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From Jo-burg to Choma

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Sorry it has been so long since I last posted but we didn't have Internet.  Praise God we are back on line.  We had our seminar on Saturday at the Hillbrow BIC Church in Johonnesburg, South Africa.  We had 70 leaders who came together for the seminar.  It was great to connect with these men and women of God who have a deep desire to grow in their own spiritual lives and become more effective Kingdom builders.  They really engaged with one another during the discussion times, and it was obvious they appreciated and identified with the material we were presenting.  While we were in Johannesburg each couple in our team was hosted by different families from the local Johannesburg congregations.  As a token of appreciation the whole team took all the host families out for dinner on Saturday night.  We were glad to find a restaurant - the Copprer Canyon Spur - that was able to accommodate our group of 32.  The next morning we said our farewells and then headed off to the airport for
Praise God for good services this evening.  Even though one congregation had to meet by candle light  because their  electricity was out.  Everyone on the team is doing really well.
Thank you to everyone who prayed for us.  We had a safe trip to Johannesburg, South Africa and all is going well.  Last night each couple was taken to a different home for the night and we have not seen each other since then, but we hear all are doing well.  Tonight the four men will be preaching in different BIC churches.  Please keep them in your prayers.  We should have Internet service the reat of the trip and should be able to keep the blog updated.  It was quite chilli hear last night and we had to sleep under heavy blankets since there is no heat in the houses.  Things are going well and we praise God for that!

Leader to Leader Trip

We made it safely to the airport and we are now sitting on the plane waiting to take off.  The next time you hear from us we should be in South Africa.  Thanks to Matt Heck for taking time out of his busy schedule to drive us to the airport!

Leader to Leader Training, South Africa & Zambia

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Tomorrow is the big day.  We will be leaving at 1:00 PM to head to Dulles International Airport for our flight to South Africa.  Please keep us in your prayers as we set out on this amazing journey.  Pray for safety and also that God will prepare each of our hearts for what He has in store for each of us.  We will do our best to keep you updated on how things are going.  Our plane actually takes off from Dulles at 5:40 tomorrow afternoon.  We will be flying South African Air and arriving in Johannesburg, South Africa at 11:30 AM Thursday morning your time. Below you will find the schedules for the actual seminars we will be doing.  Thanks in advance for all your prayers. The Tide Leader to Leader Seminar Johannesburg August 16 – 17, 2013 Schedule Saturday, August 17 9:00 – 9:15 Welcome and Devotions 9:15 – 10:30 The Basics of Christian Leadership (Don) 10:30 – 11:00 TEA BREAK 11:

Leader to Leader Trip South Africa & Zambia

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I can hardly believe we are only 5 days away from leaving on our trip to South Africa and Zambia.  The team consist of Ken & Raina Hepner, Steve & Gina Reinford, Merv & Phyllis Yoder and Don & Becky Shenk.  We are all excited to see what God has in store for us as we go and serve our brothers and sisters in South Africa and Zambia. The following is a copy of our itinerary so that you will know where we are and how you can be praying for us. Wednesday, August 14 - Depart USA Thursday, August 15    - Arrive late PM in Johannesburg, SA Friday, August 16         -   Evening Services with Joburg congregations Saturday, August 17    -   All day LTL seminar with South African church leaders Sunday, August 18       -   Travel to Choma, Zambia via Livingstone Monday, August 19      -   LTL Seminar Tuesday, August 20      -   LTL Seminar Wednesday, August 21 - LTL Seminar (AM)                                        General Conference session (

Making Progress in Nepal

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Thanks to the prayers and support of people like you, the plan to expand The Tide© radio ministry into Nepal became a reality in 2004. Since October 2004, The Tide’s studio in India has been busy producing and distributing a weekly Christian radio program in the Nepali language , which airs on an FM station in Biratnagar, a large urban center of Nepal. In June of 2013, The Tide began airing a radio program in a second language of Nepal. The Tide Tharu Language radio program now airs once a week on an FM station. With less than 0.5% Tharu speakers professing Christianity and no major Christian broadcasting ministries producing programs in this language, the need for outreach in this language is great! The Tide Tharu Language program is named “Anmol Jindgi,” which means “Precious Life.” During the last week of June, a team of four Tharu Christians traveled from Nepal to The Tide studio in India to record messages and music for the next few months of broadcasts.  Duri
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35th Annual Golf Day Success Praise God for the success of The Tide© 35th Annual Golf Benefit!  On June 20th, nine faithful volunteers showed up in the early morning hours to set up and prepare for the busy day. At 6:30am, the 115 golfers started to arrive for registration, coffee, and pastries.  The shot-gun start went off at 7:30am cuing all the anxious golfers of the start of a day full of fun, fellowship, sportsmanship, and prizes.  As a result, approximately $18,000 was raised toward the cost of The Tide international radio broadcasts and ministry expenses.  During the “summer slump” when regular giving generally decreases it can be quite difficult to continue to faithfully provide for the expenses of The Tide international heart language radio ministry.  The Tide Annual Golf Benefit is one avenue the Lord has used to provide an extra summer blessing during the last 35 years. (See more pictures of the event on The Tide's Facebook page ) The Tide Golf Ben

