But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:19

Dear Family and Friends,

We pray that this finds you all reflecting on the upcoming season of our dear Lord’s birth. As I sit here and write this newsletter I am looking back over the year and seeing how God brought us to this point at the end of another year. It has been a year of struggles, persecution, tears, anger, bitterness, unfairness, desertion of fellow believers, unfulfilled desires and expectations, trials and tribulations. Although it has been a tough learning year …it has also been a year of… seeing God blessing in unexpected ways, seeing His faithfulness in our circumstances, trusting His heart and sovereignty, holding tight to His hand in fear and bewilderment, seeing Him work in my children’s lives, watching my husband be humbled/crushed in spirit and growing closer to Him through unfortunate circumstances, watching him as the ministries that he deeply loved were taken away and then watching as God slowly lifts him up (and beyond those) to His will, and in the process making something beautiful from the ashes… finding out who your true friends are and praising God that your are loved, prayed for and encouraged when they become Jesus’ hands, feet, arms, tears, words and love… Seeing God increase our territory here at Good News Mission and witnessing the response of the children and adults as WE in turn become Jesus’ hands, feet, arms, tears, words and love. Seeing God provide for our financial, physical, and emotional and spiritual needs during times when there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. God providing in depth Bible studies, for our whole family, with precious men and women of faith. I could go on and on at the goodness and faithfulness of God. He has been so good and faithful even when we were not. We thank you God for loving us in and through our circumstances.

As I reflected on Luke 2:19 Mary was overwhelmed at all the attention, prophecy, and the specialness of her precious baby boy. I can only imagine or speculate that Mary soaked it all in and wondered in her heart at what was to come for her precious Jesus. She had to know what was in store for him… but for those few brief moments she pondered the uniqueness, the specialness of this God child. I wonder if she meditated on what was to come and if maybe deep in her heart did she beg God to find another way.

In some small ways I can relate to Mary…most of you know by now that our middle son, Joshua, has been officially diagnosed with Aspergers. Even though we have done research there is still so much involved with this area of autism that we don’t understand or comprehend. There have been times where I have pondered at the uniqueness, the specialness and the blessing of this precious boy that God has entrusted to us. I wonder at what life will hold for him and pray that he will do better at trusting and relying on God than what his mom and dad have. Then there are our other two boys. With the many challenges that we deal with on a daily basis with Joshua, a lot of times John Allen gets the short end of the stick so to speak. He feels left out and has to sacrifice a lot in order to make life more bearable for everybody where Joshua is concerned. I can see a small bit of bitterness and sometimes there are burst of anger that has been harbored for a while, coming out. For the time being Jacob is easy going…but he is starting to imitate a lot of Joshua’s behaviors…temper tantrums, yelling/screaming when things don’t go his way and throwing things. I know that this is common for 2 soon to be 3 year olds but we are trying to get a hold on these behaviors before they get out of control.

We ask that you please be in prayer for our family as we adjust to possible more therapies for Joshua in a schedule that is already full… for physical, spiritual, and emotional tiredness. I seem to have a harder time in this area than Tim. Tim has been such a rock in this whole, long process. God has really blessed me with such a God seeking, God loving husband who is my treasure from God. Pray for Tim that God would bless all of his efforts, that God would bestow upon him wisdom and discernment in areas of ministries and our family. Pray for John Allen that he would love his brothers and would come to understand the importance of compassion, grace and mercy…pray for Tim and me that God would give us understanding where John Allen’s feelings are concerned and the wisdom to deal with them and build him up. Please keep us in your prayers especially on Jan 5^th. We will be back in Chattanooga at TEAM having a consultation with their doctor about possible physical testing for Joshua. This will be hard especially with Joshua’s fears and phobias….it will be very unpleasant for the Tinkel household.

Thank you for being our treasures from God. You all are such blessings and we praise God for each of you. May God bless you this Christmas and in the year to come? We love and appreciate all of you and thank you for being Jesus to us in this long but very BLESSED journey.

