In Jerusalem

Jesus told His disciples, "Ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem..." For the first time in a long time, I had the opportunity to go on visitation with my home church this evening. We talked to a teenage girl who began to weep as I preached the Gospel to her. She had gone through some real hard times since moving to Kings Mountain from Charlotte, and she seemed to have the weight of the world on her. After preaching the Gospel to her, she agreed to come to the service tonight. As always, a man stood before our teens this evening and preached the Bible. At the end of the message, the girl trusted Christ as Savior. Praise the Lord for the salvation of a soul, whether it is in a revival meeting or through normal visitation.

Paul

Roundup's Over

Ministry Update

After returning to Yorktown, VA from Canadian, OK, I was immediately immersed in Vacation Bible School and Wild West Roundup. There is no doubt about it, I was not in my comfort zone preaching to kids every night, but God gave the victory, with over ten kids saved, several surrendering their lives to God, and record attendance almost every night. We had a wonderful time with all the church staff and members of Maranatha Baptist Church, but especially with Beau and Nicole Williams and their family. It will not be long before we begin to head back towards NC for some time with the people of our own church before we head out again.

Family Update

Esther is now one. We had a lovely little birthday party for her on Wednesday, complete with streamers, balloons, and a cake that everyone could eat! That was something worth celebrating in itself! She loved digging into the cake, but seemed to not particularly care for the "stuff" all over her hands and face. We took lots of pictures. After her birthday bath (always necessary after eating birthday cake) we opened some presents. She was really excited about opening the gifts, possibly because of her previously mentioned penchant for shredding paper. She was most conscientious, though, and would hand each shred to the person sitting next to her. It was very cute!

Josiah had a blast in VBS this week. He loved it all - the games, the songs, the skits, the country store, and most of all, the boys vs. girls offering round-up. It was so funny to watch him interact with so many kids his own age. He learned quite a few new Bible verses this week, and I was very proud of him for working so hard. He wore his cowboy hat and sherriff's badge every night, and enjoyed playing cowboy. I had to tell him to leave his guns at home. He was a bit disappointed about that, but quickly got over it

We have had a great week here, and saw the Lord answer prayer. Thank you so much for praying for us.

Sarah

Indians!

Indian Update

Last night, after attending the morning service of a local independent Baptist church, we had our first service out at the Indian Baptist Mission Camp Meeting. Though the meeting does not officially start until tomorrow, there are already representatives from the Six Nation Iroquois reserve in Ontario, as well as Apache, Choctaw, and Creek, the latter two from right here in Oklahoma. With this handful of maybe 60 people, we had a service tonight. During the song service, we all sang “Amazing Grace” in English, then the Iroquois sang it in Mohawk, then the Choctaw sang it in their Choctaw, and finally it was sung in Creek. For me, it was quite emotionally moving to sit and listen (I know no Native American dialects). I realized that this gathering of people would not even exist, were it not for the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here were entirely different traditions, languages, and cultures, all made one by the blood of Christ. One day we all will sing to Jesus, “Thou…hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” To get a foretaste of that day while here on earth was a treat for me this evening.

I was asked to preach the first message tonight, and many told me afterwards how that God spoke to their hearts. I am told that this a meeting in which they call preachers from the floor; that should prove interesting. I found myself wishing that I could preach every service of the entire week, but then I had to make sure that my motivation is not pride. I would love to preach again, there is not doubt about it. We’ll pray, wait, and see.

Paul