Seeker's Conferences Bring Joy

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Wonderful things are occurring in India as a result of Seeker’s Conferences frequently held by The Tide © partner ministry.  During the month of May, The Tide partners led a series of Seeker’s Conferences throughout various parts of a state in central India as well as two medical camps, a new addition to our Indian outreach. There were excellent turn-outs for all the events.  In spite of the excessive heat, over 250 people total attended the four Seeker’s Conferences, many walking 15-20 kilometers (approximately 9-13 miles) to attend a meeting.  After hearing instructive and convicting speaking by some local pastors and partners of The Tide ministry in India, 75 individuals came to know the Lord as their personal Savior, sharing their testimonies with one another and rejoicing with brothers and sisters in the Lord!  The new believers were excited to agree to find a local fellowship of believers to worship with and continue to receive discipleship training and accounta

New Tharu Language Broadcast

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In 2004 The Tide© expanded its boundaries into Nepal with the start of the “Prasasta Jiwan,” The Tide’s Nepali language broadcast .   In response to the success of the Nepali broadcast and the great need among the people in Nepal , The Tide has decided to launch a new language broadcast in Nepal! Beginning in June 2013, a Tharu language broadcast will begin airing for 15 minutes once a week. Currently there are no other major Christian broadcasting ministries producing a program to target the Tharu people, so this is a much-needed addition. The Tharu are a gentle and quiet people who have traditionally lived as forest dwellers in the Tarai, a narrow strip of land extending the southern boarder of Nepal and South-East India. They make almost everything they use themselves with a touch of art in it all. Even the walls of their houses are decorated with a relief plaster created from mud and cow dung.   Traditionally of an animist religious belief, they have been heavily in
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Wishing you a blessed Easter celebration! In his letter to the Christian community in Rome Paul wrote; “God chose me to be an apostle, and he appointed me to preach the good news that he promised long ago by what His prophets said in the Holy Scriptures.   This good news is about his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ!   As a human, he was from the family of David.   But the Holy Spirit proved that Jesus is the powerful Son of God, because he was raised from death.”   (Romans 1:1b-4 CEV) As we celebrate the proof that Jesus is the all-powerful Son of God we are reminded and assured that Christ has the power to grant forgiveness, hope, and eternal life to all who believe and call on his name.   The Tide , along with many people, including you, can say with Paul that we have been chosen and appointed to share the good news.   Paul goes on in verse 5 to say that we are called to do this so that people in every nation have the opportunity to place their faith in Jesus.   The missio

Offering Hope for Nigeria

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Nigeria is known as Africa’s most populous country, with close to 170 million people and 350 different ethnic groups. For decades, there has been serious violence and conflict between people groups and religions in Nigeria . Religion is one of many factors fueling strife in this nation. Conflict is known to erupt when ethnic, religious, and economic boundaries overlap. There are widespread ethnic and economic differences leading to much conflict, especially between Christians and Muslims. The country is split evenly between those two main religions with 49% claiming to be Christians and 48% claiming to be Muslims. Inter-ethnic conflict in Nigeria has traditionally had a religious element. Riots against Igbo in the 1950s and were said to be fueled by religious conflict. In the 1980s, serious outbreaks between Christians and Muslims occurred in the south in a border area shared between the two religions. Recently, there has been an increase in attacks targeting Christians i

Engaging Younger Generations

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For any ministry to continue on successfully there needs to be a constant stream of supporters in all existing generations. In the past few years, The Tide© has begun to intentionally reach out to the younger generation with avenues for them to get involved so that our long history of relevant ministry will continue on. As a way to encourage the younger generation’s participation, The Tide will be sponsoring a contest to distribute THREE full-event passes to Creation Festival at Agape Farm in Shirleysburg, PA June 26-29, 2013. We will be hosting three competitions, with one winner selected from each category. Each winner will receive one full-event pass to Creation (pass includes entrance ticket only, transportation, food, and lodging are the responsibility of the participant), a free t-shirt, and the guarantee that the winning materials will be used for promotional purposes of The Tide. For this competition to be a success, we need the help of ALL generatio