MANNA - Thank you Jehovah Jireh, our Provider

God has daily provided just what we need… here is an example of His overwhelming faithful provision:

Emma and I headed out one Sat. with family to a annual Boy Scout huge yard sale held in Plainville in early May. Emma had $20 when we set out and we hoped to get curtains and whatever else we could find.   As we left, Roger yelled to us to keep a look out for a cell phone, as his had broken months before (we had to suspend his plan for limited number of months, and it had just been reinstated a few days earlier, though he did not yet have a phone).

We found some great books that Emma loved and were looking in a pile of material and linen and a lady called to another as she reached into a bag full of stuff and pulled out 3 sets of lace panels and the other lady snatched them up. After they were done I reached into the same bag and found 3 more brand new lace panels… just what I wanted and the perfect size for our living room and they were only $1 each!

Later I set out to look through the electronics as this was a well organized rummage sale. Scanning through the various items I actually saw one lonely cell phone, but it was pretty beat up and had the tiny keyboard that Roger's big hands could not manage & I had no way of knowing if it was a phone that was compatible with Verizon. As I continued to rummage, at the end of my search, I found a really cool woodland camo cell phone holder, but I did not have money on me to buy it. I found Emma and brought her back saying we should get this for dad in faith that the Lord would provide him a phone. She worried that it might not be the right size for the phone that he eventually got, but we knew he wanted a flip phone and we decided to step out in faith and get the holder for him. As we went to pay for it, she asked, "So there weren't any other cell phones?" & because she asked that I pointed out the one that they did have & immediately next to it, IN THE BOX, was a BRAND NEW VERIZON cell phone!! That phone could not have been there before and it even said it was a Verizon phone.

I was amazed and so thankful that we came back for the phone holder! Wow!  We went to pay and the guy said, "How about $2 for the phone & I'll throw the holder in for free!" Yay!!!! I was overwhelmed. You prove you are Jehovah Jireh, our Provider over and over again!

So give Roger a call and praise God with him  774-210-2800

MANNA - God knew!

I have to share the ways that God regularly intervenes right in time to keep us from falling and to keep us going…

As I had promised to help a friend in need, I got in our car only to see that the gas gauge was on empty.  At that time I expected a $60 automatic withdrawal to clear our account that day, and we did not have the $60 to cover it. I prayed that the Lord would keep me going and resolved that if the gas light went on then I would stop and get a couple of gallons.  I made it to my friends and the gas gauge was below E, but I had peace.

In my enjoyment with my friend's children,

they asked about all the zippers on my backpack purse and I proceeded to open them up in answer to their inquiries and lo and behold I found a hidden $26 in one of the little pockets in my purse! My friend said, "Gas money!" and I smiled… little did she know. But I rejoiced that God knew!

So after I left I stopped at the first gas station and put $6 in our tank. I brought home the $20 and when we checked our accounts, we discovered money in Emma's account that she did not remember she had and another amount in another acct. and $4 in our savings. I almost left the $4, but decided to transfer it all… $64 in total. Do you know that that night the $60 transaction cleared plus and unexpected $4 one that I thought had already cleared… God knew and we avoid bouncing any transactions.

And do you know what else? ... When I told Roger my story and my plan to wait till the gas light came on, he told me that our little car does not have a low gas indicator light!  But God knew!!

Reasons for Praise and Prayer!

We have been earnestly praying for the Lord to provided:

 ~for the team on the ground, 

 ~for the people of the the village of Borongole, South Sudan 

 ~for us & the Levi's & the needs of the the West & East offices of Operation Nehemiah.

We have been asking for wisdom & guidance & direction, as well as, finances & other means to move forward in the things that God has for us.  Thus we were so excited to get a call from William just a few nights ago asking us to pray for a strategic meeting this Friday.

Here's the GOOD NEWS! A local school not far from Borongole, was awarded funds to rebuild their school buildings that burned down. The community asked Operation Nehemiah to go ahead & build a prototype right along the main road to replace the shack the headmaster of the school was living in, in order to display their product. But they did not have any cement...

   
so God provided through an ambassador and friend of the ministry who advanced them funds needed for materials, so they could begin. So Jon & the other men have been busy at work producing bricks once again!!! The picture above shows them at work building with the interlocking Hydraform Bricks, so no cement is needed in between the layers… like Lego's! If awarded this project would include 2 school buildings of 4 rooms each, a dining hall, teacher/admin. building & latrines, which would use somewhere between 100,000 to 150,000 bricks.

