May 2009

MAY 14, 2009

Intercede for Madagascar

“Should I not be concerned for that great city?” (Jonah 4:11)


God offers his compassion and grace to everyone,even those who seem tobe least deserving. Surely, in Madagascar someone is seeking divine intervention, someone who believes that there must be more to life, and they are looking for God’s help. God is listening to their prayers. Is he calling on you to personally intervene for Malagasy people through prayer.God hears their cry’s.
When people call out to Him on behalf of a city, He will send someone with a message of hope.
The same way he called Jonah to Nineveh. All around us are people who need to know God’s love for them. Many around us look carefree, but who knows the deep longings in their heart. They maybe praying, “Lord send someone to speak the truth and show me the right way to live.” If God calls us to show thesepeople who have ripe hearts to hear God andthe truth, will we go?
Some can not go to the place, but they can pray for those that are there. The lost people of Madagascar are sinking and drowning they are crying for help they are searching
for a strong arm to grab a hold of to pull them out. We must pray and tell them about that
strong arm that can pull them out and save them. Our prayer is that you will partner with us and pray for this nation. The injustice, evil and sin we see here is not God abandoning the people. God has a plan for them. He wants us to partner in that plan by prayer.“how long, O’ Lord, must I call for help,but you donot listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? (Habakkuk 1:2)

Where is God in all of this? God’s response is“Look around at the godless nations. Look long
and hard. Brace yourselves for shock. Somethings about to take place…..” (Habahhuk 1:5msg.)Pray with us that we will not be discouraged but to persevere in prayer for Madagascar.


Our family……..


We are taking every opportunity to share Christ through the crisis here in Mada. We are moving about freely avoiding certain areas down town. Everyday there are gun shots
and fired tear gas but we are not in the midst of that. Praise the Lord. Jasmine and Sami’s
school is still open. pray for them since they are faced with many adjustments since so many
American teachers have left. Taisir made a trip out to the bush last week andwas encouraged that the new cell church is growing strong in their faith and knowledge of our Lord. The cell church that Kristi spent time at 2 yrs ago has finally grown and built them a Church building PTL.

Prayer requests;
• Peace in Madagascar

• Opportunities to share Christ when asked why we are here.

• For our safety as we go from place to place

• Jasmine and Sami miss their friends who have left

• An old friend D with whom Kristi has just shared her testimony ,pray she would seek the true God and savior Christ.

• Our health

• To not get discouraged with the violence and lawlessness of Madagascar, but get more motivated than ever.

Our Prayer............

Lord help our family to nevertake you lightly. To never take for granted your love
and protection as we serve you in Madagascar. ‘ Pray that what we do in Madagascar will bring glory to the Lord and please him. May we be motivated to help others find life in HIM!

August 2008

AUGUST 02, 2008

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers

into his harvest." Luke 10:2

Emeish Family Taisir, Kristi, Jasmine and Sami

Madagascar

Greetings from the Island…….

Hello, dear prayer partners,

Were back in Mada after spending a month vacation in the middle east. We spent a wonderful time in Jordan visiting family and friends. It was a good experience for Jasmine and Sami to see where Taisir grew up. We also made a visit to the Baptist grade school there. This is the school where Taisir first came in contact with IMB missionaries. It’s also where he first met Christ. As we made that visit we couldn’t help but think about the task the Lord has set before us. How important it is to share the Lord with everyone. From every tongue, nation, and tribe. Because a missionary gave up his self serving life in the U.S to serve in Jordan, Taisir came to know HIM and saw the importance of sharing the gospel in the same way.

So, here we are in Madagascar. We want to be apart of God’s plan to share in his great commission of making Christ know to the Malagasy people. There are many ways you can take part in this task. By prayer, going, and giving. When you read our letters and pray for us and the Malagasy then you become apart of our ministry. When you serve as a volunteer in missions at every opportunity you are apart of the Great commission. When as Southern Baptist you send and support overseas missionaries through LMCO and cooperative program then you are apart of our ministry.
Thank you for touching our lives in those three key areas.

What have we been up to…..?

