Featured Missionary

Remembering his calling…

Today Philip is a Bible teacher in North India, a region with vast numbers of people who do not know the Good News of Jesus. He teaches people God’s Word, both in English and in the Hindi language. He enjoys writing about the people of India and their culture and telling stories through his photography.

A favorite story shared by Philip…

Pray for Philip…

• Pray for God’s guidance as he prepares lessons on Genesis and other books of the Bible and teaches church leaders in India.
• Pray for wisdom about how to help Christians in India understand the Bible, live for Jesus, and share God’s Good News with others.
• Pray that one day Jesus will be worshipped as the one true God throughout India.

If you would like to receive regular prayer updates and/or to inquire about joining his team, contact Susan Wegner @ . Also visit http://thisindianlife.org/ to read additional stories from Philip. 

The Aspegrens are missionaries in Costa Rica who direct the work of Casa Viva, an organization that engages local churches and local families to care for children who don’t have a safe place to sleep. Christian families open their homes to these children, and offer love and safety. Casa Viva’s staff supports the families and churches, works to restore the children to their biological families, and interacts with the government.

Casa Viva Costa Rica is about to place their 100^th child in care which is a significant milestone for them. They’re also hosting a Ten Tasks conference in March for several ministries from Guatemala. Their desire is to make an impact across the region for care based in local families and churches.

A Story Worthy of Celebration -Welcome Home Mariana!
A Casa Viva Story
Written by Philip Aspegren

It started like any other day for Mariana . . .
She woke up, dressed for school, and headed out the door. But by 9:30am, social workers from Costa Rica’s child welfare department had arrived at Mariana’s school to remove her from her home. The neglect and abuse had been noticed; it could go on no more. The government intervened. They took Mariana from her classroom, and drove off in a van on a ride into the unknown.

It’s 10:30am now, and 10 year old Mariana, timid and shy, sits trembling in the child welfare office. She hadn’t known she was leaving. She didn’t say goodbye to her family or friends. Her home, her clothes, everything she had known, was all gone. “Where am I going?” she asked.

What happens to girls like Mariana around the world -children who for some reason or another become separated from their family? What happens to them? Where do they go? For most children, the story ends long term in an orphanage. But God had something different in store for Mariana.

The call had come in the night before, but the preparations had been going on for weeks. All three family members had attended the Casa Viva family training. They’d expanded a bedroom and painted the house to make sure that the girl God would send would feel welcome. They had a desire to open their hearts and their home for the child. They had been praying for weeks for the unknown girl.

When the child welfare department called Casa Viva to inquire about a space for Mariana, Casa Viva responded, “Yes! We have a home.” The answer surprised the government worker. “Thank God for you all,” she said. “The girl is quiet and docile and shouldn’t be in an orphanage.”

And now it is 11:50am. The van pulls up to the door. Mariana gets out and looks at this new family. How can she know they are there waiting to love her?

The family had prepared a special meal of rice and beans and spaghetti – a classic Costa Rican meal. They prayed before the meal began: “Lord, thank you for the life of Mariana, and bless this food.”

That prayer was enough to start Mariana talking. “I had a Bible, but it got left in my house.” The connection had begun. It would be all right. For now, Mariana was safe and loved in a new home.

The family’s church, a Casa Viva church in Alajuela, mobilized to provide some needed items – a bed, sheets and blankets, clothes, and shoes. A doctor from the church offered a general check-up. Some of the volunteer coordinators from the church stopped by to introduce themselves to Mariana. Casa Viva was able to provide other needed items.

Johana, Casa Viva’s Holistic Care staff member, wanted to give Mariana a special gift. “She needs a stuffed animal.” Searching, all she could find was a Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. “It will do.” When the Casa Viva mother saw it, she said, “Do you know Rudolf’s story? He was rejected by everyone but became a leader for others.”

May Mariana’s story end that way.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” –Mark 10:14

To read more about the Aspegren family and Casa Viva, go to www.casaviva.org. Check out their blogs–Casa Viva Costa Rica and the Casa Viva Greenhouse and their new Casa Viva Monthly E-Newsletter.

Scott and Barb Harbert work with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) in Nakuru, Kenya. Scott serves as Prayer Coordinator and Trainer for the Africa Inland Church (AIC) of Kenya. Barb coordinates the HIV/AIDS partnership between our church and the AIC Nakuru Region, our Heart for AIDS Initiative. The Harberts are currently in the U.S. on Home Assignment through the end of February.

