Monday, February 23, 2009

Unexpected Presentation

Recently we adopted a new strategy for making contacts while we are in the Spartanburg/Greenville area. We decided to use Sunday evenings to make face to face contacts with churches in our area with the hope of gaining opportunities to present our mission to them. This past week, I contacted the pastor of Faith Baptist Church just down the highway in Boiling Springs. We exchanged emails and by the end of the week the Lord had arranged for us to present our mission!



We enjoyed our time with Pastor Jonathan McPeters, his family, and the people of Faith. There were not many in attendance that evening, but we had a great time informing them about the needs in France. We felt a kinship with this friendly group of brothers and sisters and believe that we have found people who will partner with us in prayer for this mission to France.

We ate with the McPeters family after the service and had a great time talking about what God has done for all of us. We have something in common with the McPeters- they are just beginning deputation for a mission to another difficult country in Europe: Wales.

We are grateful for the time the Lord provided with these sweet people and trust that He will continue providing meetings for us in the future.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Trinity Baptist Church

This past weekend we enjoyed fellowship with the people of Trinity Baptist Church in Franklin, TN. Michael first met Pastor David Schindel in Mexico when teens from their two churches participated in a week long mission trip together. Michael made contact again last year and the Lord opened up an opportunity for us to present our mission to France to this group of believers.


We arrived on Saturday evening and enjoyed dinner and dessert with a family Michael had known earlier in Charlotte, NC. The Bakers treated us to a delicious meal with good conversation. We really enjoyed meeting up with them and are grateful for their generosity.

Mrs. Nancy Baker (no relation to the afore mentioned Bakers) graciously opened up her home to us at the last minute (the people with whom we were to stay originally had sickness in the family). Mrs. Baker was a kind and generous hostess to us. We truly felt at home and were blessed through our conversations with her.
On Sunday, we were able to present aspects of our ministry during the Sunday school hour to the k4-5 class, 1-3 class, 4-6 class, and the teen class. This taxed Michael's abilities to speak for only 10 minutes or so, but God helped and we think it was profitable. We enjoyed the morning worship service and the potluck fellowship meal that followed. After the lunch, Michael presented our ministry to the church and then fielded questions from the floor concerning different aspects of our mission and France.

We are grateful for our time with the people at Trinity. Their generosity toward us (shown in many different ways) causes us to praise God for his grace. We trust that God will use us all for his glory as we reach out to those around us.