Peace in the Storm

My Storm

In this boat

waves

crashing

water

filling

bailing …

not fast enough

can’t see

6 feet

let alone

the shore. 

Others in my boat

look

at me

like I know

what to do! 

Is he asleep?

I think

I should wake him

with my prayer …

desperate, I cry—

find him not at all

startled … not surprised.

His word calms

my storm, even while bailing,

his promises

ease my fears, even while searching

for the shore. 

“As I have done,

each time before,

I will take you,” he reminds me

“and all those

in this same boat

safely, lovingly

home.”

So … here I am

again

I think

seeking to awaken him

and all this while

only my faith was sleeping.

     ~ David Goodman, 2020 Pandemic

Navigating the Pandemic

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee … Isa. 26:3 

Personal Updates

We have peace, gratitude and things are well with our souls. Staying-at-home at least through April has us praying forward, still trusting in God’s timing. We pray for those struggling with deaths in their families, those with the virus, out of work, in financial crisis and we seek the Lord for our role in serving others near and far. A great opportunity for spiritual growth in us and through us and ministry we had not anticipated. We can become better people and a better Church.

Thank you all for your prayers for David! He is well, fully recovered and we wait patiently for the second kidney procedure because our surgeon says, “knowing what we know, no hurry.” Likely in the fall sometime.

Ministry Updates

Staff overseas trips were falling like dominos as one country after another closing their borders. In a few short weeks, it became every country and we were scrambling to get staff into the appropriate locations to ride out this period. Some Entrust staff are self-quarantined in highly contagious environments.

We also have a number of staff working in restricted-access countries that we do not name. We need to pray for these believers and church leaders who put themselves at risk for the cause of Christ.

Africa has us quite concerned! Dr. Fauci, in the president’s commission, mentioned the possibility of COVID-19 spreading aggressively in the lower hemisphere as it enters into winter. That could be tragic, with medical capabilities lagging way behind other regions. Dutch staff member Johan Boekhout writes:

“Since cyclone Idaï last year, our team of Africans have been working on a course Resillience: God’s Church Responding and Preparing Communities for Disaster. This is Africans writing for Africans. For them, the world is ‘capricious’ and many have turned from worshiping the spirit world to seeking protection from God. A church in action is very relevant to make our Lord visible!”

Our weekly office staff meeting is now completely online. Our morning prayer time (usually done standing in the office with approx. 10 people) now completely online, has grown, even doubled and many have “connected” from Hungary, Serbia, Spain, Austria, Netherlands, Canada as well as various USA locations. We pray through our staff and board list, covering all individuals over the course of two weeks of prayer. It is a powerful 10-15 minutes of very meaningful prayers.

In contrast to all the disruption, our online trainings continue with their wonderful “normalcy” of training and weekly spiritual support, just as they always were, “on screens.”

This pandemic will change our lives and organizations for many years and the world, your church, even your neighbors will not be the same after this. All the more reason to ask God to help us find kingdom opportunities in this time.

Ironically, the same technologies that have enabled the church to “go” and raise up church leaders around the world are also the vehicles that so quickly spread this virus. In a fallen world, perhaps, there is nothing completely good. But we must, with the Spirit’s power, utilize everything at our disposal for kingdom good.

Thanks for your partnership! 

Give Online

Mail checks to: 

PO Box 25520, Colorado Springs, CO 80936-5520

Memo line: "David & Nancy Goodman, M125"

DavidG@Entrust4.org * NancyG@Entrust4.org

Marrying me was a bit of a reach...

... in more ways than one!

God was indeed gracious to provide, in Nancy, a partner overflowing with gifts, commitment and passion for ministry. Our very first date was church ministry, and that privilege has continued since 1970!

You already know I am proud of my wife! You may not know how excited I am about the Women-to-Women Leadership Training Entrust provides around the world. Nancy is one of several who organize and shepherd this strategic transformational equipping. Entrust leaders have now multiplied this training to over 60 countries.

Any wise pastor will tell you that women are essential leaders in the church. Those are the leaders we equip in North America and globally. Did you ever think of the many women who put their husbands through seminary, and then find themselves on a foreign field ill-prepared for their own ministry opportunities? Entrust stepped into that gap years ago with Women-to-Women Ministry Training, equipping women all over the world and especially in the many contexts still existing where women have few opportunities to develop their leadership skills for the church.

Here are just some of the highlights of WWMT:

• Over 30 years of equipping women from over 60 countries
• 160+ participating missions, churches and seminaries
• 9,000+ trained worldwide, many involved in self-sustaining multiplication of training
• Interactive, relational learning
• Dynamic life-on-life mentoring and coaching
• Intentional multiplication of ministry leaders
• Developing and multiplying a lifestyle of serving the local church

Watch this 2-minute video for a quick glance at what Nancy is doing. You will sense the excitement in these learners from five different countries in this one group! (You might find the back of Nancy’s head in one scene.)

The very good woman behind this … Goodman!

Coming soon, our year-end update:

• A report about what I (David) am doing
• Info about the new president you have prayed for 
• Nancy and I discuss our future with Entrust 
• Our family update 

Nancy and I are so thankful for all of you ... for your friendship, your prayers, your gifts and your encouragement.

