As Christians, it’s always a tremendous blessing to see the Lord work in our lives and in the ministry around us. Sometimes we get discouraged when we don’t see the results of our labor turn out quite the way we wanted. But then there are times when you weren’t expecting it, that God moves and does something amazing. I think that’s one of the ways the Lord reminds us that He’s in control. He gets the glory! Because you know that it definitely wasn’t your doing! We had one of those moments this week. Many of you will remember that we just started seeing wonderful results from our back yard bible school in Nasipit. So far we’ve had twenty-five to thirty children come to listen to our Bible stories! That has been a major blessing in itself but we’ve still seen only a few come to church with us on Sunday. This past weekend happened to be a fiesta for our little town so I wasn’t expecting anything different. In fact my expectations were so low that I wouldn’t have been surprised if even our regulars didn’t come to church. Visitation that Saturday went well, we actually had several great conversations and received several promises. On Sunday I went to pick up our route and was shocked to find several visitors waiting for me! When we got to church I found that a family had even come on their own! This week our numbers doubled and the seeds of the Gospel were planted! What an exciting Sunday! Praise the Lord for this special blessing! Pray, pray, pray that these families will respond to what they have heard and be saved!
Teaching the Children in Nasipit
A couple months have passed since we chose our target area in Cebu. Nasipit is a town that appears small at first but once you start down the dirt road you quickly find yourself surrounded by homes and small stores. The first time we went soul winning, we had a group of fifteen children follow us as we witnessed and passed out tracts. The need is definitely great as we discovered almost everyone is devout Catholic. Many are not happy about our presence in town but some are curious and want to hear more. Of those people only a handful have come to church but praise the Lord some have been saved! Every Saturday we have returned to Nasipit, hoping that we’ll meet someone searching for the truth. As we have reached out to the community we have noticed the growing requests for a backyard bible school. As a result we changed our routine, started to bring our songs and Bible stories, and invited all the kids to meet under a tree. This time the response was great! We had twenty-five kids show up! Even the parents watched from their homes and listened as we presented the Gospel. Our prayer is that through this backyard bible school, families will get to know us and become more willing to talk about Christ. Please keep these people in your prayers!
Expanding the Baran Home by Two Feet
Yes, you read that right. The Baran family is about to expand by two more tiny feet! It seems we had one more birthday present for Abbie! After all the festivities and fun we placed one last gift in her little hands. Excited, she shredded the paper…and chewed on the paper until she finally saw the pink shirt. Imprinted on the shirt was a cute monkey and a little announcement…”This little monkey is now a big sister!!”. Right now she is completely oblivious but in about seven months she will get to meet her new little brother or sister. The due date is January 19th and Elizabeth and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to work on our house and in the ministries at church. Elizabeth has been experiencing morning sickness and isn’t always up to task but overall we are still making progress. We’re looking forward to this coming bundle and count ourselves very blessed! “Every good and perfect gift is from above…” James 1:17
Abbie’s 1st Birthday!
“Lo, children are an heritage 
of the Lord…” Ps. 127:3 What a blessing to be the parents of a precious child! It has been a joy for us to watch Abigail grow from a tiny infant to a very active baby. These days she keeps us very busy as she explores her expanding world. It ‘s amazing to think just how quickly this past year went by. Lititle Abbie now walks and practically runs. It’s also fun to hear her talk, grunt, and coo. Yes, this year has been a year of many firsts for Abigail and for us. There have been times when being parents has been challenging…especially when Abbie first discovered she could voice her own opinion. :) However, we have also enjoyed the rewards and pray the Lord gives us wisdom as we raise and train our baby girl. We thank the Lord for this wonderful gift. It’s only been a year but we wouldn’t know what to do without our little girl now. Abigail truly has been a blessing!