Hearts full of joy and blessings,

Sarah & Tim

Sarah & Tim Tinkel                                                  BCM International

829 Hi Tech Drive                                                    309 Colonial Drive

Livingston, TN  38570                                             PO Box 249

931-823-9320                                                           Akron, PA  17501

931-823-6513                                                           1-888-bcmintl

Tink38570@yahoo.com                                       bcmintl.org

Angelfire.com/tink38570/familiesagain

Account #0642

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11 

Greetings in Jesus, 

Wow! What a busy few months and how wonderful God is blessing! Following are some updates on our family and ministries…  

John Allen and Joshua just finished up their season of flag football. I (Sarah) was assistant coach for Joshua’s team and we all had such a good time. Joshua’s favorite part was running through the tunnel at the beginning of the ball game when they announced his name and seeing Mr. Jeremy (who has such sweet patience with all the children but mainly our Joshua) who did the announcing. John Allen had a great season. He was able to score quite a few touchdowns but most of all he enjoyed his coaches, Lance Mason and Kevin Hughes who were such special blessings and who John Allen will miss greatly. This is John Allen’s last year in Upward and so this season was special and sad at the same time. My kids love playing flag football and it has been such a blessing and special time for our whole family. The boys are doing very well in home school. They are studying very hard and are very diligent. Joshua is learning how to read and it is so cute to hear him read aloud. He loves being able to read to me or Tim and especially to Jacob. Reading has opened a whole new realm for Joshua and it is neat to see how he is responding and sharing new treasures that he discovers with us.  

Jacob is a whole different story!! We are in the process of trying (with a little bit of success) to potty train him. The newness has worn off unfortunately and the battle is on. He is one smart little cookie. He is talking up a storm and thinks that he can do the same things that his big brothers do.  

Good News Mission is being blessed abundantly. Over the last few weeks we have had individuals to donate clothes and other items. We will be having one more give away and anything that is left over we will be having a yard sale in hopes of raising money for the Mission. This will make our second give away and we are praying that we will be able to reach more individuals/families in the community. On Tuesdays we have been having Bible Club and have been averaging over 20 individuals. My ladies come help with crowd control and listen to verses and help out wherever else they are needed. They are such blessings and are excited when they are able to help out with different activities around the Mission. On Sunday afternoons we are having up to 25 individuals. Depending on if it is a weekend that the local children from single parent homes go and spend time with dad, or if the weather is bad, causes our numbers to rise and fall. Whoever God sends we are faithful and are there to feed them and do a Bible lesson. 

On Halloween night we had an outreach at the Mission. We had a few games (ran by my ladies) set up for trick or treaters to come and play. We also served hotdogs, chips and drinks; we passed out flyers of upcoming events and tracts. We then sent them on their way. This was very successful with 70+ children and parents coming to play games and eat. 

A prayer request and concern for Good News Mission: Please be in prayer for the Mission’s support. One of our major supporters has had to cut their support in half. This has caused a concern for us, especially with the winter months coming and the price of gas increasing. Please be in prayer with us that local churches, businesses, and individuals would be willing to receive a blessing by donating toward the Mission’s support/operating expenses. If you would like to start supporting Good News Mission either by a one time gift, monthly or whatever God lays upon your heart, please contact our Secretary/Treasurer Virginia Harris at 931-823-5151. She would be more than happy to talk with you and help you in anyway she is able. Again, any money that comes in for Good News Mission’s support, Tim and I DO NOT get paid. Our support is completely separate and different from the Mission’s.  

