Fall 2009 Update

Dear Friends,

Blessings to you from Musicianaries! We trust you have had a summer filled with family memories, joy, and physical refreshing. As we begin the school season and scheduled routines, may the Lord bring renewed energy and inspiration to your spirit and His leading in your daily decisions.

In July, our outreach team consisted of 22 “Musicianaries” and 20 Cambodians who participated in reaching 28 villages with much-needed aid, physically and spiritually. After our month’s efforts of exhausting daily participation, we saw impacting results:

• 330 tons of rice dispersed in 34 distributions
• 3000 bags of iodized salt given out
• 400 school uniforms personally distributed in 5 villages
• 500 school uniforms being sewn for distribution by our host organization
• 3000 people treated in 21 medical clinics
• 30,000 pieces of Christian literature and 100 Khmer Bibles given out
• 6 Proclaimers (Khmer portable audio Bibles)
• 295 family-sized mosquito nets given to villagers
• 2700 toothbrushes and 2200 toothpastes distributed with hygiene demonstrations
• 41 baptisms performed by Jim, John, and Pastor Chanta
• 3 outreach concerts with musicians from four countries

We thank the Lord for protecting our team with great health, safety, unity, and purpose to see His kindness extended to the thousands touched on this trip!

Jim and Cheryl McCandliss, our new President at Musicianaries and his wife, were able to continue on to Indonesia after this time in Cambodia. They had planned last March to make this trip with Bobby and me, but we had to cancel the trip due to Bobby’s hospitalization. Their hosts, Pastor Robert and Lea Sutanto, of New Wine International Fellowship in Jakarta, ministered together with us on the Cambodia 2008 outreach.

Jim spoke at several church services, including a fellowship of blind people. It was awesome for him to experience the joy of those sisters and brothers as they worshipped the Lord Jesus with abandonment. They also joined in ministering to people at a residential facility for the mentally ill. A simple church service—more like a Sunday school class—was held and then ended with the distribution of a sack lunch to the attendees. Cheryl also shared about becoming a “woman of influence” to the women’s fellowship at the church.

All of these reports totally reflect your participation with us through your continued prayers and financial support. We are so grateful for your dedication to the Lord and to Musicianaries in partnering with us as we continue to follow the Lord’s commission to reach the ends of the earth with His Word. You are such an encouragement to us personally, and I know that Bobby would be honored as you impact the nations that were so dear to his heart.

As we look ahead to the final months of 2009, we anticipate the Lord’s great blessing on the events He has placed in our paths. As you know, in past years Bobby and I went into Cuba several times each year to minister to the vibrant churches there, encouraging the believers, and seeing many come to know the Lord at great risk. We also took in “mountains” of instruments and clothing on each outreach to distribute to the churches. Our hearts were grieved when these doors were closed about four years ago when Castro stepped down and diplomatic policies changed. However, this month we have been given a new opportunity to bless these precious churches once again! In November, we will be able to send in the first 120-pound shipment of items with other opportunities to follow. This is a great answer to prayer! May the Lord bless His people in Cuba with this new means of provision for them!

We also have been given the opportunity to go into the Dominican Republic for a mission outreach this month! We will be working with an organization already established in the country building homes for needy families. This short-term trip will serve as a “scouting it out” process to determine future investment in this country with this project. Please pray that the Lord will not only provide the financial means for this endeavor, but also for His discernment and wisdom concerning future ministry in the Dominican.

We praise the Lord for these additional opportunities to serve Him! May the Lord continue to give you new opportunities in your community and bless you with favor as you reach out daily to those around you and mirror His precious character of love and forgiveness to others.

Blessings to you,

Lee Michaels
Musicianaries International, Inc.