Dear Pastor, Churches, and Friends,                            July 2024 


I’m writing this letter to you after the passing of Hurricane Beryl. The smaller islands here have been hit very hard. As for my family, we are all safe and healthy. We were without power for 6 days, but God is good. We celebrated Katie's 11th birthday by generator light with some mostly melted ice cream, cake, and several of her friends. She had a blast. We still don't have internet, but phone data works from time to time.


During the storm, we sheltered at the church with a few of our members until the storm passed. Once it let up, we went out to check on everyone and inspected Pastor Mitchell's church and home, our boat, and the house we rent. Gospel Light suffered the most, with about 12 pieces of the roof being ripped off. We secured it until it can be replaced, but will need to rebuild part of the wood structure first. One lady in our church lost half her roof, but some folks were able to temporarily fix it. Another lady lost some of her roof as well, and we were able to put it back on but need to go back and put screws in to secure it better. We did lose a window in the van when something hit it, so hopefully we can get that fixed soon. It’s been funny driving around and folks waving, saying “HEY PASTA”… and then seeing the window as I pass “OOO NOOO PASTA YA WINDOW.”


We’ve  stayed busy working on generators, cutting trees, working on solar equipment, providing food, and other necessities for those in need. We’ve given out Bibles to the shelter here in Bequia. Our churches have cooked and provided hot meals for them. One of our tent meeting generators has been placed at the clinic and police station in Paget Farm until power can be fully restored. Our small Honda generator we have moved from place to place to help recharge phones and devices so folks can reach family and friends. It’s been used to run water pumps, freezers and more. It’s definitely getting worked hard.


It will take some time here in Bequia to get back to normal, but Bequia is fairly well connected. My burden and heart are for the people in Union, Mayreau, and Canouan. They have been completely devastated with over 90% of the homes damaged, roofs taken off, or completely destroyed. That’s about 5000+ people who have been affected. We want to try and help as much as we can. What that will look like at this point, I’m not sure. I was able to talk with some ladies from Union that made it through the storm and gave them a Bible and some tracts. Pastor Mitchell has a gentleman in the States that is filling a container with relief supplies and building supplies to come down. If someone wanted to help add to the container load, reach out and I will give you Brother Billy's number. If you wanted to ship something yourself, www.caribshipatl.com is a company that we use often.


We are planning to get Bibles and hot meals to some of the shelters St. Vincent this week. 
If you would like to sponsor some meals for the shelters, please let me know, and any funds 
can be sent through MWBM or directly to us through PayPal. (this would be the fastest way) 


Immediate needs:
    •    1000 Bibles, coloring books, crayons, coloring pencils for people in shelters.
    •    Canned goods, rice, water, and hygiene items.  
    •    Tarps, crow bars, hammers, roofings screws, nails, saws and building supplies.  
    •    Dewalt 20v battery and reciprocating saw would be helpful. (We have drills) 
    •    Stihl chainsaw: this can be purchased here for about $900 (yes, they are expensive here) We will use this for clean up now and in the future.

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Friends,


Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for our family as we serve here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Your prayers have been greatly needed and appreciated. These past two months have been filled with many challenges and blessings. We are thankful that God provided us with a new van just in time. Within two hours of receiving the new van, we had it loaded with sound equipment, chairs, and other essentials, heading to preach in a village that night. Thank you for each person that gave to this need.


We recently finished a 5-day tent meeting here in Bequia, with an attendance of around 60-80 people each night. Pastors Chris Hewett and Philip Kuykendall brought a group to assist us, and we are grateful for their support. One lady, whom we have been praying for and talking with for several years, left under conviction and came back the next day to tell us she repented and believed the Gospel at home. Another lady informed me that although she had been trusting in her baptism, she has now repented and believed the Gospel. A total of 5 people made professions during the week, some from Bequia and some from other places.
With school out for the Easter holiday, we decided to hold a 4-day VBS under the tent. We had about 80 kids in attendance each day, and a total of 104 kids for the week. Pastor Mitchell joined us to assist with songs and games, and the team worked on lessons, crafts, and activities. It was a wonderful week. On Thursday night after the meeting, we took down the tent, and on Friday, the team loaded the 20x20 tents on the ferry, heading to Richland Park where we held two nights of meetings. We had a decent turnout, distributed tracts, and engaged with many different people. Several people asked if we were starting a church in the area, which we would love to do one day, so help us pray concerning that.


