Dear pastors, churches, and friends
Christmas is always different here in the Caribbean. It just never “feels” like Christmas. Maybe it’s the consistent warm temperature and green trees following the hurricane season. Despite all that we make the best of it. Each year the different villages takes a section along the road and decorate with lights and nativity scenes, and as Christmas gets closer the lights come on and it makes it feel a little more like Christmas. The church here is doing well. We continue to hold regular weekly services with Bible reading, learning the books of the Bible, and preaching from a chapter in the book of John. With the Christmas season we like to take the month and preach more about the birth of CHRIST and why He came. We have a new family that started coming back in July. The husband has a good testimony of salvation and has been called to preach. He has preached for us 3 times and did a tremendous job. He is a great friend and co-laborer with us here in the ministry. In September, I began teaching a class through the four Gospels at the Falls International Bible Institute. The classes are used here in Bequia, Sioux falls, SD, and Ghana, South Africa. Two from our church are taking the classes each week, and several others are just watching the classes but not for the grade. Please keep us in prayer as we will continue next semester through the book of Acts and, Lord willing, pick up a few more students here in Bequia. The Boat Ministry: The first of November we were contacted by an owner of a 2013 power catamaran. He offered the boat to only us for $150K even though the boat is valued well over that. We began praying and asking others to help us pray. The owner got back to us and lowered the price to just $130K because of the ministry that we would be using it for. At the time we only had $75K. Within two weeks God sent in over half of the funds needed. Our plan was to meet the first week of December, but because of Covid quarantine restrictions we agreed it would be best to meet first of January. So we have just a few more weeks to raise the remaining $25,000 for the boat. After the last two weeks, I have no doubt that God will continue to send in the funds through his people. Our website (www.wimissios.com) has a video about the boat and a PayPal link to donate directly through our mission board. In January, we will fly up and buy the boat get all the paper work in order and bring the boat 400 miles down the Caribbean islands here to Bequia. This will cost us about $500-$1000 and take 2-4 days depending on the sea conditions and weather. We will then have to quarantine for 9-16 days. Please keep us in prayer for safety as we bring the boat down and my family that will remain here in Bequia as I go up to get boat. Dear pastors, churches, and friends
I want to say thank you for your faithfulness. Over the last few months there has been much uncertainty in the world, but because of your faithfulness we have been able to continue in the ministry here in the islands. In February we held our 4th Annual Gospel Tent Meeting in Paget Farm. We were blessed to have a good group from the states to come and assist in the meeting. Brother Chris Hewett and his family were with us the whole two weeks. Brother Kevin Kemp (worthy of support) came and helped us with all our audio and video during the meeting allowing me to focus on the moderating of the Service. Brother Trent Aldridge came again and worked hard helping with all the daily set up and watching the tent at different times. The Blake family and Arron Giddens came from Faith Baptist Church and did an amazing job working with the children, helping with the music each night, and many other things. Because of the faithfulness of each of you we were able to see three people get born again. Bible Baptist Church: For several weeks we were not able to have services. During this time we focused on teaching some church doctrines through videos and whatsapp. We also took time to work on the church floor stripping it down to bare concrete and putting some epoxy down on the floor. We are now back to having our regular services. We’ve had 3 first time visitors and two that have come for multiple services. We are talking with several about Baptism, helping them to understand the need and reason for it. Most here have been led to believe that Baptism saves you and that when you are baptized into a church you cannot leave it and be baptized into another church. We have taught and will continue to teach the truth and try to help others in this matter. Will you help us pray for those that are in need of baptism. Our hope is to have a baptismal service the end of June or July. Please continue to pray for the church building situation. We have talked with the owner about buying the house and land, or just a portion of the land by the road, that we would be able to build a permanent location for the church. She is working on getting all the paper work in her name and has stated that she will think about it and talk with her family. Gospel Boat Ministry: The need for the boat ministry is still great. There was recently a fire on the island of Union that claimed the lives of 3 people. The Bible tells us that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” I did not know these people and to the best of my knowledge I have not had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them. The sad reality is that they were much like the people here in Bequia, holding onto religion and baptism for salvation, but we know that this will not save. Please help us pray about the need for a boat to travel and minister each week