Frequent Flyer Miles...

Cara on one of her trips to Teso

Tonya with Angela, who has been living with her and is now healed from her Turberculosis.

We have the privilege of partnering with two of the most amazing young women you’ll likely ever meet. Cara lives in Entebbe near the Nkumba schools, and Tonya lives about 4 hours east in Jinja. Both are in Uganda with Remember the Poor. They pour their lives out for the sake of the Gospel.

Trans-continental trips don’t come cheap! If you have frequent flyer miles that you’d like to donate (or un-used airline gift cards), please email me with the quantity of miles you have available as well as the airline. We have specific need for 4 tickets in late January, and 1 in March. We can use both domestic and international carriers, as some of the travel is within the U.S.

Thank you!

Swell Up and Die...

Dear Friends,

I would like to update you on our fundraiser and what the Lord has done, but first I would like to share a true story with you.

Acts: 28 1-10 ~ Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

On the way to Rome, Paul faced many life threatening events. In Acts 27 he boarded a ship as a prisoner and set sail for Rome with a centurion, guards and other prisoners. The crew decided to sail and beat the weather in order to deliver their cargo in a timely fashion. They sailed into some hurricane like storm. Paul warned the centurion to no avail. After the crew feared for their lives, Paul shared that an angel of the Lord appeared to him and that no one on the ship needed to fear. All 276 people jumped ship and swam to the island of Malta, all 276 men made it alive, just as Paul promised according to his vision.

In Acts 28, once the crew arrived safely on shore, Paul gathered some wood to throw into the fire. But a viper was hiding in the wood and jumped out and bit him on the hand. I love that the Lord had orchestrated that all eyes would be on his servant Paul. Verse 4 says that the islanders thought that Paul must have been an murderer and was getting what was due him, from the goddess Justice, because he escaped death from the sea. But Paul just shook off the snake. Verse 6 tells us that the people expected him to swell up or fall over dead, BUT “after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

God had all eyes on Paul, everyone watched him, the centurion, the guards, other prisoners and now the Islanders of Malta. Not all of us has had the prospect of sharing our faith through a snake bite. However the Lord has orchestrated the things in lives to be such a witness to Christ. He draws attention to us, our life stories, our up’s and our downs for one purpose, to bring Him glory!

This is the case with a friend of mine living in Uganda. Tonya has been a part of our ministry at The Mission. The Lord moved her and her son Christopher to Uganda and she has been on a wild journey from day one. In just five months, Tonya has had to change her course about five times, move twice, saved a child from witch craft and starvation, has taken three children into her care under the age of nine from different tribes (one tribe being an unreached people group), lost and regained two of her children twice, been sick, feared for her life, been thrown in jail for protecting a neglected child, and has been in two car accidents. There is much more to her story that I can’t go into detail about now but you get the idea, Tonya has been under great pressure and great attack.

Tonya shares a compound with a Muslim couple. They have began to form a relationship and the couple really cares for Tonya and her kids. Just last week Tonya got into a pretty big car accident and had to take care of some personal business. The couple was concerned for Tonya and her family and was waiting for an update once Tonya returned. You see, the Lord has drawn attention to Himself, through his servant. This Muslim family has been watching Tonya get struck by “the viper!” They have been waiting, just as the Islanders of Malta, for Tonya to swell up and fall over dead! How could one person endure such venomous strikes and live?

With all eyes on Tonya, she gave testimony to the one and only, Christ! She has displayed his truths and testified to His name sometimes, without even knowing it. This Muslim couple has been watching. With their gaze fixed on Tonya and the wonder that she has not given up and died, they made a bold statement! “We are tired of this Muslim religion, we want to know about your Jesus!”

This is why we are set on traveling to Uganda and Kenya. This is our heart beat, the nations coming to faith in the one true God! This is why we have garage sales and fundraisers. This is why we ask for your support! Christ glorified is the reason we live! There is story after story of people giving up their “old idols” for new life in Christ. They watch and see that we have victory and no snake bite will take us from praising the TRUE God!

Our sale earned $1097! Praise the Lord! Thank you to all who participated by donating and helping so much. We fought against the rain the whole time, but God is good! We are approximately in need of $2000 more! Will you please pray and ask the Lord how he will use you to “send” us? It is the time of the year where we are all busy getting ready for Christmas and we know that it is the time of the year where finances get tight. Would you please pray and ask God to challenge you in the area of giving, and then trust Him through it?

If only 20 people gave $100, the task would be accomplished! We appreciate all of you. We thank you for your generosity, prayers and love for us and the mission of Christ.

There are two ways to donate, you can send a check to Remember the Poor (with a note “Thiele Travel”)

RTP
PO Box 1013
Lynden, WA 98264

Or you can go online to http://www.irememberthepoor.org/ and click the donate button and donate on line. Make sure you add a note to it, saying “Thiele Travel”!


As for the end of Tonya’s story with her new Muslim friends, we will have to wait and find out what the Lord has planned. Tonya can only do and say so much because of cultural barriers between men and women, but her friends are eagerly awaiting Bryan’s (and my) arrival so that he can ask questions of another man, a lover of Jesus

Blessings to you all. Please know that we are praying for you! Please email us your prayer requests, we would love to pray for you as well!

In the Matchless Name of Christ,

Bryan and Andrea Thiele

His Desires, My Desire...

Dear Friends and Family,

This past week we have learned so much about reaching the nations for Christ. Bryan and I were able to attend a Community Health Evangelism (CHE) meeting and it spoke right to our hearts.

“The purpose if CHE is not just breaking poverty or planting churches, though both are accomplished in CHE programs. The real goal of our work is a transformation in the lives and communities that is as deep as the human heart, and as broad as the whole range of the human experience on the world God made. We want Jesus to be recognized as the Lord over all creation, and our development activities to reflect the depth and breadth of the kingdom of God. CHE seamlessly integrates evangelism, discipleship and church planting with community health and development. The ministry is wholistic, seeking to obey everything that Jesus commanded and addressing the whole need of individuals and communities.”

We are planning on taking next steps with CHE to receive their formal training. This is will be a vital tool we use to reach out to the Karamojong people of Uganda and other communities.

Our trip to Uganda and Kenya will be a vision trip. We will be working with our missionaries in Uganda and our pastors & leaders in Kenya to cast vision and explore the possibilities of reaching local communities and unreached people groups with the Gospel of Christ.

As we all know, going to the nations requires the means to get there. While we know that reaching the unreached with the Gospel of Christ is important, we also know that some go and some stay to send the goers, every part is vital to a successful ministry and as the body of Christ, we seek to build the kingdom of God together.
Romans 10: 12-15 ~ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[f] 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[g]

We are well aware that this is the Christmas season and money is tight. I would like to present to you:

If 40 people gave $100 (or more) we would reach our goal.

40 x $100 = vision trip to reach the unreached!

Your donations are tax deductible, when you make your check to Remember the Poor. Please do not write our name on the check, but please do include a note, “Thiele Travel”.

RTP
PO Box 1013
Lynden, WA 98264

Or click here and donate online to RTP, please include "Theiel Travel" in your note.

Our fundraiser is one week away! Thank you to those of you who have donated to our sale, we are so grateful.

I will keep you up to date as we move along and God provides.

Blessings
Bryan & Andrea