— Updates —

july 2024

How is God moving in your ministry/what can we celebrate with you?
* God has literally been moving in our ministry, as we have recently moved to more affordable housing in a rural area in north Florida.

What is a fun fact or unique incident that we may not know about you?
* We are not, however, retired, as we continue to serve as Philippine Missionary Advocates and as we fellowship and encourage others by hosting small gatherings in our new home (we actually had 15 crowded into our small place one afternoon for coffee & donuts).

What is your greatest need & how can we be praying for you?
* The Lord has provided specific doctors nearby, but Margaret and I still need to find two other specialists (as well as a dentist who will take our insurance).

* Please pray for us as we settle in and meet to bless and encourage others.  

* Pray also for additional missionaries and funds for the work in the Philippines. There are thousands of children who are open to the gospel.

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FEBRUARY 2024

Greetings to the church. Doug and Margaret want to thank the elders and the church for their monthly prayer and financial support. This really helps them in life and in ministry.

Doug is deaf in one ear and has only 50% hearing in the other. He is patiently awaiting new hearing aids and is hopeful they will improve his hearing.

Prayer requests:

~ Strength to carry on daily ministry for the Philippines (as well as locally)

~ Pray for additional missionaries to serve in evangelism and discipleship among the 90 million without Christ in the country of 110 million.

~ Pray that God’s people would provide a gift of $4.50 to feed ($2) and clothe ($2.50) a needy child in the Philippines. Our goal is to provide the gospel and a special provision of food and clothing for at least 1000 children ($4.50 x 1000 = $4500).

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OCTOBER 2023

Doug and Margaret Nichols, Missions Advocates with an emphasis on the 200,000 street children (and thousands more needy children) in the Philippines, and for the estimated 50,000 untrained needy pastors of the country.

- Pray for our partner teams taking the gospel to very malnourished children on the streets and in untouched remote villages.

- Pray for our major Pastoral Care Conference Oct 17-19 for 250 needy pastors as well as for many one-day training seminars throughout the country.

- Pray for strength at our age (81 and 78) as we continue to serve 10-12 hours daily in ministry.

APPRECIATION: we thank LTCC for your years of support and prayer. May our Lord be praised!

In Christ,

Doug Nichols

Missions Advocate (especially for the Philippines) “The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds” (Psalm 145:17).

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JUNE 2023

Ministry News and Prayer requests from the Philippines

·       Pray for sponsors for each of the hundreds of youths and children being reached with the gospel through evangelistic basketball camps. The budget per young person is only $5. Pray for God's provision in this need.

·       Redemption Christian School Philippines will resume at the beginning of August for school year ‘23-‘24. Would you consider partnering with us for the coming school year? First, we need regular prayer for our Redemption students, teachers and families. Second, we need scholarships for 160 students. A scholarship of only $90 covers one student’s yearly tuition, uniform, lunches, and school supplies. Our son (Robby) and daughter-in-law (Deana) are the administrators at this school.

·       Pray for many more harvest workers to minister the gospel and compassionate care to the extreme poor, street children, families who are living on the streets and in slums, prisoners, unreached tribes, and even the rich. 

·       Please pray about coming alongside us as we assist and encourage untrained and undertrained pastors of the Philippines. Many of these pastors are extremely poor earning less than $50 monthly. Our partner Christian Growth Ministries (CGM) conducts many Pastors’ Seminars to help with this need. 

·       Please pray for the safe shipment (from Seattle) and delivery in the Philippines of pastoral books and study Bibles for pastors and Christian workers. Our team is currently shipping up to 60 large boxes of donated books and Bibles with shipping at $51 per box. Pray for God's provision for this shipping need. 

·       Please pray for Margaret and I as it is becoming more difficult to keep up with our work and hospitality schedule due to health issues. 

·       Recently we have been hit with car repairs/issues, but we can praise our loving Lord for His sovereign provision! 

Thank you very much for your teamwork in gospel ministry to the glory of God. Let us encourage you with, “Let all who take refuge in You (Lord) rejoice… (Psalm 5:11). 

Sincerely in Christ, 

Doug and Margaret Nichols 

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JANUARY 2023

Praise:

• By God’s grace, and through the generous gifts of His people worldwide, over 6558 children were gathered for children's Christmas outreaches in December.

Children were from slum areas, poor villages, garbage dumps, the cemeteries of Manila, tribal areas, and on the streets.

Each child participated in a Christmas celebration, sang, learned scripture verses, received a small hygiene gift, enjoyed a large meal, and heard the glorious gospel message. Many adult onlookers heard the gospel as well! 

