March - April, 2015
Philippians 3:10
10 That I may know him, and the power of
his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable
unto his death;
Dear Praying Friends,
In the last several months we have begun
to realize the complete difference between those we won to the Lord years ago
and that have years of faithful teaching in their experience and those who have
been won in the last few years. Today’s young people have many newer ways of
learning, but those same media are full of false teaching and dangerous
misunderstandings of the Word of God. We have been working with some of those
young people to get them as founded in the Word of God as the older ones. Scripture teaches that those of more mature
spiritual foundation should teach those of lesser foundation, but sometimes
culture overrides the truth. Many of the older ones have no relation to
computers, iPhones, Internet or any other such appliance. The younger generations
seem to trust those items no matter what they say. We are forced to teach them
Biblical truth using more modern methods in order to teach the same “ole”
Biblical truths.
The church is doing well and a few of
those who left are beginning to return as they should. A few months or years
with no input of Scripture for a truly born-again Christian, should bring about
a deep desire to return to the truth. Some of those who departed following
others have seen that they are not progressing spiritually and are returning to
learn the Word.
The deaf are seeing the importance of
Biblical leadership and are exercising the principles they have been taught for
years. They have begun to realize that the Bible teaches basic principles that
are more important than personal opinion in making decisions. We have mentioned
a couple of families that were having issues in their marriages. We praise the
Lord that most of these issues have been worked out and the Lord is getting the
glory.
In April, we had “summer camp” for our
grandchildren. Casey, Ann’s mother, traveled from West Virginia to be here and
help in the camp. The Lord has given us eight grandchildren, seven boys and one
girl. We invited all of them to come to our house for three days of teaching,
playing and learning. It was a tremendous challenge, but a very profitable one.
We did not have decisions for Christ, but our “kids” were faced again with
their need. Their eyes were again opened to their spiritual side and we did see
some good results.
With one week between camp and conference,
we were able to prepare ourselves for the Field Conference with our mission. It
is not just a good time, but a time of reconnecting with those who also are serving
in Latin America, primarily Mexico. Many of us never see each other (or only
with a great amount of time in between) except at these conferences. There are
always tremendous speakers who challenge us as well as offer new hope and
blessings. The Lord used both speakers to touch our hearts as well as the time
checking up with friends and getting reports from them. Thank you for being a
part.
Ann does better at times and worse at
others, but continues on with her tremors. It is a matter of genetics so there
is no quick “snap of the fingers” solution. Gary continues with good health
even though the two hour trips, to and from church, do take a toll. It
certainly helps us understand what the deaf have done for more than 30 years.
Thank you for praying and supporting our
efforts to reach a lost world for Him. He continues to bless with souls and
new, open minds. Keep praying and we will continue to work for Him.
Gary & Ann
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