Finland: 60 Years of Military Ministry:  For 60 years military believers in Finland have shared Christ through their military Christian fellowship " PHS" .  In September the MCF celebrated its 60^th anniversary with thankfulness for God's provision. Many younger, active-duty personnel attended the celebration, which is an encouraging answer to prayer as Christianity has recently declined in Finland in the under-30 population group). A former ACCTS intern is now the president of " PHS"  and the celebration included two evening concerts for Finnish youth, and outreach in the community. All the participants left the celebration encouraged by what God has done through the MCF and confidently hopeful that He will continue to use military believers who are committed to Him.

Czech Republic: Thank you for praying for the 20 ^th anniversary celebration of the Czech Republic's MCF in early October. The conference was well attended with approximately 60 participants - five from Slovakia, three from the US, and the remainder from the Czech Republic. The meetings were informative and uplifting. One session was led by a chaplain from Slovakia who urged us to become involved with agencies outside the church in order to share how the Gospel is needed by society. I made a short presentation on ACCTS and its role in AMCF, and here was also good fellowship and conversation in the evenings.  Praise God for His work in the Czech Republic!

Argentina - Fellowship and Spiritual Unity: 

"It's a joy to be with Latin American military believers. They love each other and the Lord and are amazingly enthusiastic in their fellowship!"reported ACCTS' Executive Director after attending the South American AMCF Regional Conference in October. The Argentina MCF hosted the meeting, which included over 110 participants from seven South American nations. The conference emphasized reconciliation with God, unity among believers, and endurance through life's difficulties. It was a spiritual respite for many participants, as evidenced by the time and effort it cost them to attend -- several groups traveled for days to get there, and one participant saved up more than a year's salary to attend. " This conference  helped to strengthen the ties of friendship between the MCFs of each country, and it taught me that Jesus moves in different ways in each MCF to glorify his name," noted one participant. Following the conference, the MCF hosted additional ministry training for regional MCF leaders and members. During both events, the closeness of the believers was unmistakable:  "Many of these people only see one other every two years, but their love for each other was strong, and they were so sensitive to the needs of others. Several times I watched groups of people spontaneously stop to pray for someone, and, when they discovered that one of their number needed surgery, they gladly took up a love offering to meet the financial need."

Australia - Thriving in Christ:  "Thriving in Christ in a Challenging World " was the theme of October's AMCF South Pacific Regional Conference in Australia, which included Bible teaching and workshops on such topics as networking, strengthening marriages, Christian leadership, and military Christian ethics.  Seven island nations were represented at the conference which featured the inauguration of the new AMCF vice president for the region.  " It was important to meet with believers in this region as the new AMCF vice president assumed his duties," noted one staff member. " We spent a lot of time in discussions with the AMCF president, the new vice president, and national military Christian fellowship leaders. Our conversations helped them learn how ACCTS' programs can benefit their MCFs, and they helped us better understand how to serve indigenous military Christians."  This conference occurred shortly after two other international ministry trips, and despite the cultural differences, people have the same spiritual needs around the world. Whether in Finland or Argentina or Australia, military Christians want prayer for wisdom to minister effectively as they live out their faith in their nations' armed forces. They also seek prayer for their families and friends in the struggles we all encounter. Such diversity of cultures, language, tastes, history, and traditions attests to the miracle of Christ uniting us as one family under God. Although we may come from different branches of the Christian church, it is Christ alone who motivates these international MCF leaders to serve Him as they serve their countries.