Imagine being all dressed up and spending almost two hours in a room where the ambient temperature is in the upper 80s to 90s, coupled with 90 to 100% humidity—hot, sweaty, and sleepy! This has been our summer’s norm in our “convection oven” auditorium for the past 11 years!
This year, through a special family, the Lord provided the finances for us to install an air-conditioning system in our auditorium—and it came in just as the summer’s heat was turning up! Many folks have already expressed how much more comfortable they are in coming to church. Now, for the first time, I can preach on a Sunday morning and not be drenched in sweat by the time the service is over!
We want to express sincere gratitude to the family, who wants to remain unnamed, for donating towards this cause.
BEAT THE HEAT
We borrowed a visitors’ promotional idea from another missionary called, “Beat the Heat.” For the month of July, we gave a cold drink to every guest (anyone who hadn’t been to church in at least six months) and the person who invited the guest. In addition, the person who brought the guest got a point for each guest and two points for each guest who returns. The person with the most points at the end of the program got a 20-inch fan to help “beat the island’s summer heat.”
It went quite well, with many guests visiting and several returning. As a result of this program, one lady visited for the first time and trusted Christ as her personal Saviour!
The competition was fierce, but there was only one prize! Two of our children were among the top performers, and one actually won! We are thankful for children who are happy to serve in the ministry.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Our Vacation Bible School ran from Monday, July 28, to Thursday, July 31. It was an incredible time for all of us. Some of the workers were veterans, but we had a few teenage workers who helped for the first time. God gave us an incredible turnout of kids. On each of the first 3 days, 2 kids trusted Christ as Saviour, but on the final day, 12 more put their faith in the Lord! There are a couple of those I would like to share a brief story on:
1. We invited a bunch of kids from a home where the family is Jehovah’s Witnesses. They gave us no hope that the kids would come. However, to our surprise, one of them showed up at VBS and gave his life to Christ!
2. There is a Muslim man I have been trying to reach for many years, but to no avail. Our boys went to his home and invited his kids to VBS. His son Malik actually showed up on the first day. On Wednesday, I happened to be passing through the room where the Bible lesson for his group was being taught, when I overheard him being antagonistic, telling the teacher that he had no interest in the Bible and that he was going to stick to the Qur’an. The teacher responded so graciously, telling him that there was no other book that teaches how much God loves him and how he could get to know the God of the Bible.
Well, the following day, Malik returned to VBS. After an engaging lesson on King Jesus, Malik decided he wanted to hear more. I took him aside, along with 7 other adolescent boys, and they all trusted Christ as Saviour. Needless to say, Malik came to church on Sunday and proudly told the entire church that he had trusted Christ as Saviour and asked for a copy of the Bible!
PROPERTY ISSUES
The past few months have been filled with many challenges, one of which is regarding the church property, as was mentioned previously. The situation is more complex than I want to use up prayer-letter space for. The main sticking point is that one of our neighbors has been vehemently fighting against us regarding the property. We are well aware that the only hope we have for victory is through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our church decided to commit our “This Kind” situation (Matthew 17:21) to daily prayer and weekly fasting.
A few weeks ago, while I was visiting an elderly neighbor, I was attacked by the man who has been instigating the property scam. He proceeded to yank some documents out of my hand and began violently cursing at me. Though no physical harm was done, I do realize that this man is unpredictable and cannot be trusted. We are so joyous that in the midst of our situation, our God gave us reasons to rejoice! As a result of our visit that day, we were able to acquire some very vital information that has helped us in acquiring necessary information about the property. I am very burdened for his salvation. Please pray that Richard and his father Kingsley will come to know Christ as Saviour and choose to live for Him.
The Anderson Family
Oral, Alicia, Daniel, David, Joshua, Alaina, & Ashley
