Friday, March 28, 2008
Prayer Update - 3/28/08
Dear Praying Friends:
We're entering into a season where your prayers will REALLY be needed. What a privilege it is for us to be able to email you, knowing you WILL pray for us! Thank you!! Here's what's going on...
On Saturday, March 29, we depart for Phoenix, Arizona where we will join a team from Calvary Church in St. Peters, Missouri. We're excited to work alongside our dear friends and ministry partners from Calvary as we head down to Kino Bay, Sonora, Mexico. Through April 5, we'll have opportunity to conduct a training for children's workers in the region, help in some neat direct children's ministry stuff and visit an orphanage and drug/alcohol rehab center.
After a few days at home, I will head for the airport again, this time journeying to Kiev, Ukraine where we will conduct an orientation for the new Ukrainian board members who have agreed to serve as the new Ukrainian ministry is established. I'll be working alongside our regional resource team director, Igor Fridrikh. It will be FUN to be a part of some of the first steps to seeing an official ministry established in this country where so many children's workers are looking for training, resources and encouragement.
After the Ukraine meetings, I will go for the first time to Minsk, Belarus. During the days I am there I will evaluate the ministry work and seek to be an encouragement to the team there. In order to protect our ministry partners, I'll not go into further detail as to my activities during this week. It is enough to say that there are very real dangers and pressures for believers in Belarus and I'm COUNTING on the covering of your prayers during this portion of my trip.
I will be home for just a couple of days before we leave again for the St. Louis area. We're beginning the process now of setting up meetings with our friends and ministry partners in the area. We'll have about 10 days to see EVERYBODY!! A good portion of our support team resides in this area and it will be great to see them. We can't wait to give everyone an update on the ministry and thank them for their support and prayers over the last almost 2 years in EGM ministry! Our new team member, Alex Bruda, from Romania, will be joining us for part of that time so that we can introduce him to our supporting "family." (NOTE: If you're in the area, we WANT to see you while we're there. Please email us to let us know when we can connect with you!)
Here's the itinerary for the next several weeks. Please post it and follow us with your prayers for physical, emotional and spiritual strength for us as individuals and for us as a family.
March 29 - Joe and Julie Fly to Phoenix, AZ on the way to Mexico
March 30 - Cross the border into Mexico
March 30-April 5 - Kino Bay, Sonora, Mexico
April 5 - Fly back from Phoenix to San Diego
April 9 - Joe flies to Kiev, Ukraine
April 10-12 - Board Orientation in Kiev
April 13-17 - Ministry Activities in Minsk, Belarus
April 19-29 - Connect with St. Louis Support Team
Thank you for standing with us in prayer!
Joe, Julie and Jonathan Cox
YOUR missionaries with Every Generation Ministries
Monday, February 11, 2008
Prayer Update - 2/11/08
Dear Praying Friends,
Normally, I have emailed you just prior to a trip, giving you my itinerary and asking you to pray me through it. However, due to a communication glitch, the email requesting your prayers in advance did not go out. Therefore, I'm sending you now a report on the trip instead! I'm sure you were praying (as the dates for the recent trip to Egypt were outlined in our most recent newsletter) so THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!
I was pleased this time to be able to join a team from Voyagers Church in Irvine, California (about an hour or so from where we live in Temecula). It was so great to see all the gifts of the different team members being used by the Lord in the lives of Egyptian children's ministry leaders.
Upon my arrival, the 10 of us piled into a minibus and a car and headed toward Alexandria, 3 hours away. The conference center where the children's workers conference was to be held was right on the Mediterranean Sea and the the view was spectacular even though the weather was the worst they'd seen in 15 years!
In spite of the horrible weather, 230 children's workers arrived within a few minutes time. The group was mostly young people and there were LOTS of men. This is an unusual sight at a children's workers gathering. Women ages 30-50 normally make up the majority of the group, but not at this conference. Every spare minute, on every break, attendees inundated team members with children's ministry questions - about everything from classroom discipline challenges to complex spiritual issues.I was taken aback by the number of children's workers asking me about sexual abuse. It seems that the problem is growing but the society is not growing in it's ability to deal with the issue. Every teacher who asked me about it said that their fear was that the parents would blame the child if it were known what was going on. Egypt is a spiritually dark place and this is just one more confirmation of that fact. The conference center was called Beit El Salaam, which means "place of peace" in Arabic. It was truly a haven for these storm beaten servants. It's not easy being a evangelical Christian in Egypt, let alone a children's worker. These precious people were so in need of encouragement. They packed into the worship center for every session - no one skipped out of various sessions as you see at American conferences. They were so eager to hear what was shared and took copious notes during every class.
At the close of the conference, most attendees boarded buses headed to the various locations throughout Egypt. Some would travel several days on various modes of transportation before they would eventually get back home to rest. We boarded each bus and bid farewell with a prayer for safe journeys. As I was saying goodbye, I thought of you.
What a privilege to know these people and serve them. What a privilege to know that boys and girls in churches and communities throughout Egypt will be touched by the ministry of this conference. What a privilege to be sent by you, our prayer and financial supporters. Your ministry of prayer and giving is making a difference for real people like Yousef and Meham and Sylvia and Michal and Mofida and Ayad and...Joe and Julie and Jonathan.