PLEASE PRAY!! As this Friday morning, (when we are going to bed tonite) the authorities are arriving to decide who will get the job.  The community is hoping that Nehemiah Brick Production will get it because: they are local; they are trustworthy; the bricks are the strongest made, and it will help the local economy. 

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE PRAYING FOR THE EFFORTS IN SOUTH SUDAN! Your prayers and gifts do make a difference! We trust that God is leading and will make this project possible! & that He will bring this trip to a God glorifying conclusion as they will return in less than 3 weeks (May 26)

William also sent an update from the field this week and you can see the many pictures he posted here 

 http://eepurl.com/T89YH or you can read an edited version with a few pictures here:

 Field update May 2014.pdf

If you haven't read Jon's phone update from May 1st here it is:

 Jon's AFRICAN UPDATE 1 May 2014.pdf

In Him Who keeps us,  Roger & Patty Lueken (774) 254-4336   God provided a phone for Roger!! (774) 210-2800 

Read all of Jon's African Adventures:  fromjoninafrica.blogspot.com

Check out our new blog: Glorious Things He Has Done! theluekens.blogspot.com 

To send your support for Operation Nehemiah & the Lueken family's work with Operation Nehemiah:

*ONLINE at: * www.operationsnehemiah.org/Nehemiah_Light_House.html

*PayPal* onlighthouse@gmail.com  or

*Mail a check made out to "Operation Nehemiah"  & send to Operation Nehemiah (East) 86 E. Bacon St. Plainville, MA 02762

GREAT NEWS! A local school not far from Borongole, So. Sudan was awarded funds to rebuild their school that burned down. The community asked Operation Nehemiah to build a prototype along the main road to replace the shack the headmaster of the school was living in, in order to demonstrate their product. So Jon & the other men have been busy at work producing bricks once again (as the Ambassador advanced them funds needed for materials, so they could begin.
PLEASE PRAY!! As this Friday, the authorities arrive to decide who will get the job and the community is hoping that Nehemiah Brick Production will get it because: They are Local, they are Christian and can be trusted; the bricks are the strongest made, and it will help the local economy.
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE PRAYING FOR THE EFFORTS IN SOUTH SUDAN! We trust that God is leading and will make this possible!
Stay tuned as William is traveling tomorrow to the larger town of Nimule to give us a first hand update. Jon's latest update is below this map or East Equatoria state in so. Sudan Borongole is near Pageri:

Jon's AFRICAN UPDATE from May 1, 2014

We had a nice long conversation with Jon, who sounded so great!

[All Jon's AFRICAN ADVENTURES at his new blog:  fromjoninafrica.blogspot.com]

PRAY FOR SOUTH SUDAN! Things are still comparatively stable & peaceful in East Equatoria state in southeastern South Sudan where the village of Borongole is 26 miles north of Nimule (on the map near Pageri). It should remain peaceful if the EE government does not take sides in this conflict.  Please pray for wisdom for the  EE state government and for the Prince of Peace to work in the hearts of men nationwide, as the violence has continued in the 3 northern states and is wrecking havoc in the nation at large. There are many displaced people who cannot plant their crops and therefore have no source of food. God help these people and this nation!

The team spent most of the first month completing the SURVEYING work, which kept them very busy and tired by days end.  Brian McKay helped them to successfully finish the surveying and he has returned to the United States.

Since then Jon has been on the GOSPEL RADIO STATION on a regular basis and he said he was able to draw from scripture study from the past few months. In the last few messages, he has centered on the gospel, as he has been reading Paul Washer’s THE GOSPEL’S POWER & MESSAGE. He says it is so foundational and full of scripture that hits you again and again with the power of the Gospel, so now he is being compelled to mention the gospel each time he shares.