We’ve now preached in three more villages: Bridgetown, Choppins, and Richland Park. The two nights in Bridgetown were exciting, with a good turnout for the preaching. One night, there were at least 30 people listening. Pastor Mitchell preached a powerful message on “come unto me,” and a lady got up, came across the road, and stood right next to him wanting to be saved. The next night, the lady who allowed us to use the space in front of her shop to preach came and wanted to be saved. So far, Pastor Wilson, Pastor Mitchell, and myself have together preached 21 times in 6 different areas.


We still have over 70+ villages where we need to preach, and we are in need of assistance. Many have inquired about the costs associated with the Every Village Project and how they can help. The average cost of two nights of meetings has been about $300-$500, covering our fuel, ferry, and accommodation. A one-time gift or monthly support can be sent to Macedonia World Baptist Missions, marked "Every Village Project" or David Ballinger, sub-account #10. This would ensure that all funds are used for this project over the next two years. Additionally, if your church or a small team would like to come and assist with a specific area, we could certainly use your help. As a team, we would canvas a village, inviting folks and engaging with them during the day, and hold several nightly meetings. We are also planning to have interns come and work with us for longer periods of time, assisting with the Every Village Project and working alongside several pastors here. Please make this a matter of prayer.


Regarding Bible Baptist Church, shortly after our last letter, I resumed all responsibilities for the church as plans to transition the work to a national had to be abandoned. Despite some difficulties, God has continued to bless us. We have seen a steady increase in visitors and new faces. Please continue to pray for us as we seek to rebuild the church spiritually, and pray about the need for land to build a church building. Thank you once again for your prayers and support.

Thank you to each and every one of you who has had a hand in the ministry here in the islands. The last year of furlough was a great time, and I am thankful that we were able to spend time visiting and catching up with many of our supporters. We arrived back on the field on December 6th; two days of travel, 14 bags, a bass, and a dobro (Thank you, Ellis Family!) all arrived with no trouble. Our crates with the new tent meeting supplies arrived a few weeks later. God blessed the process, and we were able to get everything cleared from customs and transported from the main island to Bequia for less than $600. This should have cost several thousand, but God is good. The family is doing well with the transition. Getting acclimated to the heat and lack of AC is always 'fun,' but there have been several weeks of strong winds that have kept the nights fairly cool.


Bible Baptist Church: The church, in our absence, has continued, but not grown like we had hoped it would. We are taking steps to revamp the work. Myself and Pastor Osie have been teaching for the last month on discipleship. We are also beginning to go back through the community talking with folks about the Gospel. Some days this is going house to house; others days it's just simply walking down the street and meeting with people. We are making plans to hold some evangelistic street meetings in our area and other places around Bequia. 


Every Village Project: This project has already started and will continue over the coming year. It's our goal to see that the Gospel is preached in every village in St. Vincent and the Grenadines with the help of other pastors and churches here. There are over 100 villages, and the majority of them are without a Gospel witness. We've started by working with Pastor Wilson Joseph in the area of Stubbs. The first week we preached in upper Stubbs (a place the locals call Nineveh); a week later, we each preached two nights in lower Stubbs. We brought over our sound system and generator but were not able to carry the tent yet. Our next meeting will be in an area called Bridgetown. There is a church in this area that was started and is pastored by Pastor Harry who has planted multiple churches here. Even though his health is declining and he has lost physical sight, he still has his eyes on the harvest and we want to assist as much as we can. Other villages to pray for are Diamond, Biabou, Rickland park, and Greigg. 


Boat Ministry: The boat ministry will continue as we get settled back in. We have some annual maintenance that we must complete on the boat before we start back using it to travel between islands. I do ask that you help us pray; we are prayerfully considering upgrading to a larger 4 cabin boat that we can live on. Ours is great for travel and short overnight stays, but considering the need to travel between islands we believe this would aid us in ministering   between islands, church planting, and evangelistic meetings.


