by Pat Creed

June and I celebrated two anniversaries in June: Our 54th wedding anniversary was on June 28, and the first of June was our 17th anniversary of joining the BIMI team after I had pastored in Clinton, Maryland, for 22 years. We count it a privilege to be able to serve with this tremendous mission board and we appreciate the wonderful leadership with whom we are able to work. Our lives have certainly been blessed by God and we enjoy serving Him together in the ministry to which He has called us.

Candidate School was held during the first week of June. This was a tremendous time of fellowship with 63 in attendance. There were 31 missionaries in their first year (some approved in December 2010) and 32 missionaries in their second year. There was an excellent spirit throughout the group and a special time of encouragement for us. It was a blessing to see young people committed to serve the Lord all around the world.

During Candidate School we had one new couple approved for the islands. Chad and Cynthia Pape are headed to the Dominican Republic. They have already taken a survey trip and have started the deputation trail. Pray for these folks as they begin this new endeavor.

Coco Chan finished her deputation in May and has already arrived in Trinidad. She will be working directly under John and Brenda Gossett, but serving with our other missionaries on the island.

Please keep Richie and Fran Young in your prayers. They have served in Jamaica for over 37 years and just recently Brother Richie has been going through a number of physical difficulties. They will be back in the States for awhile as he faces the possibility of surgery. Also, please pray for their daughter who has had her foot amputated. Pray for God's peace and healing to be with this family during their time of trial.



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by Mrs. June Creed

The Lord has sent us some wonderfully hot days full of sunshine. The humidity is quite high and it makes me think of you all in the islands. Of course, with the high humidity come thunderstorms. Some of them have been particularly loud with plenty of lightning sprinkled in. One night as I was listening to the rumble of one particularly loud storm, God reminded me that even as He is still present during this literal storm, He is also present through the storms or trials that come into our lives. When we are at our most vulnerable and we feel completely alone in our struggle, He is still there. The last eight months have been a "storm" physically for me. I have spent the time of physical uncertainty drawing closer to God and learning to trust Him in new ways. I am so thankful for the many years that my health was fine and I still thank Him for the health He continues to give me every day. These months have made me more aware that time is fleeting and even the short moments are more precious.

Our home church, Independent Baptist, has been re-emphasizing outreach lately—not just through our words but our actions too. We have been challenged not only to talk like Christians, but also to live like Christians. Living with physical uncertainty causes you to see things for their true importance. Only what's done for Christ will last for eternity. Is my life a consistent witness for Christ? Do I share Christ with those with whom I come into contact? Is God's love so much a part of me that I share it with everyone I see? I am so thankful for these reminders. Life is so temporary. Eternity is so permanent. I challenge you to be a greater witness in your community. 

We appreciate those of you who are serving in the islands and also those of you who are serving in the States at our supporting churches. Thank you for all of your prayers, kindness and cards of encouragement. May the Lord continue to bless you and your ministry!

1 Thessalonians 5:17–18 

Love and Prayers,
June Creed
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Fruit Cobbler
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup milk
4 tbsp butter
4 cups fruit or 1 can of fruit

1. Put the butter in a 2–quart square Pyrex glass dish.

2. Melt it in the microwave.

3. While you are melting the butter, mix the first five ingredients together in a separate bowl.

4. After mixing, pour the melted butter into the other ingredients and stir together. Be careful to leave some of the butter coating the Pyrex dish.

5. Pour the mixture into the butter-coated Pyrex dish.

6. Place your fruit on top of the mixture. You can use any fruit that you like.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until brown on the top.  The butter will cover the fruit.

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My name is Wayne Witherell. My wife, Frances, and I have been missionaries with Baptist International Missions, Inc., since 1971.

On March 17, 1968, a remarkable thing happened. During a Sunday night service, our church had a missionary visiting and he was showing slides and preaching on the need for a helper in his ministry in the Andes Mountains of Peru. I barely knew where Peru was, but I listened and God began to speak to me saying, "Go to Peru." I didn't know how to answer, but I started making excuses. "Lord, I'm too old." God said, "Moses was eighty when I called him." Then I said, "Lord, I owe too much money." The Lord said, "Don't worry; I'll sell your house." Then I said, "Lord, I don't know how to preach." The Lord said, "Don't worry, I will teach you." Well, after a harrowing night making excuses to the Lord, I went forward and told the pastor and the congregation, "We are going to Peru."

