Most of the month of April, Susan & I spent in the Philippines, leaving the day after Easter/ Resurrection Sunday. We primarily came to visit the ministry of Rainbow Village, but there was also the CCOF-Philippines 17th Annual Senior Pastor’s Conference. It’s been a great time of fellowship & ministry this month! When we spend time at Rainbow our goal is to review the progress of the ministry, but especially to spend time with our great staff. One of our missionary staff (Karen Tellefson) is on furlough, but we were able to meet with Mike & Sheryl Yost, our program directors, to review the ongoing work and see how they’re doing themselves. The ministry of Rainbow can get somewhat overwhelming at times, since it is a 24/7 operation. We also like to help provide some break-time for our missions staff while here, so they can get some valuable time to recharge a bit.

We were able to see some really great blessings while here this month. Our first weekend here was the annual end-of-the-year program for our School Sponsorship program. It was great to see the students & hear their testimonies. We celebrated our first ever college graduate, yehey (Filipino for yahoo)! One of our Agape girls, also in college, received the only honors award in her program. We have several high-school graduates, so we will also have several in college (8) this coming school year (which begins in June). It’s summer break for them right now, but in only a couple of months they’ll be back at their studies.

We were also blessed to see the bonding of another child with their adoptive family. This is a wonderful time when, once again, we see how the Lord places a child into a family in such a special family. Now we have another Rainbow family in the Netherlands! April was also a time of celebrating several birthdays within our Rainbow staff, who do a great job caring for the children in many ways. We were also able to fit in a Rainbow board meeting. We have a wonderful board who serve with Susan & I in overseeing the ministry of Rainbow Village. 

Of course, we were also able to visit our home church here, Calvary Chapel of Dumaguete City, and enjoy fellowshipping with our many friends there. A real treat was being able to attend the Acoustic Night fund-raising dinner there last Sunday evening. Not only was it a great time of music & worship, it was a blessing to see the team from the church preparing to head to Thailand for their 3rd mission there. I had the opportunity to share about the ministry I was involved with last month in Thailand (where this team will be going). Also, one of our Rainbow staff, Joy Gayaden & her husband Jing (director of CCTC), are also on the team, so a part of Rainbow is heading to Thailand! Jing was one of the musicians who led the “Acoustic” evening which was patterned after a similar dinner for the first team sent out to Uganda in August, 2004. Our daughter, Becky, organized (with help, of course) & led that first team to Uganda, and.also organized & led the first mission trip from CC Dumaguete to Thailand. It’s really kind of a big deal that a church that was founded by a missionary & has had many missionaries serve there over the years, is now sending out their own missionary teams & missionaries. Currently there are 3 missionaries sent out from CC Dumaguete & CCTC, serving in Thailand.

It’s hard to believe this was the 17th pastor's’ conference for the Calvary Chapel pastors & ministries in the Philippines. The early ones were very small, as were the churches themselves. But nowadays it’s a very different story. There are many CC churches throughout the Philippines, so much so that this annual conference is limited to senior pastors, and there was still a pretty full conference. It was a great time catching up with many pastors & their wives whom I had not seen for a few years. I was also privileged to share one of the messages at the conference. Things have changed & grown so much over the last 17 years! What a blessing to see many of these churches sending out people to plant their own churches, as well as sending out mission teams within the Philippines. It’s a great sign of both growth & maturity!

Another blessing was being able to see one of our former Agape girls and assist her towards the process of getting married. It is often a very difficult transition for our Agape girls when they go out from the protective shelter of Rainbow Village. But this is a story of redemption, where we see a young woman who has had a difficult time, seeing the need to making things right with the Lord in all ways. Unfortunately, because of the time needed to process documents, we won’t be able to be here for the wedding, which should take place in the next couple of weeks. But we are thanking the Lord for this unexpected blessing of seeing God’s redemptive hand in our this young woman’s life. Thank you Lord!