Good News Mission upcoming events:  December 13^th from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm is the tentative date that we have set for our annual Holiday Meal. Last year we were able to minister to 70+ individuals by providing a “feast” of a meal that was provided by the participation of many local churches and individuals. This is always such a blessing to Tim and I and the many other volunteers who help serve or donate items. We will be giving away 2 turkeys as door prizes and if “Mr. & Mrs. Claus” can fit it into their busy schedule they will be stopping by to give out goody bags to the kids. If you would like to help in some way with this special event please contact us and let us know. Another event that has been going on for the past couple of months (and will continue in the months to come) and has been quite a success is the ladies cooking class. The response has been overwhelming! I didn’t know how God would bless this special class and group of ladies, but especially me. I am so honored to be able to impart my many years of learning to cook from my mother and at Cedar Lake Camp to such willing and appreciative ladies. There are a few who have already started experimenting at home some of the recipes that we have done, and have been excited that they have actually turned out good!! God is good and faithful!! During our class we discuss different ways to save money while shopping, such as looking at labels for the better bargain, price comparison etc. Most important is our devotional time. These ladies are so “hungry” for the word of God and for acceptance and success. God is doing a great work. Please pray for these ladies…we are having 12-15 to attend. Pray that God would be glorified through this class and that these ladies will have a closer relationship with Him. They are learning a lot and are having such a good time in our times together. 

Tim has ventured into new and exciting territory and I encourage you to check this out. Tim has a blog!!! To access go to www.angelfire.com/Tink38570/familiesagain. Tim shares his heart on many issues and our past (and future) newsletters are on it. I encourage you to go and check this out. 

Prayer Request:  

These are a just a few highlights of what has been going on in our lives. We would ask that you please continue to keep us in your prayers. In November Joshua has another appointment at TEAM in Chattanooga and then in December we will go back just Tim and I for the results of Joshua’s many test. January will see us back at TEAM for Joshua to see their doctor and possibly more test that pertain to him physically. This has been a long process in which we hope to finally have our many questions answered. Continue to pray for our support… we have had one of our bigger supporters to drop us starting the first of the year. This will really put us in a bind, but we know that God is bigger than our finances and can do the impossible. We give Him praise and glory for His provision and are waiting with great expectation with how He will provide, whether it’s Tim or I going back into the secular work force or for an individual or church to receive a blessing of supporting and co-laboring with us. Please continue to pray for His provision of our needs. Pray for Good News Mission and its support…God is doing a great work and is fixing to do an even greater work…why else would Satan be attacking in such a fierce way? Pray for the upcoming events at the Mission….the ladies cooking class, Sunday classes and our Holiday Meal. 

Praises:   We thank God for His goodness and faithfulness in providing for our needs. We praise and thank Him for such good Bible studies that our whole family is attending. Our family is doing Romans through CBS (Community Bible Study). The kids and I go into Cookeville on Thursdays and Tim goes to an evening one on Tuesday nights locally. We all have such great speakers and core group leaders. I am involved with a Thursday night Bible study on 1 Peter called Staying the Course. I am amazed at how God works and how He provides for all areas of our make up…the spiritual, mental and physical parts of who we are. Thank you Lord!!! We also praise and give thanks for our supporters, cheer leaders, encouragers, prayer warriors, friends, family etc. You all are such blessings to us and we thank you for your love, prayers and support. You allow us to minister and you co labor with us and therefore receive blessings. May God richly bless you in all that you do to further His kingdom. 

Hearts greatly and deeply blessed,  

Sarah & Tim 

God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

1Corinthians 1:9

Greetings in Jesus,

Wow! What a busy few months we have had! First, I will start with our trip to conference in PA. In our family devotions and prayer time we had been studying about how we need to pray believing that God would answer, and that God is faithful especially when we are in obedience to Him and His will. This had such an impact on our oldest son John Allen. A special blessing had paid for our conference fee and all we had to do was provide the gas money to get there. We were way short of what we needed. Up until the last day that we left we received love donations, but were still lacking. We left believing that God would provide the rest of the money. John Allen and is great grandmother (ganny) had this system that for every “A” he made on his report card she would give him $5. This continued throughout the years and “ganny” would add to the collection for different things. On the way to “ganny’s” house to pick up my mother, who babysat at conference for the missionaries, we prayed that God would continue to provide. Even though we didn’t know how....we were trusting Him knowing that somehow He would. Out of the blue John Allen stated that he had his savings with ganny and that if we didn’t care he would like to help out in getting to conference. What a blessing! I had been praying for John Allen’s spiritual walk. At times he seemed to have a hard edge about him and I had been praying that God would work in his life. This was a tremendous sacrifice on John Allen’s part. Little did I know how much until we got to gannys and they started counting what he had saved...$605!!!!! I was stunned needless to say. John Allen handed us the whole amount and said “Mom take what you think we will need.” We only needed about $400 and that is all I took. God is so good and faithful…not only in His provision but also answering my prayers about the spiritual state of my son. Through this God was reassuring me that Tim and I are doing what we need to do raising our boys to love, know, obey, worship and serve Jesus with all their heart, soul and mind. I pray this for my boys daily and God is answering. Our boys had a wonderful time at conference as did we. We were encouraged, refreshed and excited about what God is doing through BCM in different parts of the world. We had great Bible studies and times of prayer, but we were blessed before we even started our trip by our son John Allen. Isn’t God wonderful!!!

