MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 11-15-2006

/in /by

Hello, folks! It's been a busy week since last we wrote. Our meeting in Flagstaff, AZ last week in Bible Baptist Church with Pastor George Feaster went very well. Here is a man of God who has simply stayed put. Flagstaff is a very hard mission field to reach. It's full of Mormons and New Age type people, and is a society that has a very high turnover rate due to the very high cost of living. He has toughed it out in this very hard field for 22 years, and has witnessed at least eight other Baptist works begin and falter in this time. Because of the high turnover, he continually has to start from scratch with new folks. The people are hard of heart, and simply don't feel a need for church. As a result, you don't get the big numbers that churches out East seem to think you need in order to be a success. Nonetheless, he and his wife have remained faithful and continued to minister in an area where a Baptist church is so badly needed. Pray for Bible Baptist Church, and for the Feasters. Pray that the LORD will raise up laborers for this very needy field in Arizona to come alongside and help the Feasters, and remain there for the long term.

On Sunday, we began a Missions Conference in Tucson, AZ with Pastor Steven Morris and Sun and Shield Baptist Church. Jimmy Rose, the Brazilian director for BIMI was the main speaker. It was a great conference. The folks were very gracious to us, and we had a wonderful time of fellowship and ministry with them. It was an African conference, specifically for the purpose of bringing in missionaries to Africa that they could support. It's not every day I am contacted by a Pastor for such a purpose, and it was a great blessing.

Today, we drove up to Silver City, NM for a meeting with Calvary Baptist Church (Pastor Eldon Fowler). We had dinner with the Fowlers and had a great time of fellowship with them, and then I preached and presented our burden for Uganda that night in church. The people responded well, and the LORD blessed.

Our whole time in the Southwest has just been tremendous. God has raised our support, and we've been able to get into some vibrant churches who are just holding forth the Gospel out here in the "Wild West". God has blessed and provided for us very well this trip, and we're very glad we came. In all likelihood, we will plan another trip down this way next year in order to visit some of the other churches we simply didn't have time to get into.

Thursday, we will begin the drive home. Tomorrow, we will be driving to Tulsa, OK, a very long drive, so pray for us as we attempt it. Friday, we will complete the trek back to St. Louis, and home.

God bless you, and thank you for all your prayers during our long travels this past Fall. We have seen those prayers answered again and again, and have truly experienced God's provision and protection on the road.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 11-07-2006

/in /by

Greetings, everyone! Just a somewhat quick update to let you know what's happened in the past week. It's hard to believe it's been only that, as so much has happened. To give you perspective, we were in Cedar Rapids, IA Sunday before last, and this past Saturday we were in Tucson, AZ. It took us three days to get down here. We swung through St. Louis on October 30th to vote (If you haven't done so today, GET OUT AND VOTE! We cannot afford to allow those dirty, thieving, Communist, pro-murder, pro-perversion, anti-American Democrats to gain any political power). We drove all day on Tuesday from St. Louis to Amarillo, TX, and on Wednesday from there to Tucson, AZ. The kids handled themselves very well in spite of all the driving.

We pulled into town just in time for dinner at our first meeting, Sonrise Baptist Church in Tucson, AZ (Pastor Joe Stoppelbein). We ate, did a quick change in a side room (it's a little disturbing how quick and easy that has become), got set up, and were ready for services with time to spare. The conference was great. I showed our DVD on Wednesday, preached on Thursday, and Dr. John Halsey preached the remainder of the conference. We had a great time of fellowship with the people, and with the Stoppelbein's and the Johnson's (missionaries to the Dominican Republic). It was hard, suffering as we were down here with the beautiful, 70 to 80 degree weather we had every day. It's a different world down here. Everywhere is desert, and the majority of green we're seeing is cactus. It's beautiful, though, in its way, and we have very much enjoyed it. It's remarkable how lovely the many different blendings of brown and red and tan can be. God is quite the artist in the many ways he decorates his Creation.

