UPDATE 44 DEBBIE WOHLER, TAHOE
CITY, CA AUGUST 27,
2008
Favorite quotes from the children this month:
Josh, a second grader, was with us at Wild
Island, a water park in Reno. If
parents give the children spending money, we
act as the bank so the money isn’t lost or
stolen. Of course, they want to spend
all their money on junk food the moment they
get there. We try to help them pace
themselves throughout the day with their
spending money. Josh came to get money
out of the “bank” from April. She
said, “Josh if you take that much money out
right now, you’ll only have .25 cents left
to spend for the rest of the day.”
Josh said, “That’s a risk I’m willing to
take!”
Cole, a kindergartener, was standing by the
back fence at the church. Kori, one of
our summer missionaries, went to see if he
was o.k. Cole looked out toward Lake
Tahoe and said, “Look Miss Kori, I’ve
discovered a new town and one day I’m going
to go there.” We all laughed because
Cole was looking at Tahoe City, the town
where we all live!
Charley, a four year old, was walking by the
registration table. We asked her,
“Where are you going?” She replied,
“Poop!” I laughed and realized I did
ask her where she was going!
Seamus loves
the Bible story about Jonah. His Dad
took him out on the boat the other day.
It was windy and the lake was a bit choppy.
Seamus told his Dad just to throw him over
into the water and the choppiness would
stop.
Favorite things I’ve seen God do this month:
We had our
summer children’s musical called, “Living
Inside Out” on July 31. We had 76 kids
singing in the musical and around 145 adults
who came to watch the children perform.
We then did a slide show with pictures we’d
taken throughout the summer. It was
amazing to see the kids and parents grasp
the concept that God’s ways are different
from the ways of the world. We
averaged about 100 children a day in the Big
A Club this summer.
It’s been a
month of saying “Hello” and “Good-bye!”
We said good-bye to our summer missionaries,
said hello to two one week groups from NC,
and another one week group from LA.
Our new semester missionaries have arrived
and school starts on today!
I went to
Beijing to minister at the Olympic Games.
What an experience that was. To see a
picture of me trading pins and to read more
about the experience please go to:
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?Id=28737
I traded pins and used that as an
opportunity to use the “More than Gold” pin
and booklet to witness to people. We
tried to help people know that there are
more important things in life than gold
medals. We talked to them about how we
came to connect with them and begin
friendships. We also came to help them
to connect with God through Jesus. I
must have had my picture taken several
hundred times by the Chinese. They
wanted pictures of the pins and me with
them.
This is my 10th
Olympics. I confess that I’m addicted!
To sit in the “Bird’s Nest” stadium and see
the whole world together living in peace and
harmony feels like a little piece of heaven.
To see people striving for excellence is
also very inspiring. I walked away
loving the Chinese people and was very
impressed with how kind, loving, and helpful
they were to all of us. I now know two
words of Chinese. However, because of
their gracious spirit I was able to navigate
my way to everywhere I needed to go.
Depending on
who you talk with there are 17-20 million
people in the city of Beijing. There
are 2,000 new DMV registrations every day.
There are 7,000 new constructions sites in
the city. 1/5th of the
word’s population lives in China. I felt
like we went to China to sow the seeds of
the gospel. Please pray for revival in
China!
I felt very
safe while I was there. 3 of our team
members left a variety of items (cell
phones, luggage, and hats with pins) in
taxis throughout their time there. All
three items were returned. The Chinese
are very honest and kind people. The
events felt safe too. There was lots
of security and extra precautions. I
think the time I felt in most danger was
when I was in the taxis. They drive
like maniacs. Those green “walk”
lights mean nothing to the drivers.
Making a left hand turn from the far right
lane appears to be their favorite thing to
do as well! It’s like human dodge ball
with cars, buses, taxis, and bikes coming at
you! It’s hard to find “Diet Coke” in
China because the Chinese are very slender
and in shape. They walk and ride bikes
so much that they can drink regular “Coke”
and not give it a second thought. On a
lighter note, I will never take a Western
toilet and having toilet paper for granted
again! Squatty potties leave much to
be desired!