What is God doing now that we are back? Tim has started a Bible Club on Tuesdays here at Good News Mission and at our first club we had 31 individuals with parents and children attending! Tim did a lesson, sang songs, played games and then we provided a meal. What a response with a lot of new faces. God is good!!

A local church was having a yard sale and asked would we like to have anything that was leftover to be passed out to the people we ministered to. I was invited to come and pick stuff out for my family before the sale, and there sitting on the table was a copier. The ladies were saying they had just gotten a new one for their church, and decided to put the old one, which still worked, in the yard sale. I was sharing how a copier has been on our prayer list for a long time. They wanted me to take it right away but I told them that if it was still there I would pick it up along with the other items that didn’t sell. Instantly they prayed asking God to blind people to it...we now have a copier! It needs to be serviced for minor repairs but otherwise is in great working order! God is so good and faithful. The following Saturday we had a clothes and knick knack give away. With the help of our southeast regional director, Ken Grubb, we were able to minister to 50-60+ individuals! Again lots of new faces and many of them hurting and needing Jesus so desperately. Please pray for this ministry…there are so many ministering opportunities but it takes time to build trust among these people…pray that God would bless our efforts of reaching out to them and that they would see the love of Jesus through all that we do.

On Friday, September 26^th,  we will be having our first ever cooking class. Through this class we will learn how to shop on a budget, make simple meals that can be frozen and eaten later, and how to eat healthier. Many of the women eat a lot of frozen or processed foods because they don’t know how to cook effectively and make their dollars stretch. We will learn how to set a table and how to prepare quick easy dishes. We will also be having a devotional and a time of fellowshipping with each other. My prayer is that this will eventually turn into a Bible study either weekly or bi monthly. Right now the plan is just once a month until the Lord leads differently. The women are excited and can hardly wait for Friday to get here.

In October the adults of the Mission will be doing an outreach on Halloween night. We will be handing out hotdogs, chips, drinks, candy and tracts at the Mission. We will also have a few games for the children to play for a short time and then we will send them on their way. My ladies (and the men) LOVE to serve and minister and are brainstorming about other things we could do throughout the year. They are precious and are such a blessing. Please pray that God would bless all of their (our) efforts.

Please pray for our family in the month of October. We will be making weekly trips to Chattanooga, TN for doctor’s appointments for Joshua. Pray that God would provide gas money for us to get there and that God would give the doctors wisdom and discernment while they test Joshua for possible Asperger’s (high functioning autism). Our prayer is that we will be able to find out how we can best help Joshua with his many challenges that he struggles with on a daily basis.

As you can see we have been and are going to be very busy over the next couple of months. God is doing great and mighty things and is blessing our obedience and faithfulness in abundance. Please pray that God would continue to bless our efforts here at Good News Mission.

Please be in prayer for our support. This last month was a low month for us. Giving is down not just for us but other missionaries and ministry organizations as well. Pray that God would give us wisdom as to what we need to do. Right now we are praying about possible part time jobs or that God would open doors for us to share our hearts for our ministry with churches and individuals. God has already opened some doors, but no commitments have been made yet. Pray that God would give us boldness to step out of our comfort zones in how we raise support.