• Our team in Seattle has been busy these last two weeks packing and shipping Study bibles to the Philippines. 

St Andrews Chapel (RC Sproul, former pastor) in Florida generously gave us over 500 copies of the excellent “Reformation Study Bible” for pastors in the Philippines. Our ministry partners will gather 50-60 untrained, and other pastors, for a one day seminar, give each pastor a copy of the Bible and then spend several hours showing them how to use it for personal use, for teaching and for preaching! 

Prayer:

• Pray for Doug and Margaret as they recover from another bout of Covid which has been accompanied by an internal infection for Doug.

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AUGUST 2022

Ministry Highlights

A Philippine church team has a Cemetery Gospel Outreach ministry of compassionate care to hundreds each weekend at a large Manila cemetery. All heard the good news, others are being discipled, and special care is given to 50 families (each week)

A ministry partner held an evangelistic day camp in the Philippines for 76 needy children.

On August 15 two separate one-day pastor’s seminars were held in the Philippines: one for 36 pastors, the other for 350! Praise the Lord for the teaching, fellowship, and encouragement. Each pastor received refreshments throughout the day, a large meal and 3-5 books for their ministry.

Please pray for several other pastor’s seminars over the next several weeks and for the Lord’s provision to meet our limited budget.

Pray with us as we finalize plans for Children's Christmas Outreach for up to 5000 needy children in the Philippines this November and December.

Margaret's and my home (a provision of the Lord) is called “the Pilgrim’s Shelter” and it has been a joy to have recent missionaries and other guests.

Please pray for answers to the pain I (Doug) am experiencing in my legs and feet.  This is causing much difficulty in keeping local ministry appointments.

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APRIL 2022

Margaret and I thank you for the privilege to partner with you in ministry to the masses of the Philippines.

Please pray during these days packed with ministry responsibilities for the 41,000 untrained needy pastors and 200,000 street children here in the Philippines.

• By God’s grace Margaret and I are doing well at ages 80 and 76. Major dental work and lung difficulties are being dealt with this month.

• Please continue to pray for our co-workers, Doug and Kim Craig, in Seattle, as they work on the many details in preparing donated books and Study Bibles to ship to the Philippines, mainly for pastors and Christian workers. So far this year they have been averaging 8/100 lb. boxes each week.

• Please pray as we seek to reach needy children in the Philippines with the Gospel and compassionate care. As the Lord provides, our missionary son is conducting Evangelistic Basketball Camps for 40 needy and poor children each half day camp. The budget is only $4 per child ($160 per camp), which includes skill training in the sport, a large snack, a Tagalog language New Testament and especially the gospel.

• Finally, please continue to pray as we seek to help our needy brothers in ministry, many still suffering from 2 years of pandemic lockdowns with little food or proper nourishment. As the Lord provides our team conducts day seminars in ministry of the Word, encouragement, two snacks and a large meal, and a set of books for Ministry and $2 to assist with travel (some walked three hours to our recent seminar).

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November, 2021

From Doug and Margaret Nichols:

• Margaret and I would appreciate you prayer during these next two months packed with ministry responsibilities for the Philippines.

• By God’s grace Margaret is well. Doug just completed another round of antibiotics and is feeling much better. He recently had major dental work, the cost having been covered by dear friends.

• Please continue to pray for our co-workers, Doug and Kim Craig, in Seattle, as they work on the many details in preparing donated books and Bibles to ship to the Philippines, mainly for pastors and Christian workers. They have been averaging 13/100 lb. boxes a month and the shipping costs have been covered by God’s people. This is a continuing need at $46/box, if you would like to help.

• Finally, please pray as we seek to reach needy children in the Philippines this Christmas with the Gospel and compassionate care. We are working with nearly 100 small churches, this and next month, to conduct “Children’s Christmas Outreaches” of the Gospel and a meal for 6,500 very needy children. Three dollars will help provide a meal and especially the Gospel per child. The Lord has generously provided funds to cover the meals for 5,284 children. This is $15,853 toward our budget of $19,500! May our Lord be praised! Please pray with us for the remaining $3,647.
  (The LTCC Missions Committee is sending $300 for this purpose)
  

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July, 2021

Specific Prayer Requests:

• The Lord provided funds for a day of fellowship in the Word and encouragement for 40 needy pastors. This included a cash gift for food for each of their families. Praise the Lord.

