Thank you for all of your prayers and continued support. What a whirlwind these last several weeks have been! We have seen God do some amazing things since our last update. At the end of August, we had our farewell service at our home church. They showered us with love and gifts, and while we were sad to be leaving on a more permanent basis, we were excited and looking forward to what God will do! The next Sunday, we were privileged to present our ministry to the First Baptist Church of Yuba City, California. This is the church where I got saved in November 2004! It is incredible that God would allow me to return to where it all started, now as a missionary. I could never have imagined back then all of the things that God would do in our lives. The church was such a blessing to our family. We also got to try out our RV on a short trip before taking it across the country.
On Labor Day, we finally set off in the RV, having packed all of our things and put the rest in storage. We officially started “full-time” deputation. Over the next few days, God brought us safely to Crossville, Tennessee, to join Cornerstone Baptist Church for their Missions Conference. We got to be there with five other missionary families, a couple of whom we already knew. The church was so generous to all of us, and we had a wonderful time getting to know them. On Saturday, we had an international potluck and got to try foods from all of the represented countries. We got to see their Bible shop, where they bind Bibles to send all over the world. This was a very unique experience, as I had never seen anything like this before. I was also able to teach the adult Sunday school class and present our ministry to the church. It truly was a special time.
The following Wednesday, we visited some friends in Springfield, Tennessee, and dropped into the midweek service at South Haven Baptist Church. My wife then got to attend their Ladies’ Conference that following Saturday. It was great to catch up with old friends who are still faithfully serving our Lord! On that Sunday, we dropped in to visit the Franklin Road Baptist Church of Murfreesboro, and then on Sunday evening, we visited Temple Baptist Church in the Knoxville area.
The following week, we took a trip to Owensboro, Kentucky, to visit my grandfather. We had a wonderful time catching up with him, as I had not seen him for almost two years. That weekend, we got to visit Temple Baptist Church of Muncie, Indiana. I met the pastor, Ben Lang, through his brother Daniel Lang, a fellow FBMI missionary to Nigeria. They graciously hosted us and allowed us to present our ministry. I also had the privilege to preach during the evening service. We had a wonderful time getting to know this church, which truly had a heart for missions. On our way back to Tennessee to pick up our RV, we had the opportunity to take the kids to the Ark Encounter in Northern Kentucky, which was a great experience for the kids (and Karin and me).
We are next headed to South Carolina, then Illinois, Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, and Ohio to wrap up 2021. Please be in prayer that God will lead us safely to more churches that have a desire to partner with us to bring the Gospel to Japan! Thank you for your prayers and support! We are looking forward to what God will continue to do during our deputation journey.
In Christ,
Brendan Morgan