Presbyterian Missionary Union

Missions
July-August 2005, #200

Mailing Address:
1650 Love Road
Grand Island, New York 14072
the

Banner
Phone/Fax:716-775-0442
E-mail: pmu@bpc.org
On the Web:
www.presbyterianmissions.org
Field Representative:
Rev. Leonard Pine, D.Min. PMU Marks 20 Years of Co-Ministry with the BPC
Twenty years ago, Presbyterian Mis- livia, Brazil, and Rwanda. These minis-
News to Know: sionary Union began its work of planting tries are varied in method and extent
• On-line Contributions: and encouraging Bible Presbyterian from short-term teams and individual
We have been working churches at home and abroad. We rejoice missions work to career missionaries to
hard to improve our in the fruit that God has granted through venture-type missions that open doors to
PMU web presence. We the labors of faithful missionaries and closed countries.
are pleased to now have church planters.
the ability to accept con- From its inception,
tributions securely on- PMU has consciously en-
line. Please visit the web deavored to maintain a con-
site to see what is new or sistently Presbyterian ap-
set up a user account! proach to its policies and
• In late August and early practices, with special care
September, PMU Coun- taken to work under the
cil member, Dr. Kevin authority of the courts of
Backus, will return to the Church in every respect.
SE Asia to minister in Though PMU has a self-
Cambodia, Myanmar, perpetuating board, its
Sri Lanka, and China. members are each office-
Funds are needed to bearers accountable directly
meet expenses. to the Church. The Synod
• Dr. Pine will travel to annually reviews and com-
Rwanda in October, mends PMU to its churches.
accompanied by Rev. The result has been a
Tito Lyro, for the pur- remarkable partnership that
pose of training our has produced much gospel
Rwandese brothers in fruit around the world. In
church government and the United States, PMU is
theology. Again, ex- often the first point of con-
penses are high, and tact that people have when
funds are needed. Thank they are interested in the
you for your generosity BPC, or want information on starting a Presbyterian Missionary Union looks
and prayers. BP church. PMU has been active in help- forward to serving the Lord with the Bi-
ing to plant, shepherd, or encourage BP ble Presbyterian Church for another
churches in Kingsville, MD, Palm Har- twenty years and beyond, the Lord will-
bor, FL, Apollo, PA, Springville, NY, ing, and to even greater effect. We exist
Elma, WA, Minerva, OH, Knoxville, TN, to assist the BPC in their task of mis-
Columbia, SC, and Scappoose, OR. sions. As long as the BPC remains fer-
Overseas, works have been under- vent for the harvest fields of the world,
taken in Kenya, China, Thailand, Cambo- PMU has work to do! Thank you for your
dia, Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bo- prayers and support of this ministry.
 Page2
BPC General
Synod Convenes
The 69th General Synod
of the Bible Presbyterian
Church will convene, Lord
willing, in Olympia, WA,
August August 4-9, 2005.
The host church will be the
Olympia Bible Presbyterian
Church, where the Rev. H.
Dennis Leaman serves as the
Senior Pastor and the Rev.
Tito Lyro serves as Assistant
Pastor.
Outgoing Moderator,
Elder Philip Resnick, se-
lected the theme of “The
Attributes of God” for the
2005 Synod. Delegates are
anticipating a tremendous
week of fellowship and “iron
sharpening iron” opportuni-
ties as they conduct the busi-
ness of the Church.
Of particular interest to
PMU from a missions stand-
point is a proposed amend-
ment to the Constitution
which would provide for the
creation of international,
“associate” presbyteries in
an effort to assist our breth-
ren of like faith around the
world organize properly and
be strengthened by an or-
ganic relationship to our US
churches.
Team Timothy Brazil Heads to the Field!
Six months ago, we were asking our
readers to help us put Team Timothy
Brazil 2005 on the field. This month,
that team heads out to minister in Recife
and Triunfo, Brazil, fully funded and
ready to go. We thank you for your sup-
port of this important work In addition
to orphanage and VBS outreaches, door-
to-door evangelism and street preaching,
the team will assist in the construction
of a new church building.
They begin their journey in Palm
Harbor, Florida, where the team assem-
bles from around the country for a day
and a half of “boot camp,” an important
training and orientation time. They will
be on the field from July 9-22, and re-
turn home on the 23rd.
Rev. Tito Lyro (Tacoma, WA) is the
team leader. Co-leaders of the team are
Samuel Vitalino (Olympia, WA), Mrs.
Meet Sarah Comfort
PMU is delighted to recommend to
the congregations of the BPC our new-
est missions candidate, Miss Sarah
Comfort, from Grand Island, NY.
Sarah has been active in both home
missions and foreign missions short-
term efforts under PMU’s Team Timo-
thy program, as well as maintaining a
busy schedule of involvement with the
children’s ministries of her home
church, the BPC in Grand Island.
After her trip to Thailand with Team
Timothy in 2003, Sarah was burdened to
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Carol Hughey (Olympia, WA), and
Miss Susan Blizzard (Cape Canaveral,
FL). They will oversee the labors of
David Blizzard (Lakeland, FL), Tim
Blizzard (Cape Canaveral, FL), Yumi
Kobayashi (Columbia, SC), Julia Lasch
(Grand Island, NY), Tara Leaman
Triunfo, the state of Pernambuco, Brazil
(Olympia, WA), Charissa Lensch
(Tacoma, WA), Jessica Parizo
(Lak eland, FL), Eric Pasto rek
(Knoxville, TN), Casey Walters
(Kalispell, MT), and Sarah Wann
(Lakeland, FL).
Please keep the team in prayer as
they travel by plane, taxi, minibus to get
to the various places where they will
serve the Lord’s Church and then return
home. Pray for physical and spiritual
strength, stamina, and safety. Pray, too,
for unquenchable zeal in their work and
an unblemished testimony for Christ.
serve the Lord on the mission field, and
has since begun advanced theological
training (she has already finished her
undergraduate studies) through Western
Reformed Seminary in Tacoma, WA.
Sarah is awaiting her final field as-
signment, to be made this summer at
PMU’s annual meeting. We are praying
that she will be able to head to her field
by the fall of 2006. To get her there, we
are looking to God’s people to commit
themselves to her monthly support and
prayer needs. Will you help us? Thanks!
July-August2005,#200 Page3

