Monday, July 2

     As you are probably aware by now, our elections went well and in the great majority of situations, went off quietly. Of course, there were a few isolated disturbances, but it appears all is well. The Word declares that God puts kings in power (Daniel 2:21) and so we wait to see what changes may come. We pray for peace for the sake of the people.

     We were expecting a low crowd due to the voting situation yesterday. Our services started with less than ten present. By the end of the opening song and prayer, more came. By the time of the preaching there were 26 present with others sneaking in during the preaching. One family and one individual had not been faithful for years but came yesterday. Deaf work is always interesting!! One deaf young man always showed up when he found a new girlfriend. He would bring her so she could be saved. The family who came yesterday had been split by sin and had been separated for quite some time. They all walked in together and the husband approached us immediately after the service saying, "Our two girls (age 9 & 11) NEED and want to be saved." After a thorough explanation of salvation by Ann, they both asked the Lord to save them. Now we pray this family will learn the blessing of serving the Lord together faithfully as well as they learned the need for each to be saved. We praise the Lord that the deaf of this city know that when they really need to know the Truth, there is a place to come to learn it.

     One of the difficulties of this term has been the loss of friends and family through death. I sat down and counted the other night, just off the top of my head, no less than 40 close friends and relatives that have passed on into Glory in the past four years. Margaret Robinson from West Virginia is the latest. Margaret and Bob took me in as a son when I first went to Cross Lanes to minister. I was single, young and needed a good watchman. Margaret was an excellent cook and had a wonderful gift of serving. She was never loud about what she was doing, but if there was a need, you could just expect her to be first in line. She had surgery, developed complications and passed away within a few days' time. She, as well as many other friends and close family, have now been healed eternally, but leave us with a tremendous empty space. As I shared with the deaf a picture of when the Cross Lanes group came to help us in construction, I realized that four of the fifteen pictured were already with the Lord.

      Please pray for JM, our six feet four inch "tall guy." On his own, he proclaimed that he wanted to be baptized before we left. We set up a date just to have a schedule to prepare the baptistry and get everything ready. He was "all for it." Last week he sent word he needed to postpone it due to the voting yesterday. Yesterday he sent word that he was busy with his family. He had not missed except once when sick. We have put NO pressure on him and he was very anxious to obey the Lord. Pray that the devil does not gain victory in this and that he will follow the Spirit's lead. We know that baptism is not part of the plan of salvation, but especially here, we see that it is definitely a picture of the inward will. Those who will seek baptism, normally will follow on with the Lord. Those who flee baptism, normally prove to have a very weak (if any) faith and soon disappear. JM has almost completed the entire discipleship course, so we are not sure what is happening. He has not been one to "pretend," so our suspicion is that he is receiving pressure or criticism from someone else. Just pray that he will flow the Spirit's leadership and be willing to do whatever He commands.

     Please be praying for the DeafNation World Expo coming up at the end of the month. They are predicting between 30-50,000 deaf from about 75 nations of the world. We are praying and preparing our hearts for the opportunity of a lifetime of reaching deaf through this secular meeting. Silent Word Ministries will have two booths inside the Expo with the remaining ministry being done on the streets, one on one. Pray that we will have ample opportunity to faithfully present Christ to many. Our desire is the He be glorified. Pray for health as last year the temperatures reached 115 degrees. At present, the temperatures there are only around 100 degrees, but are expected to climb during July.

     Thank you again for your prayers and support that allow us to continue to reach the deaf for Him. We desire only to be used by Him, for Him. God bless you today.

Gary & Ann