When I went to church that night, I had no intentions of becoming a missionary, and now I was one just that fast. I asked my wife, "Honey, what do you think?" She said, "If God is calling you, let's go." I asked our children what they thought. They all said, "Let's go, Dad." I detected a slight doubt in the mind of our oldest daughter, Susan, who was 15 years old and had many friends at school. We gave her a choice, stay with some good friends of ours in the States or go with us. She decided to go with us to Peru.

The missionary who wanted a helper gave us some good advice. He said if you can do anything else and be happy, do it. Well, at that moment nothing could stop me. God had called and I said, "Yes." This was the best decision I ever made outside of getting saved. Seven months later, October 1968, we landed in Peru—no support, no language, and I wasn't a preacher. When I say we had no support, I mean literally we didn't have any money apart from $25 that a deacon in our church gave us at the airport. It is very odd, but we were not worried. We met some wonderful missionaries in Chosica, Peru, who helped us get established. While studying Spanish, I worked with the missionary we came with. The same deacon who gave us $25 later gave us $500 about every six months. God was and is so good to us.

One night in June of 1969, God spoke to me again and said, "I want you to preach." I sent away to Moody Bible Institute and they sent me all their correspondence courses in the Old Testament and New Testament. We began having Bible studies in various small towns with very little Spanish but with much enthusiasm. It wasn't easy but our spirits were high and everyone in our family was quite content even under extreme poverty. What kept us happy was we were working for the Lord. One time we had not received any money for a long time and our youngest daughter came to me and said, "Dad, do you believe in prophecy?" I said, "I sure do." She showed me a slip of paper she took from her Bible which said, "Go home and preach to the Americans." Wow, that made me feel ashamed that I was not providing for my family. We prayed together as a family and we said to the Lord, "We don't want to go home, but if we don't get some money soon, we will have to sell and go home. That night a missionary came by who was leaving Peru. He saw our condition and gave us $10, all he had at the time. The next day we went into town, and lo and behold, in the post office was a check for us for $100. We were rich! Ever since then, God started sending little bits of comfort from different sources. Our home church started sending us 10% of the 10% they gave to the Baptist Convention, which encouraged us very much. We worked in the Chosica Church for a while, and one day we were invited to go up into the Andes Mountains to a town called Huancayo. Huancayo was a city of 250 people and situated at 11,000 feet altitude.

We felt that Huancayo was where God wanted us to work. We worked with a couple of missionaries who were there, and finally we started a church on the main road into town. We started with a Vacation Bible School with 79 children in attendance, and we also had an evangelistic meeting at night with a visiting preacher whom we invited. The growth of the church was slow at first, but by 1979 we had approximately 285 people attending. We left the church in the hands of a national pastor at that time. Many churches have been started since then by people in that church.

We felt like our work in Peru was finished. I went to Venezuela for an exploratory visit for two weeks. I was enthusiastic about it, but there were no visas being issued because of corruption in the government. Finally, I was told by a missionary there that we should wait until later. We were disappointed but not discouraged. We prayed about Spain and decided that would be all right. We wanted to stay in a Spanish speaking country.

My wife and I arrived in Spain in 1980. Our daughters were all married by that time and pursuing their missionary futures. We spent a short time in a military church while getting established. There was a young couple there; he was saved but his wife wasn't. One night she went forward and my wife led her to the Lord. They helped us start the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Alcala de Henares. God was with us and we were able to purchase a house that had been used for a communist headquarters. It had bullet holes on the front wall because of their civil war. Well, we spent many long days converting the house into a pretty mission church. We had around 100 people in the church for the most part. It definitely is a Lighthouse for Spain. We turned the church over to our son-in-law Julio and we went to the south of Spain, but that was not very successful because it was a stronghold of Catholicism. We finally left Spain in 1995, planning on working with the Mexicans in the US, but that didn't work out either. God had called us to work outside of the States and that is what we needed to do.

Our daughter Susan, who was working in Venezuela with her husband, Carlos, and their children said, "Come to Venezuela; things have changed." My wife and I went to Venezuela to see what God would have us do.

