Back in God’s Country!
Our first stop was Woburn, Massachusetts. What a blessed time we had with Pastor Johnson and his family! We had the pleasure of lodging with a family in the church for the weekend. The man was a professor at the University of Massachusetts, with his doctorate in chemistry, and his wife was a CPA. They had served faithfully in the church as bus captains for 20 years. What a testimony! Out on bus visitation, my wife and I witnessed to several people. We were reminded of our time ministering in Chicago, such diversity and poverty and a great need for the Lord.
In May we had a meeting at an African church in Portland, Maine. What a treat! On Saturday the pastor and I went to Monument Square to pass out tracts and invite people to church. I was stunned to see the lack of desire for spiritual things. Only three people would talk to me at any length. One was a woman who only wanted to tell me that she was a Christian, yet she did not believe in the Bible. Another was a man who called himself a Viking Christian and claimed he would soon be going to the White House to do a tarot card reading for our President. The last was a man just visiting the area and only stopped long enough to get a walk signal. While the soul-winning experience was nowhere near as welcoming as Kenya, seeing some of “our people” was refreshing and exciting.
I have been pleasantly surprised with the number of solid churches that are being planted in Maine. We have had meetings at many of them and pray that they stay through the hard times of building the church. Much of Maine is staunch Catholic, and most people will not even talk to you. Please join us in praying for these new works.
Starting deputation, God blessed us with a van that has been dependable, and we’ve had very few problems. However, in May we started to have some trouble with the transmission. After a trip to the dealer to find out what our options were, it became very clear that we would not be continuing deputation with it. Thankfully, our home church in Maine had a backup van that we could borrow while we figured out what we should do. After initially offering to sell us this van, the deacons voted to GIVE it to us!!! God’s plans once again prove to be better than any plan we can instrument ourselves!
Got Moose? Try 15 moose and 10 deer! In all the years growing up in Maine, my wife and I saw about 4 moose total. God was good to us. We prayed to see moose, and He filled our cup, spilling over. Deputation is a long journey filled with ups and downs. Visiting 15-plus churches and receiving no support commitment is not uncommon. God uses little reminders like these moose sightings to lift our spirits in these daunting times.
Thank you for praying for our health and safety. To update on our health, things are looking up. We were finally able to have the family’s health evaluated, and by adding vitamins and the dreaded elimination of gluten, we have seen significant improvement. Praise the Lord! We are praying that the Lord will work in our family’s life to prepare us physically and spiritually for the work He has for us in East Africa
Corey McDonald and Family
