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August/September Prayer Letter

Hello from the I-5 Corridor in Oregon!

The road has been our home for the past several months and will likely be for the months ahead. We are thankful for safety, your prayers, and churches who are excited about planting a church in Astoria, Oregon. Thank you for remembering to pray for us and to read our regular updates.

During the month of August, we finished updating our supporting churches in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. We also were able to schedule a new meeting in Tennessee and present the work there. We also found a used Chevy Malibu for Josiah to drive and together we replaced some ball joints and tie-rod ends. With the price of the car and the parts, he was able to have reliable transportation for under $1,200.00. He has remained in Tennessee where he is working in the medical field and saving money for college. He would like to become a Registered Nurse. Stacy has remained strong as she works through all the emotions of leaving her first born behind for the time being.

The boys helped me to replace a water pump, fan belt, and fan clutch on the van as well as regular oil change before we left Tennessee. Driving through Virginia, the steering suddenly became loose and we were drifting back and forth in our lane. I stopped to see what was the matter and discovered broken ball joints. It was late and the only parts house that was open was located in Roanoke, VA. They actually had the parts in stock. I decided it was best to replace all the steering parts before we made our trip out west. We were one hour from the store and were closing in one hour. Praise the Lord! we pulled into the parking lot at 10:00, just as they were closing and were able to purchase the $800.00 in front end parts. At our overnight stop, we worked in the parking lot and replaced the upper and lower control arms, inner and outer tie-rod ends, stabilizer bushings and shocks for the driver side. We didn’t have time to complete the other side, but they were not quite as bad. On our way to North Dakota, the service engine light came on and our gas mileage dropped to 5 miles per gallon. We discovered the oxygen sensors had failed and all four needed to be replaced. Once we arrived in North Dakota, we did the passenger side suspension while in the parking lot of Minot Baptist Church. Suffice it to say that we have certainly had an eventful couple of months.
Driving across Montana we saw some beautiful sights and also into Idaho. The kids have enjoyed seeing the Lord provide along the way, and have experienced many wonderful churches along the way. It is very encouraging for them to know there are true Christians who live for Christ in every state in America.

Please pray for our support to increase as we now have about 62% of what we have budgeted for the work in Astoria. We are still asking the Lord to speak to a couple about helping us when we begin. We are also praying about a name for the church, a time to begin, a place to live, and a place to meet for church. All these things will be done in God’s order as we pray and seek the Lord. Will you please continue in prayer with us?

Perhaps you will remember a few months back that Caleb fell from a tree and cut his hand. We also had to take Bella to the hospital. We have outstanding medical bills that we are making payments on and are praying the Lord will meet those needs. Thank you so much for your faithfulness! -The Byers Family

JUNE Prayer Letter PDF Download

Dear Church,

Greetings from the beautiful state of Tennessee. Our travels last month brought us to churches in New Jersey, and New York. We have several more churches to visit before we can head out west.

I trust you have received the packet of letters we sent last month concerning our change of field from Europe to church planting in the Northwest. It would be a blessing to us if you would update any bulletin, display board, website list, or map that you might use to remind people to pray for us. If you need a more recent family picture, we will have one posted to our website at www.thebyersfamily.net. We have also printed new prayer cards with the updated picture shown on this letterhead. As you can see by the picture, I am the fifth tallest person in our family now. Even Bella stands taller than her old dad.

The response from our last letter has been most encouraging and exciting. Well over 20 supporting churches have contacted me to express their approval, excitement, and support of our church planting endeavor in Astoria, Oregon. We are evaluating our needed support to determine how much additional support we may need in order to begin the church planting work in Astoria. At present, it seems that we are at 75% of our needed support, but it may be that we just had a low month in July. Please pray with us that our support can be raised in a very short time and that we can begin the work quickly. We trust the Lord will help us to find like-minded churches who will help us!

Just last week, Bella suffered from another severe and sudden asthma attack. She was taken to the hospital via Ambulance where she stayed the night. The doctors believe she suffered from an anaphylactic shock that was brought about by her allergies. Bella is recovering but certainly needs prayer. The pollen count has been dangerously high on the east coast. Unfortunately, we have continued in this area because we do not have the support for housing in the northwest as of yet. There are many expenses involved in getting settled in Astoria and we are trusting the Lord to help us with these as well as the many decisions that need to be made. The housing market is very difficult for buyers at the moment and renting is not easy or inexpensive for a family of our size. Traveling has also been much more costly than expected.

