Exciting Days Ahead!

In just a few days, Dad, Mom, and I will be flying to Puerto Rico to visit my sending church. My Dad will be preaching, and my mom and I will teach and speak at a ladies meeting. This will be the second time  my dad has been on the mission field with me and the third time for my mom. Some may not know that the story of how Primera Iglesia Bautista de Ceiba became my sending church.

A year before going to Puerto Rico, I had planned to help Bro. Luis Martinez for three months. In January 2016, Bro. Martinez called me and told me that a teacher in their school had passed away. He was hoping I could come down earlier than planned, but was able to work out a different teacher until I arrived in March. The arranged time for me to be in Puerto Rico was three months. After being there just a couple of weeks, God was working on my heart to return and help the school for one year because they did not have a teacher for the class I was teaching. After much prayer and counsel, I decided to return to Puerto Rico.

I returned to Puerto Rico in August of 2016 and stayed until June of 2017. I had hoped that I would gain a sending church during the short time I was back in the States, God had other plans. I mentioned that I really believed I need a sending church for the accountability and the assurance it would give to other pastors when I requested the opportunity to share my ministry. Bro. Martinez told me he would love for his church to be my sending church because he had already seen my work ethic... I was not sure how pastors in the States would feel about my sending church being in place where I would not get to attend very often. I began praying about the idea, and I asked several pastors who had supported me already how they would feel about the situation. In the end, God gave me peace that I should accept Bro. Martinez's offer.

The day after I arrive back in Boston, my mom and I will fly out to Chicago so that I can attend a youth missions conference. The conference will emphasize short-term missions; so, please pray that I can encourage more young people to do what I do. After that conference, I will be speaking at a supporting church in Missouri and visiting several of my sisters and brothers.

Please continue to pray for our church to find a youth pastor and pianist.

Moving!

I apologize for being so long in posting. We are in the process of moving. God works in mysterious ways. A lady in our church mentioned in a prayer meeting at another church that we needed a house to rent. The pastor of the church contacted my parents. He is a real estate agent. He had just acquired a house that belongs to a man in the military. He needed to find someone to rent for  a year, and if things go well, there may be the option to buy it.

The house being available now was just in time. My mom went in the hospital again due to tachycardia from the music in the bar below us. This was third time. For the third time, the doctors told my mom her heart was fine, no fluid, no blockage, and valves... working properly. The resident doctor, without consulting my mom, put her on hepari , which she did not need, and over a two day period had been upping he dose. On top of that they were giving her 320 miligrams of asprin. When mom found out they had been upping the heparin instead of lowering it, she told them she was leaving. She also looked up the heparin to see what it does... Every site said it could cause blood clots and other heart issues, and not to mix it with aspirn. Mom told the nurse she was checking get out, and went home. Please pray for her that she can rid her body of the heparin, and that she can get her sleep patterns and heart rhythm in shape.

I have been busy helping the church here in Maine. This Sunday, we will have a simple choir cantata which I helped organize. My Sunday school class is going well, and the kids love earning points for prizes. The puppet ministry is also going well. Please pray that we can find a youth pastor.

Please pray as I continue trying to share my ministry with schools and colleges. Next month, my parents and I will be in Puerto Rico. My mom and I will be speaking to the ladies, and dad will get to preach several times. Please pray for safety as we travel.

I asked prayer for my baby cousin Mycah Turull. He passed away at 9 months and 4 days old. Please pray for his parents Trish and Mason, and for his sister as well as the grandparents aunts and uncles.

A childhood friend Ashley also lost a baby who it seems Jesus just wanted in heaven as the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him.

If you know any missionaries in Europe, I will be staying in England next year and traveling to European countries to help missionaries. Feel free to give them my info.

Spring!

Yesterday was the first day of spring. As much as I like snow, this winter, I was inside most of the time. Maine is just too cold. Maybe my blood will thicken up before next year.

This month has been busy. We have had several visitors in church, and we have had some good contacts in the area. Please pray that some of thevery will begin attending regularly.

Our puppet ministry has been going well. I am enjoying trying to put the plays together as wells getting the volunteers together. Please pray that we will be able to use this ministry in the nursing homes in our area.

My parents and I have been to several preachingredients conferences in the last month. What a blessing it is to see men getting together and working together to build each other up. The men around this northeast area are dedicated to planting churches like no other group I have seen. Several churches and individuals gave over $30,000 to help seven men start churches. Through these meetings, I have been able to schedule speaking engagements at a Christian school and a ladies' Bible study. Please pray that God will use me to encourage others to serve their churches and missionaries.

I am working on plans to leave for England next January. From there I will reach into Europe. One of our missionaries in Poland has already made contact,  and I have two other leads in Romania. Pray that God will provide the funds and the people I am to help.

Please pray for my parents to be approved for a house. Pray for my baby cousin Mycah. They had to reverse all his previous heart surgeries and are prepping him for a transplant.

Time is Marching On.

I seem to never realize how short February is until a few days into March. The end of February wasn't too abnormal. Our puppet ministry at the church is going well as we tweak the time and how many puppets we use at a time. I try to keep the thought of the day simple, and the resource I am using for the bulk of the stories begins with the fruit of the spirit. My prayer is that the kids will learn simple truths that they will carry with them through their lives. Please pray that we can use this ministry to reach children and adults through Bible clubs, VBS, nursing homes...