William Levi is continuing the DISCIPLESHIP classes and Jon said, he was so blessed to see that the father of the young boy, Wani (who died in Dec. from yellow fever) has been coming to the meetings.  This man is an alcohlic and was let go from the brick production early in the training last fall because he came drunk, but the GOOD NEWS is that Wani’s father is attending the class, participating and contributing and God is working in His life!!

As you know from one of Jon’s African Adventures, there is GREAT NEED TO STAFF & SUPPLYTHE NEHEMIAH MEDICAL CLINIC.   The Levi’s were able to bring rapid diagnostic tests with them on this trip, but we need to see this clinic up and running, so PLEASE PRAY to that end.  The Levi children, actually came down with Typhoid one by one and they were able to diagnosis it right away and receive the proper medicine, so they are on the mend & doing much better.  

BRICK PRODUCTION has been at a stand still though there has been some interest generated. There is need of a school building to be built in Nderito, but so far that has not materialized.PLEASE PRAY that interest turns into a commitment and a willingness to pay upfront, so that the village can purchase the needed materials (cement) in order to begin.  Someone suggested that they build a prototype building in that area on the main road to show as a model for advertising, but again they need the cement to move ahead with that idea.  A TV crew from Juba came to Borongole to film a promotional about Operation Nehemiah, covering such things as the family, the church, the farm and the brick production & it aired this past week on national television!!!

You’ll be delighted to know that Jon is getting EXTRA PROTEIN IN HIS DIET these days as he gets to eat termites on a regular basis.  Lately he has enjoyed them fried and in a sauce.  He said, “I am eating bugs in sauce that are delicious and full of protein.”

To aid his study of the MADI language he was given a book that helps with pronunciation & is learning the slight variations in emphasis that change the meaning of a word. 

We, Luekens, on this side of the pond, continue to marvel at God’s amazing faithfulness in providing MANNA for us day by day, so that we can give time to work & communications for Operation Nehemiah.  The majority of our time is spent talking to God about the myriad of needs there and here... and we can honestly say that we have never seen God’s hand so clearly at work in the hearts and lives of people around us.  

We recently attended the Mass HOPE conference and had many wonderful conversations and times of prayer with people from all over. we love reaching out to others together at these conferences and are hoping to set up a TRAVEL ITINERARY TO SPEAK AND SHARE ABOUT OPERATION NEHEMIAH as a family after Jon returns at the end of Mat (26th).  We are hoping to go to a few more CONFERENCES this year when Jon is with us. Even better, we would like to set up speaking at CHURCHES orsharing in HOST HOMES. Would you be willing to invite some of your friends to come to see pictures & hear about what God is doing in South Sudan? PRAYING about heading SOUTH the latter 1/2 of JUNE to the MIDWEST in late JULY, NORTHEAST late AUGUST & SOUTHWEST in the FALL.

The roots of Roger’s health issues are continuing to be uncovered and our new schedule working for Operation Nehemiah is so much better for him (no more 4:45 wake ups, 6 aminstead). He has seen a real improvement overall.  As the Lord  builds our faith and confidence in His great love for us in spite of our sin or circumstances that scream otherwise, I (Patty) marvel at the change in Roger by the hand of God!! He is light hearted, comical and joyful in ways I’ve not seen in a long time! The truth of God’s great undying love for us, and the freedom to repent and forgive, truly does set us free!!!!

We are in awe at GOD’S FAITHFULNESS in doing the deep heart work in us and others, so we are believing the same is true in Borongole.  

Thank you for your love, prayers, and support for all of us with Operation Nehemiah!

Read all of Jon's African Adventures at his new blog:  fromjoninafrica.blogspot.com

 Rubanga Cola nito (God be with you)! From the Lueken's on behalf of

~Jonathan Lueken with Operation Nehemiah  774-254-4336

onlighthouse@gmail.com

www.operationsnehemiah.org/Nehemiah_Light_House.html

Operation Nehemiah (East office) 86 E. Bacon St. Plainville, MA 02762 

Wouldn't it be strange if riches made you poor

I've got a question for your consideration
I'll make you privy to my contemplation
Let me say in my defense
I know it goes against all common sense

It's not our nature, not what we've been taught
Flies in the face of every lie we've bought
It's hard to see it, harder to explain
I know it cuts against the grain

Wouldn't it be strange if riches made you poor
And everything you owned left you wanting more?
Wouldn't it be strange to question what it's for?
Wouldn't it be strange?