In August they became empty nesters as they took their youngest son, Matthew, to Florida Southern College in Lakeland. Jeff, their middle son, is finishing his last year at Valparaiso University in Indiana, working on a degree in Sports Management and News Media. Josh, their oldest, and his wife, Sarah, who live in the Chicago land area, are expecting their first child in February. Scott and Barb are very excited to be able to meet their first grandchild before returning back to their mission field in Kenya!

God is at work in Kenya – On October 31, the Harberts shared these updates on what’s been happening:

Heart For AIDS Initiative

Recently Kenya went to war with the Al Shabab terrorist group in Somalia. That has made Kenya more insecure, especially since terrorists do not fight fairly. In spite of this insecurity, the Gospel is going forward as our Kenyan partners catch a missionary vision from our Wheaton Bible Church GO Teams. Last week Josephine, a partner who oversees Hope For Life in Nakuru, made a difficult and dangerous trip into Turkana with three others. Fueled with compassion for the unreached people of Turkana, their mission was to assess how transformational development* might have an impact in Northern Kenya. Her team met many who were barely surviving the drought—their only source of sustenance was sorghum, a leading cereal grain produced in Africa.      

Josephine wrote, “In this desert region, people walk holding a gun just like it is a shepherding stick. The place is very dry, people are naked, and many grieve the loss of family members. They do not care about life and they thirst for comfort and someone to tell them that God cares. All they know is that they are God’s rejects and that is why they live in such a place and life is meaningless to them. However, they told us that even if this God is uncaring, at least the enemies have not swept them.”

The team taught and preached, and led over 100 people into a relationship with a loving God. While there, they visited many homes, discussed ideas for income generation, and advocated for schooling girls, who typically are married off at a very young age. Their visit made a big impact. “We have had visitors, but you people have shown us the promised love of that God who protects us. Your love is God’s love and it has touched us as a community. We thought we are God’s rejects but now your love has shown us that we are God’s best.”

On December 16, Josephine and a small team of church leaders will be returning to Turkana for a follow-up visit.

“In Your solemn presence, O God, I remember all my friends and neighbors, my fellow townsfolk, and especially the poor within our gates, asking that You would give me grace, so far as in me lies, to serve them in Your name.” —John Baillee, Scottish theologian

Prayer Renewal Area

The Lord is also using the Prayer Renewal Area teams. In one meeting of 40 pastors from an area where there has been a lot of division over the last couple of years, they were challenged to stop quarreling and come back to the Lord and each other through prayer. During the time of prayer, many with tears of repentance confessed their sins and asked for forgiveness from the Lord and from each other.

Other area teams are also beginning to meet and carry out their plans—with a commitment to starting at home. One participant, Caren, shared that her family’s devotions have been enriched by new ways of praying. Interestingly, she said she loves to kneel when she prays and had encouraged her children to do the same. She finally realized that in their culture, when children are disciplined, they are forced to kneel. Once she freed her children to worship in the style that suited them, they began to love these times of family worship. 

Will you pray for the Harberts?

1. Pray for the work in Nakuru, Kenya. Pray that God would continue to raise up and develop Kenyan leaders who are passionate about transforming their communities. That families affected by HIV would be healed and restored and come to know Christ.
2. Pray for discernment on next steps in helping the Turkana people realize their potential as God’s image bearers.
3. Pray for the Prayer Renewal Area teams as they implement their two year plans to mobilize and train the church regarding prayer.
4. Pray for God’s protection over Kenya, and also for Barb’s brother, Scott Gration, who is US Ambassador to Kenya.
5. Pray for daughter-in-law Sarah to have a safe delivery and for a healthy baby Harbert.

What is Transformational Development?

Barb Harbert comments below…

"God created man in His image. He made us to be creative, to love, to have dignity, and to have choices. He also created man to be in four key relationships: with Himself, with others, with self, and with creation. With the fall into sin, however, these relationships became distorted. Our mission is helping restore these distorted relationships.

 We want people to understand that God has gifted them with creativity, relationships, natural resources, health, time, and many other resources. In addition, as God's image bearers they have a God-given mandate to be stewards – using their God-given resources to begin to solve their problems, rather than waiting for the next hand out – and in Christ becoming agents of reconciliation.

For this to happen there needs to be a paradigm shift in worldview (or understanding who we are): created by God and redeemed through the blood of Christ. Transformational development is holistic, transforming communities through restored relationships.”