quarterly publication 9
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7/31/2019 Quarterly Publication 9
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Next month, I will have been coming to
Ethiopia for 9 years. It doesnt seem like
it has been that long since my first trip.
After two short-term trips between 2003
and 2004 and an extended stay from Oc-
tober 2004 to May 2005, I came to reside
in Ethiopia in September 2006. In Octo-
ber of 2006 I married Mesi, a jewel of a
Christian who bears the marks of Christs
sufferings on her body. We have been
serving the Lord together in Tigray
(north Ethiopia) for over five years. We
have endured many ups and downs in
ministry, and have been abandoned more
than once by ambitious self-seekers who
have tried to either usurp authority,
make false accusations, or establish a
name for themselves. In these instances,
Mesi and I were deeply hurt, because we
had given generously of ourselves in the
love of Christ to these who, in the end,
turned against us. Because the Spirit of
God has been with us, we have not only
endured, but have also grown in the
Lord. I thought about the words of our
Lord Jesus when he taught the parable of
the soils to His disciples. He spoke of
the good hearts of His people, who do
bear fruit. Get thisthey bear it with
patience! I thought about this part. Pa-
tience is not quickly borne fruit. Pa-
tience, according to James (1:2-4), is
borne out of the trials of the Christian
life. We fall into various trials; our faith
is tested; and patience is borne out la-
boriously (James says this is patience
perfect work). I take that to mean
pain. Here the word of God teaches two
things: (1) considering these troubles
joy is knowingthat patience is being
produced; (2) letting patience develop
in its painful manner produces maturity
and abundance in the Lord (James says
perfect and complete, lacking nothing).
The hurts in our hearts are real, and
sometimes inexplicably unjust and irra-
tional on the part of the source from
which they come. But Mesi and I have
been rejoicing, because we knowGod is
working in us to farm His own fruit, and
to make us fit for the great work of the
gospel ministry to which Hes called us.
I didnt want to soapbox in this Quar-
terly, but I felt this was too good a
chance to pass up in encouraging all
our supporters either in personal Chris-
tian ministry within the body of Christ
or in corporate service to the church.
The best fruits and equipping by the
Spirit come through some of the most
painful trials and testing. And we
know this happens to you just as it does
to us. Clearly, they are spiritual land-
marks for us in our lives of faith! DM.
As for that in the good soil, they are those who,
hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good
heart, and bear fruit with patience. ~Luke 8:15
LAST CALL MINISTRIESJune 2012
Issue VIII
Painful Perfection(Cover, left)
New Sunday School 2
Prayer Calendar 2
Help from God 3
Contact Info 4
The Mesi-sphere 4
Inside this issue:
What you will find in read-
ing this update:
Encouragement for ministry
Answers to your prayers
Specifics that you can pray
for now
An increase of faith by see-ing how God provides in
His own way for our needs
Landmarks for us
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Between 20062007, we partnered temporarily
with a local church in helping them establish a
kids class on Sundays (which they didnt have
prior to our arrival). In 2008 we resigned fromthat work to begin worshiping the Lord in Eng-
lish on Sundays. We are in our fourth year of
ministering the gospel in a chapel-like setting to
English speaking Christians, both local & for-
eign, residential & temporary. This year, we
started a Sunday School Class hour in which Mesi
teaches a handful of Tigrayans the word of God
evangelistically. This a landmark for us in minis-
try, and we rejoice! A new and tender work, we
deeply desire your prayers for the gracious suste-
nance of God for this ministry. Right: Photos of
our new Bible Story class.
Sunday School in Tigrinya
Page 2 Quarter ly: Doug & Mesi Issue VIII
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
June 2012 Color Coded PraCalendar Lords Day Se
vices (am)
Boys Home M
istry (pm)
Prayer Meetin
(pm)
Truth Bible S
@ Orphanage
(pm)
Bible Study @
Sudanese Stu
dents Apartm
(pm)
Benevolence
Home Visits
Mesi disciple
class with bap
tism prospect
Dougs visita
& outreach
The schedule on the prayer calendar is virtually constant, so on into July, August, etc, praying according to the calendar is valid
New Bible Story
Class!!! 2012
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*Gods Help:South KoreanPartners*
God provides for our needs in his own gracious and beautiful way.
