Enjoying God's Creation

 This past weekend, we spent time in Jackman, Maine with another pastor and his family. It was such an enjoyable time getting to know the family, seeing their ministry, and seeing the beauty of the area. On Friday night, they had 18 young people at a youth meeting. The town has about 800 people, and many have not heard about Jesus or been in church. Right now, the church is meeting in the lower part of the pastor's house. They are praying about getting a piece of property with multiple buildings.

While we were in Jackman, we were able to see 5 moose. I had seen one moose before in Canada, but I was unable to get a picture of it. This time, I was able to get pictures of three moose. The area around Jackman is mountainous with lots of ponds. It was such a beautiful place to visit, and it was a very relaxing time which my family and I needed.

We are gearing up for our Christmas play. I will begin working on music with the kids this week, and I have already assigned all the parts. Please pray that we can have a regular service for the day of the play which will be in early December.

We had our first Sunday school since the shut downs. I am teaching the young ladies. Please pray that they will be faithful to be in Sunday school. Please pray that I can teach them how to take the next step in their Christian walk and that I can teach them how to take the responsibility for their generation and the next.

A Month of Updates

 It has been almost a month since I last updated this blog. Although events seem to be moving slowly, time seems to be speeding by. We have already been in the Autumn season for a month. The leaf change in Maine has been slow due to little rain and warm temps. The last week, the temperatures have cooled dramatically. My Puerto Rico thinned blood has caused me to turn on a small heater in my room most nights. The days have been in mid fifties to seventy. The weather has been beautiful, but we did finally have a couple days of heavy rain. 

I have begun working on some craft projects which I hope to sell online to make some extra income. I have also prepared some of the pictures I have taken around the world as greeting cards with KJV Bible verses, and I hope to create boxed sets to sell as it is difficult to find cards with KJV. I am still waiting for a reply from an application for online employment, so please pray God will allow me to be accepted for this opportunity.

We had our soulwinning marathon two weeks ago. Two people trusted Christ, and we had several good contacts to follow up. We have had visitors in church quite a few Sundays in the last month. Last week, we had two visitors, and one asked if she could carry our John and Romans packets to hand out. We plan to begin Sunday school classes again this week. The kids program will still be on Saturdays, but I will be teaching a teen/college and career girls class while our adult classes are taking place. The class will be called the Esther class because I believe each person is placed on earth at the time God feels they are needed most. As Mordecai told Esther, we are here for such a time as this. Please pray as I have a burden for these younger generation girls to learn what God's word has to say about a Christian young lady's life and involvement in church. 

I was able to take some of the girls apple picking with my mom. One is from Africa the other from South Korea, and neither had ever been apple picking before. We had a lovely time picking apples, eating donuts, and drinking cider.

My missions travels are still on hold. I am praying that after the election, air travel will be simpler and other countries will open. Please pray that I can fulfill the promised trips to England and Europe sometime next year. 

Please continue to pray for my mom's health. She has been wearing a heart monitor for a month, and hopefully the doctors will be able tell her something after she takes it off on October 21. Please pray for our church ministries as we continue to move towards full reopening. Please pray for our state elections. So many are worried about who will be president and in congress, but it is the state officials who have destroyed their states' economies, violated Constitutions, and broken state laws.

Please pray for missionaries around the world. Those in Guatemala and the Philippines have been feeding their church members and communities. Some have had to change their ministries from urban to country and mountain due to restrictions.  Most if not all missionaries to China are now back in the states, so pray for their ministries and people who are carrying on the work.

Seasons

 Fall weather is here. Autumn is my favorite season. As I look at the leaves changing, I can make so many comparisons to our human existence on this earth. God has given us many seasons over the 200+ years America has existed. We have seen the long winter of the death of tyranny as our forefathers fought to bring freedom to all who come here. We saw the spring of our nation as she was birthed. We saw the summer of our nation as she grew into a bastion of freedom and the autumn that followed as the Civil War loomed in the future. Old ways of life began to die as freedom continued to grow. Winter arrived in the form of the Civil War. The seasons of our nation chased each other through World War 1, the Great Depression, and World War 2. Since World War 2, we have had a long summer of freedom, growth, and prosperity. It seems we are again in an autumn time of dying. We have seen freedom die in just a few short months. In the north, during the fall, there is usually a spell of chilly weather, and then a few weeks of what is called Indian Summer, a short respite of warmth just before the long cold winter sets in. I pray that God will grant America an Indian Summer of freedom for a little while longer. I pray that He will find grace with those who believe in Him as Noah did, or that He will find a good number of righteous who are praying for revival as Abraham prayed for there to be righteous people in Sodom. I do not know how much more time we have before freedom and America as we know are no longer existent. I truly believe Jesus Christ will return in my lifetime. Until He does return, I will keep working to reach people with the Gospel and praying for revival.