I know we've got some interest to protect
A set of dots we're committed to connect
It makes us nervous in light of how it's been
To play a little game of pretend

Wouldn't it be strange if power made you weak
And victory came to those who turned the other cheek?
Wouldn't it be strange to welcome your defeat?
Wouldn't it be strange?

Wouldn't it be strange to find out in the end
The first will be the last and all the losers win?
Wouldn't it be strange if Jesus came again?
Wouldn't it be strange?

 ~Charlie Peacock

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread ~ May 3

We were especially blessed by our devotional reading on May 3 as it spoke of things we had just talked and prayed about looking to God alone the source of all we need!

IT IS THE LORD who bestows upon us freely and graciously the good things of this life.  He is interested in the common mercies we enjoy.  God gives them since he is the absolute Lord of heaven and earth.  All is God’s, and the blessings we enjoy are on loan from him.  He is the great landlord who has leased them to the sons of men. God has given the earth for us to occupy and enjoy, but also gives a particular allotment for each man’s portion.  These things do not come by chance, by the gift of others, or by our own industry, but by the peculiar designation of God’s providence.  Whatever avenue they come, by donation, purchase, labour, or by inheritance, they were sent by God.  He directed the means to get them to us.  The hearts of men are in the hand of God, and it was God that prompted them to be kind to us and become instruments of his providence and by his covenant promises.  God’s providence extends to all men.  Even the wicked enjoy possessions of his common bounty.  But God bestows his covenant blessings only to believers…  

Contentment is also one of God’s blessings we should ask for when we pray.  Bread provides our needs, but our enjoyment of it is also his blessing.  Happiness does not lie in abundance, but in the suitableness of our mind to our estate (Luke 12:15).  There is a twofold war in man: the war between a man and his conscience which breeds trouble of mind, and a war between his affections and his condition which breeds murmuring and envious grumbling.  So, pray for contentment also when you pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’

Give us this day our daily bread,and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  Matthew 6:11

The Kingdom of God is Not a Matter of Eating & Drinking

We were really blessed by this reading in Roger's devotional as we endeavor to seek first the Kingdom of God and wait on Him daily for our needs. We are seeing fruit in our hearts that is only possible by His hand… Trials turned to gold. We would not trade this time of learning to trust our heavenly Father in all things, for all the gold in the world.  He Who calls us to look to Him alone is FAITHFUL to do far more than we are asking in our hearts and in the hearts of those we bring to Him. 

"The Spirit is promised as the gift of the Father and the Son, and he comes into the heart and so loves his people that he abides and dwells with them forever, acting with authority and power, according to his own pleasure, as their various circumstances may require.  He prepares and strengthens them for every event, reveals what they must know, and inclines their hearts in the ways and degrees he pleases. 

The joy of the Spirit is real fruit:  solid, substantial, refreshing, and nourishing.  He comforts, revives, strengthens, and establishes the soul.  Long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, etc., are all the fruits of the Spirit, and they are nowhere to be found but in the believer’s heart.  

Though he takes away all your outward comforts, and makes you as poor and as afflicted as Job, yet being within you, he can bring you effectual peace and comfort.  Let him make the cross ever so heavy, empty you from vessel to vessel, cause you to be destitute, afflicted, and tormented; still the Holy Spirit, being within you, can fill your hearts with joy unspeakable and full of glory.  ‘Peace I leave with you’, said Christ.  The world cannot give peace and joy without removing the cross and the affliction.  Christ gives peace in the midst of trouble.  The Spirit within us causes us to glory in tribulation, to rejoice under the cross, and to triumph even in death.  

This is a blessing, which we are sure, God never did or never will deny to any one that asks it of him.  ‘Ask and you shall receive’ is his gracious declaration.  O seek earnestly, and plead this promise, and you are sure to succeed!  God will amply supply the want of all these things, and your hearts shall rejoice, and your joy no man, no devil, can take from you."

~Thomas Charles

 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Romans 14:17

from Voices of the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings