March Prayer Letter

First, on an exciting note, last month I received an additional 10% of the monthly support needed before I can head to South Africa so now just $250 more a month will get me to the half-way point! 

Over the past few months I’ve shared with you my vision to serve the Lord in South Africa and wanted to take a moment to tell you a bit more about the sending agency who is helping me with all the details. 

Christian Veterinary Mission (CVM) was founded in 1976 to help organize and support veterinarians wanting to serve the Lord overseas.  At that time, most mission boards didn’t understand the valuable role that veterinary medicine could play in missions and so Dr. Dorminy, a Christian veterinarian from Georgia, decided to found CVM.  With the help of many other veterinarians around the county CVM quickly got off and running to help veterinarians find places and positions to serve throughout the world. They understood that veterinary clinical skills could help foster relationships, gain entrance to many otherwise closed countries, and improve the animal husbandry skills of those living in 3^rd world countries.

Shortly thereafter, CVM joined the Crista Family of Ministries, a large non-profit organization based in Lynwood, WA.  Crista’s ministries reach nearly 8 million people in over 30 countries worldwide and include World Concern, CVM, several Christian radio stations, two kid’s camps in WA, senior living programs, and several schools.  With Crista’s support, CVM has grown to include not only overseas missions, but also Veterinary Christian Fellowship groups at vet schools, fellowship opportunities at veterinary continuing education conferences, Real Life Real Impact vet student conferences, workplace ministry tools, the Loveline pet memorial program, the Animal Impact gift guide, and the yearly ShortCourse conference for veterinarians.

               

This is my favorite description of CVM’s mission - “The mission of CVM is to equip workers in over 30 countries to be instruments of Christ’s love and to express that love through their skill in veterinary medicine. Every year, thousands of people around the world struggle to survive because they don't have the right knowledge, skills and resources to care for their animals.  CVM veterinarians live and work alongside these people in 30 countries to encourage and provide them with not only much needed veterinary expertise, but also the hope that is only found in Christ. Christian veterinarians also serve through the profession here at home, demonstrating Christ's love in word and deed.”

Through CVM:

·         23,855 people heard the gospel message.

·         3,969 people accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

·         6,130 people have been involved in discipleship relationships.

·         229,726 people were challenged to live lives of worship.

·         28,999 hours were spent training individuals in animal health.

·         571,510 livestock were treated

If you are like me, you always wonder about the money.  Where is it going and how wisely is it being used?  Because CVM is non-profit and deals with many donations, they participate in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and in Charity Navigator, who gives them a 4 star rating in finances and accountability/transparency. Over 85% of the money donated to CVM goes directly to its relief and development and only 1% goes to management of the organization.

I’m so excited to partner with CVM over the next few years and be involved in the many ways they are helping to change lives through the combination of Christ and veterinary medicine.

Also, I’ve started making and selling paracord collars, leashes, and survival bracelets to help raise funds to meet my one-time expenses.  Over 14 sold so far!  The favorites are those made in Seahawks’ green and

blue, but I also have WSU and UW colors as well as many others. To check them out or order one for your pet please visit www.etsy.com/shop/gospeakliveboldly. 

February Prayer Letter

Dear friends and family, What a joy it is to have fellowship with other believers and worship together! As I write this, I am attending and speaking at a Real Life Real Impact conference for veterinary students. These events are put on by Christian Veterinary Mission all across the county. Ours was held at Miracle Ranch in WA and drew students from WSU, OSU, Western in CA, and UC Davis. We had a wonderful time of worship, prayer, talks focused on our calling in Christ, vaccinating/deworming the camp’s horses, and roasting s’mores by the campfire. Now I smell thoroughly of smoke!

I had the privilege, again, of giving one of the seminars and focused on every Christian’s calling to missions. Many of the vet students here are looking forward to participating in either short-term or long-term missions in the future so it was great to give them a bit more inspiration. One vet student came up to me afterwards mentioning that she had never realized that she could combine her passions for veterinary medicine and teaching together overseas so now she is excited about the possibilities.

You can probably imagine that the students’ favorite part of the weekend was the equine clinic. They did physical exams, vaccinated, and dewormed all 35 or so horses at Miracle Ranch and then the students had a chance to practice taking several different leg and head x-rays on the horses. Thankfully, this year was much warmer than last year when it snowed!

It never ceases to amaze me how refreshing it is to be surrounded by other Christian vets and vet students; to hear the inspiring stories of how faith can be combined with our practice of medicine. I was also encouraged in my support raising efforts by several former overseas CVM workers and feel excited to continue on towards the goal. Currently, about 30% of my monthly need is covered so only 70% more to go till I can leave for South Africa and start teaching! If you would like to join with me in reaching out to the students at North-West University in South Africa through monthly or yearly reoccurring gifts, please go to www.cvmusa.org/quam and click on the green “donate” button or just get in touch with me.