On Saturday, we drove up to Shiprock, NM for a meeting in Navajo Baptist Temple with Pastor Jimmy J. Walters. Navajo Baptist Temple is a church that was started by a missionary on the Navajo reservation to reach the Navajo Nation with the gospel. Pastor Walters is the national pastor who has been Pastor there for the past 22 years. Here is a church which is very much like the ones we will be planting in Uganda, now under the leadership of a national, and supporting missionaries, just like the churches we plant in Uganda will one day be doing. It was very touching, to witness his love for his people, to hear the singing of the people in their native Navajo, and to hear Pastor Walters admonishing his church in the Navajo tongue. It was a blessing and a privilege to get to share our burden for Uganda with these dear people.

Since we were so close (only about a half hour away), we drove up to the Four Corners National Monument after church. This of course is the spot where you can touch four states at the same time – Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. We all got a real kick out of that. The reservation is beautiful. We took lots of pictures, which I'll be getting up on the website, along with the others, soon.

That evening, we had a meeting in Bible Baptist Church in Aztec, NM, with Pastor Barry Quinn. It's a great church. They're growing, they're reaching souls in their community, and they're excited about missions. I showed our DVD and preached, and the LORD blessed.

I got word yesterday that Sonrise Baptist has voted to support us! What great news. God has greatly blessed us on this trip. We will be in Bible Baptist Church in Flagstaff, AZ tomorrow with Pastor George Feaster. Pray that God will give us grace as we seek to share our burden in that church, and that we'll be a blessing and an encouragement.

Pray for Sonrise Baptist, that they'll continue to grow and see folks saved. Pray for Navajo Baptist Temple, and Pastor Walters, that God will encourage them, and that many more Navajo people will be saved and added to the church. Pray that God will help them understand that becoming a Christian doesn't mean you stop being Navajo, or that you've sold out your people by converting to the "white man's religion". Pray for Bible Baptist Church in Aztec, NM, that God will continue to bless them there, and that they will continue to see folks saved.

Pray for us in the meetings that remain, and for our eventual traveling back home shortly before Thanksgiving.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 10-29-2006

/in /by

Hello, all! We've just finished up our conference in Good News Baptist in Cedar Rapids, IA with Pastor Robert Pleiness. It was a great week and the LORD blessed us. The family we're staying with has kids our kids' age, so they've had a great time. On Wednesday, I taught a children's class, and afterwards, got to lead one of the bus kids, Kevin, to saving faith in our LORD Jesus Christ. Glory! What a privilege! Pray for Kevin as he grows and follows Christ. They've gotten him a Bible, and will be following up with him to make sure he's provided for spiritually. All the meetings went well. We ran into Tom and Cathy Talley on Thursday night. They're missionaries to the Canadian Indians in South Indian Lake in Northern Manitoba. Our church has supported them for years, and they're good friends, so it was a thrill to get to meet them on the road like this. They had visited our church last week, and of course we were on the road and couldn't be around to get to see them or view their new DVD presentation, or hear how things are going, so it was great that God provided us this opportunity to do so. On Saturday night, we went to a teen activity, where they had a bonfire and the kids got to have hot dogs roasted over a fire, and s'mores for dessert. We all enjoyed that! It's just been a really great week. We've enjoyed the the fellowship with the Pastor and his wife, and with his Associate, Bro. and Mrs. Louks, and the other missionaries, and with all these dear people. Pray for this church, that God will continue to bless them, and that they'll continue to see folks saved, baptized, and added to the church.

