Missionary Weekly Update

September 2010

Week of September 6-10, 2010
Council Meeting - Tuesday & Wednesday, September 14-15.  The Service Center will be closed on Friday, September 17th.

Dee Hammond is looking for a good used car around $3,000.  If you have or know of anyone that has a car for sale, please let her know – call 419-874-3415 or email at dghammond31@att.net

Fred & Marie Henzler, Perry, GA
WHAT A WEEK! SUNDAY our church started revival meetings and I had two doctors’ appointments that week.
I got a call from our other Chaplains wife. Chaplain Bell was in the hospital. He was in a motorcycle accident that day. He had head injuries, a deep cut on his chin, broken ribs, his leg broken in three places and a broken ankle. He will be out of commission for six to eight weeks. We will miss him and his help. Please pray for him.
At the doctor’s office, they told me not to wait until the end of September to see the cardiologist and set up an appointment with another heart doctor for that afternoon. I left went to the Jail for Office hours. Almost an hour after I should have closed the office I got an out of state call from a lady to tell her husband of a death in the family. After I broke the bad news and had prayer with him; he said, “Does Thomas know?” I asked, “Who is Thomas?” He said, “My brother.” He took it harder than his brother.
I found out the new cardiologist could not do catheterizations. He would have to find someone else. I had to make many phone calls and back to square one.
FRIDAY, I had a great time during office hours at the Jail. When I came home for lunch, Marie said, “The hospital called and you are to come in on Monday at 6 AM for the catheterization.” I thought great! Then, I thought, no doctor would set up a “cath” without seeing me. More phone calls. I do have an appointment with the cardiologist for Wednesday.

Scott & Brooke Greening, Schaumburg, IL
Pictures Tell the Story
Over the last several weeks we have been telling you about our outreach in the park. The staff photographer of the Baptist Bulletin came to one of the nights and took some pictures (you can read the Baptist Bulletin story here: http://baptistbulletin.org/?p=10195). Hopefully these pictures will give you a better idea of the event and more importantly the lives we were able to intersect with.
Fire Drill One of the joys (insert sarcasm) of our current meeting place on Sunday is being interrupted occasionally by overhead pages. Since our meeting location is in a community center that is used simultaneously by several groups and individuals our sermons and singing is sometimes interrupted with a beep and then a call for someone to come to the front desk. While annoying these pages usually on provide a momentary interruption. On Sunday however, we had a major interruption - the fire alarm. The sermon was interrupted by the need to evacuate the building. We waited outside until the fire department gave us the all clear. God provided another memory on our church planting journey.
Leo is a Believer Thank you for your prayers regarding my ongoing Bible study with Leo. Last week I was able to speak at length with Leo regarding the gospel. He, without prompting, was able to clearly describe the gospel and his personal trust in that for salvation. It was a very encouraging time. Although he is regularly attending a Lutheran church he calls me his pastor. Leo remains interested in continuing our study. He admitted that he really doesn’t know enough to make an intelligent decision about which church to attend but want to keep learning. He thanked me for answering his questions from the Bible and not personal opinion and experience. Please continue to pray that God will work in Leo’s life as I disciple him. Pray that Leo will see his need to get involved with a solid church whose teachings match up with Scripture (ideally GCBC!).
New Regular Attendee Clayton has begun attending our services regularly with Shirley, already a regular attendee. Clayton has a church background of some kind but is not a believer. At this point he is not interested in doing a one-on-one Bible study but attends and pays attention on Sunday. This past week he had a new study Bible. Pray that God would continue to work in Clayton’s life. Pray that we can see him come to make a faith decision in Christ soon.
CACP Meeting This Friday I am hosting the Chicago Area Church Planters for our monthly meeting. This group seeks to encourage church planting in the Chicago area. Pray that our time together will be encouraging and that God will bless our efforts.
Brooke’s Train Trip Brooke is taking the Amtrak train home this weekend to visit her family and see an Aunt who is visiting from Texas. It is convenient that one of the stops on the train is Brooke’s hometown in SW Iowa. Pray that she will have safety as she travels and that I will survive without her.
Praise & Prayer
Praise: Discovering Leo is a believer!
Praise: Clayton’s regular attendance at church.
Praise: Opportunity to meet with fellow church planters.
Prayer: Wisdom in discipling Leo.
Prayer: Clayton’s salvation.
Prayer: Safety for Brooke as she travels.

Bill & Jan Paton, Silva, MO
As most of you know, we just sent out a prayer letter about how well Bill is progressing. Unfortunately, he has had a little setback. He began to feel very dizzy every time he got up, and they didn’t know why. One Monday the therapist was working with him and he got so dizzy he couldn’t continue. His blood pressure dropped to 70/50. They told us to get him to the hospital.
About 3:30 Monday afternoon, we were in the ER at St Francis in Cape Girardeau. He was very anemic. They admitted him, and gave him two units of blood that evening. They did several tests that night and the next morning. They also gave him another unit of blood Tues. morning. They also did a cat scan which showed that the MRSA was back in his lungs. Yesterday at 5:00 p.m. the doctor did surgery on his lungs. They removed infection and as the doctor termed a lot of other debris. They left an open wound which will take some time to heal and will heal from the inside out. He looks pretty good today and they are moving him upstairs after spending the night in ICU. They are saying that he will be able to come home in a few more days. They are thinking that the lack of red blood cells is because of the antibiotic he has been taking.

