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July - 2021
Editorial
Dear friends,
Our hearts are full of joy and in this edition we want to share this with you!
In the column HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND BE AN INFLUENCER, you will read an amazing testimony of how a friendship turned into a mission training school that is now graduating 23 students to become missionaries to their own nation!
In MISSION LIFESTYLE, you cannot miss the article How I Heard My Calling, written by Bettina Mattos. She gives her first hand account of when she went to Indonesia and God moved her heart.
In HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WNI, we tell you all about our first graduation at the Mission Training Center in Indonesia! We are so proud of these young adults who are so eager to fulfill their calling among the unreached people groups.
In PROJECT REPORT, we want to share with you some of the testimonies of the kids in Brazil, who received the Bags of Hope, and how they were impacted by this project.
In GOLDEN NUGGETS LEADERSHIP LESSONS, you will find the article Becoming a Man According to God’s Heart, by our executive director, Matt Mattos. You really need to read this to understand how to grow in your relationship with God and influence others.
And finally, if you need help investing your resources, you need to check the article Wise Investing.
How To Make Friends and Be an Influencer
A KFC Friendship
How to Make Friends: This is a column in our online magazine that we love very much because our ministries are based on friendships: friendship with God, and friendships with men and women that the Lord places in our paths. Making friends is a great way of sharing life and Jesus with people.
For some, making friends can be challenging and difficult, almost like an art that they haven't mastered. But it's not. It's a simple part of life. We just need to be open and look around for opportunities.
I want to tell you that the friends you make today can transform the world tomorrow, and that the ripple effect is a real and beautiful thing.
What you will read next is the testimony of one of our leaders in Southeast Asia. Our executive director, Matt Mattos, lived in Indonesia for two years and constantly prayed that the Lord would guide him in all his interactions with local people. And He did. The Lord led Matt to travel to a different island to meet Pastor Jeverson who tells the story below:
In the beginning of 2013, I met a missionary in Indonesia, Matt Mattos, through a mutual friend. We met briefly at KFC, and I was reminded of God's calling for my life. Seven years prior to that meeting, God had called me to serve Him full time and wholeheartedly, but I rejected it. Due to not feeling able to lead, a lack of finances, and wanting to be comfortable, I gave God many excuses. I actually used to think that to serve God, it was enough to just give some money to missionary activities so I could enjoy my life freely.
But from 2006 to 2013, God started giving me a series of lessons that changed everything. Because I had a business, my life was comfortable enough, and I thought I didn't really need God. But during that period of time, my company broke and everything I had planned failed.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8 was a verse that changed the way I saw my ambitions and I realized how much I was limiting God. It was then that I surrendered everything. God's loving hands lifted me up and restored my life. He also gave me and my family the privilege of being involved in sharing Christ's Love and salvation to the lost and abandoned here in Indonesia, obeying the Great Commandment in Matthew 28:19: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
You can be part of this mission, being a collaborator
In October 2013, my wife and I received a call from God to go work on another Indonesian Island. Having received many signs and confirmations from the Lord, we both quit our jobs, left our families, and in obedience to the Lord, we trusted Him as our biggest treasure and source of strength.
For one entire year, we had no supporters but God supplied our every need, just as He promises. We began a small business baking cakes and selling fried chicken as a means to support our family in the mission field. Through this business, we met other pastors and Christian leaders nearby and sat together to share our vision for a mission training center.
Our theological seminary, or MTC, aims to help the next generation to treasure God's Word and prepares them to be sent as missionaries into Indonesia and beyond. Brother Matt and his family - with your help, our supporters - continue to help us in prayer and the needs of the Mission Training Center, covering costs like meals, dorms, and operational costs so the MTC can fully function.
Today, we have 107 full-time students that are being equipped to be part of the next wave of missionaries in Indonesia. Twenty-three of them are graduating now in June, 2021 and will continue to serve the Lord in the regions God where will send them.
We continue to work together in this project until every ear hears the Good News of the Gospel.
When we live our lives connected to the Lord, grace, favor, and openness will generate a change. A change in hearts, a change of perspectives, a change of destiny will lead to transformed lives. Pastor Jeverson felt called to move and to open a college in a place where there were no opportunities for people to obtain higher education. He influenced the lives of many people on that island and provided the opportunity for 107 students to be impacted by the Word of God.
