I traveled almost 2,200 miles and presented my ministry at 5 different churches in IL these past few weeks. My first meeting was in Pekin, IL, where my parents grew up, met, and got married. I wasn’t able to present my ministry at the church where they got married, but maybe I’ll get that privilege in the future. From what I’ve been told, it’s still a solid church. At the time of my parents’ marriage, my father and his family were attending there, but my mom and her family were Catholic. Praise God for the work He’s done in my family since then. I still have some relatives (my stepgrandmother and her daughter and family) in the Pekin area, so I enjoyed getting to see them again.
My travels also took me up to the Chicago area where I was able to stay with my sister and her new husband and my uncle and his new wife (my aunt passed away around 6 years ago). Both couples were married this past summer. I appreciated the opportunity to get to know my new relatives better.
I was also able to attend the Netcasters Evangelism Training Seminar in Menomonee Falls, WI. The one-week intensive course taught me much about how to present the gospel, the power of the Holy Spirit in evangelism, and the victory in sanctification that we can gain as we look to Christ with the eyes of faith. We praise God for the 42 salvation decisions that were made as we went out for evangelism three different times during that week. It was exciting to see the power of God working through the gospel.
The Lord greatly prospered my meetings with the churches in IL. The gifts exceeded all of my expenses, and I was able to see God burden hearts for my ministry. It looks like there are some very promising possibilities for future support as a result of this trip. I praise the Lord that my support has risen to 31% now, as a couple in IL took me on recently.
I head out this Saturday for a trip to WV, PA, VA, NJ, and SC. I’m looking forward to being in the PA area for the change of the season. I’ll travel about 9 hours this Saturday to a very pretty place in WV. In addition to the meetings and missions conference that I will be attending, I hope to make contact with numerous pastors in the area. Please pray that all of this will go well.
During my visits with churches, I will also need to prepare for my trip to Papua New Guinea in November. We are looking into the possibility of translating the Bible into the Pidgin English. Though there are two translations currently in that language, the Baptist pastors in our circles are not satisfied with them. One is too paraphrastic and the other is translated from the KJV. Dr. Bernard, the regional coordinator, and I will be meeting with the pastors to see if we can team up to do this translation. Pray that we would have wisdom as we prepare and present.
I will also need to find time to prepare for my first consultation work in Haiti in December. Daniel Telfort is translating the OT into Haitian Creole, and I am appointed to be the main consultant. At first I will be a trainee learning how to consult as Dr. Bernard mentors me.
I will be away from Grand Rapids from this Saturday until mid January. I plan on spending Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years with family and friends in Greenville, SC.
Please note my updated itinerary and prayers/praises.
