Dear Praying Friends,
 
Fall is certainly upon us here in Michigan and we are enjoying it. I apologize that this letter is a little later in the month than I like to get it out but we hope you and yours are all well and busy serving the Lord.

As usual, there is much going on and much to say so I hope you will take a few minutes to read this letter and get up to date with what is going on with us.

Ministry Update

Things have been crazy since our letter in July. I will try to recap as best as I can. To start, shortly after we got the kids back from their Louisiana trip we were given a van by Grace Baptist Church in Zachary, Louisiana. Needless to say this is a huge answer to prayer and we are still pretty well blown away by it. The last weekend in July Carmen and I got Lena on a train headed for New York City (for her annual Swiatkowski pilgrimage) and then hopped on a plane to New Orleans where we were met by our good friends the Petersons and headed for Zachary, LA by car. On Sunday we updated the church on life at Needmore, preached in the morning service and took possession of the van (more about the van later). We then started the 1100 mile trek back to Michigan.

The day after we got home we had some company arrive for a visit and to attend the churches Sunday School picnic. God gave us a great day for the picnic, attendance was good and fun was had by all.

The day after the picnic we got word that a dear family friend that had been battling cancer was nearing the end, so with an hours notice Carmen and I threw some clothes in a bag and headed for PA. Sadly he passed away a few hours before we arrived but we spent the week with the family, did what we could to help and after the funeral we headed back to Michigan.

Less than two weeks later we were at it again, loaded into the van and headed to PA for a revival meeting at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Claysburg. We went out a few days early and saw some friends and family in MD and then PA before the meeting got started. We had a good meeting, David II preached with me two of the six nights and things went well all around. It was good as always to be back in our home area and touch base with many friends and family that we do not get to see very much.

After the meeting was over we boogied back to Michigan and dove back into the regular routine here.

As for the work here at Needmore, we are still building and battling. A couple of the new folks we had gained who were at least semi regular have moved away, but we are still doing what we do and doing our best to see this church get to the next level and see some long term stability.

We have added a second monthly rescue mission service and it looks like with that second service we will also be serving the meal as well. It’s always a good time and several church people come along regularly.

There are other opportunities and areas of outreach we are looking at, at the moment but the need is laborers.

Jesus commented on this in Matthew 9:37,38 when he said “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

I notice several important things in those verses: 1) There is a disparity between the Plenty of the harvest and the paltry crew of laborers. 2) The harvest is the Lord’s and we should look to him for laborers. This is exactly what we are doing in the present situation, praying that God would supply laborers, because the harvest is certainly in the field. We hope you will pray much with us about this.

Later this month we will be taking part in our home church’s missions conference for one night. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and updating them on what God is doing.

 

Family Update

Again there is much to report on within the family. Most notably, after a crazy summer we are glad to have all of us back under one roof.

By the time you get this I should be working on some counseling classes (in my spare time, whatever that is). This is something I have been pondering and wrestling with for over a year and I have just now given in. It is not that I desire a second Doctorate, though assuming I complete the work that is what is going to happen, but between our work in churches and our close relationship with preachers and the fact that as of next month I will have been preaching for 18 years, I find myself doing a fair amount of counseling whether I want to or not and it is without a doubt the area I feel least competent in. I guess I figure since God continues to put me in this position I should do my best to sharpen my sword a bit. Please pray with me that I will find time to squeeze this in and grasp the concepts that are being taught.

David II got his drivers license and is working diligently at his college work (he wants to get done, get married and get on deputation as soon as possible) he is also working a seasonal job at a near by apple orchard several days a week and preaching when ever he gets the chance. At this point he is about as busy as a 24 hour day seems to allow.

Lena is also working the seasonal orchard job but with many more hours and has her piano students back again after a summer off. Also we are sure she is getting excited about getting back to her own piano lessons as soon as her job is through.

Emilee is working on her 11th grade school work, she is back taking piano lessons which brings on hours of practice and doing a great job pitching in with chores and picking up the slack as the other two are busy with work.

Lena and Emilee alternate playing piano in the church services, Lena has taken it upon herself to start a choir which is opening the Sunday AM service with a special. All three kids are playing active and vital rolls in the work of the ministry for which we are quite grateful.

David & Lena both now have significant others whom they are courting. This makes for trips and houseguests and having to work out phone schedules and other things but it is awesome to see God work and see our kids praying and planning for their future lives and ministries. There is no doubt much more that could be said about both of these situations (all of which would be entertaining for me) But I know all four of the people involved would appreciate not having this information hung on church bulletin boards across America so I will refrain and simply ask that you pray for them as they set things in motion for the next phase of their lives.

Carmen continues her very slow but steady improvement in some areas of her health, while with the weather changing here in Michigan we are already seeing a change in her pain levels and function. She recently had some tests and is confirmed to be cancer free for yet another year, which we praise the Lord for. Please pray that the progress would continue and that she will not have any major setbacks as in past winters.

As I mentioned earlier we were given a 1995 full sized Ford conversion van by one of our supporting churches. It came at just the right time and we put 6,000 miles on it very quickly. It is in very good shape and is a great van for running the highways but not so great for lumbering around town especially with gas prices where they are. We are doing our best to keep the vast majority of its use for our trips and travels because Carmen has had trouble traveling with me for some time and she is a little more comfortable in this van. So we are praying about replacing the caravan with something more suited for daily use and getting around town. We have some money that has been given and/or promised for this and we are praying about what to do and when to do it. We covet your prayers for this as well.

Prayer Requests

Carmen's health issues

Please pray for healing and continued progress. Also for patience as she stays constantly frustrated at the slow pace of her recovery.

Needmore Ind Baptist Church

Please pray that God will continue to work, that God would continue to move and the church will continue to make progress and grow.  Pray  for laborers and wisdom for direction as things continue.

Pray for Churches

Satan’s attack on America’s churches
continue. As Is the norm we are aware of multiple churches with struggles and issues as well as a church that has closed and areas that need churches. Please pray for the spiritual condition of our country and its churches.

Support

As always, we are in need of support. We lost 2 supporters earlier this year, and have had several un-regular. We are greatly under supported already and losing support is extremely painful. Please pray God continues to provide daily for our needs and also long term with the support we need.


Transportation

Praise the Lord for what He has done and what He is doing, pray for wisdom for decisions regarding what to do and when to do it. We have put over 6,000 miles on the Ford van since July 24th and the Caravan now sits at 301,500 miles which is truly an amazing testimony of God’s grace and provision.

We continue to be grateful for each of you and for your part in all that we do. We hope each of you has a great last quarter of 2011 and we will mail our next full report in January 2012.

Because of Calvary,
The Iseminger Family
David & Carmen
Lena, David II and Emilee
Romans 10:13-15