March Update
Accompanied by their two younger children, Robby and Chrissy Ambler shared about their service in south Asia with the International Mission Board when Women on Mission met March 11 at First Baptist. With a population of greater than 169 million people in a geographic area roughly the size of Georgia, 167 million in more than 30 people groups are unreached by the Gospel in the country where they serve. Ten percent of those millions live in the capital city where the Amblers minister to preach the Gospel and reach the lost among some 6,000 mosques and 80 churches. The population is 99.5 percent Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or Animistic, and less than one out of every thousand people know Jesus. “Our ambition is to preach the gospel where Christ is not known,” said Chrissy.
Chrissy, who is a native of Statesboro, Georgia, and had never been outside the state before moving to Asia 11 years ago, noted the capital is populated predominantly by younger men who come in from the villages to find education, work, and health care and who send money back to their families. Chrissy said she eventually made friends with a Muslim woman, a newlywed, with whom she shared a New Testament in the woman’s native language. She noted that when local people convert to Christianity, they lose their family, their spouse, and their home.
Robby and Chrissy have asked that the Women on Mission pray for:
The 0.1% of national Christians in the country to capture a vision for the unreached;
The spirit of God to bring vivid dreams and visions of Jesus to the people to set them on the path to finding the truth;
For peace amid the turmoil of the nation’s government and the economy; and
For endurance for the International Mission Board workers “serving in a hard place,” for their relationships with national partners who often risk their lives by associating with them, and for discernment as they do ministry in another culture and language.
Robby encouraged the Women on Mission by reminding them “You are praying, you are giving, you are sending us, which is what you are doing when you give to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas offering” for foreign missions. In turn, Robby and Chrissy are training local people to reach out to their own people, “doing exactly what Paul did.”
Coming In April
Next month Roxie and Tom Mcleod will share about their ministry, Transformation Jacksonville (TJAX) with Women on Mission. TJAX has the vision of reaching every heart and home with a demonstration of the transforming power of the Gospel.
Tom grew up in Dallas, Texas, and met Roxie in Fort Worth where they both attended seminary. After marriage and moving to Florida, they were led to partner with Go To Nations, a local mission agency. They were heading to eastern Asia when they realized the mission field was in their own backyard. Tom became the executive director of TJAX in 2015 and over the years has worked with leadership programs including C12, Lifework Leadership, Colson Fellows, and Wise Counsel, to name a few.
Tom and Roxie also helped create the Panama Park Community Development Corporation in their very own neighborhood. The McLeods’ son, Troupe, is married to Kylie and they live in Texas, where their daughter, Grace, is home-schooling. She is 13 and loves her cats and the zoo.
Women on Mission will meet Monday, April 8, in the Buchanan Hall at First Baptist. A covered-dish luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the speakers’ presentation at noon.
Ongoing Activities
In cooperation with the Atlanta Dream Center, WOM are writing messages of encouragement that can be handed out to young women who are being trafficked in Atlanta. WOM also supports Hope House of Union County by collecting personal hygiene items such as shampoo, body wash, deodorant, etc., which are distributed free of charge to Hope House clients. Through offerings collected monthly and budget funding from First Baptist, WOM are supporting the following ministries:
- Cowboy Church of Jerusalem to purchase food and new boots.
- Pure Love Pure Water for more filters to be sent to missionaries.
- The Clarkston After-School Ministry, which provides a meal for the children and to purchase supplies for the children.
- Missionaries Troy and Jeana Nicholson, whose home in Albania was damaged in a December earthquake.
Who We Are
WOMEN ON MISSION have a passion for missions. We meet the second Monday of each month at 11:30 in the Buchanan Hall under the Rock Chapel. Each month a special speaker is invited to share with us his/her time of ministry on the field, whether it be overseas or here in the United States. We have heard speakers from Russia, Albania, Turkey, Peru, Honduras, Tanzania, and many other places around the globe, as well as representatives from the ministry to refugees in Clarkston, GA, Out of Darkness Ministry in Atlanta, Voice of the Martyrs, and many other U.S.-based mission groups. We each receive a blessing from hearing the testimonies of these speakers. Often we learn of ways we can be involved in reaching out to the lost through these ministries.
Be a part of WOM
WOM supports a different missionary each year by sending them a monthly love gift. We also save and collect our loose pocket change to provide water filters for missionaries who do not have access to potable water. Periodically, we provide toiletry items which Hope House of Blairsville can share with its clients. As the Lord leads, we engage in projects which help missionaries or reach out to the lost. In all that we do, we aim to bring glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We encourage you to come and join us on the second Monday of any given month. Participation is open to ALL women — young, old, or in between.
If you have questions, feel free to contact Nancy Brock at untilhisreturn@gmail.com or 706-781-6358 for further information.