Off to the All-Staff Conference!

Dear Friends,

We thank you for your constant love, prayers and support. This is a hurried update because in two days, we leave for Loutraki Korinthias (Corinth), Greece for our “once every three years All-Staff Conference” for Entrust staff and their families. "As One Who Serves" is our conference theme: For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:27

There will be about 110 traveling from CA, TX, MD, CO, MA, GA, IL, ND, Canada, Asia, Middle East, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Thailand, Russia, Africa, and Spain, which includes a volunteer worship team from California, and Kaleidoscope, a ministry that provides a children’s program for missions conferences. We are excited to be introducing 20 new staff to Entrust!

We can only do this in the power of the Lord, and dependence upon Him! Pray that David and I would keep our eyes on Him, following His direction and having His wisdom for this work He has called us to.

Three of our staff women have been invited to meet with a group of dedicated Christian women in the Middle East. Pray for safety for all the women, and for wisdom and unity regarding leadership training opportunities in this region. For encouraging relationships developed over their days together and that our team will be effective listeners. Another couple is already in the Middle East teaching a week-long class at our Bible Institute. Other staff have been in Romania encouraging church leaders before the conference.

JANUARY– APRIL 2017
Our grandchildren like to play “high – low.” At the dinner table each person shares a high and a low from their day. Here are a few ministry and family highs - and just one low .

HIGHS:

Hungary, Austria, Romania – David co-leading the men’s training summit, and meeting with European staff.
Colorado – Nancy co-leading/hosting a working retreat week for Women-to-Women Leadership Training facilitators from four organizations, three countries and five states. All women serve locally and globally!
New Staff Leadership arrives – Welcome to Mark and Kim Huffman after ten years of their serving in Ukraine! Mark will work directly alongside David. So excited they are here!
New Staff Orientation week – David participating
March 25; welcome Marigold Sarai Goodman – joining Matt, Monika, Olive, Rockwell (pictured at right: Olive and Marigold)

Our “LOW” was when David was hospitalized with pulmonary embolisms and pulmonary edema following his trip to Europe early 2017 (he had something similar 18 months ago after two back to back trips to Asia). The hospitalization was for meds treatment and observation in a telemetry unit where they could monitor every detail. He is back on Xarelto with no travel restrictions…we are confident in this medical counsel - you can pray that God will protect him from more blood clots in his lungs as we travel to Greece, then also when he travels to Singapore and Thailand May 16–27.

Please see our prayer requests in the right-hand column. We appreciate your prayers!

From both of us – with love,

David & Nancy Goodman  

The Burden of Blessing

“The girl’s not herself,” Dad said. “Is it the flu that’s making her sick all the time?”

“I don’t know,” said Mom, “but she’s still putting on weight. I’ve been trying to get her to the doctor.”

“Is something wrong, Mary?” her fiancé asked.
“Oh, Joseph! You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

And he didn’t —
later when her secret was discovered
and she tried to explain …
neither did the doctor,
or her parents,
or her friends.

The most blessed of all women
was the loneliest person on earth.

Is there not often a burden that comes with a blessing?
And with great blessing
a great burden?

Sometimes the people you love most
cannot, will not
understand.

It took an angel to persuade Joseph.
Did Mary’s parents ever believe her story?
… leaving her little choice but to accompany Joseph
on that painful journey to Bethlehem?

Perhaps, you have friends or family
unable to understand
who do not accept and will not share
the awe, the sense of wonder you feel
at the blessing you have been given
by this same Christ child

making your own journey a painful one.
Embrace God’s blessing, in all its wonder, like Mary,
and trust his grace to help you with the burden
to guide you each step of the way.
© David G. Goodman

Thanks for letting us be your extra pair of hands and feet, raising up leaders to take the Good News where it is needed most.
This was a year of great challenge and even greater progress . . . the best way to characterize it. How often has God allowed you to be pushed outside your comfort zone just so he can get your attention and lead you to a better place? Some of the most painful episodes in my life have been what God used to shape me for the better.

That is the year-end view of Entrust that I thank God for. Some pains I would not want to revisit, but great gain and blessings that remind us God’s way is always best.

Here are some of those counterpoints:

Most discouraging moment: Realizing we would unexpectedly move our office.
Most surprising blessing: Having to move our office.

Biggest disappointment: Losing a senior staff member
Most encouraging moment: Being on the verge of bringing 2 senior staff leaders to Entrust

That is often the way God works. In our discouragement or loss, it feels like God is occupied with other concerns, but suddenly we see that his plan is better than ours. As we wrap up 2016 we feel so blessed!

The most uplifting moment: Seeing in person how our training inspired some of the poorest of people (in Africa) to give sacrificially so AIDS orphans might be given hope and a future.

We are so dependent on your end of the year giving. Perhaps you have waited till the end of the year to determine how you will support God’s work. A third of our annual support comes in these next few weeks. Please pray with us for a great year-end outpouring.

We are so grateful for each of you – your prayers and generosity, which allow us to represent you in this strategic ministry, equipping church leaders for evangelism and discipleship in some of the most difficult mission fields in the world.

So whether you are suffering loss, feeling blessed or the burdens of blessing, we pray you will know the power of Emmanuel, God with us.