March began with a snowstorm which we avoided by leaving early for a church planting conference. Seven men are starting churches here in the northeast. Over 100 adults were present at the meeting with at least 20 pastors. Those pastors gave over $29,000 in one time gifts to get all these church plants started. Several pastors also pledged monthly support. A tract printing ministry here in the northeast takes all their profit and gives it to church planters. That ministry was able to give $900 to each church planter. If churches all across America would catch the vision of working together instead of focusing on impressing others with big numbers... Don't misunderstand, each number is a soul, and God allowed the numbers being added to the church to be given in the Bible, but too many churches are focused on just building their church instead of helping build many churches. The churches in the Bible that were the most successful were the churches that gave to help other churches and sent out missionaries and pastors to start more churches.

I will be reaching out to some Christian schools which I have already contacted to set a time to come and share my ministry with their students. I will also be setting a date to speak at one Christian college, and I am waiting to hear back from two other colleges. Please pray that God will use my experience to encourage others to go out and help missionaries.

Please keep my baby cousin Mycah in prayer. His heart surgery does not seem to be working properly, and the doctors are not sure if he can hold up under any other surgeries right now. Pray that God will do a miracle to allow the oxygen saturation to stabilize.

Valentine's Day

Today is the day set aside for couples to express their love. I'm glad my parents have loved each other through the good and bad times for 37 years. Love isn't a feeling. It's an action. It is an on purpose choice of one person serving another's need. It is not always reciprocated, and that is where sacrificial love comes into play. Each person is created in the image of God. Goď is love. If we are to be like Christ, then we must love in all our relationships even when love is not returned.

This month has been a little hectic because my mom went in the hospital twice. In the end, it was determined she has high blood pressure. We are thankful it is not more serious.

One of the girls in our church had brain surgery on a tumor. She is doing well, but please pray that the tumor does not grow back.

I have been contacted by two colleges about coming to share my ministry. I am now waiting for them to set the dates. Please pray that I can encourage more people to go short term to help missionaries.

Please continue to pray for our church, youth ministry, and puppet ministry. We are hoping to train our people in the puppet ministry so we can go to nursing homes...Pray also for the bus ministry. It has been so cold that we can only stay out a few minutes at a time. Pray that God will bless our efforts.

February!

January is already gone! How does time move so fast? I continue to stay busy with church work. I have 7 kids in my Sunday school class. We are beginning a prize earning contest, and the kids are excited.

We had our first puppet show on Sunday. This trial run showed us we need to have a microphone and a few other tweaks. Our goal is to get the kids ready to perform in nursing homes, VBS... We are also going to have the adults work with the puppets.

I have been in touch with several Christian colleges regarding speaking to their students and church members. Two colleges have contacted me back. Please pray that I can encourage more people to volunteer for short term missions.

My parents and I made an emergency trip to New York because one of my cousins was killed in a snowmobile accident. Please pray for the family and friends who were there and heard the Gospel. Pray especially for her husband who was responsible for the accident and has been charged with vehicular manslaughter.

This past Saturday my mom had an episode of tachycardia. She ended up in the hospital. Please pray that it is only stress causing this problem

Please continue to pray that we can find a house. Pray for my baby cousin Mycah. He finally had is Glenn heart surgery, but he is still having complications. He is 7 months old and has never been home yet. Our family also has several unspoken requests.

Holidays and a New Year

A whole month has passed since my last post. Christmas and New Year's were a busy time for my family. We celebrated Christmas with my sister and her family. I was surprised that even though I live in Maine, we did not have a white Christmas. Several of my siblings and I carried on the family tradition of quoting Luke 2:1-7. I hope we never forget to do this, and I hope that the next generation continues it.

After arriving home from my sister's in Iowa, I had one week to create scenes for our Christmas play, get the final script worked out... Although it was a simple, narrated program, with the kids walking on and off for each scene, the people seemed to really enjoy it. Hopefully next year we will have plenty of time for the kids to learn some of the parts, and we can create some more scenes.

We rang in the New Year with a night of games with our church people. It was a fun time of men versus women competitions. Afterwards, Mom, Dad, and I watched the ball drop in NY. It was a rainy night, so we did not have to worry about fireworks going off all night. New Year's Day, we watched the Old Orchard Beach Lobster Dip, basically a polar bear challenge, from our balcony. This is not something I will ever put on my bucket list.

Since December 1, we have been renting a nice apartment right on the coast. In the winter, the price of rentals goes down to affordable. It is a blessing to wake up every morning and see the beauty of the ocean. The colors change depending on the weather, and when it is warm enough, a walk along the beach ends up being a shell collecting trip.

This week, my sister and her family stayed with us for four days while her husband went to a church planting conference at Heartland Baptist College. I was able to take my nieces and nephew walking a few days, and my sister and I took a long walk as well. Mom and I drove three hours round trip to help drop them off. Tomorrow we will hopefully get back to a somewhat normal schedule.

We are prepping for a winter storm, and depending on the amount of snow, we may have to cancel church on Sunday. Pray for safety for all who will be affected by this storm. Pray that the contacts we make while soulwinning will come to church the next service we have.

We have had a number of visitors in church over the last few months. Some have returned, and a few families have joined. Pray that God will continue to bring the people He wants to build His church. We are working on several new programs for the kids ministry, including a puppet program. We also plan to start a couple of new classes. Pray for the spiritual growth of our church as well as the physical. Please pray for a new bus ministry push that God will provide workers and riders. There are several other needs for ministry leaders... for our church.

Just before Christmas, I sent out an email to several Christian colleges asking for the opportunity to present my missions ministry to their students. I have not heard back from any of them, so please pray that God will open the door for me to encourage more people to do what I do in helping missionary families.

My parents and I are hoping to make a visit to the ministry I helped in Puerto Rico. This is also my sending church. Please pray for good ticket prices and good weather when we go.

Prayer requests:

My sister Janna-pituitary tumor
Cousin Mycah- 5 mos. old getting ready for second scheduled heart surgery after a long series of infections which have postponed the surgery.