As missionaries that serve as logistic coordinators for the Indian Ocean Islands we have been very busy because God has answered many of your prayers. You may recall 4 years ago there were only two families in Mada. We are thrilled to say that this past year God not only called two more families but he has called a total of ten more servants that has answered the call to serve in spreading the gospel among the Malagasy peoples.
We have been preparing housing, visa’s, vehicles, furnishings etc. for these new arrivals by October. We are so thankful that God called us to this task to serve fellow missionaries in this capacity. Pray for us to get everything necessary done before their arrival so that they can easily settle in ,learn the language and begin their ministry.
Lately our mission field has not been in the bush. Our ministry has been to the Malagasy that work in the real-estate, travel agencies, and car dealers. Please pray for the many opportunities we have to share with these people.
Please send us a note we’d love to hear from you and what God is doing in your life.
Thank you for praying for Madagascar and our family.

Prayer requests

· Pray for us to hear God’s direction for every logistical task set before us.

· May we always serve others with a servant heart.

· Taisir and Kristi want to manage time better between family and ministry.

· Islam is rapidly growing in Mada. Pray that we be very intentional to share the gospel to the lost . Many are seeking the truth pray that God will put them in our path.

· Prayer for Malagasy women named Zara a real-estate agent that the Lord has opened Kristi’s heart to . Pray that Kristi will find a way to share Christ with her.
Praises:

¨ Taisir has befriended a Muslim travel agent and has shared our beliefs with him.

¨ Praise God for upcoming missionaries to Madagascar

¨ The cell church where we visited last year with volunteer medical team has built themselves a church building and is growing with new believers.


Hey Taisir kinda looks like an Arab in this photo! :)
Jasmine and Sami in Petra

 We stopped in Egypt for a view of the pyramids

Jasmine and the Phinx

For more fun photos of our family you are welcome to visit our online photo albums at by clicking this linkhttp://picasaweb.google.com/emeishfamily (please do not share these albums with people outside our email contacts or post them on any other sites)

April 2008

APRIL 03, 2008

Emeish Family News March 2008




It has been such a blessing over the past few months to be a part of what God is doing in Madagascar. We have been very busy in preparations for arrival of new missionary families. This past year we grew with 2 additional families and now we are anticipating the arrival of yet another career family and 4 On Hand missionaries (these individuals will serve in the Malagasy University ministry for 5 mos.) PTL. God is moving in Madagascar.He has answered your prayers.

Because of the rainy season we are limited on the trips we can make to the bush. So,, we delight in ministry we can do right here in the Capital. Madagascar has been hit by two cyclones thus far this year. This past cyclone hit strongest along the coast leaving hundreds homeless. Please pray for this country, they have been devastated, while still recovering from the six Cyclones of 2007 that destroyed so much of this country.

We had to make a trip to South Africa for leadership training. We were blessed to have a missionary family volunteer to adoptJasmine and Sami for the week. The kids were really excited that they were able to join this family in their ministry, doing puppet evangelism for the Malagasy children in the Capital, that live in tents, do to the Cyclone washing away their homes. 

Pray as our family anticipates a trip to the bush soon after Easter.We will join the Malagasy Baptist partners in doing a day camp for 36 children. This is a 6 hour trip from our home on some very rough road. We ask that you pray for the roads to dry up during that visit. Most of all, we pray that the hearts of those children will come to the Lord. Also, pray that the experience we have will rub off on the nationals so they will learn the importance of children being reached with the gospel.

We feel led to tell you that our life as missionaries to Madagascar is, unlike a volunteer mission trip, in that, big ministry is not done everyday non stop. As much as we would like that, we have come to be content in knowing that we have made a life here. We are missionaries, but we still have God given responsibilities just as you do, as Father, Mother and Children. As a father Taisir must be balanced in ministry and family. Throwing the football with Sami in the presence of malagasy men, is in some ways as much of a ministry to the Malagasy as any other. Considering how many of the fathers here abuse or abandon their children. When, as a mother Kristi takes care of the needs of her household whether physically or spiritually that’s ministry. When we pray with someone that brings their sick child to the door, or invite a street child in our home to bath and have a hot meal, unbelievers see it. They wonder what makes us different from the other foreigners. This opens ways for us to share Jesus. When as husband and wife they see us respecting each other in love, that’s a witness to a people that have so much alcohol abuse, spousal abuse, and infidelity in their families. When Jasmine and Sami go to school and befriend and show love to Muslims, Atheists, Hindus, etc. that’s ministry. We felt a need to tell you this, because as missionaries we sometimes feel that you folks back home may believe we are doing BIG things all the time. When the truth is,sometimes just like you, were just living, the difference is that were living in a country that needs to see Christian examples. If we preach to them and yet they never see how to live and experience a Christian life then we’ve defeated the purpose of living here, Madagascar is a country that needs to see Jesus. Please, even as you look at your own lives remember that sometimes the greatest witness to the lost, is in the small day by day things they see you do as we live out our Christian lives. You never know who’s watching.

