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

Fun photos to check out

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Cox Newsletter - December 2007 (part 1)

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Cox Newsletter - December 2007 (part 2)

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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

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

Prayer Update - 8/24/07

Dear Praying Friends,

As you receive this email, we are entering into the final week of preparations for our move and for our trip to Egypt. We're very excited about our new home and feel God has directed us to it. When finally there, we will be relieved, but right now, it's just boxes, boxes and more boxes. Things with the owner of our home have gotten stranger by the day and we can see now why God directed us elsewhere. Even though the actual move-in date isn't until September 14, we need to have everything packed up before…

We leave for Egypt September 1 and will return September 8. Please mark these dates on your calendar and PRAY with us!

September 1 we'll leave the San Diego Airport at 11 am and travel to Egypt via Rome

September 2 we'll arrive in Cairo and will be met by our Egyptian EGM leaders

September 3 we travel to Sharm el Sheikh conference center via local Egyptian air transport

September 3-7 we'll share at the EGM Staff and Board Retreat

September 7 we fly back from Sharm el Sheikh to Cairo (check out the location on a map of Egypt!) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/Egypt-region-map-cities.gif

September 8 we'll leave Cairo (after a very short night of rest) traveling to the US via Paris

September 8 we hope to arrive back at the San Diego Airport at 8 pm

While we're in Egypt, please pray for Jonathan, who will be staying behind with friends in order to stay current with school commitments. Pray for safety in the journey and for safety of the believers who will host us. Pray, too, that we will be able to effectively encourage and train the Egyptian national Christians who lead the EGM ministry in Egypt. This "face-time" is so important as we seek to lovingly influence the national team in positive ways.

September 11, our son Joe will arrive. He'll be with us through the weekend to help out with the move. He's going to be a great help and we're thankful for him.

September 14 is our move day and everything must be done on this day because the next day…
September 15 we will be sharing at St. James Church in Orange County. This church has been a special blessing to EGM over the years and when they invited us to conduct an all-day training event for their children's ministry team, we jumped at the opportunity to bless them in return. This date was selected months before we even knew we'd be moving, so we're trusting the Lord to give the strength that will be needed.

The week of September 16 will be a "normal" work week for us, with the exception of the appointment for our final inspection at our "old" house. Please pray for a good result and full deposit refund even though the relationship is strained.

Our prayer partners are so valuable to us. Thanks so much for your partnership in the ministry. We will endeavor to be in touch with you soon. Thanks for praying! We count it a privilege to be serving the Lord alongside YOU for the sake of lost children around the world.

Joe, Julie and Jonathan Cox