Ray and Juanita's M2M Experience

The M2M 2009 Experience...

M2M... Tremendous Success

IAM’s first M2M Event was a tremendous success. That is the word from all that participated in the event…volunteer staff and missionary attendees. Even the service industry weighed in with their take on it, expressing that the event ran smoothly. “Is this your first time doing such an event?” questioned one of the hotel management staff. “You have certainly made this one a success.”

Fifteen missionary attendees and 12 volunteer staff participated in this year's event. The event ran from Sept 1-6. Right from the get-go, the attendees were greeted warmly, ushered to the registration table and then on to their hotel room. The excitement in the hotel amongst staff and attendees grew at a steady pace as each day's activities played out. Attendees chose from the various activities available to them such as massage therapy, kayaking, boat tour, hiking, golfing and swimming. Their meals were served in fine dining style. Nothing was too good for our M2Mers.

There were lots of photos taken throughout the event. Check M2M’s photo album to get a sense of the vast beauty of Rocky Harbour. Can you find the whale?

Volunteer staff made themselves available to the attendees’ throughout the event, especially for times of sharing and prayer. These times were a blessing to both the attendees and our staff.

One of the main highlights for me personally was a gift the Lord gave to the missionaries. An analogy of the rugged life of a plant that survives in the wild of Newfoundland - the Pitcher Plant, and the missionary. The missionary has a lot in common with the pitcher plant. They too, like the pitcher plant, represent a flexibility and distinctiveness that is necessary to persevere in their call in the mission field. To read more on this gift from the Lord, called “a Tenacious Little Fellow”, click here.

Another highlight of the event was our last night in Rocky Harbour. After everyone enjoyed a lovely dinner together, our staff put off a Newfoundland production, “The Newfie Kitchen Party”. They went all out to entertain our guests, giving them a hilarious piece of Newfoundland culture. They even persuaded our mainland volunteer staff to dress up as mummers!

Finally, as things came to a close, as we prepared to part ways, there was a tangible anticipation for M2M and its future. We all felt that this must carry on. Others need to experience this time of refreshing. As some attendees’ expressed, "I feel like it’s a big hug from the Lord"; "I am made to feel like a queen"; "This has helped me focus on my mission and helped restore my relationship with my wife."

The Lord willing, there will be a M2M 2010, and perhaps the Lord has a part for you to play. If so, email us at admin @hissecretplace.ca .

Check out two stories posted by the Western Star:
Missionaries gather in western Newfoundland for retreat
Newfoundlander planning missionary retreat for Gros Morne

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M2M has a Green Light to GO...

With a heart filled with thanksgiving and gratitude to the Lord, this past week I notified all the registered missionaries that this September's Mission to Missionaries 2009 is going ahead. This is a great milestone for International Alliance for Missions, Inc. (IAM)

When the IAM board met in June of last year in London, Ontario, to consider the possibilities of organizing such an event that would bless missionaries from all over, we did not have a plug penny to put towards it. However, with willing hearts, daily prayer and doing our best to follow the leading from the Holy Spirit, we forged ahead as if money was not a problem.

This week, we were able to secure the funds required for the hotel rooms and meals for our missionary guests. Over the next three months, leading up to the big event, all further donations will go towards fun and relaxing activities for our guests. This will include activities such as kayaking, hiking excursions, boat tours, etc. This will help us show our appreciation to them for their selfless sacrifice in serving others in their country of calling.

Perhaps you would like to consider a financial gift at this time. If so, go to www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=d41998, under Fund/Designation select "M2M Retreat". You will be tax-receipted for your donation.

M2M Update...

Praise the Lord, there are eight days left (from May 24th.) to see what the Lord has planned for M2M in September.

Over this last week or so, we have received four pledges totaling $2,600.00 for the M2M Retreat. I am confident that this money is in the mail right now. I am so blessed because I know the sources of those donations. I know those people could have easily used the money in their own personal lives but instead they chose to sow it into this ministry to bless our missionaries.

Yes, I am calling them "our" missionaries. Those who prayerfully responded to our invitation did so only after conferring with their pastors and directors, looking to them for counsel. They decided that this indeed was their time and season to receive refreshing. I sense a connection; I want them all to come, the Lord willing.