December 2007

December 2007 Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year

"That Your way may be known on earth,

Your salvation among all nations." Psalm 67:2, NKJV

Christmas time comes and goes as fast in Madagascar as it does for you all in the States. The ministry here on the Island has taken us places these past few months and what a blessing it has been.We traveled to the bush a long exhausting trip but refreshed with the welcome and hospitality of the Malagasy people. This Medical mission brought many people from surrounding villages to the clinic and while they waited for many hours for medical treatment they heard the gospel outside the clinic. In the evening the Jesus film was shown. Kristi's heart ached as she helped in the clinic with some translating as well as praying for the sick. People wanted miracles and yet even though we didn't see miracles of a physical healing just emagine how elated we were to see that each night as 1500 plus Malagasy people showed up to view the Jesus Film and witnessed the capability of our Lord doing a physical and spiritual healing. It was wonderful to see that even a couple of madagascar tribes that has little access to the gospel came from very far by foot to view the film. This made the Enemy fill threatened and this is one such experience of how the enemy attacks but the Lord is Glorified:

A StoryWe were not able to travel to the village where the Bara (unreached people group)live because it was approximately 15 kilometers of rough road and we had no vehicle so we would have went on foot, and because of the ministry taking place at the Clinic we could not leave. But the good news is that because Bara were traveling to the village, because they heard about the medical team, while they were there for medical treatment they heard about the Jesus Film being shown in the evenings. So, the few that came for the treatment took this information to their village.We were able to show the Jesus film one night all the way through. On the other night we experienced blatant spiritual warfare from the Enemy when we showed the film in the Bara dialect. The Malagasy evangelist had asked me to stop the Jesus film half way through so that he could do some preaching and sharing of the gospel, he was concerned that if he waited until the film was finished that the people would rush home and not hear the preaching. It was very exciting after testimonies were shared the pastor began a very powerful preaching and just as he was inviting them to come after the film, and talk with us about their relationship with the Lord, there was a sudden brush fire that started that stirred the people and disrupted the preaching. However, after we were able to gain some control the pastor finished the preaching and we began the film. Suddenly, we had a down pour of rain and the aprox. 1500 people (mixture of Bara and other tribes) that were gathered around the film dispersed and five of us were standing in the thunderstorm and downpour trying the best we could to protect the projector equipment from the water. Yes, unfortunately the film was not viewed completely but the gospel was clearly presented that night to a people group that had never heard but because of a 7 volunteer medical mission team from Alabama joining us in the bush of Madagascar and drawing people to this village for free medical aid, many from the Bara people group heard the gospel that night. I believe that brush fire as well as the rain did not stop the message from being heard because of the prayer partnerships of our dear readers. So, when I say someone must have been praying , I know you had a big part in that. Your prayers are making a difference in this ministry.

Specific prayer requests
The cell Church of Bematazana 12 people in this village are seeking prayers as they try to share the Lord Jesus with their neighbors. They currently worship in a small shanty shack that is usually used as a kitchen. They have began building a brick church house with the few resources they have. They are very eager to reach their village with the gospel.

Follow-up Since the ministry with the medical team,We were able to do some follow-up just last week and the cell church reported that several bible studies have been started in the area. Pray that these newly interested people will desire to worship with the cell church in order for it to grow.

Challemges: It is cultural that Malagasy do not part with their current ways of worship even after hearing the gospel and knowing that their current worship is not biblical, because they are afraid of family persecution. Please pray that those who recently made a profession of faith would seek out members of this cell church for discipleship and that the Holy Spirit would move them to do what is right, dispite persecution.

Unreached people groups: Pray for the Bara and Tandroy people groups that attended the showing of the Jesus film.

Madagascar: Cyclones are anticipated to be stronger than last year. Pray that these cyclones will pass over protecting the lively hood of the Malagasy.