It’s also hard to believe it was 20 years ago this June when our family moved from the So California desert (where I was pastoring) to Dumaguete City. The ministry of Rainbow Village is also nearly 20 years strong. Of course, when you have your own site with buildings, more years means more maintenance. But the great blessing for us is seeing the Lord’s provision for a much needed re-roofing of one of our buildings. Also this year, an overdue repair of the termite-eaten posts of our multi-purpose patio was accomplished. Part of the great blessing is having our dear friend Pastor Elmer Bungcasan, of God’s Will Be Done Ministries, along with his ministry team, do the work for us. It helps their ministry out while helping us out with a good price at the same time. They’re blessed & we’re blessed, it’s truly a win-win situation.

As I write this post, we are due to head out this weekend, back to the US. It’s always a bittersweet thing. In many ways, it is still home for us here. But we are looking forward to seeing our family back home & arrive back in FL on our grandson’s 6th birthday! It’s been a good, but short trip, and we’ve enjoyed some real blessings during our time here. We’re thankful for our great ministry supporters, who are truly partners with us in this ministry. Thanks Lord!

Greetings from (what should be) warm Florida! It's already March and still unseasonably cool!

This is a long overdue newsletter, and of course, the reason is simply our being busy! Here's a quick rundown of what's been happening for us this past year and into 2010. It is hard to believe we have started another new decade in this new century, but we have!

We spent the month of May in the Philippines, but before that Trip was able to travel to Kenya and Ethiopia during April. It was a great trip, although a bit lonely away from the family for Easter. He was able to hold an IBS workshop in Ethiopia, along with visiting some “He Intends Victory” support groups there. Trip was able to do another IBS workshop in Las Vegas in September. In October, along with bringing our daughter Leanna with him, Trip went out to the annual Send the Message missions conference in Las Vegas, teaching some workshops.

Family News!

The big news for our family came in October! Our son, Peter, was married to his bride, May, in a beautiful garden wedding near our home in FL. It was also a special time with family, as many of our family from the west coast were able to join us for the wedding celebration. So, we have a new daughter in the family! Recently, Pete and May moved into a townhouse 2 streets over from us. Pete is working for an accrediting organization for culinary arts schools, and May is teaching Chinese for Florida Virtual School.

Jake (our oldest son) and LeAna (his wife) began working with another ministry called Coaches Honor. It focuses on mentoring coaches in their role as mentors and leaders. Becky is working with at risk families, assisting them with guidance and counseling. Leanna is doing graphics work, along with childcare, tutoring and looking into full-time teaching. Susan continues in her role at the church as office manager and overseeing the children's ministry. Trip continues discipling men and equipping leaders at church, assisting with missions, and traveling as the Lord opens up opportunities.

Rainbow Village

In November, we headed to the tropics again to spend some time at Rainbow Village Ministries. We stayed through much of December so we could celebrate Christmas with our family and friends in the Philippines. We had our annual Christmas party at Rainbow with the staff and their families, the students and their families who are sponsored through Rainbow's ministry, and all the children and babies. Of course, there are lots of other parties — at our feeding program outreaches in neighboring villages, at church with our friends, and with the staff and students at the training center where Trip was director.

God continues blessing the work in the Philippines through His gracious provision and direction. This year we had several babies placed into loving homes, including a set of triplets (boys) who went to live in Australia. Seven of our teen/ young adult girls in our Agape program were able to return home to their families. They start a new phase of their lives with Jesus living inside their hearts and guiding them, and giving them hope and peace in facing the challenges ahead of them. Please keep them in prayer!

Back in Florida

This year was special for our immediate Kimball family, as all of us were able to celebrate Christmas together for the first time in about 9 years! — Jake & LeAna with their children, Canaan & Bella Grace, Becky, Pete & May, and Leanna. Having been a missionary family over the past 20 years, we treasure the time we are able to spend together as a family. We enjoy spending time with them, especially our grandchildren, whenever possible!

Trip's Travels

The year started off with Trip helping move his mom back to California and sell her condo in the Seattle area. It was a big change for his mom, and was brought about after her bout in ICU during the month of November. Trip was to lead a short-term mission team from our church in November, but had to catch up with them after caring for her, with his sister.

Immediately following the move from Seattle to California, Trip set off for Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) for some teaching and training of leaders. It was a very fruitful time — see his blog entry about it at http://shepsstaff.org/kimballblog/ or http://tkbeyondthebox.blogspot.com/.