We now have seventeen (17) missionaries registered for the M2M Retreat, serving in nine countries. My hope and desire is that we will have enough finances to invite all of these missionaries.

As a point of interest, here is a brief overview of our M2M website since it was launched back in March 1, 2009.

545 individual visitors

3,018 page views
51 countries

I am asking our visitors to take some time throughout this week to pray in thanksgiving to the Lord for meeting this financial need and also to be open to hear from the Lord as to whom they could share this information.

To make a donation, go to: www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=d41998, under Fund/Designation select "M2M Retreat".

Countdown - seventeen days left till May 31th.

Well, the countdown has begun. We have 17 days left until we look into our bank account to see what the Lord has done.

To date, May 14, we have 13 registered missionaries for the M2M retreat. Four more have expressed interest in attending and said that they will send in their registration form soon. So that will be a total of 17. I am blessed to see the international representation of interest we are getting. Our registrants are serving in the following countries:

• Canada
• USA
• Trinidad
• Ukraine
• Bolivia
• Guyana, South America
• Mexico
• India

It touches my heart to read the words from the missionaries who registered for the event. We see their need for this time and occasion to get away from their work, to take time out for themselves, and to be encouraged to go back and continue in the work the Lord has called them.

I am asking you to please make an effort to take the time to pray along with Viola and I and to believe God for the remainder of the budget to be met. We want to be able to send these missionaries a confirmation letter at the end of the month informing them that M2M is a GO. If you are one who's thinking that someone else will do the praying or do the giving, please think again. We now need a minimum of $15,000.00 to accommodate 15 people at this event. Our God is a Big God! There's lots of money in His treasury but I know He uses you and I to pray to make things happen.

To be honest, I have been tempted to make a few calls to people in the Body of Christ who could easily meet this financial need. My past experience isn't encouraging whenever I've gone that route. So, this has to be something between them and the Lord. My job is to get the word out there and trust the Lord for His will to be done.

Please take time to forward this letter to others who can join us in our prayer of agreement.

Play Hard, Pray Harder,
Derm

M2M Lapel Pin Promo

Donations of $50.00 or more will receive a one-time gift of a M2M Lapel Pin. This is our way of thanking you for supporting this vital mission to our missionaries. Our hope is that the lapel pin will act as a reminder to you to pray for this ministry. Limited quantity: One lapel pin per donor while quantities last.

You can Donate via CanadaHelps today and get tax-receipted. Click here to Donate Now, then choose "M2M Retreat". For your convenience, if you would like to make a monthly donation you can choose to repeat your donation, and we will deduct your monthly amount from your credit card.

M2M Invitation

We are very pleased to announce our invitation webpage has been sent to hundreds of missionaries all around the world. Please take the time to forward this invitation to missionaries you personally know who are in the field. Simply click on the image to the left and use your browser email services to forward the invitation.

CFCM Endorsement

Canadian Fellowship of Churches and Ministers (CFCM) is pleased to provide their endorsement to the ministry of Mission to Missionaries. "The need for care of our unsung heroes who have answered the call for cross-cultural missions shouts loud to the Body of Christ. CFCM is honoured to endorse an outreach to these missionaries that will provide them with an atmosphere to relax and enjoy a time of renewal and refreshing."

CFCM is a Canadian ministry fellowship whose aim is to promote unity, fellowship and strength in the Body of Christ through the “local church”. They see the strength of their organization in the strength of each of their individual members, thus the primary role is one of underpinning the local church in what God has called it to do.

CFCM is a national ministry fellowship that has been in Canada for many years with the origin of the founding group that CFCM emerged from going all the way back to 1969. Their membership includes ministers from Vancouver Island on the west coast to St. John’s on the east coast, to the Arctic in the North and ministers currently serving in various countries around the world. Mission to Missionaries is grateful for CFCM's endorsement to reach out to our unsung heroes and provide them with an atmosphere to relax and enjoy a time of renewal and refreshing.