This is a great video about Christian Veterinary Mission vet Dr. Valerie

Etsy Store Now Open!!

 Just started an Etsy store for paracord dog collars/leashes/bracelets I'm making to help me to get to Africa with Christian Veterinary Mission. Check it out! All profits go to support my project at Go, Speak, Live Boldly - Rebecca Quam. Please pass this on to your friends and help me start teaching in South Africa this year!

Seahawks colors up for sale now, but other colors are available. If you want something I don't currently have listed, just send me a message and I'll put it up for sale.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/GoSpeakLiveBoldly

January Prayer Letter

…and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel…  Ephesians 6:19 

A new year has come!  Did you make any resolutions?  I have to admit that I try to avoid making resolutions because I know they will fall to the wayside over the coming months. Instead, I focus on the vision/mission statement I have written for myself and seek to always live in a way that moves me closer to those goals.  One of those life goals (written over 8 years ago) is “to live my life in a manner that is an inspiration to those younger than me.”  What a blessing how God continues to place me in situations to walk out that goal.  First, I had my veterinary 4-H group for three years, then I got involved with Christin Veterinary Mission vet student conferences as a speaker, and now He is sending me to teach full time. 

As I continue to seek out those He has chosen to raise up support while I serve in South Africa, I pray that He will help me develop the wisdom, patience, and love needed to reach those I will be teaching.  This season of reflection encouraged me to share more with you about just how you can “pray on my behalf” so that my actions during deputation (support raising) and in South Africa will bring Him glory.  Please pray:

• That I would be filled with Christ's passion and follow Him in His role to glorify God on earth and accomplish the work He has given me to do.
• That the ambition for Jesus to be ardently worshiped would come to dominate and integrate all other desires so that I live in the freedom of single minded purpose. 
• That my will would yield to God’s purpose in seeing all people reconciled to Him.
• That God would use me to be a blessing to all those I encounter during deputation and while serving in South Africa.
• That I would refuse to accept that evil in this world is God’s plan and that I would rebel against it.
• That God would fill me with the Holy Spirit that I might be effective in my small portion of fulfilling His mandate to take the gospel to all peoples.
• That my words and life would match those of Christ to serve as a public testimony to those around me.
• That the Holy Spirit would make clear to me those aspects of my faith which are universal and those which are cultural so that I would not hinder the South African students as they come to God.

Many of these prayer requests are inspired by a 15-week study I am currently taking called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Perspectives is the first of several training courses I will be taking in preparation for serving in South Africa and I hope to share more of what I learn in all of them throughout the next year.

May the Lord bless you with a vision and a calling this New Year and fill your heart with passion for Him.

News from Mafikeng

Here are some reports of the work currently underway in Mafikeng by Dr Emery, with whom I will be serving.

"Lokaleng Church Plant:
This new church plant is doing very well as The Lord has paved the way for His Word to be preached to this village. We are preaching weekly there and visiting throughout the week different people in their homes. We have been asked to conduct funerals which entail preaching nightly for a week followed by the final preaching and burial ceremonies. This has been such a rich opportunity to share about the hope we have in Christ with them. Ancestral spirit worship and other witch doctor cults are prevalent but it has been fruitful in the village to see Gods Word is reaching into the hearts of the villagers as He draws them to His truth.

Pastor Obekeng Moreo and Pastor KG:
Let me tell you about the Men of God I have the privilege to work along side.
Both Pastor Obakeng Moreo and Pastor KG are graduates of Christ Theological Seminary founded by John McArthur in Limpopo, South Africa. Their training in reformed theology is evident in their understanding of Gods Word through expository preaching. It has obviously been Divine evidence of The Lord going before us to work along side of these men. The weather has been keeping us from the outdoor worship so we are asking for The Lord to provide a building for this new church. Pastors Obakeng, KG, and myself recently wrote this to help raise funds.

"We here at Calvary Baptist Church would like to introduce ourselves to you from Mmabatho, South Africa. As Calvary Baptist Church we are committed to the Great Commission hence, our Vision is "to Know God and to make Him known". We are therefore passionate in making disciples. We have been reaching out to the lost at Lokaleng village since 2011. There's a need for a place of worship. We are currently meeting in people's homes and have been able to secure the land for the church site. The Lord has raised up a pastor, Pastor Kagiso Phetlhu, that is passionately committed to the Lord and to the people of Lokaleng who need to be reached with the Gospel and be empowered in many areas like, literacy and social skills. Your prayer and assistance in reaching these people will be of great help and will be highly appreciated. "

The school ministry:
I teach the diploma and degree students in their final years at North West University -Mafikeng. I have been given, by God's Grace, the blessing of sharing the Gospel with all students, staff and clients openly. The first encounters begin with pointing them to the cross! The Lord has obviously drawn people to receive His truth simply by the preaching and teaching from His Word! It is breath-taking to say the least!

