OMS has a new name!

Dear Friend of OMS,

We have some exciting news to share:

OMS International becomes One Mission Society

One Lord. One Life. One Calling.

Today, we launch a new name, tagline, logo and mission statement. These changes were designed to help One Mission Society better communicate what we have stood for since our inception in 1901 as The Oriental Missionary Society.

But it is important to note, One Mission Society’s sole reason for existence as a mission organization remains steadfast―to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread throughout the world and to see God glorified in all that we say and do. This is the command of the Great Commission. This is our “One Mission.”

God has blessed OMS by using us as a tool in His hands for more than 100 years. Today, One Mission Society is seeing, on average, one person come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ every two minutes. In recent years, thousands of new churches have been planted and tens of thousands of people are actively participating in discipleship programs.

These are historic times to be involved in missions. As never before in the history of the Church, One Mission Society is poised to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Make no mistake: the task is huge. OMS recognizes that we are only a small part of the body of Christ and that we join with many other individuals, churches and like-minded Great Commission organizations called and equipped together for One Mission, God’s mission. This is the unity in mission to which all Christians are called in Ephesians 4 by our one God and Father of all.

One Mission Society currently works in 50 countries. We were founded on the principle that the most effective way to share Christ is by training a nation’s people to lead and multiply their churches. That principle still fully applies today and is the basis of our dynamic four-fold focus: intentional evangelism, church planting, training leaders and strategic partnerships.

OMS currently has six international offices from which missionaries are recruited and sent out: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the Untied States. Today, One Mission Society has 430 missionaries and is a member in good standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

Here is One Mission Society’s new mission statement: By God’s grace, One Mission Society unites, inspires and equips Christians to make disciples of Jesus Christ, multiplying dynamic communities of believers around the world.

David Long

President, One Mission Society

Update on Samuel

Thank you for praying! Samuel is doing remarkably well. In fact, he is recovering much faster than the doctor expected. After only one week from being diagnosed with pneumonia, he was given doctor's permission to go swimming yesterday at his "Gym and Swim" class. He was so happy (as were the rest of us)!
Here's our prayer requests:
1. Thank the Lord for a wonderful time at Wayside Community Church last weekend. And please pray for that church as they receive their new pastor on Thursday, Sept. 23.
2. Please pray that Samuel's immune system continues to get back to full strength quickly. We are taking some time away next week, hoping that some fun and sun will be of benefit. Pray for travelling saftey as well.
3. Please pray that our full funding will come in soon so we can go to Costa Rica at the end of this year (after Christmas).

Thank you, again for your partnership with us in ministry!

Samuel

Cold and flu season has come early to the Lakatos household, unfortunately. Lisa and Hannah are doing well after a couple of rough days. Samuel, on the other hand has a longer recovery period ahead, as he was diagnosed with pneumonia on Sunday (Sept. 13). He was happy and healthy and playing with friends at a birthday party Friday night through Saturday morning and then began to rapidly become sicker and sicker late Saturday evening. We were deeply concerned as we decided Sunday morning that he needed to go to the emergency room at our local hospital!
He is feeling pretty good now, and we praise the Lord for that. The roughest part on Samuel is that he has to go the next week with "no physical activity": try telling that to a 9 year old boy! He is especially sad that he is still considered contagious and can't play with his cousins who recently moved here, nor with his friends.
Through it all, we have been given the opportunity to learn to trust the Lord with our most precious gifts (our children), to surrender control to Him, to learn new medical skills, to gain patience and to bond as as family since some of us are not able to interact with the "outside world" for a while.
Thank you so much for partnering with us in this faith ministry. We really do appreciate your prayers! As you pray for us this week, please remember the following before the Lord:
1. Praise the Lord that Samuel is recovering without a need for hospitalization! Praise the Lord that He led us (Nick and Lisa) to do what was needed before the situation became worse.
2. Please pray for full recovery for Samuel and for the health of our whole family.
3. Thank the Lord that Nick had a wonderful time at the EC World Fest at Lakeside Church last weekend, even though his family was at home and unwell. It is so awesome to surrender our cares to Him!
4. Nick will be at Wayside Community Church, Grove City, PA on Sept. 20th. Please pray for the Lord to meet with everyone in the worship service and for Him to equip us all for service.
5. Please pray our remaining funds will be faith promised by the end of November so we can make plans for language school in Costa Rica in January.

