On The Rhoads

Contact Information:

Brad Rhoads

26100-1340 N Ave.

Princeton, IL 61356

815-220-9036

brhoads@maf.org

http://www.maf.org/rhoads

http://www.steerinc.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, February 26, 2008  

SEMINAR: CREATIVE GIVING FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS

PRINCETON, IL – Bruce Brunner with STEER, Inc. will be providing a free seminar, “Creative Giving for Farmers and Ranchers.” Bruce will explain how farmers and ranchers can participate in world missions through the work they are already doing, with little additional investment on their part. The seminar will be presented twice, Monday, March 10th at 7 PM and Tuesday, March 11^th at 10 AM. Food will be provided. The seminar will be held at First Baptist Church of Princeton and is sponsored by Brad and Susan Rhoads, new missionaries with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

The goal of STEER’s ministry is to assist existing mission organizations in a financial way so that they may follow their calling to bring about world evangelization.  This non-profit organization works to bring together people (Donors) who provide the working capital (UNITS). These UNITS are invested with farmers and ranchers in the agricultural project of their choice. The farmers and ranchers contribution is the feed and care for the project. 

This program is especially helpful to farmers or ranchers who may desire to be actively involved in missions but who may lack the capital to expand their herds or acreage in order to support missions like they really want to. Working together, the Donors and the Farmers and Ranchers help to provide the funds for the Lord’s work so that the missionaries and mission projects that are the benefactors of this program can do what God has called them to, and that is telling others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Brad and Susan (Kinnamon) Rhoads joined Mission Aviation Fellowship in July 2007. They are living on a small farm in Princeton, where Susan grew up, while they raise their ministry support. Brad is software engineer working in MAF’s Learning Technologies division, to help provide Christian education to the 3 million pastors in the developing world. Susan, an experienced teacher, homeschools their two children, David (9) and Sarah (3).

STEER, Inc. has been in the ministry of MULTIPLIED GIVING for missions ever since its founding in Park River, ND in 1957. Evangelical and Interdenominational in scope, STEER is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. 

Mission Aviation Fellowship is a faith-based, non-profit ministry. Teams of aviation, communications and technology specialists overcome barriers, transform lives, and enable the work of more than 800 organizations around the world. MAF is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

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This is an email Susan sent out to our prayer team last week. This is a group of people who are praying for us regularly. We typically send 1 update/week. If you’d like to get more regular updates on our prayer needs, please send me an email.

Dear Prayer Team,

After MANY months, we finally have an answer from Wheaton Bible Church.

Last week we asked you to pray that they would support us for at least 15%.

Today we got a call to tell us that we have been accepted as Wheaton Bible Church missionaries and they are going to support us at 17.5%!!!

We have seen God answering your prayers and have been learning how important it is to bring everything to God in prayer.

As important as this financial news is, it is even more important to us to know that our home church is supporting us. This is much needed confirmation that we are still doing what God wants us to.

Last week during one of our “Stay at the Table” family devotion times, we were reading how the Israelites were grumbling about their current situation and wished they had never crossed the Jordon River into the Promised Land. It struck me just how many times they forgot about God’s miraculous provision for them when they were in a difficult situation. It was only a matter of time before God once again provided all they needed.

With our MAF review approaching and our support still sitting near 20%, we were starting to sound like the Israelites. “Why did we sell our house, quit Brad’s job and join MAF?” That passage was encouragement to us to remember the miraculous things God has done in the past and to trust Him to provide all that we need.

The WBC support along with other things in the works make it look like we will be at around 40% at the time of the MAF review.

What to pray for next:

1. Thank God for answering prayer and for providing for all of our needs.
2. Thank him for the much needed encouragement the WBC support is.
3. Pray for our upcoming speaking engagements.
   1. This Sunday evening we might be speaking to a small group. Pray that it works out.
   2. Pray that we are able to schedule speaking engagements with many of the churches in the Princeton area for the next couple of Sundays
4. Pray that as people get our newsletter the Holy Spirit will move their hearts to join our ministry partnership team.

Thank you again for your prayers. You are making THE difference in our work right now.

-Susan

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Susan Rhoads

MAF Learning Technologies

http://www.maf.org/rhoads

http://www.maflt.org

http://ontherhoads.org

630-868-8515

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Feb 08 Prayer Letter

MAF Learning Technology is excited to announce the production release of DEScribe Editor, gold version. DEScribe is a desktop editor that makes e-learning course creation easy. Courses written in DEScribe can be exported and run on a variety of e-learning platforms. The gold version initially exports to MAFLT DEViewer and, soon after, Moodle.

Features include simple creation of a course TOC (table of contents), uncomplicated image and style importing, a straightforward plug-in toolbox, and painless project workspace sharing with teammates. These features, along with a customizable GUI work environment (available in several languages) enables subject matter experts to create courses directly. If they know how to use a word processor, they already know how to use DEScribe. This streamlining of required operator skills dramatically lowers the overhead of e-learning curriculum development.

For more information, please visit the MAF-LT DEScribe forum.

You can download it here.

From one of our Learning Technologies partners in Kenya:

We had a great time with Mike, though we could not meet on Friday, for fear of fresh wave of rioting after another MP was shot. The church in Kenya has never been praying like the way it has been lately and we thank God for answering our prayers. My family members are all fine and I thank God. Please pass my regards to all MAF staff that know me.

I was interviewed on the Missionary Talks Podcast.