Prayer Letter April 2008

Dear Friends,

How delighted we are to greet you again. In our world only two things remain constant. One of those things is change, and we are certainly in a time of change, morally, politically, and economically. The other unchangeable is the Trinity. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They never change. Jesus said that He was the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Thank God for His constancy. Because of His steadfastness we can walk with confidence through each and every day, no matter what happens in our world.

God said He would bless His people as they sought to carry His good news to a lost and dying world. Here at BTMI we are rejoicing in the blessing of God. This year God has freed up Rick's time so that he has been able to finish putting all the tape sets of Paris Reidhead's messages on CD's. This change will be reflected in the new catalogue. How grateful to God we are for the technology that will allow us to make these crucial messages available for the hungry hearts and seeking minds we hear from weekly. We are now planning on tackling the huge challenge of listening and recording on CD the 200 plus single sermons by Mr. Reidhead not heard for over thirty years. We are expecting a feast of sound Bible-based messages to reach the lost and to perfect the saints.

God is blessing us in the area of expansion. At the last meeting, the BTMI Board gave us permission to make the written version of Paris Reidhead's sermons available on the internet. "Ten Shekles and a Shirt" has been translated into Russian. Individuals from The Netherlands and Denmark have asked permission to translate the same message into Dutch and Danish respectively. Paris Reidhead's messages are going further and further afield. We have new contacts in Peru, Kenya, Zambia, and Brazil. We are excited about these new opportunities.

"Song of Joy" ministry is one of the ministries that BTMI supports with our tithe. Carla Rose recently came to our area of Maryland, and we made contact with her. Years ago she and her husband Robert went to Guatemala on a one week mission trip. Once there the Roses fell in love with the place and the people. Seeing the great need in Guatemala, Robert and Carla returned to the States, sold everything they owned, and returned to that country to run a children's home. It was a joy to meet this on-fire servant of the Lord.

Our thrust is not just electronically. This summer Rick, Wanda, and Gennie, the Collins' younger daughter, plan to go west on a mission trip. Under the auspices of Youth For Christ, the Collins family will be going to Rocky Boy Reservation in Box Elder, Montana. While there the Collins family will be doing minor construction projects, painting, landscaping, and cleaning, interacting with as many people on the reservation as possible. There will be evening evangelistic events and Bible Clubs for the children.

Katie Collins is planning on joining a group going to El Salvador with the Global Aid network. GAIN is a part of Campus Crusade for Christ International. She will be working in a team, serving in children's ministry, working with the local church. Her team will be distributing food, care packs of school supplies, and Christian literature. Their main concern, of course, is sharing the Good News of Jesus with anyone God brings to them.

Plans are underway to send a second team to Ethiopia for supplemental English for the "Light of Hope" teachers from the remote village schools. Rev. Virginia Teitt, daughter of Paris Reidhead and president of BTMI, will be leading a third trip this fall. This exploratory group, made up of people from various churches, is going especially to discern the next steps to empower the Orssi Oromo people in the areas of medical care, sustainable agriculture, and micro-business opportunities. Concord Presbyterian Church in Delaware, Ohio, recently received a most generous donation that will enable "Light of Hope" to begin the construction of a college vocational school in Sheshemane.

If any of you feel moved of God to help financially or to cover these teams with prayer we would be delighted. Any financial gift destined for Ethiopia should have Ethiopia written on the memo line. Financial gifts for Katie should have El Salvador on the memo line. Any financial gifts designated for the Collins family should have Montana written on the memo line. All of those heading out for ministry this summer would like to know that they are being covered by your prayers.

Whether we are physically taking the Word to those in need or working here at the BTMI headquarters to spread the messages given by God to Paris Reidhead by way of tapes, books, or CD's, we are grateful to God for allowing us to serve Him. We thank you, and we thank God for you, our partners in spreading God's word, for your faithfulness. We covet your continued support.

