It was another jam-packed month for July! Our youngest child Gwen turned five on the fourth. She had been waiting for this day for so long. Her often-asked question while we were on deputation this year was, “Is it my birthday today?” Thank you to those who sent cards and gifts to her. She was very excited to know that you were thinking of her!
It was a privilege to attend FBMI’s Missions University this year. The theme was “Money in the Middle.” Though we get to work with FBMI, we rarely get to see the great staff who work behind the scenes. Our week there concluded with our Exit Interview with Bro. Bosje, our missions director, and Bro. Palmer, our field service coordinator. It was a bittersweet moment for us, but we are excited about God’s plans for the future!
While we’ve been preparing to leave for Australia, we’ve had the privilege of being at home in Michigan and getting involved at our sending church, Lakecrest Baptist Church. Each week, my son Rhys and I have been going out visiting bus kids on our old bus route and knocking on doors in an apartment complex. I’ve had the honor to preach for our Junior Church. Four precious boys received Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour after my message on the Samaritan woman—they’re all precious in His sight! It was also a joy to fill the pulpit for New Beginning Baptist Church, a friend church in the area.
The children received their U.S. passports in the mail a few weeks ago. This is another answer to prayer, as there was news of delays in the processing of U.S. passports. New South Wales, the state where we will be serving, suddenly found a case of COVID after months of no cases. Cases continued to rise through the month, which caused the Premier to issue a lockdown in the state. The government decided to lower the cap for people coming to Australia. Consequently, our airline called and notified us that our flight to Sydney was overbooked, and we were next in line to be bumped. We immediately had our family praying, and within an hour, they called back to let us know that they had others volunteer to change their flights, and we were still good to go on August 12. What a mighty God we serve! Please pray that our family gets negative COVID tests before the flight. Please pray for our state to open back up.
We’d like to welcome our new supporters for this past month: Grandview Pines Baptist Church of Millbrook, Alabama, and Waits Missionary Baptist Church of Portsmouth, Ohio. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support!
Your servant in Christ,
Garry Tingson