The month of June is very special for us. It's the month we celebrate the graduation of our first class: 23 students are receiving their diplomas. Many of them are the first in their families to get a college diploma.
Thanks to your love and support throughout the years, all of this is a reality. All of the impacts are real, made by real people, generating real change. Everything started with a conversation, an openness to communicate and love local people, an improbable idea that ended up blessing many, many people. Do you see the ripple effect here?
Faithfully,
How ro make friends
Golden Nuggets
World Nations International is a registered Christian 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, founded in November 2016. Our mission is to fight hunger and poverty through sustainable agriculture, healthcare access and community development projects in vulnerable communities worldwide.
Mission Lifestyle
Project Report
WNI News
Mission Lifestyle
How I Heard My Calling
You can be part of this mission, being a collaborator
I will always remember my first time on Nias Island, Indonesia vividly but not for the reason most imagine. My first day on the island is when Matt and I got engaged - on a beautiful simple beach, after eating fish and rice with my fingers for the first time, we strolled on the beach and he picked up some shells to show me which happened to have my ring mixed in, he proposed and then was speechless for roughly 5 minutes. It was quite a story, but that’s not why I remember Nias.
The next day we went to church. I remember driving up to it, 4 concrete walls with a “door” opening, various “window” holes on the sides and a thatched roof. I remember sitting on one side with the women and Matt on the other side with the men. And then I remember the worship. Oh the worship! Somehow in the jungle they had speakers and with every ounce of her being the little Indonesian lady leading worship sang her praises to the Lord. And every single person in the church followed suit. This was a first for me. I remember thinking, “For people who have so little, how are they so wholeheartedly thankful?” It moved me in ways I never imagined.
Then I remember hiking through the jungle behind the church to pray over land we thought one day might become a school. I was in my traditional Batik dress and sandals, it was nearly 100 degrees outside and we hiked. It was important to our local partners for us to have this time of blessing. It wasn’t about our comfort, it was about God’s work.
Então me lembro de ter almoçado na casa de um morador daquela vila. Nós nos sentamos em uma pequena mesa no "pátio" externo e havia muito arroz e uma pequena tigela de frango cozido que eles ficaram muito felizes por poderem dividir conosco (nos Estados Unidos essa seria a porção para um adulto). Eu tive que usar o banheiro então eu perguntei se eu poderia usar o deles e eles ficaram com vergonha de me deixar entrar em sua casa, assegurei-lhes que estava tudo bem.
Era o banheiro típico local, buraco no chão, com uma pequena cisterna de água na lateral para você jogar água no buraco. Mas eu estava agradecido. Meu coração estava cheio. Eu senti que Deus me permitiu ver Seus filhos da maneira que Ele os vê. Depois do almoço, enquanto voltávamos para o centro da cidade, lembro-me de dizer a Matt: “Ok, posso morar aqui. Estou pronta para mudar para cá sempre que você quiser. Mas talvez possamos encontrar um assento de vaso sanitário.” Ele apenas riu.
Then I remember having lunch at a local’s house. We sat on a small table on the outside “patio” and there was a lot of rice and a small bowl of cooked chicken they were so happy they could share with us (in the US it would’ve served one adult). I had to use the restroom so I asked if I could use theirs and they were embarrassed to let me in their home, I reassured them it was ok. It was the typical local bathroom, hole in the ground, with a small water cistern on the side for you to throw water down the hole. But I was thankful. My heart was full. I felt like God allowed me to see His children the way He sees them. After lunch as we drove back to the city center I remember telling Matt, “ Ok, I can live here. I’m ready to move here whenever you want. But maybe we can find a toilet seat.” He just laughed.
So much has happened since that day in March 2014. Land was bought and cleared by hand. One school building was built. A roof was provided. A first group of students enrolled and teachers were hired. A lot of obstacles were overcome with local government. More students came. Dorms were built. A vegetable garden was started and crops have been harvested. Teams have served and trained the leaders. International teachers have taught classes. More students have come. Plans for a medical clinic have been drawn and land has been found. And now, that first class of students is graduating. As I write this I am overcome with emotion and awe. God is so incredibly great and faithful. I cannot wait to go back.