In His Service,

Marjorie Reidhead

 

Prayer Letter Fall 2007

Dear Friend,

I am a dedicated reader. Certain authors are my favorites, those who have a "way with words." I appreciate some news magazines more than others because I believe they are less biased in their approach and closer to the Biblical view. I subscribe to and read the local newspaper... even the editorials and the write-in opinions, and I have been known to voice mine on occasion. Because of my rural upbringing I like stories about life in the country. In fact, my favorite place in the kitchen is my highback, platform rocker, surrounded by books and magazines. Foremost is Paris' well-worn, King James Bible, with portions underlined and notes in the margins.

I call this chair my meditating, praying, reading, relaxing and resting spot ... and I have been known to take a nap on occasion. I guess that is allowed at my age.

Saturday is Bible Teaching Ministries, Inc. work day. Our local volunteer staff converges on the library to collect e-mails, make CDs and labels, write receipts. The kitchen becomes a packing area. A long-time friend of the Ministry maintained that this "kitchen ministry" accomplished more for the Kingdom of God than many large offices. I trust so.

In our fall prayer letter BTMI gives a brief report of the materials sent up to this point:

Bibles			16		Other books
Thompson Chain			11			Tozer	28
						Finney	13
Books by Paris Reidhead						Bounds	38
	Finding the Reality of God		424
	Evidences of Eternal Life		237			Tape Sets	178
	Beyond Petition		123			CD Sets	64
	Ten Shekels & a Shirt		194			MP3	27
		Spanish Edition	144			Single tapes	73
	Available in Russian &					Single CD's	179
	Danish for local use					Tracts	335

Letters, e-mails, and even phone calls continue to request books and materials.

Our radio ministry continues to expand, reaching into prisons. At our recommendation, lending libraries and listening centers have been established overseas. The scope of our ministry broadens through our tithe ministry and encircles the globe. . . Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico, Guatemala, Liberia, Afghanistan, South America.

"And He said unto thee, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen" Mark 16:12, 20.

The mission trip to Ethiopia in June was blessed by God. Two young people, sponsored by BTMI, were involved in a short term teacher training project working with Urgessa Biru, founder of Light of Hope Mission. My daughter, Rev. Virginia Teitt, President of Bible Teaching Ministries, along with Dr. Biru, will be conducting a follow-up mission in November, 2007. They will be dedicating a school which has been built, bringing a Christian presence in a radically Muslim area. Her accompanying letter will explain more about this ministry.

Please pray for the safety of this ministry team. Continue to pray for us. We need you.

Yours in His Service,

Marjorie N. Reidhead

Letter from Virginia R. Teitt - Fall 2007

Dear Friend,

The greatest passion of my father, Paris W. Reidhead, was that hurting, hungry and hopeless people all over the world might know of the great salvation offered by God through Jesus Christ. Dad understood that the love of Christ is lived out when we offer to come along side and help others in areas of great need. In the past year with your support BTMI has had an impact in one of the poorest areas of the world.

Just over a year ago our first visionary trip to Ethiopia revealed a region where 60% of the population is under the age of 15, less than 10% of the people are educated. There are hundreds of thousands of people with no sustainable economic base, where clinics and hospitals are virtually nonexistent. In partnership with an organization called Light of Hope we are working to train Christian teacher/evangelists, build and equip schools, in order to demonstrate the love of God and offer hope for the future.

Last year we recognized that English must be taught in the village schools in order for students to progress beyond primary education. English is the common form of communication in this country, made of over 80 tribal languages. This past summer with your help a group of tutors was sent to offer supplemental ESL to 76 village teachers. The program was challenging in that 50% of the teachers could not pass a fifth grade equivalency test. It was important to assess their proficiency to offer support in the future.

The Arssi-Oromo region of south-central Ethiopia is almost completely Muslim. By placing Christian teachers in village schools the love of Christ has become incarnate in their life. The Muslim leaders have welcomed us, walls are breaking down, and soon churches will be built by the villagers. Our team returned deeply impacted by their experience and challenged by the amazing faith of the Ethiopian teachers. New and renewed commitments were made to serve God by the Ethiopians as well as the American tutors.

