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NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM THE ISEMINGER FAMILY SERVING AMERICA'S SMALL AND STRUGGLING CHURCHES SENT BY: Lincoln Ave. Baptist Church, Ionia Michigan, Darren M. Tharp, Pastor SERVING THROUGH: Shepherd's Staff World Baptist Mission, Chillicothe OH, Dr. Jerry Chaney, President
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| September 2003 |
Phone: 574-596-7574 |
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Dear Praying Friends & Supporters, Greetings from Georgia where we have been since August 21 for a little well needed R&R and trading in our spring/summer clothes for our fall/winter clothes. We are gearing up to head back out and finish out the year which thus far has been long and grueling, but rewarding as well. In July and August we were in 11 churches in 9 states. For the year we have been in 42 churches in 25 states. We have met some good folks and seen God do some great things. We are grateful for your continued prayers as we travel and have much to tell you about. A Time of Firsts Since our last letter we have experienced several things for the first time. 1) Our first trip to the New England States. There are 6 New England States (Vermont being the only one not bordered by ocean, if you are a trivia buff). During our trip in July we were in all but RI. We were able to preach in 3 of the states and had great services all around. 2) Our first cancellation due to mechanical problems. On the above mentioned trip we were headed across New Hampshire toward New York and our A/C compressor which had been giving us problems decided to lock up, which in turn, threw the serpentine belt, which in turn left us stranded. For the first time in 8 years we had to cancel an engagement because we could not get there. Not knowing what else to do I called our pastor and he found a church not to far up the road and was able to contact the pastor. The next call I got was from Pastor Joe Scearbo at Olivet Baptist Church in Lebanon, NH. If I remember correctly he said “Your preacher called me and said you needed some help. I have called a tow truck and I am on my way.” A short time later he showed up right behind the tow truck. We were amazed at the goodness of this pastor and church. They paid the tow bill, put us in a hotel for 4 days, gave us money to eat on and loaned us a van to make our meeting in MA. Then when we came back up to pick up our van he had me preach at their Thursday night service and gave us a good love offering. In addition to all that these folks did we also need to thank the churches that helped us out with all the repair expenses. When all was said and done we spent over $1500 in one week on repairs, but God through his people took care of it. News from the Road But for the above mentioned problem we had good meetings and trouble free miles. We held 2 VBS’ (one in GA and one in SC) both of which went well. We already have 5 scheduled for next year in 5 different states and already have the wheels turning in the thoughts of a 2004 program. We also had good meetings in several new churches as well. We saw God do some great things including seeing people saved, get right and make other important decisions. We always go into a church with “How can we help them” but it is always such an encouragement for our family when we have great meetings and helps us continue to rack up the miles. We are gearing up to finish this year's meetings through December 14th in 12 states. As always we covet your prayers for these meetings and the travel to and from them
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Financial Update Support God continues to meet our needs and bring in our much needed financial support slowly but surely. Since our last letter, one of our longtime supporters The Buckley Family has doubled the amount of their support, and we have added one new supporting Church Victory Baptist Church, Gaffney SC Pastor Gregg Little. We are grateful for these folks and for our other regular supporters that make this ministry possible. Trailer Fund In this other area God is working as well, howbeit slowly but surely. At this point we have had 6 gifts ranging in size from $50.00 to $800.00 and have received a total of $2050.00. One church is giving 5 monthly gifts of $250.00 each, the first one of which has been received. When all of their money has been received and you factor in what we have saved we are at about $4000.00. Please Pray Urgently With Us We are praying seriously about getting this wrapped up this year. We have been 18 months now living out of our cargo trailer from motel to spare room. 2004 looks to be another hectic, busy year. It would be a huge help if we could start out our meetings in 2004 bringing our home with us. We have begun to look at what it would take to finance these purchases. From what we can tell this is what it would take: *Another $4,000 in the trailer/truck fund to use for down payment. *Another $300.00 in monthly support to be able to afford the payments. While this seems like a big amount, if 30 churches would contribute $10.00 a month in support or 15 churches would take us on at $15.00 a month that goal would be met. And just a few more donations to the trailer fund and we will have our down payment money. Please pray with us that God will meet this need by the end of this year. Family Update At the present everyone is doing well. The kids are getting started at another year of school. We are so thankful that they are doing well. We know it can’t be easy to do difficult work and always be in a different environment. They have got to see a lot this year and meet some new friends as well. We are planning to have them take over the puppets in our Bible Schools and youth work starting next summer. We also had a church offer to let them be apart of their AWANA program from the road. They will call in their verses and any of the other work and get a chance at the rewards and prizes. It’s the little things that help them feel normal. Carmen is still plugging away and hanging in there. We have made some pretty serious diet changes this year and are taking a lot of vitamins and herbs that seem to be having a positive effect on her. We are still wanting to get her back to Dr. Rogers in Mexico and are praying that we can work that out on our Texas trip in February. I am doing okay as well. Emilee and I have both been doing better at controlling our blood sugar. Learning what we can and cannot eat. My major problem is that I need to avoid what have been my 4 major food groups (Sugar, Pasta, Potatoes & White Flour) which just makes me want them that much more.
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EXTRA* EXTRA* EXTRA* EXTRA Praise the Lord! I just got a phone call from Scott Dexter (previous youth pastor at our home church) he contacted me a few weeks ago and was looking to pastor. I put him in contact with the folks in Delaware that we were with a few months ago. They had him out to candidate immediately and yesterday unanimously voted to have Brother Dexter come as their new pastor. Another church that Satan will not close, another church with its Gospel light still reaching the community. Prayer Requests “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel” Ephesians 6:18-19 As you pray, please pray for these specific needs: Safety as we travel God’s power in the meetings Wisdom in all decisions Carmen’s health (2 Dr. appointments in Sept) God’s will, direction and provision regarding the 5th wheel and truck Our monthly support Our Children Churches without pastors Pastors without churches Our van (continued trouble free service) Our Itinerary We are presently scheduling for 2004 and at this point we are a little more that half full. There are only a few months of the year that are totally booked and we have sorted out when we are going to be where. If you are interested in scheduling something for next year please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you. To see our latest schedule click here. There are several things up in the air for October & November. Because of this and the lack of space in this letter I am only including a September Schedule. As I mentioned earlier we will be in meetings in 12 states through the 14th December. We will then have a brake for the holidays and start back at it on the second full week of January in North Carolina. As Always we covet your prayers in these upcoming meetings. If you are coming to see us when we are near you, please call or check the website for the latest information. As always, thank you so much for your prayers for our family and our ministry. We will look forward to updating you again in November. Because of Calvary, The Iseminger Family David, Carmen Lena, Dylan & Emilee |
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