Faithfully,
Mission Lifestyle
WNI News
Ready for the Harvest!
You can be part of this mission, being a collaborator
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6.9
Our hearts are so full of joy and thankfulness to Jesus, because in this last month of June, 23 of our students graduated from our Mission Training Center and Theological Seminary located in Indonesia. After 5 years of intense study and internships, they are now ready to “go and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16.15).
All of our students are Indonesians, and besides theology they also received training in sustainable agriculture and agribusiness. They can use this training as an opportunity to reach various unreached people groups that are among them, helping these groups to better use their own resources, bring community development, and ignite a real transformation that only Jesus can give.
The students graduating will continue to serve God with His calling on their lives, some will work in our regional office and others plan to work in various places in Nias Island.
According to OMF International, there are more than 200 unreached people groups in Indonesia alone. By investing in our students, with only 30 USD per month, you not only will be helping them to fund their studies and get a degree, but also you will be responsible for changing the lives of thousands of people who will be hearing about Jesus for the first time, through the lives of our students.
Faithfully,
WNI News
Golden Nuggets
The theme of this year for World Nations International is "Friends for Eternity", based on Luke 16:9. Here Jesus teaches that we should be generous with our wealth in this life to bless others and make friends which will result in friendships that endure into eternity.
Missions Lifestyle
WNI Projects
WNI News
Project Report
Bags of Hope
Ester is 7 years old and like many children in Natal, where we are working, lives with her grandmother, who, due to her fragile health, always has to go to the hospital for hemodialysis. For Ester, to receive the Bag of Hope was like receiving a real treasure! With immense joy, she spent a lot of time coloring and playing with the educational toys. She carried a bag wherever she went with all the biblical and educational items inside. Eager to know the word of God, she took her purse to her other grandmother's house so she could read the Bible stories to Ester.
Ronny Kauê Soares is 8 years old and lives with his family in the outskirts of Natal, Brazil. The biblical and educational material contained in the Bag of Hope helped him a lot, as well as the children of his church, who are still living the harsh reality of the covid-19 pandemic. Ronny really enjoyed the story and coloring books that came in the Bag of Hope, which helped him to better understand the stories contained in God's Word.
Bags of Hope is the result of the partnership between ALEF Mission and WNI working together in Northeast of Brazil, under the coordination of Leandro Virgilio. The focus is to help underprivileged children who don’t have access to a good education system, because they live in very poor neighborhoods. Besides this, the schools where these kids study were closed for more than a year due to the pandemic.
Each Bag of Hope comes full of high quality biblical and educational material age appropriate for the kids, which helps to lift their spirits when they need to be under isolation and confined to their small shack.
You still have the opportunity of blessing kids like Ester and Ronny! Each Bag of Hope costs only 9 USD but there is no price for the impact this project is causing in these children’s lives!
Access our website:
worldnationsusa.org > click DONATE > designated BAGS OF HOPE Donation math:
1 Bag of Hope x [number of kids you have] x $9 = _____ your contribution
Faithfully,
Project Report
Golden Nuggets
Golden Nuggets
Becoming a Man According to God’s Heart
You can be part of this mission, being a collaborator
Recently, one friend of mine asked me to write down some lessons about life and manhood to his son who is graduating from high school. These are some lessons that I also want to share with you.
Manhood is a construction. You are born a male, you will grow into a boy and you will have to make a very intentional decision of becoming a man. Manhood is a pursuit.
I would like to share with you a few things that I have learned walking faithfully with Jesus for the past decade.
1) At the end of the day your relationship with Jesus is the only thing that really matters. When we truly meet Him we are not the same anymore. There is a radical transformation that starts from inside out. Please keep seeking Him until it becomes a reality in your life. Palpable. Tangible. It will save you time, money, emotions and unnecessary pain. Getting to know Him and walking with Jesus as the source of LIFE is just the smartest decision in one's lifetime.
2) Choose courage over comfort, always. Do the right thing even when you are afraid. It pays off.
