Reports of Gladness Ricochet Across Our "Neighborhood" Mission personnel and church members actively enjoyed a wide range of geography and opportunity this summer. Here are a few highlights: - Steve and Brenda Fawcett: Overseeing both the construction activities and camp weeks, VBS at Potomac Bible Church, running equipment, cooking in the camp kitchen. The list goes on. Lots of volunteer groups have come to work on construction at Camp Utmost requiring funds, advance preparation of projects, and patience.
- Edwin and Linda Grinder: VBS at Cascade hosted 19 enthusiastic children. "The local newspaper editor brought his two children four days. He took pictures at the program. One picture he put on the front page," Linda reports.
- Cindy Snyder: "Opportunities to learn flexibility and trust through teaching VBS in St. Regis, cooking at camp, ministering with the Pathwalkers ministry in Wyoming, and three Bible studies. "One special blessing came a week ago while teaching a Bible study when talking about God’s sacrifice for us compared to the ‘old way’ of animal sacrifice and ‘the light came on.’ One looked up and said, ‘Then you are saying that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.’ Oh, what a wonderful blessing to be part of someone comprehending what God has done for them!
- Bill and Marilyn Wohlers: Christ Fellowship, Deer Lodge, held VBS in late August (after this went to press). Bill spoke at a Family Bible Camp in Williston, ND, with 200 campers and 20 decisions. He spoke at a junior high camp at West Yellowstone, Montana, with 46 campers and 15 decisions.
- Dave and Millie Knight: Augusta Community Church had help for VBS from a group of 40 teens, 11 adults, and 3 children from Georgia. They ran a high attendance of 41 with 15 decisions. The Georgia group also gave a well received community concert.
- Ed and Carol Pomelear: God brought the mission field to Christ’s Bible Church. A Chinese national, a neurosurgeon who has only been in the United States for six months, is studying the Bible with them, listening to tapes, and memorizing Scripture. He says nothing in China has nurtured his spirit, he is very aware of a spiritual need, and he appreciates his new friends who are teaching him the Bible.
 Brenda James: A full summer with VBS in Swan Valley, Idaho; Cascade, Yaak, and Hamilton, with a wide variety of teaching activities in Elohim for four weeks (see Brenda).- Dave and Kathy Simmons: "Schedules change in the summer for church work too — programs take a hiatus but there's still active ministry going on. Dave is preaching through the book of John and throughout the summer weeks there hasn’t been the proverbial ‘summer slump’ as to the number of occupants in the church pews. "Our primary week focusing on activities came July 23-29 when for the second year a short term missions group from Brush Prairie Baptist Church of Vancouver, Washington, came to serve, both here in Drummond and with the Community Church in Philipsburg. A wonderful week of VBS took place, work projects such as a church handicap ramp were done, and a fabulous youth night combining the Philipsburg, Brush Prairie, and Drummond youth was held. Several of our Drummond people served alongside the BP folks and a terrific week took place to further the ongoing ministry here in seeing people come to the Lord and being discipled for Him."
- Bev Cox [now Paulson], Judy Carpenter, and Billye Ward: This threesome took on extracurricular activities: a booth at the Little Kids’ Rodeo in Missoula to distribute camp flyers and tracts and organized the beginnings of a five-year curriculum for both camps’ summer ministry. Judy continued her coordination of workers for all the Utmost camps. Bev enjoys a Bible study with deaf friends.
Does this give you a clearer picture of what God is doing through Mission servants? Will you encourage them? Will you ask God if He would have a place of support for you here? Opportunities pop up faster than wild fires. Who will respond: "Lord, here I am; send me"? |