People seem to enjoy seeing our children and how they have grown. As our kids sing and pass out prayer cards, answer questions and talk with church members; a bond seems to grow between them and with our supporting churches. Therefore, it has been important to me that our family stay together during our reporting. We have two tents and have been relying on them to provide affordable housing as we travel. Camping is far cheaper than staying in a hotel. The entire family can spend the night with electric, water, and showers for around fifty dollars per night. In spite of this, the cost of fuel, tolls, eating out of a cooler, and other travel expenses has limited our saving for the move to Oregon.

In closing, I would like to remind each one that we are praying for the Lord to send a couple to work with us for a few years when we plant the church. Experience and Ecclesiastes have taught us that two are better than one. I believe the Lord is able to send a like-minded couple to help us to begin the work on the Oregon coast.

Sincerely,

-The Byers Family

March Prayer Letter PDF Download

Dear Praying Churches,
Thank you so much for praying for us during the month of March. The family is doing well and enjoying spring in the United States. The creek behind our house here in Tennessee is roaring while the flowers accent the budding trees that cover the hills just beyond.
A few weeks ago we finished up a trip to New Jersey where we updated five of our supporting churches and shared the work with one new church. We also visited a supporting church in Virginia and yet there are still many more we would like to visit.   Please do not hesitate to send an e-mail if you would like to schedule a meeting. We will do the best we can and try to visit your church.
Before we left Tennessee in early March, Pastor John Copeland challenged the church with the story of a man who made an enormous impact for Christ over his lifetime by simply handing out 10 tracts each day while asking the question, “if you were to die today, would you go to heaven?” The Lord spoke to my heart about this, and we left Tennessee with a load of tracts in the car. We were able to distribute all of those and had run out by the time we arrived in Virginia, where we stocked up. Caleb got excited  handing out tracts, and discovered some coins with the gospel message at a church in New Jersey. The pastor offered some coins to Caleb, and  after church that night; we stopped at the grocery store where Caleb began sharing them. One lady told him that God would bless him for sharing Jesus. This was in NEW JERSEY!!!  I couldn’t believe it.
He found a couple in the grocery store and gave a coin to them. In return, they offered him a tract and told him he was doing a good work. Caleb brought the tract to me and asked me if it was correct. (The young man has learned a few things about cults) Everything was correct so he located the people and thanked them while giving  them one of our prayer cards. The people, excited that he was a missionary; gave him $25.00! It is such a blessing to see the Lord openly reward kids as they serve God. It was a good reminder to me that the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good. You may remember Caleb  from our video in Nuremberg Germany where passersby brushed him aside refusing his tracts. He has been at it for a long time and still going strong!
Upon returning to Tennessee, I had the privilege to fill in for Pastor Copeland Wednesday night and all day Sunday during his bout with the flu. Thankfully he is doing much better after a full recovery.
Although our supporting churches are scattered across the fruited plain of America, we will do our very best to visit and hope you will have patience as we work to fill in our schedule. It has been a joy to visit churches that we have not seen for more than 10 years and see how they are going strong for the Lord. Our hearts have been encouraged to see growth and steadfastness among Bible believing Baptist Churches. Another encouragement to our family comes from those who are so keenly aware of each trial we have been through, each prayer request, and each praise that we have written about. I can’t tell you what a blessing it is to know you are actually reading our prayer letters and praying for us. Thank you so much for making our work for the Lord possible. This time of furlough has been the greatest time of refreshing our family has ever experienced. Please pray for Elijah who needs dental work, and pray for traveling safety. -The Byers Family

Dear Praying Churches,

Oh how the Lord has been good to us in the past two months! The family is in good health, high spirits, and feeling refreshed. We praise the Lord for helping us to be completely debt free as of this month. Thank you Lord! We praise God for his mercy and grace as well as his Spirit of refreshing.

We are very pleased with Josiah as he not only passed his driving test with flying colors, but also made a very high score on his “High Set” test, securing a high school diploma for himself. While we are confident in the quality education he received at home, we wanted him to obtain a diploma so that he could apply for college. The great test scores re-affirmed our resolve to continue training our children at home. Josiah is considering a career in the medical field and possibly beginning as a surgical assistant. How exciting to see him progress!

