Watermelon Creek Baptist Church

We had a good time with Watermelon Creek Baptist Church at the end of March. It was a blessing to see how the Lord has sustained a church for 170 years so that it continues to have a vibrant testimony in its community. We appreciate those who spent time learning about France and the kindness the church showed us.

Another blessing we enjoyed that weekend was the opportunity to spend time with one of my cousins and his family. I found out two weeks before we went down that Josh and his family live only a few miles from the Watermelon Creek. They welcomed us into their home and were graciously hospitable. We enjoyed spending time with them and catching up with them since we don't often see them.

Here are a couple of photos of the kids. Viviane enjoyed time with her cousin.

Weekend Tennessee

We spent a profitable few days in Tennessee at the end of February and beginning of March. We are grateful for the hospitality of our friends at Trinity Baptist Church in Franklin, TN. We enjoyed a morning service with them and then lunch with Pastor David Schindel, his family, and the Dale Baker family. We also enjoyed catching up with some one of Michael's former apartment mates, James Barnard, and his family.

That Sunday evening we drove north to present the mission to Charity Baptist Church in Joelton, TN. We had a good time with the church, making new friends and catching up with old ones. Sam and Dana Gage showed us Christian hospitality. We also enjoyed catching up with David and Jill King, friends from Charlotte, NC. Michael was also surprised to see Gary Wingert and his family as well. Gary and Michael were in the same society while at Bob Jones.

The Lord also gave Michael the opportunity to speak to the students of Jonathan Edwards Classical Academy on Wednesday morning and to the Awana group at Charity on Wednesday night. We enjoyed the time we spent with these believers and look forward to times in the future when we can fellowship again.

On the go again

This past weekend we took our first trip since Adeline's birth. She and Viviane both traveled very well. We visited Community Baptist Church in Clayton, NC--a church that is already partnering with us in many ways. Mike Knight gave me the opportunity to update the church and thank them for their partnership. Liz and I also sang a special number for the worship service. We spent the rest of the time visiting with the people and furthering relationships. The Lord used the church to encourage us through their fellowship and care.

Next weekend, off to Alabama!

VBS at Church of the Open Door

It was our privilege to help with a VBS last week. We really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with the families of this church. They were exceedingly kind to us. (They fed us so well that I might have to roll home!)

I had a good class (teens) ranging from 3 to 8 participants. I think God gave us a good time together and I trust that he will bless the sowing of the seed in their lives.

The Lord gave us several opportunities to get to know the people of the church. We are humbled by their generous hospitality and kindness toward us. Not only did we enjoy excellent food and fellowship, at one house Viviane was able to sit on a horse! Although she was initially timid, Viviane really enjoyed the horses and Liz and I enjoyed watching her.

We finished the week with a program during the Sunday PM service. That just happened to be the night that Mt. Carmel had its organizational meeting (for the VBS we are now helping with). So, after preaching at Mt. Carmel's service, I drove over to Church of the Open Door to take part in their program. The Lord brought several visitors, some of whom were not Christians. I had the privilege of presenting the gospel to them and pray that God will give the increase.

Liz, Viviane, and I are grateful for the time we had to meet the Christians at Church of the Open Door. Thank you for your kindness to us. God bless you till we meet again.

Catching Up

It is hard to believe that just about a month has passed since we last posted a comment. This will be a quick update to let you all know what has transpired over the last several weeks.

Michael participated in the Bob Jones University commencement on May 9, where he had a Ph.D. in Theology conferred. Both our sets of parents joined us for the ceremony, and then we had the opportunity that afternoon to spend time with many of our friends at a drop in reception. The Lord gave us an exciting and enjoyable day. We are so grateful for his kindness to us throughout the process.

We left two days later for a family vacation--our first true family vacation since we've been married. The Lord provided this vacation free of charge to us and we are so grateful for the generosity of our family members. We had a great time together and were able to catch up on some sleep after two very hectic weeks.

