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| June 2009 |
Phone: 616-755-3289 |
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Dear Praying Friends,
Welcome to the halfway point of 2009. I know I say it in virtually every prayer letter I have written in the last 15 years but I am continually amazed at the speed of which time is rolling on and this time is no exception. As I begin writing this we are in Maine. We are planning on being here through mid June, and from there we are not exactly sure at this point. As usual we have much to update you on, so I hope you will take a few minutes and read this letter in its entirety. News From the Road Since we hit the road in early February. God has given us good meetings and trouble free miles. He has allowed us to preach in 8 states (Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Maine). We have had good meetings and been able to present the ministry in a good number of new churches. We have been promised support from one new church and are praying that God will continue to build our network of supporting churches and individuals as He knows the many needs of our family and ministry. In addition to deputation and updating supporters, we have also been given a few opportunities to help some folks out. We are presently spending about a month helping Pastor Nathan Garnett at South Liberty Baptist Church in Liberty, Maine. After 30 years here Brother Garnett has recently had a heart attack and is having some other health problems as well. He asked us to help him some and we were glad to do it. We have been doing what we can to lighten the pastor’s load and just trying to be a help to him. We have also had contact with one church in Maine without a pastor and another that is planning on planting a new church in a nearby community. As of this writing, I don’t know the outcome of either of those situations, but I can tell you that we are planning on spending some time with both of these folks and will be able to report on those situations in our next letter. Family Update At the present there is some sickness working its way through the family, we are praying that it will quickly depart. As for Lena, the paperwork has been sent in and she is planning on attending Providence Baptist College in Elgin, IL. School starts the end of August and she is excited. There are several kids from our home church that should be attending in the fall including Pastor Tharp’s youngest daughter, so we are glad that she will be around some people she knows. As you can imagine this is a big step for all of us and we would be grateful for your prayers on our behalf for this matter. David II has been given several opportunities to preach as we have been traveling, both in church services and school chapels. He has done a good job at every opportunity and it is exciting to see him grow and Mature in the Lord. One pastor in Texas who had him preach this visit as well as three years ago when we were there said there was definitely spiritual growth evident. Praise the Lord for young people having a desire to serve the Lord. Emilee spent almost a month in Louisiana before we got there (with our friends the Petersons) and had a good time. It has been a long time since she has been able to spend much time with her friend Hannah, so they made up for lost time, and everyone enjoyed it. She also made some new friends in the church there. They were all sorry to see her go but we are glad to have her back. I wish there was some good news to report on Carmen’s health but unfortunately that is not the case. She continues to trudge along but the road is definitely taking its toll. We certainly covet your prayers on her behalf. I continue to do ok though I am noticing that the constant travel is harder on me in my 40’s than it was in my 20’s but I am grateful to be used and thank God for all He allows us to be a part of. |
Ministry Update We were able to spend some time in Maryland right before we came to Maine. We now realize that is not what God has for us. The doors have just continued to close one after another. We have felt for some time that if that is what God had for us He would provide and He has been very obvious as to the statement He is making to us. We have been shown in many ways that this is not the right situation for us. While we felt at first that this is exactly what God was doing with us, we now feel differently and are pretty sure what Gods intentions were all along. It is almost humorous to us to see God work in our lives the way he does. We just say “okay Father” and keep going. But this does leave us in a situation where we are once again not sure what Father is going to do with us. We have some other doors that He has opened and we are now waiting to see if any of those or none of those is where He will be taking us next. I can tell you this. On our travels since February we have seen a change in the state of our churches. We have visited churches that were new to us and churches we have known for years. It was not uncommon to see both types of these churches leaning in a very contemporary direction. Both with Bible and music. We are finding this so disturbing. Pastors, if you are fortunate enough to be pastoring a solid church that takes a good stand on the Bible and music you are becoming a rare breed and I pray you will fight for your church and your right to stick by the old stuff. Support Update
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Proof That Prayer Works As we wind this letter down let me give you one quick example of what I believe to be a result of folks praying for us. Back in April we were on our way from Longview, TX (where we were staying) to Rockwall, TX for the evening services. Right at Terrell, TX I-20 came to a screeching halt and we sat stopped on the road for close to an hour. There had been a serious accident where the vehicle had rolled several times and they had to land a helicopter on the highway to take people to the hospital. As we were watching and waiting I came to the realization that the accident happened only 8 cars in front of us. At 70 MPH we were only a few seconds behind what was a life altering incident for the people involved. We are grateful for those of you who pray regularly that God will keep us safe on the highway. Prayer Request Update Our Transportation needs. God knows what we need, please pray that God will meet our needs and provide us with safe reliable transportation. Lena attending college in the fall. Protection for her. FINANCES. That everyone does well with this separation. Carmen's health issues. Being on the road is not easy for a healthy person, please keep her in your prayers and that the new issues go away completely. Direction for our Ministry. We are praying God puts us some where that we can do the most good. We have several areas we are praying about and need clear direction. Support. We are in desperate need for a lot more support than we are currently receiving. Please pray God continues to provide daily and also long term with the support we need. Thanks again for praying and holding the ropes for us as we press forward for the Lord. We look forward to updating you again soon with all that God has done. Because of Calvary, |
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