
FJ Ministries
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Written by Bryan Riley
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Friday, 31 August 2007 |
How do you sum up eight weeks in the Philippines , seeing God's amazing work there? First, we can testify that God is faithful. He provided for our every need. When we were sick, He comforted and healed us. When we were tired and fussy, He gave us strength and fulfilled us. When we heard there might be danger, instead of living in fear God filled us with power, love and a sound mind. God is good; we have lived it. Here are some highlights: - Over 8000 children at 5 different schools heard the gospel of Jesus through drama, dance, song, teaching, and testimony
- Hundreds accepted Jesus Christ for the first time (and we worked with dozens of churches who will be following up)
- We know of two different barangays (large neighborhoods) where our work resulted in 7 new bible studies (in each) being created
- We gave out new clothes, flip flops, reading glasses and food packages to 100s
- Tara and I personally baptized four ladies on one of our last days in the ocean
- Tara and I developed and taught a seminar on the biblical foundations of relationship, family, marriage and parenting
- Bryan was able to teach about God's design for unity and reconciliation in the Body of Christ to dozens of pastors who were experiencing a split in their ministerial alliances
- Tara spent a great deal of time with a mother of three (including one disabled child) who became a Christian, started holding a prayer meeting in her home, and has faithfully attended church for the first time in years ever since. She also is taking friends with her every week.
- Bryan spent time with several families who lived in an isolated spot near the ocean and discovered a man who desired to teach God's word and start a church.
- Tanner was so moved by the scarcity many of the children faced that one day he took his shirt off and gave it to a boy who had what amounted to a rag on his back. Tanner then returned home shirtless!
- Reid and Michelle McCarty and their 3 children had an incredible and life changing experience joining us in the Philippines
You helped make all of this possible and for that we say PRAISE GOD! We are returning to Fayetteville , Arkansas on the evening of Sunday, September 2nd. We look forward to seeing everyone and sharing more about what God has shown us through our times of ministry. Stay tuned and pray for our future plans! We are still praying about what's next, and it seems God is stirring our hearts to further developing family ministries and encouraging more families into the mission field. We would love to share at your church or bible studies if schedules permit; please let us know if that would be a possibility! Love, Bryan, Tara, Tanner, Keaton, and Regan Riley FJ Ministries - www.fjministries.com |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 31 May 2008 )
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