We thank you all for everything you have done for us. We would like to especially thank those who helped us get to conference…again we were so blessed to be able to go, and then to see how God is working in our boys lives…we are humbled. You all have had a part in our children’s spiritual growth and I thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and willingness. Thank you for your faithfulness and perseverance in co laboring with us in this ministry. May God richly bless you in all that you do in furthering His kingdom.

Hearts greatly blessed,

Sarah & Tim Tinkel

Sarah & Tim                                            BCM Int.

829 Hi Tech Drive                                     309 Colonial Drive          

Livingston, TN  38570                              PO Box 240

Tink38570@yahoo.com                            Akron, PA  17501

(931)823-9320                                         bcmintl.org

Acct. #642                                               (717)859-6406

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7

Dear family and friends,

What an unexpected summer we have had…..but God has been so good and faithful and we give Him all the glory, honor and praise that are due Him. We would like to thank each of you for being so faithful, encouraging, loving and most of all praying for us. This has been a summer full of unexpected turn of events, and one of unexpected blessings as well. Isn’t it neat how it seems God balances everything out in order to keep us encouraged and to keep us close to Him? We thank you God for loving us the way that you do, even when we have to learn the lessons “out on the field trip instead of in the classroom” as Beth Moore puts it.

I would just like to give you all an update on our family and summer starting with Jacob. The final diagnosis for his health problems are MODY (Mature Onset Of Diabetes in the Youth). Until his body decides what it is going to do there is not a whole lot that can be done. Right now we just have to keep an eye on his sugars. His sugar readings are all over the board….low, high and just right. It seems that his body is able to regulate itself when it needs to. We thank you all so much for your prayers, letters and calls of encouragement.

Joshua is going to therapy in Cookeville two days a week for an hour at a time for occupational and physical therapy. This has made a tremendous difference (for the good) in his behavior and in other areas of his day to day activities. We are on a waiting list at a place in Chattanooga, TN called TEAM. We are hoping to get an “official” diagnosis of his disability, Aspergers (high functioning autism), and then we can get him even more help that he needs. The therapy that he is doing now is just a drop in the bucket of what he needs. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, technicians, and others who will be involved in this process. This will be a 2 day testing from what I am understanding, that will cover EVERYTHING such as MRI’s, EKGs just to name a few. The representative from TEAM said that the Ronald McDonald house has offered to let families who go to TEAM stay there for a small fee. This is such a blessing to hear as Chattanooga is 2 hours away and we are on a limited budget. As of the writing of this newsletter we have not heard back from them yet. Pray that we will hear something soon.

John Allen has been doing very well. The beginning of July we went to Bowling Green, KY for John Allen to participate in the International BB Gun Competition. For a first timer he did very well. He scored 405 out of a possible 500. He shot the best he had ever shot in practice and in other competitions. His coaches said that he was the most improved for the season. A special blessing helped with many of the expenses that the team didn’t cover. On July 22^nd my “baby” turned 12 and in came the hormones, attitude and everything else that comes with being a preteen. Please pray for us that we can teach him to be a man after God’s own heart and that he will grow spiritually and be used for God’s glory.

