fun on deputation

Fun Sights

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We were just able to present our work to a church in NYC. I know a lot of people, family members included, who would hate to even visit. The traffic, the smells, the rude people, are all things people don’t like about it.

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I gotta say, I loved it! When we left the church, we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us, but even though we were sleepy I couldn’t help but appreciate the sight of the skyline at night! It was truly awesome.

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The church we presented in was a classic old church complete with pipe organ and curved pews! It was gorgeous. The pastor and church have worked on it to make it nice instead of letting it get run down!

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Deputation isn’t the easiest thing, as my brother who went with us on this trip found out. There’s a lot of tedium that goes with traveling, but you also get to see some pretty cool sights, and meet a lot of pretty cool people. I can’t tell you how encouraging some of the pastors that we have met have been. The Devil would love you to think that Christians are down and out, but we still serve a great God who has a great plan for your life. Just let him direct you. Maybe he would put you in a city like New York, or maybe he would take you to Papua New Guinea where there is a population less than half that of NYC.

God will take care of you, and you will have a blast serving Him if you let Him lead!

Winter Camp 2015

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We were able to participate in our last Winter Camp before Papua New Guinea just a few weeks ago. Our church, Faith Bible Baptist Church, puts on a teen camp every year between Christmas and New Year Day. Its a great blessing and a way for young people to get closer to God after the holiday season. This year’s theme was “Who Will Go?”  This was a missions theme designed to get teens to think about the ministry.

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It was a great blessing to be able to help encourage teens to consider the mission field! Pastor Seth wanted us to show that being a missionary is attainable. Sometimes it seems impossible or insurmountable to get to a field (let alone stay there!), but we were able to testify about how God can lead you to the perfect place that he wants you to minister in.

 

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At the end of Winter Camp, Pastor Seth had asked pastors to come down and pray over us. He wanted to “Send us out” as missionaries who were influenced by Winter Camp as teenagers, ourselves. Not only did Pastors come down, but just about all of camp crowded down to the altar. What a blessing to be supported by our fellow Christians! The two pastors who led the prayer are pastors from churches that support us already! What a great encouragement for us to actually see some of the people behind us.

 

Winter Camp will always be good memories for us. This is another great one that we will cherish.

I think even Adrienne came away with some good experiences!

MMMMmmmmm Ice Cream at snow camp…..

 

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Going to Church is a Blessing!

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mbcOn Sunday, we visited the church that Justin got saved in. Just over 17 years ago (this month), Justin asked Jesus to save him from his sins. Going back to the PLACE where he called on Christ was very awesome, but the awesomeness didn’t end there. While we were there, we met some of the people who are still attending after 17 YEARS! Talk about being faithful to your church. Justin was able to talk with his old Sunday School teacher, Mrs Blackman. She and her husband actually gave Justin a gift to help fund his first missions trip to Ireland. This trip, if you’ve heard our presentation then you know this, is what God used to lead Justin to the missions field. What a blessing to be able to see people who affected our lives for the LORD still serving God in their church! We serve a Great God, and its our privilege to go forward, arm in arm, with great saints like these!

Mom’s Deputation

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Being shy, introverted, and not at all a “people person”, i was really dreading deputation. Meeting and talking to new people, being in unfamiliar churches, getting up in front of people to do music or speak… not my ideal day.

But to my surprise, after almost two years of “part time” deputation, i’ve actually enjoyed it! I’ve always loved the packing and planning that goes along with a trip. I enjoy spending time in the car with my husband. I’m so thankful to say we’ve experienced none of the missionary “horror stories”. We’ve always had nice places to stay, and have been VERY well fed. We’ve sung and played our songs so many times, i don’t really need the music anymore (i still use it, just so i have something to look at 🙂 ). Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. Conversations aren’t so difficult after all :). We have also enjoyed seeing local attractions and landmarks as we travel.