Jim & Janice Mitchell – Pueblo West, CO
Just a quick note on this Labor day before our guests arrive. Our Sunday went well as we continue to try to disciple the group that God has given us.  The highlight was the evening service which was well attended (better than I expected) and we focused on Christ with communion, songs and message and ended up with prayer time. One new family is now coming regularly to Sunday morning and evening services which has been encouraging.  We had six regular families missing yesterday and still hit the 40’s for which we are thankful.  Our greater concern is for the growth of our regular people so that we can establish a stable and mature group of disciples. To that end we have been going through some basic discipleship material on Wednesday nights which has been well accepted.  With our annual business meeting in October, we are once again faced with the election of deacons.  Please pray that God would direct us as a group to elect the right men and that the qualified men would be willing.  We will be discussing both that and our budget in our Tuesday night mtg. Many thanks for your prayer support.  We learned last week of two other supporters that
need to partially cut our support due to the economy.  We are thankful that God is not caught short at this time.

David & Melissa Whitcher, Lorain, OH
Praise the Lord that oxygen treatment is working for David exactly as doctors said it would.  He is back to about 90% and is feeling fantastic. Tremors are gone and the doctors say that his brain images show that there should be little to no long-term effects.  God is good.  Oxygen treatments will continue daily until Thanksgiving.
As we ease back into the ministry, one of our main focuses is the church plant here in Lorain.  Please pray specifically for an evangelistic outreach we are hosting in the form of a Labor Day picnic this Monday. The Latin Festival is the name of the outreach on Labor Day.  The City of Lorain is known as the “International City” as over 70 different nationalities live within its limits.  Over 15,000 of these are Hispanic who live around us in Lorain’s south side. Many are promoting, praying and trusting for at least fifty people to attend.  Please ask God to bring us those who are white and ready for harvest.
MORE EFFORTS IN LORAIN
Weekly Bible studies are held.  Melissa will also be teaching an ESL class during the month of September.  Pray for the Palmers and some other families as we regularly canvas, invite, and build relationships.
OTHER MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES
- September 9-13 -  BCP Candidate School - Grafton, OH
- September 14-15 - BCP Council Meeting - Grafton, OH
- September 24-25 - Teen Extravaganza @ Camp Bethany - Sinclairville, NY
- October 2-6 - First Baptist Church - Wellington, OH
- Nov 29 - Dec 3, - El Ministerio Bible Institute taping - Winston Salem, NC
- December 4-8 - Visiting Various Missionaries - Phoenix,  AZ

Roy & Fran Cupples – Fullerton, NE
Last evening I heeded my hubby’s advice and did not stay up after midnight to do our usual Sunday night email.  Knowing that we had to get up early this morning also helped determine my decision.  And, yes, we did rise early this morning so we could get to Neola, IA, in time for their annual parade.  For several years we have been going to Bryan and Kristen’s on Labor Day - taking in the parade, sharing food with my children and their kids and some going to the tractor pulling.  Again today we did our usual and enjoyed the day with family.  Tonight we arrived back home about 8:45 and thanked our Father God for traveling safety.
On Wednesday the JOY Club kids headed for Victory Baptist Church for their first meeting of the school year.  We had a good number out and even though there were a few bumps (our director’s fault and that’s me) the Lord worked it out anyway.  Ted brought the big red fire truck and talked to the kids about the truck and its equipment and answered questions.  We also served the kids a light meal and they all seemed happy to be back. 
A couple weeks ago I mentioned a young couple (new to the community) that we visited and invited to church.  Praise the Lord, they came for the morning service yesterday.  We would like to visit them right away, but it may be hard to find time this week before we travel to Ohio.  We have much to do before our departure next Sunday after the morning service.
Praises & Prayer requests:
* Thank You, God, for children and grandchildren!
* We praise the Lord for our JOY Club workers - teens and adults.
* Today we brought back some of the needed parts for the car repair work.  Please pray that we can get the car repaired and ready for the long drive.
* This afternoon I called June and found out that she is coming home this Wednesday.  She’ll need to do therapy for her shoulder.
* Pray that Roy can get the wall at church finished this week.  Then I’ll do some painting.
* Wisdom about JOY Club next week - enough workers?
* Dan Dark is going to be the speaker for the NARBC fall conference.  Pray that we can get the schedule, information, etc. out to the churches this week.

