Christworks Ministries

:: Home :: News

News

What's New at ChristworksMinistries.org

July 20th -- last update

New Inspiration Stories and New "Linda's Spot" gracelet:
A new story on the signature of God in the earth is at the top right of the page. We have relocated an inspirational story about Agnes Numer just below it. Agnes is with the Lord now, but her legacy shows fruit through many other ministries. An inspirational story about a lunar sketch on independence day is on the top left column. Go to the Inspiration Page to see these now. "Linda's Spot" has a new "gracelet" -- a story that will encourage believers and unbelievers who are coping with disease or trials.

Northern US Outreach -- Observing the Heavens -- Later This Year
We may be traveling across the Northern US later this year to visit a couple ministries. During the trip we can provide instruction or demonstrate practical observing from a Biblical view to churches, youth groups, camps, etc. If interested, contact us. We conduct single-night 3 hour demonstrations with some Bible teaching and hands-on equipment. During the demos everyone gets to see several types of sky objects and learn to navigate the sky a little bit. A 2-night session with a day session provides enough orientation and practice to get people started with a Bible-oriented observation of the heavens. This is done as ministry; there is no cost to recipients. Any donations help our Philippine/Uganda projects.

A Call for Believers to Share Observing the Created Heavens:
We are still looking for believers who want to share the good news through teaching others to observe the heavens. We can train you and get you started. We train people just the way we trained teachers from Uganda and Thailand. There is too much to do and very few people to do it. It is an effective way to share the gospel, but is also fun, teaches skills that can last a lifetime as well as be used in other fields.

News provides summaries of current, recent and historical activity. The most recent activities are listed first, which include future events information and a detailed summary of activities during the last year. Since many of the activities are subject to prayer, people, or financial support, "Want to help" and "Contact Us" buttons are included on each page.

Key project names are kept as consistent as possible so the same project name appears on the Helps pages, where a project description resides, or the Project Galleries, where pictures of the projects reside. Any home-based project news will be linked to the Home Galleries.

Current Activities (less than one year old)

April 2010 update

Haiti Earthquake Catastrophe.   We have friends in Haiti and friends in US ministries that have projects in Haiti. If you want to assist them, we can pass contact information to them. Above all, keep our Haitian brethren in prayer along with the hundreds of ministries that are assisting the people. It is truly a broken land, but the believers need not be broken but they do need assistance
AOBV Video Project. We are making steps to video AOBV in terms of equipment, staging, props, and lighting. A ministry in the Philippines awaits the product, and can use it right away. It is a lot of work that must be accomplished this year to get the video series ready.

Fall/Winter 2009/2010

1.       Astronomical Observing with a Biblical View (AOBV)
       a.       The curriculum is still not complete but we have finished most of the exercises and sketches. We are taking the first drafts of the lessons and trying edit and improve them, but it takes time.
       b.      Equipment kits have been finalized. We have a vendor who will supply us with little refractor kits (with a table top mount) at a good price. We have also prototyped and tested a small telescope tripod/mount that can be made with one piece of rough wood and minimal hardware that is suitable to be made in impoverished places when a stand-up mount is needed. The design will be in the public domain so anyone can use the design. We will post pictures and assembly instructions on the web site so impoverished groups that need a simple mount can make it with one hand saw and a manual drill. Materials are one 2 meter piece of wood, a little rope, and and a very little hardware. This is an excellent alternative to buying an expensive mount.
       c. There is quite a large ministry in the Philippines that is ready for us to come when we can. The ministry oversees over 100 schools with 10000 children.

2.       Training in AOBV
     a.       We successfully trained the Thai couple at our home and gave them a kit to take home to their little Christian school. We are now fully outfitted to conduct training at home, on the road (using an RV to pack all the gear and training materials), or overseas (like we have done in Haiti and Uganda).
     b.      We returned to Nyamauga Primary/Secondary School Uganda in late November to give awards to the best astronomical observing sketches. This brings their first observing contest (that we organized, sponsored, and judged) to a close. We gave the teachers an additional lesson while we were there. They are excited about what they have learned and plan to use it.