Everyone wanted a Christian camp. They decided we were the ones to build it. That sounds easy. Well, we had some retirement money, so we bought a piece of land and began building. A group of four men had come from the States to see us, and they asked us what we were going to do with this land. We said, "build a camp." A couple of months later we received a check for $1,500, and they sent 15 men to help us build our camp. God was so good. That started the ball rolling and now the camp is functioning very well with 10 or 11 churches using it. There were 80 people saved this last year.

Our ten years in Venezuela have not been without some problems. We were robbed in our house on the land, and they stole everything of value. Four armed gunmen held us hostage for about four hours while they ransacked our house. God protected us, however, and we are alive.

After several more robberies and attempted robberies, the police recommended that we leave. Because we were Americans, we were targets. Now the ones who robbed us are all dead, shot by the police. There are Venezuelan people living on the camp as caretakers and our granddaughter and her husband live in our house there. My wife and I finally turned the camp and our house over to the nationals. They are doing a tremendous job, praise God!

Now what? My wife and I once again went to the States to see what God had for us. The opportunity presented us with a chance to go to Puerto Rico for a visit. There are many opportunities here. We came here about four years ago and worked with a BIMI missionary for about two years. Then a church was left without a pastor, so we were asked to take over. We accepted and we are still in Puerto Rico at this time. I was pastor, but just recently we turned the church over to Jim Shelton, a younger man with BIMI.

What now? We would like to start a Bible study in Spanish, as our church is all in English. Pray for my wife and me. We are still young. I am 85 years old, but I feel about 60. We are anxious and ready to do whatever God wants.

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THE JOYS OF TRAINING NATIONALS
One year after arriving in Haiti and getting a basic French/Creole vocabulary, we started Grace Baptist Bible School. Over these 35 years, it has been a joy to teach men who are hungry for the truths of God's Word. Our local church is an example for students to follow.

I remember one student who started our 5-year program of study. The first 3 years he hardly passed a subject. Our school requires a 70% average on every course if you want your diploma. Yet, I did not have the heart to tell this man to drop out; he faithfully walked a long way to get to class. Then one trimester, the light turned on and through his 8th year in school, he passed all courses he had failed, and he graduated. He is still serving the Lord.

June 11th we graduated 14 students and are anticipating maximum enrollment for the new school year starting in mid-August.

It is a joy to co-labor with our son, Benji. During the last two weeks of June, we organized and (along with several national pastors), ordained 3 of our graduates to the ministry of the Word of God. These men have already been involved in church planting. Benji is in the prime of his life but his dad's get-up-and-go is going! The joy of training nationals is seeing them go like you used to and doing more than you did.
Don and Bridgitt Dryden, in Haiti since 1975

Last week we had the blessing of conducting Vacation Bible School for the first time in an area we have been working in called Nuevo Amanecer.  We have been working there for less than one year, and the Lord opened the doors for us to have weekly Bible studies, as well as teach the Bible in the local public school.  The school principal gave us the use of the school to have VBS, and last week we met for three days with 25 children from the neighborhood.  Each day we taught a Bible lesson, made crafts, played games, sang together and enjoyed our first VBS with this group.  We invited the children to accept Christ during the final day's activities, and twelve of them made decisions for Christ after being individually counseled.   Of the twelve who made decisions, more than half of them are now attending the weekly Bible studies.  God certainly blessed our time together last week, and we thank God for the twelve decisions that were made.
Michael & Anna Doering, Dominican Republic

Summer is upon us here in the Dominican Republic and the weather has been extremely warm. Our churches are busy planning Youth Camp and Vacation Bible School. In June we helped fellow BIMI missionary Steve Brockell by hosting a group from Maryland for a day of food & tract distribution. We have been able to distribute over 700 Gospel tracts and personal invitations to receive the Lord. In the evening we held an evangelistic service and had well over 150 attend. Many professions of faith were made.

Please continue to pray for our health; Traci is visiting a doctor in the States as I am writing this letter. I have had more problems with infections and continued poor health because of my liver. We are pressing on in spite of our difficulties, as Paul stated we are perplexed but not in despair.
Jeff & Traci Garrison, Dominican Republic

Circumstances of Romans 8:28 come in a variety of ways. In early June as I was helping Coco Chan, our new BIMI missionary to Trinidad, get her house ready for her to move into, I fell off a ladder and broke my left heel. That incident changed my life for the next few months. The "To Do List" has been renamed "The Waiting List".

