The People We Meet

For us, one of the best parts of ministry travel is the people we meet. Often we get to hear stories of people who aren’t known by the world but who are great in the kingdom. They are people of faith, not fame.

Jim on a past trip to Vietnam

On this ministry trip to Vietnam (April 15-29), I’m certain that our own faith will be inspired by men and women of God giving their all, serving the Lord and changing lives.

We look forward to ministry together with Minh and Blessing, plus a team from Myanmar.

🔥 Children’s Workers Training

The first training event will be with children’s workers who have a vision to bring Jesus to the next generation. They give their summers to travel from remote village to remote village. They carry food with them or go without. They sleep where they can. Sometimes that’s on the ground. Week after week they deny themselves and suffer hardship so that children hidden in the mountains can know the love of Jesus. Over the summer, 10,000 children will be loved, play games, make crafts and be introduced to their Savior.

What a privilege it is for us to bring words of encouragement from God’s Word. We ask the Lord to use us to stir faith in these sent ones and join them in prayer for the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for sending us, multiplying this blessing to thousands of children, by His grace.

Thanks from Minh & Blessing

🔥 Marriage and Family Conference

This conference is for younger couples in ministry (40 and under) who are serving the Lord in ministry leadership. Most are bi-vocational, farming or working jobs so they can serve their church. How do couples balance the pressures of marriage and family with the call of God to leadership? How do they deal with financial pressures, communication challenges, and raising well-rounded children? What about the added pressure of the constant threat of persecution from the authorities?

How can we encourage them in this process? By God’s grace, He has guided us through misunderstandings, misplaced priorities, and wounding experiences. We can share the wisdom we’ve gained from our own mistakes - and we’ve made a lot of them! Through our honesty, we can give these couples permission to open their hearts to each other, trusting the Lord in their weaknesses and finding His wisdom to grow together as couples.

As you send us to Vietnam, you are strengthening the homes of leaders who will be equipped as fruitful pastors. That blessing will be multiplied to their congregations and beyond.

🔥 Vision Casting for Sports Ministry

Our associates in Myanmar under Pastor David’s leadership have seen the gospel penetrate the Burmese culture, which has been closed to the gospel for over 200 years. As friends of Firefall, you know that much of this breakthrough has happened through soccer (or football to them). 

David, his wife, Diim Te, and Philip (youth minister and soccer coach) will be joining us for all three training events. Their success in evangelism and discipleship through soccer will be shared with leaders of youth ministries in Saigon. We believe this will light a fire of vision for what the Lord can do to reach young men in Vietnam like He has done in Myanmar.

Your prayer and support will help build a bridge to the hearts of a generation of young men in Vietnam.

We Need Your Prayer

Please join us in prayer for these 3 dynamic events:

• Pray that our hearts will be prepared and the messages we bring will be from hearts on fire with the Holy Spirit.

• We pray for a mighty impartation of His power for fruitful ministry.

• Pray for the hearts of those who attend to receive what they need - and more! May the blessings be abundant!

1/3 to our goal

Finally, please pray with us that our $15,000 goal will be met. We’re 30% there, but we need your help to fill the flame.

We love you and thank God for your partnership in the gospel as you send us.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Phil. 1:3-6

The Israel Tour Through a Mother's Eyes

My cuppa on this rainy February morning is a fruit and herbal infusion which I purchased while in Israel last month. The flavors are passion fruit and mango, with no caffeine. It is delicious, warming and will not give me jitters. The brand is Wissotzky and can be purchased online.

Reflecting on the Firefall International Best of Israel Tour is joyful for me because in every aspect of the trip I saw the blessing of God. Yes, there were months of hard work sharing the vision, inviting people and answering myriad questions. There were sad days when unforeseen events led to cancellations. Through all of this, we watched the Lord gather the group, supply for them and bless us abundantly on the actual tour. 

