Dear Church,
We are so thankful that you prayed for our Old-Fashioned Gospel Meeting back in July. Pastor Rex Smith and sister Kim came from Mountain View Baptist Church, and he preached some wonderful messages. He brought out some object lessons from the Eagle and challenged us to live victorious Christian lives. Our family was especially encouraged, not only by the preaching, but also by the well-attended services as our dear friends came to support the meetings from far and wide. Thank God for good preaching and good friends!
During the meetings, some people were clearly under the Holy Spirit’s conviction concerning salvation. One person came to get assurance of salvation, and another made a bold statement by standing to signify his steadfastness in allowing his parents to continue influencing him in the way he should go. The spirit in the meeting was good and the encouragement to our church was much needed and much appreciated!
Several of you gave Giant Print Bibles for us to use, primarily in the nursing homes we minister to, but also in our church. We have given out several of these Bibles and it has been such a blessing to have them available! Months ago, I gave one of these Bibles to the very lady who first caught my eye as needing one. More recently, someone asked me to go by and see this lady because she was not doing well. Without going into private detail, it seems the reading of God’s Word did not bring her peace, but rather great trouble in spirit. I agreed to go see her and spent some time praying, reading, and answering questions. As we talked together, it became clear that God’s Word had brought conviction to her soul, and she was in desperate need of salvation. During our time together, I was reminded of the words Paul wrote in Romans 7:9,10 “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.”
As I shared the plan of salvation with this dear lady, she became certain of her need to trust Christ and she boldly called upon the name of the Lord to be saved. This was a wonderful answer to prayer, but even more wonderful to see her joy the following days. Please pray for her as she continues to read from that Super Giant Print Bible and learn more about Jesus.
The last few months I spent a lot of extra time with our boys, working with them on their vehicles, taking them sailing, hiking, and spending time with them in the Word of God. Our family is the ministry team, and the boys do all the work in the church. I appreciate your prayers for them and for our family as we continue to work to win souls in Astoria. Please keep praying, and thank you for giving to support the work. We know that our labor together in the Lord is not in vain!