A few weeks ago, we had the privilege to visit the county Jail again.  Pastor Copeland allowed me to go into the minimum and maximum wards of the Jail and preach. It was there in “max” that a man named Adam shared with me his desire to be born again. He bowed his head before the Lord even in the presence of the other inmates, admitted his guilt before God, and professed Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We thank God for this decision! The Lady that Stacy had won for Jesus in the Jail last month was later baptized by the false “Church of Christ.” Of course, these people teach that baptism has saving power. We pray that Satan’s kingdom be defeated and true doctrine will prevail even in the county Jail!

Last week, Stacy and I were invited to the Clark Fork Baptist Church in Idaho. Pastor Carr very graciously extended the invitation for me to preach at their revival services. It was a great joy to be in the Northwest and to preach whatever the Lord put on my heart from the scripture. I must say, there was great liberty and the Word of God went forth and fell upon obedient hearts. Folks walked the isles each night to do personal business with God. We renewed friendship with some people we had forgotten, and enjoyed forging new friendships with folks we came to love. Pastor John and Mrs. Patti made us feel welcome, along with their entire family of 6 children.

Many have asked about Bella’s health, and we are pleased to announce that she has  been very healthy and her allergies have been under control. There have been a few days where she started with the sniffles, but her allergy medication has been able to keep that from developing into asthma attacks.

Please keep praying for our family during this time of furlough. We are seeking the Lord’s guidance and trusting him for an open door of ministry. God has opened many doors for us in the past and has given us great victories. We have truly experienced marvelous manifestations of grace and provision during the last 12 years of service as missionaries. Many souls have come to know Christ, be baptized, and many have received discipleship training as a result of your investment in our ministry. Some of you have prayed us through the entire time and we appreciate your standing with us now. We are very anxious to see how the Lord will guide and continue to provide. Experience teaches that relocating our missionary endeavors will certainly be costly; therefore, we are saving in anticipation. Will you continue in prayer with us? -The Byers Family

Dear Praying Churches,
Three months of our furlough are already past and we feel as though we just got here. Snow fell yesterday here in Tennessee and the kids found a neighbor to loan them a sled, which they promptly broke. I don’t even know if they sell sleds here, it doesn’t snow much. We were truly blessed by the hospitality and generosity of Grace Baptist Church here in Alpine, and also by many other churches who thought of us during the Christmas season. Thank you all for being a blessing to us!
Josiah has been driving on a permit now for about two months. He seems to be more confident behind the wheel, and Stacy doesn’t grip the dashboard now quite so firmly when he takes the corners. We hope he can pass the drive next week, and graduate High School very soon. These are just the kinds of things that make us feel old. Brother Gregg, I know you read these letters and remember when I started driving. I can only imagine how you must feel to see these kids grow up.
Since our arrival in the States, we have enjoyed several meetings with supporting churches, and have also joined in ministries with Grace Baptist Church in Alpine, TN. Pastor and Mrs. Copeland and the whole church have encouraged my family, providing housing for us during our stay, friends for our kids, and ministry opportunities. We visit the nursing home every other week with our children, and the jail each week with Pastor Copeland.  I am so pleased to see our children appreciated and welcomed as they serve. They have needed this sort of encouragement for a long time!
This week, Stacy and I went to the jail with Brother Copeland to minister to the incarcerated. The pastor went to preach to them men, and I accompanied Stacy to visit the ladies. She began one week ago teaching about women in the Bible. Her first lesson started in Genesis and explained the Biblical place and purpose for a woman and how starkly this is contrasted by the world’s view. This week, she began to look at specific women in the Bible and began with Eve. She pointed out that Eve was alone when the serpent came to her, and she was not with her husband. She was designed to be a help to her husband, but she did the exact opposite of that by bringing him down. As she read the curse that God placed upon Eve in particular, and mankind in general; one lady began to pay special attention. Before we left the jail that day, this lady spoke up in front of all the ladies and said, “I want to be saved right now!” We were so thrilled to listen as this lady bowed her head and confessed she was a sinner, and asked Jesus to save her. What a joy it was!
Some have asked how they can pray for us more specifically. We are seeking the Lord’s will in opening the next door of opportunity in mission work. I believe the Lord knows exactly where he wants us, and we are trusting him to guide our steps. Please pray with us that the Lord’s will be done in our lives. We are also working to pay off some debt that was acquired on the mission field. I am embarrassed to mention this, but it is something we need prayer about. We have made great strides over the last few months, and are on schedule to be debt free in a few short months. Concerning Bella, she has not suffered one major asthma attack in several months. The change in climate has proven crucial for her. Praise the LORD!  We ask you to continue in prayer for her health. Thank you for allowing us to represent you as missionaries!
-The Byers FamilyNOV_DEC2016