Challenging You to Go and Change the World by Timothee Paton

The following is written by the author, ‘Timothee Paton‘ after his recovery from a serious accident in Cambodia.

“Finally I am now on my feet again after what I think were the worst months of my life.

I have gained the weight I had lost; strength is finally back and the pain in the hands is almost gone.

The trauma of being locked into a cold room is now over. Since the accident back in early January I went to see 13 different doctors!

When I flew out to Cambodia in February, I had no idea that 3 months later I would be back in France with a lot of pain in my body.

My parents, my brother and his wife, my nephews and my niece have been fantastic.

Without God’s intervention, I really do not know in what state of health I would be today. Many of you have prayed for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

A pastor friend called me this morning asking how I saw my future now that I am doing better.

I told him: “For the months to come, I will be, God willing, on the road speaking at different churches and events to inspire people to ‘go and make a difference in the world’ “.

The preaching schedule is now slowly filling up.

I have named this upcoming tour ‘ C’est Toujours Possible!’ (It’s still possible!’), which is the title of my new book in French, to be released in October.

The book has a similar format to the first one: each chapter is based on a sermon I have given. Through this new book, I want to challenge the reader not to let his past, his failures and fears keep him from running into his destiny.

Hopefully, it will eventually be translated into English and other languages.

This afternoon, a couple living in the South of France phoned me up to say: “Timothée, we have a Peugeot 308 car that we don’t need, and we felt we should give it to you!”

Wow! This gift could have not come at a better time! The Lord has now provided a means of transport for the upcoming meetings in France.

In towns like Dunkerque, Lille or La Rochelle, I am looking forward to sharing my faith and my passion for mission. I want to see young and old respond to the Call to serve God.

Please pray for protection as I travel across France. Pray for much freedom as I speak.

‘Leave the Shore!’ has now been translated into several languages and has been stirring Christians from different parts of the world to move out into mission.  Get several copies and give them out.

• Genda from Myanmar wrote this after reading the book:

” Pastor Tim, I bought your book ‘Leave the Shore!’ and now I’m in Yangon fulfilling God’s assignment. God is good!!!”

• Sofia in Venezuela writes:

” I did not want to let my co-worker see I was crying after reading your book. This book is short but deep! Excellent! 24 of our students presented a summary of your book. We will finish this basic mission training with a trip to the Waraos tribe in the Venezuelan Amazon.”

• Korky in the UK had this to say:

“A great motivating book that relates the great commission to everyone.  We have been buying and circulating English copies since the book came out a couple of years ago.  It’s a winner!  Used it as the theme for our recent 24/7 prayer week at our local Parish church, St. Mary Magdalene, with a boat and net theme to the prayer chapel space.  God bless all who buy it and read it, and may it motivate many into action.”

• Mark in Cambodia wrote in:

“Your book, which I read in one sitting, reinforced to me that we might have difficulties and face tremendous opposition when we step out into the boat and push away from the shore, but with Jesus in the boat, we will always reach a good and proper destination. Thank you for writing your book. It has encouraged me in a difficult time. It has challenged me not to return to the United States and get comfortable again.”

• From Vietnam, Lucy wrote:

“Thank you so very much for sharing your book ‘ Leave The Shore! ‘. I couldn’t hold back my tears as I was reading the second chapter… While reading this precious book, I was tearful throughout! I don’t understand why?!! It’s giving me to be stronger and firmer in what I am doing (serving HIM) and live for others. I pray that this book is a blessing and a BIG challenger for those planning to be servants.”

• Linda in Switzerland sent this email:

“Hello Timothée, I have to say that I read your book and it just continues to fill me with a desire to live out my “one and only life” for the Lord. I loved what you said in the book: ‘The day I left the Shore, I could not imagine the joy waiting for me in the middle of the lake’. This speaks to me profoundly, so much so I can’t even write about it! Anyway, I am running after that Joy…”

• From Linda in the Middle East who got a copy in Arabic:

” I read ‘ Leave the Shore! ‘ I actually had this book for a long time but just read it yesterday because my Mum found it. I might be going to Tunisia on a missionary trip for 10 days.”

• This mail came from England:

” I wanted to say thank you very much for the book. It arrived on Tuesday and I was really intrigued, wondered who it was from – silly me. I dropped it on the floor as I had just come back and it stayed there while I went out to a small group and got back at 10.00pm. When I opened it, I just couldn’t put it down! I just stood in the hall and read it straight through. Isn’t it good, I wonder what God has got next, but I am on the lookout…”?

• From Isabela who read the Portuguese version of the book:

” I’m a Brazilian girl, just 19 years old. I’ve been reading “Leave the shore!’. It was amazing! I’m so excited now. It has answered my questions about the missionary’s vocation.”   Sarah in Malaysia sent this in:

” I bought the book at the Youth Camp. While travelling down to my hometown I started reading Chapter 1 when it felt like God was directly asking me: ‘ Sarah, have you left the shore?’ At the end of chapter 2, I was trying to hold back my tears. Then at chapter 3 unconsciously there were tears in my eyes and by chapter 4 I was thinking of one thing: I want to serve the Lord, go out to the mission field. After my 4 hours journey, I exchanged to another bus. That gave me the time to read chapter 5 where at the end there’s a short prayer. I tried my best to read the prayer until the end, but I could not. I started to cry, cry & cry (Thank God no one was sitting beside me)!”