David and Nancy

Please mail gifts to: Entrust, PO Box 25520, Colorado Springs, CO 80936-5520 Enclose a note “David &Nancy Goodman”

                                            

The Agony and Ecstasy God Entrusted us with

Being a leader is to embrace all the proverbial Agony and Ecstasy that goes with it . . . feeling the exhilaration of victory and absorbing the pain of defeat. That is a good way to describe our last year.

The Ecstasy is an abundance of new staff on the field and in the pipeline. It is witnessing transformation throughout our leadership trainings on various levels, including the miraculous work of God we experienced personally during our July tour of our ministry projects in Africa.

The Agony was negotiating some painful transitions. Moving our offices was one of those. You all know the agony of moving. Negotiating this unexpected move across town, with all the accompanied disruptions, was a torture our office staff hopes to avoid for some time. The ecstasy is being established in a fresh, flexible high-functioning environment with inspiring views. The marathon – the hours spent digitizing 37 years of history was accomplished with amazing grace so we can travel light and more efficiently going forward. Come visit us if you are in town!

That wasn’t the only change we were faced with. Some of a leader’s greatest challenges are in being willing to embrace every challenge and lead the organization through the inevitable. This year was harder than most. But it feels good to be on the other side, acknowledging God’s presence and provision. I (David) am so thankful God has given us/me a partner with good experience in handling tough issues and faith in God to take care of all we cannot. At such times we are especially thankful for your prayers.

Now . . . more about the Ecstasy!
Nancy describes it this way. Imagine yourself on a mountain hike and you reach a “turning point” where the view is breath-taking . . . Nancy and I feel that way at Entrust right now. I remember a president of another mission telling us seven years ago how he felt after slow growing (7 years prior) . . . his hard work started to pay off and the ministry really started to move. We are there! To God be the glory!

What are we looking at? People! See how God has provided!

God is bringing us some remarkable new recruits this year.

We will not inflict a series of pictures of people you don’t know so we will let Dustin, Miriam and Theo Combs be our poster family as they are now settling into their new ministry in Slovakia, and a new baby who will be born in Slovakia in May!

And more from Nancy . . . lots and lots to thank the Lord for! (Sorry everyone if this is TMI . . . wish you could meet each of these recent new colleagues - it was hard to keep it brief! Just call me Chatty Nancy)

Dynamic . . . wife, mother of Eli and Maddie, is a new staff member, serving to equip women. Her vision and passion is compelling! “As the most educated, privileged, and free women in the world, how are we preaching the gospel and making disciples? We have been entrusted with the greatest treasure in the world.”
Amazing woman joined our Women’s Ministry Leadership Team. She loves the loves the word of God, has published Bible Studies, now serving to guide our curriculum and more! Just finished facilitating full weeks of training in Texas and then in Thailand!
Recent Denver Seminary graduate, tri-lingual including Mandarin and Japanese, fantastic mentee – to intern – to staff member with a passion to serve on our East Asia Team! She whizzed through three weeks of training! One more to go, then she begins her co-facilitating!

Rockford couple – prayer, and then surrender – joined our mobilization team as recruiters, now trusting God for their support-raising. Thank you Lord for these new partners!
Beautiful sister in Christ – I cannot believe we have only known her a year . . . born in Nigeria to Lebanese parents, multilingual. Such deep faith and love for the lost, teaching in difficult places.
Wonderful, experienced couple who have been in ministry all of their lives . . . this is now a new chapter for them with Entrust and a focus on orality.
Another young talent and a heart to serve on our communications team! His gifts are in the areas of the arts and music, photography, creating newsletters and videos. He’s made several short documentaries for various Christian groups.
Volunteers – What would we do without our 4 faithful volunteers who edit, package and mail out materials, and always seem to love to do whatever is needed!
Our super faithful and supportive Board – so thankful for them – if you go to the NEW website you will understand why we enjoy our board gatherings twice a year . . . for prayer, deliberation, and encouragement (http://entrust4.org/basics/people/board). Say “WOW GOD!” ten times!
Also – several couples we are meeting and praying with about significant leadership positions. Excited about new leadership joining our team as we continue to prepare for future ministry expansion.
If you haven’t been on our new website (www.entrust4.org) please take a minute to look, listen and thank the Lord for His working!

The past four years Entrust has participated in Giving Tuesday, a national initiative on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. The idea is to encourage people to support charity through financial partnership, volunteering or becoming involved in some way with charitable causes that resonate with your passions.

For Entrust, this can mean:
· Supporting a goat project in Zimbabwe
· Assisting job training in Kurdistan
· Equipping pastors in the Middle East
· Providing translation work for Moldova
· Or a special support gift to help us finish the year in the black

Any gift given online or postmarked by Nov. 29th with a note “for Giving Tuesday” will count toward a generous matching grant up to $30,000 that benefits all of the projects of Entrust. To save the credit card fee you can give online via bank account, (EFT) or send a check as described above. Go to: (www.entrust4.org/GivingTuesday). Thank you!


You can mail gifts to: Entrust, PO Box 25520, Colorado Springs, CO 80936-5520
Attach a note “For the Goodmans.”