I have not posted an update until now due to waiting to see what our governor would do about allowing our state to return to freedom. She did not allow this, but instead has decided to continue to violate Maine and Constitutional laws. Please pray that all the governors, mayors..., who are refusing to report the truth and release their areas of government from their tyranny, will be removed from power whether by God or man.

Our church is doing well. Most members attend on of our two services, but we do have a few who have not yet returned. Our Saturday kids program is going well. The kids enjoy coming and really listen to the lessons. We have three families who bring or send their kids. two of those families are African refugees whose families have been through a lot. One of the older brothers who does not attend church is in the hospital and not doing well. Please pray for Jeffery. 

My mom's health has been up and down over the last few weeks. She has an appointment with her cardiologist on Monday, and she hopes to see a specialist for her specific problem. Please pray that her heart can be healed. All of us have made some health changes in the last couple of months and are seeing good results. Please pray that we can remain healthy and continue God's work here in Maine.

I am still waiting to see what God allows me to do in the future as far as traveling the world to help missionaries. Many countries have tightened restrictions even though covid case numbers and deaths have dropped, and some have been removed due to flu, pneumonia and other death causes having been added in to spike the numbers. Please pray for the missionaries who in many countries are providing food for their churches and communities.

Prayers Needed

For a few months now, our church has been praying at 8pm for revival. Churches and friends across the country have been joining in. We are praying for personal revival, church revival, and revival for pour country. This past Sunday, a pastor in California was fined $10,000 dollars for holding two services. Other churches in other states have been through similar problems during this attempt of communist, antiGod, antiAmerican takeover. I have been praying that the truth will come out in respect to the covid falsehoods which have been used to create fear and submission, the people behind the falsehoods and division created by the BLM/ANTIFA groups, the politicians, stars, companies... involved in human trafficking, and the traitors who have been selling America out for several decades now. I am asking every person who claims to believe in God to call out to  Him and ask Him to reveal the truth. I believe president Obama was an 8 year warning of what we can expect if we get another antiGod, antiAmerican president. I believe President Trump has been a four year blessing to give America, and especially Christians, time to turn back to God and His Word. I believe the election this year, more than ever before, is a battle not between political parties but between good and evil, proAmerica and antiAmerica. Please join me in praying for our nation. Jesus is coming soon!

The second prayer request I have is for my mom. She has had heart issues for almost two years due to high decibel music played in a building where we lived. A week ago, she was at home on  a Sunday alone when her heart rate dropped dramatically and she became violently ill. She was able to reach me at church, and I had a lady bring me home. By the time I got home, she was much worse, so I called my dad to leave in the middle of preaching. He arrived home, and we called an ambulance. She was in the hospital from Sunday until Tuesday evening. The condition she has cannot be fixed by medicine or surgery as it has to do with the electrical function of the heart in two chambers. Sometimes her heart rate accelerates, and sometimes it drops very low. We have begun several natural health pursuits which we are praying will at least keep these episodes from being frequent. We also hope to see an integrative doctor who specializes in cardiovascular health. The natural pursuits and doctors visits will be quite expensive, so please pray that I am able to find a way to make an income without having to leave my mom alone. 

The third request I have is that God will allow all the shutdowns, travel restrictions, masking... to be removed so that I can fulfill some promised missions help trips to England and Europe. I had postponed my trip to England last year in order to help the school in Puerto Rico, and then I had to leave there early because of the travel issues caused by covid. Please pray also as I have lost two supporting churches.

The fourth request I have is for our church ministry. We want to get back to regular services, but there are still some things standing in the way. Please pray that my dad will have wisdom and courage to do whatever God asks him to do in regards to our ministry.

Last, please pray for my siblings as they are all dealing with some financial difficulties. One sister had damage from the derecho in Iowa, others are dealing with job changes and moves. Pray for wisdom for each.

Waiting

Waiting is not something I'm good at. Waiting to see exactly what God has in store since I returned home has not been easy. I hear of missionaries around the world trying to work in their ministries and help their communities, and I wish that the countries were open so I could go and help. But, God has not allowed this to happen. Even in the US, areas are still under lock downs; churches are under fire with threats of closure, fines, and even jail. So, while I wait, I am looking for opportunities to help in my home church. I am involved in the music, and I hope to be more involved with the young people. I am also helping some of my family with child care due to various circumstances. When I share my ministry, I encourage others, especially young people, to get involved where they are. Help with the behind the scenes work in the church such as cleaning. Help with soulwinning, kids programs...

