Imagine at 7 p.m., when the weather should be going down into those cool temperatures we all love so much, that you sit on your back porch with a glass of ice-cold lemonade and thank God that it’s only 109 degrees, because it’s so much cooler than it was only hours ago! Now put yourself in a hot car in which the A/C is working feverishly to keep up, and travel 600 miles in one day, only to discover that the weather has dropped to 70 degrees! Only, we didn’t imagine this journey—we lived it! We’ve been all over the map this past month and all over the language and cultural spectrum as well. We’ve been in English-, Spanish-, and Tagalog-speaking churches. We’ve met people from the Philippines, Japan, Afghanistan, and many others. I was finally able to make use of a Japanese tract, and I was also able to use Bro. Bachman’s Muslim tract when I gave the Gospel to Bashir Popal, a man from Afghanistan. This trip, more so than most, has reminded me of Toronto and the similar need for Gospel-preaching churches.
We had our first meeting in Kingman, Arizona, at Cornerstone Baptist Church with Pastor George Gilbert. I got to preach and present our work on Wednesday night. Also, I got to preach a chapel message at the local Christian school in which Mrs. Gilbert works. We made the 600-mile journey a couple of days later for our next meeting in the San Francisco area. Pastor Win Pechardo and the folks of Harvest Baptist Church of Daly City, California, planned a really great Missions-Emphasis Day. They are now our newest supporting church. We also presented in four Spanish-speaking churches: Iglesia Bautista al Pie de la Montana, Iglesia Bautista de la Bahia de Monterrey, Iglesia Bautista de Castro Valley, and Iglesia Bautista Exodo. From these meetings, I have three observations: (1) My Spanish is better than I thought it was, though not nearly sufficient, (2) I love Spanish food and culture, and (3) language barriers are no big deal when you have the same Holy Spirit living within and a good translator!
We had another meeting a little farther away from San Francisco Bay in Marina at Central Coast Baptist Church. Liz and I met some old college friends here. It was really fun catching up with friends and going out soul winning with this church. They have so much zeal for the Lord that it’s contagious. We also got to take a gorgeous, breathtaking drive from California to Fallon, Nevada, for a meeting at Victory Baptist Church with Pastor Steve Miller and his wonderful family. We’ve had more blessings than I can flesh out in a one-page letter, but we’ve certainly felt the Lord’s presence in all our varied travels. Please continue to pray for God’s continued blessing on our trip out West.
Thanks to Calvary,
Brian Hebert