God has been so good to us during the last two months. While our travels have been severely limited, the Lord has given us many opportunities to serve. Thank you for the part you have in making this ministry possible.
We were in four churches in North and South Carolina from July 15-26. Emily and I went soul winning with the folks from Mount Sinai Baptist Church in Kannapolis, North Carolina. One dear lady invited us into her house, and she readily accepted Christ as her Saviour.
The governor of our state of Nuevo León here in Northern México issued orders on Thursday, July 2, that on Saturday and Sunday, EVERYTHING would be shut down in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. He specifically mentioned all churches. Emily and I and many of our church people honored the order. We stayed home. On Monday, it was announced that the measure reduced movement by only 14%! That meant that 86% of the population paid no attention to the order. There are no plans to rescind the order. Two churches in the Monterrey area were padlocked because they did not obey the order. However, businesses of all kinds—restaurants, grocery stores, etc.—are FULL; but churches cannot meet on Sundays. Pastor Jonathan scheduled services during the week: Friday night takes the place of Sunday morning, Monday night takes the place of Sunday night, and Wednesday is the regular midweek service. The strange thing is that we are able to go soul winning, just not on Saturdays or Sundays! Last Thursday, Emily and I took our twin eight-year old grandsons, Jonathan and Tommy, soul winning with us. We led a lady and a man to Christ. Praise the Lord!
We are still praying about the start of academy classes. Pastor Jonathan, Emily, and Paola (Emily’s helper) are working with the parents on a plan in which the students would come to the academy in different time segments to reduce contact. Pastor Jonathan wisely decided to have online classes for the Bible institute. The response has been very encouraging. We should be able to enroll around 100 students for this fall semester. When in-person classes become possible, the students now enrolled can come and continue their studies on campus. Please pray for that. Everyone is dealing with similar situations, so we must pray for each other.
We are doing all we can to make high-quality videos for these classes. Please pray about the need for additional and upgraded equipment so that we can give our students the best possible product for their education. This material can be used year after year, so we want it to be the best we can afford.
We are videoing classes for this coming semester. We are having two sessions per day—one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. I have done two segments and recorded 7 of 20 lessons. Since we will be home for the whole month of August, I should be able to finish recording before the semester begins. I’m teaching a course on Bible doctrine. It has been very enjoyable.
I am scheduled to teach modular courses in two other Bible colleges, one in September and another in October. One
is on Sunday school administration, and the other is on missions. I’m excited about having a part in the lives of young college students. Please pray that my teaching will be used of the Lord to influence these young lives. We are also scheduled to be in two Missions Conferences in September.
If you would like for us to be in your church for a personal report on the ministry, we would be glad to schedule a time to be with you. We are also developing a new video presentation that we could make available to you.
Thank you very much for your faithful financial support. These are challenging, but at the same time, exciting days. Never has the coming of the Lord seemed so near. Emily and I pray over every thank-you card we send out in response to your offerings. We appreciate your sacrifice very much.
With grateful hearts for His goodness,
Tommy and Emily Ashcraft
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