M2M's First Retreat Applicants

Raymond and Juanita Whalen currently live in Nain, Labrador. They have established Shining Light Ministries; “by shining God’s light and ministering His love, lives can be changed and souls saved.” They minister full time to the Inuit people in the community of Nain, the most northerly community on the coast of Labrador. They do this by serving the people and showing God’s love in practical ways like distributing clothing and food, and sharing the Gospel of Christ. They have been helping meet both the physical and spiritual needs to the 1200 plus population full time for almost 5 years now.

They are looking forward to joining with other missionaries in Rocky Harbor this fall for the M2M retreat! You can contact Ray and Juanita at Shining Light Ministries, P.O. Box 289, Nain, NL, A0P 1L0, Canada. (709) 922 1509.

Celebrate Global Missionaries by Engaging in M2M

As with The Cry, the International Alliance for Missions, Inc. (IAM) believes that Mission to Missionaries (M2M) is part of the current movement God is creating in this province and across our nation.

M2M is a time and occasion for missionaries to receive recovery and strengthening in Christ’s rest (Matthew 11:28-29). Information on the retreat, its purpose, and goals can be found in the "What is M2M?" post below. It is also a response to a growing need. (Read "Why Minister to Missionaries?" by Dermot Westcott for more insight).

IAM is looking to the Body of Christ across Canada to engage in M2M. Please help us care for the missionaries attending M2M by participating in one or any of the following ways:

• Pray for M2M and the missionaries who will attend.
• Organize a simple fundraiser: funding will help cover the costs of accommodations, activities, and services used by the missionaries throughout the retreat.
• Donate: Make an in-kind or cash donation. Besides funding, there are various goods and services that could benefit M2M and its guests.
• Volunteer: you may have special skills, training, or talents to share with the participants at M2M.

Feel free to comment or ask questions. For more information you may also email us: info@hissecretplace.ca.

Check out our website: http://www.m2m.hissecretplace.ca .

Volunteer by Organizing a Simple Fundraiser

Ask your pastor or church leader if you could hold a fundraising event for M2M. There are many events that are effective and easy to organize. For example; bake sales, spaghetti dinners, and café nights are all great ideas. We highly recommend organizing a fundraiser where you could sell coffee from www.coffeeonline.org. If coffee bought from this site is being used to raise funds for M2M, it can be purchased at a discounted price.

The purpose of M2M is to provide global missionaries with a week of restoration of renewal, but to do this we need funding. By organizing an event for M2M, you and your church family will be helping to encourage missionaries who serve in various parts of the world. Funding for M2M will cover the accommodations, outdoor activities, and other services partaken by the missionaries. We do not want missionaries (who already sacrifice so much of themselves) to be burdened with having to pay for this retreat. Therefore we would like them to enjoy M2M for free. Please prayerfully consider becoming involved. Email us if you require further information (info@hissecretplace.ca) or Apply now!

You can participate from home, wherever your home may be.

Newfoundlanders have been known to populate different towns and cities in other parts of Canada. This week I have been searching for churches in these areas, as Newfoundlanders living away will no doubt be interested in this one-of-a-kind retreat taking place at home. Just think; our world-renowned hospitality will be used to honor and bless global missionaries. This is an awesome opportunity.


How can Newfoundlanders living away participate?

There are a number of options. Firstly, we need people to cover M2M in prayer. We also need funding to pay for accomodations, activities, and any other services used to bless our missionary guests. Thus, we need people to partner with us by organizing fundraisers (such as bake sales and spaghetti dinners). There are also various goods and services we need that people could contribute (all tax-receiptable). Finally, we need to encourage missionaries to attend.

But are we encouraging only Newfoundlanders to participate? Not at all. This is an international retreat with Kingdom purposes. We are calling on all Christians (all denominations and churches everywhere) to participate in whatever way they can. Let's unite and work together.

Note that we greatly appreciate any amount of participation we recieve; whether it be from an individual, group, or congregation.

New Logo for M2M

What you see above is the new logo for M2M. The road within the logo carries a lot of significance to us. Firstly, it represents the journey of a missionary. Secondly, it symbolizes the journey towards the greater vision of having a permanent facility in Newfoundland where missionaries, pastors, and other Christian leaders can come for restoration and solitude. (Called His Secret Place).
M2M is the first step towards seeing the vision of His Secret Place fulfilled.

Wanna know more? Feel free to post questions and any other feedback.