on these islands. Also help us pray that once inter island transportation gets back to normal that we could begin to go down and start ministering on these islands and continue making plans to hold gospel tent meetings ,Lord willing, before the end of the year. In closing, I want to again say thank you for your faithfulness in support and prayer. We are excited about all that God is doing here. It may be slow, but God is working in the hearts and lives of the people here in Bequia. - David Ballinger Family Dear pastors, churches, and friends I pray this letter finds you each doing well. We are thankful for each of you that pray and support our family in the Lord’s work here in the Grenadines. Christmas Project: Since our last letter, we were able to give out the Christmas bags to the school children in Paget Farm, Bequia. God blessed and provided all the funds for the gifts, shipping, and customs. Our church folks helped package all the bags with a bible, gospel tracts, candy, toys, and either a basketball, soccer ball, or volleyball. Since we gave out the bags, we’ve had two families and 17 first time visitors come by the church. We also recently learned that they are using the Gospel tracts as reading material in the classes at school. I would like to say thank you to each of you that prayed and gave for this project. Bible Baptist Church: The church ministry continues to progress as we serve in the community preaching and teaching. Many that have come to church have very little understanding of the bible. 2 1/2 years ago we started teaching through the main characters of the Bible from Adam and Eve all the way to Jesus. Since returning from furlough, we have used Sunday morning to preach chapter by chapter through the book of Matthew and 8 chapters into Mark. It's been a blessing to see God continue to build the lives of these young christians. Please continue to pray for them and those that have yet to repent and believe the Gospel. Also, concerning the church location, please help us pray that the owner will agree to a long term lease on the church property. If accepted, we would have full access to the house and buildings. We would need to clean up and make some repairs on the house, but then we would be able to live above the church and better serve in the community. Gospel Boat Ministry: The Lord has continued to send in funds for the boat ministry. We have been praying about a certain boat and have talked with the broker. Because of the ministry that we plan to use the boat for, they have offered to dropped the price for us. Right now, we would need to raise $90,000 to buy the boat. The boat is in the water and ready to go. When we have all funds we will have a survey on the boat done to make sure all things are in order and then purchase the boat. Our goal is to secure the boat and begin ministering on Canouan, Mayreau, and Union with tract distribution and tent meetings before the end of 2020. Then, we can begin weekly meetings on each island as the Lord provides laying the ground work for more Independent Baptist Churches. (I have attached a letter about the boat from our pastor ) Gospel Tent Ministry: The tent meeting has been the highlight of our year. Our 4th annual Gospel meeting in Bequia begins February 9th - 21st. Will you help us pray for the expense of the meeting and most importantly that God will move in a great way each night. There are seven lost friends of ours that will be in the meeting and we are praying specially that God would save them in this meeting. Evangelist Chris Hewett, along with his family and 6 others, will be with us during the meeting. We are praying and anticipating a great two weeks. Dear pastors, churches, and friends,
Psalms 91:2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God; in him will I trust. I’m thankful for the help and faithfulness of the Lord. He is our refuge and fortress and I’m thankful that we can trust Him when all else seems lost. The last few months have been rewarding, but not without a fight. We have been back in Bequia for 4 months now, and the devil has fought us each day as we have endeavored to serve the Lord here in the Grenadines. Bible Baptist Church: The Church continues to grow although we’ve seen some very low attended services because of rainy season and several facing major family issues. God has helped to overcome many of these battles. We have seen 8 first time visitors over the last 2 months, and several others that had visited before our furlough. Our highest attended service was over 30. It has been great to see how God is working in the hearts of the people, hearing testimony of how God saved them, and is working in their lives. We have had 4 young people learn the books of the Bible, and several of the adults are working to memorize them too. Christmas Project: Christmas is quickly approaching and God has opened the door for us to provide a Christmas gift bag for 160 students that attend the Primary school next to our Church. Our prayer is to be a blessing to the children and families and to get the Gospel into each home. Thanks to several Churches and individuals we have been able to raise most of the funds for this Christmas project. Tent Ministry: In August, we were able to set the tent up to assist another church in a VBS and a week of preaching each evening under the tent. February will be our 4th annual Gospel tent meeting here in Paget farm Bequia, and the 8th tent meeting in the last 4 years. This is always an exciting and busy time. Each year we have been able to hand out close to 1500 invitations with the Gospel. We have several people from the states that have showed