My pastor, along with 13 other church members, went on a trip to Tanzania. They were with one of our missionaries, Jerry Wyatt III and his family, for 2½ weeks. Pastor Brown asked me to oversee the church in his absence, so I was able to preach at my home church five times. I also oversaw the other church services and cared for some pastoral duties. One of our members passed away, so I did the funeral. What a blessing to hear the story of how Wanda was led to the Lord by one of our faithful bus workers. She came from a big family, with all six of her brothers having retired from the military. The best part was being able to tell her story to her family and see two of them trust Christ as their Saviour.
It is interesting how God works in the hearts of people while we are out soul winning. I was out with the men one Thursday and had a chance to witness to a young lady who seemed to be very interested in the Gospel. My conversation was directed toward her even though there were two other ladies nearby. After a while I realized this lady was more interested in talking about everything else than listening to the Gospel, so I turned to another lady sitting in a car nearby. She had been listening the whole time, and after reviewing what I had been saying to the other lady, she got saved. Thankfully, I had a partner with me who could keep the attention of the talker. This is another example that shows us we never know who is or isn’t really interested in the Gospel.
It has been said, “Man proposes, but God disposes.” Such has been the case with one trip I had planned for this fall. I was planning to go to Argentina in September to be with three churches and teach in two Bible colleges. However, just a few weeks before my scheduled trip, two things came up that I had to deal with during the time I was scheduled to be in Argentina. I believe this is the first time I had to cancel a trip that had been in the planning stages for so long. God, of course, knows what is best.
I just received my Nigerian visa, so I have purchased my ticket and plan to be in Nigeria from October 30 – November 12. On this trip I will be with Pastor Henry Alade in Ibadan for a four-day revival at his church. Ibadan is the city I visited 19 years ago (see picture) while I was still a pastor, and it was there that God put in my heart the idea of starting this ministry. This is their first revival, so please pray for God’s power on me as I preach. I will then fly to Abuja to be with Missionary Mark Holmes. This will be my fourth time with Brother Mark, and I will be preaching a missions conference in his main church. Then I will have the privilege of preaching in a new church he just started in another part of the city. Please pray for protection, for my health, and especially for God’s power on this trip. Thank you again for your prayers and support.
James Belisle