Edmonton and Other North American Delights

Dr. Pine had the great privilege of
traveling north of the border to visit our
BP brethren in Edmonton, Alberta, Can-
ada in June. Though only there over the
weekend, Pastor John Dyck found plenty
for Len to do!
On Saturday, Dr. Pine had the joy of
meeting a young couple who are seeking
the Lord’s leading and preparation for
missions or church planting work. Visit-
ing with the David and Alia Flater fam-
ily (lower right photo) and talking about
the Lord’s work together was a treat.
On Sunday, Dr. Pine was able to
preach twice and give two different pres-
entations about different aspects of
PMU’s current activities. The congrega-
tion’s hospitality and interest in the
Lord’s harvest fields was a great
encouragement.
Dr. Pine has also been able to
minister in Minerva, OH, meeting
with the congregation to work to-
wards a solution for growing a
church in a smaller community, and
for finding a pastor. He also assists
in scheduling and taking part in pulpit
supply. This dedicated little band of be-
lievers is fervent and determined.
Len also participated in the VBS
program at his home church, the BPC in
Grand Island, NY, organizing and par-
ticipating in bus transportation for the
two week school. Before Synod rolls
around, he’ll be counseling at the Great
Lakes summer youth camp in mid-July.

Miriam Hits the Deputation Trail
Miriam arrived home on June 13.
After a little rest, she hit the road. She
writes:
“The trip began on June 25 with an
early morning flight out of Seattle,
headed for Tampa.
”On Sunday morning I had the Sun-
day School hour in Lakeland and gave a
slideshow and information on China.
Then it was off to Cape Canaveral for
the evening.
”In Cape Canaveral I was given the
evening service time to discuss the work
in China and show some pictures. We
ended with a Q & A time, and then a
pizza dinner in the fellowship hall where
I had a chance to visit.
”In the morning it was off early to
camp in central Florida. During the
whole week I had time each afternoon to
discuss missions and China with the
kids. Friday was Q & A day, and we had
a good time with the kids' alternately
fun and thought-provoking queries.
”On Wednesday of camp week I
went to the Palm Harbor church for
prayer meeting, speaking again there
and having a good time talking with the
folks there. We drove back to camp on
the same night to finish out the week.
”Saturday morning was another
early stop at the airport, and after a day
of delays, lost luggage, and bad weather,
I arrived at 9:00pm in Charlotte and had
a quick dinner with some of the church
folks. Sunday morning I was given the
Sunday School time for a slideshow and
discussion of China. I took another
twenty-five minutes or so before the
message in the morning service, and
after having lunch it was off to Colum-
bia, SC, where I arrived just in time to
drive over for an evening of fellowship,
dinner and a slideshow and discussion
of China's work.”
Miriam’s schedule takes her also to
Knoxville, TN, Cincinnati, OH, and
then the Great Lakes Presbytery camp
and the New York BP churches. She
plans to speak in Collingswood on
Wednesday night the 20th of July and in
Baltimore, MD, on Sunday the 24th. Af-
ter a brief family visit in NJ, and then
flying back to Tacoma on Thursday the
28th. She will present her work in Scap-
poose, OR, on July 31 and will round
out her tour with the churches in the
Puget Sound area. Then, back to China.
Please keep Miriam in your prayers
as she travels, and pray, too, that the
Lord will raise up new supporters for
her. Pray that Lord will also move in
hearts to raise up new laborers for
China!
About PMU:
Presbyterian Missionary Union
is a non-profit missions agency
associated with the Bible Presby-
terian Church. We desire to ad-
vance the cause of missions that
are biblically based and practiced
and to stand against any compro-
mise of the saving gospel of Je-
sus Christ. PMU is directed by a
Missions Council of Christian
leaders who voluntarily give their
time to guide the ministry. Please
contact us should you desire to
learn more about missions oppor-
tunities through PMU, arrange
for a presentation, or become