interest in coming down and assisting with the meetings. We are thankful for those that desire to help in the ministry, but the greatest need we have is for God to work in hearts of the people here. Will you help us pray? Boat ministry: God continues to send in funds for the boat. After a week of prayer, we placed an offer on a boat located here in St Vincent. It is a 2003 Fountain Pajot Sailing catamaran. After looking it over and speaking with one of the owners they said that they will get back to us this month. The boat is very basic but both engines have recently been rebuilt by a local mechanic. The sails and riggings are in good shape. The boat is in good condition but will still need some updating and repairs done. We have made a lower offer and we are praying for God’s will. The boat will be a great help as we want to begin the island outreach after our tent meetings in February. Please make this a matter of prayer. Family update: Malachi and Katie are doing well with homeschooling. Emily attends a pre-school here on the island and is learning to write her name, letters, and numbers. Everleigh is a happy and growing little girl. Mckenzie is doing well teaching the kids and helping in many different areas. We are thankful for your help and support in the ministry and look forward to what God will do in the coming months. Prayer request 1) God to move in the tent meetings. 2) The need for a boat and the boat ministry. 3) Prayer for the 160 students at the school as they receive the Gospel 4) Prayer that God will continue to grow the church both in number and in their hearts. Dear pastors and supporting churches, July, 2019
As of July 9th, we are back on the island of Bequia , and back where God has called us too. The last year God has been so good to us. Our support has come from 68% to 95%. We could still use another few churches to support the ministry, but we are trusting God to meet our every need. The family is handling the transition well. The kids are excited about the “new place”. There have been a few restless nights for the little one as its hot and we only run fans and no AC. Our good friend Andy has offered us his apartment as a temporary place until we can find a more permanent location. Please help us pray that we can find a house near the church to better reach the community. We have been able to hold 3 services since returning, and it was exciting to see a good number of our folks back at the church. Each service we had 6 or more, not counting our family. We will be spending the next few weeks working on visiting folks, letting them know we are back, and getting things opened back up around the church. We are still renting a small place for the church building, but we are praying for a more permanent location to buy or land to buy that we can build on. Please help us pray for these things. Looking ahead with the tent ministry, during the month of august, Pastor Timothy Mitchall in Ocar, Bequia will be using the tent for VBS during the day and services in the evening. We will help in any way that we can. Please help us pray that God will bless the services and that souls will be saved. During the month of February 2020, we will be holding our tent meetings here in Bequia. This would be a great opportunity for churches to come and help labor in the field, hand out flyers, and help in the services. Our prayer is that souls will be reached and our churches to grow. PLEASE help us pray as we are making plans to hold a tent meeting on the island of Canouan by the end of the year! There is a great need here, and we have received a letter from a christian man on the island that is praying that a church will be started there. He shared with us that, since arriving, he cannot find a doctrinally sound church and has been discouraged. We are earnestly praying about traveling down and holding a service there as often as we can. We are estimating the cost to be about $400 per trip with the family, and $200 if I make the trip by myself. Please help us pray about this. To our knowledge, it would be the first baptist missionary to do ministry work on Canouan in over 30 years. The boat ministry is still heavy on our hearts, and we are thrilled that $34,000 has already been given to the purchase of a boat. We have asked our home church to own the boat to help with accountability. The boat will be used exclusively for the Gospel ministry, and we have included a letter that outlines the boat ministry in a little more detail. To Our Supporting Churches Thank you for your faithful support to our family and the church planting efforts in Bequia. Because you already support us, I would like to plead with you to prayerfully consider supporting “The Gospel Boat Ministry”. All monthly support that comes in designated to the “boat” or “The Gospel Boat Ministry” will go to the purchase of the boat and the extensive outreach to the surrounding islands. I praise the Lord for all that he has done. There is still much to be accomplished and little time to do it. The need for laborers in the field is great. Will you help us pray that God will raise up laborers here in the islands that will reach the lost in their own country and around the world? The Gospel Boat Ministry Goals: 1) Evangelism 2) Discipleship 3) Church Planting 4) Disaster Relief The Gospel Boat Ministry is a ministry of Love Valley Baptist Church in Kings mountain, NC operated by missionary David Ballinger. He is serving the Lord in the Grenadine Islands assisted by Macedonia World Baptist Missions. Brother David has been laboring in the Islands full time since 2014. The Lord has placed a burden on Brother David’s heart to