Thank you for all your faithful support of the ministry. It is a privilege to serve the Lord! Since our last letter we have been very busy. We have closed up the house we were staying in, packed and stored all of our belongings, and returned to the USA for a short furlough. The ministry in Bequia continues through the help of Bro. Timothy Mitchall from Trinidad, the pastor of Gospel Light Baptist Church in Bequia. I ask that you please lift him up in your payers as he labors between our church, Bible Baptist Church, and his church.
Our return to the states is not something that I wanted to do, but I know that it is God’s timing. We have already traveled over 6,000 miles and presented in 16 churches. My wife and I are expecting our 4th child, a new baby girl, in the end of July, and we praise the Lord for this! There are three more important areas that I would like you to help us pray about in the coming months.
The first area is our Support. The timing of our return to the field rests upon this need being fulfilled. We returned from the field with only 70% of our support. We have had 5 churches promise support since we have been back and we are so thankful for this. Will you help us pray for laborers that will partner with us in the monthly support that we need to continue the ministry in Bequia and the other islands in the Grenadines? If you could help us by either partnering with us or recommending us to another pastor in your area it would help us get our support level raised and open doors for more opportunities in the ministry.
Second is our desire for the Boat Ministry. After 8 years of prayer and seeking advice from our pastor, missions directors, and many other men, we know that God has opened a door of opportunity for us to begin reaching the two islands to the south of us, Canouan (population 2,000) and Union (population 2,500.) The Lord has already supplied the means for us to hold a 2-week tent meeting on each of these islands upon our return. The greatest need will be the ability to continue weekly Bible studies on each island with the goal of planting a biblically sound church. After much prayer we believe the best and most efficient way of reaching these islands over the next few years would be to purchase a boat for the ministry. The boat will be used to travel as a family safely to each island and stay on when we are away from home. The type of boat that we are considering will be about $70,000 to $90,000. We understand the cost is high, but the cost of not reaching them at all is far greater! Without a boat the cost would be roughly $1,000 a week by ferry, and would be much more stressful on the family, as we would be gone 4 days a week with only a limited time on each island for ministry.
Thirdly, will you please help us pray for the building projects. Our goal is to build a church on each of the three islands. The location that we are using right now in Bequia is not for sale, but there is a house and lot next to us that is for sale. The owner wants us to buy it, but is asking more than it is worth. Will you help us pray for this need in Bequia? Purchasing the land would not only give us a permanent place to meet, but we would also be able to gain a permanent residence visa. This would save us over $2,000 a year in visa expenses, and much time and headache. Once again, thank you for all that you have done on out behalf and we look forward to what all God has in store for the coming days.
***Please prayerfully consider a one time offering towards the need of a boat. Any donations for the boat must be marked for “Vehicle.”