I am starting this letter a little differently than most of my letters by asking you to pray for my upcoming travels before filling you in on what has happened since my last letter. I need you to pray for safety on the roads, the many flight connections I will have when flying overseas, and God’s power as I preach.
Upcoming Trips
On September 26, Linda and I will head to Wisconsin so I can preach on missions for Pastor Bill McCoy at the Northwoods Baptist Church. I would appreciate you praying God would use me to help challenge the church to do more for missions in the coming year. So far this year, in two of the churches where I preached a Missions Conference, the people raised their commitments by 20%.
Upon getting back home, I will head to Argentina on October 2. I will be preaching for Missionaries Larry Owens and Joshua Owens. Joshua has had me preach his anniversary service for the past two years, and this year will be no different. Larry always has me teach in his Bible college. Pray for strength for my voice. His college meets twice a day four days a week. That means I will be teaching at least four hours each day. I will also preach for the Sunday and midweek services.
Two days after arriving home on October 14, Linda and I will head to Little Hocking, Ohio, where I will preach a Missions Conference for Pastor Andrew Coblentz at the Decatur Baptist Church. We were with them last year and are thankful we can go there again this year. We arrive back home on October 23. I then fly to Austin, Texas, on October 25 to be with Pastor Adam Thompson at the Capitol City Baptist Church. I will have the privilege to preach at his Missions Conference and present this ministry of missionary evangelism.
After arriving home on October 28, I will fly to Nigeria on October 30. I will once again be with Missionary Mark Holmes for a regional Soul-Winning and Leadership Conference in the city of Ibadan. Once done with that conference, I will fly to Calabar to preach a revival for Pastor Nicholas Wayih. Pastor Wayih and I have been praying for many years that God would make this meeting happen.
I will have a few days at home November 16–20 before participating in the FBMI Leadership Meeting November 21–22. This is the annual meeting where the five men who work directly with FBMI missionaries make plans for the upcoming year.
Summer Meetings
During July, August, and into September, my meetings were all in the Midwest. I was able to fill the pulpit for Pastors Joe Brown, John Heath, and Kyle Waterhouse. I was able to participate in the FBMI Missions University held each year at First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. At Marion Avenue Baptist Church, we had a wonderful Missions Conference August 21–24. God gave us 8 dedicated families going to 7 countries. Three of the men are going back to their country of birth. Eight of the 16 individuals are either from other countries or have already served in other countries. These are dedicated servants of God, and you could tell by the spirit they brought to the conference. I praise the Lord that He is still using me. Keep on praying!
Your servant,
Missionary Evangelist James Belisle
