We began July reporting in at one of our supporting churches, Beacon Baptist Church in Shelbyville, Indiana. This was the first time I was able to address the congregation publicly since they voted to take us on. We always enjoy getting to stop in there to fellowship with Pastor Collett and his dear family. We continued on to Northwest Indiana for our annual FBMI Candidate School. This event has become a highlight in our year because of the great fellowship and training we enjoy. I really enjoyed the reunion with my missionary friends, whom I believe are the finest missionaries in the world, and the wonderful FBMI staff, whom I likewise believe make up the best support staff a missionary could ask for.
Our long-awaited westward journey began with my preaching and presenting at El Vista Baptist Church in beautiful Peoria, Illinois. We received a very warm welcome there. Continuing westward, we stopped in for a night at Grace Baptist Church in Harrisonville, Missouri. We presented our work there several months ago, but we needed a place to stay for the night. Before we left the next morning, we were even able to help Pastor Kaighen briefly pass out fliers for their upcoming VBS.
Things got really exciting during the last 10 days of the month. When we got into town for our next meeting at Rose Hill Baptist Church in DeQueen, Arkansas, we briefly met with Pastor Smallwood, received some tracts for soul winning the next day, and then haggardly made our way into their prophet’s chamber for some much- needed rest. The next morning we went out door knocking, and I was able to lead 2 souls to Christ. One was an adult man from the Marshall Islands, and the other was a teenager from the area. On Sunday morning I got to teach the teen Sunday school class. In the evening I got to present and preach. We had a wonderful time of fellowship with Pastor Smallwood and his family. We then headed to Abilene Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas. Pastor Phil Winn is one of the most dedicated soul winners I’ve met in a while. One evening out soul winning, we both got to lead a person to Christ! To top it all off, we got word that another church took us on for support. In June, we were taken on by 3 out of 4 churches, with the last one being very interested in helping us when they get the funds.
Please pray that the 3 souls who received Christ this month will get plugged into the churches we visited. Pray for our travels out West. It’s been a long trip out here, but God has just blessed us at every turn. The people we’ve been fortunate to meet since we left home in June have been oases to our road-weary souls. God has continuously refreshed us and used us for His glory. We need our prayer warriors to fervently pray for our meetings through the end of the year. There is so much riding on the meetings we have coming up. Our bodies are here traveling in the States, but our hearts are with the lost in Toronto. Pray, brethren, pray.
Thanks to Calvary,
Brian Hebert
