From: BBtJ.org(Bring Back the Joy)
Mark & Virginia Lane Bolzern
149 Rainbow Drive, Unit 4971
Livingston, TX 77399-1049
USA

BBtJ.org February / March 2004 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Family,

The Year 2004 started out with a bang. Our mission trip to Ciudad Victoria in Mexico was a total success. Our team accomplished a lot and had a good time in the process. More details are given later in this newsletter.

Since getting back from Mexico, we've been busy with various school activities which will further our learning for future ministry. We attended the CBC Expand Your Vision Conference in mid-February. This conference is designed to give prospective students an opportunity to interact with students and alumni while learning in a "school setting." We enjoyed encouraging, giving testimonies to, and praying for prospective students. We also helped serve as Table Hosts at the Saturday Brunch. Summaries of some of the sessions are given later in this newsletter.

On January 25^th, we were able to attend 3 sessions with Bishop David Oyedepo from Nigeria. He helped found a church which now seats 53,000 people, and has up to 10,000 people waiting outside for a seat at any given service. They plant 5 new churches a day. He started off as a poverty stricken youth in a mud hut. Hearing his “secrets of success” was exciting for any potential minister. For more info see Virginia’s Journal for 2/25/04 at: http://www.bolzern.org/journals/vj2004Q1.html#Oyedepo

The third term at CBC has just begun. We have new electives. Virginia has “Ministering like a Minister” (Prayer Ministry), “Guidelines for Ministers”(Etiquette), “Praise and Worship”, and “Children's Ministry”. Mark is taking “Pastoral Duties”, “Kingdom of God”, “Children's Ministry” and “Innocence, Integrity and Tenacity”. We'll continue with our regular classes: “NT Church Planting”, “NT Survey”, “Bible Covenants”, “Making of a Minister”, and “Discipleship Evangelism”.

Future plans: We have submitted our applications to participate in the CBC Apprentice Program for the 2004/2005 school year. The apprentice program is designed as a transition from the student viewpoint to being faculty assistants, and onward into the ministry. We apprentice under the teacher who teaches and is gifted in the apparent areas of one’s future calling. We hope to generalize by helping out in areas such as administration, discipleship/evangelism, teaching of classes, facilitating Interaction Groups and much more. If anyone would care to assist us in paying tuition or helping to cover next year’s living expenses, please don’t be shy.

We appreciate that you keep us in your prayers. Thanks also to those of you who participate in our ministry by contributing in other ways, we couldn’t go where God is taking us without you. We love sharing our lives with you. Keep us posted regarding the doings on your end.

Love, Mark and Virginia

Calendar of Upcoming Events for more info see our Online Calendar at: http://www.bolzern.org/calendar/cal2004.html

April 7 Spring Walkathon: CBC students will participate in a prayer walk around Memorial Park. Your prayer requests are solicited, or if you care to make a donation for the CBC Mission Fund, see the reply coupon on page 2.

April 15-17 Women’s Weekend Fellowship: Kay LeFever will be ministering on “You are The New Living Translation” based on Colossians 1:13. Other presenters will be Karen Duncan and Jan Knurr. This activity will be at Snow Mountain Ranch in Winter Park, Colorado.

May 15 CBC Graduation, 2:30 pm: Mark and Virginia will be graduating with the other 67 students in our class. Please let us know if you would like to attend. Consider this your invitation!

June 6-19 Canada Marriage seminar and Fishing Camp: Wow! Fishing, relaxation and a marriage seminar! Contact Linus LeFever at 719-635-6029 for more information.

July 12-16 CBC Family Conference: Speakers will include Andrew Wommack, Linus LeFever and more. Please plan to attend with your family.

Over the last several years Virginia has corresponded and ministered to many people via email, via our website and via the telephone. Helping people is a source of inspiration for us, and will remain an ongoing part of our ministry wherever God takes us. This is why the Internet link, our web site and our cell phones are so crucial.