There are also some photos included in these blogs and on his Picasa web album (“Papa Trip”). http://picasaweb.google.com/tk.beyond/MyanmarBurma0310#

Thanks & Prayer!

We want to thank you all for your prayer and financial support this past year and into this one! Especially during the difficult economic times, we are very grateful for your support. We are blessed by how many of you have been so faithful to stand with us and the ministry we do over the years!

As with many ministries, Rainbow Village Ministries has had some difficult months, but we continue being amazed at how the Lord continues providing for His ministry to these babies, children and young girls, along with the school sponsorships.

Please continue keeping us in prayer as we continue trusting our Lord for His provision, grace and wisdom for His ministry.

In His grace and love,

Trip & Susan Kimball

I was able to set up some ministry in Northern Thailand with some Karen evangelists up in Mae Saraing, near the Thai/ Burma border, during the first week of March. The Karen are a people group in the northern areas of western Myanmar & eastern Thailand. It was set up through a missionary friend working in that area. The next week was spent in the (now former) capitol of Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Rangon, Burma), among another Burmese people group called the Chin (from northwest Myanmar).

The ministry time went very well in both Thailand & Myanmar. It was a blessing having Eric (Johansen) along & assisting with the ministry. Eric is a former student and staff, along with his wife, MJ, when I was working in the Philippines. They are now missionaries to central Thailand. We had good fellowship & fruitful ministry. It was also a blessing to have some time at his home in central Thailand, with his family & another missionary gal working with them. (See their blogs below)

http://www.centralthaimissions.com/ & http://www.centralthaiguy.blogspot.com/

North Thailand

Our time with the Karen evangelists was a blessing. It was a privilege to be serving them since they are out on the frontline in areas where we would be ineffective & (often) unable to go. I did several messages on the Essential Gospel that were well received, Eric had a great encouraging message for them & we did some Q & A, along with James (see below), that we hope was helpful. These brothers & sisters are very poor, isolated from other believers much of the time & often persecuted (treated abusively). Some came from Burma, others farther up north from our site (Mae Saraing), all of them reaching the unreached & under-reached in their areas.

We stayed with James & Bua Garwood who work under U-Turn for Christ & work alongside the Karen Baptist convention. We had a great time with them & another young missionary couple, Aaron & Michelle, who are staying with them. Of course, all the teaching had to be interpreted into the Karen dialect, which means it was quite a bit of work for our interpreters ("Papa" & Domo).

I was also able to preach on Sunday at the 2 churches Eric is pastoring in central Thailand (Sawankhalok & Samruang). Then we hopped on a bus for an overnight ride down to Bangkok & a flight on Monday am to Yangon.

Myanmar/ Burma

We arrived in Yangon just fine & spent the first day exchanging money (1000 Chat = $1) & preparing for the IBS/ Living Word Study workshop. They had the materials translated into Burmese, so we had to work out a schedule for 3 days, allowing for interpreting time. This adds, roughly, twice the time to the usual schedule. We broke up the workload between us & prepared accordingly. All those who came (41, though only 38 finished) were pastors & leaders of various churches & ministries.

The teaching went well & was received well. It was fun watching them get into discussions & work on assignments. It's a blessing to see them "get it". All of them appreciated the time & said how much they needed the training. Many of them have Bible college degrees, including some with master's degrees, so it was encouraging to see them applying the training.

I got together with several on the last day, after the workshop was completed, to talk about future plans for training. They were all very positive about the idea of more training & for them to be involved as trainers. I'm not sure when we can do it again, probably not till later in the year. I would also like to include Ptr Elmer & Ptr Jing from the ministries I work with in the Philippines, as they would be very valuable in further training in Thailand & Myanmar.

One last thing... Eric & I both noticed some similarities between Burma & the Philippines, culturally & economically, although the Burmese are under much greater economic difficulties, along with living under a very repressive & corrupt government. Also, this trip really confirmed for me the great need, & specific calling on my life personally, for equipping leaders. This is a HUGE need throughout most of the rest of the world. Without adequate equipping, We are very resource rich (people with experience) in America & I believe we (American believers) will be held accountable by the Lord for how we utilize and share what He has blessed us with. How I long to see more teachers going out to under-reached & unreached areas of the world to equip pastors and leaders who are longing for this equipping.