And if you are participating in Giving Tuesday:
After the big meal, the big game, the big shopping day, comes that one-day worldwide charitable giving event called Giving Tuesday on December 3, 2019. If you choose, one way to express your gratitude to God is to give to one of the special Entrust projects of your choice and/or an extra gift to our ministry account (David and Nancy Goodman, M125). For more information, go to Entrust's Giving Tuesday page.

Where's Waldo?

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We are praying that we might get to be with you early August in Chicago! (Although our time in Chicago this August is shorter than usual). We do have a gathering of friends planned for the evening of August 9th and you are invited! Please text Nancy and if that date doesn’t work, we will find a time . . . 847-708-0011. Thanks!

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We asked you to pray for our 40th anniversary All-Staff Conference in Greece.  

Where’s Waldo David and Nancy? (Some faces below are obscured for security).

A quick report: We can’t think of any way the All-Staff Conference could have gone better! We were reminded of the many ways God has added to his kingdom through this ministry of raising up church leaders over the past 40 years. And then spent some thoughtful time brainstorming together on what God might do in the next 40 years! Thanks for your prayers! When it came time to say goodbye, we left with a spirit of wonder and thankfulness, not only for the past but for the bright future ahead for Entrust.

Nancy and I loved this sampling, below, of Entrust’s unusual ministry legacy behind the Iron Curtain and wanted to share it with you.

(Written by Sandy Shaffer, who with many others provided such a wonderful foundation that Entrust now builds on.)

“The early years were challenging.  We did a lot of traveling, and there was no heat on trains or in many homes we stayed at in Eastern Europe. We recall sleeping with our coats on at times. There was often no hot water to shower or wash hair or dishes. One friend recalled brushing her teeth using tea because the water wasn't safe to drink in some places; another used Coca-Cola! We tried hard to fit in and not look too conspicuous; we created a closet of what we thought were suitable clothes to wear in some of the poorer countries. On one occasion a coworker was teaching in Romania, and after the first session she heard the women whispering during the break. It turned out that they were taking up a collection for her so she could buy a pair of decent shoes! At that point we realized we were probably overdoing it a bit."

“We were willing to take some risks to spread the gospel. Meetings were held in secret, and our men and women were picked up by contacts in places where nationals felt it would be safe to meet - usually in a public park or at a cathedral in the main town square. Both men and women experienced being followed and having to change the plans to meet so as not to endanger our contacts. Rooms in hotels were regularly bugged, and informers sometimes attended meetings.

Our co-worker Sherry recalls the time when the door handle on her partner's hotel room broke, and Claire was unable to get out of her room. They were staying on the third floor of the hotel. The desk clerk was no help. The women didn't want to miss their train, so Claire went out onto her balcony and climbed around the balcony wall to Sherry's room. Her suitcase had to be handed around the balcony wall also. Then both ladies exited from Sherry's room; they made their train just in time."

“What made us take those risks and face those challenges? We were captivated by the vision of training a generation of young men and women who would then train others across Eastern Europe. From the beginning 2 Timothy 2:2 was our guiding principle, and Entrust's name is taken from this verse. Paul told Timothy, "and the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." 

“We were also hooked by our students, who demonstrated a deep faith and commitment to God and a hunger for spiritual food. Some of them had faced interrogation and severe restrictions as a result of their vibrant faith. On my first trip to Silesia (Czech Republic) we had sketchy directions to look for a vegetable store on the main square. In the dark we had trouble finding the place; there were several squares and at least four veggie stores in the town. We got there 1 1/2 hours late, climbed five flights of stairs in total darkness, knocked on a door and entered a room where all 12 women were waiting expectantly around the table for us. That really had an impact on me. 

Rob found the same hunger for spiritual food. On his first trip in 1980 he taught a group in Poland, then crossed over the border to give the same seminar in northern Czechoslovakia. Some of the students crossed over from Poland to hear the seminar a second time. The translator didn't show up and the Polish guys were able to translate and use the extensive notes they had taken in Poland."

“We realized that our students were all in. They were committed, and they were hungry to understand God's word and began immediately to try to apply it in their lives. Recently we have been seeing this hunger for God's word again in Serbia, and our coworkers are seeing it in places in Asia and the Middle East."

“There are at least three reasons why Rob and I have stayed this long with Entrust:

1.      The constancy of the vision of training leaders who will continue to train leaders, generation after generation.

2.       The quality of our co-workers - who are some of the finest people we know.

3.       The great privilege of seeing God at work, transforming the lives of our students through his word.

4.       A fourth reason is the faithful prayer and financial support we have received from so many of our friends over these many years. They have kept us here, and kept us going, at times when it was hard, or when the problems seemed bigger than the promise of God's faithfulness and provision. We thank them from the bottom of our heart for being part of our team."

I always remember much of the respect Entrust receives is because of the early sacrifices of people like Rob and Sandy (and those who faithfully supported them)! We owe them all so much! 

– David and Nancy

Thanks for your partnership! 

Send support to Entrust:

PO Box 25520, Colorado Springs, CO 80936-5520

DavidG@Entrust4.org * NancyG@Entrust4.org