It feels like
revival is getting ready to break out in
China. It feels like by the Communist
party saying “no” to God, it has only made
the young people more curious and open to
the gospel. We had a long conversation
in the Olympic Green with a young Chinese
student named Andy. He has fears about
death, angers, and darkness. We shared
very openly with him and it was an amazing
conversation. We were not supposed to
be able to share Jesus in the Olympic Green
area or anywhere else for that matter, but
God had other plans.
Sid, one of
our teammates, got to witness to a police
chief. The police chief’s grandparents
were Christians. This man wanted to
become a Christian but said he would be
fired from his job if he became one.
Sid had a great conversation with this man.
Sid also needed to buy a rolling suitcase.
The handle ended up not working so well so
he took it back the next day. Both
days he was in the store, he saw ladies
openly having a Bible study in the back of a
retail store. Sid had on a pin vest
and his picture ended up in the English
version of the Olympic paper. That
picture made him famous and people came in
droves to take their picture with him and
then he shared and gave them materials about
Jesus.
I was walking
out of the subway station one night. A
young Chinese man came up and whispered in
my ear, “Are you a Christian?” He’d
seen the cross pin I had on my backpack.
I said, “Yes, I’m a Christian. Are
you?” He said, “Yes!” He is a
member of an underground “house church.”
I gave him every “More Than Gold” pin and
booklet that I had in my backpack. I
encouraged him to share them with other
Christians in his house church. I
encouraged them to share the materials with
those who don’t know Christ yet. He
gave me his business card and I plan to
encourage him via e-mail.
At first we
were somewhat cautious about sharing our
faith and handing out tracks. By the
second week we were there, we were passing
out pins and the booklets to large numbers
of people outside of the Coca Cola pin
trading entrance. They swarmed and
pushed Jeff and I and it was scary for
awhile. There was no problem with the
security guards for the place. They
were the first ones holding their hands out
for the materials!
As we would
go to events, sightseeing, on the bus and
trains, and as we ate in restaurants, we
freely gave out the booklets and talked with
folks. Those who could speak English
got a longer conversation. Not once
did I feel like I was in any danger of being
arrested or thrown out of the country.
Thank you for your prayers! I know
that God gave us a “window of opportunity”
to sow the seeds of the gospel in China
because you were praying! The booklets
were in English and Chinese. These
booklets had testimonies of Olympic
athletes, subway maps, and the plan of
salvation in them.
A Chinese
student who attends graduate school in the
US became a Christian this past year.
She was going to be home in Beijing for the
summer. Her contact information made
it to Jeff from NAMB. Jeff contacted
her and had dinner with her. She
brought another Chinese college student with
her to dinner. Her friend became a
Christian that night at dinner. On
another night this same US college student
brought us another person to witness to.
Jeff and I witnessed to her for 4 hours over
dinner. We then had dinner with her
another night and talked for over 3 hours.
She is so close to accepting Christ. I
see that I have an e-mail from her this
morning. I will follow up via e-mail.
Most Chinese students have a Chinese name
and an English name. The girl I’m
trying to witness to didn’t have an English
name yet. She chose the English name
“Christy” that night at dinner. I told
her that Christ is in that name! I
pray that over the next few weeks and months
that she will become a Christian. I
got a chance to do a little discipleship
with the student who Jeff led to the Lord.
Sue, another
member of our team, helped someone come to
Christ as well. She was in a store
shopping. She had a cross pin on her
hat. A Chinese couple asked her if she
was a Christian. She said “Yes!”