Last month, May 2012, we were pleasantly surprised by the love offer-
ing of a church in South Korea. Our relationship to the church,
though, is not surprising, knowing the character of our contact there.Cha-Eun-Chul (left) lived in Ethiopia as a volunteer, and being a
Christian, we naturally became friends. He was committed, loyal, and
given to worship and the word of God. I benefitted from our friendship
because while I was learning to play the guitar for the first time, he was
one of the Koreans who taught me. Because of him and another dear
Korean brother, Kim-Junsu, I am now writing songs in both English
and Tigrinya. Cha-Eun-Chul has been back in South Korea since 2009,
but weve stayed in touch, and he and his mom have sent us boxes of
clothing for distribution to the needy more than once. Last month, I
received an email that his church was sending a love offering to help us
in our ministries! How blessed and how timely! It was timely becauselast month was especially a month of increased ministry but at the
same time a month of intensely trusting God to provide for that
amount of ministry. With the funds received from these South Korean
partners, Mesi and I purchased 300 kilos of flour and distributed them
in 10 kilo increments to 30 families. Praise God! This is also the
means by which we evangelize many of the needy, so we are thankful
to our Lord and to His people in South Korea. Because the donation
was substantial, we were also able to begin sponsorship of a football
(soccer) team based in the orphanage at which we teach Gods Word
weekly. Most of the team members are either children living in the or-
phanage, or children from the surrounding neighborhood. Saturdaysare training days, and days on which we get to see the football team
practice or play games. Preaching the gospel to these children who are
neighbors to the orphanage children is now a real opportunity. We
praise God for our South Korean partners, for their giving and their
prayers!!!
Here are ways to pray for these ministries:
Pray for our benevolence home visits to glow with the goodness
and grace of God radiantly, and that the gospel of Christ be readily
received as we preach in these homes! Pray for our preaching!
Pray for our bajaj taxi driver, Aman, as he helps us distribute the
flour. He listens intently to the gospel message we preach! Pray
for the light of the knowledge of Gods glory in Christ to shine in
his heart.
Pray for Asres, a poor Christian girl, rich in faith, serving her
church in helping to deliver our flour to the Tehadeso Ten, the 10
poorest members of that church. Pray for her strength and joy!
Pray for the football team, the neighborhood kids, and the sponsor-
ship, that liberty for the gospel be granted by God! Pray also for
our weekly Bible teaching at the orphanage, for grace and glory!
Asres and
Aman
before
loading upto
distribute
flour to the
homes of
10 needy
Christians.
This is 1/3
of our
purchase
last month.
Page 3Quarter ly: Doug & Mesi Issue VIII
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About LCM: Last Call Ministries is a 501c3 Or-
ganization which began in 1997. Its inception rose
out of a growing fellowship of believers interested in
gospel evangelism primarily within the inner city of
Shreveport, Louisiana. Currently, LCM partners
with several gospel mission works around the world,including Brazil, Chad, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and
Bayou Du Large (S. Louisiana). LCM is cur-
rently sponsoring Doug & Mesi, who are commis-
sioned by their home church: Heritage Baptist
Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. All support mon-
ies received solely support of the budgeted work un-
derway in Mekele, Ethiopia.
To Support:PO Box 4203, Shreveport, LA 71134
USA
To Contact:Phone: 318-458-9602; Email:
lastcallminisries@hotmail.com (or)
joespell@keptprivate.com
To Correspond w/ Doug & Mesi:PO Box 1944, Mekele,
Tigray, Ethiopia; Email: dglsmerrick@yahoo.com
(This works for Facebook, too!)
In her third & final year of nursing school, Mesi is almost a graduate
with a degree. The graduation day is on August 4th, this year, and
will serve as a landmark for us in ministry. Mesi has been doing
practical in a variety of local clinics & hospitals; in that, she shares
her faith every chance she gets with students and patients. While
she faces opposition from her mostly Orthodox fellow students con-
tinuously, Mesi is gold and endures, still mercifully sharing the mes-
sage of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ! When the
students of her class graduate, they will be placed in various clinics,
urban & rural, around Ethiopia. Mesi, however, plans to use her de-
gree & skills in a different way. While most of her time will be spent
either at home or in our ministry, she will divide two days per week
for volunteering in the clinic of Gods choosing (praying about this),
for the purpose of compassion evangelism. We ask that you pray
with us about this and that we might clearly see Gods leading in this
desire. Mesi has done a great job! Mesi: (right) at a local clinic.
The Mesi-sphere!!!
Last Call Ministries
Were on
Facebook! Go to:
Partnership-Doug
& Mesi Merrick-
Last Call
Ministries Mission
Workers Suppo
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