We are on a break from teaching in between modules currently. I get a new batch of students beginning in February. The faculty/staff Bible study has been exciting so. We meet every Tuesday to do expository study of Gods Word. We began in Genesis, but with a sidebar through Ephesians up to our break time.

Our 2014 ventures:
Continued Lokaleng church plant growing, on campus preaching through the Bible study and daily student teaching with its fellowship. There will be an AWANAs program beginning with the after school kids from Noah's Ark ( the school founded by and on the grounds of Calvary Baptist Church) that we will begin on Friday afternoons in January. I am planning to begin a 12 week "Behold Your God" Bible Study with the Faculty/Staff beginning in February. There are a couple of students that I will also be doing some continued discipling when they return from breaks.

Our family has also been blessed with four young boys - Lulu, Lawzi, Ntsiki, and Mfundo. These boys are all from single parent homes and have been divinely drawn to be in our home. As Cathi teaches our children, they are there hearing Gods Word taught. They also come almost 2 hours early each week to hurry us to church and consistently go to our youth gathering at Calvary Baptist. They are eagerly growing in the Word which is so exciting for us all. Lawzi went to summer camp with us and I was privileged and blessed to lead him and two others to receive Christ!

To follow the Emery's journey in South Africa please visit www.cvmusa.org/emery.

December Prayer Letter

Are you called?  This year’s theme at Christian Veterinary Mission is “Called” from Ephesians 4:1. Paul writes, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called…”  This necessarily leads one to ask what calling Paul was talking about?  We are called in many ways as Christians: to seek to be more like Christ, to live our lives as salt and light, and to glorify God in all we do to name a few.  But, perhaps, the most well know call given by Christ was to “…go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

Recently, I gave a talk at the CVM breakfast at a veterinary conference in Kansas City about being called and wrote an article for the CVM journal on the same topic so it feels appropriate to share with you a bit more about my journey toward being called to South Africa with CVM.

Where do I begin the story?  Even looking back I think we often fail to see the full extent of God’s preparation and design, but I will begin with my undergraduate studies in Michigan.  I applied to Hillsdale College last-minute late in the spring of my senior year and missed the deadline for getting scholarships, which could have ended everything right there, but God provided and Hillsdale scrounged several scholarships for me (one was for engineering students which I most certainly was not!) and managed to cover about half of the tuition. 

Due to an exciting first day which involved a fire in my dorm and moving from the dorm into an empty house with 9 other girls, I became friends with a student whose family runs an orphanage in Uganda.  The following year, ten of us spent a month at that orphanage and I got to see the fatherhood of Christ put into action.  However, I was also struck by the fact that our presence there on a short-term trip would have little lasting impact and decided no more mission trips for me until I had a more valuable skill to offer.  

Also, while at Hillsdale, God managed to drop into my lap an all-expense paid trip to South Africa to do biology research.  During that trip I was struck by the dichotomy between white South Africans living with all the western luxuries and the black South Africans living primarily in poor townships and villages with no running water, three sided corrugated steel shacks, and a monotonous diet of pap (a corn mash). 

Fast forward a few years and the Lord managed to send me all the way to Scotland for my veterinary degree.  I had always planned to go to Washington State University, but He managed to make the thought of that quite unpleasant during two trips there for interviews (think freezing cold, snow, two parking tickets).  When I found out that I was not accepted to WSU after two attempts, but was offered a place at Glasgow, it was a relief.  I was also excited that a UK degree would be accepted in many countries around the world (including South Africa).

After graduating from vet school I settled into small animal practice back home and became involved with emergency animal shelter programs (set up during emergencies to house animals displaced by flooding, earthquakes, tornados, etc).  That led to attending a CVM conference (ShortCourse) which offered training in emergency animal shelters.  This was my first experience with CVM and I was hooked.  I was incredibly inspired by the stories of veterinarians who were carrying out God’s calling across the nations. 

Ever since my trip to Uganda I had been pondering serving in missions overseas long-term, but after vet school I assumed that it would be many years before I could consider long-term service as I had large student loans to consider.  While at my second CVM ShortCourse, during a small group prayer discussion, we were talking about missions and someone asked what was holding me back.  When I brought up students loans they mentioned MedSend, a non-profit organization that helps medical professionals while they serve the Lord overseas by making their student loan payments.  It was as if a door had opened, revealing a multitude of possibilities. 

After quite a bit of prayer, I decided to move ahead towards long-term missions and trust God to close the door if He had other plans.  Since my two trips to Africa had so affected my heart, I knew that was where I wanted to serve and found out a perfect position, where God could utilize my small animal skill, was available in South Africa.  So here I am, in the deputation phase (support raising) with CVM and so excited about the opportunity to serve God at North-West University.  I’m following my “calling” as best I can and depending on God to do the rest.  

While I raise my support, I’m also organizing a short-term mission trip to South Africa for vet students next summer and would appreciate your prayers.  Please pray that God would stir the hearts of those He would like to go and give me wisdom in planning the trip.