Please continue praying for my dad. He has recovered well from his oral surgery and is getting used to his new teeth. He preached on Sunday without any issues. He will be preaching in Alabama the end of the month.

I will be traveling with my parents to Alabama, and then I will return to Iowa to care for my sisters kids for a few days.Please pray for my niece Verily. She still needs to have her kidneys tested, and there is only one pediatric urologist in Iowa.

Please pray for and continue to support your missionaries. Many are in dangerous areas, in countries that are still closed, and many are providing for their ministries, their people, and their communities due to the shut downs. Others have had to return to the states on emergency flights which are extremely expensive.

Quick Notes

Since my arrival home from Iowa, things have been slow and lazy. My parents and I have been working around the house and church. We were able to spend a day on a lake boating my sister, her father-in-law, and another preacher and his wife. Several people caught fish, and we saw two eagles. It was a nice relaxing day.

Yesterday, dad, mom, and I went to watch seals. We saw six. On the way home, we stopped at an osprey nest. We were able to imitate the call the mother was making which caused her to leave the nest multiple times. We were just able to see two babies heads. The father flew off to hunt and fish.

Please pray for our children's Saturday ministry. This is the second week the kids haven't come. Both families are from Africa, so the parents understanding of English is limited.

Please pray for my dad. Due to the brain bleed he had a few years ago, the blood supply to his teeth was limited. By the time this was known, his teeth had already begun breaking. He had all his top teeth removed yesterday. Pray his mouth heals quickly and conforms correctly in his denture plate.

Please continue to pray for my niece, Verily. Her VCUG test to check her kidney function is on the 31st. Pray everything is working correctly and that she will not need surgery.

Please pray for my ministry. It is at a stand still for overseas work, so I am working on some other avenues to be an encouragement via the web and possibly here in the states.

Unexpected Events

It has been almost a month since I posted an update. My parents and I took a trip to Missouri  to spend time with family. We were supposed to land in Des Moines, Iowa and stay with my sister a few days then all of us would drive down to MO together. The day we flew to Iowa, my sister took her 6 month old baby, Verily, in for a checkup because she had been having some difficulties. The doctor ran a few tests and told my sister she would call with the results. My sister was on her way to the airport to get us when the doctor called and told her to go straight to the children's hospital in Des Moines.  The baby had an infection, and after several tests in the hospital, it was determined her kidneys had not separated as they should in the womb. She was born with a horseshoe kidney and also has a problem with one ureter. After a week in the hospital, Verily came home on  an antibiotic which she will take to prevent further infections. She has an appointment at the end of July to determine what the next course of action will be for her kidneys. Please pray that surgery will not be necessary.

My parents and I took the two oldest kids to Missouri with us, and we spent time with my sister and brother and their families. We were able to do quite a few activities with kids and spend lots of time catching up. Hopefully in the near future we will all be able to get together again.

We returned to Iowa to drop off the kids, and I decided to stay for a month to help my sister.We have been able to spend time together, and the baby is doing much better, so other than weight check appointments, she has not needed to go back to the doctor. Please pray as I fly back to Maine next week.

Please pray for Maine as we are still dealing with the governor refusing to open the state, refusing to follow the Maine and US Constitutions, and now using police and threats to enforce her unConstitutional measures. I know this is happening in many states, and we need to pray for our country that God will give us a little longer to be a Christian and free influence on this world. I know that God allows good leaders and bad leaders for various reasons.I cannot help but believe the last presidency was a warning. The current presidency has been a time of testing to see if Christians and Americans will stand for what is right and if Christians will do all they can to get the Gospel out. I believe Jesus is coming very soon. There are things in play politically and financially around the world which are leading up to the one world government, one world currency, and the Mark of the Beast. Although I do not doubt that before the return of Christ, we will see more persecution of Christians even in countries that have been relatively free including the US,  those who are saved will not have to fear these things. Those who reject Christ before His return will not have opportunity to receive Him after He has removed the saved from this world. Those who have never heard or who are too young to understand what salvation is will have opportunity to receive Christ. We Christians should be working towards ways of reaching as many people for Christ as possible. We have internet which reaches even to some of the most remote parts of the world. There is no reason the people even in other countries cannot be reached. May we have a sense of urgency to reach the world while we still have freedom to do so.

Please pray for the missionaries around the world who are in countries which are still under lock down and which do not have the medical facilities, medicines... that we have. Many of the missionaries are providing food to their church members and communities.