3.       Other Education Work.
     a.       Under Linda's oversight, education supplies from our years of home school support group ministry is being sorted and boxed. We found a small school that will use some of the curriculum that we are no longer need. We will be praying about how to use other materials or find disadvantaged groups that could use them. This task will continue into next year.
     b. Linda is also constructing and has given presentations for children and adults regarding preparation for disasters or emergencies, first aid, and CPR. While she is doing this for the Red Cross, she is also making the presentations suitable for use in ministry projects. As we have explained, working in impoverished areas uses much of the same training and techniques that she is learning or has used, so the benefits are manifold.

4. Nov/Dec Nyamabuga, Uganda Trip.
         We returned from a two week trip to Nyamabuga, Uganda in early December. In addition to giving out AOBV sketching awards, we spoke with parents at Parents Day, taught series of lessons (guitar and astronomy observing), visited with local school officials, preached at two churches, and encouraged a number of believers. We will post a report later. In short, we have found an additional project need since no local school has a library. If we can find 40K we can get a school library but it can also be a meeting room for a variety of functions. If interested in this project, let us know.

We continue to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance on a number of projects but we also are seeking believers will come alongside and do similar things. Please keep us in prayer.

Summer/2009:

1. AOBV (Astronomical Observing from a Biblical View) curriculum work continues with writing tasks, equipment kits, and contacting other ministries who might be interested in using the curriculum.

2. Over 100 sketches from the observing contest in Uganda were received and reviewed. Judging was completed my middle September.

3. We have word from Pine Ridge that the quilting machines are getting put to use and that our project effort at that location is beginning to show fruit. The director there is excited and moving foreward.

4. Our work to organize educational materials, equipment for disaster relief, and plain administration continue. When a ministry is small like ours, you learn to wear many hats!

May/June 2009

Part of a May 2009 multi-purpose trip across country is to visit our friends in All Nations International Ministries in Lancaster CA. Our association with this ministry has always been a source of mutual encouragement. This visit has involved a number of practical work projects but also a chance for us to encourage and share with our friends. We continue to work on our web site as well as the AOBV (Astronomical Observing from a Biblical View) curriculum.

April 2009 Note: Most current activities are home-based although we expect to return to Uganda in late 2009. A Uganda report from the last two trips has been posted here. More detail follows about 2009 activities.

We are making presentations on the Uganda Project, finishing construction of the ministry web site, completing of the first full draft of the "Astronomical Observing from a Biblical View", and addressing administrative work. Our support to the local Chinese church continues and we are providing assistance to a couple of single mothers.

We will be organizing children's educational material from years of home school support group work. As we complete parts of this task, we will be searching for suitable disadvantaged small organizations in the US and abroad that can use some of the material. We have found that small kits of material are of great value because they fill specific needs in small ministry schools that have no ability to obtain materials or obtain the training needed to use them. This task will be ongoing.

We are packing and organizing astronomy kits that go with "Astronomical Observing from a Bible View" in anticipation of our next trips to disadvantaged ministries. This project is growing. One of our goals is to find faithful believers that are willing to be trained to use the same materials and teach others to observe and sketch God's created heavens. People to whom we take the kits and provide training rarely have access to science equipment of any kind or it is entirely too expensive to obtain. So we assemble kits of star maps, small telescopes, and binoculars along with the curriculum to train teachers/leaders to use in their own schools and orphanages. It provides an introduction to a Bible view of God's created heavens, but it also teaches observing/recording skills that are applicable in many areas of endeavor.

Since the backyard of our home is also the location of the 4^th Day Observing Site, we continue to observe and sketch night sky objects. During the next few months we are drawing upon the observation periods and sketches to post the first set of inspirational stories that are reachable on most of the web site pages. If interested in learning more about observing the heavens from a Bible view, use the Contact Us page to submit questions or comments. Peruse the Home Galleries for information on the observing site. You can examine extractions from the draft curriculum that we are using overseas and in the US. As the curriculum is completed, we will also be designing local training sessions for faithful believers that want to be involved in this kind of ministry and are interested in teaching others.

Recent Activities Summary (one to three years)

The Uganda Project mission trips in the fall of 2008 and January/February 2009 that followed the container of supplies that were sent to Uganda in the summer of 2008. Presentations on the trips are available; a version is on the web site at this location.

Our special thanks to Advancing Native Missions who partnered with us to get the container to Uganda. Many volunteers and contributors also helped us with the provisions that went in the container. As the presentations show, many of the materials and equipment is already being utilized in this little rural village school and church. Go to the Helps page for a more detailed description of the project.