better acquainted with the BPC.
The Missions Banner is pub-
lished ten times a year, and is
distributed without cost to our
churches and to interested indi-
viduals. The Banner seeks to
promote the clear stand of the
BPC by providing a biblical per-
spective on issues in missions
and church development. Our
Editor is Len Pine, and our Pub-
lishing Coordinator is Tito Lyro.
 Page4
Street Evangelism with some
excited kids!
A “Happy School” where poor
children can be taught for free
Evening English class at Glory
BPC (below)
[For the full story, see Mark’s web
page at http://baldwin.gracebpc.org]
Mark Baldwin Checks In
FORMOSA INSTITUTE
“Most of my work is
done at the Formosa Insti-
tute and I currently live in
the building. I have seen
some noticeable progress
among my students; one
even asked me to read a
little faster! I have noticed
considerable improve-
ment in all the students in
their pronunciation. They
are quite adaptable.
“I occasionally get to
speak of my faith here at Formosa but it
can be hard. Some of the students stud-
ied at a church before because it was
cheaper or even free. One of them was
eventually forced to leave the church
classes because he would not “accept”
Christ and wound up at Formosa for a
month. I tried to explain that you cannot
be forced to become a Christian but
rather must be enabled and converted by
God, but it fell on deaf ears. That
church's action spoke louder than my
words and make my work difficult.
GLORY BPC
“I’ve also been able to occasionally
teach English at Glory BPC in Phnom
Penh. I am free to teach from a religious
perspective there, and the students un-
derstand not only the grammar but the
deeper religious meaning. They tend to
be my most enthusiastic students and
are a real joy to teach.
“Most classes at the Church are
taught at night just like at Formosa. In
the future, I will try
to keep my eve-
nings open so I can
teach at the Church
at night. It has been
a real joy to teach,
pray, worship and
fellowship there.
HAPPY SCHOOL
“The ‘Happy
School’ exists be-
cause of one of the
sadder features of
the Cambodian school system. Teachers
can't survive on their salary alone. The
standard practice here is for the teacher
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to require a “fee” each month to allow
the student to study. Very poor students
may live in families that make less
$0.50 a day and can't afford to pay even
$0.10 a month in graft. (Public school
teachers can't legally charge kids to
come to school.) The “Happy School”
lets these poor children come for free
who would otherwise never get an edu-
cation, leaving them with almost no
hope of getting jobs and earning a liv-
ing. They would continue in wretched,
squalid poverty or turn to crime to make
a living.
“I went to look at the homes in
which many of these children live and
was shocked. Their homes were build in
the road backed up to a creek, all at-
tached to each other. Some of the
“homes” were only 3 feet by 5 feet! The
whole family lives in that space and
sleeps in hammocks at different levels
or on the floor. I am told that eventually
the city will bridge the creek and their
homes will be destroyed as they are ille-
gally built in the road.
STREET EVANGELISM
While I didn't teach, taking part on
an evangelistic team from Glory BPC
was still quite an experience for me. Our
team went to a primitive housing area
only a couple blocks off the main street.
The young ladies from the church an-
nounced they were there to teach and
kids came pouring out of the woodwork.
They sang songs, taught Bible lessons,
and played a game. After almost an hour
the kids got a treat and took the photo
with me. Pray for fruit and that some of
the children would be able to come to
Sunday School.
PRAYER REQUESTS
“Please be in prayer for both the
English teaching, that it would improve
students’ lives in this world, and the
evangelism and teaching about Christ,
that it would glorify God and bring peo-
ple into His kingdom.
“Pray also for my health, strength
and wisdom as I may have had heat ex-
haustion a number of times and been
laid up with heat stroke for a week.”
Mark’s account is also in need of
more monthly donors. Thank you!