They were Christians as well. The
grandmother wasn’t a Christian. They
had tried to witness to her. She had
lost her husband one year to the date of
this meeting. They had brought her to
the Olympics to cheer her up. Sue
started talking with her. Sue is old
enough to have gray hair. The
grandmother responded so well to Sue and she
accepted Christ. We were all filled
with joy. Sue had struggled with why
she had come to China. Up to that
point, she didn’t feel like she was making a
difference. She then saw that she had
a divine appointment. I spent time
with Sue the day before all this happened.
I tried to encourage her. When she
shared the conversion story she said,
“Debbie, you set me free to be myself and
use the gifts God has given me!” Sue
is considering returning to China to help an
undercover missionary there.
I had the
opportunity to meet with and share with many
famous people as well. The first night
on the airport shuttle bus I was standing
right by Maurice Green, winner of the 2000
Olympic gold medal in the 100 meter event.
He told me that he’s going to be in “Dancing
with the Stars” this season. When I
went to the “Great Wall of China” I met
Roulan Gardner, 2000 Olympic gold medal
winter in wrestling. One of our team
shared in depth with him. A couple of
nights I got to be at the “Today” show
taping. I met Mary Lou Retton, Matt
Laurer, Meredith Vierra, Al Roker, swimmers,
and gymnasts!
The Olympics
are a place to meet the world. I met
folks from Australia, Canada, Great Britain,
Netherlands, Grand Cayman, Italy, Ireland,
Columbia, all parts of Africa, Hong Kong,
Germany, France, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico,
China, and many more. I met the Mom of
the 1st base player of the USA
softball team. I met the brother of a
USA water polo player. I met sponsors
from Samsung, Coca Cola, Kodak, VW, Johnson
and Johnson, Budweiser, China Mobile, Bank
of China, McDonalds, Bank of America, etc.
I’m sure
there’s more to tell but I’m still getting
back on this time zone. Beijing is 15 hours
earlier than Tahoe City!
NOTE: I got all the checks in the bank
while I was in Beijing. I will process
them and get thank you notes out to all of
you in the next couple of days. I need
a shovel for my desk! Thanks for your
patience!
Prayer Requests:
-
Pray for
Christy, Andy, the policeman, and the
countless others that heard about
Jesus. Pray that God will send someone
else to water the seeds of the gospel.
-
We will
try to get ski ministry going at
Heavenly Valley ski area again this
year. We finally got a “yes” from the
ski area but couldn’t find enough people
willing to go there from the churches in
South Lake Tahoe. Pray that God would
move in hearts and that I would ask the
right people at the right time to work
in this ministry.
-
Thank God
for providing the volunteers we needed
for this summer and for the fall!
-
I thank
God for all of you who are so faithful
to pray and collect ink jets, cell
phones, and laser toners.
-
Due to
the economy there are many great deals
on housing in Tahoe City. Pray that God
will make us wise enough and clearly let
us know if we are to look now while
prices are low or wait until we have
more money in the bank.
We went
over the $100,000 mark in the checking
account and certificate of deposit this
month!! So when you are wondering if
what you are doing is making a
difference, know that it does!! The low
prices they are paying for the items we
are sending them is not stopping our
God. Faith in God and Jesus is never in
vain! You are a living witness to that
truth!
HOUSE ACCOUNT
FINANCIAL REPORT-EVERY
DONATION HELPS!!
To date: Cell Fund/Recellular--
$2,946.54
=$ 2,946.54
To date:
Empties 4 Cash --$48,902.43 + $597.07
=$ 49,499.50
To date:
Funding Factory--$1,483.81 + $88.67
=$ 1,572.48
To date:
Local Church Donations-- $121,975.11
=$121,975.11
To date:
Other Donations--$15,865 + $200.00
=$ 16,065.00
To date:
Interest--$1,951.97 + 224.73
=$ 2,176.70
To date:
InkSmile—$101.80
=$
101.80
Total: $194,337.1
Less van #1
cost $41,296.15
Less van #2
cost $26,499.51
Less van #3
cost $26,499.51
Less check
stamp $12.00
Total in checkbook and certificate of
deposit as of August 27, 2008:
$100,029.96! GOD IS AMAZING!