With much love and thanks,
Joe and Julie and Jon
With much love and thanks,
Joe and Julie and Jon
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Prayer Update - 10/22/07
Wow! I am in Cluj, Romania today and just finished a great day of staff training with the new staff team here. I shared some leadership training materials on the subjects of Caring For Ministry Leaders, Effective Teamwork in Ministry and Being an "Equipper" Rather Than a "Doer." The team really responded well and I really feel God will use their unique set of gifts and abilities in amazing ways.
The weekend was incredible, too. On Sunday, I got to share with a group of around 200school age children in a large Pentecostal church here in Cluj. Afterward, we observed a teacher of 5th graders who was using the materials our EGM partners have produced here. She is a direct product of the training and mentoring she's received through the Romanian staff here and the American summer ministry teams that have come to her church. What a joy to see her effectiveness in sharing God's Word with the kids and to know you and I had a small part in that!
In the afternoon, I was invited to share at the Hungarian Baptist Church. It seems strange to be in a Hungarian service while in Romania, but there is actually quite a large community of Hungarians in Romania and the Hungarian Baptist Union has a large number of churches. It was great to share with them and thank them for their part in the ministry of reaching the children (this is the church of one of our staff members). Following the service, we enjoyed an AMAZING Hungarian dinner! MMMMMMMM!
Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Kiev, Ukraine and am counting on your continued prayers for me. Igor Fridrikh and I will be sharing with denominational and church leaders about the launch of our minstry in this country. It's my first time there.
I spoke to Julie via the computer for a brief moment a few moments ago and things are going well at home. She even had our grandson, Noah, at the house for the weekend! (I'm jealous!) She thanks you for your prayers, as well. She's busy coordinating the trip I will make with the team going to Oaxaca in the south of Mexico (a children's workers training event) November 12-17. It's so great to have her there, seeing to the details of the ongoing work of EGM and coordinating communications. I'm so thankful for her.
God bless you for your ministry of prayer!
Joe
Ps. 25:4,5
Friday, October 19, 2007
Prayer Update - 10/19/07
Dear Praying Friends,
You have been so faithful to follow us and cover us with your prayers. Please don't stop! I can't tell you how important it is!! We feel God's provision, protection and encouragement so often and KNOW we can link it DIRECTLY to the prayer support we receive!
EGYPT
Julie and I felt God working in significant ways during our trip to Egypt last month. It was obvious that He had gone before us to prepare the way and we were able to encourage our staff and board team there. I enjoyed sharing Bible studies from the life of Elisha and God moved in hearts as a result. We both saw the Lord opening doors for informal strategic conversations as well as good results from the board meetings. We felt our time there was well spent on a number of levels. We even got to put our toes in the Red Sea - amazing! Praise the Lord for our team of prayer partners and financial supporters who made this trip possible.
MOVING
We are all moved into our new place (see new address and phone below). We love it and are so thankful that our son, Joe, was able to come out from Missouri to help us move! Things went fairly smoothly and we're thankful!! Believe it or not, I was called for jury duty in the midst of all the move, and was assigned to a case lasting a full month! God miraculously moved in the heart of the very "by the book" judge and, though not excused from serving, I WAS able to postpone my service to February. Whew!
JULIE'S NEW JOB
Now that our EGM president has a new full-time assistant, Julie is, once again, able to focus her time and energy on the plethora of special projects that continue to surface in the very quickly growing EGM ministry. Right now, she's putting the final touches on an international staff member's manual with loads of policies and procedures that will make our work stronger around the world. It's been tedious and complicated but the result is pure beauty!! She's also editing some training materials and other resources that will help US churches as they participate in short term ministry partnering with churches in EGM countries.
ROMANIA, UKRAINE, POLAND & HUNGARY
Sunday, October 15, I will once again board an airplane headed for Eastern Europe. Here's the itinerary, so you can follow me with your prayers…
Sun, Oct 14 - Leave San Diego at 7:40am headed for Budapest, Hungary
Mon, Oct 15 - Drive with our team to Cluj, Romania
Tues, Oct 16 - Meet with the Romanian staff team for conference planning and new staff training
Oct 17-20 - National Children's Worker Conference in Vlahita, Romania
Sun, Oct 21 - Hungarian Baptist Church in Cluj
Mon, Oct 22 - New staff training for Romanian team
Oct 23-26 - Meet with denominational leaders and board candidates in Kiev, Ukraine
Fri, Oct 26 - Fly from Kiev, Ukraine to Krakow, Poland
Oct 27-29 - Meet with our regional staff and EGM Poland staff and board
Mon, Oct 29 - Overnight train from Krakow to Budapest, Hungary
Tues, Oct 30 - Meet with EGM Hungary staff and board
Wed, Oct 31 - Fly home and arrive 9:45pm in San Diego
Of course, as always, remember to pray for Julie and Jonathan and for our US staff while I'm away. My special prayer requests this time is for physical ENDURANCE and for WISDOM as I meet with each team. Complex ministry consultations and decisions are a daily event on these trips and I'm hopeless and helpless without Divine help!
Your brief return email, reminding me of your commitment to pray is always a welcome sight in my email inbox and is often just the encouragement I need.
Thanking God for you,
Joe Cox
New home address:
41710 Monterey Place
Temecula, CA 92591
New phone number:
951-506-4868
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