Learning to get around on one foot has presented its own challenge and has slowed me down. I am still learning what I can and can't do. Keeping off the foot and having it elevated for healing and swelling purposes has affected the usual course of ministry.

The Lord knows how to slow a servant down and get one's attention. Time is now spent reading, studying, preparing classes and sermons and listening to sermons on the internet. This has been a time of refreshing for me. I can preach and lead songs with my leg resting on a chair and my Monday night class meets at my house now. All in all, it has been a blessing to see how God is working in and through all this. Ministry never ends but it does change some at times.

Two of our granddaughters, Cayla and Micah Facemire, have been with us since the end of May. Nancy takes them back home on July the 10th.This has been their 4th summer with us. On the 22nd Eileen Demuth from Denver, Colorado, will come for a month of serving the Lord. She will be a great help in our VBS events and some other summer activities. She is one of 10 kids in her family. Her parent's desire is that each of their children spend a summer on a mission field before entering college.

I am always moved at the thought that God continues to prepare us for Eternity and then allows us to help prepare others.
Ken and Nancy Guth, Trinidad

When things don't seem to be moving forward, when it seems the message is falling on deaf ears, when it seems no one wants to be saved, and you are frustrated at these events… you try everything you can think about to appeal to the hearts of men.

Our little church has a lot going on. Besides our regular services there is open-air services twice a month coupled with house-to-house visitation, including a care ministry to the shut-ins. We have a worldwide missions outreach helping to support 8 missionaries in various parts of the world.

A little over a year ago we were given access to the Government schools to do devotions on a weekly basis. We now have about 10 schools in this program. Along with that we started a Bible distribution ministry among the students and staff of these schools, giving out NT's to the students and full Bibles to the staff. This has been a blessing.

Sometimes you have to use what God has given you eventho' it may seem a little unorthodox, but God blesses in spite of the simplicity of it. I am referring to using my skill with the Yo-Yo to present the Gospel. It certainly gets the kids attention. They really enjoy the "amazing tricks" and look forward to my presentations. There are so many things related to the Yo-Yo that have a spiritual application. I always like to start off by stating that God approves of using the Yo-Yo in this manner by quoting Psalm 150:4, …praise him with stringed instruments…. For sure the Yo-Yo is a stringed instrument and can be used to praise the Lord. After doing about 10 or 12 tricks (from the simple Rock the Cradle to the more intricate Mach 5 and the Atom Smasher, I then illustrate John 15:5 without me ye can do nothing, emphasizing how one is saved and the importance of having Christ in one's life. Matthew 5:16, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Using the Star trick I stress the importance of shining for Jesus in the way you live in the home, at school, and on the streets. In illustrating the part of the verse that says to glorify you Father which is in heaven, I do several intricate string tricks and ask the kids "who gets the credit for the trick?" The Yo-Yo? Or me? They usually guess correctly. I remind them that when we let our light shine, God is glorified.

As Yo-Yos come in different shapes and sizes, they can all be used to perform the tricks. I usually show them some of these and even do a trick with my "Pocket Rocket" which has a diameter of about 1½.

Then God steps in and turns things around. After a long dry spell we've seen some progress and are heartened by it. As a result on June 19th (Father's Day), we had the privilege to baptize 7 new believers. Praise the Lord.
Jerry and Scharmel Johnson, Antigua

Let me tell you about a lady whom Terri won to the Lord. Terri and I were sitting in the immigration office waiting for our names to be called. A lady sat down next to Terri, and she started a conversation with her. Arusha is from another Caribbean island, while her husband is a Trini. She was waiting for her visa to be processed. Terri witnessed to her, and she sweetly trusted Jesus for salvation. Praise the Lord she secured her resident visa for Heaven!
David and Terri Long, Trinidad

God truly does bless faithfulness. We are learning that more and more every day. The ministry here at Maranatha in Ceiba, Puerto Rico continues to slowly but surely grow. We just finished our "Spring Forward" campaign, a challenge to bring as many visitors as possible between the first day of spring and the last day of spring. The winner would receive a new leather bound Scofield Bible. The winner brought a total of 10 visitors! I believe the people are seeing that God can build the church when we are willing to do the work. The children's ministry is also expanding, as this fall we will be looking to divide them into different classes and more age groups. The next step is to get a teen ministry going. Pray for us in this part of the ministry. This fall, we are also looking at starting on remodeling the old buildings into dorms for retreats, camps, mission groups, etc. God is Good as He always is and we thank Him for it all.
Jim and Kelly Shelton, Puerto Rico

