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—From
Jim Au, IMM Founder & President News
summary: so far this year, I have produced one
DVD, and designed and implemented one kids camp.
I have been actively involved in online
evangelism in a Yahoo forum for Manipuri Indians.
I also look back on 10 years at IMM.
DVD Video for CB International Missionaries
A request for video production came at the very
start of 2005. After hearing Bruce and Anita
Paden’s story of their mission of hope in
the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire),
it quickly became apparent that a terrible
tragedy was being played out in the Congo, and
that the world is largely unaware of it or its
scope. The recent civil war has left around four
million dead, involving many surrounding nations
in what has become the first world war of Africa.
Unlike most wars, this one heavily employs child
soldiers. According to many news agencies, this
is the deadliest conflict of the last half
century.
One thing that struck me is that when nearly all
other missionaries left the Congo and Rwanda
because of the war, this couple stayed. With what
resources they had, they found ways to minister
to those affected by the devastation, especially
children orphaned by war. The video tells of
their formation of the Center for Grieving
Children, which seeks to give these children hope
and foundations for living life in a wartorn
place. Some screenshots from the DVD video can be
found online at http://immpact.net/cbi/.
Outdoor Teaching Experiment
In March, during spring break, I conducted Fossil
Camp 2005. For IMM, this is officially the first
effort towards its goal of youth-oriented
outreach. The camp was designed and run by me,
involved our four children ages 4 to 11, and
consisted of: camping along the John Day River in
Eastern Oregon during a cold spring, making daily
trips to the John Day Fossil Beds National
Monument spread out over three sites, digging for
and collecting fossils, discussing and reading
about creation according to Genesis, comparing
creation with evolution as taught in public
schools, and generally having fun. The experience
included a special outing to famed Smith Rock,
resulting in a grueling but memorable four-hour
hike for the campers. Photos and a write-up of
this teaching experiment can be found online at http://immpact.net/fossilcamp/.
Non-Residential Missionary: A Heart for the
Meitei People
In 1987, the LORD led me to Rev. Glenn Cunningham,
who encouraged me to pray for the Meitei people
in Manipur, Northeast India. In Manipur state,
the population is dominated by Meiteis, numbering
over one million, with about 27 other ethnic
groups besides. It is a place of much ethnic
tension, political insurgency, and frequent
violence. My initial efforts to know this people
resulted in a two-month mission trip to India in
1994 accompanied by my wife Trudy and our
daughter Vivian, and subsequent trips in 1996 and
1997. That effort continues to this day.
In 2001, I published some web pages to state my
intent of bringing the hope of Jesus Christ to
these people (see http://immpact.net/hfm/).
Through this, a Meitei man living in Australia
contacted and invited me to join a new online
forum of expatriate Manipuris. This has become an
ongoing effort on my part to communicate directly
with the largely non-Christian Meiteis in hopes
of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them.
It is a unique opportunity since I am one of the
few members who is a Christian and not from India.
Over the past three years, I have been able to
share portions of my testimony with the forum.
The group consists mainly of very highly educated
Manipuris living and working outside their
homeland. By contrast, most of the people living
in Manipur are very poorly educated and in
poverty. Among the core members of the group,
which has existed since 2002, the majority are
anti-Christian and anti-religious. The lead
moderator is a professed atheist, yet he eagerly
desires for every member to have a voice and
wants a diversity of opinions expressed, so that
there is room for all to share openly.
Recently, questions were directed at me by the
moderator in which he asked me to explain my
Christian beliefs for the benefit of the entire
group. This was an open door for me to share the
Gospel. Portions of the conversation, my lengthy
posts, and others’ reactions can be found at
http://immpact.net/hfm/mdforum.htm. I
invite you to pray with me for the two primary
moderators: T.M. in Australia and E.B. in England.
Visit this lively Yahoo forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Manipur-Diaspora/.
The Work of IMM: A Look Back on Ten Years
Ten years ago this month, I edited my first video
at the request of a missions pastor in Portland.
Up until that time, I had never even hooked up a
VCR, but I had put together several audio slide
presentations. A month after making this first 6-minute
missions video, a wider vision for Christian
media ministry came together in my mind and on
paper. A year later, Impact Media Ministries
became a reality and a 501(c)(3). Ten years,
nearly fifty videos, four interactive
presentations, two three-day-long Powerpoint
presentations, two mission trips, and several
DVDs and websites later, IMM has achieved its
goal of supporting Christian outreach, education,
and global missions endeavors throughout the USA
and beyond.
During this time, media production is not all
that happened. In the first five years, Trudy and
I were exposed to the life-transforming
ministries of Lifeline and HeartChange. In
various ways, both media and non-media, we
supported these ministries and continue to be
part of what some have deemed a significant
movement within the Body of Christ. These
ministries have shaped me, and consequently, they
have shaped IMM. A further important development
from this is our involvement in Theophostic
prayer. This is a movement among dedicated
Christians to bring God’s healing and inner
transformation to others through prayer.