• And finally this one from Hagop in Jordan: “

“Dear Timothee, your book was distributed to most of the pastors and leaders in Jordan, and to pastors in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt at a conference. We also gave it away to some Catholic priests and nuns.”

God bless you and anoint you as you cast your nets in the deep end!

Timothée

Inspiring You to Go & Change the World

Let us know how many copies you need! We are making the book available at the discounted price of ₹50

Leave the shore

It is a book about the mission to evangelize. The author is the son of missionary parents. He speaks of stories that stir the passion for the mission to evangelize, stories that he has told around the world. Stories that make interesting reading.

In ‘Leave the Shore’, he says ‘the shore’ could be things like disappointment, self-pity, depression, comfort etc. He takes passages from the Holy Scriptures and situates them in the context of today’s life and mission.

For example, when Jesus says to Peter, “Go put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  The author compares the ‘deep water’ to miserable situations under the weight of which people are struggling to live, he compares the ‘nets’ to the talents and resources that God has endowed us with, with which we can lift the burden of their existence and help them in their struggles in life.

Here are some of the real-life struggles highlighted in this book:

• The city of Phnom Penh where thousands of children are forced every day to work on the streets for a living.
• The 10.8 million Pathan people of Afghanistan where only 0.01 per cent are known to be followers of Jesus.
• The 1.25 million souls from the Shuwa people in Chad who are living in complete darkness.
• The multitudes of souls living in slums like animals in cages.
• Christians across the Communist and Muslim world, who, because of their faith, have ended up locked in small, filthy prison cells. Over 100,000 Christians are now held in North Korean labour camps facing labour, torture and possible execution.
• The International Labour Organization estimates there are 50,000 girls working as domestic servants all over Morocco – some as young as five and six have been sent from the countryside to work as domestic servants in private homes in Casablanca alone. These children are often made to labour 16 hours a day, sleep on the floor and eat only scraps. Some girls have been chained up when their employers go away for the weekend. Other have been starved to death, burned with irons, or raped and thrown on the streets when they become pregnant.

The book is in keeping with the words of Pope Francis of how we are tempted to remain close to the shore, to do only what is comfortable (Gaudete et Exultate # 130, 131).  The author speaks from his own experiences in evangelization. He also relates stories from the Bible, and other stories as well, in a way that stirs up the ‘spiritual fervour’ needed to evangelize – to reach out to lost souls.  And it all makes very interesting reading.

For instance, he recounts a very interesting story from the 19^th century. When thousands upon thousands of orphans in the 1850s found themselves caught in a miserable kind of life. They slept in dark streets, huddling for warmth in boxes or metal drums. To survive they mostly stole, caught rats to eat and went through garbage. Charles Loring Brace, a 26-year-old minister, horrified by their plight began the Foster Home Plan. When he ran out of homes, he organized a unique solution – The Orphan Train. The idea was simple: put hundreds of orphans on a train heading west. As the train passed through towns along the way, Christian committees would bring approved godly families to the train stations to claim a son or daughter from the Orphan Train. By the time the last Orphan Train steamed west in 1929, between 150,000 and 200,000 children had found new homes and new lives. What is most interesting to note, is that out of those children two became governors, one served as a United States congressman, the other became a U.S Supreme Court Justice.

Another interesting story is of A blind American woman who is on a mission in Mongolia. Not only is she serving the children living on the streets, but she is also raising servants for Lord from the Mongolian people to carry on the work she has begun. Later, she moves to Thailand to reach out with the love of Jesus to 500,000 slaves, young Thai girls sold into the sex trade.

There are also interesting stories from the Bible; The helplessness of the king of Samaria when he heard of mothers who were eating their children to stay alive (2 Kings 6:26-30); The story of Shammah who held his ground when the rest of the Israelite army fled and who beat back the Philistines (2Samuel 23:11-12); the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1-15); Elisha who killed his oxen and followed Elijah (1 Kings 19:19-21).

This book is an eye-opener to elders to realize how God has blessed young people with so many talents and if they could only be inspired to give up their lives to serve in the missions then we will have succeeded in safeguarding those talents for the glory of God.

As mentioned earlier, through the plan of the Orphan Train 150,000 to 200,000 children found new homes and new lives. What is most interesting to note, is that out of those children two became governors, one served as a United States congressman, the other became a U.S Supreme Court Justice.

God is calling children and teenagers to be powerfully used in His Kingdom. It is up to the elders to prepare the way of the Lord for Him to bring our children and youth home to their Father in heaven, through their utilization of God-given gifts for the evangelization of humanity.