Jasmine and Sami: We praise the Lord that our family continues to be well. Jasmine and Sami spend each Sunday afternoon preparing for a Christmas play "The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever" being directed by one of our missionary friends. We thank God for their oportunity to share in this outreach to not only Malagasy, but the other expacs that come from many different countries and religions, there are even a few Muslims acting in the play.

Kristi and Taisir: Can you please pray for us to be effective, patient, understanding, and loving with all our mission brothers and Sister's, and our national brothers and sisters, while being good stewards in the ministry role that God has called us to.

Support of The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

Thank you for your prayers and your self sacrificing support of the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Because of this sacrifice God will open avenues of access to the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank you, for you intercession through prayer and support of the Lottie Moon Christmas offering .

May the Lord Bless You this new year as you Love 

the Lost of the World through prayer!

September 7, 2007

Many of our stateside friends as well as SB churches were very encouraging as we shared God's work here in Madagascar. We felt especially blessed that God wanted to share news about Missions in Madagascar, when the editor, and our longtime friend Terry Barone of the California Southern Baptist Convention asked us to share our story. We hope that this article we have posted below will be of encouragement for you to be on Mission with God.

From Jordan to California to Madagascar

by Terry Barone http://www.csbc.com/article88857.htm

FRESNO - Madagascar probably is best known for lemurs, but a California family serving as missionaries with the International Mission Board wants Southern Baptists to know it is a country of 17.3 million people who need to know Jesus as Savior.When Taisir and Kristi Emeish and their children tell people they live in Madagascar, they are surprised how few know much about the fourth largest island in the world, much less where it is located. After two-and-a-half years, they believe it is their ministry to educate Southern Baptists about evangelism and ministry needs that exist there.The Emeishes, their daughter, Jasmine, and their son, Sami, are in the United States on an abbreviated stateside assignment this summer. Looking back on their calling, the husband and wife agree: "God prepared us our whole lives for what we are doing now," according to Taisir, a Jordanian by birth and raised Catholic.That might seem a stretch for a Southern Baptist missionary until one learns that his wife, a native Californian, was raised as a Jehovah's Witness.A rebellious teenager in Jordan, Taisir was expelled from public school. The only private school to accept him was the Baptist school in Ajloun, operated by Southern Baptist missionaries.It was at the Ajloun school that Taisir made a profession of faith in Christ. "They took me in and discipled me," he said. "Since that time, I've always wanted to be a missionary and tell others about Jesus."But Taisir began to feel that would never happen. He moved to the United States where he received college degrees in engineering and industrial management, and worked in the oil industry until it took a nosedive. He then took a management position with Wal-Mart and moved to California where he met Kristi. They married in 1995."When Taisir and I met, I was not a Christian," Kristi said. "I believed in God and I loved God, but I didn't believe in organized religion. I didn't feel like I needed church."After marriage, Taisir witnessed to Kristi. While pregnant with their first child, she recalled wondering, "If I died today, what would happen to me? After about a year, I went to my room, got on my knees, and asked Jesus to come into my life."An Arab-speaking mission was meeting at Trinity Southern Baptist Church in Fresno and friends of the Emeishes invited them to attend. Taisir wanted to, but Kristi didn't."He convinced me to go," she said. "Everything was in Arabic and I couldn't understand anything. I went to the English-speaking service out of curiosity."I had a strong desire to learn and wanted God to show me His will for my life. I told my husband I wanted to come back the next week, but not for the Arabic service," she said jokingly. "The Holy Spirit used that opportunity to say to me, 'Just go and try me, Kristi, and see what I can do for you.'"Two women from Trinity discipled Kristi, who admitted, "They had to clean up a lot of what I learned as a Jehovah's Witness."A few years later the Emeishes attended a missions conference at Glorieta (NM) Conference Center."We thought it would be great to serve," she said, "but our kids were little. It would be too much work and be too difficult. It wouldn't be fair to them, so I put it out of my mind. I thought I'd live out my life as a soccer mom."After returning from Glorieta, Taisir inquired about becoming international missionaries and received an application from the IMB. He kept it hidden from his wife because "I didn't know what she would do," he said.A few days later Kristi asked him why he had been acting "strange" and he admitted what he had done.Kristi's first reaction was, "No way! Maybe I'd consider it when the kids are grown. That is not for us."She promised to pray, and asked God to change her heart and mind. "I knew He wouldn't call one of us and not the other," she said.Eventually the couple began the application process and the door stayed open.Since Taisir is from Jordan, the Emeishes hoped to be appointed to the Middle-East or North Africa, but nothing was available. They chose Madagascar because the position had been open for years.According to the Emeishes, Madagascar is a "difficult place to live and minister.""Poverty is rampant," Kristi said. "The poverty is hard to deal with because you are surrounded by it constantly. The only time to get away from it is in your home. That makes it easy to make your home a sanctuary, but that is not why God called us there."You want to take care of as many needs as possible," Kristi said, "but we can't. We try to express the Lord is the ultimate caregiver and attempt to witness through what we do.""Our goal is to evangelize the people groups of the island, but it is made difficult because roads are not developed, which makes it difficult to reach them," Taisir noted.Kristi said it's easy to share the gospel because the people of Madagascar are open. The difficulty comes because the Malagasy people are "accepting of everything. They say yes to Jesus, yes to ancestor worship and yes to the Pope. However, our responsibility is to show them that Jesus is the only way."Baptist ministry in Madagascar is growing, according to the Emeishes, who ask Southern Baptists to pray for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, openness among the Malagasy people and additional laborers for the harvest."We have the need for volunteers as well as long-term missionaries," Taisir said. "On the island, there are 18 unreached people groups, 13 of which number more than 100,000."Kristi encouraged Southern Baptists to be open to God's call to missions. "If they are like me they'll come up with all kinds of excuses," she explained.During a daily quiet time, God confirmed in Kristi's heart that she was doing the right thing as she read I Corinthians 2:1-5 in which the Apostle Paul writes about not being eloquent, not having superior wisdom, being fearful and weak and non-persuasive.She noted, "I realized I was like Paul who demonstrated the Spirit's power so that his faith might not rest on men's wisdom."I don't know a lot," Kristi said. "But I do know Christ loves me and died for me, and that is all you really need to know to share it with the world."