Herb & Wanda Taylor -
In Review: One year ago, September 2009, we officially announced in our newsletter about our upcoming new ministry. Since then God has . . . Provided many opportunities for us to share about this new ministry from Florida to Maine to Colorado. Allowed us to share what should be our “Biblical attitude” toward Hispanics here in the United States. Sadly, many Christians base their thinking on the news media rather than the Scriptures. Brought together a team of 7 who plan to participate in starting a bilin-gual Baptist church in Lorain, OH. David and Melissa Whitcher, Ralph and Rita Palmer, and Kelly Mascarenas and the two of us are eager to see a work established to reach Hispanics. Given us $1,010 in promised monthly support.
Helped us to begin learning Spanish. “Habla espanol?” “Un poco.” Provided a truck and trailer (debt free) for our deputation travels.
Our View: Looking ahead we desire to:
Fall 2010: Continue our deputation travels. We praise the Lord for a busy fall schedule. Jan.-April 2011: Further our language training either at the Spanish Language Institute in Costa Rica or at Rio Grande Bible Institute in Edinburgh, TX. This training would take place January through April 2011. We are praying that the Lord will provide the necessary funds for this time of study and are grateful that we already have over half of what we need. May 2011: Attend the graduation of our son, Benjamin from Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. June 2011: Begin assisting the His-panic work in Lorain, OH. We would love to be able to participate in the beginning of this new Baptist church. Summer and Fall 2011: Continue in deputation meetings and assist existing churches in reaching Hispanics in their own areas.
We review and rejoice; we view the coming year and trust! Praise the Lord for . . .
David Whitcher’s diagnosis and physical improvement already. His continued and amazing provision and protection as we travel on deputation. People becoming better informed about the Hispanic mission field. The need is great and it is our responsibility as Christians to see them through “Biblical” eyes!
Please pray for . . .
Wisdom to minister with a sensitive heart in each church while on deputation.  Provision of needed monthly support (presently have about $1,010 in promised support). Continued full recovery of David Whitcher (see above). Provision of funds for language school. We are praying for $6,500 total for one semester for both of us (including housing). We have $3,650 already saved toward this project! Our Lorain, OH Team: The Whitchers (David and Melissa) and the Palmers (Ralph and Rita) are in Lorain seeking to make contacts; Kelly Mascarenas is on deputation.

Sheryl Ridley – Gretna, NE
August 1st - I attended Park Lane Baptist Church, 5550 N. 60th St., Omaha, NE; Pastor Shawn and Dawn Rittmiller came to minister there in January of 2010 The church currently supports many foreign and home missionaries and agencies.  It has also contributed to our new church plants in Nebraska in many different ways.  The church originally was founded out of the home of Pastor Ervin Butler.  I remember him well as a special part of Baptist Church Planters, and one of God’s great fellow “Church Planters!”
August 8th - One year anniversary of Roger’s completion here on earth, and “passing on to glory”. We kept close together as a family on this weekend.  We went out for supper on Saturday and Sunday evening and spent time talking and sharing with each other.  We were never too far away from one another.  We put pretty flowers at the cemetery.  There was a little ceramic lamb placed there as well with a card tied on him that read “And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.”  Jeremiah 23:4.  Roger was a shepherd of God’s flock while he was here on earth.  I am so thankful that God used him in a mighty way, and he was such a faithful servant.  Thank you all for your support in many ways through this last year of change for me.
August 18th - A special blessing from God for our family - I AM GOING TO BE A GRANDMA AGAIN. Chrissy and Trevus are expecting a baby due in April of 2011.  Pray for them as they are in the process of building their new home.  Trevus is building the house on his own, since that is his line of work.  He said he is going to have to HURRY UP now!  Pray that all will be completed on time and that Chrissy and the baby will both do well.  I am anxious to meet this new little person in God’s plan.
August 26th - Meeting with Pastor Peter Jenks, Regional Director for Baptist Church Planters, Pastor Blane Barfknecht, Chalco Hills Baptist Church, Pastor Bryan Clark, Gretna Baptist Church on future ministry plans.  They asked…“What do you feel God’s plan is for you now?”  I feel led to complete the task of visiting my supporting churches that have been a huge part of ministry over the years.  They have been such an encouragement to me over the summer months.  This will take me to the end of October.  I will remain at Chalco Hills Baptist Church on Wednesday nights helping with the children’s ministry during this time.  When November comes, I will start attending Chalco Hills Baptist Church plant regularly as my base church under Baptist Church Planters, as an associate church planter, and help with the new work there going forward.  I will also be able to help other churches, where ever the need be, in providing training and other ministries for ladies and children.
August 29th - Combination Baptism Service with Chalco Hills Baptist Church Plant and Gretna Baptist Church.  Please pray for Andy, Candy, and Halli from Chalco Hills Baptist Church, as they followed the Lord in Testimony of their faith in Him.  Rylan, from Gretna Baptist Church, who was one of my Junior Church kids (!!!) was also baptized.  Praise God for their obedience.