As for Adrienne, she is a little social butterfly and loves meeting new people. Twice recently, she’s walked up to children at a new church with a big smile, a “Hi!” and arms open wide for a hug. She’s great in the car, and a good sleeper – even in new places. She’s not very good at being quiet in church, but we can work on that. 🙂  As soon as there’s a pause or a quiet moment, she fills it with with her little words… usually “what’s that?” or “oooooh!”

Overall, we’re thankful for the good experiences we’ve had, and all the wonderful churches we have been able to visit and minister to. Looking forward to see what in the next few months of deputation.

Sunday Meeting

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This past Sunday, we were able to visit a church about an hour and a half from our home church. This meeting proved to be a little more special for us!

First, while I was setting up our display, I noticed a couple of the kids that rode into church in the church van were sitting and watching us. Then I recognized Mikel, he was a bus kid on the route that I used to work on in our home church. I said “hi” to him and to Jaques, his brother. It was a great way to start a meeting! It seems like the LORD has put several of my old bus kids back in our path over the last month! I can’t tell you how great it is to know that some kids that we invested time and care into, are in a great church that will love them and take care of them!

Second, the church was a blessing! The people were all friendly and curious towards us. We felt welcome for sure!

Last, (can you tell I preach? Maybe I should have alliterated my post!) the Pastor and his family were great! Lunch with Pastor and his kids was fun and tasty! Eating very spicy fajitas with a brother in the LORD will draw you close together. There is fellowship in suffering. 🙂 I was able to share my heart with him, and he with me. It’s such a blessing when you can make a FRIEND on the road. He said some very nice things about us in front of his church, and we were humbled to have been a blessing on Sunday. It’s so good to be used of God, and to also be ministered to. But then again, isn’t that the whole point of going to church and fellowshipping with other believers?

Erie County Fair 2015

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Our church had its booth set up for soul winning, as they do every year. Faith Bible sent members, and Amazing Grace Missionaries out to the fair every day for 14 days! There were a couple of surprises this year! The preview day got moved up, and the opening time every day was moved to 9am instead of 10am. Our people had to work extra to cover the new gaps. There was a total of 217 people who made a profession of faith, and there were countless smileys (the tract we use for the fair) and other tracts given out to passers by! Kayleigh and I were blessed to be able to participate with our church this year. On Sunday afternoon, in between services, I was able to council two teen guys in the booth, and go through the plan of salvation with them! Kayleigh and I are praying that the seeds sown by the witness of our church at the Erie County Fair would be fruitful, and that people would read the literature that was given to them.

While we were handing out tracts, a kid I used to have on my bus came up and said, “Hi.”  I couldn’t believe it! I hadn’t seen him in about 4 Years!!! It was so cool to see him and be able to talk to him for a few minutes. It totally made my day!

What a wonderful God we serve, and what a wonderful privilege and responsibility we have to tell others about what He did in our lives!

One of those days…

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Do you ever have “One of those days”?

This past Sunday, we did. Kayleigh and I were in Toronto, Canada, at a meeting, and we were staying with the Pastor and his wife. In the morning, we were trying to “help” get breakfast ready. To help out, Kayleigh said that she could fry the bacon. The pastor’s wife said “Sure, that would be great!”, and we were more than happy to help out. Well, about 5 min later, the whole downstairs of the house was filled with smoke! We had to turn off the A/C and open up the windows! My wife cooks great bacon all the time, but it was just “one of those days”. We were so embarrassed! We were trying to be a blessing, but it went awry. The pastor’s wife came over and just said, “Why don’t you two just set the table?”,  and she finished up cooking.

When it came time to leave, I got verbal directions to the church from the pastor, and he left to pick up some church members. I thought, “I don’t need the GPS, its only two turns.” Well, because we were in a new place, and because I was trying to pay attention to streets, I missed a stop sign. I noticed it right as we were about to enter the intersection! Luckily it was a side street with no traffic, and I did actually stop before we went through, but I was embarrassed! Twice now, we had made novice errors on a Sunday before church, no less!

It was a good reminder that we are still only human, and still just sinners saved by grace! I guess everyone has “One of those days” now and then. 🙂

Thank you to all who pray for us as we travel, who knows what would happen if you ever stopped!