It was difficult leaving family and friends after spending 10 weeks with them this past summer while visiting the States, after having been away for 3 1/2 yrs. We loved sharing with them what God has done in Madagascar. It was great visiting our home Church in California, (Trinity Southern Baptist of Fresno California). It was really hot there and as we told everyone that we were looking forward to returning to Africa in order to cool off:). Yes, it is much cooler here and we're in the midst of winter.
Now to share with you what's on our hearts.


“When man works, man works; when man prays, God works.” --Hans Von Staden
As you kneel with us, we ask that you pray:

1. For God to go before the villages that we enter for ministry, and that hearts will be ready to receive Jesus as the Savior.

2. Ask God to send a Strategy Leader to work among the BaraPeople group, one of our most unreached people groups of Madagascar.

3.Please begin praying for a stateside medical team that has volunteered to do medical/ministry work in the Midwest of the Island Oct.9-14 . Pray for the hearts of those in the villages that have not committed their lives to the Savior. Also, pray for Kristi and LuSinda as they will join the volunteers to assist the work.Pray for protection over those villages as they are known to have bandits in the area. Pray that there would be a true revival there for the new church started in the village.

4. As our Madagascar team grows, Pray that we will always remainencouraging to each other.

5.Pray that Kristi will have a renewed spirit for the Malagasypeople, and love them like Jesus, despite past hurts and deception from the nationals.

Because you have prayed for the Emeish FamilyGod has granted us with all that we need for the mission taskGod has opened homes and places for us to share our testimonies.
God has helped us see that closed doors mean open doors in other places
God is showing us how to minister physically to those that we are sharing with. 

Because you prayed for God to send more workers, and for the Mahafaly people group:

As always our Lord is so faithful in answering. This past July a new family arrived on the Island Chuck, Amy, Caleb, Joy, and Mark we were thrilled to have them join our team. They will eventually move to the South of Madagascar (Tuliear) They will serve as strategy leader in reaching the Mahafaly people group.

What the Emeishes are praying for you:

That you will be on mission with God through

Praying: http://www.imb.org/compassionnet.org

Giving:http://www.imb.org/main/give/default.asp

Going: http://www.going.imb.org/

Our first act of love for the lost of the world should be to pray for their salvation.

1. Sami reading to orphan
2 Jasmine befriends a coastal Malagasy girl
3. Sami dressed like traditional malagasy man