Vehicle: We mentioned in our last letter about the need for a larger vehicle. We’ve found a van that will work well, and have put a down payment on it to secure it. Please help us pray for the remaining $17,000 needed to purchased the van by the end of February.


Again, I want to thank each of you that prays for us and supports the ministry here. Your sacrifice does not go unnoticed, and we are thankful for what God has done and what he will do here in the Caribbean.

A servant of Jesus Christ, 

David Ballinger & Family 

Dear pastors, churches, and friends,


The past year of furlough has been one of the busiest we've ever experienced. We have visited well over 100 churches, traveled over 50,000 miles, and God has been faithful. During this time, we've seen several people saved, called to preach, and surrender to missions. Additionally, we have picked up some much-needed support (95%) and provided updates to a majority of our supporting churches. We are excited to return to the islands and continue preaching the Gospel for the coming years.


In September, we worked alongside 10 churches in the Indianapolis area distributing over 12,000 pieces of Gospel literature and invitations during the three-week Gospel tent meeting. In the first week, we assisted with the Who Will Go School of Evangelism guiding 40 students through classes on sharing testimonies, articulating the Gospel, dealing with cults, and discipleship. Following the classes, we took the students out to practice what they had learned. One morning, as I was able to share the Gospel with a young man,  He looked at me bewildered and said he had never heard that before and didn't really know how to process everything I just shared with him. A few weeks later, I was flying back from preaching at a Missions Sunday in California and was able to share my testimony and the Gospel with the lady seated next to me. This was the first time she had ever heard the Gospel. Both of these individuals have lived in the USA their whole lives. Both are in areas with churches. Neither had heard the Gospel before. Sadly, they haven't been saved yet, but I wasn't saved the first time I heard the Gospel either. Please pray for these two souls that God would allow them to reach back out to me or that God would send another witness and they would be saved.


Over a year ago the Lord laid it on our hearts to work with the other pastors to preach the Gospel in every village in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We began praying about smaller tents and God provided! We also prayed about the need for sound equipment for the tents  and God provided! The last major thing we need is a truck. We have been looking at a double cab truck that will seat 6 inside, and with a canopy and benches built on the back it will hold another 6+ people. This truck will enable us to move the tent and teams around when needed and be strong enough to navigate the mountain roads. The cost will be about $25,000 with all fees and taxes. We know this is a lot, but the van we have used for the last 8 years is no longer able to work for what we need. Please help us pray about this great need so we can begin the Every Village Project at the first of the year. We already have several local churches, groups from the USA, and other island countries offering to come and help. We desire to see souls saved and churches planted as a result of this effort.


In closing, I ask that you please keep my family in prayer as we fly out December 5th and transition back to the field. These days can be hard on the kids leaving family and friends and the excitement of the road to settle back into a routine. Thankfully, we have  been able to ship our belongings, the kids Christmas presents, tents, chairs, sound systems, and several things donated to the churches. They should arrive about the same time as we do. Please pray that we can clear things easily and without much expense. There is no doubt in my mind that we are facing some of the most exciting days ahead. I can't wait to see what the Lord will do in the islands!


A servant,
David Ballinger & Family

Dear pastors, churches, and friends, Thank you! Thank you for your support of our family and the ministry. July marked 22 years since I repented and believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and 19 years of preaching. Still, I just want to be as Paul said in Romans 1:1 “A servant of Jesus Christ.” A servant is one that will go where ever and do whatever the Master bids. 


This furlough has been different than I had expected in that. 
Since our last letter, we assisted in the “Who Will Go?” missions camp. We saw 4 saved, 18 surrender to missions, and 5 surrender to God in general. This is a blessing because we prayed that we could see 12 young people surrender to missions on this furlough and God has exceeded that already. We left the first camp and preached a few services at Antioch Baptist Church youth camp, then on to a missions retreat that was a great help and blessing to our family. 