Through your efforts we received
$1,110.47 this month!! Keep up the
great work for the Lord!! I appreciate
you!!
Debbie
Wohler, NAMB Home Missionary
PO Box
7452
Tahoe City,
CA 96145
530-583-2925
(Pacific Standard Time)
debbiewohler@sbcglobal.net
www.tahoeministries.com
Empties4cash
account number: 14716
www.empties4cash.com
1-800-456-4320
Ink Smile
account number: 10172
www.inksmile.com
1-866-465-5605
Funding
Factory account number: 44803
www.fundingfactory.com
1-888-883-8237
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE 42 DEBBIE WOHLER, TAHOE
CITY, CA JUNE 23,
2008
Favorite quotes from the children this month:
At our first
Parents’ Night Out of the summer the kids
were singing, “I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy,
Joy Down in my Heart.” The second
verse is supposed to be, “And if the devil
doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack, ouch!
However, Reilly, a four year old sang, “If
the devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a
cat, Meow! Sit on a cat, Meow!
Jake, a
preschooler, told his Mom that his favorite
time of day was center time. I guess
Jake’s been hanging around missionaries with
a Southern accent because when Jake said it
he said, “Sin-ters!
Addison, a
preschooler, was playing in the kitchen
center. Addison asked Jennifer if she
wanted her to fix her a snack. The
missionary said, “Sure.” Addison made
a fake snack out of plastic food for
Jennifer. Jennifer started to
“pretend” eat the snack. Addison
said, “Wait, we have to sing the blessing
before you can eat your snack.”
Our newest A+
preschooler is a little girl adopted from
China. She loves to tell people that
she is Chinese. Miss Candice asked her
if she could say something in Chinese.
She said, "I'm Chinese!"
Favorite things I’ve seen God do this month:
Over 25 years
ago I did a ministry with casino employees.
We saw several people come to Christ as a
result. One of the workers who became
a Christian because of casino ministry
showed up at our church this month.
She now lives in another city in CA.
She is a committed Christian and active in
her church. She touched my heart by
letting me know that the seeds of Christ
which were planted in her heart so long ago
have borne fruit in so many ways. She
even asked me if she could send a “thank
you” donation each month to our church!
Be faithful in loving, serving, and telling
and God will blow your mind with how He
works in the lives of those He puts in your
path.
The other
morning one of my team members and I were
standing in our preschool room. One of
our moms came in to tell us about how her
son was just sitting at the table and yelled
out "Jesus loves me". Then she told us about
his brother who randomly bursts out into
songs such as Jesus Loves Me. As she
was talking to us, her eyes started to
water. Seeds are being planted in the lives
of the children and they are passing the
seeds along to their parents! Truly a
“little child shall lead them!”
Our friend
Rick continues to make to make movement
toward God and Jesus. The great news
is that he doesn’t have colon cancer or
Crone’s disease. He also now has 100
days of sobriety. He just celebrated
his first sober birthday in 35 years!
He says, “I’m trying to fill the void with
spiritual development.” He’s reading
the Bible and rethinking things. He
never used to allow himself to believe that
he had a soul. Now not only does he
know that he has a soul, he also definitely
knows there is a God. He’s still
working on the Jesus piece. Rick said,
“I thought I could run my own world but I
was wrong. I am letting go and am
trying to fill the void with God.” He
said, “I will have no more contempt about
religion prior to investigation.” He
continued to say, “I’ve discovered I’m not
the center of the universe.” You and I
know that that position has already been
filled by God and Jesus. I thank God
that Rick is making steady movement toward
the Savior!
