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Allen Update May 2019
Allen Update May 2019
Out of the frying pan and into . . . HOT season!!
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Dear Keith,
Greetings in Jesus’ name from hot, HoT, HOT Chiang Mai, Thailand, where it’s 108 F outside. The past week highs have run between 102 and 104 F, and they are predicted to range between 104 and 107 over the coming week.
Kathy can only occasionally share “exciting” stories about her work as counseling is a matter of trust, so stories must remain confidential unless specifically released by clients themselves. One snippet, “I'm so grateful to have this resource available! Without the help we've received at Cornerstone, I doubt that we would have been able to continue our cross-cultural work.”
A major change that we announced in our December GlobalLens, on January first Kathy entrusted the executive directorship of Cornerstone Counseling Foundation to Grace Shim, Associate Director for those 5 years – also co-Asia Regional Coordinator with her husband Bob of Serve Globally, the Covenant mission. Under Kathy's direction, Cornerstone’s professional counseling team grew from 8 to 15 licensed mental health providers – who last year served 500 clients from 32 countries and 140 organizations – its reputation became more firmly established and the building was enlarged to accommodate the growth.
Kathy feels honored that God entrusted her to lead Cornerstone during those five years of growth but we both enjoy her freedom to again focus full-time on counseling cross-cultural Kingdom workers. If you haven't already, visit Cornerstone's website; it’s attractive and interesting. Linger a while. Explore. Consider joining in the capital campaign to expand Thai ministries.
Averill: In January the first of several new DMM catalyst (Disciple Multiplication Movement) teams arrived in Bangkok to begin learning Thai language and culture. Their arrival has greatly shifted Averill’s focus. As Beyond’s Team Development Leader–Mekong, Averill is responsible to welcome and orient new personnel, fostering healthy adaptation to cross-cultural life in Asia, overseeing team development, worker and family wellbeing, and helping all become effective workers in God’s harvest field. At the same time, he continues to visit Beyond’s veteran teams across the Mekong region to encourage, consult, provide pastoral care, arrange advanced training, and troubleshoot problems that arise.
Movements are Multiplying
Because many Beyond teams serve in highly restrictive areas, Averill can only openly share stories from a a few teams in Thailand, Cambodia, and occasionally elsewhere. Spend a while on the Beyond website to gain a broader picture. Read stories of real events and acts of God that anonymize names and places to shield worker identities and avoid placing national partners and new followers of Jesus at undue risk. The Gospel itself is risky. Undue risk is reckless. Beyond videos and blog posts offer glimpses into what God is doing in and through Beyond – some in fairly open places; others in restricted regions and conflict zones where God is actively reconciling many to Himself in Christ Jesus and growing His kingdom.
God is allowing two teams Averill directly serves – after each has invested more than 25 years tilling the soil and sowing Gospel seed – to see movements comprised of thousands of new Jesus-followers whose lives are being transformed gathered in hundreds of churches in high security Mekong regions. The screenshot above groups the Mekong teams’ data with data from all Beyond teams, as of December 2018.
Wedding Bells: March 24, our youngest son Jon (MICC youth group 1998-2002) married Libby Berge in Spokane. We happily squeezed in a quick 10-day trip to join them for the wedding to unite their lives and our families. We hopped a flight to Seattle the day after Kathy’s Cornerstone staff retreat and were back in Thailand 10 days later to participate in Beyond’s annual cross-cultural worker meetings in Bangkok. In Washington we were captured by the vistas of Mt. Rainier backdropped by bright blue skies and were relieved to trade Chiang Mai’s hundred-degrees heat for the “brisk” mid-70s weather Washington enjoyed in mid-March. What a blessing!!
Proud Parents of the Groom!!
Congratulations Jon & Libby!!
Jon & Libby, Ethan and Sophia
Future Plans: As we had to make two unusual trips to the States since our home assignment last summer (brother-in-law Rusty's funeral in early December; son Jon's wedding in March) we plan to wait until Spring 2020 for our next two-month home assignment. We appear to be reasonably healthy. And we are both quite engaged in challenging and fruitful service in Jesus' name. We anticipate continuing to serve based in Thailand until the Lord directs otherwise.
Prayers and Thanksgiving
A nice one-storey house with functional Partners who recently increased their
kitchen and suitable office for Averill. partnership commitments.
New sustaining ministry partners. Kathy's ability to focus fully on counseling.
Pray that God will field new teams of workers from the Global Church to engage every unreached people group and place by 2025. Visit 24:14 -- Jesus's Matthew 24:14 goal.
Thanks for your prayers and partnership that sustain us and resource us to continue serving others in response to Jesus' call and for His glory. You bless our hearts!
17 When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new! 18 All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him. 19 I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people. 20 So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is like God is calling to people through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. 21 Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God. -- 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Easy to Read Version
Your intercession is a critical to seeing movements arise in which the lost are found and the hopeless find hope, as new life unfolds and thoroughly transforms families, tribes, peoples . . . for all time and beyond.
Love and Blessings!
Averill & Kathy
Please consider prayerfully whether and how much God would have you invest financially to sustain us as we call people to be at peace with God.
1. Checks payable to Beyond, with attached note "Preferenced for Averill & Kathy A" may be mailed to:
Beyond
P.O. Box 831539
Richardson, TX 75083-1539
2. Set up electronic giving from your bank account by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or via Debit or Credit Card. Alternately, on Beyond's giving page, click "Give to a Worker." Scroll down the left column and select "Averill and Kathy A." Thanks!!
PO Box 831539
Richardson, TX 75083-1539
http://www.beyond.org
285/86 Moo 4 Don Chan Pattana
Chiang Mai, 50000, Thailand
http://www.ccfthailand.org
Copyright © 2019 Averill and Kathy Allen, All rights reserved.
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Averill and Kathy Allen
192/245 Soi 17, KoolpuntVille 6
T. Mae Hia, A. Muang
Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai 50100
Thailand