Please keep both the Karen people & the other people groups of Myanmar (like the Chin, Kachin,Shan, etc.) in prayer, since they are all impacted in very negative ways by the Myanmar military regime (read- tyrants). I read (& brought back) a government sponsored newspaper that was filled with cold-war style propaganda directed at those who might try promoting democracy. It was blatant & revealing of the actual situation the Burmese people face, something we only know about when the violence & suppression surfaces from time to time.

I’m thankful for the short time I had there, but hoping the Lord will open up the opportunity & provision to return for more ministry in the near future. TK

We just returned from several weeks in Dumaguete City at Rainbow Village. We were blessed with a team from our church in Jacksonville, FL. They did a great job and were a real blessing in all the places they did ministry and visited.

As always, we enjoyed our time with our Rainbow family and our church family at CC Dumaguete City. We were blessed with an answer to prayer for a social worker just 3 days before we headed back to the US. Thank you Lord! It was a long-standing prayer request that impacted our having our accreditation status with the Philippine government (as a NGO). So, we are thankful that the ministry will be able to continue on, as our great missionary and national staff care for the babies, children and young women at Rainbow.

We were able to enjoy some of the Christmas parties and fellowship with many of our friends there. Now we are back in the US (FL) for the Christmas holidays, spending it with all our immediate family in one place for the first time in several years. We are blessed in so many ways.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to you all!

Trip & Susan

Please see our latest newsletter with updated news from the first half of 2009.

There's always lots going on. Lately it's been raining... a LOT! Unfortunately, it reminds us we're in "maintenance mode" as new leaks in roofs appear. The roof for the Agape cottage has been under repair lately, but somedays are tough with all the rain.

Please keep Rainbow's ministry in prayer for this ongoing need of maintance and repair. We greatly appreciate the prayer support we receive, as well as the timely support of funds. God is good and has been so faithful to this ministry.

with many thanks & blessings,

Trip & Susan

It's been a lonng time since I've updated this & I've changed the title, look & purpose for it. It will become Susan & my way of updating, communicating things relative to our ministry at Rainbow Village.

We have a new website... rainbowvm.org

So, we're happy about... thanks to our daughter, Leanna, for designing it & doing all the work to get it up!

We had a great trip this last May, getting back in early June. Lots of great answers to prayer & progress for our Agape girls. We hope to get a newsletter out soon to give some specifics.

OK, hopefully I'll do better in keeping up with things.

Thanks for reading!

TK

First, let’s consider what we might call “the Gospel Camp.” This would include those who see as first priority the need for preaching the gospel as the primary purpose for world missions. Indeed, this is a clearly stated priority for fulfilling what is called the Great Commission (GC), as seen in Mark 16:15.

It should be understood what is included in what we might call “Gospel ministry.” This not only means traditional modes of evangelism, it includes Bible teaching, church planting, discipleship, equipping leaders, and other similarly related ministry. These are all things I’ve personally been involved with over the past 36 years in both the USA and other nations. I continue to have an actively strong commitment to these areas of ministry.

The second “camp” includes ministry which is often referred to as “the Social Gospel.” This may include a broad range of ministries from large ones like World Vision and Compassion International to small, virtually unknown ministries scattered throughout the world. They would be included in this second “camp” which I’ll refer to as “the Mercy Camp,” because preaching the gospel is not their primary agenda. These ministries tend to be more humanitarian based.

These “mercy” ministries may be simple medical or health outreaches, feeding programs, education-based ministries, caring for children, building and infrastructure projects or relief-oriented in their focus of ministry. Virtually all of these see their ministry being a means or a bridge for spreading the good news of the Kingdom of God. Some are more assertive and direct in connecting what they “do” with the Gospel message.

The needs for the ministry from both “camps” in the world is overwhelming. There are over 4,000 people groups who are unreached, meaning, they have never heard the Gospel. Not even once. Then there are the billions of those who may have heard, but have not responded, or heard, but need further teaching and training and nurturing of their faith.