begin evangelistic efforts on the surrounding islands with the goal of planting doctrinally sound Baptist Churches. God has already supplied funds for two tent meetings on the islands of Canouan and Union, and brought in $34,000 towards the cost of the boat. The boat must be large enough to carry the Gospel tent, supplies, and also accommodate the Ballinger Family and those that travel to assist in the tent ministry. How the boat will be used Transportation A boat is one of the most common way of transportation in the Caribbean Islands. In order to effectively travel between each of the islands we must travel by boat. The boat will be used to transport the Ballinger family as they minister on a weekly basis in the Grenadine Islands. The boat will be used to transport the Gospel tent and supplies for Gospel tent meetings, bible camps, VBS, and more. The boat will one day, Lord willing, be used to take national pastors and preachers to areas that need the Gospel. Accommodation The boat will be used to sleep the Ballinger family as they conduct weekly bible studies and ministry in the Grenadines, and others that help with tent meetings, camps, revivals, etc.. Disaster Relief In the event of a hurricane or other disasters, the boat can be used to assist other church ministries in the transportation and distribution of relief supplies throughout the Caribbean islands as the Lord provides. How you can help 1) Monthly support of the boat operations. 2) One time donation for the purchase of the boat 3) Labor with us in the fields. Financial Support can be sent to Macedonia World Baptist Missions PO Box 519 Braselton Ga 30517 Checks Payable to: Macedonia World Baptist Missions Marked: “The Gospel Boat Ministry” Love Valley Baptist Church 2032 Bethlehem rd Kings Mountain NC 28086 Checks Payable to: Love Valley Baptist Church Marked: “The Gospel Boat Ministry” Dear Pastors and Friends, April 2019 Thank you for your faithful support and prayers for the ministry. God is alive and working in the islands. During the month of February, we were blessed to be in 3 missions conferences and now have several new supporting churches. We have also had others that have shared with us their desire to help in the ministry. I left for Bequia February 22 and hit the ground running preparing for the tent meetings. We had visits to make, flyers to give out, repairs on the van and church building, and a few minor things on the gospel tent that had to be done. Gospel Tent Meetings in Bequia March 4th we started the first tent meeting with Gospel Light Baptist Church in the harbor. Two weeks later we held the second meeting in Paget Farm for our church, Bible Baptist Church. It was a great 4 weeks of preaching from Pastor Samuel Philbert, Pastor Timothy Mitchall, Pastor Denis Mitchall, Evangelist Chris Hewett, Missionary Alan Berry and myself. Many people heard the Gospel, both under the tent and outside the tent. Our highest attended night was 94, but the best part was the 15 that were saved! Some who we have been praying for since 2009 that I met during my first trip to Bequia. Others were prayed for during the meeting and we saw God answer those prayers during those weeks. It was also exciting to see some that were saved in previous meetings praying at the alter with a burden to see God save their family and friends. Bible Baptist Church, Paget Farm, Bequia. I had to leave Bequia early because of the death of my wife’s grandfather. I was not able to secure a house for us to live in when we return. Right before I left, one of the owners of the house we rent for the church approached me about renting the upstairs for us to live in. This is an answer to prayer because they did not want anyone in the upstairs before. She is also interested in selling the house but has to talk to the family first. I do not know a price yet for either renting or buying, but this would be a tremendous opportunity and answer to prayer. We would be able to live upstairs, continue to hold services downstairs, and if we buy, eventually build a church building right by the road. Boat Ministry The funds for the boat ministry continue to come in. We have around $27K, and we continue to pray and look for the right boat. The type that we need runs from $100K and up. In the last few months we have spoken to several national pastors and missionaries that also need help with Gospel tent meetings, youth camps, church planting and disaster relief in 5 different countries across 10 different islands. In the Grenadines alone, there are 3 islands God has burdened our hearts for that need churches. We are planning to hold a tent meeting on Canouan or Union before the end of the year. We can do this without a boat, but it will be much more difficult and expensive. We are making plans in spite of the difficulties we may face. To our knowledge, there has not been a missionary or faithful Gospel witness on these islands in over 30 years! If we don’t go, who will ? Family Thank you for your faithfulness in support of the ministry in the Grenadines. It is truly amazing to see all the open doors and blessings that God has given us over the last few months. The family is doing well, kids are finishing up school for the year and they are all growing too fast. Our support is near 91% . We are praying that we will have all the support by July when we head back to the field. The cost of the flights for the family will be around $3,000 and we’ve already had $500 come in to help with the cost of those. Please help us pray over all these needs and the many opportunities that God is giving us as we endeavor to serve Him.Dear Faithful supporters and friends