We have been very busy with different ministries this summer. In June we went to Homer, GA to help fellow missionary, Lois Lass, do a VBS at her church. We had one assurance of salvation with new children who have started attending the church off and on all summer. July 14-18 we had our first VBS here at the Mission. What a blessing we received!! I prayed for 20 individuals and God gave us 37-40!! What a blessing and abundant answer to prayer! There is another housing area close to the projects that we have been trying to get into for a long time without much success. We prayed and went to this area and passed out VBS flyers. What a response!!! We had nine children to come from this area and we have had contact with them since VBS. As a matter of fact they were the first children to arrive everyday to VBS. God is so good and faithful!! I had my ladies from my Bible class here at the Mission to help with crafts, serving food, cleaning and crowd control. They loved it!!! A lot of times they would beat me and arrive early to get things set up. We had a lot of volunteers who came and helped….my mom helped wherever she was needed, friend/fellow BCM missionary, Lois Lass, did the Bible verse and Bible enrichment time, Tim did the Bible and Missionary story, songs and games, close friend Shirley Hunley came and took pictures, and Ms. Robbie helped serve food (and ice cream). I was in charge of the food and crafts. Those of you, who know me well, know that I am not a craft person, but with the help of others and a lot of prayer I was able to come up with crafts that the kids (and adults) really enjoyed. Usually at a regular VBS we would take up an offering. Considering who we were ministering to we prayed about what we could do instead of an offering and somehow incorporate it into a contest. As a funny comment I said why not take up canned/boxed food. Almost everyone in the low income housing area may not be able to afford to send money, but they could send nonperishable food items. So that is what we did. Our food pantry is now fully stocked and the kids had a blast. You should have seen all the children bringing BAGS of groceries in order to get points for their team. At the end of the week the Girls ended up winning even though the boys gave it a good shot and won 2 of the 5 days. What a very blessed week we had.  We had one to accept Christ and one assurance of salvation!! I can’t say it enough….. God is so good and faithful!! I would like to thank the local churches and individuals who helped/volunteered and provided the food. This was such a blessing and we were able to feed children and mommies and daddy’s who participated. We had different churches, organizations and individuals who provided for a meal each night of the week. The kids and parents were so thankful for this. These are people who are really having a hard time and any little thing that you can do for them or their children they are very thankful. I will be honest there are some who think you owe it to them and theirs but Jesus said let the little ones come unto me……God has blessed and we thank you for your part in this ministry.

July 22-25 we headed to Taccoa, GA to help missionary, Lois Lass with a VBS in the projects. She prayed for ten and God gave us 17 with 29 being on the roll for the week!!! There were two assurances of salvation with one being very serious and searching scripture for answers and learning what God had to say to him. His name is Isaiah and he is an attendee of Lois’ Bible club she does throughout the school year. Please pray for Isaiah that God would continue to reveal different things to him and that God would use him in a mighty way for His glory.

Now we would like to update you about our Mission’s (BCM) annual conference. In our last newsletter we had stated that we were having financial difficulties in that we couldn’t afford the cost of conference  and the gas to get there on August 24-28, and then on to New Jersey to visit Tim’s mom and sister. God has blessed abundantly!! A special blessing has paid our conference fees and we have had some money to come in toward our gas expenses!! God is so good in all His ways!! We are still short on gas funds, and again if you would like to help out with this expense please contact us by e-mail, mail or call us. We greatly appreciate and are blessed by those of you who have given already. We love and appreciate all that you do for us as we minister. Your prayers, encouragement, love etc….. We are blessed beyond measure! Please pray for our children… with them not going to Cedar Lake camp this summer they are especially looking forward to going to conference. When we have family prayer time they always thank God for making a way for us to go to conference. What precious faith children have when we adults are anxious and worried about our circumstances. My children humble me so much at their spiritual understanding of things that I KNOW already about God and his promises but worry about anyway.

Thank you all so much for your help, love, prayers, compassion, mercy etc. You are such a blessing to our family and to our ministry and we appreciate you so much. Please keep us in your prayers as we are getting ready to start a new year of ministry. Pray as we travel to conference….we know God has something in store for us we just don’t know what it is. This scares and excites us at the same time. Pray that our hearts will be receptive to what He would have us to learn and that we would be willing to act on what He says for us to do.  Again we praise God for each of you and thank you for co-laboring with us in this ministry. May God bless you in all that you do for His glory and for His kingdom.

In His Service,

Sarah & Tim Tinkel

Sarah & Tim Tinkel                                       BCM International

829 Hi Tech Drive                                        309 Colonial Drive

Livingston, TN  38570                                   PO Box 249                 

931-823-6513 or 931-823-9320                    Akron, PA  17501-0249

Tink38570@yahoo.com                                 bcmintl.org

Account #0642                                            717-859-6406