Getting Into God’s Healing for Hearts and
Souls
Dr. Ed Smith of Kentucky formalized Theophostic
prayer ministry in the mid-1990s, and it has
quickly spread to many parts of the world. Since
February 2004, Trudy and I have been recipients
of this from Melody Firebaugh, who since 2001 has
been a leading prayer minister and regional
training coordinator. In my experience, I have
received significant inner healing through this
prayer ministry.
After attending a video training workshop for
Theophostic prayer in February, I felt impressed
to continue working towards the goal of receiving
a basic certificate; this is not a license, just
an acknowledgment that I thoroughly understand
the process and will hold to its guidelines. Part
of the training involves logging time praying
with others using this technique. I am still in
the training process and hope it will be realized
by the end of the year. At the time of this
writing, Trudy has just gained her basic
certificate. Way to go, Trudy! For more
information on this unique prayer ministry, see http://www.theophostic.com/.
Helping Other Ministries and Nonprofits
Recently, Melody Firebaugh requested my
assistance in setting up a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt
organization in which to house her ministry
activities. Besides helping her start a nonprofit,
over the last three years I have also assisted
several other start-up and existing ministries
with incorporation and board governance issues.
One such start-up is Light For Asia, founded by
former IMM board member and honorary co-founder
Scott Powell. Several times in 2004, we went
online simultaneously, while he was in Sacramento
and I in Portland, and started up dialog with
people in India with the goal of directing them
to his evangelistic website http://www.lightforasia.org/.
Many hundreds have visited this website and
indicated a decision to follow Jesus Christ.
Towards the Future of IMM
When people think of IMM, perhaps the first thing
they think of is video production. Yet the work
of IMM has been more diverse than that and likely
will continue to be. I believe that elements like
Internet evangelism, Theophostic prayer, and
focus on youth outreach are key factors shaping
the direction the ministry will take in years to
come. Even then, media production will continue
to happen.
My hope and vision is for this work to
strategically touch many lives for God’s
kingdom and offer clear opportunities for people
to consider the claims of Christ, that they might
know and receive Him as their Savior and Lord,
and receive the healing and life transformation
that only He offers.
For more information on Lifeline and HeartChange:
Lifeline (Bridges Consulting), http://www.lifelineseminars.ca/
HeartChange (House of Myrrh), http://heartchange.org/
Personal and Family News
Our kids Vivian (11), Madelaine (9), Clarissa (6)
and Daniel (4) continue to amaze and impress us
with their progress in school. Daniel is not
formally in school yet, but he is our only child
to be reading and writing above Kindergarten
level at this age. Trudy has been very busy
transforming our home and garden through
persistent cleaning and remodeling efforts. Her
outdoor work has made quite an impression on
passers-by, who often pause in front of our house
to look. Some family photos and home improvement
pix are available online at http://immpact.net/images/.
Jim took to the ice last November to participate
in the first ever regional speedskating
competition held in the greater Portland area. He
took first place in the longest of the three
distances raced, 777m, 500m and 444m, and has
involved himself in weekly training since then.
You can read the article he wrote for the skating
club’s newsletter online at http://www.mountainviewspeedskating.org/newsletter/
(click on “January 2005”, Microsoft
Word required). Last month, he raced in a
competition held in Everett, WA which added a 1,000m
heat, dramatically improved all his times, and
had fun. To read about that experience, visit the
aforementioned web page and click on “May
2005.”
Found on Little Scraps of Paper
Speaking of digging for fossils… While
cleaning out old papers from the filing cabinet,
we ran across some gems handwritten by the kids a
year or more ago:
“I am sorry that one of my tooths broke. I
have two teeth sorry sorry.” —Madelaine,
in a note included with tooth fragments for the
Tooth Fairy
“ThE CAT iN ThE hAt sat oN A BAt”
—Clarissa, something she wrote while trying
to figure out writing
“I’m sorry I don’t want beef. It
has too much fat. I’m sorry. I wish I had
turkey.” —Vivian, who overcame
childhood eating dislikes and is our most health-conscious
kid today
“Dear tooth faerie I am sorry giving you a
tooth that has a cavity in it I will do better
next time!” —Madelaine
Smile Corner
In recent e-mails with Alan Au, a cousin of
Jim’s, the following long nouns were coined.
Declutterization: spring cleaning, especially
regarding messy piles around the home
Antideclutterization: adamant justification for
maintaining messy piles inside one’s home
Pseudodeclutterization: the process of handling
messy piles in one’s home by simply moving
them around, reshuffling them, or somehow
beautifying them to give the appearance of
apparent progress with spring cleaning
Antipseudodeclutterizationalists:
“conservatives” who protect the true
meaning, ideals and practices of declutterization
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