Thank you for your prayers! We have four more supporting churches since our last letter! In the past couple months, many have heard the Gospel, and some were saved! Although going door to door is on “pause,” we have been holding up Scripture-verse signs on street corners. One man on a motorcycle pulled over to ask about the signs we were holding up. He was concerned about us and the Coronavirus. In a brief amount of time, I was able to share with him some verses and left him with a Gospel tract. He was so moved by what we were doing that he came back to provide us with ice-cold water in our 85-degree Texas weather. Last year we had the privilege of taking part in a church ministry that had their men, women, and children standing on street corners holding up signs with Scripture verses. They were on both sides of the road, smiling and waving to passing traffic. There’s something special about seeing an entire church of people lifting high the name of Jesus!
One Monday in Columbus, Mississippi, before all the lockdowns, I was really battling about going out soul winning. It ended up that I left much later in the day than I usually do. I discovered that the area I was planning to visit was a gated community with security, and I decided just to turn back and instead go out the next day. As I was driving back, I was still convicted to knock on some doors. I spontaneously turned down a random road and started praying where God would have me visit. After driving for a few minutes, I came across a short, dead-end street with a few houses on each side. It didn’t take long to knock on all the doors. Only a couple people answered long enough to hand them a Gospel tract. I was praying that the last house would be a good visit; but, sure enough, there was no answer. I walked back to the van with my oldest boy and was about to leave, when the door of the last house opened. An older African American gentleman stood staring at us. I jumped out to meet him, while my son decided to stay in the van. The man invited me inside and began telling me how dangerous his neighborhood was with all the drugs, shootings, and murders. At this point, it was getting late, and I was getting concerned about leaving my son in the van, but I continued to share the Gospel. This 76-year-old man was worried about one of the Ten Commandments that said, “Thou shalt not kill.” I assured him from Scripture that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection on the Cross was more than enough to forgive any sin. I didn’t ask about his past but was able to see him confess Christ as his personal Saviour! When I returned to the van, my son was hiding in the back seat after a car had pulled up and slowly crept past, looking inside. Praise God for His protection!
Through counsel and prayer, we think it is wise at this point to set a reasonable TARGET DATE FOR OUR DEPARTURE! We are praying that God would raise the last 34% of the support we need by the end of this year, and we plan to leave the United States by APRIL 2021! We have been blessed by so many churches that God has allowed us to cross paths with. For those churches who are not yet able to make a commitment of monthly financial support, there are some one-time expenses that we have that you may want to invest in. We have been saving towards these expenses but are praying for help in these areas. If the Lord leads you specifically to provide towards one or more of these expenses, please email me clear instructions for the money you wish to designate at eurasia6506@gmail.com.
• One-way flight tickets for our family: Approximately $6,000
• Transition and set-up costs: $10,000 (deposits, furnishings, visa, etc.)
• Evacuation Emergency Fund: $5,000 (FBMI offers help up to $35,000 of any emergency-related expenses when the missionary provides a one-time $5,000 investment into their program.)
• Vehicle: $5,000
• Property valued at $50,000 (As Americans visas are a continual battle to process where we are going, investing in property valued at $50,000 or more has enabled other co-laborers to apply for longer visas.)
We have currently saved $30,000 for these needs. Please pray for God’s will concerning these expenses.
Missionary #6506 and Family