3) Choose to serve first. All leaders are recognized within a group of people by their ability to serve and take responsibility upon themselves first. Be that person of initiative. It is hard work, but it is rewarding. Try it out and let me know the results.
4) Train your mind and your body to walk according to the Spirit. Especially, being alert and training your mouth to speak words of life and wisdom to everyone around you as much as you can. Oh man, I wish someone had told this to me 20 years ago. There are rewards that come from the words of our mouth. Choose them carefully. Bless people with them.
5) Create your own band of brothers and create meaningful memories with your buddies. Have fun within the boundaries of things that will honor your parents and yourself. Honor your own body and have a healthy relationship with it. Not too much, not too little, just in the middle. Balance, not lukewarm, never apathetic. You will have to sit with this one and digest it to make more sense.
6) Don’t wait for permission to be great. Don’t wait for permission to be everything that God created you to be. Just be it. Go after it. Haters will hate, that's their job. Set your mind and keep it set on things that will produce a harvest of joy later. Don't waste your youth. Be an influencer. Be a world-changer within your own surroundings. Be an ambassador of righteousness and justice, which translates as an Ambassador of the Kingdom of God.
7) What counts is the man in the arena: Never forget to read your Bible everyday and to always be reading a good book about manhood (“Wild at Heart” is a must), leadership, business development, and other fun stuff. Find people that will encourage, sharpen and challenge you. Find those that you will trust with difficult decisions that you know will point you back to Jesus. There is no such thing as failure. What counts is always the man in the arena.
This quote has impacted my life:
by T. Roosevelt:
THE MAN IN THE ARENA
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
written by:
Matt Mattos
Executive Director
Wise Money
Wise Investing
In this article we are going to talk about some important tips to follow before we start investing our financial resources.
You can be part of this mission, being a collaborator
1. Before making any type of investment, have your Emergency Reserve funds already formed. We talked about this in previous articles.
2. Know your investor profile: Conservative, Moderate or Sophisticated/aggressive. Generally, banks and investment agencies provide a test to know each person's investor profile. Conservative: Wants to invest without taking risks. You don't want to lose money. Moderate: Wants to invest and is willing to take a little risk to make a bigger profit. Agree to lose a little money. Sophisticated or aggressive: You want to invest and accept to take big risks to get big profits. You are not worried about losing money.
3. Know the type of investment you are making. Understand the process well and meet the deadlines, so that you don't have unpleasant surprises later on. If you don't want to put a lot of work into your investments, get a trustworthy stockbroker or financial advisor. However, this does not exclude the importance of knowing your investment yourself. Don't invest in the dark!
4. Be realistic when choosing short, medium or long-term investments. If you need to redeem the money before the term expires, there will be a loss of profits and perhaps even loss of the initial amount invested. It is necessary to be sure that you will not really need the amounts invested during the entire contract period. Short term investment: up to 2 years. Medium term investment: 3 to 10 years. Long-term investment: more than 10 years.
5. Have daily liquidity investments. These are values that are not being used at the moment, but as soon as they are needed, they will be available. The aim is not to leave your money standing still, but working and generating profits.
In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 25:14-30, we have Jesus' account of the parable of the talents. In this parable, we can observe that a man, going on a journey, called his servants and entrusted them with his goods. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to each according to his capacity. We can draw from this, three important lessons in our financial planning:
1. The Lord has entrusted us with his goods. It is important that we understand that everything we have is not ours but the Lord's. However, he wants to share his riches with us because he is such a generous Father.
2. To some, the Lord gives more resources, to others less, but all are responsible for managing these resources well.
3. The Lord gives according to each one's ability. His resources in our hands are neither beyond nor short of what we can manage. So there are no excuses for mismanagement of financial resources. Much or little, if we manage well we will receive honor, and if we manage badly we will suffer the consequences.
What a great privilege and great responsibility the Lord entrusts to us with his goods! May we learn to be diligent in administering and multiplying the resources He trusted to us, according to the ability He has already given us. Amen!
Faithfully,
written by:
Ana Lis
Field worker
Wise Money
(706)-614-1230
©2019 BY WORLD NATIONS INTERNATIONAL. All rights reserved.
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