Chris & Elizabeth

We traveled to Ohio to be a part of another joint missions conference.  First, we went to the beautiful countryside of Fallsburg, Ohio where we met the Fallsburg Baptist Church.  This is where my wife lived for the first ten years of her life as her father pastored.  It was during her time in Fallsburg that she accepted the Lord as her savior and started to pray about missions!  It was exciting for her to go back and see this special place.  Pastor Dahlke has been faithfully pastoring there now for many years and has seen many wonderful changes take place at the church.  The second church we visited was the Utica Baptist Temple in Utica, Ohio.  Pastor Boubary has pastored the church there for twenty-eight years and has continued to be a light in his community.  It was a blessing to see these two pastors laboring in their towns for such a significant amount of time.  We may never physically see all the results of their work but the Lord will bless those who faithally serve Him. 

We were able to join Pastor Madonna and Covenant Baptist Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan for one night of their missions conference.  It was a blessing to meet another church with a heart for missions!  Though we had never met the church before, many of them came to us already knowing our names and ministry. They kept referring to our prayer letters and were excited about our coming baby!  We thoroughly enjoyed the short time we were able to spend with them!  This dear church also provided a “missionary bag” full of things we will need as we travel down the road.  I know I have said it again and again but it is so true, God has greatly blessed us in our travels! And this is not because we are special.  The Lord will bless those who are willing to follow His plan.  Hard times will come, we haven’t been promised a life free of pain but also realize that God will bless His children.

Our next meeting took us to Newark, Ohio where we visited Pastor Biggs and Grace Baptist Church.  My wife had been to this church several times as a child visiting her grandmother.  At one point this was the church where Elizabeth’s parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all came to worship the Lord.  It was a special time for us to go back with our grandma and see the church family. I was given the opportunity to preach both services and my wife played her violin.

For the first time ever Elizabeth and I were part of a joint missions conference.  For several years now, First Baptist Church of West Seneca, NY and Hedstrom Baptist Church of Cheektowaga, NY have come together and shared their missions conference time.  During the day we were able to visit the West Seneca Christian school and talk to several elementary classes about the Philippines.  It was fun to meet the kids and see their interest in our field. Perhaps the Lord would use that time to plant a seed in their hearts and someday call them to be missionaries.