Abbie and I have been kept wonderfully busy over the past two months. The busier we stay on deputation, the sooner we can go to Ghana! In February we had three churches vote to take us on for support, and we got to present the ministry in Ghana to six different churches.
As many of you are aware, my mom struggled with terminal cancer for the last year. So when Mom’s hospice doctor said she recommended that any family come around the second week of March, we booked our flights right away. Thankfully, I did not even have to lose any meetings in order to make the trip; all of the pastors very graciously rescheduled our meetings.
Mom was still alert, though very weak; and we had a sweet time of memories, laughter, and just being together. She was obviously getting worse while we were there, but cancer is very difficult to predict. Since I had already prayed about the length of our trip, Abbie and I decided to leave at the scheduled time. I feel so blessed to have been able to say good-bye to Mom in person and to have been able to take my time with it and let her know how much she meant to me. We left the Philippines on a Friday, and the following Tuesday, Mom went Home to Heaven.
I am so thankful for all of you who have prayed for Mom and my family over the past year. My mom went peacefully, without apparent pain, from the arms of her husband into the presence of her Saviour. Please continue to pray for my family, especially my dad.
In spite of the time we spent in the Philippines, Abbie and I were blessed to have meetings at five different churches in four different states in the month of March.
Abbie and I were able to see 12 people saved over the past two months, and one of them was the sister of the two boys I talked about in my last prayer letter! I do not often get to follow up on converts while on deputation, but we were in town, so I went back to see the mom of the two boys I saw saved in January. The mom was not there, but Arianna was, and Arianna got saved!
Please continue to pray for us to have productive meetings. Abbie and I are praying that we will be able to get to Ghana by September, as the Carter family will be returning to the States from Ghana in May. Mrs. Carter is the principal of the church’s school in Ghana, so we want to arrive in time for the new school year. Abbie and I are sad that we will not get to work with the Carters, but we are sure that God will use them wonderfully in the States, just as He has in Ghana.
Yours for souls,
Micah Christiansen