Tomorrow, Monday, we'll be heading back south to St. Louis. We have many things to get done the one day we will be home, including voting absentee, so pray we'll be able to think of everything, and get it all done. Tuesday, we'll be up bright and early to drive down to Amarillo, TX, and on Wednesday, we'll be finishing the drive to Tucson, AZ, where we will be in a missions conference in Sonrise Baptist Church with Pastor Joe Stoppelbein. Bro. John Halsey will be preaching the conference, so we're looking forward to getting to visit with him again, as well as to all the LORD is going to do in the conference. We have about three weeks of meetings lined up in New Mexico and Arizona, and will be returning home the weekend before Thanksgiving, so be in prayer for us as we travel, and minister, and continue to seek the financial support we need to get to the field in Uganda, Africa.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 10-23-2006

/in /by

Greetings! We're in Omaha, NE presently, following the missions conference we were in at Midwestern Baptist Church with Pastor Ken Bentley. What a conference! Ron Bragg, the African Director for BIMI was the main speaker, and delivered some tremendous preaching every night and on Sunday. Each night, we were told to stand up, introduce ourselves, and give one need. So, I told them how our van needed new plugs, a tuneup, and a replacement for a bolt that attaches our compressor to the engine block which had gone missing in action. No sooner was the meeting that night over than one of their members approached me and wanted to take care of our van, which he did the very next day. Our van is running smoother now than it has in months. What a blessing! The next night, Dr. Bentley asked us to do the same, so I mentioned how we needed a video projector with which to play the DVD version of our slides that I had made. As we're getting ready to leave, and packing up our display stuff last night, one of the missionaries that was home on furlough gives us their projector, because we "need it more than they do." Unreal. I don't rightly know how to express how overwhelmed and humbled we are by how many blessings God has heaped on our head the past couple days. He has taken care of every need we could have had or thought of having. This church just spent all week loving on us and taking care of us, and we are extremely grateful.

We are spending the next few days here in Omaha, resting, getting caught up on laundry, correspondence, and what not. We'll be heading over to Cedar Rapids, IA on Wednesday, for the conference in Good News Baptist with Pastor Robert Pleiness. Pray for the conference. I will be preaching twice. Pray for me, that God will grant wisdom for preaching, and His power to accomplish His will in this church. Pray that we will be able to encourage the Pastor, the church, and the other missionaries, and be used of God to be a blessing to all. As always, be in prayer for our travels, and that God will continue to raise up our support so we can be up to 50% by the end of the year.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 10-17-2006

/in /by

Hello, everyone! We spent some time in Hallstead, PA with my Aunt Helen and Uncle Jim. The kids had a ball on the big hill behind their house. They'd ride these big wheels and such all the way to the bottom at high speed, then haul them back to the top and try it again. Big fun. It was good to get to visit with my relatives as well. They took great care of us, and we were able to get some much needed rest for a few days.

Our trip to Gaines, MI was interesting. To get there, we had to cut through Ontario. While making our way through, we found out why it's called the Great White North as the opening salvo in the storm which would ultimately drop a freak two-feet of snow in Buffalo, NY hit. It was 65 in Pennsylvania when we left that morning. By the time we got to Ontario, it was 30 degrees cooler, and nearly whiteout conditions. Fun! We made it fine, though, and had a great conference in Calvary Baptist Church with Pastor Louis Canady. J.B. Godfrey, the Far East Director with BIMI was the main speaker, and it was the Lindquist's (Swante and Linda) and us in attendance. We had great fellowship, great preaching, and a great time of worship and the preaching of God's Word.

Our drive down to Omaha, NE went well. We stayed in Davenport, IA on the way last night, and arrived safe and sound in Omaha today. We're looking forward to a great conference in Midwestern Baptist Church with Pastor Ken Bentley. Ron Bragg, the Africa Director for BIMI will be the main speaker. He's our director with BIMI, and we're looking forward to getting to visit with him and Donna. Be in prayer for his arthritis, which has been troubling him lately, and his knee, which has been a real problem as well. He had one knee operated on, and has so far refused to get the other done because of the pain and discomfort the first knee surgery caused. Pray that God will preserve his health, and anoint his preaching. Pray for us as we seek to minister in this church, and be an encouragement to Dr. Bentley and his folk. Pray that we will see a few more churches take us on for support this month, to continue the trend of upward growth which, we pray, will bring us up to 50% by year's end.