New Prayer Card
Here is a look at our new prayer card. We will be giving them out while on furlough. Be sure to pick one up if we are at your church. We are looking forward to being in most of our supporting churches over the next four months.
Tyler Family Prayer Letter – April 2015
E-mail sent with Prayer Letter
Here are four ways to keep up with the Tylers…
1. Read this blog and leave a comment – You may also sign up for the RSS feed
2. Facebook – Add me as a friend HERE
3. Prayer Letters – Sign up to receive our prayer letter on the column to the right.
4. E-mail – Write to us HERE
Heading Home
PRESENT SITUATION
Very quickly I would like to catch you up to date on what is going on with us over the next few days so that you all can continue to pray for us. I have not sent out a prayer letter this month. Things have been busy, so I decided just to post on the blog which would simplify things for this month. Everything has worked out very well so far.
– Our belongings have been split up. We allowed some friends to use some of our furniture over the next few months while we are in the US. The remainder of our belongings have been stored in a safe location.
– We have turned in the keys to the house, cared for the final repairs to be made, and are working on shutting off the internet, water and electric.
– Tomorrow we begin our journey! We catch a bus and begin about a 52 hour trip. We will be with Amanda’s parents by Thursday evening if all works out as planned. Please pray things go smoothly. Our last attempt at international travel from this area was not great, so we are praying things go smoothly this time.
PAST ANSWERS TO PRAYER
In my last post I asked you to pray for two specific things. First, a friend who was to testify about the work in the Indian tribes. Thank you for praying. Those who had accused him went in and removed their accusations. The case has now been filed and set to rest. Praise the Lord!
The second prayer request was for our trip to an Indian tribe a few weeks ago. The Lord closed the doors for us and we were not able to go into the tribe. Please pray that these doors will be opened for us in the near future. Several missionaries have recently left the area. We are not sure what all is going on, but we believe the Lord has directed us to this region. Please keep praying!
Standing Before Magistrates
Would it be possible for you to take a minute and pray for our work here in Brazil? We have many open doors here in our state to reach the unreached with the Gospel. There is a serious meeting coming up on the 20th of this month.
A friend of mine will be standing before a branch of the state government this week to testify to state prosecuters about the work being done in the Indian tribes here in our state. This is a matter of great conscern to us. Though it does not directly involve us, it very well could in the near future. This meeting could help open doors or shut doors for the Gospel to the unreached here in our state.
Luke 12:11-12 “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.”
Acts 16:20-22 “And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.”
Just changing a few people groups in these verses and reading the rest of the story, we can see what we are dealing with. Though we do not expect this to be quite as serious, your intercession is needed.
We are constantly getting more involved in this work and the Lord has already opened many doors for us. This Saturday, we plan to visit another tribe which we have never been to before. Pray for God to open doors for a long relationship with these people!
God is at work! Please continue to pray for laborers and for open doors!
Amanda and Her Teeth
I just wanted to update you on Amanda and her situation. Thank you to all who have prayed. The boys and I are surviving well! Thanks to Julie Kokenzie, we had some good soup!
Now, for what really matters. Amanda is doing well. She was able to get all of the necessary work done in one setting. That was a big answer to prayer. She is in some pain and discomfort, but is doing ok. I am not sure about the medications, but enough ice cream should do the trick.
We are going to delay a trip we had planned this weekend so she will have a bit more time to recuperate. Please continue to pray that she gets well soon. There is much work to be done in the next few weeks as we prepare for furlough.
The dental surgeon was very good and did the work quickly (another answer to prayer). Not only that, but taking her wisdom teeth out here in Brazil was much cheaper than doing it in the US. Though I do not know the exact cost in the US, from rough calculations, we assume it would have been around ten times more costly to have the same work done in the US. This is a great blessing especially at this particular time.
Tyler Family Prayer Letter – February 2015
E-mail sent with Prayer Letter
Here are four ways to keep up with the Tylers…
1. Read this blog and leave a comment – You may also sign up for the RSS feed
2. Facebook – Add me as a friend HERE
3. Prayer Letters – Sign up to receive our prayer letter on the column to the right.
4. E-mail – Write to us HERE
50 Years of Mission Work Pays Off
About a week ago I had the privilege of participating in a celebration conference in a nearby tribe. The tribe was celebrating 50 years since the arrival of the Gospel in their tribe. On January 25, 1965 a German missionary from New Tribes brought the Gospel to their village.
During the conference the first man of the tribe to be saved gave testimony of the day he met this missionary. He asked the missionary if he was after gold or diamonds. The response was negative. He asked him if he was tapping rubber trees. Once again, the response was negative. Then the Indian man said, “What are you doing here?” Though the language barrier prohibited a clear understanding at the time, the missionary said, “I am here to tell you about Jesus Christ and how he died on the cross to save you.” What a wonderful thing to hear a testimony from this man who was the first of the tribe to receive Jesus Christ as Savior.
Many others gave testimony of what God has done in their lives and how their lives have changed for the good. They compared the wars of years past to the peace that now abides in their hearts. Separation has been changed to joyous reunion and forgiveness.
