Greetings to you all! As is the case for all of us at times, we have had many good days . . . AND we have faced some tough days . . . BUT GOD IS GOOD—ALWAYS! The fall months have been a whirlwind of busyness and many blessings! One great blessing of mid- August was the safe and sound arrival of our first grandbaby! Our son Jack and his wife Brianne had a baby boy named Laken! (He’s handsome like his Grampy!) At the end of August, my wife went through sinusitis surgery! That laid her low for a while, even though she still did her best to get back to her responsibilities as soon as she could after her procedure! How I thank God for my faithful and diligent wife!
September saw Luke and Savannah back off to Bible college. Then in mid-September, we were able to once again conduct our annual Ladies’ Fall Jubilee meeting. October led us into our church’s 25th Anniversary Homecoming Celebration services. We conducted a fellowship meal, followed by a service Wednesday through Friday evenings, and then concluded with our Anniversary Sunday services. God blessed us with a wonderful day! There were 145 in attendance for the service that day; we met under a tent out behind the church, as our little building could not contain that kind of crowd! From Anniversary Sunday until the end of November, the Lord allowed us to see several souls saved through soul-winning and ministry efforts, as well as see 10 converts follow the Lord in believer’s baptism! For this we rejoice and happily say, “To God be all the glory!”
November was a month of both blessings and burdens! Some key families of our church moved away, some with advance warning of their move and some who just got upset and quit attending our church! It is always a great heartache to see ones we love and serve with go away, but it is always more painful when they go away abruptly and spitefully! Yet God is faithful, and God is good. By His grace, we keep pressing on! (Thank you so much for your help, prayers, and support, which help us to keep pressing on!) Mid-November saw us press on to conduct our annual Youth Conference once again for the first time since November 2019. (This would have been our 23rd Annual Youth Conference.) At our Youth Conference this year, we had 120 in attendance; 1 young lady was saved, and 23 young people made a Covenant of Purity unto the Lord and their future! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Our theme in the new year, God willing, will be “Pressing On.” By God’s grace, that’s what we keep doing, and God is faithful to give HIS increase! Recently, the elderly mother of one of our men got saved, as my wife and another lady soul winner went and shared the Gospel with her. I recently visited a man who has been attending our church for a month now. As I addressed him about salvation, he told me, “I asked Jesus to save me on November 6 at your church when you gave us the opportunity to make today our ‘moment of time of salvation.’” He said, “I prayed there in my seat that day and accepted Jesus as my Saviour!” He plans to be baptized this coming Sunday!
Thank you for your faithful prayers and supports and colabouring with us here!
Pressing on the Upward Way,
Phil & Tanya Powless Family
Galatians 6:9
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- We were able to baptize a dad and his son together.
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- We had 23 young people make a Covenant of Purity at our Youth Conference this year!
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- Our very first grandchild–a boy named Laken, born to our son Jack and his wife Brianne