• We have been contacting godly authors and evangelical publishers to obtain excellent ministry books for 150 pastors attending October Pastoral Care Conference in October in the Philippines. Pray as we are hoping to provide a set of “12-15 pastoral books” for all 150 pastors!
  
  

An Update from the Nichols:

Greetings Dear LTCC friends, 

Margaret and I praise the Lord for each of you!

Thank you for your prayer and support these many years as we have sought to share the Gospel of Christ with many who are around us, as well as those beyond us!

THIS BUSY MONTH. In daily ministry for the Philippines we have much correspondence, bi-weekly publications to compile, “News and Views,” “Serving Together” (for pastors, Christian workers and missionaries in the Philippines) and “From the Backroads of the Carolinas. We have especially been busy recently obtaining and shipping books and Bibles for needy pastors, taking care of guests, both of us having old-age doctor's appointments, and regular encouragement fellowship with area pastors and Christian workers. Margaret continues to work daily also with cooking, baking, sewing and knitting for others 

52nd WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! Margaret and I celebrated our 52nd anniversary last December. God is good! It seems like just yesterday we were engaged, getting married and preparing for ministry in Japan; however, the Lord took us to the Philippines in 1970. Lake Tapps has graciously supported us many of these years.

When we married, we only had $25, but God in His abounding grace has provided for our needs over the years of service through you His people.

IN MISSIONS 54 YEARS. Margaret and I have been blessed to serve in local and foreign missions for 54 years (52 years together) and plan to continue until we go home to glory! We serve with Commission To Every Nation (CTEN) with 760 missionaries worldwide.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Perhaps the Lord is leading you to serve overseas--in evangelism, discipleship and compassionate care; taking the Gospel to the poor, street children, prisoners, as well as to others. 

THE LORD IS GOOD! We are so thankful for His provision these days especially to help many needy pastors and Christian workers suffering much as a result of the pandemic closures in the Philippines.

Your generosity has helped to provide deliveries of food, medicine, relief items, clothing and even emergency cash for hundreds of pastors seriously affected by the pandemic, typhoons and floods! Funds also helped with shelter repairs and hospital expenses for pastors.  

PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU. Praise the Lord for His provision through your gospel partnership. This enables us to continue in “full time ministry” (at my age 79 this month and Margaret at only 76) with needy pastors, prisoners, the poor, street and other needy children of the Philippines. May our wonderful Lord be praised!

Doug and Margaret Nichols

Commission To Every Nation - Philippines

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February, 2020

Doug and Margaret send their greetings and thanks for the support that LTCC has given them for many years.

• By God’s grace, Margaret and I have mostly recovered from our Covid illness. I am still coughing and another internal infection has not helped. Our appetites have returned and we have begun to take short walks. We would appreciate prayer for Margaret to be able to sleep. Friends and family have kept in touch and they have kept our refrigerator full. We have also been able to keep our time in the Word each day and kept up with ministry. “The Lord is good and does good...” (Psalm 119:68). May His name be praised!

• We are praising God that our son and daughter-in-law (Robby and Deanna) in the Philippines have been able to have many individuals and families in their home for meals.

• Margaret and I would appreciate your prayer as we continue to seek ways to reach out to others with the gospel, especially our neighbors and others we come in contact with daily. So many are almost in panic at the virus and are shut in.

• We also desire prayer as we have ministry daily with needy pastors (many without food or finances because their small churches are not able to provide for them), children, prisoners and the poor in the Philippines. We need to finalize books to print, shipments to make, weekly e-publications to do, etc.

• Please pray that God would provide 30-35 used laptops for ministry in the Philippines.

• We are praising the Lord for scholarships that have recently been sent for The Redemption Christian School. There is still need for scholarships for 29 children by the end of May.

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SEPTEMBER, 2020

• Praise that after Doug’s recent doctor appointment, he heard the doctor say, “NO CANCER!” Doug had a bout with bladder cancer five years ago. He is being treated for an infection. He will have a cat scan soon to be sure his cancer has not spread to his kidneys.

• Please pray with them, for the Lord’s provisions to support the needy ministries and pastors in the Philippines. Also pray for the pastors and workers that minister to street children.

• Pray for their missionary son Robby, who ministers to those in the locked down city of Manila where 25-30 million people live.

• Pray for their daughter Julie, who lives in California with her husband Matt Palmer. The Lord is using Julie in her work with special needs children.

• Pray for additional Missionaries for the Philippines and consider sending a mature couple to work with the 41,000 untrained pastors of the Philippines, and for poor children and Christian brothers, sisters and families. They are seeking to help nearly 600 pastoral families and ministries to children.