Here are a few unsolicited comments:

Mae P: It is always a joy to hear what God is using and taking you thru... and I am most pleased to be able to put faces to the names on my prayer list (FINALLY!!) you are such a blessing...PTL for those who hearken and follow where He leads.

Sandra H:We love hearing from you and as soon as we are out of debt, we can help with donations. We're really trying to get debt free. We've also been helping my mother with finances, so we can't help right now, but you do have our prayers and God is faithful, as you of all people, know! Have a great year!

Judi S: Wow, the changes you and Mark have made are something else let alone major and amazing! Dave read your newsletter and was impressed as well. You two are certainly in my prayers and thoughts. Your Bussie looks fantastic. What's it like for a home? Dave and I were looking at RV's for vacationing but yours is a home. Quite a switch from what you had before!

Page Two-------Expand Your Vision:

EYV was a learning experience. It challenged us in our thinking and doing. Even though much of the material was familiar, many admitted that we don’t “do.” Andrew's theme was hearing and listening to the voice of God and obeying His instructions. The main example was Elijah who was told by God to prophesy to Ahab about a drought. During the portion of his life given in the Bible, there were examples of when Elijah obeyed and disobeyed God and even when he acted on his own. His actions as a prophet and man of God affected the destiny of the nation of Israel.

Several speakers spoke on various subjects. One "class" by Don Krow was giving scriptural proof that we are called to be disciples and to disciple others. He proved that our calling is not just to "save" people in order to keep them from going to Hell but to additionally teach them the Word so that their lives are forever changed. In other words, once a person is saved, they need to have encouragement and instruction in the Word. So that their whole being understands the full concept of what it means to know and love God, and is enabled to continually pursue direct relationship with God. For more on the messages please see: http://www.bolzern.org/reviews/mtg04001.html

We had seven days of jam packed fun but stretching experiences. Thirty-two “Coloradans” started our adventures on Saturday January 10 with a 4:30 am arrival time at the airport. Planes took us first to Houston and then to Harlingen, Texas. Bobby Crow (Senor Roberto Cuervo) met us at the airport. Then a bus drove us to Ciudad Victoria. We'd been cautioned to "behave" and not do anything that would seem challenging to the border guards. Prayers were answered and it went without a hitch; our driver got us to our destination in record time. We settled into our sleeping cubicles before dinner; afterward we toured the new church building. Some of us cleaned the church windows as our first service project. Although unfinished, it was decided that the inaugural services would be the next day, Sunday January 11th as the old sanctuary had been bursting at the seams with 1400 people. Many of our CBC students offered their services on construction as work continued on the building. They also set up and took down the large gospel tent.

The first evening, the group was split and ministered at two separate churches. Although we did not speak, Mark was able to pray for a man the first night. He was healed immediately. In minutes he went from debilitating back pain to dancing.

Bobby Crow later gave us the statistics that 5850 brochures had been handed out. Because reading materials are scarce among the poor, surveys have shown that each piece of reading material is read by 5-7 people. Therefore, it is anticipated that our group helped reach some 35,000 people during our week in Mexico. 54 people were recorded as receiving Salvation. The students were able to visit the local market on the last day in Ciudad Victoria. Some bought vanilla which is advertised as better than that is available in the US. We only bought a couple of children's bracelets (to break up to make earrings for V) and a dish to give to our Discipleship students.

It was raining and overcast on the morning we left. We later heard that the airport in Harlingen closed after our plane left. We felt blessed that we did not have to stay overnight. Everyone was glad to be home again that evening. More about our adventures in Mexico can be read online at http://www.bolzern.org/journals/td4001.html

Pictures----Top: 32 students, apprentices and faculty on steps of Palabra de Vida. Right: Virginia teaching in tent with interpreter. Top Left: Virginia dancing with children. Middle left: Mark and Jon forming relationships with children by playing soccer; all later came to our meetings, PdV bus in background. Bottom left: Several of our group with Mexican grandmother and children.

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