LAST CALL

MINISTRIES Quarterly: Doug & Mesi

CHECK
THIS
OUT!!
ISSUE V APRIL-MAY 2011
 Feeding the
Needy!

 Empowered Community Life in Mekele ~

by the
Spirit of
. . Not lagging How
Christ in a
community
in diligence,
fervent in Good!
of believers!
spirit, serving
 Orphans the Lord; re- &
study the joicing in
Bible exten- hope, patient
sively! in tribulation, TSIGE How
continuing (Tigray)
steadfastly in
VICTOR Pleasant!
(Nigeria)
prayer; dis-
tributing to
the needs of DOUG &
INSIDE the saints,
THIS ISS UE:
given to hos-
MESI
Food for the 2 pitality.
poor & needy
SUNG-
Romans MIN (South FRIENDS IN FELLOW- JON & FEVEN
Men of God: 2 Korea)
Dinner w/
12:11—13 SHIP WHO IMPACT (Engaged to be married!)
Orphans
THIS COMMUNITY
How late I am in reporting to you about what God is doing here with us in Mekele, Ethiopia! Please
Community 3
Life, cont’d forgive me! What with traveling to the capital to attend and preach at the 2011 annual conference of
a partnering ministry, hosting the director of LCM, searching for & moving into a new rental, and
Tarik, my
keeping with our ongoing ministry, Mesi and I have been super busy! The above excerpt from
3
language Romans 12 is absolutely descriptive of the friends you see featured in the photos—these are
teacher committed Christians living in Mekele who want to shine for the Lord Jesus in their respective fields
of work & life. Each one commits their life to service to the community both professionally &
Truth Bible 4
Study: 2
personally. Each is a believer on the Lord Jesus. Each gives, each goes, & each glories in the name of
years on Jesus Christ! I came here as a missionary of the gospel, and God graciously granted me these
wonderful Christians who also have missionary hearts for Christ. These crowns of joy join with Mesi
and I in the worship of God each Sunday, prayer each Tuesday, and other gospel-oriented ministries
throughout the week. Not one is being paid to join with us; but each does so from their heart made
glad in the Holy Spirit. Worship & fellowship in the Spirit of Christ fuels this union! Without
worship, prayer and fellowship, mission work would be drudgery, but God has not designed it to be
that way, praise His name! (Continued on pg. 3). . .
P AGE 2

Food for the Poor & Needy

Visiting prisoners, wid- tissue, et al., all to make ministry of compassion,
ows, and the extremely food baskets for giving to showing the great good-
needy is our thing, be- some of the needy in the ness of God and enhancing
cause giving assistance to city. Our international the gospel witness we give
the powerless is God’s group, some of whom to the poor. In the photo
merciful heart. The are featured on the below: partners Jonathan
photo to the left is our cover, have given funds Bucklew & Joe Spell after mak-
newly constructed food to help us make the ing food baskets in Feb 2011.
pantry shelving. We buy shelves, fill them and
flour, macaroni, spa- continue this merciful
ghetti, tea, juice, crack- ministry. Your funds, as
ers, cooking oil, soap, well, help us when you
laundry powder, soft- give to continue this vital

MEN OF GOD: Dinner & Devotion with Operation Rescue’s Boys’ Home
Men of God—a simple, but
definitive name for our inter-
national guys, a name which
defines our greatest desire in
life—to be those known truly
as men of who belong to & rep-
resent God! We are but a
handful in number, but men
who would be used by the
hands of Almighty God! This
month we invited the boys
who live at the Operation
Rescue Ethiopia (ORE) Boys’
Home to attend a dinner
meeting with us, as an act of
kindness and inclusion, hope-
ful and prayerful that these
young men will also become,
one day, men who love & live
for God. Normally, we invite
other foreigners & expatriates
living or working in Mekele to
attend with us as a venue at
which to meet, eat together
and talk of what the Bible
teaches men. At other times
we had several Ethiopian men
who were educated in English
and were willing to come and
hear what we had to say. In
some ways it has been an
evangelistic venue toward
inquirers, as well as an en-
couraging time for believing
men who love God. But this
time we wanted to invite the
orphan boys with whom we
usually have a Sunday night
Bible study, to join with our
men of God. So, this April
15th, Victor, a Nigerian fel-
low believer, brought the de-
votion from the Word of God
at our dinner. He spoke from
some of Paul’s closing state-
ments in 1st Corinthians
16:13, connecting the ideas of
being watchful, brave, stead-
fast in the faith and strong
with some Old Testament
exhortations to men of God,
such as Joshua, to be strong
and very careful to obey
God’s commands.
This obedience and grow-
ing in grace as our Lord
Jesus exemplified in His
humanity is the means to
strength for every man of
God. The boys listened
very well, and after prayer
and an invitation to re-
spond, we had our dinner
together. Then, as a sur-
prise celebration of Victor’s
birthday, we presented a
cake for all to enjoy. All in
all it was a pleasant evening,
made possible by a collec-
tive desire to be used of
God, to speak His Word
and to call others to re-
spond promptly to that
Word. Not only that, but
programs like this are made
possible by God’s love in
you, which prompts you to
pray, to give, and to re-
member us as we serve
God on your behalf and
His, in Jesus’ name.

