Christmas Greetings from CFO International!
As we get ready to celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, we greet the Belt of Prayer Around the World with warm tidings of Faith, Hope, Love, and Peace!
CFO Camps in East Africa
In East Africa, both VOI CFO Camp and MUMIAS CFO Camp met recently. Covid-19 did not disrupt plans for these CFO Camps. Thank you for the prayers, preparation, and precautions that helped pave the way for these events: Here are some highlights:
From Joram Sakwa (Trainer of Trainers): CFO MUMIAS held its CFO Camp December 5 – 11, 2021. We had a two day intensive training in the CFO Daily Program. A total of 90 adults attended; eight from Uganda, two from Tanzania, and the reminder from Kenya. Our camp theme was “Arise and Shine”. Many local people attended the camp for the first time and were blessed. We thank GOD for CFO leadership both locally and internationally and for their prayer and financial generosity.
From Ernest Kombo (East Africa Regional Vice President): The VOI CFO Camp, held in November, was a wonderful camp and the majority in attendance were youths. They testified to their “gratitude for the help of Jesus, the only one able to turn our problems around for good and for the Father’s glory.” Our camp theme “Transformation Through Hard Work and Diligence” was supported by the scripture II Thessalonians 3:10-13. As Athlete’s of the Spirit the campers amplified that God is good and His steadfast love endures forever.
Please continue to pray for all of our CFO Camp Regions and for those struggling as a result of the continued spread of the Covid-19 virus, natural disasters, famine, and other hardships. When we pray the nine o’clock prayer wherever we are, we connect as one CFO all around the globe, spreading the healing love and peace of Jesus out over this beautiful earth created by our loving Father. Guide us and keep us dear Lord! In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Make God Your Accountant, by Geraldine Foster
The CFOI Board wishes to thank you all for your prayer and financial support throughout 2021. As you think about giving and the upcoming year, we hope this sharing from CFO’er, Geraldine Foster, speaks to your heart.
Once I heard a sermon about generosity. The preacher said we could be generous according to the law; the need; the reward; the vision; OR we could be ‘generous according to the heart.’ And of course, heart generosity is the most useful to God. Why? Because when we open our hearts, we are generally open to God, to God’s desires, to the Holy Spirit’s leadings and love… and then we can be used as conduits of God’s love.
I love music… and I love the cello and the French horn. When I was teaching in Mildura, a cello was discovered in someone’s shed, and it was offered on loan to me. I learned to play it and joined the Mildura Concert Orchestra. Several years later, my Mum died. I was to move back to Melbourne to be with my Dad. I was also to begin at Bible College. I was sad to to leave my cello behind and to sell my piano. My plan was to use the money from the piano sale to buy a cello of my own. At this point in my life I had learned to let God be the accountant… and God had other ideas.
A young cellist in the Mildura Concert Orchestra was the eldest in a family of five. Her parents asked me to sell the piano to them so their children could learn. They did not have the money, but offered to send a payment whenever they could afford one until it was paid for. My heart said yes, but my brain was not sure. A friend who could afford the piano offered to buy it from me and sell it later. So I had a choice to make. I prayed about it and I knew God was prompting me to agree with the family who might never have another chance to own a piano. So that’s what I did… reminding myself that I had decided to trust God with my finances long ago and now was hardly the time to be revoking that trust.
While at Bible College in Melbourne, I had planned to live on my long service leave money that accumulated while I had been teaching but the Education Department misplaced my file… and with it my needed living money. But God knew all about it. Each time I was down to my last funds, along came another small payment for the piano. So the family had their piano and I had disbursements when I needed them. One term, an anonymous person prompted by God paid my tuition fees. To this day I don’t know who it was, but I do know they were generous according to the heart!
After two years, the missing file turned up! And when the last payment for the piano came, I was not in any need of it. I really felt that money belonged to God.
About this time, one of the lecturers at the college was having a difficult year. Both his own and his wife’s parents died and one of his daughters needed a spinal fusion. The family needed rest time, so another student and I spent each day in the Children’s Hospital with the daughter and the family went on a much needed holiday funded by the last piano payment.
God is marvelous! A family had a piano, I had been able to do my study, and the lecturer and his family had support and a much needed holiday! All God asks for is our full obedience and trust, and look how He spreads His love and care! When we let God do the accounting, there is more than enough for us all!
Greetings from CFOI President, David Dobra and his wife, Martha Dobra
Dear CFOI Family,
The Christmas season is a time when we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the season of joy! “Joy to the world the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King!” It is the season where we encourage each other to dwell on what God has promised. God has given us a King! The King of Glory! This is a season of sharing the Love and Peace of Jesus the Christ, even in these troubling times. So, I encourage each of us to be Joy Givers, Love Spreaders and Peace Makers this Christmas season and all the New Year! Making merry the season and sharing Emmanuel, Jesus, God with us!
I pray this Christmas Season be one of Great Joy to all our CFOI Family around the world!
Merry Christmas!
David and Martha Dobra
Creative Writing: A Poem by Geraldine Foster, CFO’er from Australia
Curled in Mary’s womb
Fuse-eyed and finger-webbed,
Sucking Your tiny thumb
For comfort,
As You grew and changed,
Truly taking flesh upon You —
Creator God,
Did You look upon the silver stars
In Your mind’s eye,
There in the velvet dark
Of Your watery world?
Were Your tiny shell-ears
Still tuned to the glory songs of Heaven?
In our Christmas rebirth
Tune our ears to angel-song
And focus our eyes on the silver stars
That we might follow
And find You
O Babe of Bethlehem