I would like to share with you a miraculous happening in our local community in Ohio. The teaching team was asked to give a brief report with pictures of their experiences in Ethiopia. A woman whom I knew briefly via e-mail and telephone but had never met personally, came to the presentation. She approached me with a check in hand for Light of Hope Ministries. I thanked her graciously, pocketed the check, glancing at the first three numbers, thinking $100.00 would be most welcome. However, when I examined the check more carefully I discovered that the amount written was $ 10,000. The decimal point had been moved two places to the right! Praise God! This completely covered the deficet of the tutoring ministry. This dedicated woman is a member of the November trip to Ethiopia.

One of the purposes of this trip is to dedicate two newly built schools. The fields are white for the harvest; doors are open. (Matthew 9:37-38)

Dad's voice preached, and both my parents lived their belief that "one is either a missionary or a mission field." In the past year we have come to understand more deeply how vital it is to "perfect the saints for the work of the ministry." (Ephesians 4:12)

I want to thank you for your support and to challenge you to step in a little deeper.

In Christ,

Virginia R. Teitt

Prayer Letter Spring 2007

Dear Friend,

For ten years Paris Reidhead was privileged to serve as the pastor of the Gospel Tabernacle Church of the Christian & Missionary Alliance in mid-town Manhattan. This Church was founded by Dr. A. B. Simpson as an afternoon fellowship of believers burdened for world missions. The C&MA headquarters, the missionary home, bookstore and church were a block off Times Square. The outside appeared to be an Eighth Avenue office building. However, arched over the sanctuary was a stained glass skylight. On the wall above the massive pulpit were etched in gold letters this Old Testament scripture, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. . . " (Zeph. 3:17)

Missionaries on furlough from different agencies were frequently in the congregation and visitors in our New Jersey parsonage home. The six Reidhead children were exposed to the needs of the entire world.

The tenament area around the church became our home mission field. The Tabernacle sponsored an afternoon Bible School in Spanish which involved a dedicated bilingual staff of "pedagogues" who conducted the children to and from Sunday School--door to door delivery. The children weren't safe in the dingy halls.

In 1969 the Reidhead family moved to Northern Virginia where Paris became involved in several international relief agencies and I taught English as a Second Language in Fairfax County Public Schools. Once again hospitality to internationals became our focus. Bible Teaching Ministries, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 to further world-wide outreach.

Many changes have evolved in these twenty years. We strive to keep abreast with current technology with several immediate goals:
     1) to upgrade our internet connection to DSL,
     2) to have higher quality CD's. and use the MP3 FORMAT

There are two recent accomplishments:
     1) "Ten Shekels & a Shirt" has been translated into Spanish and will soon be available in the booklet form. A recent letter from Minsk, Belarus informed us that this powerful message has been translated into Russian for distribution in the local church. "Our God is able... (Heb. 7:25)

     2) A Christian radio station at State College is currently broadcasting to Penn State University, using BTMI material. There are several other Christian stations that have aired our material and others are imminent. We'll keep you informed.

This summer two of BTMI young adults will be involved in a short term teacher training project in Ethiopia working with Urgessa Biru, founder of Light of Hope Mission, a Christian non-profit that promotes literacy in his poverty-stricken country. Mr Biru's vision is to empower Ethiopian communities to educate their children and to bring a Christian presence to radical Muslim areas. The land and some building materials are customarily donated by the communities. The teachers are dedicated Christians. What a God-given privilege! Urgessa, as a teenager, was abandoned by his family when he became a Christian, denouncing his family's traditional Muslim religion. The time is short.

BTMI will assist these two young people with travel expenses. Please pray for this critical project.

Our organization continues to tithe each month's donations, thereby extending our world-wide scope of ministry.

I am indeed grateful for a Christian heritage. . . for grand-parents who read the Bible daily and had family prayer, for godly Bible believing parents who gave of themselves and their means to further the gospel. Proverbs 22:28-29 gives a succinct summation: "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set. Seest thou a man diligent in business? He shall stand before kings: he shall not stand before mean men. "

God bless you

Yours in His service

Mrs. Marjorie Reidhead