We had amazing answers to prayer on our first day regarding lost luggage and a phone. While none of my children were free to go with us, I was deeply touched by the two mother/daughter combos on the tour. Seeing them make the most of 11 days of constant companionship, touring, learning and worshipping thrilled my heart. The sacredness of family was before me constantly and beautifully. Because our group had good numbers, we were able to invite our spiritual “sons,” Pastor David of Myanmar and Minh of Vietnam, to go with us. This was an opportunity of a lifetime for them and a great enhancement for their teaching and preaching ministries, not to mention their inner lives and insights into the Bible (read through their reflections below). Seeing them experience the land where Jesus walked and taught is a memory I will treasure forever. They will multiply the blessings they received through their sharing with hundreds if not thousands in the future.

On a personal note as a pilgrim myself, I was impacted by standing in the areas where Jesus likely taught the crowds from a hillside and fed the multitudes. Our guide helped us to “think like Jews” and understand that when Jesus did these two things, He was pointing to His divinity and His Father as His acts reminded them of the law being given from Mount Sinai and also the manna miraculously supplied which sustained them in the wilderness. So much to contemplate, so many more reasons to bow in worship and wonder before my Lord. Thank you again to those who joined us and those who remembered us in prayer. 

A few days after our return, I asked Minh and Pastor David to share their insights from the trip. May their reports encourage your heart as they did mine: 

From Minh 

A visit to the Holy Land would be a life dream for every believer. Personally, I was moved by standing at the places where Jesus, the Son of most high God, lived and served. More than that, how God protected his chosen people in the midst of their enemies in the desert. 

It is even more important for us teachers of the Word. Recently, I was recently appointed to teach a Bible course called “The Life of Jesus.” We have hundreds of students from North to the South among churches in Vietnam. In the teaching, His life was divided into five different stages:

1. Childhood

2. Preparation for ministry

3. In the ministry

4. Suffering period

5. After resurrection

Each stage related to places where Jesus was. It is so helpful for me to know geographically where He has been and to see what it looks like. All the pictures and videos I took during the visit will help my students so much. In addition, the knowledge from the guide will help me put historical information together logically.

Thank you so much for supporting my trip! May God bless you.  

From David

I just would like to share the blessings that I received from our wonderful trip to the Holy Land Tour.

This trip is the most splendid tour in my life. As for me, it was beyond my imagination and a dream come true. Thanks a lot to Firefall for supporting me to join in this trip as I myself could never implement such an awesome trip.

I was really touched when I walked on the land where our Lord was walking 2,000 years ago! That made my faith in Him stronger and stronger as I learned the Bible is not just a myth or story but actual and authentic.

Worshipping and praising the resurrected Jesus in the Garden Tomb left me speechless as tears of joy came from our eyes. It was the greatest hope that I have in my life seeing the empty tomb of our Lord! This makes it even more effective when I share the gospel to many Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims in my nation. Now, I can share about His resurrection in power by telling them that I myself was there.

I was challenged and empowered also when I stood on the Mt. of Olives where Jesus gave the Great Commission to His disciples. I felt as Jesus is talking to me directly there to implement His final Word among my own people. That encouraged me to implement that Great Commission in my nation.

Seeing and stepping on things and places that we have heard and preached before was a great blessing and an awesome feeling for me. When I shared the word of God on the first Sunday after we just arrived back from Israel, it changed the essence of my message as I myself explained the congregation much more deeply and meaningfully.

I read the synoptic gospels during our trip, and it was the most meaningful and the sweetest time in my life, even though I have read them over 100 times. The Holy Spirit gave me many more insights from the stories of Jesus to impact my flock for these coming days.

Best of Israel Tour Report

Wow! What a Trip!

I kept telling people, “Go to Israel. The Bible will come alive - you’ll never read it the same again.”

To be honest, the Bible has always been alive to me, but after our Best of Israel Tour in January, even scholarship about the Bible (history, geography, culture, etc.) is alive! My morning Bible readings have become a series of panoramic videos seeing Jesus with people on the seashore, on the hills or in the synagogue.