At the end of June, my wife and I flew out with 13 others from “Who Will Go?” to Papua New Guinea. It seemed the devil fought every step of the way, but this was an amazing trip! We spent the mornings preaching in the open markets and afternoons helping to teach discipleship and evangelism to churches. The Lord was using the churches to teach us as well. The burden of the people was astounding and the receptiveness of the locals was encouraging. In the morning market outreach, there were so many that came trusting their works and left trusting in Christ alone for their salvation. These were not mere professions but people that truly repented of their false religion and began to trust Christ. One morning after dealing with a Seventh-Day Adventist lady, while preaching to over 50 people standing there, a young couple came to us after and wanted to be saved! This was thrilling! Nearly every morning was blessed with testimonies like that. In the evenings we marched into a different village with a large crowd from the churches. We would hand out tracts and invite folks to the service in that village. Every night over 500 people were sitting on the ground or standing around hearing the Gospel preached and many, many people were saved. It was truly eye-opening and encouraged me to get back to the Islands and do more for our Lord. 


When we got back, we wasted no time and were able to preach and do some administrative work for another church camp. After that, we headed to a Vacation Bible School. The theme was “Sail Away to Bequia!” We had a blast doing skits, preaching, and talking about the island ministry. During those three nights, we dealt with salvation, sanctification, and service. We were thankful to see another soul saved. 


We have slowed down for a week but will be hitting the road soon helping over 10 churches with a tent meeting, door knocking, and the first “Who Will Go? School of Evangelism” in Indianapolis. (visit www.whowillgo.org for more information on this)  


Our furlough is coming to a close and we are so thankful for a supporting church that has purchased our tickets home! We will fly out on December 5th. I have a few dates open, so if you would still like us to come by please give us a call. 


I do want to leave a few prayer requests with you. When we arrive back on the field we want to begin the Every Village Project. To do this we will need a larger vehicle. The type of van that we need will cost around $15-$20K. It will hold the tent, chairs, and about 10 people. We still have our smaller van but would like to leave it in Bequia for the other churches to use.


The boat will need some annual maintenance and general repairs done when we arrive. New bottom paint, engine service, and some electrical updates. We hope to be able to get all the materials to ship with the two tents and church supplies that have been donated. We are estimating the shipping cost will be around $5,000. We know the Lord can meet these needs and look forward to watching Him move. Thank you again for all that you have done and please continue to pray for us as we hope to better serve the Lord.
​

Dear pastors, churches, and praying friends, 


Happy New Year! I know this letter is late getting to you, we have really had a busy but productive few months. As you know we arrived back in the USA late November, we really hit the ground running reporting to our supporting churches and even presenting at a few new churches. We have seen several folks saved and many opportunities to share the Gospel with people along the way. God has been gracious in our travels keeping us safe despite some car troubles right from the beginning. Please keep us in prayer as we have a pretty full schedule over the next few months taking us as far north as Maryland and as far west as New Mexico. We are praying for new supporting churches and looking froward to fellowshipping with those that have faithfully supported us through the years. If we have not been by and you would like us to come please feel free to reach out to us with possible dates. 


The work in Bequia continues by God’s grace and the help of Brother Osie. He has done a wonderful job preaching and teaching. He loves his people and has a burden to see the people saved and follow the Lord in their daily lives. Please keep him and his family in your prayers, jobs are not always easy to find, especially a job that will allow him off for church. He is praying about starting a small business to allow himself to better support his family and serve in the community. It is our desire to see the work grow under Brother Osie and we trust the Lord that it will. The church has worked together recently to get moved back down stairs and have it decorated and looking really nice. The new fans will help keep things a little cooler, we eventually hope to put in some AC and a small sound system. 


Pastor Mitchell and the folks at Gospel Light Baptist Church have finally gotten their block machine and are planning to make their own blocks to build their new church building as the old wooden structure is beginning to fail. They are planning to make about 10,000 blocks at a cost of $1 per block. Please pray with us as they step out by faith to accomplish this great task. And if you would like to give to this project please let us know. 


Pastor Wilson and the folks at Bethany Baptist in Stubbs, St. Vincent are doing well. Pastor Wilson will be using some of our tent equipment to go out and do some street preaching there around his community. He has also offered to come over and preach in Bequia once a month focusing on evangelism. Brother Wilson has asked us to pray for him as he is trying to start a printing and embroidery business to better support his family and take care of the work of the Lord. 


