“. . . the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm . . . .” (Nahum 1:3)
A few people have been asking about how Hurricane Matthew affected us.
We are very happy to report that we did not get the full impact, as was
predicted. However, the central to eastern parts of the island got a lot of
rain, which resulted in some flood damage. Our family and ministry are on
the west side of the island; as a result, we were hardly affected.
Though Matthew wasn’t much of a problem for us, we had to weather a few personal storms. We went through a series of illnesses and other personal battles but are hopefully on the tail end of it all now. With my wife recovering from surgery, the kids getting sick (one after the other), and the discovery of a potentially serious personal health issue in recent days, we have had to make some adjustments in our lives. Like the songwriter penned, we are very thankful that Jesus is a “shelter in the time of storm.” Thank the Lord for His grace.
A few weeks ago, we took home our newest family member from the hospital. God has blessed us with our second daughter, who is also our fifth child. We are so thankful for this additional blessing to our “missionary team.”
There were folks in our ministry, who were previously reluctant to serve, who rose up during our series of “setbacks” and filled in the gaps where we used to stand. We are thankful for those folks, and we are also very thankful
of the fact that more servants for Christ have emerged as a result. God certainly has proved once again that He can bring something good out of our crisis.
A few months ago, we mentioned that we were looking to purchase the property we are currently leasing for our church. The property is owned by an organization that has several layers of hierarchy. With the red tape and
our island speed, the whole process is moving at the speed of—molasses. Several months ago we approached the owners about selling the property to us, and they told us that they would. Until now, though, they haven’t finalized their decision! The location of the property is not the most ideal, since there is a Charismatic church that is literally about ten feet from the building we are using. We are hoping to find something else, but it is very difficult to find more suitable property for sale in our area, and it is usually super expensive. We do not put limitations on God, however. If this is where the Lord wants the church to be, this is where she’ll be. Still keep praying for this matter—for the purchase of this property, or the purchase of another property, and the resources to purchase it.
We are hoping to meet with the Indian Consulate in a few weeks. We are looking to see what God will do as a result. Please pray with us.
We want to express our deepest appreciation to Brother Reed Brock and the Yielded Hearts Sunday School Class of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, for assisting us in getting a new piano keyboard. We are now able to give piano lessons to our interested youngsters and improve our Music Ministry!
Many of you sent us birthday wishes, prayed for us during the storm, and prayed for the safe delivery of our baby amidst the ZIKA epidemic. We cannot thank you enough for being such a blessing and encouragement to us. May God bless you!
Missionary #6703
