Cannon, Bruce & Linda
Aaron, Zachary
skr. poczt 2553
45-286 Opole 18
Phone: 011-48-71-389-5393
Email: BLAZCannon@cs.com
SEND
May 2010 Update
Greetings from Poland! I have some good friends who for a long time raised sheep in upstate New York.
I remember them often saying how stupid sheep were. They would get
themselves into predicaments and not be able to get out. They would run
around crazy in total confusion and set the whole flock into a frenzy. They were
often stubborn and just plain didn’t listen. They were incapable of defending or
taking care of themselves… I also remember these friends sharing how vividly
sheep are a picture of us humans and how closely their behavior illustrates ours.
There are many references in scripture to sheep and shepherds. Psalm 23 is a
much beloved picture of how the Lord as our Shepherd cares for us, His sheep.
In Matthew 9:36, Jesus describes sheep without a shepherd as “harassed and
helpless.” In John 10 there is yet another account of Jesus using the
sheep/shepherd analogy…..” John 10:27
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."
Two phrases stand out to me in this passage---“My sheep listen to my voice” and “they follow me.” In another place it
says they follow Him because “they know his voice.” Over the last several months, Bruce and I have spent time
reflecting and evaluating how well we are listening to God. We have asked questions such as, what hinders us from
hearing God? What do we need to change so that we can be more attuned to His voice? What other “voices” compete
for God’s voice in our lives? What is God seeking to say to us at this time in our lives?
Have you ever been in a busy supermarket or mall when your cell phone rings? You answer it but all the background
noise of people, grocery carts, PA music and announcements and the overall poor reception of the building get in the
way of hearing what the person on the other end is trying to tell you. Sometimes we are so focused on the task at hand
we don’t even hear the phone ring… How often does the Lord try to get our attention and we don’t “hear” Him? How
often does all the “noise” of life around us and distractions surrounding us, keep us from really hearing His voice? How
often are we so busy doing “His work” that we miss out on Him telling us what He really wants us doing? If we are
honest, we will answer, “I don’t know, perhaps, a lot more often than I am aware of.”
So how can we be better “listeners” so that we are able to hear His voice and follow Him? We don’t have all the
answers but one thing has become clear to us--to be able to hear and listen to His voice, we need to get away from all
the things, noise and voices that compete with His. We believe that God desires to communicate with us. He desires
intimacy with us as much as we need it with Him. We need to learn to be quiet (a challenge for many) and to be still
(perhaps an even bigger challenge) and give Him our full attention. This is the starting point, if we are to follow Him.
Tragedy in Poland
Most of you have heard about the airplane crash that resulted in the tragic
deaths of the Polish President, his wife and many government officials. This
transpired on the 70
that saw thousands of Polish soldiers executed on Russian soil in 1940. All
of Poland went through a week of mourning with many events being
cancelled or postponed. Interesting, however, is the response we have
heard repeatedly in the media. Many are remarking that perhaps God is
trying to get the attention of the Polish people. The evangelical churches
are seeing this as an opportunity to respond with God’s truth.
Please pray for Poland. Pray that as a people they
would listen to God and respond. Pray for the elections coming up June 20
the new president and that the government would have a new sensitivity to God's wisdom.
SEND NCE Women's Prayer Day
On March 29
gathered at our home in Opole. Several traveled up to 5 hours to attend. We
met to share, pray, support and encourage each other from what the Lord has
been teaching us and doing in our lives. We followed this with lunch in a
restaurant where the fellowship continued. It was a lively group! We parted
ways feeling encouraged and thankful for the time together. Praise God that we
already have a speaker and worship leader set for our NCE Ladies’ Fall Retreat!
SEND Mobilizer Visit
April 15-22 a group of SEND mission mobilizers visited Poland and the
Czech Republic to observe and get better acquainted with the various
church plants and related ministries in NCE. In addition they had the
opportunity to meet with national church leaders in both countries to hear
directly how SEND can continue to contribute to partnership in church
planting. Now they will take this experience and information back to college
campuses and churches in the US and Canada and present it with the goal
of recruiting new missionaries to North Central Europe
Pray that many would respond to God’s call to missions.
(A side note--their trip coincided
directly with the Iceland volcano eruptions! They arrived in Poland on one
of the last flights into Europe and they were all able to depart more or less
on schedule on some of the first trans-Atlantic flights to resume! Praise God for His timing and provision!)
New meeting place coming soon!
Several months ago our pastor, Pawe
Opole city government to request space for our church to use. Finally,
the city responded by inviting several non-profit groups to view and
“bid” on space in an old downtown building. Last month our church
was notified that we would be one of the recipients! There is now 600
sq ft divided into two rooms to use 7 days a week for ¼ the cost of a
room used only on Sunday mornings. While this is not a lot of space, it
will allow us to conduct Sunday school for the children and will also
provide meeting space for other ministries of our fellowship during the
week. There is still a bit of renovation needed before the space will be
functional.
Pray that the Lord would use this location to open new opportunities for ministry and contacts with the other groups as well as the surrounding neighborhoods.
Praises and Prayer Requests...
- Praise God for providing someone to stay in our home and take care of our dog while we are in the US this summer!
Thank you for your faithful partnership with us.
Bruce and Linda
Financial gifts and pledges for monthly support
can be sent to:
SEND International, PO Box 513,
Farmington MI 48332 (note Cannon acct #112854)
Pray for our remaining financial support need which stands at about $900 a month.