QUA RTERLY: DOUG & MESI

ISSUE V P AGE
Community Life in Mekele (Cont’d)
As a missionary, one hopes
to reach many people for
the name and glory of Jesus
Christ. And when God’s
Learning the Language: 7 years on. . .
It’s been a real adventure
learning the Tigrinya lan-
guage. I started out in 2003
on my first vision trip to
Ethiopia learning a few greet-
ings & polite responses. On
my return home that year I
began studying the Fidel, the
Ethiopian ‘alphabet’. Over
~ Still Learning Tigrinya
an elementary level. On Fri-
days, I visit a widow & her 2
daughters on a hill overlook-
ing Mekele. There, we have
about an hour to read in the
Gospel of Luke in Tigrinya,
work on grammar, pronun-
ciation & vocabulary. The
other day, while waiting for
3
Spirit gives a Praise His name, He has
Caption missionary concentrated His power by
describing more men and giving me and Mesi more
picture or
women to share born-again believers with
graphic.
the good news, whom to carry out the
apparent favor Great Commission! So,
and blessing give reason for we are reaching not only
rejoicing. This is my heart Ethiopians, but also other
and joy, that God knows I African nations, South Ko-
This is my
am no super-hero, but in reans, Chinese, etc. Rejoice
heart and
great need of His power. with us!!
joy, that
God knows
that I am
no super-
hero, but in
great Need
the years I’ve had some At this point in my journey, I
of His power!
really good teachers from am even reading & writing
the community who spent the language, although still at
time helping me learn and
improve. Even my wife,
Mesi, has been instrumental
in my progress over time,
challenging me, & helping me
get pronunciation just right!
Tarik (one of the girls, pic-
tured right), I stood on top
of an unfinished building &
took this photograph of the
city of Mekele. Tarik, just
arriving from school, smiled
as I took her photograph.
She & her family also receive
one of our food baskets!
 L C M ? LCM is a 501c3 Organization

which began in 1997. Its inception rose out of a

growing fellowship of believers interested in
gospel evangelism primarily within the inner city

Last Call Ministries of Shreveport, Louisiana. Currently LCM part-

ners with several gospel mission works around
the world, including sites in Brazil, Chad, Ka-
Support:
zakhstan, Moldova and Bayou Du Large (S. Lou-
P.O. Box 4203, Shreveport, LA, 71134
Correspondence: isiana). LCM is currently sponsoring Doug &

P.O. Box 1944, Mekele, Ethiopia Mesi, who are commissioned by their home

Phone: 318-456-9602 church: Heritage Baptist Church in Shreveport,

Email: lastcallministries@hotmail.com Louisiana. All monies received are currently
joespell@keptprivate.com used in the support of the budgeted work under-
dglsmerrick@yahoo.com way in Mekele, Ethiopia.

Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ

until He returns in word, letter and deed!!! LCM
Contact Us!

Truth Bible Study: our 2nd year!!

As we continue to teach the Bible 2 of “free will” in
years on at the 2nd of the two or- March, we began
phanages which we serve in Mekele, ‘effectual calling’ in
we rejoice at the amount of mate- April, seeing what
rial covered. The kids are excited God’s Word has to
about the Bible Study, always turn- teach us! Thanks for
ing very swiftly in their Bibles to the praying & helping us
references we give them. The At- be successful through
tributes of Scripture, the Attributes your giving. Our in-
of God, the Trinity, God’s Sover- ternational fellowship
eignty, God’s Covenant, Sin & the here in Mekele is also
Fall of Man, Christ the Mediator, the to be commended for
Ten Commandments, & the Books Children at the 2nd orphanage we serve pre- their assistance in
of the Bible have been areas of our paring to study the Beatitudes of Christ in helping the kids & in
focus over the past year and a half. giving, which helped
Beginning in January, we began a ing on one b-attitude per month, and us to purchase 15
study of the B-attitudes of Christ giving illustrations from selections in brand new Amharic
from the Gospel of Matthew, focus- the Holy Bible. Also, finishing a study Bibles this month!