Dear
Praying
Friends,
‘Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts...and we
shall be saved.’ Psalm 80:19
Greetings in the name of our risen, glorified
Saviour! The weather in Wales has seen a
glorious few days with temperatures in the high
70’s and low 80’sF, which in turn, has caused
the flowers and grass to go mad with excitement
as they pop out of their winter abodes. We have
been amused with the local sentiment regarding
the current conditions; one lady today told me
that she didn’t like the hot (80’s to them is
“BOILING”), and she didn’t like the cold...so
she is happy about two days of the year! : )
I’m so thankful that our joy isn’t dependent
upon menial things like the weather, but rests
in our unchanging Lord!
We were
able to set up another stall at a local boot
sale to hand out tracts and DVDs this past
Saturday. The weather played a vital role in
the many people who came by for it was a lovely,
sunny day. (My sunburn vouches for that!)
Unfortunately, Lemuel wasn’t able to go this
time as he was returning my parents to the
airport...a deal that I was quite happy to
comply with as the alarm clock was to ring at
4am! The Lord gave me the opportunity to have
several good conversations with people regarding
the Lord, one of which was very interested in
the Sunday School for her son. Several people
walked away with the Life Story 2 DVD and others
picked up leaflets and tracts. We pray that the
Lord will use these feeble attempts to share the
truths of our Lord with those who need Him.
On the
previous Saturday, May 15th, the
young people of Ackhill Baptist Church hosted an
‘Honour Luncheon’ to try to honour and uplift
our elders. They worked hard to prepare a nice
lunch, and we invited a friend and Irishman,
Bro. Tom Evans, to speak at the luncheon. The
attendance was a little lower than we would have
liked, around 30 people in all, but those who
came said that they felt really special that
day! The day held a two-fold purpose. First
of all, we wanted to honour those who are older
for their years of experience, and for those who
have lived a godly example before us,
challenging us to do likewise. Secondly,
though, we wanted to train our young people to
respect their elders, and to serve others. We
live in a very selfish, ‘ME first’ society,
which is proving to be extremely evident in its
effect on our children. Both the young people
and those who were older really seemed to enjoy
the day!!
We are
also planning a large-scale outreach program for
August, the Lord willing. A group from the
States, from both Bethesda Baptist Church in
Carrollton, GA, and Smyrna Baptist Church in
Newell, AL, have committed to come and help us
canvas the area, distributing gospels of John
and Romans, much like when we helped in Paris.
Thankfully, an organization called Seedline
International is providing customised
booklets with a Welsh-themed cover and contact
information for several of our ‘sister churches’
in about a 20 mile radius. Our plans include a
community, Creation-themed Family Fun Day on
Saturday prior to a week of evangelistic
preaching with Evangelist Randy Bane. Please
pray that the Lord will allow all the plans and
activities to come together smoothly, as well as
for nice weather. (We also will have no idea
how many will come due to a massive
distribution/ invitations!) Our greatest prayer
burden, of course, is that the Lord will
cultivate the seed that is sown. The devil
is fighting us tooth and nail on MANY fronts
these days, which causes us wonder if the Lord
has great plans in store for this summer! We
are certainly attacking the gates of hell!
Please
continue to remember us in these days as we are
still struggling in the church. We are finding
that the church, as a whole, seems to be in the
middle of a turn-over, of sorts. We have had
the resignation letters of several of our
trustees due to varying reasons. Age and health
are the main factors, and we are trying to
compensate accordingly. Please pray as we
try to fill these positions (in compliance
to the law) that the Lord will place those who
will work with us in these places. The CRB
(background checks) for Lemuel and me have come
back and we are busy complying to government
regulations for the Sunday school ministry, as
well. The problem remains though, that while we
are away, the Sunday school must take a break as
there are no other certified teachers.
Without
trying to make this update sound discouraging,
we just want to ask you for your continued
prayers- there are days when we struggle
immensely. I believe that to feign
encouragement just to make a newsletter sound
upbeat is denial...even deceitful. We know that
we can trust the Lord, and march on according to
His command- whether we ‘FEEL’ like it or not!
We, as Christians, are PROMISED fiery trials, so
we ‘think it not strange!’ A friend of our used
to sing a song that seems to be our theme song
these days...the lyrics go something like this:
“Don’t give up on the brink of a miracle! Don’t
give in God is still on the throne...remember
you’re not alone!” We praise God that He has
not left us comfortless, but has provided the
One Who will help us through...and how we long
for Him to manifest Himself in MIGHTY power in
these days! “Come, Holy Comforter, Thy sacred
witness bear in this glad hour: Thou Who
Almighty art, now rule in every heart, and ne’er
from us depart, Spirit of power.”
Our
summer plans have been shortened for Lemuel this
year, although the children and I are planning
on staying a bit longer due to national testing
and camp. The Lord willing, our summer schedule
is as follows:
Wednesday, June 23- Victory Baptist Church,
Dewey Rose,
Ga.
Sunday
AM, June 27- Peachtree Baptist Church, Senioa,
Ga
Sunday
PM, June 27- Fairfield Baptist Church, Demorest,
Ga
Wednesday PM, June 30- Harvest Baptist Church,
Dawsonville, Ga
Sunday
AM July 4- Bible Baptist Church, Burlington, NC
Sunday
PM July 4- New Hope Baptist Church, Glen Raven,
NC
Monday-
Friday July 5-9- Maranatha Family Camp,
Worthington, PA
Sunday
AM July 11- Providence Baptist Church,
Manassas, VA
Sunday
PM July 11- Evangel Baptist Church, Dale City,
VA
Wednesday July 14- Richwood Baptist Church,
Richwood, WV
