Jan
21
2012
In the Pentagon
We finally made it to Washington D.C. to apply for Abigail’s Filipino passport! We arranged for our stay to last a couple of days just in case the paperwork took longer than we anticipated. Praise the Lord, we completed everything in 45 minutes and had an extra day to enjoy Washington! The Consulate was so accommodating and made the process easy! The most difficult part was getting Abbie’s picture taken. Our squirmy worm doesn’t like to sit still for long but we managed to take the photo. Now, Abigail’s paperwork is all set and she’s ready to leave for Cebu! Thanks for the prayers!
Jan
18
2012
We drove to Corry, PA to visit Bible Believers Baptist Church on a Wednesday. We met Pastor Karpenko’s children several years ago at summer camp and just recently saw them at a youth rally where we received an invitation to their church. The spirit of the congregation was wonderful! The people were so kind and added to the sermon with their interactive spirit. I preached longer than normal but no one was in a hurry to leave and they even stayed longer after the service to talk to us! After services we left Pennsylvania to go to Washington D.C. and the Philippine Consulate. It was a long drive but necessary since we were finally going to get Abigail ‘s Filipino passport!
Jan
12
2012
Here is our current prayer letter in PDF form:
Jan
1
2012
The holidays have come and gone and now we’re in a new year! Christmas was a wonderful time to relax with family and enjoy Abigail’s first Christmas. She couldn’t truly appreciate everything around her but she certainly liked helping Elizabeth wrap gifts. To me it looked like Abbie was eating more paper then anything and wrapping seemed to take Elizabeth a lot longer but it was also a lot more fun! We have enjoyed starting our own family traditions with this precious new baby. It is a joy to know that because of Christ we can raise our daughter knowing His truth and love as best we can. As we look to the new year I feel excited and a little nervous. Lord willing, we will be leaving for Cebu in March, 2012. We are preparing for this move and can’t wait to see what God is going to do in 2012! Happy New Year to you all and God bless!
Dec
30
2011
Right after Christmas I went with our church to Baptist Snow Camp! We’ve enjoyed the mild winter we’ve had so far but if you want to have snow camp, it’s always better when there’s actually snow. Some of our teens actually packed light clothing in anticipation of a warm two days. What a surprise when we drove into Sinclairville and found ourselves surrounded by a blanket of white. Despite the weather elsewhere the Lord has provided snow for the camp 16 out of 17 years! We brought 30 boys and 20 girls from our church and were excited to see what the Lord would do in their lives. The preaching was amazing! Brother Robbie Morrison was the main speaker and brought messages that everyone could benefit from. Another preacher directed his message to second generation Christians, teenagers who had grown up in church. Several got saved and many others made great decisions that will continue to impact lives. I’m glad that I was able to come this year! I look forward to going again in the future when we come back to visit from Cebu. God has used camp in my life over and over again and I feel truly blessed!
Dec
20
2011
In the midst of the Christmas season we have enjoyed the different church functions that go on during this time of year. My wife and I were able to join our church in Christmas caroling throughout a neighborhood. We went down a street and sang for the folks that were home and then invited them to come to our services. Overall the response was very favorable and one lady even cried after we sang. No one refused the tracts we handed out so who knows what the Holy Spirit will use to draw these souls to Christ! We are enjoying these beautiful days!
Dec
11
2011
It is amazing to think that we’re in mid December already! As we travel I am reminded that our time in the States is limited. In just a few short months we’ll be flying to Cebu! For now we are enjoying this holiday season and traveling to more churches in our local area. Our most recent meeting took us to the quiet countryside of Union City, Pennsylvania to visit Hatch Hollow Baptist Church. We were blessed by their care and kindness toward our family. The pastor personally went out of his way to make sure our needs were met while we were with them and we are very thankful for all they did on our behalf! Abigail has met a lot of wonderful examples in her short life and for that we are thankful!
Dec
7
2011
Our next meeting took us to Lockport, New York where we presented the ministry on a Wednesday night. We had met the people of Antioch Bible Baptist Church earlier this year at their Family Camp and looked forward to seeing them again. For many churches a Wednesday night service has ceased to be a prayer meeting and we miss the opportunity to pray as a church. This was not the case at the Antioch Bible Baptist Church. They even asked us about our needs and took the time to specifically pray for our family. After being bathed in such prayer I was excited to preach! Our time in Lockport was so refreshing and encouraging! The Lord blessed us again after the service when a young man came up to me and said, “Let me guess, your shoe size is a ten? I have a pair of brand new shoes that the Lord wants me to give you.” What a blessing! God has used His people over and over again to take care of our needs.
Nov
28
2011
Elizabeth and I celebrated our second anniversary this past November 28th. These two years have taken us on an amazing journey. I married my best friend and today I have no regrets! There is still so much to learn in marriage but it has been a wonderful experience to share. We took the day to ourselves and revisited some special places. One restaurant we went to, we hadn’t visited since we were engaged. It was nice to return and reminisce about times past. Now we can also be thankful for the new addition to our family! Abigail has been such a joy and we are so thankful for the Lord’s gift of family!
Nov
27
2011
Well we’re back from the snowy state of Alaska! What a wonderful month! We’re so thankful the Lord opened the opportunity for us to go! It wasn’t long after we returned to New York that I was asked to preach both Sunday services at Maranatha Baptist Church for Pastor Burdick. He and his family were out of state due to family matters and needed someone to preach that Sunday. The services went really well and we enjoyed meeting the people. Between services the Ladies of the church provided a meal that was another Thanksgiving feast! It was a wonderful day and we were happy to be in New York again.