For those of you who have not yet heard, we would like to introduce to you the newest member of Team East Africa: Adilene Fae McDonald, born August 31, 2018. I won’t bore you with all the details, but I will say that God provided for us every step of the way. He gave us an amazing place in Tennessee to have the baby, and Elizabeth and Adilene are doing great.
We had a very busy summer leading up to the birth. We were in Texas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Since the birth, we have gone to Missouri, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Several churches have partnered with us, and I am encouraged that we will be able to be on the field by the early part of next year.
I have had the opportunity to go soul winning and visiting with many churches. It’s always encouraging to partner up with a seasoned, faithful member of the faith. I had one such opportunity in Missouri with a man in his eighties, who faithfully goes out every week to preach the Gospel and encourage the saved to come to church. We had several very good visits, and our last visit was one I will not soon forget. We knocked on the door and heard a dog bark. The man came to the door, slipped out, and shut the door behind him to keep the dog inside. As soon as he closed the door, he realized he had locked himself out of his house.
The start of that conversation was different than most conversation starters out soul winning. The man’s first words were, “You caused me to lock myself out of the house!” I had some work to do to direct the conversation to the Gospel. I apologized several times. After realizing he had no way into the house, I asked if he had a garage door opener in his car, which he did. I used my AAA to get his car open to get the garage open so he could get into his house. While we waited for the tow truck, we were able to discuss how he had gotten saved years ago but was not attending a church. We invited him to church; and, to my surprise, the next morning he was there!
Recently we made a quick trip from Mississippi to Maine, 24 hours in the van, to prepare for our departure. We will be taking all our belongings in totes and duffle bags on the airplane to Kenya. We had to make decisions on what will be going with us and what will stay here and then make sure that all our bags will be under 50 pounds. Thankfully, we have most of our luggage now ready to go, and we are continuing to do our part to increase the support. We are following William Carey’s advice, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”
Please be in prayer for the final months of deputation:
• Productive meetings
• Purchasing the remaining needs before we depart
• Adilene learning to spend hours in the van
• Obtaining Adeline and Judson’s passports
• Renewing Elizabeth, Corey Jr, Annabelle, and Marydia’s passports
• For affordable housing and a vehicle in Kenya
Fellow servant for Christ,
Corey McDonald