Jerry and Linda Baker are in the States for a short furlough and will be returning to the islands in August. They would appreciate your prayers as Jerry may need to have surgery to repair a defective heart valve. Curt and Barb Waite are in Antigua for several months to fill in for the Bakers at the radio station while they are away. Once the Bakers are back, the Waites will return to their ministry of representing the radio station to seek financial support in the Western U.S.

In June the Waites hosted a luncheon for the Spanish church at their home. Over thirty persons were present, and many of them testified that they came to the church through the ministry of Radio el Faro, the station's Spanish outreach. The young man who directed CRL's Hispanic ministry has moved, and there is an urgent need to find a replacement. CRL missionaries will be helping with the VBS program at Maranatha Baptist Church during the month of July.

Nathan and Renee Owen, who are on deputation to join the staff at Radio Lighthouse, now have about 57 percent of their needed support. They are seeking meetings for the rest of this year and have set December 2012 as their target date to move to Antigua.
Curt and Barbara Waite, Caribbean Radio Lighthouse, Antigua

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By Gary Sprunger

In the southern part of the United States, the weathermen are claiming that there is a drought taking place. Records show a lack of 20 inches of rain, and the grass looks parched. Our memories go back to years when the reservoirs in Puerto Rico were at a crisis level. There have been times when the cisterns in Antigua were nearly bone dry. No one desires to have a drought. We all love to see the product of rain. Spiritually, we desire to experience the "Showers of Blessings" that the Lord brings into our lives. As the song writer states, "There shall be showers of blessing," The Lord is good. He is pouring out His blessings day by day.

Candidate School brought together a total of 63 candidates. There were 32 first year and 31 second year. The most memorable part of Candidate School is hearing the testimonies of each of the candidates. Every year our hearts are blessed as we hear how God saved and called these choice laborers into the Worldwide harvest field.

Tim and Sharon Fluegge are diligently working to complete their deputation in 2012. Chad and Cynthia Pape were accepted this year as missionaries to the Dominican Republic. God confirmed upon Chad and Cynthia's hearts the call to the Dominican Republic just a couple of weeks before Candidate School. With surrendered hearts, they quickly finished their application and came to first year Candidate School. Already they are moving forward in expectation that God will do a great work in providing for their needs. The Lord is calling out special laborers to serve in the Caribbean. As God showers us with these blessings, we anticipate great fruit to come in due season.

Following Candidate School, Joy and I were privileged to be the girls' dorm parents for two weeks at Camp BIMI. Every year the Lord sends to Camp BIMI a unique group of college and career age young people. Each group has a special personality. These young people come seeking to know God's will for their lives. This year 60 participants came from all over the United States. Each one shared their testimony and many used their talents for the Lord. As always, Dr. Gerry Baughman and Brother Robert Myer kept things stirred up. Joy and I are praying that the Lord will open the door for each of our BIMI Caribbean missionary MKs to have the thrill of going to Camp BIMI. If any of you have children 16 years old or older, we would love to help you send your MK to Camp BIMI. Please let us know so we can plan on their coming next year.

Two days later, Joy and I traveled to Washington, D.C. There I represented BIMI at the Conference on Evangelizing Black America (COEBA). I can truly say that was "spiritual down-pour." To hear testimonies from men who are going into areas around the country to reach people and plant good fundamental Bible-believing, Baptist churches was most refreshing. The Lord is using Dr. Lou Baldwin, past chairman of Baptist International Missions, Inc., Board of Trustees, in a special way to focus on the need of reaching Black America with the Gospel. Dr. Don Sisk and Dr. John Halsey both preached wonderful messages. Our hearts are thrilled to see God "showering His blessings' on His faithful servants around the world.

I am sure that you, too, can say, "There shall be showers of blessings!"

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Scot C & Katie Daku -  AMERICAN SAMOA
Paul J & Wendy Daku Jr -  FIJI ISLANDS
James & Dawn Daley -  INDONESIA