August 2024 Newsletter

Karen Shares about her Ministry

I (Karen) would like to share about my recent ministry trip, and the organization with which I was working. The Child Safety and Protection Network (CSPN.org) is a consortium of mission agencies and international Christian schools who have come together to empower similar organizations to have an effective child safety program. It is a non-profit that uses mostly volunteers (member missionaries like me!) to accomplish its goals. WorldVenture is a member of CSPN, and I have found it to be the most similar organization to my own Levanta La Voz (Raise Your Voice).



So, my involvement with CSPN gives a double reward: in CSPN I can learn from like-minded people and extend the reach of Levanta La Voz, and I am able to use my own knowledge and experience to spread the word to missionaries around the world through CSPN. I am one of their educators, and last month I had the opportunity to help teach 20 mission agency executives how to set up or improve their own child safety program. Afterwards, I joined 4 others to spend 5 days editing that same training program.



We will continue editing and re-writing for the next 6 months before leading the next training in March in Orlando. Please pray for us as we finish the job, as it is a program that has the potential to protect thousands of children worldwide for many years to come.



Here are some more prayer requests for Karen:
* I am also in the middle of my certificate program at ESEPA Seminary. In addition to teaching 4 students this year, I am training a new co-teacher and compiling all the student notes into a properly formatted workbook, complete with searchable Table of Contents. A big job!
* A former student has gathered a group of people who want to take my virtual 8-week course in Spanish, and we’ll begin August 8.
* I am still teaching my virtual 8-week course in English to a group of church leaders from India. Since they translate it as we go, we can only cover about 30 minutes of material each week, which turns it into a 48-week course! But I’m willing to keep at it if they are! I’m getting great feedback from them: the information is new, biblical, and helpful to them personally. The pastor said he’d looked for this type of information, but our program was all he could find. That encourages me that truly this is needed!
* We are still sorting out various health problems in the aftermath of my serious blood clots. I need good medical professionals, wisdom, pain relief, and patience.

ALSO! Gary’s new book just came out, for now only in Spanish – an English version under the title Myths that Christians Believe and Pass Along might take place in the future! It has to do with myths and rumors that circulate among believers, and how to be more discerning. Here is a blog post from 2012, which later germinated into a book: Christians and myths – Open Our Eyes, Lord! (openoureyeslord.com)