When it comes to the needs of people beyond their spiritual needs, it is more than overwhelming. Consider the impact of the Katrina relief ministry within the USA, it’s still unfinished. Then consider the ongoing needs of continents like Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. The needs are staggering. Much attention is placed upon relief for natural disasters, but there are plenty of ongoing needs which affect millions of people — poverty, illiteracy, corruption and oppression, AIDS and other diseases, and the list goes on.

Is one ministry “camp” better than the other? Is one better able to fulfill the GC than the other? Is one more “successful” than the other? Of course, it depends on who you ask!

But my question is — why does there need to be a favoring of one “camp” over the other? Why must there be a choosing of one over the other? Why must there be any division at all?

Let me illustrate with a personal anecdote the dilemma I see with these “2 camps” of ministry. A young woman who served with our ministry (with my wife and I) for several years in the Philippines was being interviewed by her church board. She was asking for the church’s support in being sent out to work with us. One of the elders (at that time) asked her tongue-in-cheek, “so, how many souls will be saved in your ministry?”

Unfortunately, it was a humorous effort to remind her that what she would be doing was somehow less valuable than true “gospel ministry.” The assumption being she would only be caring for children, abandoned and abused babies and children. The ministry has since expanded to include ministry to abused girls (pre-teens to young adults). We’ve seen over 150 children placed in loving, Christian families throughout the world in the past 18 years.

But, there’s more to the story. Early on, my wife realized our ministry would extend beyond caring for the babies and children. Indeed, it has. Our staff (now 22 nationals, plus 5 missionaries) was primarily Roman Catholic, but not born again. Over the years we’ve seen 90% of our staff come into a personal relationship with Jesus. Of the 25-30 abused girls and young women the ministry has cared for, virtually 100% have been born again. Many of these have become “evangelists” in their own right to families, friends and others. How many evangelistic ministries see that high of a conversion rate?

There are far too many stories and threads of stories which extend out from our small, independent ministry in the central islands of the Philippines. There are literally millions of similar stories within “the Mercy Camp” of ministries throughout the world.

The question remains and begs a rational answer — why does a distinction need to be made which pits one ministry “camp” over the other? Why must world missions and the fulfillment of the Great Commission have a division between these “2 camps?”

Lest it seems I’m creating a “straw man” argument, the church our friend was sent out from is the one I had planted and pastored for 12 years. This same church cut our support at one point because I moved from a ministry in “the Gospel Camp” to the ministry in “the Mercy Camp.” Ironically, during this one year hiatus between “camps, ” I was serving as an interim pastor for our local Filipino church and equipped some of our leaders for a new church plant. Later, that church gave birth to another and sent three men to the Bible college I started in 1995.

I’ll let the words of the apostles, James and Paul, close this for now, but this isn’t my last word on the issue. (Italics below are mine- TK)

If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. [James 1:26-27 (NKJV)]

But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. [Galatians 2:7-10 (NKJV)]

Recently, I've been reading through the Psalms in my devotions and noticed the recuring phrase "all nations." In fact, this phrase is found in many places throughout the Scripture. So, I wonder, why does it typically seem like a somewhat strange idea to preach the Gospel to all nations, and go out into all nations?

I say this because it seems that more and more, the idea of going out to all nations, especially long-term, is becoming less and less of a concern with many churches. This is simply my own personal observation, but having been a long-term missionary overseas, and having been back in my own home-culture for a couple years now, this is how it seems. In fact, at times, when I mention the great need in the world for missionaries, especially in the area of equipping and training national leaders, I get the sense from some people that I'm trying to put them on a "guilt-trip." Of course, if that were the case, I would be putting my ownself under the same, supposed guilt trip since I'm not overseas now. I would like to be in many ways, but that's not what the Lord seems to have for me (us) at this time.

It isn't about guilt or "shoulda/oughtas", it's about reality. There really is a tremendous need for long-term missionaries who are capable, gifted and called to equip and train national leaders. So often it seems the focus is on evangelism, church planting and mercy or relief ministry. Those are all good and needed, but the greater need, in terms of an overall long-reaching view, is training national leaders in pretty much every nation other than the US or maybe North America (Canada).

How I long to see a "revival" of concern, a burden for the lost beyond our national borders for reaching those in ALL nations!