The Lord prepared a banquet table of experiences for us as a group. Having these moments together enriched the spiritual impact on each of the nearly 40 of us. Nancy and I reconnected with long-time friends and made new ones. Each of us grew in our understanding and faith. I think I can speak for everyone on the tour that we came home with a renewed commitment to see Jesus’ kingdom come, each doing our part obeying the great commission to make disciples of all nations.

From Kathi, Firefall International Board Member

“When the opportunity to travel to Israel with Jim and Nancy Pennington came about, I quickly jumped at the chance. There was a longing in my heart to see the places Jesus preached and walk in the places Jesus walked. I was immediately struck by the stark, yet beautiful landscape of Israel and the relatively small area in which our Lord resided.

January is typically a rainy month in Israel and the rain is seen as a blessing. I am thinking of the imagery of the living water and what Jesus brings to our lives, John 7:37-38.

There were so many high points for me, but attending worship at Christ Church in Jerusalem with my brothers and sisters in Christ, taking Communion, hearing songs of praise in both English and Hebrew moved my heart. And then again when we took communion, prayed, and sang songs of praise at the Garden Tomb, I could feel the Spirit moving among us. We could hear other groups singing and praying around us in different tongues and different styles. I had a friend say that maybe that’s the way heaven will sound. I hope so. It will take time for me to process all that I learned and saw, but the experience has strengthened my faith and pushed me to stretch. If the opportunity presents itself in your lifetime, I urge you to travel to the Holy Land. You’ll never be the same.”

And from Other Pilgrims:

“Thank you Nancy and Jim so much for planning this wonderful trip of a lifetime. I really don’t think it would have been the same if we had not gone with this group or had Mickey as our guide. We will have memories forever. As I was headed home from the grocery store this morning, I heard “The River” by Jordan Felize. I think I will always remember someone playing that song as we got back on the bus after visiting the Jordan River on that rainy day. What wonderful memories I will hold in my heart.”

“I will never forget you and this wonderful trip! As I read the Bible, I see it in vivid color whereas before I read it in flat black and white. Thank you more than words can say for this trip that has enriched my soul and knowledge and love for our Lord.”

What Now

There are times for each of us when the Holy Spirit gives us eyes to see and ears to hear what He is saying. For those on the Tour of Israel there were many of these moments.

For all of us we should ask the question, “Where do we go from here?” May the Lord lead us to pray and listen, to obey Him, to live in His purpose for our lives, and bring Him glory!

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

My 9 Favorite Travel Quotes

Today, I am enjoying a cup of Moroccan mint tea in an Egyptian cafe in Cary, NC. The tea is black, medium strength and steeped with fresh mint leaves. It is presented in a small glass cup with a side of sugar.

What an exotic and fortifying drink on a chilly December day!

Born on a farm in rural Kentucky sixty-five years ago, who would have dreamed I would travel to twenty-some nations so far? I vividly remember when my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Sprowles, pulled down the giant world map attached to the chalkboard. Something ignited inside me. As I surveyed the vastness before me, my nine-year-old heart whispered a desire, “I want to see it ALL!”

The work I am privileged to do through Firefall International requires lots of travel, lots of jetlag. For me it is an honor to go, to taste the food of other cultures, to inquire, listen and learn what life is like on someone else’s turf. I have experienced kindness, generosity, laughter and openness in every place I have traveled. Some rudeness, too, of course, but that is minuscule compared to the delights of travel and the treasures you carry home inside your heart.

I stumbled across these travel quotes a few months ago. Each one touched me in the part of my soul that is ever awaiting the next adventure.

As you read them, I hope you will be stirred to consider stepping outside your sphere of comfort to contemplate a new journey, or perhaps simply pause with a cuppa to remember the joys of a previous trip you’ve made. 

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. -St. Augustine

Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. -Anonymous

People don’t take trips, trips take people. -John Steinbeck

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions. -Oliver Wendell Holmes

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. -Henry Miller

Oh the places you’ll go. -Dr. Seuss

Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times. -Asian proverb

Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. -Ibn Battuta

I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world. -Mary Anne Radmacher

Cheers,

Nancy