We had a great finish to a great year. We finished off the year in New England, the Midwest, and Canada. We want to thank all the churches we visited for their great hospitality, the generous gifts, and the opportunity to share our vision to reach the lost of Australia. We want to welcome and thank the new supporters we acquired in these months: Heritage Baptist Church of Palmyra, New York; Grace Baptist Church of Groton, Connecticut; Crossroads of Life Baptist Church of Canton, Georgia; Mindy’s cousin, Eric Horton; and my loving dad, Alberto Tingson. We want to thank our current supporters for your faithfulness and also for the Christmas bonuses. We praise the Lord for your generosity! Please continue to pray that the churches where we have presented our ministry will see fit to partner together with us in serving the Lord.
We were able to spend time with Mindy’s family in December. It was a great reunion and an awesome time for the children. We welcomed Clara Mae Horton, our newest niece, into the world. She’s so precious! The children were spoiled, as usual, during Christmas. As we were home, we had the privilege to be with our sending church, Lakecrest Baptist Church. I was able to visit and work on our old bus route, “Bus James.” We were able to recruit eight new riders. I had the privilege to preach a Wednesday night service for my preacher and substitute for some Sunday school teachers. I preached in Junior Church, teen church, and taught a class of senior saints. I also got to enjoy door knocking regularly with my friend Matt, who’s on the church staff. Congratulations to him for his engagement during the holidays!
Since starting full-time deputation in March of 2018, by God’s grace, we have traveled at least 18,436 miles. We’ve traveled as far south as Inverness, Florida, as far north as Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada, as far west as Los Angeles, California, and as far East as Groton, Connecticut. The Lord has allowed us to see at least 32 souls saved personally during our travels. We’ve been able to pass out countless tracts to hotel staff, people at laundromats, drive-thru attendants, and toll-booth attendants and also place them in Gideon Bibles in hotels, bus stops, airports, and basically anywhere we had the chance. By the Lord’s provision, He has allowed us to travel using our savings, the love offerings of churches/church members, and doing odd jobs in between meetings. We haven’t spent a single cent from our monthly support since we began deputation; and, Lord willing, we will be able to save it all during our time of deputation for our initial costs when we get to the field.
This year has been awesome! We’ve experienced a lot, and we’ve learned a lot through our traveling on deputation. I didn’t major in missions during Bible college, but I appreciate God’s grace and mercy and the wealth of knowledge and support that our mission board FBMI has given us. Please continue to pray for us as we schedule meetings for this new year. We hope to have a full schedule. I’m excited to use our new information packets; I believe they will prove to be more effective. We praise the Lord for health and safety in 2018. Please continue to pray for Australia, as the need there continues to grow. Thank you so much for your love and sacrifice. May the Lord bless you for your partnership!
Your servant in Christ,
Garry Tingson