What an interesting year we have had so far. The crisis has affected us in ways beyond our expectations, making things difficult here in our country. It is with this thought that I write this letter, realizing that the effects of this pandemic have impacted you, more or less, as they have affected us.
Your faithfulness to the cause of Christ and to us as missionaries is seen in a more extraordinary light now that things are more difficult for you. You remind us of the churches in Macedonia that Paul spoke about in II Corinthians 8, how through their great trials, they continued to minister to the work of the Lord through missions. Thank you for standing strong for the cause of Christ and for all of us missionaries.
Missions Emphasis
In the month of September, we had our very first Missions Emphasis program here. It was a real treat seeing the level of participation by our folks. Out of it, we had three young people surrender to foreign missions and two to specific local missions! We also started our Faith Promise program and will be supporting missionaries. For a congregation that struggles financially, our faith was stretched beyond expectation!
Baptisms
One of the baptisms we had recently was of David Cunningham. Before attending our church services, he was invited about a year ago by one of our men to our weekly Men’s Prayer Breakfast. By his own admission, he came because of the fact that we served food. After a few weeks of coming, his motivation changed, and now he comes primarily for the lessons and the camaraderie. He had been given the Gospel several times, but he didn’t seem to grasp it due to the fact that his previous denomination was steeped in works-based salvation doctrines. He had been previously baptized twice in that denomination.
A few weeks ago, David told me that he wanted to be baptized in our church. I took the opportunity to explain baptism, as it relates to salvation . . . again, but this time it clicked! The days following, despite the lack of support from people he was expecting support from, he followed the Lord in believer’s baptism. Dave’s stance to be obedient, despite the resistance he faced, reminded me of the message in the song, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” “Though none go with me, still I will follow.” Some of you might have had a similar experience with enormous resistance to being obedient to God. May God continue to bless you greatly.
Prayer Requests
* A church van/bus
* The purchase of property for the church
* The growth and development of our music ministry
* Returning to normalcy from the COVID pandemic
* Hurricane season
Matthew 10:37-38
“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”
Oral Anderson Family