There were people from at least five different tribes around our state and the neighboring state. These were all enemies fifty years ago. Today they join to give testimony and to praise the Lord for what He has done in their lives. Though the conference technically did not start until Friday evening, they had a service on Thursday and stayed up singing and praising the Lord until about 6am!
The most memorable moment for me was when all the missionaries were called up front. First, those missionaries sent to Brazil from a foreign country were called. Then the Brazilian missionaries came to join us. Finally, the Indian men and women who are pastors and missionaries were called up front. What a site! There were missionaries from 25-85 years of age. Each one fulfilling their call and passing that burden on to others.
The young man pictured above fits into this third group. He and his wife just graduated from Bible school and are seeking opportunities to work for the Lord. They will spend the next year in the tribe working in the church, then will pursue further training to better equip them to reach other Indians with the Gospel.
Sometimes we wonder if the time and money we have invested in mission work around the world has been worth it. This conference was proof that the great commission given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ is worth every second we have to invest in it or in prayer for those involved. It is worth every cent we choose to give. May God’s work move forward as we fulfill His command.
Tyler Family Prayer Letter – January 2015
E-mail sent with Prayer Letter
Here are four ways to keep up with the Tylers…
1. Read this blog and leave a comment – You may also sign up for the RSS feed
2. Facebook – Add me as a friend HERE
3. Prayer Letters – Visit our Prayer Letter page and subscribe on the left.
4. E-mail – Write to us HERE
A Sunday to Remember
Sunday morning the Kokenzies were with us for their first service since returning from furlough. We had a good group. Other than the Kokenzies, we had a normal Sunday morning crowd and a visitor.
Sunday evening, however, was a different story. We arrived early as usual and were preparing things for the service. We planned a little fellowship after church, so we had a little more to set up than normal. Amanda left to pick up someone, and by the time she returned we still did not have anyone show up other than the Kokenzies and the lady we picked up.
Just about five minutes before starting, a few young men drove up and parked across the street. They said the were invited to the services and we welcomed them. Just after that another young man drove up on a motorcycle. Since nothing else was open around us, we assumed that he was coming to church also. As we entered the building to get the service going, two more people walked in. We prayed and a few more walked in. Then we sang a song and more people walked in. This kept on going until I was ready to preach. I announced the text and the last two couples walked in.
The building was packed! We had 30 chairs and 40 people. Amanda took a few of the younger kids to the back and others sat on their parent’s lap. There was not one empty seat. I was still expecting a few more of our regulars to be there, but they did not show up. God knew exactly what we could handle and sent them all our way.
With 23 first time visitors, we did not even have enough visitor’s cards to get everyone’s information. We did take a picture though and did get their names so we can probably locate them all and make contact in the near future.
Our fellowship after church was very good. I tried to get around and speak to everyone before they left. It was not an easy task, but I think I almost made it. One couple was sitting in the very back and stayed there for a while without getting up. When I spoke to them, she was in tears. Her husband said, “We are not sitting here waiting for cake. We just enjoyed the service so much that we wanted to savor the moment.” He went on to say that his wife had dreamed the night before that the Lord would speak to them through the service that night.
The young man who invited most of our visitors was surprised himself to see some of them come. As a matter of fact, a few of his relatives came to the service (including his sister). He told me he had not even invited her, but someone else asked her to come.
It is easy to get excited about an event like that. Yet, it has caused me to reflect on what really happened. God brought a good number of people to us so that we could share with them the good news of salvation. Others also were there to hear the preaching and be encouraged to follow the Lord. I am confident that God met with some of them and spoke to their hearts. Please help us pray as we follow up and try to help these people wherever they are spiritually.
Two Great Sunday Services in 2015!
Back in October of 2014 we rented a building in which to hold services. The Lord has blessed, but we have really not seen as many people come as we would have liked. We have invited hundreds of people, visited prospects, and prayed. However, the increase was very small compared to what we were expecting. We had one family visit in two months. Health issues, vacations, and even some academic tests have kept our regulars from attending during the past few months.
The past two weeks have been drastically different. Most of our regulars have still not been able to attend for various reasons, but the Lord has blessed the services by sending us visitors. We had eight visitors within the first two Sundays of the year! That is a great way to start out the new year. It was a joy to preach and give the Gospel to these people. Though we previously knew most of these people, only three out of the eight have attended one of our Bible studies.
This past Sunday evening, Tiago, one of the young men that visited, told me that he enjoyed the service and was going to invite a friend of his that he thought would enjoy it also. Another one of our visitors, Nicholas, said he really enjoyed the service and that he would definitely return and invite some of his friends. His sister and her husband are one of our regular families. When we spoke with them about Nicholas coming, they said he seemed to be very excited and enjoyed a service that was not extremely loud. (That should give you some insight on the average church in our area.)
We are excited to see what God will do in the lives of each visitor that has been with us. There is no doubt in my mind that God is working, but sometimes we are impatient and fail to see His hand in the circumstances around us.
This next week we will probably have the largest crowd since the inauguration of the building because the Kokenzies have returned. Some of our regulars will also be back that were not able to attend these past two weeks. Please pray that the Lord will continue to work in hearts and that these people will be truly saved and follow the Lord!