Again, thank you for praying!

Changes!

Lisa's brother and family moved to our hometown this past week and so the changes begin for both of our families. We are currently making plans to transition out of our home so they can move in (at present they are staying with other family members). We are trusting the Lord for the rest of our funding to be in by the end of fall. Then we can head for language school in Costa Rica after Christmas!
As for now, Hannah and Samuel are really enjoying spending time with their Florida cousins, uncle and aunt. And we are too!
We are hoping to fill our schedule this fall and would appreciate your continued prayers for the following:
1. Praise the Lord for the safe arrival of Lisa's brother's family!
2. Praise Him for how He is working out all the details, putting everything in place and making His care for all of us very evident.
3. Pray for Nick as he travels and speaks at Grace UM September 6 and EC World Fest on September 12.
4. Pray for fruitful meetings, strong relationships to be built and funding to come quickly.

Home Again

We had a great time during our 3 weeks of CROSS training at OMS headquarters! Thank you so much for praying for our family during that time. We learned a great deal that will be most useful in the days, weeks and years ahead. We also were able to meet others heading to Mexico City (or are already there) and are excited about the team the Lord has put together.
While we were away, Lisa's brother and his family began to make plans to move to our hometown. This will be the first time Lisa and her siblings will be living in the same area in over 20 years! We are currently working out details for her brother's family to live in our home while we are out of the country.
Thank you so much for partnering with us and especially for your prayers. As you pray for us in the coming days, here are some prayer requests:
1. Praise the Lord for the safe travel, fellowship and learning we experienced in July!
2. Pray for Nick who will be travelling to Terre Hill EC Church this weekend and for an abundant time in ministry.
3. Pray we will be fully funded by fall so we can go to language school in January 2010.
4. Pray for the Coslett family (Steve, Helen and Nisha) as they prepare to leave for language school in Costa Rica this month. (They were in training with us and will be part of the Mexico ministry team.)

Getting Ready

Well, June has been quite a month for our extended family. As a matter of fact, my (Lisa's) grandmother was just hospitalized on Father's Day and is being released today. We have seen the Lord's hand at work as both Mom and Mimi (grandma) have dealt with life-threatening illnesses in June. Both of them have progressed toward wellness much faster than doctor's anticipated. Thank you so much for praying!

Now we are counting down...one week to go before leaving for CROSS training at OMS. We are very excited and have a lot of loose ends to tie up. We feel we are playing "catch up" in several areas as this has been a rather hectic month. So, we would really appreciate your prayers for the following:

1. Praise the Lord for His healing power at work in Mom and Mimi!
2. Pray for physical health and strength for us and our extended family during this week and while we'll be away.
3. Pray we can efficiently accomplish all necessary tasks before next week.
4. Intercede on behalf of everyone attending CROSS training and all those leading us at OMS headquarters. We're most likely not the only ones who have faced challenges recently.
5. Pray for a few good, calm days for our family to be together, regroup and feel rested before we leave.
6. Praise the Lord He is always faithful!

When we are weak, He is strong!

We know that the Lord tells us His strength is made perfect in our weakness, and we have had the opportunity to experience that first hand the last couple of weeks.
June has had a rough start for our extended family. My (Lisa's) mother has been hospitalized twice for kidney failure and my grandmother has had some problems recovering from a recent surgery, as well as needing a new one. The doctors told my Mom it would be months before she would be well again. It has been an emotionally and physically trying time for all of us.
We have had many people praying for us and we want to thank you. You have held us up and kept us from becoming discouraged.
Nick is at Seneca Hills Bible Camp this week sharing with children ages 8-12 and he is having a great time. Hannah and Samuel were with him last night and called to say they love it! I will be picking my Mom up today when she is discharged from the hospital. She will be glad to be home, I'm sure!
So, here's our praise and prayer requests:
1. Thank the Lord for being our strength! Thank Him for our partners in prayer and ask His blessing.
2. Praise Him that both Mom and Mimi (grandma) are recovering much quicker than anyone expected!
3. Pray we will continue to have the strength to all the Lord has for us.
4. Pray as we make arrangements to be at cross-cultural training at OMS headquarters in July that all will work out smoothly, and we will be prepared to learn all we need to know to help us in our future ministry.