On a personal note, I have been invited to go to Papua New Guinea in June. This is a tremendous opportunity for us. We will be traveling with a group of young people and folks that are interested in world missions. We will be meeting with several missionaries and national pastors that are actively working to evangelize their field. We believe that this will help us and others. The cost will be $4000, the Lord has already provided $950 for the trip. 


    In Christ Missionary David Ballinger

Dear pastors, churches, and friends, 


“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few” Matthew 9:37 The last few months I’ve been reminded over and over again of the need for laborers in the ministry. Each week there are more opportunities to serve here than we can accomplish alone. I’m thankful for each of you as you have prayed for us and supported our family as we labor for the Lord here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 


Gospel Tent Ministry: Our tent meeting in Bequia this year was definitely a struggle. We got a call on Monday of our meeting that we had to take the tent down. After speaking with several lawyers and government officials they informed us we had done nothing wrong and could continue the meeting. On Sunday morning of our second week, about 5 AM, an unexpected wind storm came through and nearly tore the tent down. Thankfully, the damage to the tent was minor and we could continue the meeting. With the help of local pastors and Brother Duane Moore, the Gospel was preached each night. A special service was held on Saturday for the local churches and we had 7 pastors and preachers and other laymen there. Despite all the troubles, two young men were  saved, and a young lady was saved on the Friday after the meeting!  After our meeting, we delivered the tent to a national pastor on St. Vincent who held a special service on their new property and a 3-day crusade. This is the 9th Gospel tent-meeting we have helped with here and look forward to more in the future.


September 2nd, we were able to get all the chairs for three churches here. Each of the churches gave to help with the cost, shipping, and movement of the chairs. They are all excited about having more comfortable seating and the church looks so much better! On behalf of Bible Baptist Church, Bethany Baptist Church, and Gospel Light Baptist Church, Thank you for your help!!!!! 
We were also able to help install the new sound system at Bethany Baptist Church in Stubbs. Along with helping Grace Baptist Church with an older sound system that was given to us on deputation, we then set up our tent meeting system at Gospel Light Baptist Church temporarily until we can get them a new one. There are several needs for sound systems and good quality keyboards here. If anyone wants to help with those needs please get in touch with us. 


Church in Fancy: Pastor Mitchell, Primus, Malachi and myself were able to make the trip to Fancy, the last village on St. Vincent, (for us, it was a 6:30 AM ferry that takes 1 hour, then a beautiful  2 hour drive along the coast) to begin working on their church building and parsonage. We spent a full day and a half working. We laid tile on the church porch, framed up the kitchen cupboards, pressure washed the buildings, and fixed a list of little projects. We plan to go up again to start working to remodel the bathrooms, tile a bedroom, and much more. Our goal is to have the house ready for a family to come in to pastor the church. The members have been holding the ropes for several years praying for a pastor. The community is small but the need for a pastor to lead the flock is great. If you know of someone praying about missions please get in touch with us. There is an opportunity to come temporarily and fill in for the church. All you need is a passport to come in for 3-6 months. The people are friendly and speak English. 


Furlough: To be honest, I do not want to leave. There is so much that needs to be done here. But we are praying that during our furlough the Lord can help our family and prepare us for the next 4+ years of ministry here. We will fly back to the US on November 16th. We already have some meetings booked, but we will be calling over the next few months to get everything booked. Please help us pray for a good, used large SUV to drive when we are back. Thank you again for all that each of you have done to help the churches here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Rainy season is upon us here in the islands and things are finally starting to turn green again. The kids and I have once again started a small garden and are looking forward to enjoying some more fresh fruits and vegetables this year. With the rain comes good things but also problems. The main one is it hinders church attendance, because everyone has to walk to church and the paths become very muddy and slippery. Many will come despite the rain and we will do our part by being faithful. About about a month ago, we had a young family that started coming and asked 
us to dedicate their son. We were glad to do this and had 9 first time visitors. We were 
able to give the gospel to all of them. The young couple has been faithful for many of the services and we are praying for their salvation and growth.