II Timothy 2:2, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
The first week in August, we completed our Vacation Bible School. It was such an exciting week for our church. You see, in previous years, we had teams from the States who did most of VBS programs for us. This year, however, was the very first time that the entire VBS team was made up of our church members, most of whom were teenagers. We are hoping to build on that; our plan for next year, Lord willing, is not only to have our own VBS program, but to take it to some of our neighboring communities as well.
A few months ago, Ms. Frazer started attending our church. She is a lady in her upper seventies who made a profession of faith a few months ago. Recently as I was picking her up for church, she said to me, “Pastor, when are you going to baptize me?” I was very shocked when she said that since, in the past, she had been very resistant to being baptized. We took her to the ocean and baptized her the following week. Sister Frazer was raised as a tough woman, and she “makes no bones about it”! Her life has changed so much that her neighbors have commented on a few occasions that she is not the same woman anymore! Thank God for His changing grace!
Shawn is in his early forties and started attending our Tuesday morning Men’s Prayer Breakfast until that developed into him starting to visit the church services. He has expressed on numerous occasions how much he felt welcome at the church and that he wants to be more involved. He also told me that if he got married, it would remove one of his spiritual obstacles. On July 21, Shawn and Audria tied the knot. I am so thrilled for the decision that they made, and I am looking forward to seeing how God will use them.
On a similar note, we are also thrilled to share that Michael and Rusheda have set the date for their wedding. In our March prayer letter, we introduced this young couple to you and asked for your prayers for them. They both got saved at the end of our VBS program last year and have been growing by leaps and bounds. Alicia and I have had the privilege of personally discipling them for several months now. Their wedding is scheduled for September 27! We couldn’t be happier for them.
Thank you to those who have expressed your support for our change in mission field. Many of you have been praying for the Lord’s direction for our ministry since we were having difficulties getting into India. We are very thankful that we finally have clarity about this major decision. We have now changed our focus from pursuing India and have kicked things into high gear as we serve on this mission field. Thank you for your continued support as we seek to bring Christ to more of Jamaica.
Oral Anderson and Family