We were at home for a week before we left for Tennessee to present our mission to Life Gate Baptist Church in Hixson. Pastor Dunn and the people there were very kind to us and we enjoyed making some new friendships with brothers and sisters.

Presently, we are working on projects at home, contacting pastors, getting ready for a short trip to PA to help 2 churches with VBS, and preparing for our long deputation trip this Fall.

Finally, but definitely not lest, Liz and I are anticipating the birth of our second child this coming December! (Viviane would also be excited, but she doesn't understand yet.)

As you can see, we have had quite a bit going on. Thank the Lord for his goodness.

Mt. Carmel Community Church

Our final stop during our whirlwind trip through western PA was at Mt. Carmel Community Church. I met the pastor, Rick Fox, at BJU by "chance" one day last year. As he mentioned while we were there, my appearance was hardly impressive. I had just finished work at UPS so I was dirty and dressed in grungy clothing. But he took time to talk with me and learn about our mission to France. At that time I spent more time talking up Tim and Ruth because I knew they had contacted him. But God did not work out the scheduling for Tim and Ruth to present their work at Mt. Carmel, so we planned to present our ministry to the people while in the area.

We arrived at the Fox's house on Saturday evening and enjoyed a good time fellowshiping with them over a delicious meal. The next morning Michael was able to present our mission and give a short challenge in their morning service. The Foxes allowed us to spend the afternoon with them and then graciously housed us overnight. We enjoyed several good discussions with them about ministry as well as about historical topics. We found out that Mrs. Fox and Michael had both been pastored by Jim Phillips and taught by Robert Brinkley (though at two different places).

Overall, we had a good time with the Fox family and the people at Mt. Carmel Community Church. We thank God for the people he has allowed us to meet over the last 16 days.

Church of the Open Door

We left Shaun and Pam's on Wednesday to share our burden for France with the people of Church of the Open Door in Connellsville, PA. After a safe, event-free trip, we drove up to the beautiful home of Merl and Bevvy Harbaugh (bottom left photo). They graciously received us into their home, providing a comfortable room for us to rest in and good conversations to refresh us. We weren't in their home for more than 2 minutes before Liz discovered that she had worked at Bob Jones Jr. High at the same time their daughter worked in Bob Jones Academy. Shortly after that we found out that their son-in-law (Bert) and Michael had been on the same Australia Mission Team in 1997. The final connection we made was that their daughter, Stephanie, had married the brother of our good friends Tim and David King. We were floored by the connections.

We left the Harbaugh's house about 20 minutes after we arrived to meet a group from the church for dinner. Ron and Jean Grimm treated us all to a wonderful meal at the Country Club Restaurant. We had a good time getting to know the Harbaugh's, Grimm's, and Baugham's.

We left dinner to get ready to present our ministry to the church. The people were very kind and listened attentively to the presentation even though I had some technical difficulties with the power point. They asked good questions at the end and extended Christian kindness to us in a multitude of ways.

As you can see from the collage, Viviane hit it off with Grant. Although he is a few years her senior, he graciously played with her and kept her laughing. We appreciate the reception we received from the church and look forward to the time when God will allow us to reconnect with them.

Clymer Report

After a few weeks of no traveling, we have begun a 16 day tour of Western Pennsylvania. During this trip we are presenting our work in 5 churches and at a two day Bible conference for the PARBC.

We made our first stop in Clymer, PA, where we presented the mission to France in Calvary Baptist Church. The pastor, Dr. Daryl Jeffers, is a friend of my dad's from their teenage and college years. He and the church people welcomed us very graciously and showed us every possible hosptitality.

I began the day by presenting a lesson on William Borden to an adult SS. I had created a basic power point to go along with the lesson that morning, so I had risen quite early. But I think the visual presentation enhanced the effectiveness of the lesson, so the extra labor was worth it. That morning we participated in the morning worship service and then ate lunch with two families of the pastoral staff. That night I presented our mission to France to the church and then preached on the fact that Divine ability overcomes human inability from Matthew 19.

