MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 10-17-2006

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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.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 10-09-2006

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Hello, all! We've just finished up our meeting in Lighthouse Baptist Church in Yorkshire, NY with Pastor Russell Biber. We've had a great day today. The weather was absolutely beautiful. We're thoroughly enjoying the fall colors in New York and Pennsylvania as we've been travelling up this way. I could tell that folks were praying for me today, as God gave great power and liberty in my preaching in both services, as well as teaching in Sunday School this morning. I could tell that He was really working in people's hearts, and was definitely moving in the services. I think we succeeded in being a blessing to the church and an encouragement to the Pastor, so thank you for praying for us.

I have some wonderful for news for those of you who have been praying about the bill we had to pay for fixing the van. Our Pastor just called us and informed me that a gift was given in the services this morning that totally meets and exceeds the money we had to pay to get the brakes fixed! What a blessing! God has certainly moved fast to answer your prayers on our behalf, and I wanted to be sure and thank everybody for lifting up our need before the throne of grace. This completely eliminates the financial pressure we would have been under, and will make it so we are on very solid footing this month financially and into next month as we continue our travels.

Tomorrow we'll be driving up to Niagara Falls. It's only 65 miles away, so we thought it would be a cool thing to go see, since we're so close and the weather's so nice. I'll be sure and get the pictures we take up on the website for your perusal as soon as I get a chance and a decent internet connection. We'll be spending a few days with my Aunt Helen and Uncle Jim in Hallstead, PA (looking forward to that), and then we'll be travelling to Gaines, MI for a missions conference in Calvary Baptist Church with Pastor Louis Canady on Thursday.

Continue praying for our health and safety as we travel, for God's blessing and enabling in the meetings ahead, and that He will continue to raise our support as we go to get us to the mission field in Uganda.

Prayer Request

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Howdy, folks! I took our van in this afternoon to get the brakes looked at. We had been experiencing some squealing in the front left while moving at lower speeds for a few days, and it wasn't getting better, so we thought we'd better check it out. As it turns out, our front left swaybar had sheared through, and the brake line had become clogged, also on the front left, which had caused that brake to essentially fail. The pad had worn down almost entirely, and the rotors were no good. Plus, when they went to bleed the line on the right side, they found that the bleeder valve was broken, which necessitated replacing the caliper on that side. Additionally, the right rear brake cylinder was beginning to leak and needed to be replaced, but we caught it before it could do any damage to the pads or rotors. All said and done, we wound up having to spend $852 we really didn't have. It was kind of an emergency, though, so it had to be done. We're glad that God motivated us to check out the trouble before it could cause a serious wreck and loss of life or limb. Please be praying that God will supply the funds to pay this bill so we can stay on the road, and not be in financial hardship from the unexpected expense. Just FYI, for those of you have asked to be appraised when we have specific needs that you can pray about.

Thanks for your prayers!

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 10-04-2006

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Greetings from New York! We're in Callicoon, NY at the moment, in lieu of our meeting on Sunday in Yorkshire, NY. Last Sunday, we were in Lewisburg, PA in Faith Baptist Church with Pastor Ron Bixler. It was a great meeting, and the LORD blessed. They're a church plant, about six years old, and the LORD has really prospered them. If there's one thing the northeast needs, it's more Baptist churches. I'm glad to see that this one is doing so well, and that Baptist churches are being planted up this way.

On Sunday, we'll be in Yorkshire, NY in Lighthouse Baptist Church with Pastor Russell Biber. I'll be teaching Adult Sunday School, and preaching in both services, so pray that God will give me wisdom and bless in these services. After this, we have three missions conferences in a row, so pray for these, and for us as we drive hither and yon.

Pray that God will bless these churches, and that they will come to share our burden for Uganda such that they will be moved to support us. Keep praying that we'll reach 50% by the end of the year, and 100% by next summer.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 09-26-2006

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Greetings, one and all! We've just finished up the second of two missions conferences in a row. Our first, at Trinity Baptist Church in Centerville, GA with Pastor Terry Hyman, went very well. Dr. Fred Moritz, Executive Director of Baptist World Mission, was the main speaker, and was greatly used of God to deliver the preaching of the Word to us. We had a great time of ministry and fellowship, and the LORD blessed. Our drive there and back went well, and everyone handled it great.

Back in St. Louis, we were involved with our home church, Grace Baptist Church (Pastor Ken Spilger), in it's 29th annual missions conference. Dr. Clayton Shumpert (CLAIM) was the main speaker. God moved and really dealt with all of us in the services. It was simply a tremendous time, and we were very pleased to get to be a part of it. Our missions giving had kind of stagnated in recent years, for a variety of reasons. I had been in prayer for some time that God would change this, and this year our prayers were answered. Our missions giving reached a level higher than any prior year. This means we will be able to give cost of living increases to all of our missionaries, as well as increase the support levels for the missionaries sent out of our church. On a more personal note, our church is helping us put new tires on the van! That was a real need, and they really went above and beyond the call of duty to help us with this. I want to especially thank our youth group, as they raised most of the funds for this need. I know you're young, but I regard you as a fine bunch of mature and upstanding young men and women. You are a credit to your parents, and to our LORD, and I wanted you to know how much I admire and respect you, and how much you have ministered to us.

Since our last email, two additional churches have been added to the roster of supporting churches. Praise the LORD! This brings our current total up to around 38%. We're praying that we'll top the elusive 50% by year's end, and reach 100, or thereabouts, by the middle of next year when we go down to Texas for language school.

On Friday, we'll be heading to Lewisburg, PA for a meeting in Faith Baptist Church with Pastor Ron Bixler. This is the first of several meetings this Fall that will put us out on the road from the first of October 'til a few days before Thanksgiving. This is a good thing (it means I succeeded in getting the schedule filled up), but the logistics of getting to the meetings do require lots of driving. Pray that we will be safe and healthy, that all our needs will be met, and that God will burden these churches for Uganda as we have been burdened, and that they will be so moved to support us financially and help us get to the field.