Tickets are bought and flyers are ordered, but without the help of God it will all be in vain! February 22, I will leave my family behind and head down to Bequia where I will spend the next 7 weeks busy in the ministry. We have 2 tent meetings planned on either side of the island. We are excited about this and praying that God will continue to use the tent ministry in the islands to reach people with the gospel. The tent meetings will be held March 4th-29th. Will you keep this meeting before your church and pray for us each night that souls will be saved for the glory of God? After Christmas, I spent two weeks traveling with Bro. Chris Hewett and Steve Aldridge to the upper midwest. We were able to visit with several church planters and pastors and help in the meetings. It was a blessing to be there and we had two churches that partnered with us to reach the Grenadines. When we returned, we went right into our home church’s winter revival. That was a great time of refreshing and encouragement. We have also had two other churches that have promised support. This brings our support near to 90%. Please continue to pray that God will bring in the rest of our monthly support before we leave in June. We have several dates open in May and June if anyone would like us to come by. We praise the Lord for the opportunity to preach at several supporting churches and their help and encouragement along the way. Please pray that as we travel that GOD will continue to help reach people with gospel both here and along the way. We saw a lady get saved back in January and have had many opportunities to witness for Christ. Recently, we met a man by the name of David that had a flat tire and no spare. We gave him ours and invited him to a nearby church. It was good to hear that he visited the church and said he would be back. Please pray for this man’s salvation. The boat fund continues to grow thanks to donations from several churches. We have over $20k raised and have been looking into two different boats. One boat, a lagoon 43, we could live on but would need the Diesel engine replaced and some minor work done on it. The other boat is a smaller Seaport 3200, but we would still be able to sleep aboard the boat when we travel each week. Please help us pray for wisdom as we continue to look for the right boat. If each of our supporting churches sent about $1,000 we should have enough to buy a boat and begin reaching out to the other islands in the Grenadines this year. Several folks from Bible Baptist Chuch in Bequia have remained faithful and continue to grow in the Lord. Our prayer is that the church will continue to grow through the outreach of the tent meetings, door-to-door visitation, and tract distribution. We continue to pray for the need of a permanent location for the church. There is a house that has come available next to where we are meeting now. Please help us pray as we consider what we can do, and look into purchasing this as our permanent location for the church. With so many opportunities, we ask that you please pray with us. Our desire is to see souls saved and churches planted throughout the islands of the Grenadines. Thank you for partnering with us in the ministry that God has called us to do. Dear Pastors and Friends,
I want to say thank you to each of you that has helped us carry the burden of reaching the lost in the islands of the Grenadines. When we started in full time ministry 14 years ago, I would never have imagined that God would allow us the privilege of working with so many great people doing the work of a missionary in the islands. The last few months we have had several more churches partner with us. One supporting church has doubled our support and we are now around 82% PRAISE THE LORD! We have been able to travel to over 14 states and have presented in 64 churches. We are continuing to raise funds for the boat with several churches promising to give and many more that have given. We know that God is providing and we are on the lookout for the right boat that God would have us to use. Two boats that we were looking into have already been sold, but we know that God will work it out in His time. Please make this a matter of prayer. You can help us by praying specifically for the boat and island ministry, and also by giving. Every amount will help us get the funds and secure the boat so we can better reach the people in the Grenadines. I will be leaving the end of February to hold four weeks of tent meetings. Two weeks with Brother Timothy Mitchall at Gospel Light Baptist Church and then two weeks for our church in Paget Farm. We are praying that many souls will be saved and that God will both grow and encourage the churches in Bequia. I will be traveling by myself for our tent meetings, so if there are some young men that would be willing to work with us during the tent meetings we could use some help. Our desire is to knock on every door and place the Gospel into every home on Bequia through the month of March as we invite people to our tent meetings. This time of year is often busy, but please be in prayer for us. We are still in need of about 20+ churches to partner with us in the ministry. These churches will be helping us to continue the church plant in Bequia and also to help begin reaching the other islands in the Grenadines. Please be in much prayer over these needs. We have open dates in January, February, May, and June. We hope and pray that each of you have a wonderful Christmas season and a great new year! The Ballinger Family |
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When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. ~ Jonah 2:7