We had our
preschool graduation and promotion this past
month. We had 77 kids! The
church was packed with parents,
grandparents, and friends. I got all
choked up as the kids sang “Jesus Loves Me”
and “Only a Boy Named David” for their
parents. Most of these families don’t
go to church anywhere and others openly say
they don’t believe in God. As the
children were singing I looked out into the
audience, parents were smiling and some were
crying. It’s easy to see God at work
in the lives of these children and their
families.
One of our A+
parents has been attending Bible Study.
She and her family were burned very badly
several years ago by another church.
They showed up at church one Sunday this
past month and they loved it!
We were sad to
say good-bye to our semester missionaries.
It truly was a blessing to see these young
women learn so many things about God, faith,
and themselves. They brought joy to
our lives and we miss them. We thank
God for the blessing of knowing and loving
them. We said hello to 11 new summer
missionaries. It is our joy and honor
to pour ourselves into their lives. We
feel like God gives us these students for a
reason. We want to “redeem our time”
with them and mentor them to be leaders in
the Kingdom of God.
I took our new
summer missionaries to Yosemite this past
weekend. For many of them this will be
their only chance to see parts of CA.
I had two favorite moments this weekend.
We had hiked up to the top of Vernal Falls.
It’s a killer hike with over 700 stairs.
However, you get to hike through rainbows
that are made when the sun shines through
the mist. It’s amazingly beautiful and
moving. Kori, one of our summer
missionaries started crying when she got to
the top and looked out at the waterfalls,
rainbows, and rock formations. She
said, “I’m just overwhelmed at how wonderful
God is. He made all of these beautiful
things. Then when He got done with
these things He made me!” Of course,
all the rest of us started crying to as we
thought about how much God loves us. I
would encourage you to stop and ponder the
majesty of God and how much He loves you.
We then hiked up to the next bridge where
you can see Nevada Falls. We continued
our tradition of singing, “How Great Is Our
God.” This also moved us to tears.
It was also a testimony to others watching
and walking across the bridge. It was
a time of worship and reflection. We
got to the top of Nevada Falls and looked
out at Yosemite Valley. The “rocks and
the trees (and waterfalls)” shouted of the
greatness and love of God!
We rejoice to
tell you that God provided for our need of
summer missionaries and for the semester
missionaries we need for the fall semester.
Thank you Jesus!
Please pray
for safety and protection for us in the
Tahoe basin as it is a very early and dry
fire season here in CA. We’ve been
praying for all of those devastated by
tornadoes, floods, and drought.
HOUSE ACCOUNT
FINANCIAL REPORT-EVERY
DONATION HELPS!!
To date: Cell Fund/Recellular--
$2,946.54
=$ 2,946.54
To date:
Empties 4 Cash --$ 47,846.45 + $496.86
=$ 48,343.31
To date:
Funding Factory--$1,380.81 + $25.60
= $ 1,406.41
To date:
Local Church Donations-- $121,975.11
=$121,975.11
To date:
Other Donations--$15,715 + $50.00
=$ 15,765.00
To date:
Interest--$1,507.17 + $225.33
=$ 1,732.50
To date:
InkSmile—$101.80
=$
101.80
Total: $192,270.67
Less van #1
cost $41,296.15
Less van #2
cost $26,499.51
Less van #3
cost $26,499.51
Less check
stamp $12.00
Total in checkbook and certificate of
deposit as of June 23, 2008:
$97,963.50!
GOD IS AMAZING! Through your
efforts we received $797.79 this month!!
Keep up the great work for the Lord!!
I appreciate you!!
Debbie Wohler,
NAMB Home Missionary
PO Box
7452
Tahoe City,
CA 96145
530-583-2925
(Pacific Standard Time)
debbiewohler@sbcglobal.net
www.tahoeministries.com
Empties4cash
account number: 14716
www.empties4cash.com
1-800-456-4320
Ink Smile
account number: 10172
www.inksmile.com
1-866-465-5605
Funding
Factory account number: 44803
www.fundingfactory.com
1-888-883-8237