That night we ate dinner with another member of the church staff and had a great time. We found out that we had several connections to the church besides the fact that my dad and pastor Jeffers were good friends. One such connection is with the music pastor's wife. As children, Liz and Brendy Dolly actually attended the same church in Muncie, Indiana. They had a great time reconnecting.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to present our burden for France to the people of Calvary Baptist. We also thank God for all of their kindnesses to us.

Fayetteville St. Baptist Church

This past week Liz and I enjoyed the privilege of participating in a mission conference at Fayetteville St. Baptist Church in Asheboro, NC. Prior to leaving for Asheboro, I learned that the city had incorporated on Christmas day in 1796! Both the city and the church have a long history in the area.

We arrived on Tuesday to take part in the services that evening and Wednesday evening. We were one of 5 or 6 missionaries brought in at different times of the week. We shared the Tuesday/Wednesday slot with the Price family, missionaries to Zambia. (Viviane loved Mrs. Price and spent all the time she could playing with her.) The first two days of the conference had been called of because of the ice, but by Tuesday the roads were clear enough to go on with the plans.

The pastor, Dr. Bruce Dickerson, showed us every consideration. He ate meals with us, housed us in the church's very comfortable mission house, spent time talking with us about the church, and went out of his way to make us feel welcome and esteemed for the Lord's sake.

We were more aware of the Lord's grace on this trip because Liz suffered from a bad sinus infection. Although she felt relatively well during the days, the pain was so severe at night that she was not able to get a good night's sleep from Sunday night through Wednesday night. Despite the sickness, the Lord enabled Liz to sing with me in both services and to exert the energy needed to visit with people before and after the services. We also thank the Lord for guiding us to a kind doctor who saw Liz as a walk-in and prescribed a course of medicine that seems to be working. Liz is feeling much better and slept through the night last night.

The services were well-attended and the people expressed love for us and interest in our mission. Michael gave a 12 minute presentation of our ministry on Tuesday night before another missionary preached. On Wednesday Michael was able to speak in the elementary school chapel (the church has a Christian school ministry) in the morning and then preach about the cause of missions from Romans 1:5 in the evening service.

The Lord seems to have given us an entrance into the hearts of the people. Pastor Dickerson encouraged us to stay in touch and to pray about what God might do in the future with regard to a partnership in our mission.

We thank God for the opportunity to meet these brothers and sisters and for the chance to communicate to them our burden for the French people.

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.

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.

Friendship Baptist Church

We are very grateful to Pastor Vradenburgh and Friendship Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC, for allowing us to share our mission to France with them. The people of the church lived up to their name, showing us kindness and hospitality that reflect well the biblical teaching on Christian love. The Lord gave us a good time with the church on Wednesday evening, allowing Michael to present the needs in France, our calling, and our plan for proclaiming the hope of the gospel to the French. Michael finished the service with encouragement from Matthew 19 concerning God's ability to overcome human inability with regard to salvation. The Lord had one surprise for us--just as the service began one of Michael's former roomates from college walked in to the sanctuary. It was a joy to reconnect with Ben and to hear a little of what God is doing in his life.

Besides allowing us to present our mission to another group of believers, our trip to Friendship allowed us to spend time with the Pahnke family. (They are the parents of Ruth Bixby, our coworker. We enjoyed seeing the home where Ruth grew up; we especially enjoyed the photos!). They welcomed us on Wednesday evening with a delicious meal and then spent time with us after the service talking over snacks. We enjoyed very much hearing how the Lord had worked in their lives and how He continues to use them. They were very warm hosts.

The Pahnkes treated us to a special activity on Thursday. Following a delicious breakfast prepared by Mr. Pahnke, Mrs. Pahnke took us out to feed their horses (Cherokee and Cowboy) and cows. Viviane really enjoyed watching them put on the feed bag. After the feeding, we went on a walk along a greenway that runs along the Pahnke's property. Viviane loved the outdoors and the exercise (she walked a long way for those little legs). By the end of the walk, however, her little legs were worn out and she needed a lift from Michael. We enjoyed very much our time with the Pahnkes and look forward to future time spent with them.